Zheng Liu was panting heavily when, just as he was about to help Zheng Qi, the old man kicked Zheng Qi away.

Clearly, the old man's kung fu was more powerful than anyone had expected.

Just when everyone thought the old man would jump out of the window to escape, he came straight for Jiaren, raising his short knife high in his hand.

"You little brat, I've spent my whole life roaming the martial world, killing dozens of rich young masters, and tonight I've been outmaneuvered like this, with my son caught in your hands. Today, even if I die, I'll take you down with me!"

Just then, Lu Zong fumbled and lit the oil lamp. The old man held up a short knife, his face contorted with rage, which sent a chill down everyone's spine.

Jiaren gritted his teeth and raised his dagger to block the blow, but unexpectedly, three crossbow bolts suddenly flew out from under the bed and hit the old man in the chest and abdomen.

The old man's body was pierced through, and the force of gravity made him take a step back. The ferocity on his face was replaced by disbelief and resentment.

They were just a few rich kids fresh out of school; to him, they were like easy prey, easy prey to slaughter.

How did we fail this time?!

These people seem unremarkable, so why do they carry such powerful crossbows? And why do they have such skilled servants...?

What exactly is wrong?

The old man collapsed with a thud, dying with his eyes wide open.

Jiaren pounced on him quickly and slashed his neck again, severing his throat completely.

Zheng Liu did the same, finishing off the man with the pointed mouth and monkey cheeks and the burly man with his knife.

As for the woman, she was already riddled with crossbow bolts, so there was no need to do anything more to her.

The room reeked of blood, making everyone breathe more heavily.

In the end, Cat Bro burst into tears under the bed, "Waaah, Big Brother, I'm scared!"

Jiaren quickly sheathed his dagger, rushed over, hugged his younger brother, and comforted him, "Don't be afraid, your big brother is here, all the bad guys are dead!"

"Waaah, big brother, I killed someone! I saw him raise his knife, and I was afraid you'd get hurt, so I shot an arrow! Waaah, I'm scared!"

Cat Brother was terrified. He had shot birds and pheasants during his practice sessions and had never thought anything of it.

But tonight, he shot someone.

Moreover, under the lamplight, he could see the old man's death clearly.

He hugged his brother and cried desperately, as if he could cry out his fear.

Lu Zong and Jia Xu stepped forward, wanting to offer some words of comfort but unsure what to say.

Compared to Cat Brother, they were even more useless and didn't help at all.

Especially Lu Zong, who was supposed to have his bodyguards take action, but things happened so suddenly that it was over in the time it takes to drink a few sips of tea, and there was no time to react before it was all over...

Li Ge'er jumped out of bed, slapped his younger brother on the head, and scolded, "What are you crying for? This isn't home. Cheer up!"

“This old man wants to kill my eldest brother. If you kill him, you will save him. When you go home and tell Grandma and your sister, your sister will definitely reward you. Even your fourth and fifth brothers will envy you!”

That worked! Cat-boy blinked twice, immediately wiped away his tears, and asked, "Then I want a telescope too, little sister, can you give it to me?"

"Don't even mention a thousand-mile eye, you can see ten thousand miles!" Li Ge'er knew his younger brother too well, and a single sentence made Mao Ge'er happy.

Cat Brother immediately exclaimed, "Okay, I'll write to my sister when I get to Quanzhou and ask her to prepare everything for me."

Seeing this, Jiaren was relieved, but also somewhat amused and exasperated.

By this time, it had become noisy outside.

The fight had woken up the tenants inside, as well as the innkeeper and his staff downstairs.

The shopkeeper and his assistant came up with oil lamps and shouted loudly in the corridor, asking if something had happened.

Jiaren had Zheng Liu and Zheng Qi protect his two younger brothers, and then opened the door with Gousheng.

Lu Zong quickly followed beside him, while Jia Xu hesitated for a moment and fell behind.

After the fierce battle, Jiaren was covered in blood, and his appearance startled the shopkeeper and the waiter, who all cried out in alarm.

"What happened? Murder...murder?"

Jiaren nodded and said loudly, "Shopkeeper, we were sleeping soundly when suddenly a thief opened the window, jumped in, and killed us to rob us."

"However, we've subdued them all, though there have been casualties. We need to report to the authorities and get some officers. Send one of your young assistants to lead the way!"

The shopkeeper's eyes darted around, showing some reluctance.

In business, the last thing you want to do is deal with government officials. Even on ordinary days, you still have to make some concessions. Today, it's obvious that something has happened...

Therefore, he hesitated to respond.

Lu Zong and the others were getting impatient and were about to scold them when Jia Ren stopped him and said to the shopkeeper, "Shopkeeper, one of your waiters helped these thieves find out which room has how many people are staying here when he was delivering water."

"If you don't report this to the authorities, I have reason to suspect that you're in cahoots with the thieves!"

"No, no!" The shopkeeper finally couldn't hold back any longer and quickly stopped him. "This young master can't say such things. I'll have someone take you to the authorities right away!"

Jiaren then took out the Marquis's invitation from his bosom and handed it to Gousheng.

Gou Sheng took the invitation and left with a young waiter.

Jiaren and the others secretly breathed a sigh of relief; as long as the officials arrived, they would be safe for the time being.

Actually, Jiaren didn't want to take the Marquis's invitation.

However, the title of the Marquis of Zhongshan was only useful in Xindu. When he was away from home, it was far less intimidating than that of the Marquis of Xinting.

If the government office doesn't make things difficult and the matter is resolved smoothly, the only option is to rely on the Marquis's authority.

The shopkeeper dared not approach, but smelling the strong stench of blood, he cautiously asked, "Young master, how many thieves have come? Is anyone injured? Do you need a doctor?"

Jiaren shook his head and replied, "No need to see a doctor."

The shopkeeper was about to ask more questions when Gou Sheng'er and the young waiter, who had gone downstairs, returned.

The shopkeeper glared, but before he could reprimand them, a middle-aged man and seven or eight constables stepped out from behind them.

Jiaren's eyes reddened upon seeing the man, and he called out, "Uncle!"

Li Zhensheng stepped forward, looked them up and down, and asked, "Are you injured?"

"No, Uncle, it's all thanks to my sister for preparing everything so well." Jiaren quickly said, suppressing his weakness, "There were four people in total. They were the same group of people who sold themselves to bury their fathers during the day. One of them was particularly skilled in martial arts, and it took us a lot of effort to kill them all."

They were all killed?!

Before Li Zhensheng could speak, the shopkeeper rolled his eyes and fainted from anxiety.

The most crucial thing in doing business is reputation. If someone dies in his shop, what customer would dare to come in the future?!

Li Zhensheng glanced at the shopkeeper but ignored him. He turned to the leading officer, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Officer Wang, thank you for your hard work. This matter involves people from the martial arts world. If the children hadn't been dealt with severely, they would probably have suffered a great loss by now..."

Jiaren guessed that his uncle had received the news and had found an official to wait outside.

At this moment, he continued, "Officer Wang, these people also have accomplices: a beautiful woman, a man with an injured foot, and a middle-aged woman. They should all be waiting at their hideout."

"In addition, there is a young waiter in this inn who is an inside man. The innkeeper knows who it is. If we want to investigate, we can get clues from him."

"Also, there's an old man in this house. When he fought with us earlier, he said fiercely that dozens of rich young men had died at their hands. This is definitely a big case. If we can solve it, it will be a great achievement!"

Sure enough, Constable Wang's eyes lit up immediately. He hurriedly bowed and went inside...