Chapter 240: Chapter 140: Earth-shattering
The men were dressed lavishly and looked to be in their twenties. They must have been Zhou Hongda’s sons.
Chen Cheng sheathed his Long Saber, then quickly patted the men down. He stuffed all the Money Bags he found into his robes, then moved on to the corpses of the Black and White Double Slaughter and repeated the process.
Chen Cheng’s skill in this particular craft had already reached the level of a Grandmaster; the whole affair took him less than thirty breaths of time.
’A thief never leaves empty-handed!’
After looting the bodies, Chen Cheng grabbed a torch and rushed into the main hall. The Zhou Family’s main hall was magnificent, its decorations exceptionally extravagant.
Chen Cheng swept his gaze around but saw no hidden switches for a secret room. Deciding not to waste time, he simply executed the Powerful Claw Stance and smashed his fist violently against the main hall’s wall.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The wall, built of hard, massive stones, was easily broken open, revealing a secret room about a hundred feet across.
A single glance inside revealed stacks of exquisite chests of all sizes, precious swords and blades, artifacts, jewels, and Cultivation Technique Manuals... It was practically a treasure trove.
Chen Cheng dashed into the secret room and found a Golden Rattan Treasure Box on a cabinet in the far back. Opening it, he found stacks upon stacks of silver notes, gold coins, two Cultivation Technique Manuals, property deeds, and an Elixir Medicine Bag.
Time was short. Chen Cheng grabbed a Brocade Bag from a nearby shelf, stuffed the silver notes, gold coins, Cultivation Technique Manuals, and the Elixir Medicine Bag inside, then turned and bolted out of the secret room.
Just as he was about to leave, he spotted several oil-paper-wrapped parcels on a shelf and snatched them up as well.
Back in the main hall, he saw the front courtyard was ablaze with light, and he could hear the faint clamor of voices.
Apparently, the commotion at the Zhou Family residence had alerted the patrolling Household Guard Martial Artists nearby.
Chen Cheng picked up the Black Gold Brick and quickly smashed the helmets of the fallen Household Guard Martial Artists, concealing the claw marks on them.
He glanced at the corpses of the Heavy-Armor-clad Household Guard Martial Artists on the ground, and at the precious metals by the side room’s entrance. Then, Chen Cheng raised his hand and fired another City Guard Department Whistling Arrow.
Then, with the Black Gold Brick in one hand and his Long Saber in the other, he charged toward the Zhou Family’s front courtyard.
The Whistling Arrow exploded high above the Zhou Family residence, bursting into a brilliant red firework.
The Household Guard Martial Artists who had just rushed into the front courtyard all froze for a second. At that exact moment, a gentle breeze blew, and a black shadow shot toward them like a ghost.
PFFT! PFFT! PFFT...
In just over ten breaths of time, more than a dozen Household Guard Martial Artists were decapitated.
The elderly gatekeeper stood at the main gate, watching the black shadow that looked like a God of Slaughter charge toward him. His legs trembled like a sieve in his terror, and he weakly closed his aged, yellowed eyes.
’I’m a dead man!’
A gentle breeze blew past. The gatekeeper suddenly felt a damp coldness between his legs. When he opened his eyes again, there was nothing before him but a floor of headless bodies. Where was the figure from before?
"Ai..." The gatekeeper collapsed to the ground, completely drained. "This old man just took a stroll through the gates of hell!"
...
As for Chen Cheng, after leaving the Zhou Family residence, he flew all the way to Lotus Pier. Standing on the embankment, he turned and looked back to see several torchlights converging on a distant street before heading toward the Zhou estate.
’Privately hoarding Armor and large quantities of precious metals with dubious origins... the Zhou Family is finished!’
He thought to himself, packed the various Money Bags into the oil-paper parcels, then dove headfirst into Jishui Lake and quickly vanished from sight.
...
「Bailu Avenue, Chen Family Residence.」
On the terrace of the rear courtyard’s pavilion, Night Owl Xiao Guzi was perched on the railing, playfully tormenting a large rat it had caught from who-knows-where.
It was now a full-grown adult. Its body was enormous, and with its wings spread, it had a span of nearly one zhang. Its talons were as thick and powerful as iron hooks.
As a nocturnal bird of prey, it could have survived on its own in the wild long ago, but it clearly had no intention of leaving the Chens’, and had been freeloading ever since.
This was partly because it had grown up with the Chens’ and was used to the place, and partly because it could occasionally snag a few pieces of Demon Beast Meat from Chen Cheng.
To the owl, Demon Beast Meat was the ultimate delicacy, and incredibly nourishing besides.
"Hoo, hoo, hoo..."
While toying with the large rat under its talon, the Night Owl gazed out at Jishui Lake, as if waiting for something.
Just then, ripples suddenly appeared on the water’s surface not far away, spreading rapidly in its direction.
The Night Owl suddenly beat its wings and took flight, circling continuously above the lake.
PLOOP!
A black figure suddenly shot out of the lake. With a hard step on the water’s surface, he launched himself into the air amidst the spreading ripples, soaring up above the zhang-high terrace.
