Chapter 361 - Painstaking Investigation
The residence of the Fu Family was filled with anguished wails.
The dining hall was messy and chaotic. Casualties could be found everywhere. The impact of the servant’s self-destruction was not that large, but the incident had happened too suddenly. Being caught off guard caused devastating losses.
It merely took tens of seconds for merriment to turn into bereavement.
The one who suffered the greatest loss was Madam Ye.
With a sorrowful pale-white face, she kneeled beside the body of the old woman. She used trembling fingers to close the old woman’s wide glaring eyes. This was the first time Madam Ye had come so close to death. She was literally a few steps away from death. If not for her loyal old servant using her body to protect her, Madam Ye would also be lying in a pool of blood right now.
She stared at the body of the old woman as her eyes filled with intense grief. The old woman had followed Madam Ye for many years and had gained her trust. Madam Ye treated her as part of her family.
The death of a Master dealt a huge blow to Madam Ye’s strength.
"Give her an honorable burial," Madam Ye said to a servant in a low voice.
Madam Ye stood up from the ground. There were a lot of things that she needed to do. The Fu Family had just pledged their allegiance to her and immediately received such a huge blow. The Fu Family’s confidence was definitely wavering.
Madam Ye was sure that the Fu Family did not know anything about the surprise attack on their residence. This was because most of the casualties were members of the Fu Family.
Even Fu Huaien, who had been near Madam Ye, was severely injured by the impact of the explosion.
The Fu Family had suffered a crippling loss and might not be able to recover from this setback.
She could not let the Fu Family collapse just like this.
The quest for talent needed a vast amount of effort and resources. If the first family to pledge allegiance to her collapsed just like this, how would the other families still dare to join her?
Madam Ye shuttled to and fro among the casualties. She arranged medical treatment for them and maintained order in the hall. Very quickly, even though the number of casualties did not decrease, everyone’s morale had soon been elevated. Fear and panic had been subdued.
Prince walked over and patted Ai Hui’s shoulder. "Good job!"
Ai Hui returned to his senses and understood that Prince was referring to blocking the recent a.s.sa.s.sination attempt. "It’s nothing. It’s my duty to do so," Ai Hui replied.
Jiu Gui nodded his head in approval at Ai Hui as well.
If anything was to happen to Madam Ye, both of them would be severely punished. Madam Ye and the Gra.s.s Hall had a deep relations.h.i.+p. Since they had been in the Gra.s.s Hall for a much longer period than Ai Hui, they naturally knew more things.
Ai Hui scanned his surroundings as his mind filled with suspicion and doubt.
Why was One Thousand Yuan in Silver City? What exactly did One Thousand Yuan want?
To a.s.sa.s.sinate Madam Ye? Ai Hui did not think so.
The a.s.sa.s.sination attempt was abnormally brief and precise. No matter how one looked at it, it was meticulously planned. Not only did it cause Madam Ye to lose an expert, it almost ended her life as well.
However, for some reason, Ai Hui felt that there was something wrong.
He calmed himself down and slowly sorted out his thinking process. It was during the daytime that Madam decided to come to the Fu Family’s residence. The a.s.sa.s.sination attempt took place on the night of the same day. This meant that One Thousand Yuan had approximately half a day’s time to prepare for this a.s.sa.s.sination attempt, unless she had already been hiding in the Fu family and the a.s.sa.s.sination opportunity just happened to present itself.
However, Ai Hui felt that the possibility of this happening was too low.
If this was not the cause, then that meant One Thousand Yuan had the support of a local family who was powerful and influential. Only a powerful and influential local family could obtain the news of Madam Ye’s visit and infiltrate the Fu Family in such a short period of time.
Could it be the Ling Residence?
Logically speaking, the Ling Residence was the main suspect. It would not be unusual for this a.s.sa.s.sination attempt to be part of their revenge against the humiliation and losses they had just suffered. However, Ai Hui still felt that something was amiss about this conjecture.
