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Chapter 56 of 100

Chapter 56

6 min read1,499 words

Silence is a realm, capable of cleansing the heart and soothing wounds, and it can also represent one's attitude!

The Golden Hall is now very quiet, so quiet that Ling Xiao feels uneasy inside, and the crowd is speechless.

"Am I being a bit too modest?" Ling Xiao asked weakly.

Bang!

A sharp sound startled Ling Xiao. The emperor, slapping the dragon throne, laughed loudly, "Good! You are indeed the one I have chosen. The clown was almost chopped into mincemeat, yet you are so confident! What courage! What bravery! What... I don't even know what to praise you for anymore!"

"How arrogant! A mere young whelp dares to speak so boldly!" Cen Chong sneered and whispered sarcastically. They naturally didn't dare to oppose the emperor's praise, but they all secretly grumbled.

"How interesting! Is this kid a coroner from a past life? He can find clues from a piece of rotten meat!" Lu Xiaofeng looked at Ling Xiao with interest.

"How conceited! Is Xiao Ling a storyteller from a past life? He's so full of hot air!" Ling Lingfa forced a smile, afraid that the emperor would see his lack of confidence.

Baihu lowered his head and sighed without saying anything. While everyone had their own thoughts, no one noticed the hint of inexplicable satisfaction in Wei Zhongxian's eyes.

...

Ling Xiao left the palace, carrying a corpse.

"What did you see in the corpse?" Lu Xiaofeng asked as they walked, his voice not loud, but everyone was an expert and had good hearing. Especially the constables walking at the back, who all perked up their ears.

Ling Xiao glanced at the corpse being carried behind him and slowly said, "The most severe wound is naturally the one I inflicted, which shook the heavens and made the ghosts weep! But the most severe doesn't mean the most fatal. Although I don't know much about autopsies, I've seen a lot of TV shows, uh, I mean novels. The wounds on his body vary in size and depth. On the surface, it looks like he went through a fierce struggle, but I found sword marks on his neck, wrists, and thighs. The sword marks are very shallow, but the depth doesn't matter here; what matters is the massive bleeding! So the clown's cause of death wasn't a fatal wound, but bleeding to death!"

Lu Xiaofeng looked at the corpse behind and nodded, "It seems Old Ye didn't misjudge you. You have a natural sensitivity to sword techniques."

"Don't say that! I wish Ye Gucheng would stay far away from me!" Ling Xiao emphasized with a glare.

"What does bleeding to death indicate? Will it help you solve the case?" Baihu ignored their chat and asked curiously.

Ling Xiao straightened his dirty and messy clothes. The wounds had already scabbed over and even started to itch, indicating they were healing quickly. His mood improved, and he smiled, "It can indicate many things, for example, that this person had a deep-seated grudge against the clown, so he tortured him."

Baihu added, "But the clown was a Black Stone assassin, so he must have many enemies!"

"You're wrong!" Ling Xiao interrupted Baihu, "Assassins are actually the profession with the fewest enemies, because those who have a grudge against them are usually eliminated. Those who can seek revenge on assassins are mostly the ones who escaped from their killings."

Baihu thought for a moment and continued, "But if it's someone who escaped, how can you investigate? Even Black Stone doesn't know, so how can you say you'll solve the case in three days?"

"I found some characteristics in those sword marks. The same depth and location, but the length of the cuts is completely different. What does this mean? It means the murderer used two different weapons! Using the same force, the difference in the weapons themselves caused the different wounds." As he spoke, images of a long and a short sword flashed in his mind, along with the honest and simple face.

Baihu suddenly understood, "Oh! That narrows down the search range. There aren't many people in the capital who use two weapons."

Ling Xiao nodded and smiled, "I'll need your help, Brother Baihu. Spread the word and pay attention to those who use dual weapons. Remember, don't alert them; just follow them quietly."

"Rest assured, I'll take care of it!" Baihu agreed happily.

