Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 36 How to Close the Case
Fortunately, Sheng Yuanyao had good training after all. She quickly pushed Lu Xingzhou's shoulders with both hands, and separated them with a light touch. She stopped her body at a close distance, and even Lu Xingzhou's wheelchair was not pushed back.

Lu Xingzhou picked up An Nuo, who was lying on the ground like a salted fish, and said, "Commander Sheng, your kung fu is pretty good. An Nuo should learn from you."

You smell so good in your official uniform...

Sheng Yuanyao stepped back awkwardly: "Are you guys... done?"

What kind of words are these... Shen Tang was filled with anger: "Commander Sheng, what brings you here?"

Lu Xingzhou waved his hand and smiled: "Commander Sheng is of course here to ask how to deal with the deaths of the Huo family guards and Liu Qingcang."

"That's right." Sheng Yuanyao finally got down to business and asked solemnly, "I wanted to ask you yesterday what you did to Huo Yu and the others... but then I felt it was awkward to ask in public, so I decided to go and take a look myself."

"and then?"

"The Huo residence is littered with corpses. All the people Huo Yu brought with him were killed, including Liu Qingcang. But strangely, the bodies of the two fifth-rank guards were not found."

In fact, not only Huo Lei Huo Ting, but even Shadow's body was dealt with by Lu Xingzhou. It was just that Sheng Yuanyao didn't know about Shadow's existence, so no matter how he counted, there were only two guards missing.

Lu Xingzhou smiled and said, "How does Commander Sheng want to close this case?"

"Huo Yu came here with great fanfare looking for you, but now everyone is dead... Even if he was killed by a demon in public, the deaths of those guards still make it difficult to clear you of suspicion. I'd like to ask first, what do you have to say?"

Lu Xingzhou was a little surprised: "Can you still do what I say?"

Sheng Yuanyao had a blank expression on his face. "It's also a reference. Let me be clear, if you have nothing to say, I will report your suspicion truthfully. After all, too many people know about it, and I can't hide it."

"Is there a possibility... that the two guards saw Huo Yu dead and, fearing punishment, killed him and ran away?" Lu Xingzhou blinked. "Maybe they even took away some treasure."

Sheng Yuanyao glared at Lu Xingzhou unhappily. She naturally knew that it was Lu Xingzhou who killed him, so she would not believe this nonsense.

But he soon became thoughtful.

The issue here wasn't whether she believed it or not, but whether others believed it or not, and how to report it in the most advantageous way. No matter how young Sheng Yuanyao was, she came from a family of scholars and was well versed in the ways of the officialdom.

The public's current perception is that Huo Yu is superficially investigating Huo Shang and has identified Lu Xingzhou, but is actually secretly investigating matters concerning demons. This is what he himself said in public, and even the demons responded by saying, "You're the only one investigating me, right?"

It must be said that this pit was dug by Sheng Yuanyao. Outside the secret room, the demon was told that someone named Huo Yu was investigating it...

Then Huo Yu bravely fought against the demons and unfortunately died, which was also watched by everyone.

While some powerful individuals might have noticed something was amiss, no one had any concrete evidence. Young Master Huo's heroic sacrifice in the fight against the demons was a good thing for the Huo family. But if you insisted he was kidnapped and murdered, without providing concrete evidence, which one would Grand Tutor Huo prefer? Therefore, no one would bother to bring bad luck upon themselves.

If this is to be reported, there is a key question here: Where were the guards when Huo Yu was fighting against the demons?

If the guards had been killed by others long ago, how could Huo Yu have the energy to fight the demons alone? No matter how you think about it, it doesn't make sense.

Besides, if the guards were killed, what about the local government's responsibility, and what about Sheng Yuanyao's responsibility? Mr. Huo's guards were all killed, what are you doing in Xiazhou!
The most reasonable explanation is that the guards had ulterior motives and deliberately tricked Huo Yu into dying, then killed the other guards, took the treasure and ran away.

This method of reporting was the simplest and least responsible, placing all responsibility on the guards who deserted the battlefield and Xu Bingkun, who nurtured the demon. However, this way of thinking clearly showed that Lu Xingzhou had nothing to do with it at all. Huo Yu's previous pursuit of Lu Xingzhou could have been a move to deceive Xu Bingkun.

In fact, the Huo family knew that there was another shadow who disappeared with the elixir, so this statement made the Huo family believe that it was the Huo Lei brothers who kidnapped the shadow.

Sheng Yuanyao knew full well that Lu Xingzhou had done it, and she felt a little uncomfortable having to report it this way, as it was a complete fabrication. But she knew that all the Demon Suppression Division staff and all the officials in Xiazhou City would be happy to report it this way, saving a lot of trouble.

"Did you plan all this in advance?" Sheng Yuanyao finally sighed and asked uncomfortably.

"As for the disappearance of the guards' bodies, it was indeed planned to shift the blame to them," Lu Xingzhou said frankly, "I told you I'd make sure you get the whole thing."

"So you were also using me by tipping me off to the demon case so early on?"

"That's not true. After all, I didn't know you would go to slay the demon at that time. I didn't anticipate this kind of cooperation. I'm really not a god. When I suggested that the city lord raise the demon, I was really trying to get you some credit. Later, when I saw the demonic energy rising to the sky, I naturally adjusted my plan."

Sheng Yuanyao's face, which had been as black as charcoal, finally brightened up a bit, and he sighed wearily, "This trip to Xiazhou has turned me into a bureaucrat like everyone else in just a short time... I didn't join the Demon Suppression Division to end up like this."