Suddenly, Ai Hui thought of the a.s.sa.s.sination attempt on Ling Xiao. His body froze as he seemed to catch on to something.
The a.s.sa.s.sination attempt on Lin Xiao was the flashpoint for the animosity between the Ye Residence and the Ling Residence.
a.s.sa.s.sination attempt on Lin Xiao… a.s.sa.s.sination attempt on Lin Xiao…
Ai Hui caught ahold of the main point. Was the a.s.sa.s.sination attempt on Lin Xiao planned by One Thousand Yuan? When this idea flashed across Ai Hui’s mind, his mind jolted abruptly. If this was the case, then many things could now be explained.
The Ling Residence was the representative for aristocratic families, while Madam Ye was the representative of the Great Elder and the Elders Guild. A fight between these two parties would cause the Avalon of Five Elements an immense loss of strength.
Weakening the Avalon of Five Elements was something that the Blood of G.o.d had always wanted to do.
However, other than causing Madam Ye to lose an expert, the a.s.sa.s.sination attempt this time around did not yield very many results. Furthermore, the a.s.sa.s.sination attempt also exposed the Blood of G.o.d’s involvement in this incident. Everyone could identify the blood poison used in the attack.
Revealing the existence of the Blood of G.o.d’s spies in Silver City would caused One Thousand Yuan more harm than good.
Unless…
At this moment, he heard Jiu Gui yell, "Be careful, the enemy has not left yet!"
Everyone, including Ai Hui, became tense!
Despicable!
The enemy pretended to leave the area and hid in one corner, waiting for the right opportunity to strike again.
Jiu Gui spat out a cloud of wine mist. A horseman emerged from the wine mist and charged toward the corner of the room. Suddenly, in the previously empty corner, a few figures appeared out of thin air.
When the infiltrators realized that they were exposed, two of them charged at the wine mist horseman and the rest split into two groups that started attacking everyone.
The situation immediately became dangerous.
Most of the injured were lying on the ground. Everyone’s attention was placed on treating the wounded. The sudden outbreak of fighting sent everyone into a panic.
All of the Fu Family’s guards ran forward to stop the enemies. However, what happened next frightened everyone. The guards dropped down one by one, resembling wheat stalks that had been reaped.
At this point in time, Fu Sisi’s face had already turned pale-white. The heavy losses that the Fu Family suffered today made her feel horrified. Initially, she wanted to carve a new path for the Fu Family and prevent them from being annexed by the Ling Residence. However, she did not expect that the new path would be so cruel and devastating.
"Stop them! Protect Madam!" Fu Huaien stepped forward and roared with a stern voice.
Among the many generations of family heads, Fu Huaien’s apt.i.tude was considered average. When compared to the young and inexperienced Fu Sisi, however, he was still very capable. When he saw his family guards collapsing one by one, his eyes surged with rage. With a roar, he pounced on the enemies.
The absolute art of the Fu Family, [Green Dragon Art], was on full display.
When Fu Sisi saw her bloodied father dash forward, tears flowed down her cheeks.
Fu Huaien’s skin ignited with surging elemental energy. Cracks began to appear on his skin. These cracks emitted a green glow and looked like green dragon scales growing out his body. The sclera of Fu Huaien’s eyes turned green as his eye pupils disappeared.
A terrifying aura shot into the sky.
When Fu Huaien enter the battle, the collapsing defensive line was immediately strengthened. In a single breath, Fu Huaien killed six enemies. The whole process resembled a fruit cutting process, shocking everyone in the hall.
Could Fu Huaien… be a Master?
Ai Hui looked at Fu Huaien in shock. He had fought against these enemies before and knew how powerful and vicious they were. Just three of these enemies were enough to tie him up and make him feel immense pressure.
Where did One Thousand Yuan find these powerful and vicious experts?
By this point, Fu Huaien had entered a zone. There was a vast difference in his strength before and after his transformation.
Jiu Gui and Prince were amazed. They were now certain that Fu Huaien had reached the level of Master.