The Night Owl recognized the figure as Chen Cheng and let out a few excited cries. It was about to fly toward him, but unexpectedly, Chen Cheng’s body began to move in a rapid dance.
A gentle breeze immediately stirred on the terrace, but it quickly intensified into a gale. A mist of water suddenly sprayed from Chen Cheng’s body, forcing the Night Owl to beat its wings again and fly high up into the sky, far away.
Before long, the wind subsided. Chen Cheng came to a stop, his robes fluttering in the gentle breeze. With a faint smile, he beckoned to the Night Owl.
Only then did the Night Owl flap its wings and land on Chen Cheng’s arm.
"You’re full of energy, aren’t you, you little rascal!" Chen Cheng gently stroked the Night Owl’s cat-like head. He then turned his gaze toward the Lotus Pier district. The area was lit by raging fires, a clear sign of a major disturbance.
And from the direction of the Lishui Sub-Department, many torches could also be seen heading toward Lotus Pier.
"Chief Chen!"
Li Sheng’s voice came from the front gate.
’Looks like tonight won’t be a quiet one!’
Chen Cheng shook his head slightly, waved his hand to let the Night Owl fly off, then went to his bedroom to change into his Chief Constable’s uniform. By the time he reached the front courtyard, his old servant, Shi Fangdong, had just gotten up and was opening the gate.
"Master, I’m sorry. I slept too deeply and woke up late."
Seeing that Chen Cheng was already fully dressed, the old servant Shi Fangdong said apologetically.
"It’s fine," Chen Cheng said with a wave of his hand.
"Chief Chen, something’s happened at the Zhou Family’s place in Lotus Pier. Lord Ji wants all the Chief Constables to head over," Li Sheng said.
"We’ll talk on the way." Chen Cheng nodded and led Li Sheng toward the Lishui Sub-Department.
On the road, Li Sheng recounted the events at the Zhou Family residence: how a City Guard Department constable had discovered the case, how Chief Constable Dai Qingfeng and Head Chief Constable Ji Jingbei were already aware, and how it had even alarmed Shen Qingshuang, the Chief of the South City Guard, and so on. All of this was more or less what Chen Cheng had expected.
When Chen Cheng arrived at the Zhou Family residence, the estate had already been surrounded by City Guard Department constables. All family members and servants were under guard.
Ji Jingbei, Dai Qingfeng, and several other Chief Constables stood in the central courtyard, their brows furrowed. No one spoke.
Chen Cheng went to stand to the side and wait. Before long, all the Chief Constables from Lishui District had arrived.
And so, everyone waited.
With a case this major, it was natural to protect the crime scene and wait for the person in charge to investigate. That person could only be the Chief of the South City Guard, Shen Qingshuang.
About half an hour later, Shen Qingshuang arrived in a great hurry with a squad of City Guard Department Officials.
After a brief inspection of the scene, Shen Qingshuang issued a series of commands.
"Seal the Zhou Family residence."
"Raid Zhou’s Blacksmith Shop."
"Ji Jingbei, lead a team to Guangfu District to arrest Zhou Xu and raid the Zhou Family’s property there."
Chen Cheng’s assigned task was to remain at the Zhou Family residence, protect the crime scene, and await further instructions from his superiors.
After giving her orders, Shen Qingshuang hurried off to the Inner City.
...
「The Linji City Lord’s Mansion, a complex of grand and imposing buildings, was located in the northern part of the Inner City’s center.」
Even at night, the City Lord’s Mansion was brightly lit and guarded by elite soldiers clad in Armor.
A luxurious carriage sped in from the northern district where the Jiang Family was located, driving straight through the gates of the City Lord’s Mansion and stopping before the central-most building.
A man who looked to be in his thirties or forties, dressed in brocade robes with a meticulously groomed black beard, stepped down from the carriage.
This was none other than the City Lord of Linji City, Jiang Botao. He currently lacked any air of imposing authority; instead, he wore a lazy expression. If he were walking down the street, one would likely mistake him for an ordinary, wealthy country squire.
However, Mao Yong, who stood waiting before the building as straight as a spear in his dark uniform, did not think so.
Mao Yong was the City Guard Director of Linji City, a great personage who stood high above the rest in the city. He himself possessed the strength of the Bone Marrow Cleansing Realm and was one of Linji City’s few Martial Dao experts.
But in front of Jiang Botao, he was completely reverent, not daring to show the slightest bit of disrespect.
Jiang Botao appeared to be in his thirties or forties, but his actual age was over sixty. He was a supreme expert of the Organ Refining Realm who had also cultivated the Second Layer Realm, making him the true pinnacle of power in Linji City.
The Four Great Clans of the Inner City all had an Organ Refining Realm Martial Artist presiding over them, but only Jiang Botao was in his prime, his strength at its absolute peak.
"City Lord," Mao Yong bowed.
Jiang Botao glanced at him and said coolly, "What happened that would make the great Lord Chief Director himself lose sleep and rush here to report in the middle of the night?"
With that, he walked straight into the building, and Mao Yong hurriedly and respectfully followed behind.
