Pursued by the Heavenly Dao, first level up in the courtyard.

Jiang Fan, who had worked overtime for more than two hours at the steel rolling mill, rode his bicycle home.

Just as he was about to return to the courtyard house, gunshots rang out.

Two young men pulled the trigger repeatedly, and Jiang Fan, who was completely unprepared, was riddled with more than a dozen bullet holes.

Blood gushed out continuously, and Jiang Fan collapsed to the ground, quickly losing consciousness.

An invisible orb of light emerged from Jiang Fan's body.

In the blink of an eye, the sphere of light was pulled into the Human Path Profound Yellow Tower by a powerful and invisible energy.

The two youths who killed Jiang Fan quickly disappeared into the darkness.

Some of the people who heard the gunshots were too frightened to go out, while others stood at their doorways and peeked out.

"Something's wrong! Someone's dead! Help!"

The shouts echoed all around, and only after confirming that it was safe outside did some of the nearby residents finally come out.

Some residents went to the neighborhood office, while others went to the police station.

Liu Haizhong's eyes widened: "Jiang Fan? Jiang Fan from our compound."

Yi Zhonghai was overjoyed, then thoughtfully remarked, "It's actually Jiang Fan?"

Yan Bugui thought to himself, "Who would kill Jiang Fan? Aside from going to work, Jiang Fan is usually at home. The only people who have a grudge against him are Yi Zhonghai, He Yuzhu, the Jia family, and the deaf old lady."

Seeing Jiang Fan's tragic state, Qi Bing was stunned. He hadn't expected that a transmigrator like Jiang Fan would be shot to death.

"By the way, doesn't Jiang Fan have a system? Where is his system?"

Thinking of Jiang Fan's system, Qi Bing used his mental power to probe it, but found nothing.

Lou Xiao'e wept bitterly. Her beloved husband had been murdered, and she felt as if her world had collapsed.

Three police officers arrived, investigated the scene, and questioned the locals, but found nothing.

Curious, Qi Bing smelled the gunpowder in the air and once again released his mental energy.

Following the trail, he soon found the two young men who had shot Jiang Fan.

Under the cover of night, Qi Bing went to the Comprehensive Management Bureau and ordered a secret investigation into the murderer.

Back in the east courtyard, Qi Bing sat in the pavilion smoking.

"Jiang Fan was a transmigrator, and a transmigrator with a system. He was shot dead. No, with my current defense, conventional artillery shells or missiles might not even be able to hurt me."

"Even if I'm invincible on Earth, who knows if gods or immortals might descend upon the lesser worlds? Better safe than sorry. It's safer to stay behind the scenes. I'll keep a low profile from now on."

"In life, if you're afraid of this and that, and hesitant in your words and actions, it's not very meaningful. Try not to cause trouble around the courtyard house, but do whatever you want elsewhere."

After some private consideration, Qi Bing returned to the master bedroom and took control of Liu Xiaoqian's pride.

With his help, Liu Xiaoqian was promoted to D level.

With her white tiger attributes, celestial beauty, and status as a D-level powerhouse, Liu Xiaoqian possesses an astonishing charm.

He slept soundly until dawn, and after eating the breakfast his wife had made, Qi Bing drove her to school.

Once, Yan Bugui asked him where the pickup truck came from, and Qi Bing said it was given to him by his master, Qin Chu.

Qi Bing had already told Yan Bugui that his master, Qin Chu, was the owner of Sanhe Company in Gangcheng.

He attributed all the unreasonable things in his family to his master, Qin Chu, which was truly beneficial and without any drawbacks.

After the police station and the steel mill's investigation yielded no results, Lou Xiao'e sent a telegram to Lou Zhenhua.

It was evening at the backyard of the deaf old lady.

The deaf old woman asked in a serious tone, "Zhonghai, did you hire someone to do Jiang Fan's thing?"

Yi Zhonghai had initially suspected that Jiang Fan's murder was orchestrated by the deaf old lady, but when she asked him about it, his suspicions vanished, and he quickly replied, "Madam, it wasn't me."

"That's strange. Did Jiang Fan offend someone outside?"

"Madam, could it be that Jiang Fan was robbed and, while resisting, was shot and killed?"

"There's a possibility, Zhonghai. Be careful lately, don't let anyone suspect you."

"Madam, I didn't hire anyone to kill Jiang Fan."

"Zhonghai, many people in the institute know that Jiang Fan has a grudge against you. You were even beaten by Jiang Fan when you were at the steel rolling mill."