"Did you hear that? Get moving." The Capture God also instructed Cen Chong and the others.

Ling Xiao watched the constables rush off, feeling secretly pleased. Go find! Find until the end of time!

Lu Xiaofeng noticed Ling Xiao's smug smile and the actions of the constables behind him, and couldn't help but smile. After a while, they were near the clinic, "Master, looking at your silent and tearful face, have you thought of how to take revenge for your wife?"

Zero Zerofa, who had been walking silently, looked up and said, "What about you? Are you just going to let it go? That's not like you!"

"Of course not, but I'm more interested in who is against us," a cold light flashed in Ling Xiao's eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't underestimate the Six Fans' ability to handle things. If they go all out, they can be quite terrifying, otherwise, the capital wouldn't have been peaceful for so many years. But where did they get the confidence to find clues with just one raid?"

Zero Zerofa snorted, "There must be someone they trust who told them there were significant clues in the clinic."

...

Just as they were puzzled, Lei Yiming, after the constables dispersed, returned to a tavern outside the palace alone.

"Your Excellency, I have completed the task as instructed." He entered a private room and respectfully bowed to the person sitting inside, who was just a kind and amiable ninth-rank eunuch!

"Very good, the lord is very satisfied. Here is your reward, remember not to slip up!" The eunuch took out three silver bills from his sleeve and handed them to Lei Yiming.

"Yes, I understand. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave." Lei Yiming's face lit up at the amount on the bills, and he bowed and backed away.

As soon as Lei Yiming left, another person pushed the door open, "Although you mishandled it this time, you did achieve the goal." The speaker was none other than the West Factory Director, Wei Zhongxian!

"Please forgive me, Your Excellency. I didn't expect Ling Xiao to be so skilled. Even the three top assassins of Black Stone couldn't detain him!" The eunuch hurriedly knelt and begged for forgiveness.

Wei Zhongxian looked at the eunuch with disgust and said slowly, "The Dragon Protectors are not so easy to kill! Although you mishandled it, you did give them something to do, so it can be considered making up for your mistake!"

"Thank you, Your Excellency, for sparing my life. But why didn't you let me eliminate him?" The eunuch asked in confusion.

Wei Zhongxian frowned, "I'm also puzzled about this, but since the lord ordered not to kill him, we can't! We just need to follow orders. Also, do you have any leads on the clown's death?"

"This... I am incompetent, I haven't found any clues yet!"

Wei Zhongxian sighed, "Forget it. This is a critical time; don't cause any more trouble. Let Ling Xiao find the murderer for us! He said three days, right? Humph!"

Wei Zhongxian said fiercely, but he didn't notice the flash of determination in the eunuch's eyes.

...

"Wow! My gold bricks! I want my gold bricks!"

Teams of black-armored constables moved through the clinic, holding various objects, their expressions very dejected. The master's wife was crying loudly in the room, and occasionally, the sound of Zero Zerofa's gentle consolation could be heard.

Ling Xiao sighed and shook his head at the crying and fussing, then turned and continued to boss the constables around like a wealthy landlord.

He was tallying the items the constables had brought back from the raid. He was surprised by what he found! For example, the thing in the master's lab made of six thin steel tubes bound together looked just like a Gatling gun from his previous life! And a mechanical arm made of special wood that had a gun barrel pop out when touched! What does Zero Zerofa study at home? Is this a hobby?

Ling Xiao shook his head with a bitter smile. He was a poor disciple, having forgotten their lineage's old trade since achieving innate status! Zero Zerofa would certainly be very angry.

It's not entirely Ling Xiao's fault. He couldn't stop after tasting the sweetness of sword intent! He scratched his head and continued tallying the items, "Hmm, the pistol is fine, still as sharp. Hmm, the buffalo horn is fine, the pattern is still perfect. Hmm, the sword manual is fine, the sword intent is still... damn! Where's the sword intent?"

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