Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

When Risa was brought into the bedroom, she was still wearing the same wrinkled dress she had worn while she was imprisoned.

Her hair hung loosely over her shoulders, she wore no makeup, her lips were chapped, and she looked ten years older than she had yesterday.

But her eyes were still clear.

You could even say it's sharp.

She was escorted through the door by two guards, and the first person she saw was not David.

It's blood on the ground.

She paused for a moment.

Then my gaze followed the trail of blood.

They moved to the body lying on the ground.

She moved to the face she had seen for decades.

Her pupils contracted.

But it was only for a moment.

The next second, her gaze shifted to David, who was standing by the window.

She looked at the son she had given birth to, the son she had raised with her own hands, the son on whom she had once placed great hopes.

The bedroom has been tidied up a bit.

The pool of blood on the ground was roughly wiped away, but dark red traces still seeped into the cracks in the floor.

The air was filled with a rusty, metallic smell, mixed with the delicate fragrance of the magnolia flower on the windowsill—the two scents intertwined, creating an indescribably eerie atmosphere.

Roy's body had been covered with a dark velvet cloth.

Only one hand was visible.

The fingers of that hand were slightly curled, as if it were trying to grasp something before it died.

After Risa entered, David dismissed the guards.

The door closed.

Only the mother and son remained in the bedroom.

And there's the father on the ground.

Risa looked around.

She saw the curtains that had been changed, the tea set that had been rearranged on the table, and the signs that the wardrobe had been rummaged through.

She saw everything.

Then she turned her gaze back to David.

"Did you do this?"

Her voice was very soft.

It wasn't a questioning tone.

It's more like—confirmation.

David did not answer directly.

He walked over from the window and sat down in the chair in front of Risa.

"Mother, please sit down."

Risa did not sit.

She stood there, looking down at her son.

The light shone from the side, sculpting a half-light, half-shadow silhouette on David's face.

She suddenly realized—

This face.

His face is exactly the same as Roy's when he was young.

The same contours, the same brow bone, the same jawline.

Even the habit of tilting her head slightly when speaking was learned from her father.

But the eyes are different.

Roy's eyes were brown, like burnt amber, and they shone with light.

David's eyes were gray.

The gray was very deep, very heavy.

Like a lake in winter, covered with a thin layer of ice.

You can't see what's down there.

"You'll be living here from now on."

David's voice broke her gaze.

"It's fine, just like the place my father lived. I will take care of you—your food and daily life will continue as before, and I won't neglect anything you need."

He paused.

"Don't worry about anything else."

Risa finally understood.

The corner of her mouth twitched slightly.

It's not a laugh.

It's something more complex than laughter.

"You want to imprison me."

David did not deny it.

He stood up and straightened his cuffs.

The forearm of that dark gray suit had been changed—he had probably changed into a new one before Risa arrived.

However, the change was done in such a hurry that the cufflinks on the left and right sides are not the same color.

Risa noticed this detail.

Her son would never make that kind of mistake.

Unless—he has just experienced something that left him no time to dwell on the details.

"David."

She called his name.

There was something strange in his voice, something that I couldn't quite put my finger on—whether it was sadness or relief.

"When did you start making these plans?"

David glanced at her.

"Mother doesn't need to know these things."

"I'm just curious," Risa's voice lowered, "was it before or after your father faked his death?"

David remained silent for a few seconds.

Then he said something that completely stunned Risa.

"Mother, do you think... Father took the fake death potion from the secret vault himself?"

Risa's pupils suddenly dilated.

She instinctively took a half step back.

My heel touched the edge of the velvet on the ground.

She did not back down.

She simply stood there, looking at her son—the one she thought she knew—with a completely new, re-examining gaze.

David didn't say anything more.

He turned and walked towards the door.

"I have high hopes for her."

He said to the butler outside the door.

"I'll go check on Xilun."

The butler nodded.

After David went out, the door was locked from the outside.

The bedroom fell silent.

Risa stood there, motionless for a long time.

Then--

She slowly walked to the window and sat down.

She didn't cry.

There was no shouting.

She simply looked out the window at the view of the estate, at the neatly trimmed bushes and pebbly paths.

The sun is shining brightly.

The roses in the flowerbed are in full bloom.

She suddenly remembered—

David also loved roses when he was a child.