"Madam, do you think it's possible that Zhu Zi hired someone to kill Jiang Fan? Zhu Zi also had a grudge against Jiang Fan."

"It couldn't be Zhu Zi. Zhu Zi isn't a bad person. He doesn't have any life-or-death feud with Jiang Fan. How could he possibly hire someone to kill Jiang Fan? Even if Zhu Zi really wanted to hire someone to kill Jiang Fan, he wouldn't have the connections or the ability to find a gunman."

"Was the gunman who killed Jiang Fan hired by Zhang Cuihua?"

"Impossible. Zhang Cuihua is greedy and stingy; how could she possibly be willing to spend money to hire a gunman?"

The wise and shrewd old deaf woman, with just a few words, convinced Yi Zhonghai to stop doubting her.

A dozen minutes later, Yi Zhonghai left.

"Now that Jiang Fan is dead, Lou Xiao'e is single. We should try to set her up with Zhu Zi."

The elderly deaf woman, with a beaming smile, rested in bed.

According to regulations, the body must be kept in the morgue for at least three days before burial.

The fire was ended by the Qi army, and the bodies were kept for at least three days to prevent them from faking death and being placed in coffins for burial.

Throughout history, there have been many people who have fallen into a state of apparent death.

In a previous life, when people were doing archaeological work, they discovered scratch marks on the coffin lid. Such a phenomenon could mean either being buried alive or being put into a coffin after faking death. Upon closer examination, the most likely explanation is that the person was put into a coffin after faking death.

If there is a grudge, they will most likely bury the person alive and almost never prepare a coffin.

In ancient times, it was rare for people to be buried alive as funerary offerings or as burial goods.

Lou Zhenhua and Tan Yali returned to Beicheng and went to the courtyard house to handle Jiang Fan's funeral arrangements.

After Jiang Fan was placed in a coffin and buried, Lou Zhenhua and his wife took Lou Xiao'e to the port city.

Seeing Lou Xiao'e leave the courtyard, the deaf old lady, whose scheme had failed, was extremely depressed.

The deaf old lady wasn't poor, but she couldn't spend her money recklessly. Spending a little occasionally was fine, but if she frequently spent her own money to buy meat, the people in the neighborhood might eat her out of house and home, and she might even be reported to the authorities.

If Lou Xiao'e had married He Yuzhu, the deaf old lady would have been able to enjoy a life of luxury.

Lou Xiao'e is Lou Zhenhua's daughter. No matter how much money Lou Xiao'e spends, outsiders will think it's normal.

The police and the steel mill's security department's investigation yielded no results. The murderer who killed Jiang Fan was unaware that they were being watched by the Comprehensive Management Bureau.

With the intention of catching them all in one fell swoop, Qi Bing ordered the Comprehensive Management Bureau to conduct a thorough investigation, but no arrests were made for the time being.

A few days later, the grain rations for urban residents throughout the Xia Kingdom were reduced by 10%.

As dusk fell, the courtyard gathering began once again.

Yi Zhonghai took a sip of tea and said solemnly, "Starting this month, the grain rations for urban residents will be reduced by 10%. Now that we're facing difficulties, we must help each other..."

With Jiang Fan dead, one less major threat was eliminated, and Yi Zhonghai stood up again in the courtyard.

At the last general meeting of the entire courtyard, the intention was to get the neighbors to donate money and grain to the Jia family, but it failed because Jiang Fan interfered.

Now that Jiang Fan is a thing of the past, Yi Zhonghai feels confident that this donation of money and grain to the Jia family will definitely succeed.

Unfortunately, Yi Zhonghai overestimated himself and underestimated his neighbors in the courtyard.

Although Yi Zhonghai was the oldest man in the compound and a level seven fitter in the steel rolling mill, Liu Haizhong was the second oldest man in the compound and an eighth-level forger and deputy director of the forging workshop in the steel rolling mill.

With a confident air, Liu Haizhong said righteously, "Old Yi, people with rural household registration should go back to the countryside to farm. The factory leaders said that people with rural household registration who don't go back to the countryside to farm are all parasites."

Zhang Cuihua immediately burst into curses, sat down on the ground, slapped the ground with her hands, and instinctively called for Lao Jia.

After receiving a signal from Liu Haizhong, Liu Guangtian, who was standing at a distance, quietly left the courtyard.

Many of Liu Haizhong's neighbors shared the same thought: they didn't even have enough food for their own families, so who would be willing to use their own money and food to support the unrelated Jia family?

In less than twenty minutes, several people from the neighborhood committee and the police station arrived at the courtyard house, one after the other.