Chapter 241 - 141: Taking Stock of the Gains

The night was dark and still.

The City Lord’s Mansion was situated much higher than the streets of the Inner City.

City Lord Jiang Botao’s Government Office was located on the fifth floor of the tallest building in the City Lord’s Mansion.

At this moment, only two glazed lamps were lit in the Government Office. The soft glow they emitted failed to illuminate the entire spacious and luxurious office, but it added an air of solemnity and mystery to this symbol of ultimate power in Linji City.

Jiang Botao stood before a large, ornately latticed window, looking down upon the whole of Linji City. His gaze was as deep and profound as the dark night itself.

The City Guard Director, Mao Yong, had already given him a detailed report on the case of the Zhou Family of Lishui District being attacked by bandits.

In Lijing Prefecture City, with its population of over a million, a case like this was neither major nor minor. A few such incidents were bound to happen every year.

Ordinarily, it wouldn’t have alarmed City Lord Jiang Botao. Even if a report was necessary, it would only come the next day, after Mao Yong had thoroughly investigated the case and compiled all the information.

But these were extraordinary times for Linji City. The Zhou Family case was not as simple as it appeared on the surface and might be connected to a major crisis that Linji City was about to face.

That was why Mao Yong had no choice but to report to Jiang Botao in the middle of the night.

After receiving Shen Qingshuang’s report, Mao Yong had personally gone to the Zhou Family estate to survey the crime scene.

His conclusion was that the case was baffling and of great importance.

Judging from the scene, the perpetrator was a single individual with strength at the level of Muscle Strengthening Realm Perfection or Small Success in Bone Forging Realm. They had displayed at least two types of Momentum.

There weren’t many individuals of this caliber in all of Linji City. The only ones who came to mind were the notable members of the Four Great Clans of the Inner City.

The intruder snuck into the Zhou Family estate and first silently killed Zhou Hongda in his bed, displaying the Saber Momentum of the Xun Wind Lineage from the Eight Trigrams.

Next, they returned to the central courtyard and killed six Hospital Martial Artists in Heavy Armor, all at Skin Grinding Realm Perfection. In this fight, they displayed the Momentum of the Earth Element Sea and Mountain Lineage of the Five Elements, or possibly the Momentum of the Gen Mountain Lineage of the Eight Trigrams.

Afterward, using the Saber Momentum of the Xun Wind Lineage, they instantly killed the Black and White Double Slaughter, who were at the Great Success in Muscle Strengthening Realm. They then engaged in several rounds of direct combat with six Hospital Martial Artists at Skin Grinding Realm Perfection who had formed a Battle Array. They broke the Hospital Martial Artists’ Battle Array with an iron chest weighing three thousand two hundred jin, and used some kind of heavy, hammer-like Weapon to smash the six men’s Heavy Armor helmets flat.

Another point that puzzled Mao Yong was that the perpetrator seemed very different from the typical roving bandits who plunder and rob.

The victims—Zhou Hongda, his sons, and the Black and White Double Slaughter—all had their Money Bags taken. In the Zhou Family’s hidden treasury, there was also an empty box, which seemed to have held easily portable valuables like silver notes.

As for everything else, it was all untouched. There was even a box in the secret room filled with a large quantity of silver ingots that hadn’t been touched.

Therefore, Mao Yong guessed that the intruder’s main purpose for breaking into the Zhou Family estate was murder. The robbery was merely incidental.

This matched the testimony of the old doorman of the Zhou Family. According to him, the intruder moved as fast as a phantom, their killing intent was overwhelming, and they were like a malevolent demon from Hell.

Even from a distant glance, the sheer force of the intruder’s baleful Evil Qi nearly made him faint. As a result, he couldn’t even make out the intruder’s height or build.

Mao Yong had screened every Bone Forger Realm Martial Artist in Linji City, and even every Perfect Martial Artist of the Muscle Strengthening Realm who had developed Momentum, but couldn’t find anyone matching the perpetrator’s description.

So, he decided to investigate from the Zhou Family’s side to see if they had offended someone, bringing an enemy’s revenge upon them.

But Zhou Hongda and all his sons who were capable of participating in the family’s affairs had been killed.

And Zhou Xu had caught wind of the situation and fled before the City Guard Department Officials could reach Guangfu District.

After all, the Zhou Family keeping twelve Hospital Martial Artists in Heavy Armor and hiding over three thousand jin of precious metal of unknown origin were crimes serious enough to warrant the extermination of the entire family.

If caught and brought to justice, Zhou Xu would face certain death.

With no one left in the Zhou Family to question for a statement, the trail went cold, and the case became baffling once more.

"Are you saying the perpetrator is an assassin from the Wind and Rain Tower in the Black Market?" Jiang Botao suddenly turned around. He had also been analyzing the case details.

Mao Yong said, "In your subordinate’s opinion, none of the Martial Artists from the Four Great Clans of the Inner City match the perpetrator’s profile."

"To be able to commit such a major crime, and to do it so cleanly, only the Wind and Rain Tower of the Black Market comes to mind."

"The Wind and Rain Tower? That’s certainly possible." Jiang Botao nodded slightly.

Although the Wind and Rain Tower operated in secret, how could Jiang Botao be completely ignorant of them? The Demon Suppression Department had long since uncovered clues confirming that the Wind and Rain Tower was a force that the Blood Moon Sect had infiltrated into Linji City.

It wasn’t just the Blood Moon Sect. Other major powers like Marquis Zhenbei’s Mansion, the Taiyi Sect, and the Sutra of Ultimate Sect had also been planting their own people in Linji City.

It was just that before, the personnel from these external powers had all kept a very low profile and behaved themselves, so Jiang Botao had turned a blind eye and left them alone.

Once news spread that the Black Lotus Sect’s base was in the Great Wilderness Mountain Range outside Linji City, these external powers began to stir, becoming restless.

Not only was Jiang Botao alerted, but even the Su State Daoist Sect was alarmed. His superiors had already issued a decree, ordering the Linji City Lord’s Mansion and the Demon Suppression Department to closely monitor every move of these external powers.

And this was precisely the reason Mao Yong was reporting the Zhou Family case to Jiang Botao in the middle of the night.

If the Zhou Family case was indeed orchestrated by an external power, then Linji City was likely on the verge of chaos. The City Lord’s Mansion had to make arrangements as soon as possible to deal with the potential turmoil.