Could you be a little bit afraid of me?
Pei Jiming tutted his words and said, "Come with me."
After saying that, he turned and ran quickly through the dense forest, rushing down the mountain.
Pei Jiming was convinced: "A formation master brought his men to seize one of Seventeen's strongholds. Seventeen's side was in an uproar. This is the first time I've seen such a person."
A hidden soldier with maxed-out assassination attributes was always a natural nemesis for a formation master. Pei Jiming had been a hidden soldier for so many years, but this was the first time he had seen a formation master rushing to pick a fight.
The two men were running fast along the mountain wall. Suddenly, they turned a corner and bumped into a man with a disheveled look on his face.
The man had a strong build, but his dark-colored suit was badly damaged. There was a shocking scar on his face, extending from his forehead to his cheekbone, with blood oozing out.
When he saw Pei Jiming, the man was startled at first, and then rushed forward as if he had seen a savior.
"Commander!"
Ren Xuan's eyes flashed, and he immediately recognized that this man was the killer ranked 17th on the Dark List, Xia Wumei, also known as "Ghost Face".
Pei Jiming's face was gloomy: "What's your situation?"
The man shrank his neck under the pressure of Pei Jiming's momentum, but his face was still full of grievance: "Commander! You have to make the decision for me!"
Xia Wumei stepped forward quickly, his eyes slightly red: "I, I really endured it again and again!"
Xia Wumei's voice was both urgent and indignant: "We are secret soldiers who killed people. How can we bring them to justice?! He didn't hit me, he hit you in the face!!"
Pei Jiming: "..."
Pei Jiming took a deep breath: "Lu Shian, a formation master, beat you like this?"
Xia Wumei wiped the blood off his face: "He has experts around him!"
He gritted his teeth and said, "I didn't want to confront the government officials, but that guy dared to set up a formation in mid-air and cut off my escape route!"
Ren Xuan frowned, this formation style was indeed very similar to Lu Shian's.
Before the three of them finished speaking, a sharp gust of wind came from the path Xia Wumei had just taken. Xia Wumei's face changed, and he subconsciously shrank behind Pei Jiming.
Pei Jiming's expression remained unchanged. He just slightly turned sideways and stood in front of Xia Wumei.
Ren Xuan looked past the two of them and stared at the figure gradually approaching at the end of the mountain path.
Ren Xuan took a look at the so-called "master" and understood why Lu Shian dared to be so radical and run to the secret army base to arrest people - Lu Shian actually kidnapped Lu Xiyun to be his thug!
The Prince of Xifu raised his sword and said, "Why are you running? My Qianyuan Criminal Code, Volume 2, Article 11, states that whoever kills must pay with his life. How can I allow you to go unpunished?"
After making a "righteous" statement about the arrest, Lu Xiyun glanced at Lu Shian and asked, "Shian, is that right?"
Lu Shian smiled gently, giving the other party enough emotional value of "chivalrous and righteous": "Your Highness is absolutely right."
Ren Xuan looked at this scene, and the corner of his eye twitched slightly.
The imperial edict asked you to cultivate yourself, but you didn't read it at all. You could recite the Qianyuan Criminal Law fluently.
Ren Xuan stepped forward, his expression unchanged: "Prince, Lord Lu."
Lu Xiyun frowned, shifting his gaze from Xia Wumei to Pei Jiming: "Ren Xuan, is this your friend? The guy he was standing behind committed a murder."
Pei Jiming looked normal, expressionless, even a little indifferent.
——Nonsense, if they don’t kill people, can they be called secret soldiers?
Ren Xuan began to feel tired. Why was he always the one to mediate every time the two sides quarreled?
He took a deep breath and said, "Prince, Lao Pei, please be patient, everyone."
Ren Xuan: "Although this brother killed someone, Zhao An's death was indeed not unjust."
Ren Xuan: "Zhao An is not an ordinary citizen. Let's deal with the affairs of the martial arts world. How about that?"
Xia Wumei poked his head out from behind Pei Jiming, his eyes still filled with anger, but his tone softened a bit: "Zhao An's so-called recruitment of disciples is nothing more than finding talented people to sell. I killed Zhao An because I was afraid he would harm innocent people again."
Lu Shi'an remained expressionless. "In the Zhao An case, his apprentice Chu Ming was deemed the murderer and is accused of murder. If the true culprit is not brought to justice, someone will be wrongly accused. The Jianghu affairs you're talking about have already implicated ordinary people."
Xia Wumei's face changed when he heard this, and he subconsciously took a step back.
Pei Jiming frowned slightly, his expression gradually becoming colder.
Ren Xuan sighed inwardly. He looked at both sides and spoke again: "Gentlemen, there is a compromise."
Ren Xuan: "Xia Wumei wrote a confession, but he doesn't have to turn himself in."
Xia Wumei hesitated for a moment, still with reluctance on his face: "Commander..."
Pei Jiming ignored it and said calmly, "Okay."
Lu Xiyun glanced at Lu Shian with a questioning look in his eyes. Lu Shian hesitated for a moment and nodded.
