Liu Yulai personally came to welcome them, and he was somewhat surprised to see Chu Qing and Gentle’s appearances.

Last night, although Chu Qing was in black and masked, his demeanor was far from this ’robust’ aura.

But having been informed in advance, he didn’t ask much, personally leading Chu Qing and Gentle to the prepared room.

"I’ve already found the girl named Shen Hongye, and she is now being brought into the mansion for recuperation and treatment."

As they walked, Liu Yulai spoke softly to Chu Qing:

"Guo Wang’s actions cannot end with his death.

"Within Iron Blood Hall’s territory, no one would bully the common people... Zhong Beitang labeled the incident as a ’bandit attack on Red Tree Village,’ which itself seems problematic.

"Currently, he is not in Falling Leaves City, having been urgently summoned by the Grand Hall Master. I have already written a letter about this matter to the Grand Hall Master.

"There will surely be an explanation in due time."

Chu Qing nodded:

"How is Shen Hongye’s condition now?"

There was a slight embarrassment on Liu Yulai’s face:

"Earlier this morning, I personally sent someone to the inn where the girl was staying.

"But upon seeing us, she tried to flee... It took great effort to invite her over, but she doesn’t trust me.

"This matter requires... it requires Brother Han’s help to persuade her."

Chu Qing chuckled:

"Then deliver Guo Wang’s head to me, and I’ll go myself."

There’s still some time before people from Mirror of Sin arrive.

During this period, let’s handle these trivial matters.

Liu Yulai nodded and then took an envelope from his bosom, handing it to Chu Qing:

"This contains information about the Zhou Mansion. It hasn’t been deeply investigated... it’s all superficial content."

Chu Qing accepted it, and they soon arrived at the courtyard where Chu Qing and Gentle lived, so Liu Yulai took his leave.

"If you go out in the next couple of days, remember to call me."

Chu Qing instructed.

Liu Yulai, of course, agreed wholeheartedly, nodding repeatedly to show his understanding.

After he left, Chu Qing and Gentle sat down at the table.

Chu Qing opened the envelope and quickly skimmed the contents.

Gentle poured some tea and pushed one cup towards Chu Qing, asking:

"How is it?"

"Nothing unexpected, the Zhou family is very clean."

Chu Qing smiled:

"And tracing back through history, they’ve resided in Dingxing City for three generations... starting from the grandfather of the current Zhou Family Patriarch, Zhou Fu’an, the Zhou family has been honest merchants.

"However..."

"However what?"

"Take a look at this."

Chu Qing handed a portrait to Gentle.

Gentle glanced at it, looking slightly puzzled, and examined it closely:

"Why do they look familiar..."

"This is a portrait of the Zhou Family Patriarch, Zhou Fu’an."

Chu Qing picked up the portrait, looked at it for a moment, and said with a smile:

"What if we remove his hat and mess up his hair..."

"It’s that beggar!!"

Gentle followed Chu Qing’s train of thought, immediately drawing a conclusion:

"The Zhou Family Patriarch, Zhou Fu’an, is the beggar contact for Mirror of Sin.

"On the surface, he’s a merchant; in reality, they’re the eyes and ears for Mirror of Sin!"

Chu Qing nodded silently:

"That’s a possibility. At the very least, Zhou Fu’an joined Mirror of Sin himself... and no one else in the mansion knows about it."

"What should we do then?"

"I plan to... startle the snake."

Chu Qing looked up at Gentle:

"After that, I’ll need your help too."

"Alright."

Gentle agreed readily.

After tidying up a bit, Liu Yulai sent someone to invite them.

For the rest of the day, Liu Yulai was preparing for the impending attack on the city by the four gangs...

In fact, no elaborate preparations were needed.

These ragtag soldiers dared to attack Dingxing City, relying heavily on Mirror of Sin as their greatest trump card, which Chu Qing had long anticipated.

Furthermore, Chu Qing instructed Liu Yulai to investigate the Zhou family more deeply.

The feedback was not satisfactory; not only did the Zhou family appear cleaner with more investigation, but there was also a phenomenon of shifting the focus.

Liu Yulai wasn’t misled by this; rather, he was even more alarmed.

"A mere Zhou Family, just merchants, yet they have such abilities to deceive the eyes and ears of our Iron Blood Hall and still try to lead us by the nose."

Chu Qing stood by the window with his hands behind his back:

"This was expected, so just go investigate according to the feedback they give you.

"Of course, the Zhou Family must be firmly bitten onto.

"The stronger the sense of urgency, the better!

"I want to make them lose their footing."

"Yes."

Liu Yulai was completely obedient to Chu Qing, not just because of the life-saving grace, but more importantly, because Chu Qing was ’intimately acquainted’ with their Miss.

