Starting as the young master of a medicine shop, he practiced swordsmanship for twenty years.

Chapter 392 The Bizarre Murder Case Twenty Years Ago, Lu Xuan's Thoughts.

Come in a hurry, go in a hurry.

Huang Tangming and his entourage, who had just been sitting in the Lu family's living room, got up to leave after only a dozen minutes, their steps carrying a sense of urgency.

The composure he had maintained during their earlier conversation had long since vanished. Now, Huang Tangming walked in front, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up, and even his eyes were filled with an undisguised excitement.

Huang Tangming and his group walked silently through the Lu family's long corridor covered with a dark-patterned carpet. Their footsteps were absorbed by the heavy carpet, leaving only the faint sound of their breathing.

When they arrived at the gate of the Lu family villa, the driver respectfully opened the door for them.

At this moment, Huang Tangming suddenly stopped, turned to the side, lowered his head slightly, and spoke in a low voice that only he and the two old men on either side could hear.

"Old Chen, Old Feng," Huang Tangming's voice still trembled slightly, yet it conveyed an unquestionable sense of entrustment.

"I'll leave things here to you two. Please make sure everything is done carefully."

He paused, glanced at the two of them, and added, "When we get back to the capital, let's find a quiet place and have a proper get-together. We can talk about some things then."

Before he could finish speaking, Huang Tangming stepped out of the door and into the black car that was already waiting outside, without waiting for a response from the two.

The car window slowly rolled up, completely blocking out his expression, leaving only Old Chen and Old Feng standing there, exchanging a strange look in their eyes.

No one knew that Huang Tangming's secret trip to Yifeng Province, without informing the officials there, was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but a task personally entrusted to him by his father in his study in the capital.

The serious tone of that instruction still echoes in Huang Tangming's ears, making him dare not slack off in the slightest.

Beyond this "mission," Huang Tangming harbors a secret unknown to others.

What he really wanted to confirm was whether the long-absent old man, Lu Xuan, was still as healthy as he was back then.

It should be noted that Master Lu Xuan was a legendary figure in the martial arts world of China, one of the most prominent figures at the pinnacle.

The title of "the number one master of the Transformation Realm" is by no means unfounded. His iron fists once roamed the north and south of the country, earning him a formidable reputation in countless tough battles.

Looking across the entire Dragon Kingdom, there are very few people who can withstand even a few moves from him.

Now, so many years later, whether this legend still retains his former strength has become Huang Tangming's most important objective for this trip.

Huang Tangming's concern was not simply out of curiosity.

Recently, the top leadership of the Dragon Kingdom has been preparing for an extremely important event, which is related to the fate of the country for many years to come and cannot tolerate the slightest mistake.

The core of the mission requires the joint efforts of several top martial arts masters.

The strength of each participant directly affects the success or failure of the mission, and the condition of Grandpa Lu Xuan naturally became a crucial factor.

Just now in the living room, Huang Tangming was pondering the state of Old Master Lu Xuan, with a sense of uncertainty lingering in his mind, but he did not expect the next second.

An aged yet powerful voice unexpectedly entered his ears.

The voice seemed to be right next to your ear, so clear that you could feel the power in the words.

Looking around, he saw that his companions, Lao Chen, Lao Feng, and Lu Yuliang, were all unresponsive, indicating that only he could hear the sound.

“Go back and tell your dad,” Lu Xuan’s voice carried the composure of years, yet also contained an unstoppable sharpness.

"In recent years, my old bones have not only not broken down, but have actually improved. If I really want to keep going for a few more years, I still have no problem."

These words were like a reassuring pill, instantly calming Huang Tangming's mind and dispelling all his previous speculations and worries.

He suddenly looked up in Lu Xuan's direction, just in time to meet Lu Xuan's gaze, a half-smile playing on his lips.

That smile held an all-knowing understanding, carried expectations for the younger generation, and exuded the composure and confidence of a grandmaster of the Dragon Kingdom.

This image became a deep impression that Huang Tangming could never forget, no matter when he thought about it for many years to come.

What truly stirred Huang Tangming's heart was the mysterious and unpredictable "sound transmission to the ear" technique of Old Master Lu Xuan.

Even though the two were several meters apart, with several people in between, the old man's voice seemed to have eyes, precisely penetrating into his ears, while no one else could hear a word.

That level of control is simply divine.

