“Sigh, how did this happen?”

The tofu vendor scooped some tofu into the bowl Yue Lin handed him, then picked up his carrying pole and continued walking the streets, calling out his wares. But when he passed by the courtyard next door, he didn’t stop and instead hurried away like he was avoiding a plague.

Yue Lin held the bowl, looking back at the figure under the yellow-horn tree.

Chu Hanjin had heard too, and he lifted his gaze.

The two were silent for a while.

“Could it have something to do with the Master who summoned him last night?”

They exchanged glances but couldn’t be sure. Chu Hanjin stirred the fire in the stove. “Let’s finish eating. If I’m not wrong, someone will come to question us soon.”

And sure enough.

Just as they were halfway through their meal, a knock came at the door. Two men dressed in black entered the courtyard, their sharp gazes sweeping over the place before one spoke, not very politely, “You’re the tenants of the landlord?”

Chu Hanjin replied, “Yes.”

“How can your landlord be dead, yet you two still have the leisure to eat?”

Clearly, suspicion had fallen on them. Chu Hanjin’s expression didn’t change. “There are already plenty of onlookers outside the courtyard. If we went to join them, it would only disturb the family of the deceased. Once the mourning hall is set up, we will naturally go to pay our respects.”

The men exchanged a glance and snorted. “Did you hear anything unusual last night?”

Chu Hanjin mentioned that he had heard the landlord being called by the Master. The two men glanced at each other again, impatience evident on their faces. “The Master did indeed call him over, but he was sent back after. That’s all we know. And don’t go spreading rumors, making it sound like the Master killed him!”

One of the black-clad men placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, leaving with a final warning. “You two are highly suspicious. Until this case is solved, do not leave town without permission.”

With a slam, the door closed forcefully.

“What a blatant intimidation,” Yue Lin raised his eyebrows. “Looks like they’re in a hurry to find the culprit.”

Chu Hanjin sat down in a chair. “The people of Yushui City don’t trust the Rongku Sect cultivators, but they do trust this group of rebellious cultivators. Their reputation is clearly better. Now, with rumors of the Master killing someone, fear is spreading. They need to resolve this quickly, or a crisis of trust will erupt.”

Before they could discuss further, new footsteps approached from outside.

This time, two men in white uniforms, each carrying a sword, entered together. They were the city’s guardian cultivators.

“Did you hear about the death of Mr. Lu next door?” they asked.

Yue Lin replied, “We heard.”

“His body was found in the drainage ditch. It was a gruesome scene. His lower abdomen was burned with curse magic, and his flesh was pierced by sword techniques until it was a bloody mess. There’s resentment in the body, clearly the work of a Golden Core cultivator. Have you noticed anything unusual recently?”

This elegant-looking cultivator was named Shen Ji, and he asked with a tone that was bored and halfhearted.

Chu Hanjin repeated what he had said earlier about last night.

Shen Ji didn’t seem too surprised and nodded. “Other neighbors nearby said the same. It seems true that he was called by the Master late at night.”

The cultivator beside Shen Ji frowned gravely. “So they really are murderers.”

Chu Hanjin said nothing.

Yue Lin raised his voice slightly, almost intentionally. “Who?”

“Of course, it’s their good Master and those rebel cultivators who broke into Yushui City,” Shen Ji snorted. “Their pretense can’t hold up any longer. Demon cultivators will always show their true colors sooner or later.”

“Thank you both!” Shen Ji and the other cultivator gave a formal bow and strode out of the courtyard.

Yue Lin and Chu Hanjin remained standing in the courtyard, exchanging glances for a moment.

Yue Lin sat down, brushing aside his robe. “Looks like another power struggle.”

Chu Hanjin picked up his tea cup. “One side is desperately trying to shift the blame, while the other is doing everything to pin it on them. The enmity between these two sides runs deep.”

