A person sacrifices himself to become a saint in a chaotic world of martial arts.

Three nights later.

The moonlight was dim, with clouds obscuring most of it, leaving only a few faint rays that shone on the bluestone path, casting blurry shadows.

The streets were deserted; even the sound of the night watchman's clapper could be heard several blocks away.

Su Bai walked out of his home and changed into the night clothes he hadn't worn in a long time—the black fabric clung to his body, making no sound when he moved.

He pulled his mask up to cover his mouth and nose, leaving only his eyes visible, which looked particularly deep in the night.

During this period, the constables of the Zhenfu Division patrolled everywhere, searching almost every street and alley in the southern city, and many places were searched.

It can now be basically concluded that either An Wuyu has already fled the South District, or this guy might still be near Tongming Lane.

As Su Bai walked, he pondered in his mind.

His reason for this speculation was simple—An Wuyu fled quickly after being discovered to have committed murder.

However, it was broad daylight.

If this guy had run away then, theoretically there would have been a reason why no one had noticed.

So, the most likely scenario is that he's still in Tongming Lane, which is why the safest place is also the most dangerous place.

Tongming Lane, in particular, is a place where all sorts of people mingle, from all walks of life.

Many of the hooligans who rented the houses were extremely uncooperative with the government officials.

It's not that they're going to be forceful with you, but rather they'll play it soft – if you knock on the door they'll pretend to be asleep, if you ask them questions they'll give you nonsense, they'll drag their feet and just not let you in.

This resulted in ineffective searches, with some suspects always escaping detection.

"This guy is likely still in Tongming Lane. According to the recent searches by our men, some houses haven't been searched," Su Bai thought to himself, quickening his pace. "An Wuyu is very likely hiding in there."

The moonlight was dim. He arrived near Tongming Lane, looked around to make sure no one was there, and then lightly leaped onto the roof.

When landing, the toes touch the ground first, and then the foot slowly lowers, without making a sound.

He crouched down and began to carefully remove each roof tile, moving very gently. After removing each tile, he would listen intently and peer through the gaps.

Time passed slowly, and the night grew deeper.

He explored house after house; some were filled with loud snoring, some were empty, and some were dark and silent.

The moon moved slowly behind the clouds, and the watchman struck the third and fourth watch.

This investigation lasted until dawn, and at least several dozen houses were examined.

Su Bai's forehead was covered in a fine sweat, and his knees were a little sore, but he dared not relax and continued to move on the roof.

"Strange, there's nothing there?" He frowned, a sense of doubt rising in his mind.

I straightened up and looked at the sky. The east was already showing a faint glimmer of dawn, and it would be light in another hour.

He shook his head, unwilling to give up.

"Impossible! It must be in Tongming Alley."

Su Bai gritted his teeth, bent down again, and continued to probe forward.

Just when he was about to give up, a faint scent wafted up from the house beneath him.

The scent was so faint, almost negligible, yet it somehow found its way into his nose.

If it weren't for his current profound strength and the fact that his nose has become much more sensitive than that of ordinary people, he would have almost missed it.

He stopped what he was doing, took a deep breath, and carefully examined it—it was a very faint smell of corpse!

It has a cloying sweetness of decay, with a faint hint of bloodiness mixed in.

In such hot weather, the corpse would start to smell bad in just a few days, but the perpetrator must have hidden it well and covered it with something, so most people wouldn't be able to smell it unless they got very close.

"It's here!" Su Bai's expression hardened, his gaze fixed on the roof below.

Although he hadn't seen the other person yet, he was certain that An Wuyu was hiding here.

Suddenly, a dark shadow flashed through the room, so fast that its outline was almost invisible.

"Such speed!" Su Bai's heart skipped a beat, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

The shadowy figure below didn't stop moving. It seemed to sense something was wrong on the roof and suddenly looked up, actually looking in his direction.

The moment their eyes met, Su Bai saw a gloomy face, with an old scar on the corner of his left eye standing out in the dim light.

"court death!"

Peng!

Suddenly, a violent explosion occurred on the roof where Su Bai was located, sending tiles flying and dust billowing up.

Countless tiny projectiles shot out amidst the explosion, emitting sharp, piercing sounds.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly, pushing off the tiles with both feet and flying backward, barely avoiding the rain of projectiles.

A few shards grazed his clothes, tearing several holes in his night clothes.

hidden weapon!

While in the air, Su Bairen had a thought, and with the flow of true energy beneath his feet, he manipulated the Cloud Chaser Shadow to quickly flip and fall.

The moment his toes touched the ground, the door in front of him suddenly opened, and a dark figure rushed out with a flash of sword light, the blade aimed straight at his throat.

A cold glint appeared first, followed by the wind of a sword.

Before Su Bai could think, he instantly drew the sword from his waist with his right hand and blocked the attack with the blade.

clang!

Swords clashed, sparks flew, and a tremendous force made his hands go numb.

Peng!

The two of them stepped back at the same time.

Su Bai took two steps back, crushing two blue bricks under his feet before regaining his balance.

The dark figure also took three steps back, its heels touching the threshold, and its body swayed.

"Hmm?" The dark figure let out a low gasp of surprise, clearly not expecting that the other party could block his sword strike, especially since it was an uninvited guest dressed in black.

He narrowed his eyes, sizing up Su Bai, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Who are you?"

Su Bai did not answer.

He stared at the other person, his left hand quickly reaching into his robes to pull out the cylindrical container he always carried with him—a distress signal used exclusively by the Zhenfu Division.

With a flick of the thumb, the cap is lifted, and the lead wire is pulled hard.

The next second, a sharp whistling sound tore through the night sky, and fireworks shot into the sky with long trails of flame, exploding into a dazzling red light against the dark blue sky.

"A signal flare from the Zhenfu Division? The Zhenfu Division?!" The dark figure's expression changed drastically, his pupils contracted, "You're from the Zhenfu Division! I didn't expect your dog noses to be so sharp!" He gritted his teeth, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes, the veins on his hand gripping the sword bulging.

"Go to hell!"

Before he could finish speaking, the dark figure rushed forward again, his sword flashing like a bolt of lightning, aiming straight for Su Bai's vitals.

boom!

Signal fireworks exploded in the sky, illuminating the area with blinding red light.

Su Bai didn't have time to look closely before the sword light arrived.

An Wuyu's sword was fast and ruthless. Before the blade even reached him, the sharp sword energy had already made Su Bai's cheek sting.

This sword strike was stronger than the previous one, clearly indicating that the opponent intended to kill him and eliminate this troublesome fellow before the main force of the Zhenfu Division arrived.

Su Bai did not take the hit head-on. Instead, he shifted his feet and unleashed the Cloud Chasing Shadow technique, his figure drifting to the side like smoke.

The sword grazed his ribs, piercing a deep hole in the earthen wall behind him, sending brick fragments flying everywhere.

"Not bad footwork!" An Wuyu sneered, flipped his wrist, and slashed horizontally with his sword, chasing after Su Bai's retreat.

Su Bai circulated his true energy, channeling the blazing sun force into the blade, causing a faint red glow to appear on the edge.

He no longer retreated, but instead swung his sword to meet the attack head-on.