Lu Xingzhou stared at her for a long moment, then whispered, "I've said before... this world is a furnace. We live within it, and sooner or later we'll all be refined into a smooth and round form."

Sheng Yuanyao said sarcastically, "What if you don't want to become a normal person? Let this fire become your own flame?"

"Yes, if you had enough power, then you could ignore what the Xiazhou officials think, and don't care about the Huo family's reaction, and just arrest me and hand me over... But not now."

Sheng Yuanyao was amused and glanced at Shen Tang, who was listening to the melon beside him. "If I really want to catch you, I'm afraid I'll have to withstand the reactions of some people here."

Shen Tang smiled slightly and said nothing.

Sheng Yuanyao stretched lazily and walked out with a somewhat depressed look on his face. "That's it. Once this is over, I'll ask my father to transfer me back to the capital... It's boring."

Shen Tang thought to himself that you might not be able to go back, but he didn't say it in the end. He watched Sheng Yuanyao go away, then whispered, "Yuanyao is quite good... There are not many daughters of wealthy families with such pure hearts nowadays." Lu Xingzhou also smiled and cupped his hands, "Then, Master Sect Leader, I will go back to rest."

Shen Tang said softly, "Go ahead. You've worked hard. I'll have someone send you some tonic later."

Lu Xingzhou waved towards Dugu Qingli and said, "Goodbye, little white hair."

Dugu Qingli had no expression on his face.

Ah Nuo quickly pushed Lu Xingzhou away. Dugu Qingli asked with a stern face, "You guys are pretty fast?"

Shen Tang blushed: "It took longer than expected... He took a break in the middle."

Dugu Qingli: "Is this something I can listen to?"

Shen Tang: "What are you talking about?"

"Whatever you do, I will say."

"We're healing my leg!" Shen Tang was too lazy to chat with her and looked at his leg expectantly. "He said it would only take ten days, and then there would be recovery training. I can really stand up now..."

Dugu Qingli hesitated a little: "If you get better, you will actually be stronger than me and can protect yourself. Can I leave now?"

At that moment, Shen Tang actually felt a venomous feeling in her heart that she shouldn't have. She thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to let Dugu Qingli go, so that Lu Xingzhou wouldn't always have his eyes on her, and when he left, he would say goodbye to the little white-haired boy instead of her...

But knowing that this was an absurd thought, he asked, "Did the Imperial Master instruct you to protect my safety, or to protect me until my leg heals?"

Dugu Qingli said helplessly: "It is to protect your safety, but I don't think you will be in any danger afterwards."

"That's wrong... From Sheng Yuanyao's attitude towards us, we can tell that at least Sheng Qingfeng knows my identity. Since Sheng Qingfeng knows it, sooner or later others will know it too. My identity can't be hidden for too long. Even if I can gain a stable foothold by then, I will still be inevitably attacked by various hidden arrows. In addition, why did the demon appear in Xiazhou, and where did it come from? This is also a hidden danger that must be guarded against..."

Dugu Qingli said: "When that time comes, my power will not be able to protect you. But you can use your own power..."

Shen Tang asked, "Are you close to reaching the fourth rank?"

"After battling this demon, I've gained quite a bit of insight. I feel like the fourth-grade barrier has loosened a bit, and a breakthrough should be imminent. But Master said I must experience the mortal world before I can reach the upper third grade. I still don't see the point."

Shen Tang sighed: "It's already amazing. You're not even eighteen yet. You're really a genius."

Dugu Qingli remained silent. She didn't think she was anything special, because Shen Tang was already a fourth-grade cultivator, a truly remarkable talent. Although Shen Tang was older than her, her so-called loosening of the barrier hadn't resulted in a breakthrough. God only knew how many years it would take for a breakthrough to happen.

"As for you saying that experiencing the mortal world is useless...it's because you haven't experienced enough." Shen Tang smiled: "At least you can't understand Sheng Yuanyao's frustration just now."

Dugu Qingli thought about it and agreed: "I really don't know why she is sad. She obviously doesn't want to expose Lu Xingzhou."

"That's two different things..." Shen Tang looked at her for a while, then suddenly smiled: "Hey, when I can stand up again, how about you go and protect Lu Xingzhou?"

Dugu Qingli was stunned for a moment, then blurted out, "I'm not going to compete with that kid for the position of pushing the wheelchair!"

"What if that's your path to becoming a top three rank?"

Dugu Qingli remained silent and did not answer.

Shen Tang pursed his lips, his mood suddenly not so good. He turned around in his wheelchair and said, "I'll go see what's in the warehouse and send some to Lu Xingzhou... You can practice."

Just as they turned around, they both thought at the same time: "Who!"

With a "whoosh", Dugu Qingli seemed to teleport and stood in front of a masked man in black.

The assassin from Yama Hall secretly groaned. This was the first time that his ability to hide in plain sight failed to deceive his peers. Where did this white-haired guy come from? Was his so-called sword heart really so outrageous?

"Misunderstanding..." The assassin raised his hand to indicate that he meant no harm.

Dugu Qingli pointed his sword lightly: "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

The assassin wanted to explain, but something suddenly occurred to him.

What's there to explain? Yama wants me to give fruit to the judge, but won't let me tell him where it came from. The judge is so clever, how can I deceive him? This mission is impossible.

It would be better to let these two women pass it on, so that they can get away with it completely and never reveal the existence of Lord Yan...

Thinking of this, he took out a smoke bomb and blew it into the ground, then turned around and disappeared.

Dugu Qingli was about to chase after him when he suddenly sensed a strange aura. He looked down and saw a fruit lying in the smoke, with a faint glow.

(End of this chapter)