I bought a secret manual of the Hehuan Sect for ten yuan.

"What kind of person do you take your master for?"

Qiao Song, with a stern face, said, "Don't worry, I won't deliberately make things difficult for her. Bring her over here!"

"Thank you, Master." A few minutes later, Shen Yulan brought Yu Jinghong over. "Master, I've brought her here."

"I called you here because there are some things I want to ask you."

"You shouldn't have forgotten the rules of the Shadow Martial Arts Hall, right? I hope you can be truthful..."

Qiao Song turned around and spoke, but froze when his gaze fell on Yu Jinghong.

"This...this is impossible!"

"You...you've broken through to the peak of the Earth Realm?!"

Qiao Song's eyes were filled with disbelief; he would rather believe that he had seen wrong than accept this fact.

How did she manage to break through two minor realms in just one year? Is that even possible?

Shen Yulan also stared wide-eyed at Yu Jinghong, her shock no less than that of Qiao Song.

She and Yu Jinghong have known each other for so many years and have sparred so many times. They have always been at the same level, and she has even beaten Yu Jinghong before.

How could Yu Jinghong have widened the gap by two minor realms in less than a year?

Both Qiao Song and his apprentice were starting to doubt their lives; their understanding of martial arts seemed to have collapsed.

"Yes." Yu Jinghong replied calmly. Mentioning the breakthrough in martial arts reminded her of Qin Ge, and her heart ached.

"Did you kill Wu Nanzhi and the other members of the Jinghe Chamber of Commerce?"

Qiao Song asked directly: If Yu Jinghong is at the peak of the Earth Realm, then it's a completely different story; she has the ability to do such a thing.

Shen Yulan stared nervously at Yu Jinghong. She desperately wanted Yu Jinghong to say no, but her intuition told her that it was Yu Jinghong.

"Yes." Yu Jinghong remained calm.

Qiao Song and Shen Yulan fell silent, unsure of what to say.

"What's the reason?"

Qiao Song always felt that there must be some connection between the explosion at Qixing Bay, the conflict between the Lin and Lu families, and the deaths of Wu Nanzhi and other Dongyang people.

It couldn't be a simple coincidence that they all happened on the same day.

He just couldn't figure out what the connection was, and the breakthrough was Lin Yao and Lu Qi, as well as the murderer who killed Wu Nanzhi.

Lu Qi is dead, Lin Yao is missing, and now the only one who knows the truth should be Yu Jinghong.

"The explosion at Qixing Bay was caused by Wu Nanzhi."

Yu Jinghong did not hide anything and told the truth about what she knew.

But all she knew was that Wu Nanzhi and her group had kidnapped Lu Qi and Lin Yao and set a trap for Qin Ge; she knew nothing about the conflict between the Lin and Lu families.

She didn't even know that Hashimoto Aoi had rescued Lu Qi first, let alone that Wu Nanzhi and the others had become someone else's pawns.

"Jinghong, why didn't you report this?"

Shen Yulan couldn't understand Yu Jinghong's behavior at all. In that situation, before the explosion and before going to kill Wu Nanzhi and the others, she could have reported to Yingwu Hall first.

If the situation was special and there was no time to report, that would be somewhat understandable, but you could have reported it afterward!

If Yu Jinghong had reported this in advance, she would not only have gotten away with killing Wu Nanzhi and the other Dongyang people, but she would have even earned merit!

The situation is completely different now.

Yu Jinghong did not respond; she felt it didn't matter anymore.

At the time, she didn't think too much about it; all she knew was that Qin Ge was dead.

She followed Hashimoto Aoi when she saw her. Qin Ge was dead, and Wu Nanzhi and the others wouldn't survive either.

"Yu Lan, take her away first!"

"Without my permission, no one is allowed to leave the Shadow Martial Hall, and no one is allowed to have contact with her."

Qiao Song still had many questions. Since Wu Nanzhi and the others had successfully lured Qin Ge away, why did they release Lu Qi?

Lu Qi knew their plan. Didn't they know what letting Lu Qi leave alive meant?

One seemingly reasonable explanation is that Wu Nanzhi did not really want to let Lu Qi go, but only wanted Lu Qi to leave first, and then used Lu Qi to provoke a conflict between the Lu family and the Lin family.

In the end, Lu Qi still had to die, and the Lu family and the Lin family started fighting. However, Wu Nanzhi and the others overlooked the existence of Yu Jinghong, and as a result, they were also killed.

Logically it makes perfect sense, but Qiao Song still felt that something was off.

......

Military hospital.

"Why are you back again?" Qin Ge asked, puzzled, seeing that Yang Xin'er had returned shortly after leaving.

Yang Xin'er's expression was grave. "I just received news that Miss Yu has been taken away by the Shadow Martial Hall!"

"So what?" Qin Ge didn't quite understand why Yang Xin'er had that expression. "Jinghong is also a member of the Shadow Martial Hall, isn't that normal?"

"She'd be safer staying at the Shadow Martial Arts Hall!"

"Did you leave your brain at Seven Star Bay?" Yang Xin'er was utterly speechless. "Do you think Shadow Martial Arts Hall invited her for tea?"

"Don't forget, Miss Yu killed nearly a hundred Dongyang people, including Wu Nanzhi!"

Qin Ge still didn't quite understand, "So what? Didn't Wu Nanzhi and the others deserve to die?"

"Does the Shadow Martial Hall think they can kill Jinghong and make him pay with his life?"

Yang Xin'er rubbed her temples. "I don't know what Shadow Martial Hall will do, but I know that for them, the timing of Miss Yu being taken away by Shadow Martial Hall at this time is just right."

"There's something I should have told you already. Dongyang sent people to Jinling to demand an explanation for the deaths of Wu Nanzhi and the others."

"The higher-ups are putting pressure on Shadow Martial Arts Hall, and Qiao Song is under a lot of pressure right now. Miss Yu is just the right person to help him solve the problem."

Qin Ge narrowed her eyes slightly. "You mean Qiao Song will push Jinghong out and make her take all the blame?"

"Is this how the respectable people you speak of find scapegoats?"

Yang Xin'er remained noncommittal, saying, "I'm just saying it's a good choice for Qiao Song, but I don't know if he'll actually do it."

"Pushing Miss Yu out isn't entirely about her taking the blame; she did indeed kill Wu Nanzhi and the others."

"If Qiao Song dares to do this, then I'll kill him first!" Qin Ge's gaze turned cold and fierce. "I'm not joking with you, and don't talk to me about being rational."

"I have that thing, but I don't absolutely need it all the time!"

"I'm willing to follow the rules, provided that everything is within my acceptable range."

"If I can't accept it, then I'll just have to break it. Let whoever wants to protect it keep it!"

Qin Ge realized that her expectations of that old geezer Qiao Song were probably too high. If Qiao Song didn't step in to help the Lu family, the Lu family simply couldn't compete with the Lin family.

He estimated that the person who secretly instigated the conflict between the two families wanted a lose-lose situation. The current one-sided situation was not achieving the desired effect at all. So why would the person hiding in the shadows make a next move?

Now, Yu Jinghong has fallen into the hands of the Shadow Martial Hall. Plans really can't keep up with changes!

Qin Ge's thoughts were indeed correct; Lin Yuan and the others were currently in a state of complete bewilderment.

Lin Yuan and the others also thought that Qiao Song would definitely help the Lu family. Even if it was not easy to do it openly, he could always do something to the Lin family secretly, right?

Who knew Qiao Song's principles were so firm, remaining so composed even after the death of his own grandson.