Slaying demons and eliminating evil, a martial saint among mortals.

Qin Lie stared into Liu Yunniang's eyes, not avoiding her gaze.

"Yes, I killed him!"

Upon receiving this affirmative answer, Liu Yunniang visibly swayed.

She quickly raised her hand to hold onto the door frame next to her, which prevented her from falling.

"you……"

Why did you kill him?

Qin Lie looked at her and said, "Last night, Zhang Erniu secretly left home."

"After I heard the noise, I followed behind."

"He went all the way to the City God Temple."

"After I followed him inside, I learned that he went there to check if the keepsake he left behind had been taken by the people from Yanyu Tower."

"Yanyu Tower?"

Upon hearing these three words, Liu Yunniang's expression immediately changed.

Although she was just an ordinary person, she had heard of the reputation of Yanyu Tower.

That's a place where you can buy your life with money.

As long as someone is willing to pay a sufficient price, they can hire Yanyulou to kill someone.

Liu Yunniang looked at Qin Lie, her lips trembling uncontrollably.

"Erniu, he..."

"Who does he want to kill?"

When she asked the question, she already knew the answer in her heart.

She clung to a last shred of hope until she heard it with her own ears.

Qin Lie paused for a moment.

"I."

Liu Yunniang tightened her grip on the door frame.

The knuckles have lost their original color due to continuous exertion.

Qin Lie continued, "Zhang Erniu took the blood-written note and went to the people of Yanyu Tower to buy my life."

"I've confirmed it with the people at Yanyu Tower, and I also saw the blood-written letter he wrote with my own eyes."

"Later, Zhang Erniu himself admitted that he was the one who placed the blood letter, but the assassination attempt by Yanyu Tower failed, which is why I was able to return to Heishan Town alive."

Liu Yunniang did not speak.

She leaned against the door frame, frozen in place.

During dinner last night, Zhang Erniu did say a lot of unpleasant things.

She also knew that Zhang Erniu had always harbored resentment towards Qin Lie.

But she never imagined that this dissatisfaction had already reached the point of being life-threatening.

After Qin Lie left Heishan Town, Zhang Erniu found Yanyu Tower and wanted Qin Lie to die outside.

The courtyard remained quiet for a long time before Liu Yunniang finally spoke.

His voice was already terribly hoarse.

"So...you killed him?"

Qin Lie looked at her.

"After the truth came out, he showed no remorse whatsoever."

"Even after I died, I became a vengeful ghost and came to take my life. I don't have the habit of sitting there and waiting for others to take my life again and again."

Qin Lie spoke calmly.

He didn't make excuses for himself, nor did he blame Zhang Erniu's death on Yanyulou.

He's the one who killed him.

Now that we've decided to tell Liu Yunniang the truth, there's no need to keep it a secret any longer.

Liu Yunniang slowly lowered her head.

Tears streamed down her cheeks from the corners of her eyes.

She didn't cry out loud, but her shoulders were trembling slightly.

Qin Lie stood still, without going forward to comfort him.

Zhang Erniu deserved to die for what he did.

But for Liu Yunniang, he was still the husband she had lived with for many years.

He is also the biological father of Hu Zi and Xiao He.

The affection between husband and wife after so many years will not disappear completely just because of a single sentence like "Zhang Erniu deserves to die".

Whether she can accept it, and how long it will take her to accept it, are all decisions she must make herself.

Qin Lie waited a while before continuing, "His body is still in the City God Temple."

"The people from Yanyu Tower left marks on the corpses."

"Once the authorities discover the body, the final conclusion will most likely be that Yan Yu Lou killed him."

"I could easily take this outcome and blame everything on Yanyulou."

"But you have the right to know the truth."

So, I didn't hide anything from you.

After Qin Lie finished speaking, he turned to look at the room where the two children were staying.

The door was still closed, and there was no sound coming from inside.

Tiger and Xiaohe should still be sleeping.

But it won't be long before the two children wake up.

They'll definitely ask then.

Where did Dad go?

Why didn't they come back all night?

Although Zhang Erniu brought this upon himself, his death was ultimately related to Qin Lie.

Qin Lie reached into his pocket, took out a key, and then took out a folded piece of paper.

He walked up to Liu Yunniang and placed the key and the note in her hand.

"This is the key to that courtyard in Dongxuan City. The exact address is written on this paper. It's up to you whether you go or not."

"If you're willing to go, just take the key to the mayor; I've arranged everything."

"If you don't want to go, I won't force you."

Liu Yunniang looked down at the key and the note in her hand, without saying a word.

Qin Lie didn't wait for her reply any longer. He turned around, hung up the Broken Snow Blade again, and walked towards the courtyard gate.

Having just killed Liu Yunniang's husband, it was indeed inappropriate for him to remain here.

Family fortune is very important to Qin Lie.

But he wouldn't use coercion to keep Liu Yunniang and her two children by his side.

If Liu Yunniang is willing to go to Dongxuan City, he can secretly take care of this family in the future, and he can gradually accumulate family property points.

If Liu Yunniang is unwilling to go, he will think of other ways.

There are so many martial arts techniques that can be practiced.

