"They were all killed?" Lin Xiaowei stood frozen in place as she stared at Zhang Qing, who had just delivered the news.
After a long silence, she couldn't help asking a second time, "You mean the three people from the Black Triangle assigned to this operation... are dead?"
"That's the information I received from my informant," Zhang Qing replied.
"The Black Triangle's members might not be world-class criminals, but anyone who has survived this long in Tiannan's underworld must have some ability. How could they have died so easily? When did it happen? And who killed them?" Lin Xiaowei pressed.
"No one knows for sure who did it, but it looks like it happened tonight," Zhang Qing answered.
"Tonight?" Lin Xiaowei was startled.
The moment she heard that, her thoughts immediately turned to Xia Li, the general manager of Longquan Real Estate, who had also been found dead in the redevelopment area that same night.
A chill crept down her back. Yunmeng City had a population of less than two million, yet for some reason, tonight she felt as though a terrifying monster was prowling through the darkness of the city, choosing its victims at will.
"Can we get more accurate information?" she asked.
"Most likely not," Zhang Qing said, shaking his head. "News of this level is usually held only by the upper echelons of the underworld. My informant is nowhere near their level. But..."
The man fell silent for a moment, weighing his words. "If the Black Triangle shut down because their members were killed, that means they encountered an opponent they couldn't match. Whatever they faced, that enemy must have been so terrifying that even their logistics members abandoned the idea of revenge and immediately cut all ties. Terrifying enough to scare those hidden members of the Black Triangle half to death..."
"The Su family?" Lin Xiaowei immediately dismissed the possibility. "That's impossible. I was with Su Yaoyu when she received the news. Judging by her reaction, this doesn't seem to have been the Su family's doing."
"Su Yaoyu might be the Su family's young lady, and she controls a subsidiary worth hundreds of millions... But because she's a woman, she has no access to the family's true circle of power. Even if the Su family took action, it's unlikely she would be informed about it."
Zhang Qing continued, "But think about Su Yaoguang again... If the Su family no longer intends to protect Su Xiangyang, that means Su Yaoguang is Su Huaifeng's only male descendant. His position is far more important than Su Yaoyu's. Whatever the reason, the Su family's higher-ups would never allow him to face real danger, let alone die. That would be tantamount to slapping the Su family in the face and making them look weak."
Lin Xiaowei fell silent. Since this matter involved the Su family's young master, she naturally had to act carefully.
"Rather than believe the Su family secretly wiped out the Black Triangle, I'm more inclined to suspect that Su Yaoguang has another side no one knows about," she murmured.
Her thoughts drifted back to the strange, inexplicable feeling she'd had when she first met Su Yaoguang at Chihe Apartments. There was something odd about that young man, but she couldn't determine what it was.
The woman shook her head and forced herself to stop thinking about it.
"Send a team to keep an eye on Su Yaoguang under the pretext of protecting him," the woman ordered.
"Advisor Xia has already borrowed all the men we have available. We're short on people..." Zhang Qing said, a little reluctantly.
"Advisor Xia..." Lin Xiaowei knew exactly who he meant, and the thought immediately gave her a headache.
"The general manager of Longquan Real Estate isn't the same as those underground rats from the Black Triangle. No one cares if those rats die, but Xia Li... That man has hundreds of millions in wealth, influence, and even a place in the martial arts world. The pressure from above is enormous. Forget Advisor Xia—the entire police bureau will be overwhelmed dealing with this matter for some time. Inspector Zhao wants everyone to cooperate with Advisor Xia as much as possible," Zhang Qing said, reminding her that identity and status could change everything, including the police bureau's reaction.
"All right. I'll make time to check on Yaoguang myself later. Hopefully my guess is wrong," Lin Xiaowei said.
Zhang Qing nodded.
The next morning, Yaoguang stared at the fourteen names he'd just entered into his phone, along with their sect names and home addresses. After thinking for several minutes, he decided to check the nearest name first.
