After the family split up, I achieved martial arts sainthood.

Qingyuan County, Fulin Street.

In a spacious mansion, members of the Green Forest Gang came and went through the main gate.

Their steps were hurried, as if their backsides were on fire, they didn't stop.

In the main hall of the mansion, a burly, middle-aged man sat imposingly in a grand chair.

His rough, broad hands held a cup of covered tea, casually fiddling with it.

On his left and right sides sat the managers of the Green Forest Gang.

The managers all kept their eyes down, silent as if frozen in fear.

As a result, the atmosphere in the lobby was very quiet.

It was so quiet that even the sound of breathing was exceptionally clear.

"Twelve hours have passed, and there's still no trace of the murderer?"

As the quiet atmosphere grew increasingly oppressive, the burly man sitting in the armchair finally spoke.

His voice was deep and resonant, his emotions calm, revealing no trace of joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness.

However, all the stewards sitting in the hall straightened their backs and adopted serious expressions.

They sat up straight, not daring to be lazy in the slightest.

"Who can answer me?"

The burly man put down his covered teacup and looked around at the stewards in the room with his piercing eyes.

The managers looked at each other, all shaking their heads in shame.

"Hmph! A bunch of useless trash!"

The burly man glanced around, then scoffed and asked, "Is the storeroom key lost?"

"Reporting to the hall master, it wasn't lost!"

A steward hurriedly responded and pulled a brass key from his pocket.

"The fact that the key wasn't lost means the killer wasn't after our goods."

The burly man's eyes softened slightly, and he immediately asked, "How much money does Cao Bao have left in his household?"

"We do not know the exact amount of money in Cao Bao's home. However, according to our inspection, there were no signs of ransacking or searching in his home."

One of the stewards then stood up and replied, "As for Cao Bao, he has no money left."

The burly man picked up his covered teacup, took a sip, and then said coldly, "There were no signs of a search in the house, and there was still money left, which means the murderer's main purpose was not to steal money."

Upon hearing this, all the stewards in the room raised their eyebrows and their eyes lit up.

"The Master is wise!"

They immediately stood up, clasped their hands in greeting, and offered their compliments in unison.

"snort!"

The burly man's expression did not improve. He paid no attention to the flattery from the managers and continued, "They're not here for our goods, nor for money."

"The killer's motive is most likely revenge. Investigate who Cao Bao has recently offended and who he has had conflicts with."

Is it really that simple?

The managers were all astonished, never expecting that the burly man could explain the complicated matter so clearly in just a few words.

"Master, if this is about revenge, why only investigate those you've recently offended? Shouldn't we ignore past grievances?"

Upon hearing this, one of the managers stood up and couldn't help but clasp his hands in greeting and ask.

"You brainless idiot!"

Upon hearing this, the burly man couldn't help but curse.

"Cao Bao was covered in lime powder. His face, in particular, was almost completely covered."

"This was clearly a dirty trick by the murderer, which blinded Cao Bao and left him helpless, leading to his tragic death on the spot."

The stewards all nodded, knowing that the burly man had gone to see Cao Bao's body.

"What does this mean? It means the killer isn't very strong and doesn't have absolute confidence in overpowering Cao Bao. Otherwise, why would they resort to such underhanded tactics?"

The burly man's summary left the managers looking on in surprise.

This……

The hall master actually found so many clues in a dead person?

"If it's an old grudge, it means the killer has been holding back for a long time. Since he's chosen to endure it, why would he be in such a hurry and suddenly take the risk of an ambush?"

The burly man's indifferent voice made the managers start to think.

"Therefore, the person who killed Cao Bao was most likely someone he had recently offended. And Cao Bao being alive would very likely pose a deadly threat to that person."

Before the managers could come up with a conclusion, the burly man made the final decision.

That's it!

After listening to the burly man's reasoned and well-founded analysis, all the stewards in the room were shocked and amazed.

The hall master is indeed worthy of being called the hall master; he was able to discern so much from Cao Bao's corpse alone.

"I'll go check right away!"

A steward suddenly stood up and hurriedly left the hall.

The lobby fell silent once again.

The burly man didn't say anything more, and casually sipped his tea from the covered bowl.

A short while later, the steward who had left returned.

"Master, we've found out!"

The steward rushed into the hall and, without waiting for the burly man to ask any questions, reported directly: "Cao Bao's biggest enemy recently is a family surnamed Li in Ping'an Ward, whom he clashed with yesterday."

"He took a fancy to someone else's new bride and forced them to send her to his house for a visit. If the Li family dared not to send her, given his personality..."

"But according to those below, it seems that no one in the Li family practices martial arts."

The burly man put down his teacup and glanced indifferently at the steward who was giving the report.

"Since you have a goal, what are you hesitating for? The Green Forest Gang isn't a government agency; do they need evidence to get things done?"

The manager understood immediately and decisively turned and left.

