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Wang Xiong's heart tightened, and he quickly closed the door, bowed slightly, and stood aside, respectfully greeting the visitor with his hands clasped.

"Greetings, Lord Qing!"

"Um."

The figure was dressed in a black hooded outfit. In the dim light, the face was not clearly visible; only a slightly pointed chin and two small mustaches were discernible.

"The Black Gang was wiped out some time ago, and the temple was furious about it, but due to some things, it was delayed until today before they sent me here." The man called Qingzhu had a somewhat shrill voice as he fiddled with the calligraphy brush in his hand.

"I wonder what the orders are? I've been secretly investigating for a while, but I still haven't found out who did it. Judging from the traces at the scene and after questioning some of the people involved, it should have been done by one person. Moreover, it's not just the Black Gang that's been involved recently; the Black Killing Pavilion has also been in trouble. Judging from the methods, I reckon it's the same person!"

"Hmm? The Black Killing Pavilion?" Qingzhu's eyes, hidden in the darkness, narrowed. "What happened to them?"

"They've been wiped out!"

"Haha, no wonder. When I came out, I happened to run into a few people from the Black Kill Pavilion. They looked very unhappy. So that's why."

Qingzhu was somewhat pleased.

"Do you know why it was wiped out?"

"I don't know, but it might be related to the Flying Eagle Horse Gang. Their Black Kill Pavilion had blood-written words on the wall, leaving the words 'Flying Eagle Horse Gang'."

"It's unlikely they did it; that's not their style. They also have no connection with the Black Killing Pavilion. It's probably someone else who framed them and stirred up trouble."

Qingzhu shook his head.

"Alright, let's not talk about them anymore! I'm here today for three things. First, Zhao Defu is dead, and the Black Gang is gone. We must find out who did it, otherwise, what will become of our reputation? Second, the supplies to Shahu County have stopped, and the higher-ups are very dissatisfied. You need to make up for these missing quotas. If you can't, even if you have to use your son, you have to make up for it!"

Wang Xiong looked down at the ground, his face twitching.

Qingzhu ignored Wang Xiong's expression and continued, "The third thing is, now that the Black Gang is gone, we need to rebuild a new one. You'll be in charge of that. I can help you figure out some of the manpower, but you'll have to do the bulk of it yourself. Don't let this happen again, or you know the consequences!"

"Yes, yes!" Wang Xiong's back was almost soaked with sweat.

Although the people in front of him spoke softly and did not shout, the eerie feeling that made him tremble with fear still made his heart tighten.

"Lord Qing, how much is still short of this target, and when will it be met?"

"Fifty of them must be delivered to Shanyang within five days. Not a single one less, not a single day late!"

"Okay... I'll definitely complete the mission!"

Wang Xiong waited for a long time but heard no sound. He cautiously looked up and found that the seat was empty, the window was open, and the person had left sometime earlier.

Wang Xiong let out a long breath, wiped away his sweat, and looked serious.

Five days to find fifty children...

He thought about it for a while and realized that he definitely couldn't do it on his own.

"Perhaps we could try contacting Hao Cheng in Yuncheng County!"

He felt a pang of regret.

This is definitely going to cost us some money!

Thinking of this, he quickly wrote a letter, summoned his trusted confidant, and instructed him to leave the city overnight.

"Damn it, don't let me find out who did this, or I'll skin him alive! If he has family, I'll kill their whole family! Damn it!"

His eyes were sinister, and he deeply hated the man who had slaughtered the entire Black Gang.

However, after so many days, he has made no substantial progress whatsoever.

It's impossible to find out who did it.

Completely clueless.

Perhaps they could just find someone to take the blame?

Who did Meng Ping mention last time?

Zhuoli, the six-fingered flying stone of Tianmu County?

If we really can't find him, we might have to "make do" with him for a while!

Who told him to know hidden weapons and also know Hu Bufan?

Wang Xiong was worried that if he didn't give his superiors an explanation, they would have to give him his head as compensation!

There are plenty of people like him; the death of one of them is less significant than the loss of a single hair on a cow.