Huang Tangming's fingers tightened involuntarily as he replayed the scene in his mind—this was a skill that could never be seen in real life.

It was clearly the exclusive ability of those peerless masters who lived in seclusion in the mountains and looked down on all living beings, as he had seen in TV dramas before.

The thought of witnessing this "legendary method" firsthand, coupled with the old man's words "some progress," intensified Huang Tangming's shock, and he even unconsciously softened his breathing.

Decades ago, Master Lu Xuan was already a figure standing at the pinnacle of the Grandmaster of Transformation, and his iron fists could make the entire Chinese martial arts world take notice.

Even top experts like Huang Tangming now admit to having "made progress," and just thinking about the power behind it makes his heart race.

That was by no means a simple improvement in strength; it was perhaps an unimaginable level that had already surpassed previous realms.

Thinking of this, Huang Tangming finally felt completely relieved, and a confident smile unconsciously appeared on his lips.

He looked up at the scenery rushing past the car window, and he already had his answer.

With a powerful figure like Elder Lu Xuan overseeing the mission to the Great Eagle Federation a month from now, it will surely be a success.

And those three scientific researchers who were stranded in a foreign country but were wholeheartedly loyal to their country will surely be able to return safely to their motherland.

They can fully utilize their talents on this land and contribute their knowledge to the future of the country.

Lu Yuliang stood in front of the Lu family gate, his gaze fixed on the taillights of three black cars.

Only when the black shadow completely disappeared, leaving not even a trace, did he slowly withdraw his gaze, still pondering the strangeness of Huang Tangming and his group's departure.

A dozen seconds later, he turned around and walked back to the living room. As soon as he went around the screen, he saw his father, Lu Xuan, sitting upright on the sofa, reading a newspaper with great interest.

The warm yellow sunlight fell on the white hair at his father's temples, but it couldn't hide the focused look in his eyes.

The scene made Lu Yuliang's expression turn somewhat strange, and he subconsciously paused in his steps. "Dad," he stepped forward and sat down on the single sofa next to him, carefully choosing his words, "why did you suddenly decide to learn about the social situation in Yifeng Province?"

My father has always been detached from worldly affairs, rarely paying attention to television news or mobile entertainment, let alone newspapers that require reading word by word.

But these past few days, my dad seems to have suddenly become a different person. Not only does he insist on reading the newspaper every day without fail, but he also specifically looks for strange and unusual stories.

He would glance at ordinary news about people's livelihoods and put it down, but he paid special attention to those reports marked "bizarre cases" in the corner of the page.

The more bizarre and perplexing the case, the more engrossed he became, sometimes even turning the newspaper over and over in thought.

His earnestness made it impossible for Lu Yuliang to figure out what his father was thinking.

Lu Xuan did not reply immediately, his gaze fixed on a text with a particularly eye-catching title.

The text read: "The case of the three female college students who died mysteriously twenty years ago has resurfaced. Is it the legendary ghosts and monsters that are harming them, or is there a real culprit impersonating a ghost or god to kill them...?"

The following content also mentions that "according to an old security guard at Yingnan University, he once saw a white car enter and leave the campus, but because it was too late, he didn't pay attention..."

Before Lu Xuan could see the details, a prominent line appeared at the end of the text: "Scan the QR code to follow Qianliao Technology's leading media account for more information."

Lu Xuan stared at the line of text guiding attention, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly, a hint of speechlessness flashing across his eyes.

He could practically recite from memory the phrases in the newspapers like "ghosts and monsters harm people" and "the real culprit is pretending to be a ghost or god."

It's nothing more than unscrupulous media outlets repeatedly hyping up details from back then, dismantling long-settled unsolved cases into fragments, and then wrapping them in a layer of sensationalism.

Ultimately, it's nothing more than trying to gain explosive traffic and garner attention by relying on some unresolved old cases.

That being said, while these media outlets were simply rehashing old news for clicks, they inadvertently brought these long-forgotten cases back into the public eye.

Let's consider this as giving those who died unjustly a better chance of being remembered, and in a way, giving them a voice.

At least, Lu Xuan has already set his sights on this bizarre case from twenty years ago.

The word "ghosts" that others would turn pale at and avoid at all costs became his most fervent "desire".

For Lu Xuan now, those supernatural beings that are rumored to be divine are not the source of his fear at all, but rather what he most urgently wants to find right now.