Every afternoon during tea time, he would pick a flower and place it on the rim of her cup.

Back then, when he smiled, his eyes weren't gray yet.

Risa reached out and touched her face.

On the fingertips—

It is dry.

……

David walked down the corridor toward the west wing, followed by his butler and four fully armed guards.

He stopped at the corner.

Then he coughed lightly twice.

This time the cough was worse than before.

He covered his mouth with a handkerchief, and when he removed it, there was a small patch of blood on the white cotton cloth.

The butler's gaze swept over the handkerchief, but he said nothing.

David put the handkerchief away and continued walking.

"Have the people from Xilun's residence arrived yet?"

"We've arrived. Deputy Captain Luo Wei of the Armed Guard has brought twelve men and surrounded the entire west wing of the guest rooms."

David nodded slightly.

"Love?"

He thought about the name.

"That guy who has a crush on Daisy... Well, that's good, he should be very proactive in doing this kind of thing."

The housekeeper did not respond.

As the two walked through the courtyard, they encountered several servants sweeping fallen leaves.

When the servants saw David, they all stopped what they were doing and bowed their heads in greeting.

"Greetings, sir."

David nodded slightly to them, without stopping.

After stepping out of the courtyard, he suddenly asked, "Where is Daisy?"

"Reporting to Master, the young lady went to visit the clan leader early this morning... she went to visit Lord Luo Yi in his bedroom, but was stopped by the people at the door. Later she went to the dining hall, and should still be there now."

"Um."

David paused for a moment.

very short.

It's almost imperceptible.

Then he continued walking.

"Leave her alone for now."

His voice was very faint.

"Let's talk about it after we've dealt with the situation in Xilun."

The open space in front of the guest rooms in the west wing was already full of people.

Lovi Garin stood at the front, a sword at his waist, his arms crossed over his chest, his face filled with barely concealed excitement.

He had been waiting for this day for a long time.

He had been waiting ever since Xilun waved that damned Elder's Token in front of him.

Now—the clan chief is dead.

The cause of death was improper treatment by the mysterious foreign scholar, which triggered the flare-up of his hidden injuries.

The new patriarch, Lord David, personally ordered the arrest of this man.

It is perfectly justified and reasonable.

Lowe had already figured out in his mind how to present himself to Daisy after he had tied up Xilun.

But he didn't notice—

Among the twelve guards behind him, several had expressions that differed from his.

It wasn't excitement.

It was a cautious tension.

They had more or less heard of the name "Golden Knight".

I also know that this person once killed a Tier 2 at Moon Lake.

He killed even more people on Laoqiao Street.

When Lowe saw David approaching, he immediately went to greet him.

"Sir, the men are all lined up."

His voice was low, but it couldn't hide his excitement.

"Should I lead my men and charge in directly?"

David looked at him.

Then he shook his head.

"Need not."

He straightened his collar.

"I'll go in myself."

Luo Wei paused for a moment, then said, "But—"

"Just keep people safe."

David's tone left no room for negotiation.

He walked to the guest room door and pushed it open.

The door was unlocked.

The room was very quiet.

The curtains were half-drawn, and the morning light peeked in through the gaps, casting a long, thin patch of light on the floor.

Xiren sat behind the table.

On the table was a cup of black tea that had gone cold, and next to it lay an ancient book he had borrowed from the Link family library.

His posture was relaxed—leaning back in his chair, his right hand casually resting on the edge of the table.

But his eyes were open.

Sober.

It carried a strange, indescribable calm.

It was like someone who had been waiting for a long time finally receiving a knock on the door.

David walked in.

He closed the door.

Then he stood at the doorway, looking at Xilun behind the table.

The two people stared at each other across a table.

"Mr. Celen."

David spoke first.

His tone was gentle, his face warm, and there was even a perfectly timed smile on his lips—almost exactly the same as when he first spoke to Siren at the Ironblood Society gathering.

"We meet again."

Xilun looked at him.

He didn't speak immediately.

His gaze moved down from David's face, sweeping over his collar, cuffs, and waist—

It stopped at the position of David's left cufflink.

The pattern on that cufflink is different from the one on the right.

Xilun withdrew his gaze.

"What's wrong?"

His tone was also very flat.

It's like asking about the weather.

