I created the Anomaly Control Bureau

Chapter 858, Section 853: Ghosts and Monsters

Luo Zisheng's eyes were slightly serious, but there was no hostility or wariness.

I have some doubts:
"I've never seen such a style of boxing before. It's neither fierce nor sharp, yet it's also neither weak nor fatigued. It's neither too fast nor too slow, neither too heavy nor too light, just like..."

"You never intended to fight me."

"But that's not right either."

"Because everyone reveals their true colors when they spar. I actually thought you were hiding your true thoughts and deliberately didn't want me to figure out what you were thinking, but I soon found out that wasn't the case."

"That's just how your fists are, they neither come nor go, they're neither right nor wrong..."

"Neither good nor evil".

Marx and Engels asked in confusion:
"What do you mean?"

He didn't think these words should be taken literally. Although he didn't know if he had any particularly distinctive fighting style, it didn't seem as strange as the other person described.

To achieve what he meant literally, one would need to make a conscious effort, but I didn't think about such things during the battle; I was just sparring with my opponent normally.

Could this be the surfacing of some past memory? Is this something I've heard before?

Or perhaps it's some kind of martial arts language that I can't understand.

Luo Zisheng shook his head and did not answer:

“You meant no harm, and you weren’t the one who killed my master, that’s enough. As for what you are, I don’t care. Tell me, what do you want to know?”

Marx and Engels did not delve into these absurd and strange old sayings:

"So, is the battle between your master and Shenxiao really as the outside world says?"

Luo Zisheng looked up at the position of the sun, then turned around and said:

"follow me."

Soon, he led Ma En into the deepest part of the martial arts school. Before them appeared a bamboo forest that almost completely obscured the view opposite. After walking in the bamboo forest for a few minutes, they arrived at their destination.

This is a place similar to a martial arts arena, but with fewer artificial traces and is also more spacious.

But what's even more striking is the dark red bloodstains that covered almost hundreds of square meters.

Marne stared at the blood, though it wasn't very clear from that angle.

However, if you tilt your gaze slightly upwards, it's not hard to see that the blood forms two characters.

Shenxiao.

"This is where they fought, and the ground is covered in my master's blood." Luo Zisheng looked at the scene with a gloomy expression. "I have carefully examined the traces left by the battle."

Marx and Engels asked:

"Do you see anything?"

Luo Zisheng nodded:
“My master lost miserably, more miserably than ever before. He had absolutely no chance of winning. Every punch he threw was a desperate struggle, and each punch became more and more urgent until he was practically throwing punches randomly.”

"A martial arts master like him should not have thrown such a punch. This can only mean that he had completely lost his mind and any hope at that time."

"But this is terrifying, because it means that this guy who calls himself Shenxiao actually has the ability to kill his master with ease, but she is still bullying him like a cat playing with a mouse."

"You saw it too, didn't you? My master's blood was used as paint, as if it were mocking us."

As Marne gazed at the scene, she tried to see if she could glean any hidden information, or if there was anything she wanted to convey that transcended time.

But this pool of blood just looks like her name; even if it holds some secret, she wouldn't tell him.

Even the power of Shenxiao should not be enough to penetrate the fault.

But here's the question: why did she kill Lin Dehao, and why did she leave behind the words "Shenxiao"?

"Have you heard this name before?" Marne asked.

Luo Zisheng shook his head:
“I’ve also inquired about this name, but no one has ever heard of the so-called Shenxiao.”

Marx and Eng then asked:

"Did you notice anything from the signs of her battle?"

Luo Zisheng replied:

"Of course, I also carefully examined Shenxiao's traces, but I couldn't see much, because she didn't exert her power in a particularly serious way, so naturally I couldn't see through her characteristics out of thin air."

"All I can see is that she is very strong in all aspects of her physical fitness, and although she has good martial arts skills, there is no trace of any particular school of martial arts, and the moves she uses are not entirely new."

"Compared to a true martial artist, she is more like an apprentice who has just stepped through the gate of martial arts. Every move she makes shows the purest basic skills, but these basic skills are in her hands..."

