The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun.

At the main gate, two burly men guarding the gate sensed something was wrong when they saw the aggressive group of Huashan disciples and quickly shouted to stop them.

Bang!

Jiang Ning, who was walking in front, immediately kicked him aside and then walked straight into the camp.

"do not move!"

The man tried to get up, but a Huashan disciple behind him drew his sword and pressed it against his throat.

After a while.

In the open space of the Iron Palm Sect, in front of Jiang Ning and the Huashan disciples, besides the dozen or so Iron Palm Sect members who had left their positions, there were only a dozen or so maids.

There were no family members of Hu Anyu. According to these senior maids, Hu Anyu's wife had died of illness, and his daughter had also died at the age of three. He only had a few concubines, but those concubines were abandoned after a few years when they grew old and lost their beauty. So now, only these people are in the Iron Palm Sect.

When Hu Anyu heard that someone was causing trouble, and that the troublemakers were Huashan disciples, he brought all his disciples with him, leaving only two gatekeepers and the maids behind.

“Junior brother, we’ve searched everywhere. Everyone is here; there’s no one who escaped.”

A disciple from Mount Hua ran over from a short distance and said to Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning nodded.

"Thank you for your hard work, senior brother."

"What's the big deal?"

The Huashan disciple laughed.

Jiang Ning looked at these people and frowned slightly. The maid he had seen before was not among them.

Jiang Ning stepped forward and said, "Hu Anyu coerced respectable women into prostitution and has been executed by our Huashan Sect. The Iron Palm Sect will cease to exist from this day forward."

"what?"

Upon hearing this, everyone was terrified.

The Iron Palm Sect had deep roots in Xiangyang Prefecture. Hu Anyu had lived there for many years and was a powerful local figure. Their first reaction upon hearing the Jiangning dialect was disbelief.

But the sight of their opponent covered in blood and the longsword stained with blood, along with the strong stench of blood, made them hesitate.

"From this day forward, the Iron Palm Sect will cease to exist, and you will be gone."

Jiang Ning glanced at these people and continued, "Those of you who have not participated in oppressing the people will be allowed to leave by the Huashan Sect. But those who have caused the people of Xiangyang to lose their homes and lives will suffer the same fate as Hu Anyu."

Jiang Ning's gaze was cold, and when he swept his eyes over these people, they dared not look at him and all lowered their heads.

After pausing for a while and waiting for them to finish digesting the information, Jiang Ning approached the maids he had met during the day.

Upon seeing him approach, the maids looked somewhat frightened and lowered their heads, not daring to look at him.

Jiang Ning asked one of the maids, "Wasn't there another maid who served tea to you in the main hall today? Where is she?"

The maid looked somewhat bewildered when asked the question.

"We don't know her."

A weak voice came from the other side; it was another maid speaking.

Chapter 54: Darkroom

When Jiang Ning looked in the direction of the sound, the maid who had spoken earlier lowered her head in fear.

Jiang Ning looked at the maids and asked, "Is she new here?"

"Probably so. The manor recruits maids from outside every now and then."

A maidservant replied.

Jiang Ning then asked, "When did she enter the manor?"

The maids looked somewhat bewildered: "We don't know, we don't know when she arrived either."

Jiang Ning frowned slightly and asked again, "Where is she now?"

"I don't know, we haven't seen her since we came out."

Hearing this, Jiang Ning said nothing more.

The missing maid must have been suspicious, but now that she's vanished, there are no clues left.

"She, she seems to be one of our master's guests."

Just then, the same maid who had spoken before spoke again.

guest?

A thoughtful look flashed in Jiang Ning's eyes. He turned to look at her and asked, "Explain in detail."

"Yes."

Hearing Jiang Ning's question, the maid shrank back in fear. After thinking carefully for a moment, she said, "I don't know when she arrived, but three days ago when I was serving tea to the master in his study, I noticed a woman there. The master seemed to be very polite to her. I didn't dare to look too closely at the time, but I accidentally glanced at her as I was leaving. She was wearing a veil, only revealing her eyes. Those eyes were particularly beautiful, and I remembered them. I haven't seen her since."

"She suddenly appeared again today when the master instructed us to serve tea. She was also dressed as a maid. I didn't think of her at the time, but now that I think about it, I realize that her eyes are very similar to the person I saw in the master's study."

Jiang Ning frowned slightly upon hearing this and asked, "Then do you know what her name is?"

The maid shook her head blankly.

"what."

After she finished speaking, the maid next to her seemed to remember something: "I think I've seen that veiled girl before. Once I accidentally bumped into the young master talking to that girl. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but the young master seemed to call her 'grandma'."

