Chapter 24

Just as the shocking assassination took place at Yun Mo's residence, in a mansion not far from there, a man in his thirties, with a slender build and a sinister face, sat in a wooden chair in the training room, waiting for news from his subordinates. In his hand, he played with a crystal stone obtained from the grand steward Cheng Fugui. Under the colorful light, a look of unbridled satisfaction appeared on his face!

"Hehe…, just by casually killing a small lackey, I could gain such a huge benefit, truly a blessing from heaven!" the man muttered to himself.

The mansion had three sections, with an architectural style that adhered to ancient traditions, appearing very solid and simple on the outside. The interior decoration was also kept as simple and beautiful as possible! However, although it looked simple, these minimalist items were absolutely not cheap, as many of them were crafted by hand by master artists, embodying the artists' hard work, and thus could not be of low value.

For example, the long-burning lamp in the main hall of his house, which looked unremarkable, was actually made from the heartwood of a century-old snow red tree, intricately carved. The lamp oil inside was said to be refined from the fat of a monster in the Heavenly Restraint Ocean, with each gram worth a thousand gold coins! Of course, such a precious item had its benefits; one gram of lamp oil could burn for a year without going out, and the fragrance it emitted was highly beneficial to cultivators, increasing their soul power. It was truly a great item!

There was also an old painting hanging on the wall of his bedroom, which was just a simple landscape painting. At first glance, it seemed unremarkable, but if you stopped to look, even if you didn't understand art, you would feel that the mountains and waters in the painting were alive, as if they were about to come to life!

Upon closer inspection, the signature on the painting revealed it to be the work of Master Yuanshuo, a famous painter in the empire, from his early years. Just this one painting was worth countless gold coins. This clearly showed that the man was a person of high status, position, and taste!

This was all on the surface; secretly, the mansion was filled with traps, making it a dragon's lair and a tiger's den! Without the cultivation of a Heaven Punisher or higher, anyone who forcibly entered would surely be killed by the various deadly traps!

He stretched his legs comfortably, thinking about his rapid rise over the years, and his ambitions burned fiercely. At that moment, a deafening explosion came from a distance!

"Oh no!" He jumped up, his eyes filled with shock.

In that direction, at that position, and at that time, he naturally knew what would happen. After receiving Cheng Fugui, he had sent people to investigate Yun Mo's movements for the day, knowing that the place was secluded and had dispatched two Level 6 Heaven-Blessed experts to ensure a one-hit kill. He never dreamed that such a huge commotion would occur!

This was the city lord's residence; any unusual movement would instantly be surrounded by all the cultivators and guards in the mansion!

"Heaven, even if you can't complete the mission, you must escape immediately, or I will be implicated!" he thought.

The attitude of the city lord towards such matters was obvious, even to a blind man.

For a moment, he was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, pacing around.

A moment later, the door creaked open, and a subordinate limped in.

The man anxiously asked, "What happened? Why was there such a big commotion?"

The subordinate caught his breath and reported in detail that the intelligence for the night was inaccurate, and Yun Mo was not there but encountered two girls with special skills.

The man's eyes turned completely dark. How could the target not be killed despite such a big commotion?

These two girls...? His eyes darted around, his mind racing.

Suddenly, he trembled all over, grabbed the subordinate by the collar, and fiercely demanded, "What does the girl with the protective artifact look like? Describe her in detail immediately!"

The subordinate, almost suffocated by the grip on his neck, didn't understand why his leader was so agitated.

He patted the hand on his neck, and the man realized he had almost strangled his trusted subordinate in his excitement. He let go.

"Cough, cough..." The subordinate coughed violently, his robust figure bending like a question mark. A person without backbone, no matter how tall, was still insignificant.

Seeing the murderous look in his leader's eyes, he didn't dare to delay and quickly described the appearance of the girl he had attacked with a sword, in great detail.

"Damn it!" The leader kicked the subordinate, sending him rolling on the ground, and shouted, "You two pigs! You assassinated the wrong person, and in your attempt to eliminate the witness, you targeted Miss Yingying! You want to kill me, don't you? The city lord dotes on his youngest daughter. If he finds out that someone in the mansion tried to assassinate his precious daughter, he will dig up the earth to find us. What the consequences will be, I don't need to tell you, do I?"

Ah? Hearing this, the subordinate, who had just struggled to stand up, turned pale. He stammered, "Subordinate... had only seen Miss... from a distance a few times... She has golden hair and green eyes, and her face doesn't look much like it..."

