I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Although the brother and sister, relying on their years of accumulated martial arts skills and combat experience, reflexively dodged at the last second before Rakshasa's blade struck their bodies, they only managed to escape their fate of "instant death"...

Both siblings had serious injuries, and even if they were sent to a hospital immediately, they would not escape death.

The intense pain spread through Zhongfu and Qin's bodies a beat late, tearing their consciousness to shreds. They could hardly speak or move their bodies, let alone think normally.

As the color drained from Qin's face, a look of astonishment gradually appeared, as if she had witnessed something unbelievable.

She hadn't seen Rakshasa's attack at all.

Although she dared not call herself "powerful," Qin believed that her swordsmanship was still quite good.

With her absolute strength, she secured a place in the prestigious Chiba Sword Hall, a place teeming with powerful swordsmen. Not only were her juniors defeated, but even many seniors who had been practicing swordsmanship longer than her became her foes.

I... couldn't even see the trajectory of this unknown young man's sword strike... I couldn't even react in time...

If that were all, then so be it, Qin could accept it.

However, the elder brother... was incredibly powerful, striking fear into the hearts of countless thieves, and was given the prestigious title of "Fire-Bearing Dog," yet he was instantly killed by this strange man who called himself a Rakshasa...

This was something Qin Shi found hard to accept...

Zhongfu's willpower was ultimately stronger than Qin's. He endured the pain and turned to look at his sister beside him.

As a frontline military officer and criminal investigator who deals with danger, blood, and corpses year-round, Zhongfu immediately realized that his sister, like him, was severely injured and would not live much longer...

"Xiaoqin...you're so mean..."

Qin could no longer speak, but he could still manage to squeeze out some indistinct words through his teeth.

"You... bastard...!"

Zhongfu transformed his grief and indignation into hatred.

"Could it be... that it was all your doing...? Everything that's happened recently... the fire at the prison in Kodenma Town... the massacre of the entire Akabane family... Tachibana-kun's disappearance... was all of this your doing...?!"

"Hey, hey, hey." Rakshasa spread his hands. "Don't get me wrong. All those things you just mentioned, like the fire, the massacre of the whole family, and the disappearance of Ju Qingdeng, have nothing to do with us."

"What motive would I have to be so ruthless towards Tachibana Aoto, whom I greatly admire? I have always valued talent the most, and I would love for Tachibana Aoto to be alive and well so that he could join our ranks."

"However, I can roughly guess who the masterminds behind all this are."

"Although we weren't the ones who caused all this trouble, it's not entirely true that we were the masterminds behind this series of events."

At this point, Rakshasa raised his hand and scratched his hair, looking troubled.

"Heh, that guy's resentment really runs deep... Even after all this time, he still won't let the Tachibana family go..."

"Ah, sorry, sorry, I seem to have gone off-topic too much. Let's get back to the point."

"Fire-bearing Hound, didn't I just say that? The reason we came to kill you is simply because you know too much, and we can't let you continue your investigation."

"We've had people watching your doorstep for the past 10 days, waiting for the perfect opportunity to assassinate you. Choosing tonight to do it was purely accidental; you just happened to be out for a walk tonight."

"As for your sister... that's even more unexpected."

Rakshasa sighed softly, a look of regret on his face that was utterly genuine.

“Our only target is you. If possible, we don’t want to involve too many unrelated people, especially your sister.”

“I have always valued talent the most. Your sister is a rare heroine among women. To kill such a talent... is too heavy a burden for me.”

"But there's nothing we can do. We can't let the 'witnesses' who saw me kill live. It's just too unfortunate. This is probably what they call 'fate.' If you hadn't taken your sister out for a walk tonight... she wouldn't have died."

Zhongfu's eyes were so wide they looked like they were about to pop out.

What a load of rubbish about "it's so unfortunate"... what a load of rubbish about "fate"... murderers, stop pretending to be high and mighty, or to be compassionate!

Zhongfu wanted to roar like that, but his physical condition no longer allowed him to do so.

He tried his best to speak, but an unusual weariness and drowsiness overwhelmed him.

He was deeply immersed in a state where he had no concept of time and space, and was almost losing his sense of self.

The amount of blood flowing from its body decreased significantly, as it had almost bled out completely.

However, in his shattered mind, an image inexplicably resurfaced.

It was a pill with a strange red and purple color.

I know too much... I can't investigate any further...

The only thing that could make Tadashi connect these two lines of words... is the strange pill he is currently searching for!

At that moment, Zhongfu suddenly felt a sinking feeling in his heart—he suddenly realized that he seemed to have underestimated the medicine.