The cultivation techniques that suit him don't necessarily have to be obtained from the family business system.

Leaving Liu Yunniang's family does not mean he will never have another chance to gain family property value.

Qin Lie stopped at the gate of the courtyard.

He turned around and glanced at Liu Yunniang, who was still standing by the door frame.

"Whether or not to tell the two children about Zhang Erniu's death, and when to tell them, is entirely up to you."

After saying that, Qin Lie opened the courtyard gate and stepped out.

The courtyard gate was closed again.

In the courtyard, only Liu Yunniang remained standing there.

When Qin Lie left the Zhang family courtyard, it was already dawn.

There weren't many pedestrians on the street yet.

Many houses remained closed, with only a few breakfast stalls having started to light their fires.

Qin Lie walked along the street to the east of the town and soon found the inn that Li Hu had mentioned.

The inn's door was already open.

The shopkeeper was yawning behind the counter when he saw someone come in, and only then did he barely perk up.

Qin Lie walked over and asked, "Shopkeeper, was there a burly man with a knife on his back staying here yesterday?"

His surname is Li, and his given name is Li Hu.

The shopkeeper thought for a moment, then pointed upstairs.

"Yes, it's in the room on the second floor, towards the back. The person there probably hasn't gotten up yet."

Qin Lie thanked him and went up the stairs to the second floor.

When he arrived at the door, he did not knock directly.

Li Hu had traveled for such a long time yesterday, and he was finally able to get some extra sleep, so Qin Lie didn't want to make too much of a commotion.

He raised his hand and grasped the door, making a very slight movement.

The door had barely been pushed open a crack when a series of hurried noises came from inside.

The next second, Li Hu sat up in bed.

He drew his long sword, landed on his feet, and aimed the blade directly at the doorway.

The entire sequence of movements was performed without any pauses.

Only after recognizing Qin Lie did his tense shoulders relax.

"I thought it was someone else."

Li Hu sheathed his sword and sat back down on the bed.

"Look at you, disturbing my sleep so early in the morning! How's it going? Have you taken care of everything at home?"

Qin Lie looked at Li Hu, a smile appearing on his face.

"I didn't expect you to be so alert."

"I tried to be so discreet when I opened the door, but you still noticed."

Li Hu chuckled.

"I've been out there for so many years."

"If I didn't even have this much awareness, I would have died in some ravine long ago."

At this point, he looked up at Qin Lie.

"You haven't answered my question yet."

"Is everything taken care of?"

Qin Lie nodded.

"It's done."

"I've done everything I could."

After hearing this, Li Hu subconsciously glanced behind Qin Lie.

The area outside the door was deserted; there wasn't a soul in sight.

Where are they?

"Why can't I see any of them?"

"Weren't you back to pick someone up?"

Qin Lie entered the room and sat down at the table.

There was a teapot on the table.

He poured himself a glass of water and took two sips.

"It's a long story, but I've done everything I could."

"The rest is up to them to decide."

Li Hu glanced at Qin Lie a few times, and he could tell that Qin Lie didn't want to talk about it, so he didn't press the matter further.

Qin Lie put down his water glass.

"Is there anything else you need in Black Mountain Town?"

"If there's nothing else, we can go back today."

Li Hu waved his hand.

"What business could I possibly have here?"

"I'm in a completely unfamiliar place, and I don't know anyone here."

"If you want to go back, then let's go back together."

After he finished speaking, he paused for a moment.

"But we should at least eat breakfast before going back, right?"

"Are there any things worth trying in your Black Mountain Town?"

"You ate an extra steamed bun from me yesterday, so you have to make it up to me today."

Qin Lie chuckled.

"no problem."

"Don't even mention one steamed bun, I'll buy you ten today."

"But to be fair, the steamed buns in Heishan Town don't taste as good to me as the meat buns in Lijia Town."

"You should eat less, so as not to waste money."

Li Hu squinted at him.

Don't give me that.

"I already inquired about it on the way here."

"The chicken soup dumplings from Heishan Town are famous in several nearby towns."

"You're telling me now that it doesn't taste good?"

"If you're reluctant to spend money, just say so. There's no need to beat around the bush here."

After being exposed, Qin Lie showed no embarrassment whatsoever.

He picked up his water glass and took another sip.

"You can't say that; everyone has different tastes."

"I've lived in Heishan Town for so many years, and I really don't find the chicken soup dumplings particularly amazing."

"I still prefer the meat buns from your Lijia Town."

Li Hu didn't believe it at all.

He quickly put on his clothes and then slung the knife behind his back.

They quickly packed up their belongings.

"Enough with the nonsense."

"Whether it's delicious or not, I'll know once I try it myself."

"No matter how much I eat today, you'll have to pay for it anyway."

After saying that, he didn't give Qin Lie a chance to refuse, opened the door and walked out.

Qin Lie sat at the table, watching Li Hu's departing figure, and could only pick up his water glass and drink the rest of the water in one gulp.

He then stood up and followed Li Hu out of the room.

Let him eat if he can. After he finishes eating, Qin Lie is waiting to go back to Dongxuan City to ask Xu Qinghe about the Soul Sealing Book.