After fifteen years of cultivation, he finally reached the pinnacle of the first rank!

Chapter 170 Case
The prefectural government office of Shengzhou.

The towering gray brick walls and iron-clad thresholds, along with the lifelike carvings of mythical beasts on the vermilion gate, are all part of the structure. However, the gate remains tightly shut during the day.

Hu Ruian and his entourage's carriage stopped on the street in front of the stone steps. The four major martial arts families had mobilized a large number of people to besiege the Murong family, which seemed to have affected the entire state city. Even the streets in front of the government office were deserted.

Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong lifted the carriage curtain, and Li Musheng and the others stepped down from the carriage one after another.

At this moment, Hu Ruian looked up at the government office in front of him and suddenly frowned.

Seeing this, Cheng Zhong, who was standing nearby, seemed to notice his unusual behavior and asked in a low voice:

"Sir, have you discovered something wrong?"

Upon hearing this, Hu Ruian narrowed his eyes slightly, a serious look flashing in them, and said:
"It smells like blood."

Hu Ruian rose from the lowest rung of the Tianjin Guard and worked his way up to his current position over many years through his own abilities. As a result, he has an intuition and experience in investigating cases that far surpasses that of ordinary people.

As outstanding members of the younger generation of the Tianjin Guard, Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong did not notice anything amiss, but he only glanced at the government office and immediately discovered the problem and the trickery involved.

Upon hearing Hu Ruian's words, Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong's expressions changed, clearly understanding the implied meaning behind his words.

Immediately, the two turned to look at the state capital mansion in front of them, and at the same time, a thought arose in their minds: something must have happened!

"Let's go in and check the situation first."

Hu Ruian didn't say much, but simply gestured for Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong to go open the door.

Without hesitation, Wu Shang stepped forward, pressed his palm against the vermilion door, and gently vibrated it with his martial arts true energy.

The next moment, the tightly closed door lock silently broke, and the tall vermilion door in front of us slowly opened with a creak.

Behind the door, a bluestone path leads directly to the main hall. A flock of black crows perched on the eaves of the roof, and they suddenly took flight at the first sound of the door opening.

The entire prefectural government office was eerily quiet. Although the light in the halls and chambers was not dim, the silence was somewhat unsettling.

Hu Ruian stepped forward, crossed the iron-clad threshold, called out to Wu Shang and the other man, and then walked straight into the government office.

Li Musheng glanced at the government office in front of him, frowned slightly, and shook his head.

He simply sat down in a corridor entwined with flower vines in the front yard, but did not go to the back of the government office.

Meanwhile, as Hu Ruian arrived in the backyard, he was met with a scene of scattered corpses, and bloodstains were everywhere on the doors, windows, brick walls, and stone pillars.

Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong immediately checked the condition of the bodies on the ground, while Hu Ruian continued to search around.

Finally, he found the body of Zhu Ziming, dressed in the official robes of a governor, in a side room of the largest hall in the government office.

Hu Ruian's eyelids twitched, and he immediately stepped forward to check the condition of the body, only to find that the body had no other external injuries or signs of poisoning.

The real cause of death was that he was stabbed in the throat with a single sword, and the time of death was approximately two hours later.

After checking the situation, Hu Ruian didn't linger at all. He found Wu Shang and the other two and immediately returned to the front yard.

The main reason was that after leaving Li Musheng for a distance, all three of them began to feel uneasy, and only felt at ease when they were by each other's side.

Below the corridor, Li Musheng leaned against the railing, with Shen Anran and Murong Xiaoya beside him.

After Hu Ruian and the others left, Murong Xiaoya curiously followed them to the backyard for a look. However, upon seeing the corpses scattered all over the ground, she turned pale and ran back. It seemed that although she was the youngest daughter of the Murong family, seeing so many corpses was probably a first for her.

"Lord Hu, how is the situation?"

Li Musheng looked at Hu Ruian walking towards him, and the other man shook his head with a heavy expression, saying:

"All 176 officials and yamen runners in the government office, including Zhu Ziming, were killed; not one survived."

"The murderer should have killed these people shortly after they started their shift, about two hours ago. As for the reason for the murder, it is currently unknown."

Upon hearing this, Li Musheng nodded slightly, then glanced at the other party, Wu Shang, and Cheng Zhong, but did not ask any further questions.

As a skilled fighter from the Tianjin Guard headquarters, how to handle the situation next is self-evident.

"The massacre of all officials in a prefecture is a major event that would shock the court and the public, even if the news reached the capital."

Hu Ruian's expression was somewhat unpleasant as he said:
"This matter must be promptly reported to the Six Doors, Tianjin Guard, and the Shengzhou garrison in Shengzhou. The three parties should jointly seal off the entire government office, and then report to the imperial court in the capital to confirm the next steps in the investigation."

As he spoke, Hu Ruian looked at Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong, originally intending to send the two of them to immediately inform the three parties about the murder case in the government office.

But when he thought about the other person's current situation and his own, he immediately swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

"My lord, it would be better to entrust this matter to Brother Cao."

Wu Shang's mind raced, and he quickly offered his suggestion.

The ghosts in the Jinwei branch office had not yet appeared that day, and he did not want to leave Li Musheng's side at this moment.

Upon hearing this, Hu Ruian nodded and said:
"That's all we can do for now. We'll stay here and wait for the Six Doors and the other two parties to send people here before we decide what to do next."

After saying this, he handed the matter over to Cao Gaoshan, who did not say much and then rode away.

Hu Ruian and the other six remained in the front courtyard of the government office. Li Musheng leaned against the railing, shaking his head as he looked at the lush locust trees in the courtyard.

The situation in Shengzhou seems to be getting increasingly complicated. Court officials are secretly colluding with martial arts forces, and these forces are fighting and killing each other. Right now, the entire prefectural government has been wiped out.

It can only be said that the world of Dali is still too chaotic. Along the way, there are endless grudges and killings, and it looks like a scene of bloodshed.

Li Musheng was thinking to himself when his gaze suddenly shifted, looking at Murong Xiaoya not far away.

The other person was dressed in a lotus-colored ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), and was standing on one side of the corridor, seemingly bored and waiting.

Upon meeting Li Musheng's gaze, the other man trembled slightly, as if he had been startled.

She immediately lowered her head in a panic, her pale hands tightly gripping the hem of her skirt, looking completely uneasy.

Seeing this, Li Musheng raised an eyebrow, thought for a moment, and then got up and walked towards the other party.

Noticing Li Musheng approaching, Murong Xiaoya seemed even more nervous. Her lowered eyelashes fluttered like butterflies, and her eyes darted around nervously.

Soon, Li Musheng stood in front of her.

He touched his chin and glanced at the other person. He saw that her pretty face was flushed, and the tips of her ears were so red that they seemed to be dripping blood, but she pursed her lips and tried to remain calm.

(End of this chapter)