From a tuberculosis patient to a martial arts master

"Zhu Hong".

Gu Shu glanced towards the stairs, and seeing that the person had walked away, she moved closer and asked in a low voice, "Do you really think that Young Master Liu has been to this brothel?"

"Well... I'm not sure either."

Zhu Hong shook his head, his fingertips lightly tapping the table: "The Liu family has a pure and upright tradition. The Liu clan chief despises brothels the most; this is common knowledge throughout Jinyang." He glanced at the brightly colored lanterns and pondered:

"If his son dares to set foot in such a place..."

"I'm afraid my legs will be broken."

Gu Shu scratched the back of his head: "Then why did you come here to ask?"

"But it's true that Young Master Liu passed by Jinbu Bridge at the hour of Xu (7-9 PM)," Zhu Hong said softly.

"Even though Huaikou Street is a bit far, they were still questioned. If they don't check the White Dragon Pleasure Boat, wouldn't that be unreasonable?"

That makes sense.

Gu Shu nodded thoughtfully: "There have always been many shady dealings in Yanliudi. Maybe we can really uncover some hidden secrets."

As the two were talking, a sound came from the stairwell.

Sai's mother came down with a thin man who looked to be about fifty years old.

The man wore a long gray satin robe and had three long wisps of beard on his chin, making him look somewhat like a scholar at first glance. He calmly weighed the constables over in his eyes, finally settling on Zhu Hong. He narrowed his eyes, and a smile immediately appeared on his face.

"I am Ma Sanjiang, an old man, and I am honored to be the manager of this pleasure boat."

He walked up in a few steps, cupped his hands in a respectful bow, and said politely, "Greetings, officers." After completing the formalities, he turned to Zhu Hong:

"Lord Zhu, I have long admired you."

I had long heard of your remarkable talent and achievements, and seeing you today, I can confirm your extraordinary bearing.

"Forget it." Zhu Hong raised his hand, cutting off the conversation: "Stop with all this formalities. When you're on official business, ask your questions and leave."

"You're quite a straightforward person, sir."

Ma Sanjiang wasn't annoyed. He smiled and withdrew his hand, bowing slightly as he said, "Please ask, I'm all ears."

Zhu Hong leaned forward, narrowing his eyes as he stared at him: "I'm asking you, on the night of the incident involving Madam Liu, did Young Master Liu come here?" His questions were delivered with unwavering conviction, as if he had already grasped irrefutable evidence.

Where did you go after you arrived?

Who did you meet?!

Upon hearing this, Ma Sanjiang's mind went blank, and an extremely unnatural expression flashed across his face. He wondered if this matter had really been exposed.

But he quickly regained his composure.

With the Jiang family members around, even if something were to slip up, it couldn't be revealed by them.

"Lord Zhu, you've come to ask me a very difficult question."

He suppressed his slight panic, raised his head, and gave an innocent, wry smile: "Young Master Liu really didn't come to our pleasure boat that night."

"You really haven't been here before?"

Zhu Hong leaned back in his chair, giving him a cold, sidelong glance: "Little Ma, your lie isn't very well-made. You've never been here..." He scoffed: "Then why do some people say they've seen you!"

"I don't quite understand what you mean, sir."

Ma Sanjiang's smile remained unchanged: "If you can really produce proof that Young Master Liu has been here, then without further ado, we'll do as you say." His tone hardened slightly as he spoke.

"But if it is a guess, then the people will be arrested and the boat sealed."

That's hardly convincing!

"Evidence?" Zhu Hong suddenly stood up.

Ma Sanjiang only felt a blur before his eyes, and a strong wind suddenly arose, leaving him no time to react.

"bass."

A flash of cold light.

The blade was already pressed against his neck, icy cold.

"explain."

Zhu Hong's voice was as cold as ice, sending chills down one's spine. "Where did they go?" He wiped his knife, which was instantly stained with blood.

"If you don't tell the truth today..."

I'll make you leave sideways!

The constables behind them were completely stunned. In all their years as constables, they had been ruthless and shameless before, but they had never seen anything like this.

Are you confident?

Without saying a word, he put the knife to the man's neck.

This is outrageous...

Gu Shu, standing to the side, was even more astonished. He wasn't frightened by Zhu Hong's move, but rather by the knife strike.

It's incredibly fast and terrifyingly cunning.

He secretly weighed the situation. Even as a fully-fledged martial arts student, he wouldn't be able to dodge this strike if he were caught off guard. "Hiss... Is this kid really a new recruit to the yamen?"

He couldn't help but gasp.

Lord Zhu.

"You're just trying to find fault with me; you can always find a pretext."

Even with his long experience in the martial world, Ma Sanjiang couldn't help but panic when the knife was at his throat. "I know absolutely nothing, how can I possibly give you any coherent explanation?" Cold sweat trickled down his temples as he croaked.

"My lord, even if it is the governor's office."

Even the most domineering people have no sense of reason like you...

Zhu Hong scoffed, "Still got a tough tongue." Without another word, he suddenly raised his leg and kicked hard.

"Well……"

Ma Sanjiang suffered an abdominal injury, his body flew backward, and he crashed into the stairs.

The two lackeys behind him changed their expressions drastically, not knowing what to do. Before they could think, Zhu Hong approached like a ghost, holding a knife in his hand, and struck left and right with the blade.

"Bang! Bang!"

The two men collapsed to the ground without uttering a sound, unconscious.

"ah--"

Terrified, Sai's mother collapsed to the ground, backing away while bracing herself with her hands, screaming shrilly. She was no longer the person she once was, crying out, "Murder! Public murder!"

The constables behind him were stunned for a moment.

The situation was so unpredictable that they were completely baffled and all looked at Gu Shu.

Gu Shu frowned and drew his sword.

They wished to work together to rectify the purge bureau.

Seeing this, the others also tried to draw their knives, but before they could even move, Zhu Hong had already withdrawn his hand, casually uttering a single sentence:

"We're retreating."

Three words.

Everyone in the hall was dumbfounded.

Ma Sanjiang clutched his lower abdomen, his eyes still filled with shock. He hadn't expected that the boy of his generation was actually a master martial artist. He recalled what Madam Sai had said when she arrived: "We misjudged that person's identity!"

Now he believes it all.

He suppressed his anger and cupped his hands, saying, "Lord Zhu, have you finished your investigation?"

"The investigation is complete."

Zhu Hong uttered those two words, turned and walked away without even lifting an eyelid. But when he reached the door, he suddenly stopped.

He turned around, glanced at Ma Sanjiang, and grinned, "Those few moves just now, consider it settling accounts for that good-for-nothing Ma Pan of yours." He paused, then slowly added:

"You don't need to worry about it."

after all……

Your skills are really not up to par.

Gu Shu couldn't help but laugh a few times upon hearing this. It was the first time in his life he had encountered such an interesting person.

"Damn it."

Ma Sanjiang watched his departing figure, his face turning pale and then red, his heart filled with mixed emotions, unable to utter a single word.

"Ma, Manager Ma."

At this moment, Sai's mother scrambled over, her voice trembling like a leaf: "What are we going to do? That Zhu Hong is too arrogant!"

"Repair? Repair what!"

Ma Sanjiang vented his frustration.

After calming down a bit, he took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the remaining surging anger, and said, "You stay on the boat, I will go to Plum Garden to report to the Hall Master immediately."

……