……

Cao Bao's death was indeed a hidden danger.

The Qinglin Gang are bandits, robbers who use the guise of serving the mountain god.

They are unscrupulous and disregard the law in their actions.

They never reason.

They can take someone's life at will simply based on their own joys, sorrows, and anger.

If the Qinglin Gang knew that Cao Bao and Li Jinyu had a feud over a woman's husband, even if Cao Bao's death had nothing to do with Li Jinyu...

Given the Qinglin Gang's modus operandi, they would most likely slaughter the entire Li family in order to consolidate their power.

Even if they are concerned about the consequences and do not kill innocent people indiscriminately, they will inevitably coerce Li Jinyu and others to assist in the investigation.

At that time, you will still have to suffer some hardships.

Gu Xin breathed a sigh of relief; fortunately, he had anticipated this.

He was mentally prepared when he decided to ambush and kill Cao Bao.

He originally planned to deal with it later, but now that Liu Mei had publicized it, time was of the essence.

We need to hurry up and clean things up as soon as possible to clear Li Jinyu of suspicion.

Thinking of this, Gu Xin decisively turned around, rushed into the Li family's house, and took out a kitchen knife.

Ignoring the Li family's obstruction, he went straight to Liu Mei.

"You're so good at talking, let me see what your mouth is made of!"

Gu Xin stormed through the Li family's encirclement and walked menacingly toward Liu Mei.

He held a kitchen knife, looking determined to kill her.

He needs to get rid of this shrew first before he can have a chance to deal with the situation.

"Gu Xin, what are you doing? What do you want to do? I'm your aunt."

Upon seeing this, Liu Mei's arrogant attitude vanished instantly, replaced by horror and shock.

"Stop trying to claim kinship with us, get lost! Otherwise, I wouldn't mind making your man lose his wife in middle age and your son lose his mother at a young age."

Gu Xin's eyes widened in anger, his fierce expression exuding murderous intent.

"You...you...Gu Xin, just because we didn't agree to let you learn martial arts, you harbor such deep hatred towards us? Do you know how difficult martial arts training is? Do you think that learning martial arts guarantees success?"

Liu Mei was furious and, disregarding her image, pointed at Gu Xin and began to curse: "We were just trying to protect you, afraid you'd suffer, afraid you'd waste your time, and you still don't appreciate it! You're such an ingrate..."

The incessant cursing only fueled the increasingly heated debate among the onlookers.

What a silver tongue! She's really good at twisting the truth.

They were clearly afraid that after he learned martial arts, he wouldn't have time to earn money to support them.

Now, however, he makes baseless accusations, claiming that he is worried about him suffering.

No matter how tough martial arts training is, it can't compare to the hardship of getting up early and working late, risking one's life to hunt in Qingfeng Mountain.

Gu Xin had no time to argue with her; he simply made a gesture as if to raise the kitchen knife.

"Gu Xin, you've gone completely mad!"

Liu Mei turned pale with fright and ran away.

"Gu Xin, just die! Die along with the Li family!"

After uttering a harsh remark, he dared not linger any longer. He and Gu Qi supported each other and stumbled out of Ping'anfang.

As Liu Mei and her husband left, the neighbors who had already retreated a considerable distance also moved further away.

Pairs of eyes swept over Gu Xin, their fear undisguised.

Gu Xin ignored her, turned around and threw down the kitchen knife, then looked at Li Jinyu and said, "Don't take what that madwoman said to heart."

"Although the Qinglin Gang is powerful, they are not powerful enough to control everything in Qingyuan County. If they really come looking for trouble, remember to inform me at the martial arts school, and I will ask my master to help resolve the situation."

"I have some things to take care of tonight, so I'll be leaving now."

After saying that, Gu Xin left in a hurry, ignoring the Li family's response.

He needs to hurry up and resolve any potential troubles to prevent the Qinglin Gang from getting involved with Li Jinyu's family.

"Ah Xin? Ah Xin?"

Li Jinyu chased after Gu Xin out of the courtyard gate, wanting to advise him not to act impulsively, but Gu Xin quickly ran away.

"That kid ran so fast, he must have been scared out of his wits by the Qinglin Gang and ran away for his life alone."

"The Green Forest Gang is ruthless. If it were us, who wouldn't be afraid?"

"That's true, no wonder the child ran away."

The surrounding neighbors, who had been watching the spectacle, witnessed this scene and no longer concealed their murmurs of discussion.

Many people joked, many people ridiculed, and many people gloated.

Many others sighed with regret, feeling a sense of shared sorrow for the passing of their comrades.

"Jin Yu, Ah Xin, he..."

Zhang Fang slowly stepped forward and looked at Li Jinyu, asking her a question.

"No way!"

Li Jinyu stood outside the courtyard gate, looking in the direction Gu Xin had left, and shook her head firmly.

Ah Xin isn't the kind of person they're talking about.