"I was puzzled at the time. She didn't look old at all, and her hair was black. Why did the young master call her 'grandmother'?"

"A while ago, when I was cleaning the study, I saw a letter on the master's desk that was covered up. The envelope had the words 'mother-in-law' written on it. I found it strange at the time. Where did the master get a mother? But I forgot about it later. Now that Xiaoyue is telling me, I remember that it must have been written to the master by that young girl."

Jiang Ning's eyes narrowed, and he looked directly at her: "Where is that letter?"

Seeing Jiang Ning looking over, the maid who had spoken shrank back a little and whispered, "It should be in the study. Master usually puts the letters he writes to and receives from his friends in the bookcase."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning turned to look at Liang Fa, who was the one who had just searched the study.

Liang Fa said blankly, "I did find some letters in the study, but they were all greetings from Hu Anyu and some friends. I didn't see any letters signed by my mother-in-law."

Liang Faren is honest and usually quite meticulous. If he couldn't find it, then it doesn't exist.

Jiang Ning looked at the other Huashan disciples and asked, "Senior brothers, have you found any letters in other rooms? Especially in Hu Anyu's and Hu Shi's rooms?"

"No."

"Never seen it before."

Lu Dayou, Gao Genming, and other Huashan disciples all shook their heads.

They only found some banknotes and house deeds.

Jiang Ning frowned and remained silent upon hearing this.

At this moment, the maid spoke up, "Could it be hidden in the secret room of the study?"

Jiang Ning turned to look at her: "You knew there was a secret room in the study?"

The maid nodded: "I usually clean the master's study. Once, when I was cleaning the bookshelf, I tripped and fell. I accidentally bumped into an antique on top. The antique was actually connected to the bookshelf. After I bumped into it, the bookshelf turned into the wall, and there was a passage inside."

“I was terrified. I was afraid that if I discovered some secret, the master would kill me. I quickly tried to turn the antique again, and the bookcase was restored to its original state. After cleaning it up, I ran away as fast as I could.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning immediately said, "Take me to the study to find that secret room."

Jiang Ning told Liang Fa and the others to stay there and watch over the others, while he had the maid lead the way.

On the way, Jiang Ning kept thinking about the identity of the mysterious girl. The maid led the way, her expression hesitant and afraid, but she finally couldn't help but speak.

Will you kill us?

His tone carried a hint of fear.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning looked up at her and said, "As long as you don't harm the people, there will be no problem."

Hearing this, the maid felt somewhat relieved, but then asked, "Is the Huashan Sect a sect that helps us and protects us from being bullied?"

His eyes were filled with curiosity.

Jiang Ning thought for a moment and nodded.

The maid's eyes brightened slightly: "Wu Yong borrowed twenty coins from me the month before last and hasn't paid them back. Can you help me get them back?"

"hehe."

Jiang Ning couldn't help but laugh and nodded.

"can."

Although the maid didn't know why Jiang Ning was laughing, the chilling murderous aura around him dissipated considerably with that laugh, and he didn't seem so scary in the maid's eyes anymore.

Upon entering the study, the maid walked to the bookcase, grabbed a vase on the second shelf, and spun it to the side. The bookcase immediately began to rotate, revealing a hidden entrance to a secret room to Jiang Ning.

Without wasting words, Jiang Ning picked up his sword and walked into the dark room.

The darkroom wasn't very spacious, about the size of a normal bedroom. It was very simple, with nothing but a desk in the center.

There was a box on the desk.

Jiang Ning went to the desk. There was a box on the desk, more than a foot long, that was locked. He didn't know what was inside. Jiang Ning looked at the lock on the box, then inserted his sword into it and twisted it hard. With a snap, he broke the lock. Then he raised the tip of his sword, inserted it into the crack of the box, and lifted it up. The box opened, revealing a thick stack of silver notes inside. Next to it were some envelopes with the words "Grandma" written on them.

These are letters written by Hu Anyu.

Jiang Ning wasn't particularly interested in the silver notes. He picked up the envelopes and opened them to take a look, but the contents inside made his eyes widen in surprise.

"Holy Maiden?"

Looking at the last words on these envelopes, Juanyu referred to the girl as the Holy Maiden.

In the martial arts world, there is only one person who is known as the Holy Maiden.

Ren Yingying.

That girl is Ren Yingying?

Jiang Ning couldn't help but be startled.

Below these letters were several replies, written by the Holy Maiden to Hu Anyu.

After Jiang Ning opened it, he became even more certain of his thoughts.