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

Chapter 175 Still Not Dead?
Almost simultaneously, the heads of the three major martial arts families, Yuan, Zhu, and Cen, as well as the person in charge of the Baili family, all received orders from General Han Chuiyuan of Shengzhou.

"Everything as usual. Take down the Murong family before midnight."

Upon receiving this order, the four major families immediately began an emergency meeting.

Ultimately, with Han Chuiyuan's help, the four major families unanimously agreed to act according to his instructions.

The four great martial arts families will engage in a decisive battle with the Murong family, and the four families are determined to wipe the Murong family out of the entire state city in a single day!
……

The government office in Shengzhou.

After Hu Ruian, Wu Shang, and the other two arrived in Shengzhou, they began investigating the murder case at the government office under the leadership of Yao Lingyuan, the chief constable of the Six Doors.

Logically, the three parties in Shengzhou should have jointly reported to the imperial court in the capital. Only after obtaining permission from the Ministry of Justice could they send a special envoy to Shengzhou to gain full authority to investigate the case.

However, with Li Musheng present, this step can be temporarily skipped. With him as a witness, Yao Lingyuan and the others can thoroughly investigate the murder case without being restricted by the need to avoid suspicion.

Of course, Li Musheng had no intention of getting involved in this matter; it was only at Hu Ruian's request that he reluctantly take on the responsibility of "supervising" all parties.

The reason Hu Ruian wanted to investigate this case was naturally to investigate the connection between Governor Zhu Ziming and Luoshen Peak, as well as the leak of secrets by Tianjin Guard.

Mei Yanyu, son of Mei Yan, the commander of the Imperial Guard that day, also participated in the investigation of the case on behalf of the Imperial Guard of Shengzhou.

However, the other party's attention was not on the investigation, but rather on Hu Ruian.

Or rather, he was secretly watching Hu Ruian, Wu Shang, and Cheng Zhong.

The reason is self-evident.

He was waiting for the ghost in the Imperial Guard's branch office to strike and take the lives of the three.

As time went by, the unease in Hu Ruian and his two companions gradually grew. Although they had the protection of Prince Li Musheng, whose martial arts cultivation was terrifying, they could not help but feel uneasy.

After all, Li Musheng was alone. If the ghost was too strange and difficult to deal with, even a high level of martial arts cultivation would have limited effect.

Or perhaps Li Musheng made a mistake, which could lead them to follow in the footsteps of that deputy commander.

Therefore, even though they admired Li Musheng to the point of reverence and knew that the possibility was very low, they couldn't afford to be afraid of the worst-case scenario!

In this atmosphere where everyone had their own thoughts, noon passed.

During this time, Yao Lingyuan lived up to his reputation as the top chief constable. He was meticulous and had sharp eyes. After examining all 176 corpses, he identified a total of seven murderers.

The person who wielded the "Azure Dragon Thousand Swords" was likely the ringleader, not only having killed the most people but also possessing the highest martial arts prowess, at least reaching the level of a half-step Celestial Being.

This same person killed Governor Zhu Ziming. Governor Zhu Ziming was a civil official. Although he also possessed martial arts skills, he was only at the Grandmaster level, so he was almost powerless against the murderer.

"There were obvious signs that the murderer had searched the room, but the other party did not interrogate Lord Zhu and directly slit his throat with a sword."

"This shows that the murderer came prepared, and is very likely someone familiar to Lord Zhu who knew that he had a certain item on him."

Yao Lingyuan spoke slowly, while Zhang Feng, the deputy general of Shengzhou beside him, frowned and said:

"According to Constable Yao, the motive for this murder case at the government office was murder for theft?"

Yao Lingyuan nodded, then shook his head and said:
"Judging from the situation at the scene, that is indeed the case, but we cannot rule out the possibility that the murderer deliberately created a mystery and staged the crime scene."

Upon hearing this, Deputy General Zhang Feng frowned and glanced at the other party suspiciously, as if he felt that what the other party said was practically meaningless. At the same time, Mei Yanyu looked up at the sun above the government office, and then looked at Hu Ruian and the other two who were still full of energy.

For a moment, a look of surprise and doubt appeared on his face.

As the son of the deputy commander of the Tianjin Guard in Shengzhou, he naturally knew more about the hauntings in the Tianjin Guard's branch office than anyone else.

According to past patterns, without exception, all those who saw ghosts in the Tianjin Guard residence at night never survived past noon the next day; they were all hanged before that time.

But to his great surprise, Hu Ruian and his two companions have broken this "convention"—they are still alive and well, and nothing has happened to them.

Mei Yanyu frowned as he looked at Hu Ruian and the other two, thinking to himself:

"What's going on? Even Father, under the protection of Mother and Elder Mu and a group of experts, couldn't escape before noon and was attacked by ghosts and seriously injured. Why are they unharmed?"

Just as he was pondering this, a black falcon suddenly flew over the government office, circled once, and finally swooped down to land on Mei Yanyu's shoulder.

Upon seeing this, Mei Yanyu immediately composed himself and removed the bamboo tube, about the size of a finger, that was tied to Xin Jun's leg.

Then, he released the falcon and glanced at the note inside the bamboo tube.

Mei Yanyu was immediately taken aback, and then carefully read through the contents of the paper again.

Finally, he suddenly looked up at Hu Ruian, and then his gaze swept over Li Musheng, Murong Xiaoya and others.

For a moment, his expression shifted uncertainly.

At this moment, a servant following behind Mei Yanyu seemed to notice his unusual behavior and immediately used his martial arts internal energy to transmit a message:
"Young master, has something happened?"

Upon hearing this, Mei Yanyu let out a soft breath and said:

"I just received news that Baili Changfeng is dead!"

Upon hearing this, the servant behind him narrowed his eyes slightly and then asked:

"Was it that old codger from the Murong family who made a move?"

However, he saw Mei Yanyu in front of him shake his head almost imperceptibly and say:
"No, it was Hu Ruian and his group who did it, and Baili Changfeng was killed by a single finger."

As he spoke, Mei Yanyu suddenly seemed to remember something, paused for a moment, and then looked enlightened, saying:

"Now I finally understand what Hu Ruian meant. It turns out they not only killed Bailiwei, but also killed Baili Changfeng!"

Upon hearing this, the servant behind Mei Yanyu fell silent.

After a while, he frowned and continued to ask telepathically:
"I can see through Hu Ruian's martial arts skills at a glance. He is no match for Baili Changfeng. Does the young master know who the real fighter is?"

Upon hearing this, Mei Yanyu pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said:
"The news of Baili Changfeng's death has been kept secret by the four major martial arts families. Our people have limited information and do not know who was responsible."

As he spoke, Mei Yanyu turned his gaze to Li Musheng, who was standing in the corridor not far away, and said:

"However, I suspect that person is most likely related to this Eighth Prince."

(End of this chapter)