Behind this strange pill, there probably lies a huge chain of interests or a powerful force that even he, with his vast knowledge and experience, could hardly imagine!

"Oh? Fire-wielding dog? Fire-wielding dog? Can you still hear me? Hmm... looks like you can't. Oh well, I've talked to you long enough anyway."

After speaking, Rakshasa flipped her wrist, gripped the hilt of the knife upside down, and pointed the tip of the blade directly at Zhongfu's throat.

"Although you two siblings are doomed even if you do nothing now, I've come to send you off by letting you bleed to death. It must be very painful for you."

No!

Qin wanted to scream and rush forward to protect her brother, but she couldn't even lift a finger, and her tongue seemed to have lost all feeling and was difficult to move.

*Thud*—Changyang Zhengzong pierced Zhongfu's throat.

Zhongfu's pupils suddenly contracted sharply, then slowly dilated...

"now you."

Rakshasa turned to look at the zither.

Watching the figure and the blade approaching her at a leisurely pace, Qin's lips moved slightly... With the last bit of strength remaining in her body, she softly murmured:

“Brother… Tachibana-kun…”

……

……

"Lord Rakshasa, thank you for your hard work."

The dozen or so people who had just surrounded Jinze and his sister closed in on Rakshasa. Their leader continued:

"Sigh... I really feel bad... Lord Rakshasa, you shouldn't be doing such dirty and tiring work..."

"Don't worry about it."

As Rakshasa pulled out a tissue from his waist to wipe the blade of his sword, he smiled nonchalantly.

"I've been so idle lately. I'm either lying down or sitting all day. My body has become sluggish. If I don't find something to do, I'll be bored to death."

Rakshasa sheathed the cleaned Changyang Zhengzong.

At that moment, a short figure emerged from the side.

"Lord Rakshasa."

"Oh, it's a kappa. Is there something you need?"

"If there was nothing wrong, I wouldn't have come to see you."

The kappa quickly ran to the Rakshasa's side and whispered something to her.

"Oh?" Rakshasa raised an eyebrow, muttering, "Has that Shinzuma Hiroshi finally recovered...?"

……

……

The next day.

January 18, 1861 (the second year of the Wanyan era), morning—

It started snowing when the sky was still barely light.

Thick clouds blocked the sky from the earth, with only a few weak rays of sunlight barely penetrating the gaps between the clouds.

Translucent snowflakes swept past people's sight and landed on the cold bodies of the Kanazawa siblings...

"Get out of the way! All of you, get out of the way! Don't come any closer!"

"Holy crap! Someone really has been killed!"

"Sigh... I thought Edo would become more peaceful after the Extermination Group was wiped out..."

"Ah! I recognize the deceased! That man looks like the captain of the Second Division, the Fire Thief: Kanazawa Tadatsugu!"

"Kanazawa Tadatsugu? That 'Fire-Hound'?"

"Even such a powerful man was murdered? Who on earth is the killer...?"

……

The bodies of the Jinze siblings were surrounded by onlookers who had come to watch after hearing that someone had been killed.

The officials of the local garrison stood as a wall, desperately preventing bystanders from approaching the crime scene.

At that moment, the sound of hurried footsteps could be heard in the distance.

A group of warriors dressed in black uniforms appeared from the southeast. They were in a hurry and their faces were ashen.

"Ah! It's the Fire Thief Modified!"

"Someone said."

"It's Tadashi Abiko, captain of the First Division of the Fire Thieves, and Ninzaburo Mizushima, captain of the Fourth Division!"

Another person added.

Led by my grandson and Mizushima, the bandits and officials pushed through the crowd, handed over the bodies to the local officials maintaining order, and then slowly walked to the corpses of Tadatsugu and Koto.

“Kanezawa-kun… Kanazawa-san…” Mizushima half-squatted on the ground, staring at the lifeless faces of the Kanazawa siblings.

Mizushima was known for his seriousness and unsmiling nature, but at this moment his expression was distorted.

His eyebrows were raised, his brows furrowed into a "川" shape, his cheeks were slightly bulging from clenched teeth, his face was bloodless, and his hands were clenched into fists with white knuckles.

In contrast, my grandson was much calmer.

Whether we were on our way here, or now that we've arrived at the crime scene and are standing beside the bodies of the Jinze siblings, my grandson remains calm and composed.

He didn't squat down, but just stood there with his arms crossed, roughly scanning his surroundings.

Suddenly, a dense sound of footsteps rose again outside the crowd of onlookers.