"Uncle Chen, has something happened?"
Huo Gang helped the old man into the house.
Shangguan Wanning followed them and took the opportunity to look around the room.
It seems that Uncle Chen lives alone. There is only a kettle and a cup on the table, and there is not even an extra stool.
It can only be described as penniless.
Huo Gang asked Uncle Chen to sit down. He looked around and suddenly had a bad feeling.
"Silence, where is Miss Jin?"
"She...she's dead..."
"What?"
Huo Gang's face suddenly changed, looking as pale as death.
Shangguan Wanning's heart also skipped a beat. She could guess that the "Miss Jin" they were talking about was probably the witness that Huo Gang had mentioned.
"Uncle Chen, how did Miss Jin die? Was it..."
Uncle Chen waved his hands, his cloudy eyes showing a hint of sadness. "She drowned."
"She has been in a daze since you left, but as time went by, she recovered a little and was able to communicate with me. She is a good child. Seeing that I am old and frail, she often helps me with housework."
"One day she went to the river to wash clothes, but she slipped and fell into the river and was washed away. When the villagers rescued her, she was already dead. Alas... it was all my fault. Tell me, how could I let a rich girl like her wash clothes?"
Huo Gang gradually came to his senses. He held Uncle Chen's hand tightly. His voice was hoarse, but he tried his best to hold it in.
"Uncle Chen, this has nothing to do with you. You took care of her for me for so long. It's my fault... I can't get justice for them."
Seeing Huo Gang's sad look, Chen Bo comforted him, "Agang, don't be too sad. They are rich and powerful, how can we defeat them? Don't blame yourself, I know you tried your best."
"Leave now before they find you. Otherwise, you will be killed."
It was only at this time that Shangguan Wanning realized that Huo Gang’s life was in danger after accompanying her back.
"Uncle Chen, take care of yourself. I will come to see you again when I have the chance."
Huo Gang sighed secretly, winked at Shangguan Wanning, and walked out of the room.
Shangguan Wanning turned around and saw Uncle Chen staring at Huo Gang's back eagerly and reluctantly, and she felt an inexplicable sadness in her heart.
She quietly placed the twenty taels of silver she was carrying by the door.
It was late at night, and the alley was silent. The cold moonlight stretched the figures of the two people very long.
Shangguan Wanning followed Huo Gang silently.
"I'm sorry, miss, I think... I can't help you."
"Brother Huo, it's okay. We can think of another way. But..." Shangguan Wan Ning hesitated for a long time, but finally mustered up the courage to ask, "Can you tell me what happened to those previous murders? Also, about Wujimen..."
Huo Gang fell silent again.
Shangguan Wanning was helpless. She could sense that Huo Gang had been avoiding these problems.
The two walked for a while before Huo Gang spoke softly.
"About two years ago, the first murder occurred. Since the victim was also the daughter of a wealthy businessman and the crime was committed in an extremely cruel way, it caused quite a stir in the southeastern prefecture. The government investigated for a long time but found no clues. Ten days later, the second murder occurred."
"Seeing the situation deteriorate, the prefect at the time sought help from Wuji Sect, hoping to use the power of the underworld to help catch the murderer. I followed my master's order to assist the government in the investigation. But soon the third murder occurred."
"It was in this murder case that the murderer left clues, which allowed me to trace the case back to the Ling family. It was also from that time that the investigation process became extremely difficult. No matter what I found, the clues would be destroyed. Until..."
Huo Gang's expression changed again, and his thoughts, which had originally calmed down, began to churn again.
"There was a girl... who told me the murderer's mark before she died. I always wanted to verify it but never had the chance. At that time, my master died. Miss Jin was the victim of the fifth case. When I arrived, she was still alive."
"I sent her back home, but who knew... the next day the entire Jin family was murdered. I originally thought Miss Jin had also been murdered. However, I don't know if it was God's will, Miss Jin was crazy and hid in the cellar to escape the disaster."
"I didn't tell anyone about this. At the time... I couldn't protect myself, so I had to entrust Miss Jin to Uncle Chen's care and left Southeast Prefecture with Momo. I thought, unless I was absolutely sure, I wouldn't tell anyone about Miss Jin's whereabouts."
Shangguan Wanning could guess from Huo Gang's description that many things must have happened after the murder that year, which led to Huo Gang leaving his hometown.
"Brother Huo, don't think about the past anymore. No matter what, there will always be a way."
Shangguan Wanning needed some time to carefully sort out the current situation and think about how to deal with it.
"Brother, why didn't you tell this girl beside you that even your fiancée died a violent death?"
A voice came from the air, and Shangguan Wanning saw a young man in white clothes coming gracefully using light skills.
He gently waved his folding fan with a faint smile on his face. Under the bright moonlight, he actually looked gentle and elegant.
However, Shangguan Wanning felt a chill in her heart when she thought of how he had beaten an innocent woman to death with a single blow during the day.
Huo Gang stretched out a hand to protect Shangguan Wanning behind him and looked at Tie Shijie.
"The grudge between you and me has nothing to do with anyone else."
"But if she is here to investigate the murder case, then it has something to do with me." Tie Shijie looked at Shangguan Wan Ning slowly, "If the girl changes back into women's clothes, she will definitely be as beautiful as a fairy."
Shangguan Wanning looked at Tie Shijie coldly without answering.
"Brother, Miss Jin is dead, and even God won't help you. I advise you to stop."
Huo Gang was slightly startled and showed a surprised expression.
"Why? Strange? Senior Brother, I already knew that you hid Miss Jin in Uncle Chen's house. I didn't do anything because I thought it was not worth my trouble."
"Really? I'm afraid not." Shangguan Wan Ning found it hard to imagine that under Tie Shijie's gentle appearance, there would be such a cold heart. "You want to use Miss Jin as bait and wait for Brother Huo to come back."
Tie Shijie laughed. "You're right."
After that, he looked at Huo Gang again. "Brother, Master has always said that I am not as talented or intelligent as you. Tonight, let's compete. If you win, you go; if you lose, you stay alive."
Huo Gang's eyes turned sinister and he snorted heavily.
"Okay, I will clean up the mess for Master today."
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