After carefully storing the Muscle Strengthening Pill, Chen Cheng began to take stock of the money. His primary objective had been to kill Wang Li, not to rob the place. Besides, he had no experience with thievery and hadn’t managed to find where the Wang Family kept their hidden wealth.

Most of this wealth had been gathered from a few quick searches. Even so, after counting it, Chen Cheng was inwardly stunned. The money totaled over twelve hundred silver.

An ordinary person couldn’t earn this much silver in a lifetime.

With this money, Chen Cheng could afford to buy a decent residence in the heart of Lishui District.

However, since a major crime had just occurred at the Wang Family estate, this money couldn’t be spent for the time being.

There were also two Cultivation Technique Manuals: the *Wild Bull Skin Grinding Method* and the *Thirteen Life-taking Swords*.

The *Wild Bull Skin Grinding Method* was a top-tier Skin Grinding Technique, on par with the *Bear Skin Grinding Technique*. As for the *Thirteen Life-taking Swords*, it was a closely guarded secret of the Wang Family—one of the Four Great Clans of the Inner City—and a superior form of swordsmanship.

Chen Cheng flipped it open for a look. This copy of the *Thirteen Life-taking Swords* didn’t include a Fundamental Diagram, meaning it could only be used to cultivate Sword Momentum.

A secret manual for a superior skill that lacked a Fundamental Diagram was only marginally better than a Mid-level Skill Manual.

Chen Cheng practiced a Saber Technique, so the Sword Technique Manual was useless to him. However, he could practice the *Wild Bull Skin Grinding Method*, which was a decent find.

Chen Cheng’s skill in the Killing Dao was professional grade, but his robbery skills were clearly amateurish. Still, to get such a huge haul with amateur abilities... No wonder bandits who massacred entire families kept emerging. It was no exaggeration to say that if an ordinary Martial Artist pulled off a single job like this, they would be set for life.

But how could it have been so simple to make a move on the Wang Family? Never mind the more than twenty Hospital Martial Artists with Great Success in Saber Technique in the outer and middle courtyards; the two men Chen Cheng encountered in the inner courtyard alone were at Skin Grinding Realm Perfection, with Perfection in their Sword and Saber Skills. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

If Chen Cheng hadn’t mastered Saber Momentum, and if his Body Technique hadn’t been so incredibly fast without his training weights, it would have been impossible to kill them without causing a disturbance.

Without having mastered Momentum, one would have to be, at the very least, a Great Success Martial Artist of the Muscle Strengthening Realm to take on the Wang Family.

Of course, if his own life hadn’t been threatened, Chen Cheng would never have chosen to commit such an act of robbery and murder. For one, it went against the natural order; for another, it was far too dangerous and simply not worth the risk.

...

「The next day.」

「Ruyi Square Dongchang Street.」

Dozens of City Guard Department constables had surrounded the Wang Family residence, sealing it off completely.

A crowd had gathered nearby, all of them murmuring amongst themselves.

"What’s going on? Why are there so many City Guard Department officials?"

"The Wang Family was wiped out overnight."

"Wiped out? How is that possible? The Wang Family had over thirty Hospital Martial Artists! Master Wang himself was a Perfect Martial Artist of the Skin Grinding Realm, and so was the Wang Family’s steward."

"Hmph, what’s so impossible about it? They must have offended a Muscle Strengthening Realm expert who came to settle the score."

"The Wang Family was always arrogant and tyrannical. They offended plenty of people. This is just chickens coming home to roost."

"Shh! Master Wang was from a side branch of the Wang Family, one of the Four Great Clans of the Inner City. Watch what you say, or you’ll bring trouble on yourself."

...

Just then, a troop of City Guard Department officials came galloping up on tall horses. Their leader was a young man, about twenty-five or twenty-six, dressed in a purple, cloud-patterned uniform with a longsword at his waist.

Behind the young man, two City Guard Department constables brandished their whips and bellowed, "Make way! Everyone, make way! Death to anyone who blocks the path!"

The crowd of onlookers scrambled to open a path. A few who were too slow were knocked to the ground by the City Guard Department constables’ whips, letting out agonized wails.

The officials paid them no mind, charging straight to the Wang Family’s main gate. They dismounted and strode inside.

The purple, cloud-patterned uniform designated the rank of Chief within the Outer City District City Guard Headquarters, a venerable position holding authority over an entire district of the Outer City.

The City Guard Department constables guarding the entrance didn’t dare to stand in their way; they hastily bowed and stepped aside.

...

In the middle courtyard of the Wang Family estate, Shen Qingshuang, the newly appointed Chief of the South City Guard, stood before the entrance to the main hall. Clad in a purple, cloud-patterned uniform, she stared silently at the broken sword pinned to the door’s lintel and the blood-colored jade token it held in place.

Beside her, Liu Yunfeng and the various Chief Constables of the Ruyi Square Sub-Department stood with solemn expressions, as silent as cicadas in winter.

Just then, Zhou Xu, dressed in a light green, cloud-patterned uniform, emerged from the inner courtyard with several constables in tow.

Zhou Xu glanced at Shen Qingshuang and said with a hint of schadenfreude, "Wang Yaohui’s entire household, dozens of people, brutally murdered in a single night. This is an exceptionally vicious crime. I fear it will alarm the Governor of the City Guard Department."