After all, only these things can provide him with enough system points to quickly break through this mortal world.

Host: Lu Xuan, the Immortal of the Mortal World (Fifth Incarnation)

Realm: Grandmaster of Core Formation (Beginner)
Technique: Myriad Valleys Returning to the Flow Fist 5/9
Score: 1590
Lu Xuan looked up at Lu Yuliang, who was lost in thought, and said in a low but authoritative voice: "Yuliang, investigate the case of this female college student from twenty years ago and get all the relevant records."

"Organize everything for me, whether it's police files or media reports."

Lu Yuliang hadn't recovered from his confusion about his father's interest in unsolved cases, nor had he had time to respond.

The newspaper that was just under Dad's fingertips suddenly began to move without warning.

The newspaper seemed to be pulled by an invisible thread, rising lightly from the air and landing steadily in his outstretched palm, without even a single wrinkle on the edge.

This seemingly casual move instantly brought Lu Yuliang to his senses, and his grip on the newspaper tightened involuntarily.

The doubts that had been lingering in my mind were instantly replaced by a strange sense of solemnity.

Lu Yuliang looked down at the newspaper in his palm. His eyes had just swept over the words "Yingnan City University" when his face instantly went from calm to pale, and then turned ashen.

It wasn't because of the "ghostly" sensationalism in the report, but because he was completely familiar with this murder case.

Twenty years ago, he was one of the heads of the Criminal Division of the Yingnan City Security Bureau. He led the investigation into the case of the mysterious deaths of these three female college students for three whole months.

But the final result is something he will never forget: no fingerprints or footprints were left at the scene, and the autopsy could not find a clear cause of death.

All the leads were cut off halfway through, as if extinguished by an invisible hand. In the end, all we could do was watch helplessly as the case became a cold case, buried deep in the archives.

Lu Yuliang took a deep breath, his voice tinged with melancholy, and slowly recalled the details of that year.

"Dad, there's no need to organize it. I know this murder case best."

"These three deceased women all lived in room 506, Building D, Women's Dormitory, Yingnan City University."
The first girl jumped from the building late at night and died. Less than a week later, two other girls also jumped from the same spot—the entrance to dormitory 506.

At this point, Lu Yuliang's brows furrowed even more, his tone full of the confusion he felt back then: "Dad, the most puzzling thing is that Building D only has 6 floors."

“Right after the first murder, we immediately sealed off the 4th, 5th and 6th floors of Building D. We not only added locks, but also arranged for guards to stand guard downstairs.”

"But no one knows how those two girls managed to break through the blockade and get to the entrance of 506."

Lu Yuliang's voice deepened, his fingertips lightly tracing the edge of the newspaper: "There were only four girls in dormitory 506 at the time. Three of them died, leaving only one survivor."

He paused, a hint of regret in his voice, "Back then, we listed her as a key target for investigation, but after all the investigation, we found that she was truly innocent."

“She had a very good relationship with the three deceased. Their daily interactions were just like those of ordinary girls, with no grudges or disputes whatsoever. She had no motive to hurt anyone.”

"What's even stranger is that less than half a month after the murder, the girl went completely insane, constantly muttering things like 'shadow,' 'don't look for me,' and 'I'm afraid of ghosts...'"

"Finally, the girl was sent to the First Mental Hospital of Yingnan City by her family, and I heard that her condition has not improved over the years."

"Of course, we also consulted a psychologist back then. They said that she simply couldn't accept the blow of losing her friends one after another, and that she broke down because of the long-term tension. It was a normal stress reaction, and there was no such thing as ghosts appearing in the world."

As Lu Yuliang spoke, he deliberately emphasized the words "there are no ghosts," as if he were trying to convince his father, or perhaps himself.

But as soon as he finished speaking, his face darkened again, and his brows furrowed tightly—his mind involuntarily flashed back to the recent troubles at home.

His nephew and niece were nearly killed by a sorcerer and even encountered a bizarre scene of a vengeful ghost demanding their lives. Those scenes still send chills down his spine when he thinks about them.

“It seems that the deaths of those three female students back then were probably, perhaps…” Lu Yuliang stopped mid-sentence, his remaining guess stuck in his throat, not daring to say it aloud.

If the events in the family weren't coincidences, then the unsolved case from twenty years ago probably isn't as simple as it seems on the surface.

(End of this chapter)