In Tiannan, Shanlong was the city closest to Yunmeng, with only about sixty kilometers between them. The drive there took just over an hour.
Yaoguang's reason for delving into cultivation was actually very simple: to improve his quality of life.
With hundreds of thousands in cash at his disposal, he wasn't willing to work hard just to save money. He immediately called a cab and set off for Shanlong City.
Along the way, he took out his phone and searched for videos related to the top martial artists in Shanlong City's martial arts world, which had actually long since fallen into obscurity.
The car drove out of Yunmeng City, and the high-rises along the road gradually became fewer and farther between. Before long, even low buildings had disappeared from sight.
Yaoguang kept scrolling through the videos, studying Lei Ao's fighting style while paying no attention at all to the constantly changing scenery outside.
Suddenly, the car stopped. When he raised his head, Yaoguang saw that the cab driver had pulled over to chat with two young women carrying suitcases. Beside them was a rideshare car that appeared to have broken down while they were on their way to Shanlong. After a brief negotiation, they quickly agreed on a fare of fifty thousand per person for a ride to Shanlong City.
Throughout the negotiation, not one of them bothered asking Yaoguang, the passenger in the car, for his opinion.
However, since people often ran into difficulties while traveling, Yaoguang said nothing.
The two women placed their suitcases in the trunk and got into the car. As soon as they sat down, the overpowering smell of perfume filled the entire vehicle, followed by the sight of a girl who at first glance appeared fashionable and beautiful... But on closer inspection, it was obvious that her beauty was nothing more than the result of makeup and cosmetic technology.
She looked at Yaoguang, and her eyes lit up slightly. "Hi, Handsome."
Because her perfume was too strong, Yaoguang said, "You two can sit in the back. I'll sit up front."
After speaking, he opened the car door. As luck would have it, the other girl was walking around the car, and the door struck her lightly.
Before the young man could say anything, the girl hurriedly apologized while stepping back. "Sorry, sorry. I didn't see that you were getting out..."
Yaoguang glanced at her.
The girl looked no more than seventeen or eighteen. She was slender, with slightly tanned skin and no makeup on her face. Yet despite her plain appearance, she radiated a fresh, natural beauty that immediately stood out.
"It's fine," he replied briefly, then walked around to sit in the front passenger seat.
The car started moving again.
"Handsome, are you out sightseeing? Want to come with us?" the fashionable girl teased with a bright smile, trying to make conversation.
"I'm looking for someone," Yaoguang replied flatly, showing no interest in continuing the conversation.
The girl tried flirting with him several more times, but his continued indifference quickly bored her. She turned her attention to the girl beside her. "Don't worry, Xiaoying. We're both from Yu Village. Now that I've made a decent amount of money, of course I'm going to bring you along. Once you join the company, you'll have no trouble making money. If you work hard, earning tens of thousands a month won't be a problem."
"With only a junior-high diploma, I wouldn't even dare dream of earning tens of thousands. I'd already be grateful to make five thousand. Then I could help Mom buy medicine and pay my younger sibling's school fees," Xiaoying replied.
"What's the point of five thousand a month? Earning that little is as good as earning nothing. I brought you here so you could make real money... Let me tell you, people can live without many things, but they can't afford to live in poverty. If you don't have money, people will keep trampling all over you wherever you go. But once you have money, no matter what you do, people will always gather around you..." To emphasize her point, the fashionable girl went on and on about the difference between people with money and people without it.
Finding her chatter too noisy, Yaoguang put on his earphones and resumed watching the videos.
Seeing the handsome, well-dressed man who was completely her type ignore her entirely, the fashionable girl grew unhappy. Before long, she lost even the interest in boasting to her acquaintance.
Some time later, they arrived in Shanlong.
Compared with Yunmeng, Shanlong City had a much smaller population. At a glance, the city looked almost like an oversized county town.
This was due to its geographical location.