The day passed in such a scenario.

In the evening, Chu Qing took Guo Wang’s head to find Shen Hongye.

Shen Hongye was ’under house arrest’ at the Liu Family, and Chu Qing’s arrival surprised her.

And upon seeing Guo Wang’s head, Shen Hongye finally burst into uncontrollable tears and ended up kneeling in front of Chu Qing, bowing repeatedly.

Chu Qing told her it was he who had Liu Yulai find her so that she could temporarily stay at the Iron Blood Hall.

"If you want to follow me, you must learn Martial Arts.

"I don’t take in useless people under me...

"When one day your Martial Arts gains my approval, I’ll personally take you away from Iron Blood Hall."

"Yes."

Originally very resistant, Shen Hongye hesitated no longer after hearing Chu Qing’s words, and nodded deeply in agreement.

After that, Chu Qing taught her two Martial Arts techniques.

One was the Rebellious Divine Skill from the Jade Dragon Old Immortal. Chu Qing guided Shen Hongye in Qi Circulation, a treatment Zhou Yi had never received.

With his help, Shen Hongye’s first Minor Circulation was extremely smooth.

But that was all... What achievements she makes afterward will depend on herself.

Chu Qing then taught her four moves from Dragon Claw Hand: ’Playing the Lute’, ’Beating the Zither’, ’Splitting the Ridge’, ’Pounding the Void’.

Ensuring she had a method internally and accomplishments externally.

After a night of teaching, she had already grasped about thirty percent of the form... However, her vitality was depleted, her body weak, and she had only gotten the form.

In the future, she would eat, drink, rest, and practice alongside others in Iron Blood Hall, gradually strengthening her vitality and body, so she can slowly ponder the True Intent within.

This was also why Chu Qing did not keep her by his side.

He was constantly on the move, and the girl’s frail body was not only a burden, but camping outside in the wilds would make it difficult to become talented.

After finishing these tasks, Chu Qing did not say much more to her, letting her stay at Iron Blood Hall with peace of mind.

He also assured her that Iron Blood Hall would give her an explanation regarding the matter of Guo Wang.

Until Chu Qing left, Shen Hongye still didn’t know his true identity.

But she was left with a profound and inscrutable impression.

How formidable Iron Blood Hall was, Shen Hongye did not know... But among all the experts she had encountered, they all avoided her like the plague after hearing the words ’Guo Wang’.

Yet Chu Qing not only killed Guo Wang but could also make Iron Blood Hall give her an explanation.

This ability even made Shen Hongye wonder if Chu Qing was the Grand Hall Master of Iron Blood Hall, Tie Lingyun.

No one knew the whimsical thoughts in the little girl’s mind.

And that night at the Zhou Residence...

Zhou Fu’an was feeling very uneasy.

He was the Contact Person for the Mirror of Sin, leading the entire interaction process with Guo Wang.

Guo Wang didn’t know his identity, but their contact was very close.

He knew that Guo Wang had long contacted the Lianshan Seven Strongholds to attack Dingxing City and had planned to assassinate Liu Yulai amidst the chaos.

Unfortunately, the plan was disrupted; Liu Yulai did not meet the Lianshan Seven Strongholds head-on in Dingxing City but instead led a counterattack...

Initially, this disturbance wasn’t enough to affect the assassination plan.

But unexpectedly, the appearance of ’Sword Ghost’ led to the failure of the plan.

The variable of Sword Ghost’s appearance also prompted Zhou Fu’an to make other arrangements.

The homing pigeon sent to the branch had not returned.

Yet Liu Yulai somehow detected there was a problem with the Zhou Residence... sending people repeatedly to investigate.

Although Zhou Fu’an had long made preparations for this, redirecting the suspicion to several unrelated directions, Liu Yulai would never focus on the Zhou Residence.

Unexpectedly, Liu Yulai turned a blind eye to this confusion tactic.

Even though he investigated along those directions, the focus on the Zhou Residence not only did not diminish but grew heavier.

"Where exactly went wrong?"

Zhou Fu’an gently swirled the tea in his cup, feeling as if he was standing on the edge of a cliff.

With the slightest misstep, he could fall into an abyssal chasm.

The sound of flapping came, and Zhou Fu’an’s hand paused.

Moments later, a figure pushed the door open:

"Master, there’s urgent correspondence."

Zhou Fu’an took it, unfolded it, and his face lit up with a smile:

"Three masters from the Seventy-two Evil Extermination List will arrive tomorrow!

"Even if Sword Ghost and Liu Yulai truly have celestial abilities... this time they’ll meet their end!"