David walked to the other side of the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

His movements were unhurried, as if this were his study and Siron was merely a visiting guest.

"My father—"

He used a very short pause to build up his emotions.

But Xiren noticed that the curve of his brow furrowed was too precise, as if it had been rehearsed countless times.

My father passed away this morning.

Xilun's expression remained unchanged.

David continued.

"After the fight he went through last night, his internal injuries were not properly treated. In addition, the methods you used in the treatment were too aggressive, which led to an irreversible collapse of his physical functions."

His voice became increasingly steady.

"He suddenly fell ill in his bedroom early this morning, and by the time I arrived... it was too late."

Xilen looked into his eyes.

Gray.

Very deep.

Like a frozen lake.

He suddenly remembered something Daisy had said during a walk.

"My brother is basically in charge of everything in the clan now."

At the time, he thought that statement was just a statement of fact.

Now he knows—

The weight of those words was far greater than he had imagined.

"What are you going to do?"

Xilun asked.

David smiled slightly.

"I?"

He tilted his head slightly, at the same angle as Roy.

"I don't want to do anything, Mr. Celen. I'm just a son who has just lost his father and needs to find out the cause of death."

His smile vanished.

It happened as fast as a light going out.

"You foolish and mysterious scholar—you actually caused my father's death."

His voice suddenly turned cold, carrying a chilling, undisguised malice.

"Even if you have a powerful background, I won't let you off the hook."

The air freezes.

The birdsong outside the window became exceptionally clear.

Xilun paused for a moment.

Then he said something.

"...So fast."

David's smile didn't return to his face.

He tilted his head: "What?"

I said—

Xilun straightened up from the back of the chair and placed his hands on the table.

"I was prepared. But I didn't expect it to happen so quickly."

He looked at David's face.

"You killed your father."

It is not a question.

It is a declarative sentence.

There was a two-second silence in the bedroom.

David's expression remained unchanged.

He neither denied nor admitted it.

He simply said calmly, "You caused my father's death. I will show you no mercy."

He stood up.

Xilun also stood up.

The two people stood facing each other across the table.

Suddenly, Siren said, "Mr. David, you seem to be injured."

David frowned slightly.

"So what?"

He gave a cold laugh.

The aura of a third-order aberrant slowly emanated from his body, spreading like a tide, causing the teacup on the table to tremble slightly.

"You think you, a second-tier Extraordinary, can harm me?"

His tone carried a genuine disdain.

It wasn't acted.

He truly did not believe that Siron had any ability to resist.

A second-tier Ripper faces a third-tier Aberrant—

This is a gap that courage and skill cannot bridge.

This is a crushing defeat on a matter of life level.

Xilun looked at him.

"It shouldn't have been possible."

He said.

"but--"

His voice slowed down.

"This morning, when your father thanked me, I made a request to him."

David's gaze sharpened.

"What request?"

"I asked him to find someone for me."

Xilun's tone suddenly changed.

Become serious.

Became serious.

Like a chess player taking one last look at the board before making a crucial move.

"What a pity."

He said.

"If you weren't so close to me—perhaps I would have had to leave on my own."

A hint of confusion finally appeared on David's face.

He didn't understand what Xilun was talking about.

What does it mean to "find someone"?

What does "so close" mean?

The next second—

His confusion turned into astonishment.

"teacher!"

On the other side of the room, in the shadows between the bookshelves and the wardrobe, a figure suddenly sprang up like a ghost.

There was no warning.

There was no sound.

The step that person took out of the shadows was like a knife tearing open another world.

A man around thirty years old.

Short brown hair.

His appearance was ordinary.

His left arm was wrapped in bandages.

But in his hands—

He was holding an iron spear.

The gun barrel is not long, and the tip is not wide.

But at the moment it was thrust out, it unleashed a terrifying aura that shook the entire room.

That's Red Star.

Natan's ultimate killing move in heavy gunnery.

The pent-up energy was compressed, gathered, and exploded without reservation at this moment—all concentrated in the small space in front of the spear tip.

Lund!

After receiving Roy's thanks this morning in Xilun, he notified Lund to come and meet him.

Originally, Xilun was only doing this as a precaution.

He always suspected that things might not end so simply.

Now, by such a coincidence, it has actually helped him a great deal.

This is the moment we've been waiting for.

--boom!