Tiannan was already far to the south of Dayu, and Shanlong had been built right on that southern border, directly facing Mingguang City in the neighboring country of Feiyu. The city had originally been established as a gateway city, but because Feiyu was underdeveloped, Shanlong City had never reached its golden age despite its strategic position. The local economy was easy to judge from the streets and buildings, which looked plain and often needed renovation.
Before long, the car arrived at the mansion where Lei Ao lived.
Once an unremarkable Martial Arts Master, Lei Ao had risen to prominence over the past two years, and his living conditions had improved drastically. Besides living in the mansion, he had also taken on many students.
His residence was heavily guarded. Several sturdy disciples patrolled back and forth outside.
Yaoguang did not go inside. Instead, he stopped outside the residence's gate and immediately circulated his Qi and blood to activate his secret technique.
What was a secret technique? A secret technique was one born from a perfect and profound understanding of a particular realm.
The Perception Technique could be considered the pinnacle of Qi and blood utilization. Using his Qi and blood as a medium, a person could project his mental consciousness into the technique. Consciousness moved together with Qi, and Qi flowed along with blood, granting sensitivity to the power of Qi and blood. This resonance allowed the user to sense similar energy in the surrounding area and detect powerful anomalies hiding in the darkness.
By making use of memory, imagination, and the mind's visual comprehension, this secret technique manifested as a mental map, where every abnormal sign of Qi and blood appeared as a glowing red dot.
However, when Yaoguang withdrew the secret technique, he frowned. "There's nothing?"
He had never expected to get a result like this. After pondering for a moment, he walked toward the residence's gate.
"Can I help you?" asked a man nearly six foot two, immediately examining Yaoguang from head to toe. When he noticed Yaoguang's calm demeanor and neat clothes, the man asked politely, "What brings you here?"
"I've made an appointment with Martial Arts Master Lei Ao. He isn't home, is he? I seem to have arrived early," Yaoguang replied.
Yaoguang's overly direct words, especially his question about Lei Ao's whereabouts, left the guard confused about his identity. However, not wanting to offend a potential guest, he hurriedly replied, "Since you're Master Lei's friend, allow me to show you inside so you can rest. How should I address you?"
So he really isn't here. No wonder I couldn't sense anything. "No need. I'll come back at the appointed time," Yaoguang replied.
The man frowned slightly and carefully examined his face once more.
Just then, three young men walked out laughing. One of them, about the same age as Yaoguang, suddenly froze when he saw him. Then he ran over enthusiastically. "Young Master Su, you're in Shanlong? Did you come to see Master Lei?"
He suddenly seemed to remember something. "I heard you didn't attend college in the capital and instead chose to practice martial arts? You're interested in the Martial Way, right? In that case, you've come to the right person. Master Lei is the number-one martial artist in Shanlong. His reputation and position are no joke."
Yaoguang looked at him without remembering who the young man was.
"My name is Zhang Ching. I live in Shanlong. The education here isn't very good, so my father sent me to Yunmeng High School. I feel incredibly lucky to have met Young Master Su there," the young man said quickly.
A hint of surprise and excitement showed in Zhang Ching's eyes.
During Su Yaoguang's first two years of high school, his life had been utterly ordinary. It wasn't until his third year that rumors began spreading that he was the illegitimate son of a high-ranking figure in the Su family, the child of a wealthy tycoon. Someone like that wasn't easily forgotten.
After graduating from high school, Zhang Ching refused to attend college and chose to return home to inherit his family's business. His family was worth tens of millions, but that amount was nothing compared with the Su family's wealth. After spending a year in upper-class circles, he finally understood how important it was to build connections. Since he'd happened to meet Su Yaoguang now, he instinctively hurried over to greet him.
"Hello." Yaoguang nodded.
"Young Master Su, did you come here to see Master Lei? I know where he is right now. We're heading there ourselves, anyway. Would you like to come with us?" Zhang Ching asked with a broad smile.
"Sure." Yaoguang glanced at him without showing any fear or concern.
People with great ability had nothing to fear.
"Lead the way."