Hurt my loved ones? I'm not guarding this country's borders anymore!

"I told you the lock was a bit rusty and I'd put some oil on it, but you wouldn't listen!"

At the entrance of the Wang family mansion, two night guards huddled in a corner smoking.

A fat man with an accent pointed at the two vermilion doors and complained.

"Tell me, if that god of death really comes, what good will this broken lock do?"

Another skinny guy flicked his cigarette butt away and snorted.

"Don't worry about it! The patriarch already said that our Wang family is full of strategists and has long since distanced itself from the limelight. Shen Jinglong is busy hunting down Prince Anle right now, he doesn't have time to bother with us."

"Besides, we only make two thousand yuan a month, why should we risk our lives? If it really comes down to it, I'll be first..."

"boom!!!"

A loud bang interrupted him.

Those two supposedly exorbitantly expensive vermilion doors flew in like two rotten planks, slamming the skinny guy, who hadn't even finished saying "run," against the wall, impossible to pry off.

The fat man was so startled that he dropped his cigarette. He instinctively reached down to his crotch and found it was soaked.

"Holy crap! That's way too violent!!!"

The smoke and dust cleared.

The entrance was now filled with men in black, each one like a ghost, moving silently.

The man in the lead was wearing a trench coat, and he just stood there, emanating a chill that seemed to come out of nowhere.

The fat man knelt down with a "plop," raised his hands, and even made a heart shape with his hands in a showy manner.

"Brother! I didn't see anything! I have an eighty-year-old mother to support, and... I still have unpaid credit card bills to pay off! Spare me!"

Shen Jinglong didn't even glance at him, and strode across the threshold.

"Clear the area. Ten minutes."

"yes!"

With a wave of his hand, Zhuque sent the Dragon Guards behind him surging in like a flood.

The Wang family compound instantly descended into chaos.

There was virtually no fierce resistance.

The bodyguards that the Wang family hired at high prices were as brittle as potato chips in front of real battlefield elites; they would crumble at the slightest touch.

"Oh my god! Don't hit my face! I just got my nose done!" a bodyguard cried out, clutching his face.

"I told you this was legitimate self-defense but excessive force... Ah!" Before the other could finish arguing, he was kicked away.

Shen Jinglong ignored the wailing and howling around him and walked straight to the main hall.

Inside the lobby.

Wang Daoyuan was still holding the two plates of shiny walnuts in his hand.

He was trembling.

The walnuts made a "crackling" sound when they were knocked together in my hand, at a frequency so fast it was like sending a telegram.

"Shen... Shen Jinglong?"

Looking at the man who walked in, Wang Daoyuan swallowed hard and forced out a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"Mr. Shen, it's so late for you to grace us with your presence. Is there anything I can do for you? If you need money, I, Wang, am willing to offer half of my fortune as an apology!"

Shen Jinglong walked up to him and casually pulled over a chair to sit down.

"half?"

He picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, and then frowned as he poured it all on the ground.

"The tea has gone cold."

Wang Daoyuan shuddered and almost slid off his chair.

"Change it! Change it to hot tea right away! The best Da Hong Pao!"

"No need."

Shen Jinglong held the empty teacup, his voice devoid of any emotion.

"I'm here to take your life. I'll take the money myself."

Wang Daoyuan's face turned pale instantly. He jumped to his feet, his voice trembling violently, but he still forced himself to shout:

"Shen Jinglong! Don't be so arrogant! My Wang family has a lot of influence in Cangcheng! If you kill me, the entire economy of Cangcheng will tremble! The higher-ups won't let you get away with this!"

"oh."

Shen Jinglong raised his hand.

"Snapped!"

The teacup shattered on Wang Daoyuan's knee.

Wang Daoyuan let out a pig-like scream, knelt on the ground, and rolled around on the ground clutching his knees.

Shen Jinglong stepped on his chest, pinning him to the ground.

"Threaten me? You dare to challenge me?"

"I don't blame Prince Anle for running away quickly. But don't you realize he didn't take you with him?"

Shen Jinglong bent down and stared intently into Wang Daoyuan's eyes.

Do you know why I came to you first?

Wang Daoyuan was in so much pain that he was covered in cold sweat and his teeth were chattering.

"Because...because I betrayed my allies?"

"wrong."

Shen Jinglong stretched out his finger and shook it in front of him.

"Because you're a smart person. Smart people usually know a lot of secrets, and... they're afraid of dying."

After saying that, Shen Jinglong grabbed Wang Daoyuan by the collar with one hand and dragged him like a dead dog toward the secret room behind the main hall.

"Suzaku, guard the entrance. Don't let a single fly in."

"yes!"

. . .

The room was dark and cramped.

Only a dim light bulb swayed overhead.

Wang Daoyuan was left in a corner, looking utterly disheveled.

Shen Jinglong stood in the shadows and lit a cigarette.

The red dot on the cigarette butt flickered in the darkness.

"Wang Daoyuan, tell me. Who is that person wearing the crying-laughing mask?"