“The rebel cultivators want a place to stay, so they have to push the city’s guardian cultivators out of their space. The guardians, who are being sidelined, hate them but don’t have the strength to drive them out directly, so they’re using the people to exert pressure.” Yue Lin poured himself a cup of tea as well. “Yushui City is full of hidden and open battles, bloody and treacherous.”

The world, it seemed, was in turmoil everywhere.

Chu Hanjin gazed into the clear tea and frowned. “Let’s first find out how the landlord died.”

By midday, the cause of death was posted on the bulletin board outside the city’s magistrate office.

There was no mention of the killer, just a wanted notice for the murder.

In the scorching heat, Chu Hanjin and Yue Lin stood under a willow tree next to the magistrate’s office, wiping the sweat from the back of their necks with a silk handkerchief.

Yue Lin read the notice and clicked his tongue. “Looks like this case is going nowhere.”

The magistrate office had merely posted a vague wanted notice, warning the citizens to stay vigilant. Essentially, it was saying, “We can’t find the killer. Good luck on your own.”

When a cultivator kills, it’s often an act of the strong preying on the weak. If they can’t find the killer, it means the perpetrator is highly skilled—so much so that even the city’s guardian cultivators can’t deal with them, leaving the criminal free to roam.

Although the notice didn’t name the killer, the crowd was seething with anger.

“Who doesn’t know that Mr. Lu was killed by the Master?”

“Is it true? Did they really kill him?”

“Why would I lie? Everyone knows that Mr. Lu was summoned by the Master for a drink last night, and by morning, he was dead!”

“Damn it!”

A burly man with a rough face cursed, “These so-called rebel cultivators are nothing but stray dogs! We let them settle in Yushui City, fed them, and now they think they’re the lords of the place, going around killing people!”

“This is too much!”

The crowd grew more and more agitated.

Chu Hanjin glanced to the side and noticed a black-clad figure standing in an alley, seemingly eavesdropping on the conversation. But in the blink of an eye, the figure retreated behind the wall and disappeared.

An uneasy feeling rose in Chu Hanjin’s chest, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Yue Lin, holding Chu Zhaoyang in his arms, said, “Let’s go, let’s go,” and they started walking down the main road.

Chu Hanjin walked a good distance, then stopped at the entrance of an alley, casting a final glance at the disgruntled crowd.

Something wasn’t right.

Something definitely wasn’t right.

He spent the entire afternoon feeling restless, sitting under the shade of a tree. No matter how much Yue Lin tried to talk to him from the other side of the chessboard, Chu Hanjin remained silent, with his eyes closed, as if meditating.

By evening, the tofu vendor returned with more gossip. He lifted the cloth over his shoulder and sighed. “Another person has died. Another death in Yushui City.”

Chu Hanjin finally opened his eyes. “Who was it? Where?”

“At the Fengxian Tavern.”

Hearing this, Chu Hanjin picked up his sword and rushed to the scene. He arrived at the tavern’s backyard, where the Rongku Sect cultivators were already there, wrapping up the body. A stretcher lay nearby, covered with a white cloth.

Chu Hanjin unsheathed his sword, the white blade tip lifting the edge of the cloth.

He saw the dead man’s face.

Just then, Shen Ji, the cultivator from earlier, walked over, baffled. “What are you doing?”

“How did he die?” Chu Hanjin asked.

Shen Ji looked puzzled. “Who are you, and what does it matter to you?”

Without responding, Chu Hanjin left the courtyard. The tavern owner, pale-faced, was recounting the story to the customers: “He was drinking in my tavern and said he was going to the restroom. He was gone for a long time, but we didn’t think much of it. Then the next customer went to the restroom and screamed. When I checked, I found him lying there, blood all over his forehead.”

Yue Lin came up from behind. “Another murder?”

Chu Hanjin asked, “Did you recognize his face?”

“Hm?”

“He was one of the men voicing complaints at the magistrate’s office this morning.”

“…”

Yue Lin held his sword, his expression becoming somber. His deep, dark eyes locked with Chu Hanjin’s.