Shen Qingshuang spun around, fixing Zhou Xu with a cold stare. "Official Zhou, you seem so confident. In that case, I will entrust the full investigation of this case to you."

Zhou Xu’s expression froze. The saying ’a higher rank can crush you’ was true. Shen Qingshuang was using this as a pretext to toss this hot potato into his lap—a blatant move to suppress him—and there was nothing he could do about it.

"Lord Shen, this case occurred in Ruyi District. I am not familiar with the area, so I’m afraid I would be of no use."

"Hmph!" Shen Qingshuang snorted, her voice turning severe. "You are an Official of the City Guard Headquarters. If you are not willing to lighten your superior’s burden, then you don’t deserve your post."

Zhou Xu’s eyes darted back and forth. "Lord Shen, you were previously the Chief Constable of the Ruyi Square Sub-Department. You are far more familiar with Ruyi District than I am. I believe it would be best if you investigated this case personally."

At that moment, another troop of City Guard Department officials rushed over. Their leader was none other than the young man in the purple, cloud-patterned uniform seen earlier.

A pleased expression crossed Zhou Xu’s face. He hurried forward and bowed with his hands clasped.

"Greetings, Lord Wang."

"Enough with the pleasantries." The young man waved a hand dismissively and walked straight toward Shen Qingshuang.

As if she had expected him, Shen Qingshuang said in a cool, detached tone, "Shouldn’t Chief Wang be in Dongcheng District? What brings you all the way to the South City District?"

This young man was Wang Xiongying, Chief of the Dongcheng District City Guard Headquarters and a direct descendant of the Wang Family, one of the Four Great Clans of the Inner City.

"Lord Shen, upon hearing that my Wang clan members were massacred overnight, shouldn’t I be here?" Wang Xiongying said coldly, his brow furrowed.

"Whether you should be here or not, you’ve come," Shen Qingshuang said, her expression frigid. "Since you’re here, why don’t you personally inspect the crime scene, Lord Wang? Perhaps you can offer some insight."

In truth, Shen Qingshuang had already surveyed the scene. The only reason she hadn’t taken further action was because her informants had discovered Zhou Xu sending someone to Dongcheng District—undoubtedly to report the matter to Wang Xiongying.

As a fellow Chief within the Outer City’s City Guard Headquarters, Shen Qingshuang was not afraid of Wang Xiongying. However, she had only recently been promoted. If Wang Xiongying seized this opportunity to make an issue of the case and file a complaint with the City Guard Department’s Governor, it would put her in an awkward position.

That was why she had left the crime scene untouched, waiting for Wang Xiongying’s arrival to prevent him from twisting the facts later.

"Hmph! Since Lord Shen is so incompetent, what’s to stop me from investigating this myself?" Wang Xiongying stared at Shen Qingshuang for a long moment before letting out the cold words. Then, he led his subordinates to survey the area.

Zhou Xu shot a glance at Shen Qingshuang before falling in line behind Wang Xiongying.

Wang Xiongying’s inspection of the scene was quite meticulous. He started in the Wang Family’s outer courtyard, tracing the path of the perpetrator: where they entered, how they killed the Hospital Martial Artists in the front courtyard, then how they proceeded into the middle courtyard to kill more Hospital Martial Artists before finally reaching the main hall.

Everything was obvious, easy to discern. In fact, Shen Qingshuang had already had her people mark the path with quicklime powder.

Wang Xiongying was merely retracing the perpetrator’s steps—simply going through the motions.

The case itself was quite simple. There was only one assailant, whose Body Technique was incredibly fast. They had mastered a Saber Momentum akin to the Xun Wind, and every single person in the Wang household had been killed in one strike.

Not even Wang Yaohui, the Wang Family steward, and Wang Li—all of whom were at Skin Grinding Realm Perfection with Perfected Skills—were exceptions.

The assailant’s strength was likely at the level of Great Success in the Muscle Strengthening Realm, or perhaps even higher.

Beyond that, the assailant had another defining trait: their methods were exceptionally ruthless. Not a single living soul in the entire Wang household was left alive.

After meticulously inspecting the crime scene, Wang Xiongying returned to the entrance of the main hall. He stared at the broken sword and the blood-colored jade token on the lintel, saying nothing.

"Well, Lord Wang?" Shen Qingshuang finally asked after a long wait, glancing at Wang Xiongying.

Wang Xiongying’s brow was furrowed. He strode back into the main hall, then beckoned with a hand. "Men, make a rubbing of these words!"

Several constables hurried forward, took out yellow paper, and began making a rubbing of the words written in blood on the floor.

Once the rubbing was complete, Wang Xiongying walked toward the outer courtyard, turning his head without giving Shen Qingshuang so much as a glance.

"Lord Wang," Shen Qingshuang suddenly called out in a clear voice, "Wang Li operated under an alias as a Ding-rank assassin from the Wind and Rain Tower, committing crimes all over. I will report this matter truthfully to the Lord Chief Director and the Governor of the City Guard Department."

Wang Xiongying didn’t turn back.

"Report it as you wish, Lord Shen. But let me also remind you of one thing: I will be investigating this case personally, and I will be sure to drag the culprit into the light!"