"You pig, Miss Yingying loves to play pranks and is skilled at disguise. Based on the description of the object on her wrist, it's most likely her! I hope she wasn't injured, otherwise, our fate will be extremely tragic! Damn, this deal is a loss. A brother is dead, and I have to find an excuse to report to the mansion. Fortunately, you two left no traces, so it's unlikely to be traced! Remember, don't go out for the next few days. Stay at home, and I'll tell others that you're sick. I'll approve a week of sick leave for you! Keep your mouth shut, or we'll have no place to die. Do you understand?"

The killer's face turned ashen, cold sweat dripping from his forehead, and he repeatedly answered, "Understood!" before retreating.

The man, not daring to delay, quickly put on the armor of the mansion's guard commander, equipped his weapons, and went out to gather the guards, rushing to the scene of the incident, praying, "Miss Yingying, please don't be hurt, or I will definitely be implicated!" He knew that a person with the city lord's cultivation could recreate the scene by sacrificing a few years of his power. So, he could only pray that things didn't reach that point. As long as Miss Yingying was fine, the city lord wouldn't do that, and he would be safe!

...

...

The Chi Jiu bird was sound asleep when it was suddenly startled by a loud noise outside. It flapped its wings but couldn't fly due to the lack of feathers and clumsily hit the ground! Its little heart pounded with fear, hoping nothing terrible would happen. It staggered to the door and peeked through the gap, seeing a group of fully armored guards with bows and weapons rushing over, moving incredibly fast. In less than a moment, the small courtyard where the explosion occurred was surrounded by a large number of people!

The Chi Jiu bird was almost frightened out of its wits! Each of these guards had a cultivation level far beyond its own! "What the hell is going on? Can't a bird live in peace?" The little girl in the bird's spirit sea almost cried, thinking where Uncle Ye Lianhua, who possessed the body, had gone, and why he didn't come to protect her? Sob, sob...

She reacted quickly, knowing that the guy was unreliable and she had to save herself! She curled up her small body and crawled into a crack in the wall caused by the explosion's shockwave. Fortunately, it was extremely small, no bigger than a fist when it had feathers, and now, without feathers, it was even smaller. It easily hid itself, curling into a small ball! Unless someone searched specifically, who would notice a future demon king hiding in a wall crack?

Almost as soon as it hid, a large number of guards with terrifying auras kicked open the door, and countless people rushed in, searching wildly. Then, a guard reported, "Report to the commander, the house was not affected by the fire spell, but the courtyard was completely destroyed! One person was found dead and charred, but the body was in pieces, and there were no clues left. So, we can only confirm that the deceased was an adult male, and nothing else!"

Oh? A very steady voice said, "An explosion occurred here for no reason, which confirms that a fire element soul power mage from an opposing force has infiltrated the mansion! Given the extent of the disturbance in the spatial energy, this spy is likely of a high rank. According to the city lord's laws, during this critical period, Ziyeh City will be placed under martial law! Strictly investigate anyone with suspicious behavior, and rather than let one escape, we will execute them. Go and issue the order!"

Yes! Someone loudly accepted the order and rushed off to issue it.

Ziyeh City began martial law, prohibiting entry and exit! The streets immediately became chaotic! A group of fully armed guards, riding two-meter-tall demon horses, rushed out like locusts! Anyone who dared to cause trouble in the city lord's mansion, these extremely proud and honorable guards, were like explosive powder, red-eyed and staring at everyone!

That night, the entire Ziyeh City was in chaos, with countless people who were out for a midnight stroll being arrested by the guards on suspicion of suspicious behavior. It was easy to imagine their fate in the prison!

And the culprits who caused all this—those two guys? Were they not caught by the guards?

They really weren't caught!

When Miss Yingying fell into the stream, her reaction was top-notch!

She knew that as soon as the sound was heard, the place would be surrounded by guards and cultivators, and she wouldn't be able to escape! If she were caught and brought before her father, the secret would be out! Knowing that she had almost been assassinated, her father would be furious and search for the assassin to punish them, but she would likely be confined to her room! For a mischievous little demon girl, this was worse than death, and she couldn't let it happen!

So, as soon as she and the girl protecting her fell into the water, she didn't waste any time. Yingying grabbed Yun Mo's hand and darted out of the stream, shouting, "Follow me!" and led Yun Mo into a nearby alley, using the cover of night to quickly escape the area!