Chu Hanjin looked around. People in the tavern were gossiping about the dead man, their voices filled with fear and confusion. In the courtyard, the white cloth soaked with blood lay eerily still.

The atmosphere was heavy with unease.

Chu Hanjin murmured, “Something’s about to happen here.”

—

Another morning.

In a damp, shadowy alley, the tofu vendor walked along, his voice ringing out as he sang: “Tofu, tofu pudding, dried tofu, bean sprouts, bean dregs—”

Before he could knock on the courtyard door, it swung open. Standing there, dressed in white and looking as though he had been waiting for some time, was Chu Hanjin.

His slender fingers held out a bowl. “Two bowls of tofu pudding.”

“Got it.”

“Did anyone die last night?”

The vendor sighed. “Yes, again. Eight people died last night.”

Chu Hanjin’s brows furrowed. The vendor filled the bowls with tofu pudding and handed them over, but Chu Hanjin seemed to forget to take them.

Amid the rising steam, the vendor kindly warned, “Sir, you should be careful. Don’t go out at night. Who knows which demon cultivator is going mad this time. They say…”

He suddenly shut his mouth, looking hesitant.

Rumors among the common folk often reflect the general sentiment.

No rumor should be dismissed.

Chu Hanjin pressed, “What do they say?”

The vendor lowered his voice. “The ones who died were all the people who voiced complaints about the Master at the magistrate’s office yesterday! I’m a coward—I’m not saying anything bad about them anymore. Anyone who speaks ill of them is as good as dead!”

Frowning, the vendor hurried off with his tofu, as if trying to avoid misfortune.

Chu Hanjin, holding two bowls, turned around and met Yue Lin’s gaze.

Chu Hanjin sighed. “Sigh…”

Yue Lin took the tofu pudding and asked, “More deaths?”

“More deaths. And it’s the same people who complained at the magistrate’s office yesterday. It seems there’s no doubt this is connected to the conflict between the rebel cultivators and the city’s guardian cultivators.”

Chu Hanjin returned to the courtyard and scooped some tofu pudding into a small bowl, pouring sauce over it before handing it to Chu Zhaoyang. He then wiped the boy’s mouth with a damp towel.

Yue Lin poured sauce over his own tofu pudding as well, his expression somber.

As he looked up, he heard Chu Hanjin’s voice.

“Who do you think is responsible for these deaths? The rebel cultivators or the city’s guardians?”

Yue Lin paused, his hand stirring the tofu pudding, before looking up to meet Chu Hanjin’s eyes. After a long moment, he said, “I don’t dare say.”

Chu Hanjin: “Hm?”

“If I say, you’ll feel bad.”

Chu Hanjin couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh. “Seems like you already know the answer.”

“Yes. The landlord’s death might’ve been personal or accidental. At the time, many suspected the rebel cultivators, but that was just baseless speculation. Yesterday’s notice at the magistrate’s office was a smokescreen. Everyone who discussed it has been killed, which means the rumors about the rebel cultivators have turned into a solid accusation.”

“So…”

Chu Hanjin raised an eyebrow. “You think the killer is one of the rebel cultivators?”

“Quite the opposite.” Yue Lin shook his head. “The harder someone tries to point the finger at the rebel cultivators, the more it proves they aren’t the killers. If they were going to kill, why didn’t they do it sooner? Why suddenly become so violent now? Besides, if the rebel cultivators started killing indiscriminately, they’d only earn the hatred of the people. The only one benefiting from this situation is someone else.”

“And who’s that?”

The answer was obvious.

Without a doubt, it was the city’s guardian cultivators.

The legitimate protectors of Yushui City’s tens of thousands of citizens. According to the rules, if a demon cultivator unjustly killed a weak citizen, the guardian cultivators, who had formed their Golden Cores, would use all their power to protect the people, even at the cost of their lives.

But now…

Amid all this conflict, someone had resorted to doing the very things only demon cultivators would do, just to frame their political enemies.

A chilling sense of dread flashed across Chu Hanjin’s eyes.

He said, “I think the same as you.”