"Yet it possessed the air of a master who had achieved unparalleled skill."

Marx and Engels asked:

"So she knows martial arts?"

Luo Zisheng shook his head:

"I can't say for sure. The famous Chi Quan, who practiced martial arts, also showed some signs of becoming a grandmaster. Some people are born with an aptitude for martial arts that is hard for us to match. However, I can say for sure that her body was not formed by practicing martial arts every day and being tempered by thousands of times. Rather, it was a natural superhuman strength similar to yours."

"A body trained through martial arts will not be so stiff. Of course, stiffness can also make you very strong."

"Besides that, I can also sense her fighting spirit, a mix of domineering and cruel, arrogance and a touch of coldness. Overall, she's not a good person."

Mar and Eng pressed on with some curiosity:

"Only this?"

He didn't hear the quality he was most looking forward to.

Luo Zisheng nodded:
"That's right, at least that's all I can tell. After all, she was quite restrained, and I wasn't there at the time, so it's impossible to figure out the details of her combat based on that alone."

Marx and Engels nodded:

"So based on these things, you have no one to suspect."

Luo Zisheng replied:

"Of course, otherwise I would have taken action long ago. Although I am no match for that guy, my master is a highly respected martial artist, and this matter has already caused a great uproar in the martial arts world."

"Many people have already had the idea of ​​punishing the wicked and eliminating evil."

Marx and Engels nodded:

"Since we can't find the murderer through this method, I'd like to ask you, do you know if your master has ever made an enemy of anyone? Or has he offended anyone recently?"

"After all, this is clearly a premeditated murder, and it is very likely a revenge killing. If we cannot deduce the opponent from the current evidence, then we have to look at the motive. Do you have any suspects?"

Luo Zisheng shook his head:
"Of course not. Have you ever heard about my master when he was young?"

Marx and Engels looked puzzled:
"You're referring to those questions someone asked you a while ago..."

Luo Zisheng nodded:
"That's right, they have mentioned some rumors about my master. Of course, those are not true. My master did not use dirty tricks in the competition, but he was not a kind person when he was young. He had told me not to tell anyone about these things."

"But now that Master has been murdered, it doesn't matter whether I say it or not."

"When he was young, he was too eager to make a name for himself in the martial arts world, so he completely revamped his old Snake Fist and tried to create his own style."

"However, his eagerness for quick success led him astray. In order to realize his martial arts dream, he once signed life-or-death contracts with several martial arts masters. Of course, he used many means to get them to fight him."

"Coercion, bribery, deception, or blackmail."

"According to my master, he was already somewhat possessed by his martial arts back then. He was tormented to the point of mental instability by the new snake fist that he was obsessed with, and he no longer had the thoughts that a martial artist should have in his mind."

"Fortunately, he later met a mysterious benefactor who shattered his delusions and made him realize the mistakes he had made. This gave him the opportunity to turn back from the wrong path and create the true new Snake Fist we know today."

"But during that period, he also committed many misdeeds."

"Indeed, there were quite a few martial arts masters who had fought against him, or even defeated him, but my master later found them and killed them in duels. The claim that they died of illness was just a pretext they were forced to make to the outside world by the death contract."

"However, those guys already had some grudges against my master, and it wasn't just because my master lost. At least that wasn't the case for most of them. My master simply didn't like them, which is why he challenged them in the first place."

"In the martial arts world, if you want to stand out, you have to step on the shoulders of your predecessors."

"Otherwise, no one will see you."

Marx and Engels asked:

"So your master wasn't challenging a good person either?"

Luo Zisheng did not answer directly:

“I don’t know. They just had a grudge. Master didn’t say the specifics, but when he recalled those days, he was obviously very regretful, and he also clearly knew that what he did was terrible.”

"That's why, after Master realized his mistakes, he spent so much money and time making up for the mistakes he had made, and he even sent us to deliver compensation to the martial arts families he had hurt."

"But most of them didn't accept it."