"Defend! His transformation won’t last long!" An indifferent voice could be heard from the enemy line.
The enemies’ faces remained gloomy. Apparently, when they heard that Fu Huaien’s transformation would not last long, they heaved a sigh of relief. Within a short period of time, Fu Huaien had slain seven of their comrades.
Fu Huaien detested these people. These people almost caused the Fu Family to be consigned to eternal d.a.m.nation. As such, he was very ruthless to them.
Both Jiu Gui and Prince were engaged in hard battles as well. Their opponents were specialized in mounting joint attacks in groups of five, causing the two of them to be in deep trouble.
"Fine, fine!"
Standing on the flight of steps, Madam Ye’s face was gloomy. Saying "fine" two times in a row clearly showed that she was enraged.
"The Ling Residence is indeed evil. How dare they use Sacrificial Guards against me!"
Madam Ye hit the nail on the head about these people’s background.
When everyone heard the term "Sacrificial Guards," their facial expressions changed drastically. Sacrificial Guards were the elite units of the Ling Residence. Every one of them was specially chosen after layers of trials. They were trained together from young, hence, they were well-coordinated.
At this point in time, Jiu Gui and Prince realized what was going on. Their opponents were not powerful, but they could pester the two of them and tangle them up.
A cold-looking man yelled indifferently, "So the Ye Residence has pride and honor, but my Ling Residence doesn’t? Today, I want one of your arms to seek vengeance for my brother!"
Ai Hui did not know of the background of these "Sacrificial Guards," but when he heard the words "Ling Residence," he was startled.
He finally knew what One Thousand Yuan was trying to do.
She framed the Ling Residence and the Ye Residence for her plot!
By framing the Ling Residence with the crime of colluding with the Blood of G.o.d, it would deepen the enmity between the Ling Residence and Ye Residence. The death battle between the Ling Residence, which was a powerful representative of the aristocratic families, and the Ye Residence, which was a representative of the Great Elder and the Elders Guild, would cause internal disorder and devastation in the Avalon of Five Elements.
Colluding with the Blood of G.o.d to kill Madam Ye would result in zero chance for both sides to reach a compromise.
Vicious!
Ai Hui broke out in cold sweat as he trembled with fear. A mere scheme like this could cause a huge fissure in the seemingly grand and magnificent Avalon of Five Elements.
Demonic girl!
One Thousand Yuan’s shrewdness far surpa.s.sed his.
When Ai Hui thought of her parting words to him, he felt a cold s.h.i.+ver down his spine.
Should he leave Silver City as soon as possible?
Silver City was a really dangerous place. A moment of carelessness would cause him to meet with a tragic end.
Ai Hui was prepared to make an escape. The Sacrificial Guards were gaining an advantageous position in the battle. If Madam Ye’s old servant was still alive… Ai Hui suddenly thought of something. What if One Thousand Yuan’s target was never Madam Ye but the old servant with an unfathomable depth of strength?
The more Ai Hui thought about it, the more he felt that it was possible. If Madam Ye died by the hands of the Ling Residence, it would widen the rift between the aristocratic families and the Elders Guild and cause the Great Elder to lose his rationality.
To ensure that the Ling Residence was capable of hurting Madam Ye, the powerful and unfathomable old servant was killed.
The demonic girl was too scary!
"As long as there’s one member of the Fu Family still alive, you can forget about hurting Madam Ye!"
Fu Huaien’s roar was like a thunderclap.
"Vowing loyalty and devotion to your new master so soon?" The cold-looking man sneered. "The Fu Family is like a dog. Are you even qualified to bark at me? Kill him!"
Suddenly, Fu Huaien said, "From today onward, the head of the Fu Family will be Fu Sisi. Madam Ye, Sisi is still young. Please guide her along."
Afterward, Fu Huaien suddenly slapped the back of his head, and a green light erupted from the back of his head.
The cold-looking man’s facial expression changed drastically.