-----------------

Another spacious courtyard in Shahu County.

The original owner of this courtyard has disappeared, and it has been taken over by another group of people who just moved in in the last couple of days.

"Boss, you're finally here. Was anything wrong on the way?"

A man with a long face led a group of more than ten people inside.

"What could we possibly need? But you, Ma Jun, you've been here for two days. How's the situation here? Have you figured it out?"

A burly man, his chest bare, strode into the main room, plopped down in a chair, and poured himself a cup of tea.

Others followed and found places to sit down.

Ma Jun looked a little strange: "Brother, I've been making inquiries these past couple of days, and something seems off!"

"Something's not right? What's wrong with it?"

The burly man sat imposingly in the chair, frowning as he looked at the horse-faced man, Ma Jun.

Ma Jun thought for a moment before saying, "This Shahu County is full of strange things! Some time ago, we contacted the Cao Gang and the Dajing Gang to join forces against the Qingzhu Gang. They also made their move. The Qingzhu Gang now only has one hall master in the Refining Realm left, who has already become the gang leader."

"Myna, isn't everything fine? What's weird about it?"

One person asked a question, and the others looked at Ma Jun with curiosity.

"Thirteen, let me finish!" Ma Jun continued, "Later, for some reason, the Black Gang in Shahu County was wiped out! The second son of the county magistrate of Shahu County was found dead, naked, at the Black Gang's stronghold. Then, a few days later, the county magistrate himself died!"

"Then, on the same day, the county magistrate's eldest son died at the Black Kill Pavilion's headquarters! The Black Kill Pavilion was also raided!"

"Holy crap, the Black Kill Pavilion is all dead? Hahahaha, the Black Kill Pavilion is really unlucky!"

Some people burst into laughter, their faces filled with schadenfreude.

The others also had smiles on their faces.

They had little dealings with the Black Killing Pavilion, but they knew they weren't on the same side, so they naturally mocked the other party when they were down on their luck.

"Huh? The county magistrate is dead? This county magistrate wasn't one of our men, was he?" the eldest brother asked.

"No!" Ma Jun shook his head. "But his family used to be in the army, and they practiced the 'Breaking Formation Spear' technique."

"Hmm. Since he's not one of ours, let's just leave him be. The death of a county lieutenant won't affect us much. Go on!"

The elder brother nodded, signaling Ma Jun to continue.

"That's the strange part!" Ma Jun's face was grim. "The Black Killing Pavilion has been wiped out! That county magistrate, Li Ziren, and his entire family are dead. And yet, in both their locations, there are blood-written characters, and on those characters are our names!"

Ma Jun recounted the blood-written words from both places.

The smiles of everyone present vanished.

"What the hell does this have to do with us? This is a complete frame-up!"

"Yeah, damn it, who did this? I'm going to kill him!"

"This absolutely cannot be left like this! When we, the Flying Eagle Caravan, want to kill someone, why would we need to leave behind some damned blood oath? This is utter nonsense!"

Everyone was furious, and their expressions were extremely unpleasant.

The eldest brother, who was in charge, frowned.

What happened right away?

frame?

Who would do such a thing? What would their purpose be?

They had already planted spies in Shahu County before they came, and they had also studied it carefully. The place was remote and the forces were weak, so it was basically no match for them and would not affect their plans.

How did they suddenly become the target of public criticism?

Before I'd even done anything, I'd already offended the Black Killing Pavilion and the government?

"Have you looked into this intelligence these past two days? Who did it? Do you have any guesses?" The eldest brother, Zhou Chu, raised his hand to stop the other angry men and asked Ma Jun.

Ma Jun looked bitter: "No, not a single clue! The Black Kill Pavilion is most skilled at intelligence gathering, but all of their intelligence has been looted and burned, leaving no trace. All we know is that it was done by one person, and the method is the same as the one who wiped out the Black Gang—it's highly likely the same person!"

"One person? Not a group, just one person? Are you sure?"

Zhou Chu stared at Ma Jun.

Everyone else was also looking at Ma Jun.