Hearing this, Marne received good news and confirmed something he had always suspected.

That is to say, Shenxiao might still be on the side of justice at this time.

This was also what Maren was most worried about. The Shenxiao of the past seemed to be somewhere between good and evil, at least not as righteous and awe-inspiring as he was familiar with.

If Lin Dehao is truly a completely kind and good old man, then Shenxiao's brutal killings may indicate some rather serious problems.

If he has some "bad deeds," while it can't be said that Shenxiao is definitely good, it certainly doesn't mean that she was actually a bloodthirsty monster.

Her demeanor as she slaughtered her own squad left a strong impression on Marne.

Moreover, it seems that Luo Zisheng's deduction about her fighting style is also confirming this impression.

Maren then pressed on, asking:
"Do you think she might be seeking revenge for this?"

Luo Zisheng hesitated for a moment before speaking:

"I can't say for sure, but we haven't found any clues in this regard, because we also investigated those guys who were hurt by my master, and none of them have any relatives or friends who can take revenge."

"However, I did not give up my suspicions. I am going to continue my investigation. I have already written letters to several of my master's close friends, and one of them is a person with a strong investigative ability."

Marne nodded, and said thoughtfully:

"Do you think it's possible that someone simply disapproved of your master's actions and attacked him purely out of chivalry?"

If that's the case, it further confirms Marx and Engels's conjecture about this matter.

However, Luo Zisheng suddenly raised his voice:

"Absolutely impossible."

Mar and Eng asked in confusion:
"why?"

Luo Zisheng shouted:
"Third Junior Sister."

After he finished speaking, a slight rustling sound came from the edge of the bamboo forest, and then a woman with a faint breath walked out.

She looked to be around twenty years old, but her gait was unusually weak. Her right arm was completely empty, and there was a scar on her face that covered her entire face.

The third junior sister looked at Ma En, her eyes deep and filled with a hint of fear.

Luo Zisheng sighed with a hint of sadness:

"This is the most unfortunate thing. It wasn't just my master who encountered the murderer that night. My third junior sister also had a face-to-face encounter with that murderer, and this is what happened to her."

"Her physical injuries are manageable, but half of her meridians have been shattered. If we hadn't rushed her to the Eastern Federal Hospital for emergency treatment, she would have spent the rest of her life lying in a hospital bed."

"My junior sister is only nineteen years old this year. She entered the martial arts school when she was six years old. For the past ten years or so, she has only practiced martial arts and has never entered the martial arts world. It is impossible for her to have committed any evil deeds."

"I've met many chivalrous heroes, and quite a few of them have bad tempers, but none of them would be so ruthless towards such an innocent young martial artist."

This statement also completely shattered Marx and Engels' original inferences.

He looked at the woman with the missing arm:
"Have you ever seen Shenxiao?"

The woman with the missing arm glanced at her senior brother with some fear.

Luo Zisheng comforted him:

"It's okay, he's probably not a bad person. Just tell him everything you know."

Upon hearing this, the third junior sister finally opened her mouth.

Her voice was hoarse, as if boiling water had been poured into her throat.
"Yes, I've seen that guy before."

Marx and Engels asked:

What does she look like?

After hesitating for a few seconds, the third junior sister said:
"I don't know. She was wearing a very long robe, like something from hundreds of years ago, but you could tell she was a woman, and her arms and body were probably human."

"But her head didn't look like a human head. It looked a bit like she was wearing a hideous monster mask, but I couldn't see any trace of a mask at all, and there were also some expressions that flashed across that monster-like face."

"I can't see anything else besides that."

Luo Zisheng added:

"Clearly, this guy is deliberately hiding his identity."

Hiding his identity? Yet leaving behind the name Shenxiao?

This gave Mar and Engels some ideas again.

"So how did it feel when you fought her?"

The third junior sister revealed a look of recollection tinged with fear:
"I only felt fear and despair. She didn't even look at me. I had just raised my hand to prepare my stance when she walked past me."

"And they even tore off my arm."