Oh no! My grandmother made me shoulder the responsibility for eight households!

Chapter 194 Thunderous Slaughter

In the north of the city, there was an abandoned mortuary.

No one dares to come here during the day, and it's even more eerie at night.

But now, half of the mortuary has collapsed.

Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, a figure soared into the sky, enveloped in black mist, leaving withered vegetation in its wake.

The half-step terrestrial immortal from the Corpse Refining Sect was finally forced out.

"King of Zhenbei! Get out here!" the old man roared, his voice like the wailing of a night owl.

"What kind of skill is it to plot from the shadows!"

A figure slowly emerged in the night sky.

Yuan Tiangang stood on the rooftop, his eyes beneath the mask completely expressionless.

"Scheme?" he said. "You think you're worthy?"

The old man grinned maliciously, "Fine! Fine! Even if I die today, I'll take you down with me!"

His body surged with black energy, and three illusory figures appeared behind him.

These are three corpse puppets he created.

Two celestial beings and one terrestrial deity.

But Yuan Tiangang didn't even glance at the three corpse puppets.

He simply raised his hand and gently shook hands with the old man.

"Bang."

The old man's laughter stopped abruptly.

He looked down at his chest.

There, a slender hand emerged from the chest, clutching a beating heart.

Jing Ke appeared behind him without warning, expressionlessly withdrew his hand, and crushed the heart in his palm with a "poof".

The old man opened his mouth as if to say something, but didn't.

The body fell from the sky and crashed to the ground with a "bang".

The three corpse puppets froze simultaneously, then Yuan Tiangang slapped them into dust with a single palm strike.

Jing Ke shook the blood off his hands and looked at Yuan Tiangang.

Yuan Tiangang nodded: "Clean it up thoroughly."

"Yes."

Jing Ke's figure disappeared.

Yuan Tiangang stood on the rooftop, looking at the scattered lights of the capital city in the distance, a slight smile playing on his lips beneath his mask.

My lord is right.

This is just the beginning.

Those rats hiding deeper inside... it's time for them to come out.

He turned and disappeared into the night.

The mortuary returned to its deathly silence, with only the mournful sound of the wind blowing through the ruins, like the wailing of ghosts.

The sound of the night watchman's clapper could be heard in the distance:

"At the third watch of the night (戌时), be careful with fire!"

But tonight, no one can sleep.

Night Talks at the Prince's Mansion

The candlelight flickered fiercely in the study.

Lin Chen leaned back in the armchair, his legs propped up on the desk, a grape in his hand, slowly peeling it.

Yuan Tiangang stood in front of the table, his back ramrod straight, his voice sounding like he was reciting a menu:

"Twenty-four strongholds have been cleared so far, and sixty-three cultivators from Zhongzhou have been killed."

Among them are one half-step terrestrial immortal, three celestial beings, nine grandmasters, and forty-seven grandmasters.

Seventeen manuals of various martial arts techniques, thirty bottles of elixirs, and a quantity of gold and silver jewelry were seized and are currently being inventoried.

Lin Chen popped a grape into his mouth and mumbled, "Where are our people?"

"No one was injured or killed." Yuan Tiangang paused, "However..."

"But what?"

"In several places, people escaped beforehand." Yuan Tiangang frowned.

"When my subordinates went down there, there was still hot tea in the room. The person had just left and was well hidden. We couldn't find any trace of him for a while."

Lin Chen laughed and spat the grape seeds out the window with a "pui": "So what if they ran away?"

Yuan Tiangang was taken aback: "You don't mind, my lord?"

"What do you mind?" Lin Chen picked up another grape.

"We've made such a big commotion, with three thousand elite cavalry running all over the streets, a thousand dragon riders entering the city, and thirty-six Heavenly Guards killing people everywhere."

It would be strange if none of them escaped.

He sat up straighter and looked at Yuan Tiangang:

"Old Yuan, don't underestimate those people from Zhongzhou."

That place is a sacred place of martial arts, with a history of thousands of years, and they have many different techniques.

Compared to them, our Eastern Region is like a country bumpkin meeting a royal merchant—we're on a completely different level.

Yuan Tiangang was silent for a moment, then nodded:

"Your Excellency is right. Then... shall we continue the search?"

"Sure, why wouldn't I want it?" Lin Chen narrowed his eyes.

"This is a good opportunity to sort out all the messy spies in the capital."

"Those from Dongli, Nanyue, Beishuo, and the Western Regions, especially those connected to the Cui family, should not be spared."

As he spoke, Lin Chen's voice turned a little cold:

"They've caused us so much trouble, do they really think I'm easygoing if I don't teach them a lesson?"

"Yes," Yuan Tiangang replied, "I will make the arrangements immediately."

"Wait a minute," Lin Chen called out to him, "Is everything alright at Dongli Post Station? How's Liu Shengxue?"

"It's nothing," Yuan Tiangang replied. "I specifically had a troop of Snow Dragon Riders circle around the post station twice."

It's so quiet there now, not even a stray cat dares to come near.

"That's good." Lin Chen chuckled. "We did a good deed, so we should let people know."

Although she's a concubine, I cherish my woman, and I must make sure she understands this.

Yuan Tiangang's lips twitched beneath his mask:

"...Understood, I will make sure Yagyu Yuki understands my lord's intentions."

Just then, footsteps came from outside.

Lin Wu's voice rang out from outside the door: "Your Highness, Commander Liu requests an audience, saying he has important matters to report."

"Let him in."

The door opened, and Liu Zhenshan strode in. His black robes were covered in dust, and he had dark circles under his eyes, clearly showing signs of exhaustion.

"Your Highness," Liu Zhenshan said, bowing with clasped hands, his voice slightly hoarse.

"All four city gates are sealed off, and patrols are conducted on every street inside the city to ensure that not even a mouse can escape."

"Hmm, well done." Lin Chen nodded. "Thank you for your hard work."

Liu Zhenshan hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice:

"Your Highness, there is something I need to report."

When we were clearing out those strongholds, there were five or six places where... people had already run away.

My subordinates investigated and found the house very clean, as if an escape route had been prepared in advance.

"I know." Lin Chen waved his hand dismissively.

"You just continue with the deployment, don't worry about the rest. After dawn, withdraw half of the people to rest, and leave the other half to continue guarding."

Liu Zhenshan was stunned: "Withdraw the troops? Your Highness, we haven't finished arresting those people yet..."

"You can't catch them all," Lin Chen laughed.

"The capital is so big, if you really want to hide, you could turn the ground upside down and still not find it."

"Alright, do as I say."

"...Yes." Although Liu Zhenshan didn't understand, he didn't dare to ask any more questions and clasped his hands in a gesture of respect before retreating.

After he left, Lin Chen looked at Yuan Tiangang:

"Have the Heavenly Guards and the Thirteen Protectors speed up their work; clear out as many as possible before dawn."

After daybreak, everyone should retreat inside and stop loitering outside.

"yes!"

As soon as Yuan Tiangang finished speaking, his figure vanished.