"Yes, it's someone who's skilled in hidden weapons and swordsmanship, adept at using throwing knives, flying stones, and the like," Ma Jun said in a deep voice. "As for swordsmanship, it's very likely the Bao family's 'Ox-Dissecting Knife Technique.' The previous leader of the Green Bamboo Gang also used the 'Ox-Dissecting Knife,' but now Wang Hu of the Green Bamboo Gang and his brother Wang Bao are both dead."

"Why is there something to do with the Bao family?" Zhou Chu felt this was getting a bit tricky.

"I know this 'Dissecting Ox Knife Technique,' but the one circulating outside can't possibly be more advanced than Lian Zang's. Since this person could single-handedly wipe out the Black Killing Pavilion, his strength is no weaker than mine. To possess the 'Dissecting Ox Knife Technique' at the Marrow Cleansing Realm level, he can only be from the Bao family. Could it really be the Bao family who did it? What were they after? Why would they travel all the way from Mingde Prefecture to Shanyang Prefecture, to such a remote little place, just to kill a few people?"

He murmured to himself, several thoughts flashing through his mind.

"Brother, I heard the Bao family seems to have sided with them. Do you think they might be specifically targeting us?"

Zhou Chu was startled, but upon closer reflection, it wasn't entirely impossible.

"Don't panic. Nobody knows the situation right now, and wild guesses will only demoralize the troops! We just need to complete our mission step by step, and I'll handle the rest!"

"Okay." Ma Jun nodded upon hearing this, feeling much more at ease.

With my older brother as my pillar of support, I feel like nothing is a big deal.

Zhou Chu continued, "In the next two days, I'll unite all the gangs in Shahu County, including the Green Bamboo Gang, Zhang Dajing and his Big Whale Gang, and Liu Wenjing's Canal Gang. I want Shahu County to hear only my voice!"

His voice was loud, and he bared his teeth, which looked like the fangs of a man-eating beast.

"You need to start recruiting tomorrow. We need blacksmiths and miners. The iron mine belonging to the Green Bamboo Gang needs to start operations as soon as possible! Starting tomorrow, all the shops in the entire Shahu County will have to pay me their monthly wages! If we don't have enough money, the villages below will have to pay us too!"

"yes!"

The others echoed their sentiments, their faces a mixture of excitement and malice.

-----------------

The former site of the Black Killing Pavilion is still charred black. The corpses have been moved away, unclaimed, and thrown into a mass grave long ago.

It was pitch black here, and since no one lived around, this incident made it even more eerie and terrifying.

"Do you think this matter has anything to do with the Flying Eagle Caravan?"

A tall figure dressed in white stood before the wall covered in blood-written words and asked calmly.

"In my opinion, it's most likely not!" Next to the person in white was a person in black, almost invisible in the darkness.

"So who do you think did it? According to those who saw the scene, only eight people's traces were found. If we exclude Li Jun, there are only six of us, that leaves only one person! Who do you think that person is? And what is their strength?"

"I don't know. The scope is too broad. Unless I'm a god, where would I even begin to investigate in this situation? I remember the strongest here is Broken Blade, a four-star expert. To deal with those six, his strength should be no less than yours or mine, and he might even be at the Innate level!"

"Innate..." the white-robed figure paused, "This is going to be difficult!"

"How about we squeeze some money out of the Flying Eagle Caravan? We were sent down to rebuild the branch, but where are we going to get so much money? We don't have any manpower either. We need to ask the brothers in Yuncheng County to transfer some people over. We can't do without money."

"Extort them? They seem to have already arrived in Shahu County... It's not impossible, but will Zhou Chu agree?"

"Hmph, they came all the way from Mingde Prefecture, they must have some secret! Even if we can't accomplish anything, can't we at least sabotage things? He's a smart man, he'll definitely agree!"

"Alright!"

The two tacitly abandoned the idea of ​​finding the murderer.

To be able to take down six people directly in a house, with none of them escaping or even getting injured, this person's strength suggests that killing them wouldn't be too difficult.

Why invite trouble upon yourself?

It wasn't any of their closest friends or relatives who died.