Upon hearing this, the pain-twisted expression on Wang Daoyuan's face instantly froze, replaced by an even deeper look of fear.

"You...you've seen him?"

"He killed quite a few people in the abandoned mine. He was pretty skilled."

Shen Jinglong exhaled a smoke ring.

"But more interesting than his fighting skills is this so-called Holy Master he mentioned."

Wang Daoyuan felt as if his spine had been removed, and he collapsed to the ground.

"I knew it... I knew I couldn't hide it..."

He muttered to himself, his voice trembling with tears.

"I'll tell you... I'll tell you everything... Mr. Shen, please don't kill me after you've finished! I really can still be saved!"

Shen Jinglong flicked his cigarette ash.

"It depends on my mood."

Wang Daoyuan dared not haggle any longer and hurriedly spilled everything he knew:

"Actually, the reason I didn't send troops this time wasn't because I wanted to cut my losses, but because... because just before tonight, I received a letter."

The letter contained only four words: "Hold your positions." It was signed with a drawing of a crying-laughing face.

"That is the mark of the Holy Lord!"

Shen Jinglong narrowed his eyes.

"Just who is this Holy Lord? Was he involved in the massacre of the Shen family seven years ago?"

"Yes! It definitely exists!"

At this point, Wang Daoyuan only wanted to survive, so he dared not hide a single word.

"Back then... although the four major families were greedy, they didn't have the guts to wipe out the entire Shen family. Someone was behind it all, providing funds, experts, and even helping us smooth things over with the higher-ups."

"That person is the Holy Lord's messenger!"

The murderous intent in Shen Jinglong's eyes grew stronger.

"What are they after? The Shen family's money?"

"No...it's not money."

Wang Daoyuan swallowed hard, his voice extremely low, as if afraid the walls might have ears.

"Although we divided up the Shen family's assets, the envoy didn't ask for a single penny. They turned the Shen family's house upside down, as if they were looking for something."

Shen Jinglong paused for a moment.

Looking for something?

Seven years ago, the Shen family, though wealthy, was just an ordinary business family. What could they possibly have that would make someone like them covet it?

"Did you find it?" Shen Jinglong asked.

Wang Daoyuan shook his head like a rattle drum.

"Didn't find it! The messenger was furious and killed all the men in charge of the search that night!"

"For the past seven years, they have never given up. The messenger would occasionally contact us, asking us to keep an eye out for any... unusual items related to the Shen family that have appeared on the market."

Shen Jinglong stubbed out his cigarette.

Special objects.

Fragments of childhood memories flashed through his mind: his father's study, his mother's jewelry box, his grandfather's cane...

Everything was ordinary.

Is there something he doesn't know?

"What exactly are they looking for?" Shen Jinglong approached Wang Daoyuan, his imposing aura almost suffocating Wang Daoyuan.

Wang Daoyuan raised his head tremblingly, his eyes flickering.

"I...I overheard the messenger mention it briefly when he was drunk."

"It looks...it looks like a piece of jade."

"Jade?" Shen Jinglong frowned.

"Yes, a black piece of ancient jade with strange patterns carved on it."

Wang Daoyuan said urgently.

"Mr. Shen, that's all I know! I'm really just a gofer, a nobody! Please, just ignore me!"

Shen Jinglong stood up without saying a word.

Black ancient jade.

His mind went blank for a moment, and he remembered that bloody night seven years ago, when his mother stuffed something cold into his arms before pushing him into the dry well.

Later, when he was stranded in the North, that thing was always hanging around his neck.

But he never cared.

Shen Jinglong's hand unconsciously reached towards his chest.

There, a dark jade pendant hung close to the skin.

Could it be because of it?

For a broken stone, you killed my entire Shen family?

He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails almost dug into his flesh.

"very good."

Shen Jinglong's voice was devoid of emotion.

"Wang Daoyuan, you have provided very valuable information."

Wang Daoyuan's face lit up with joy: "Then...then can I go?"

"Walk?"

Shen Jinglong turned and walked towards the door.

"Go down there and apologize to my family. The road there is wide and easy to walk on."

"Shen Jinglong! You broke your promise! You'll die a horrible death... Ugh!"

Before he could finish speaking, a line of blood appeared on his neck.

The sound abruptly stopped.

Shen Jinglong pushed open the door to the secret room, and the morning light outside made him squint.

He took out the black jade pendant from his pocket and examined it in the sunlight.

The jade is translucent, and it looks as if black blood is flowing inside.

"Holy Lord..."

He gripped the jade pendant tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force.

"Since you want it, I'll deliver it to you personally."

"Suzaku!"

"exist!"

"Prepare the car."

Shen Jinglong tucked the jade pendant back into his collar and strode out.

"Where to?"

"The four great families are destroyed, and Prince Anle has fled. It's time for the remaining scattered forces in Cangcheng to gather together."

He stopped and looked back at the desolate Wang family compound behind him.

"Notify the entire city."

"Three days from now is the anniversary of my parents' death."

"I want to hold a public memorial service at the former site of the Shen family's residence."