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

Chapter 172 Well-informed

Upon hearing this, Hu Ruian looked thoughtful, while Murong Xiaoya's eyes flashed with a bright light, clearly indicating that Mei Yanyu's words had finally eased her tense nerves.

In her view, it was far better for someone to want to kill the Murong family than to kill a governor of a prefecture and a host of government officials, facing a situation where death seemed inevitable for the Dali court.

After all, although the Murong family is the number one martial arts family in Shengzhou, there is still an insurmountable gap between them and top martial arts forces like Luoshen Peak, which can rival the imperial court.

If the Dali court determines that the Murong family is the real culprit behind this matter, then it will definitely be determined to wipe the Murong family out of the martial arts world, and the Murong family will have absolutely no power to resist.

"Since Young Master Mei has this guess, then who do you think would massacre over 170 people in the Shengzhou government office, kill a high-ranking official of the Great Li Dynasty, and frame the Murong family for this?"

At this moment, Hu Ruian suddenly looked at Mei Yanyu and asked, staring intently at him.

Upon hearing this, Mei Yanyu and Hu Ruian exchanged a glance, thought for a moment, and then shook their heads, saying:

"Lord Hu, your question is too direct. This case is of great importance, and I dare not speak carelessly."

As he spoke, he glanced almost imperceptibly at Li Musheng, then changed the subject, suddenly asking Hu Ruian:
"I've heard rumors circulating in this city that Lord Hu and his entourage killed the son of the Baili family patriarch and a group of Baili family experts on the street yesterday. I wonder if this is true?"

Upon hearing this, a very strange expression flashed across Hu Ruian's face.

Not only did they kill the son of the Baili family head, but they also just killed the Baili family head himself.

However, this matter has only occurred shortly before and after it happened, so even though the Mei family has considerable influence in Shengzhou, it's impossible for them to have received the news so soon.

Thinking of this, Hu Ruian's heart stirred, and a hint of mockery appeared in his gaze as he looked at Mei Yanyu.

He did not answer the question directly, but instead said meaningfully:
"Young Master Mei is indeed well-informed, but there's no rush. You'll soon get the answer you want to know."

Upon hearing this, Mei Yanyu's expression faltered slightly.

However, he seemed to think that Hu Ruian was being deliberately mysterious, or that he simply did not want to reveal this matter to him.

So he just narrowed his eyes slightly and didn't press the matter further.

Of course, he already had the answer in his heart.

After all, every detail of Li Musheng and Hu Ruian's group's movements since entering the city had been placed on his desk this morning.

Next, the two discussed the case for a while, and then the Tianjinwei of Shengzhou roughly sealed off the government office in front of them.

Although the people of the Tianjinwei branch of Shengzhou are still in a state of fear due to the ghost story, their basic ability to solve cases is still quite good.

After about half an incense stick's time, the Six Doors and the Shengzhou garrison arrived one after another, and their forces surrounded the prefectural government office like an iron barrel.

In the face of such a serious murder case, the most important thing is to prevent the news from leaking, so as not to cause shock and adverse effects on the entire Shengzhou.

The garrison from Shengzhou sent a deputy general with a hundred armored soldiers, while the Six Doors sent the top-ranking chief constable from Shengzhou.

Since it involves a murder case, the investigation is naturally led by the Six Doors. In particular, a governor has died, so it is no exaggeration for the Six Doors to be extremely cautious.

When Deputy General Zhang Feng and Chief Constable Yao Lingyuan arrived at the government office and met Hu Ruian, they did not recognize Li Musheng, the eighth prince of Dali.

Only after Hu Ruian's introduction did the two show surprise and immediately bow.

Although Li Musheng did not conceal his identity during this trip, he did not publicize it either. Mei Yanyu only knew his identity because Hu Ruian took the initiative to tell him.

However, now that he's staying in Shengzhou, his identity as a prince will most likely be impossible to hide. Li Musheng wasn't particularly interested in Zhang Feng and Yao Lingyuan, offering a few perfunctory words before dismissing them to their own business.

After learning of Li Musheng's identity, Deputy General Zhang Feng's expression changed. He secretly summoned a soldier and gave him an order to leave quickly, clearly to inform General Han.

……

Meanwhile, a dense array of armored soldiers surrounded the Murong residence, making it as impenetrable as an iron barrel.

The heads of the Yuan, Zhu, and Cen families, along with the temporary leader of the Baili family, gathered together outside the military compound.

The four major martial arts families temporarily surrounded the area without attacking, but the expressions on their faces were clearly not good.

The shock of Baili Changfeng's death had not yet dissipated. After all, if someone could kill Baili Changfeng with a single finger, it would be just as easy for them to kill him with a single finger as well.

Of course, in order to stabilize morale, the news of Baili Changfeng's death was only known to the higher-ups of the four major martial arts families for the time being.

This news was immediately blocked and not leaked to other members of the four major martial arts families.

However, the top leaders of the four major families are clearly hesitant and cannot make up their minds whether to continue the siege.

After all, the person who suddenly decided to besiege the Murong family was Baili Changfeng. Now that he is dead, everyone has obviously lost their backbone, and the determination that they had finally mustered up is gradually fading away.

Coupled with the shock of the person who killed Baili Changfeng, they were extremely conflicted.

Therefore, with the major families unable to make a decision, they could only wait for instructions from the General of Shengzhou behind them.

……

Meanwhile, at the Murong residence.

In the family council hall, Murong Hong, the head of the Murong family, sat in the main seat, and almost all the core family members of the Murong family were present.

Apart from Murong Hong's eldest son Murong Jin and Murong Xiaoya, her second brother was not present.

Murong Hong's other two brothers and their descendants from his branch all participated in this discussion concerning the survival of the family.

"Brother, the four great families of Baili, Yuan, Zhu and Cen have mobilized almost all their forces to surround my Murong family. They are determined to exterminate my entire Murong family. We have no choice but to fight to the death now."

Murong Hong's third brother, Murong Qing, spoke in a deep voice, immediately gaining the support of some of the younger generation in the family.

With the four major families coming to our door, begging for mercy is out of the question, and negotiations are probably pointless. We might as well fight our way out; the victor will be decided by the sword in our hands.

However, many people in the Murong family were also worried and looked grim.

At this time, the Murong family could only mobilize less than half the number of troops of the four major families. Among the martial arts masters in the family, only Murong Hong could easily defeat Baili Changfeng.

The other members of the family in these two generations are inferior to the four major families in both quantity and quality. What can the Murong family use to compete with them?

At this moment, Murong Hong's fourth brother, Murong Bei, looked at the person in the main seat and said:

"Brother, we should invite our two uncles out as soon as possible; perhaps that will be the only way to keep the four great families in check."

(End of this chapter)