It seemed that Luo Xi had come out of her room just in time to verify the truth of Qin Fang's words, dressed indeed in a change of clothes.

Not in formal attire, but rather in casual home wear that snugly wrapped her perfect figure.

The temperature on the mountain was a bit low, and those too-thin pajamas, fine for wearing in the bedroom, simply weren't appropriate to walk out in, especially with a man in the house.

"Dad, your timing is perfect, we were just about to come to find you! Qin Fang, you explain."

Luo Xi came right up to Luo Youheng's side, hooking her father's arm with a cheerful smile.

"Luo Shixiong, I just had a chat with Luo Xi and discovered some issues..."

Qin Fang no longer hesitated. The case involved high-level matters, and although Luo Youheng, as the deputy director of the provincial department, would not be specifically responsible for the case, if he could speak on it, things might go smoother.

"Oh, what issues?"

Luo Youheng was slightly taken aback, yet he didn't mind asking.

"Well..."

Qin Fang then briefed Luo Youheng on what he knew, sharing his suspicions and speculations, and listed a few examples in an attempt to persuade Luo Youheng to help.

"Junior Martial Brother Qin, what can I say? This matter is quite complex and troublesome... How about this, when Grand Elder Wu wakes up tomorrow, you can directly ask him! As for getting you into the special case team, I'll figure something out."

Yet Luo Youheng did not promise anything, as if there was something Qin Fang didn't know within this affair, and the crux might indeed lie with Grand Elder Wu.

"Alright then!"

Qin Fang nodded, accepting the situation. At this point, even if he were insistent, it would be futile. As for joining the special case team, as long as Grand Elder Wu agreed, he believed all difficulties could be easily resolved.

The night passed without incident.

Qin Fang stayed in Luo Xi's courtyard for the night, of course not in Luo Xi's bedroom. After such a commotion, it was troubling enough; if he actually stayed there for the night, Luo Xi might be agreeable, but Luo Youheng certainly would not, hence Qin Fang was accommodated in the guest room.

The next morning, Luo Youheng came to find Qin Fang early, saying that Grand Elder Wu had already woken up, his complexion visibly much better and he was now barely able to speak. The first person he wanted to see was Qin Fang and his master.

Cai Pingyuan was an old friend and sworn brother of Grand Elder Wu, and Qin Fang was considered Grand Elder Wu's martial nephew, as well as his lifesaver. If not for their timely arrival, it was feared that Grand Elder Wu would have already passed away.

Just as Luo Youheng had said, Grand Elder Wu looked much better today, with a noticeable improvement in spirit. A faint color returned to his pale and wrinkled face, though his body remained extremely weak and he had lost a considerable amount of weight; this could only be compensated for by later care.

"Master, Uncle Wu..."

Qin Fang, who had come along with Luo Youheng, saw that Cai Pingyuan was already sitting there early on, and immediately greeted the two politely. As for the rest, Wu Ming and Wu Hai, being of the same generation, a simple nod sufficed.

Cai Pingyuan just nodded, not showing much reaction. The relationship between master and disciple was very good, so Cai did not care about these formalities at all.

Old Master Wu was similar, but his face clearly held a trace of a smile, as if forcibly squeezing it out. Despite inadvertently straining his injury, causing his complexion to instantly pale, it moved Qin Fang considerably.

"Uncle Wu, your body hasn't fully recovered yet, it's best not to make too big a movement..."

Qin Fang immediately offered comfort, not wanting the Grand Elder Wu that he had risked his life to save to suffer from any incidental negligence.

"I'm already fine," reassured Old Master Wu with a gentle shake of his head and then squeezed out those words, which let Qin Fang understand the old man's temperament—stubborn and dominant. It's no wonder that the Wu family could be so powerful in this region.

"Qin Fang, don't bother with him; this old fellow is just stubborn!"

Cai Pingyuan chuckled at the side. They were old friends, and it was common for them to blend their friendship by chatting and teasing each other.

In response, Qin Fang simply smiled. It was not his place to engage in such high-level banter, and it was most appropriate for him to just sit quietly and attend to his breakfast.

"Xiao Qin, I heard from You Heng that you're investigating a murder case, and that you've made some discoveries?"

However, Qin Fang soon became restless, as Old Master Wu actually took the initiative to abandon his argument with Cai Pingyuan and turned his attention toward Qin Fang, looking as if he had already received news from Luo Youheng.

"Yes, Elder Wu! Here's what happened..."

Qin Fang had no choice but to repeat the details he had gathered to Old Master Wu, despite the fact that the expressions of Elder Cai, Cai Pingyuan, and others showed no change, as if they had already known about it beforehand.

And indeed, that was the case...

"You're right, the person who injured me and the criminal behind that case are indeed the same,"

Old Master Wu nodded solemnly, but as soon as he spoke, Cai Pingyuan, Wu Ming, Wu Hai, Luo Youheng, and the rest simultaneously looked up.

Although they were aware of this fact, they still couldn't decide who the criminal was.

The only suspect was Chen Qingsong, who was beaten and fell off the cliff years ago, but Chen Qingsong should have died twenty years ago, so how could he have committed two such crimes recently?

This was the most perplexing issue for them, and without question, Old Master Wu was the only person with knowledge of the situation, as the only two other people involved were already dead beyond doubt.

"The criminal is a young man!"

Old Master Wu was silent for a long time before he said this in a deep voice.

"A young man?"

Everyone was slightly taken aback.

Whether the criminal was young was not important in itself, but the skill required to nearly kill a grandmaster-level martial artist and leave him severely wounded was enough to move these older-generation masters. Such skill would likely be on par with that of Cai Pingyuan or Wu Ming; even Wu Hai, who had just reached the grandmaster level, would not suffice.

But could a young man possess such strength?

There was one more than twenty years ago—Chen Qingsong. However, so many years had passed, and if Chen Qingsong were still alive, he would be almost fifty years old by now, hardly a young man.

"Although I did not see his face clearly, he was definitely young, not more than thirty years old!"

Old Master Wu stressed this point, and although the others didn't know exactly what had happened that day, Old Master Wu was injured in the evening when the sky was already growing dark. Plus, it was a sneak attack, one strike and the assailant was gone, so not seeing the assailant's face clearly was quite normal.

However, the assailant had struck from the front, and even if they couldn't remember the exact face, it was not difficult to retain some impression.

"Moreover..."

But the real bombshell was yet to come, and here was the twist, "Moreover, I suspect he is a disciple of Qingsong..."

Whoosh~~

Everyone was stunned, including Qin Fang.

"Dad, are you saying that Chen Qingsong isn't dead?"

Wu Hai, who was a martial arts fanatic and rather straightforward, immediately asked in surprise.

Chen Qingsong had failed to marry the Wu family daughter before committing such a crime, and all the women he had defiled were killed, leaving no descendants.

The only possibility then would be that Chen Qingsong did not die from the fall off the cliff and spent twenty years training a disciple, who had now returned for revenge.

"How is this possible?"

Yet, everyone's hearts couldn't accept such a fact. After all, Chen Qingsong had been seriously injured at that time with no chance of recovery, not to mention that he had fallen from a mountain; being crushed to pieces would have been considered lucky.

To expect him to survive?

It would have been harder than reaching the heavens... (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian [qidian.com] to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)

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