Seventy years old is the age to take risks!

The teahouses in Jiangning City have been unusually quiet these past few days.

It wasn't that Jiang Yuan's words were wrong, but rather that the atmosphere in the city was simply too oppressive.

"Have you heard? Another one has died!"

"Which one?"

"The head guard of the Wang family in the east of the city, a Qi Condensation Realm expert, died at home, all his meridians severed!"

"Wow, how many is this now?"

"This is the eighth one, all of them martial artists, and they all died in the exact same way!"

"What are the government officials doing? They can't even catch anyone?"

"Catch him? How? That serial killer is elusive; you can't even catch a glimpse of him!"

The teahouse patrons were chilled to the bone when the recent spate of serial killers was mentioned.

Jiang Yuan sat on the stage, holding a teacup, slowly sipping his tea with an expressionless face.

He had heard of it before.

In the past few days, a mysterious and elusive serial killer has appeared in Jiangning City. He targets martial artists, kills them, steals their treasures, and then disappears without a trace. Even the government is at its wits' end, unable to find a single clue.

This method sounds very much like the work of the demonic cult that Guan Ling and the others are investigating.

You've arrived so quickly?

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the teahouse.

Zhang Yong pushed open the door and entered, his face full of anxiety:

"Old Jiang, come to the yamen at once!"

Jiang Yuan glanced at Zhang Yong. "What's wrong? Can't you see I'm telling a story?"

"Ugh, what's the point of saying anything more!"

Zhang Yong grabbed him and rushed him out, saying urgently, "The City Lord's Mansion is summoning all the retainers."

"Something big has happened!"

......

Jiangning City Government Office.

At this moment, more than twenty martial artists had gathered in the training ground, all of whom were Jianghu retainers hired by the City Lord's Mansion.

Jiang Yuan glanced around and saw that there were quite a few familiar faces.

There were also a few unfamiliar faces, but their presence was quite strong, so it seems they really have something big going on.

Moreover, according to Zhang Yong, the City Lord's Mansion spent a lot of money this time, giving each person a full one hundred spirit stones as a reward!

This was also extremely tempting for him.

At the forefront of the crowd, Zhang Ce, the commander of the city lord's guards, spoke in a solemn voice, "Gentlemen, the reason I've summoned you all here today is regarding the series of murders in the city!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd below exchanged bewildered glances.

This matter has caused quite a stir, and it's all being directed at martial artists, so of course they already knew about it.

However, that murderer was quite powerful. I heard that he even killed several of the deacons of the World Society. He was at least a master of the Meridian Opening Realm.

Most of the people here are martial artists at the Qi Condensation Realm, who are struggling to protect themselves, let alone meddle in such matters.

Who knows, the next executioner might be the one to fall victim to it.

Zhang Ce scanned the faces of the crowd and continued, "Gentlemen, this murderous maniac is ruthless and elusive. I hope you can all lend a helping hand. The City Lord's Mansion will reward you handsomely afterward!"

The crowd remained hesitant.

Seeing that no one reacted, a hint of disdain flashed in Zhang Ce's eyes. He had long guessed that these martial arts retainers were just a bunch of cowardly cowards who were afraid of dying.

They are completely unreliable.

These people are said to be retainers of the city lord's mansion, but in reality, it is more of a transactional relationship. Once they encounter truly unpredictable danger, they will hesitate to act.

I don't know what the city lord was thinking, keeping such a bunch of people around.

However, he naturally couldn't say that, so he added, "Gentlemen, this matter is of utmost importance. The city lord has ordered that this person be apprehended within seven days!"

"Therefore, in addition to all of you, the city lord has also specially invited some helpers..."

Before the words were finished, footsteps were heard outside the training ground, and several young people dressed in sect robes walked in.

The group that arrived was from the Qingxuan Sect, including Zhao You, Zhang Sheng, Guan Ling, and Zhou Yun, among others.

Upon seeing the newcomer, Zhang Ce greeted him with a smile and introduced him, "Everyone, this is Young Master Zhao from the Qingxuan Sect, a master of the Meridian Opening Realm."

"The people behind him are also elite disciples of the Qingxuan Sect."

"This time, they will be working alongside us!"

Zhao You smiled, clasped his hands, and said, "Gentlemen, I am Zhao You of the Qingxuan Sect. I have been ordered to investigate the remnants of the demonic sect who killed my disciples."

"The serial killer who has recently emerged is very likely the person we are tracking."

"At that time, I hope you will all lend your full support."

"No problem, no problem."

The martial artists returned the greeting with clasped hands, their faces beaming with smiles, all of them relieved.

That's it now.

The Qingxuan Sect is a prestigious sect, and being able to act alongside their elite disciples is something we would naturally be eager to do.

The matter might be resolved without them even needing to intervene.

Just then, Zhou Yun's gaze swept across the crowd, and he suddenly froze.

"What are you doing here, old man?"

Zhou Yun pointed at Jiang Yuan in the crowd, his face full of astonishment.

Following his finger, everyone saw Jiang Yuan standing in the crowd, his expression indifferent, as if he didn't recognize Zhou Yun and the others at all.

Zhang Ce frowned: "This is Elder Jiang, a retainer hired by the City Lord's Mansion. Does Young Master Zhou have any questions?"

"he?"

Zhou Yun's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

This old storyteller is actually a retainer of the city lord's mansion?

So... he's a martial artist?

Are you kidding me?

"Senior Brother Zhou, you must not be rude to Elder Jiang," Guan Ling said, frowning.

She was secretly delighted to see Jiang Yuan there, thinking that with such a master's assistance, the investigation into the Demonic Sect would be much easier.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Yun took the initiative to attack first.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yun's face darkened. "Junior Sister, I know you enjoy this old man's storytelling, but he's always acted strangely and spouted nonsense. Now he's deliberately hiding his identity as a martial artist; I'm afraid he's not a good person!"

"Could it be that he's the serial killer?!"

Everyone was shocked by these words.

The guy touched his upper and lower lips together and actually splashed a mouthful of dirty water directly onto Jiang Yuan.

Is there any basis for this claim?

What do you mean by deliberately hiding your martial arts identity? You're just blind and didn't notice, okay?

Jiang Yuan's lips twitched, but he couldn't be bothered to lower himself to the level of such a person.

However, he wasn't in a hurry, but Guan Ling was. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed, "Senior Brother Zhou, how can you make false accusations?"

"The old man could never be a serial killer!"

She spoke these words with absolute certainty and without any politeness, which aroused Zhao You's curiosity.

Junior Sister knew perfectly well that Junior Brother Zhou and Jiang Yuan had some past grievances, yet she defended Jiang Yuan in front of everyone. Wasn't that blatantly siding with outsiders?

Why does this old man have the power to get his junior sister to protect him so much?

"Junior Sister, why are you so sure?" Zhao You asked curiously.

Upon hearing this, Guan Ling blurted out without hesitation, "That serial killer always commits murders at night, and the old gentleman is with me every night..."

She paused abruptly at this point.

She originally wanted to say that Jiang Yuan practiced swordsmanship with her every night, so how could he possibly have time to kill someone?

However, she suddenly noticed the strange looks from the people around her halfway through her sentence, and then realized that what she said was a bit inappropriate and seemed a little too odd.

Moreover, she had promised Jiang Yuan that she wouldn't reveal this to anyone.

But her beating was no small matter; everyone around her who heard it went crazy.

"What???"