Xia Wumei left a confession letter, turned around and left with Pei Jiming, and soon disappeared into the shadows of the mountains and forests.
Seeing the two leave, Ren Xuan finally breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to Lu Xiyun, frowning slightly: "Prince, why are you here?"
Lu Xiyun spread his hands, calmly saying, "Brother Xie asked me to double-check whether his senior brother is doing his job seriously. When I arrived in town, I happened to run into Shi An investigating a case. I even taught the young guys in the martial arts school a few moves."
Ren Xuan approached Lu Xiyun and lowered his voice a bit: "Sir, that Commander Pei just now is also under your Highness's command."
He said meaningfully, "Be careful he tells on you."
When Lu Xiyun heard this, his calm demeanor instantly collapsed and his eyes widened.
He almost reflexively turned around to look in the direction Pei Jiming left, and then realized that he could no longer see anyone.
"Shi'an, I'll leave Zhao An's case to you. If you have any questions about the martial arts school, you can come to me!" Lu Xiyun said as he took a few steps back, as if he might be caught red-handed if he stayed for even a second longer: "I'm going back to the imperial city first!"
Before he finished speaking, Lu Xiyun had already turned around, and with a few leaps, his figure quickly disappeared at the end of the mountain road, leaving only a cloud of flying dust.
Watching Lu Xiyun's hurried departure, an inexplicable emotion flashed in Ren Xuan's eyes.
He slowly turned his head and looked at Lu Shian who was still "unaware" beside him, and suddenly a trace of sourness arose in his heart.
If only we could be this afraid of Lu Shian when he does "bad things".
Ren Xuan calmed himself down and cast a deep gaze at Lu Shian. "You found out Xia Wumei was a covert soldier, yet you still continue to intervene in this case."
He paused, his voice lowered. "This is against the rules, and it's dangerous."
After finding out that Xia Wumei was a secret soldier, the case should have been reported instead of Lu Shian continuing to handle it.
Lu Shian remained calm, neither admitting nor denying, and simply said, "Transferring this case might kill Zhao An's apprentice."
He sighed softly, "Zhao An's disciple has confessed his guilt."
Ren Xuan: "Hmm?"
Lu Shian spoke slowly, his voice as calm as water: "He clearly didn't kill the person, but he confessed to it. I don't know what he's afraid of."
A hint of surprise crossed Ren Xuan's face. Zhao An's disciple, clearly a victim abducted by Zhao An, actually took the blame for murder.
He frowned slightly: "So you dare to break into the secret soldiers' base? What if I hadn't met Lu Xiyun today?"
Lu Shian said nothing.
Ren Xuan sighed, his eyes showing both worry and helplessness. He wanted to say something else, but finally shook his head and swallowed back the warnings and exhortations that he had not yet spoken.
He just asked: "Can you take me with you next time?"
The mountain breeze blows and the leaves fall silently.
All is implied.
···
In the dense forest, Xia Wumei quickly followed Pei Jiming. The swaying shadows of the trees obscured the figures of both of them.
"Commander, you were too polite to those corrupt officials today!" Xia Wumei's pent-up anger finally exploded: "What the hell is the Dali Temple? They can control us anytime."
He gritted his teeth and said, "He's just a formation master. I have a hundred ways to kill him!!"
Pei Jiming suddenly stopped and turned to Xia Wumei, his eyes suddenly becoming as cold as a knife.
"I told you not to touch him, don't you understand?"
Xia Wumei was frightened by this sudden momentum and subconsciously took a half step back. The anger on his face gradually faded, replaced by a hint of doubt and fear.
Pei Jiming looked directly at Xia Wumei with a stern look in his eyes: "No one is allowed to touch this Lu Shian, can you remember that?"
Xia Wumei nodded quickly, agreeing repeatedly. Silence stretched between the two of them. Xia Wumei lowered his head and thought for a moment before finally speaking cautiously, "Commander... there's one more thing. I was stunned by that little disciple at the time, and Lin Yuan couldn't get it back. I went looking for it later, but couldn't find it either."
Pei Jiming heard this without much expression: "If you can't find it, forget it."
His tone was calm, "So-called shortcuts always lead to a pitiful cost."
Xia Wumei looked surprised, as if he couldn't believe that the commander would give up a life-threatening sword so easily.
Pei Jiming seemed to see through his thoughts and sneered: "The moment Zhao An took up the sword of life, everything he did was irreversible."
He stared at Xia Wumei with a sharp gaze: "If you keep this sword in your hands, do you think you won't become the next Zhao An?"
Xia Wumei's face suddenly changed, and he took a half step back involuntarily. He swallowed his saliva and said, "I know...I know."
···
There was a dim light in the cell, and inside was a cage made of fine iron.
There was only a short-statured boy in the cage. Chu Ming had the skills of an eighth-grade cultivator. Even though he was young, the village head still did not dare to underestimate him.
He was wearing a severely damaged sky-blue robe with several hideous bloodstains on his chest.
The young man sat huddled in a corner of the cage, his knees hugged, his eyes fierce, and he remained silent.
This time, even Lu Shian didn’t quite understand.
Even though there was Xia Wumei's confession, Chu Ming could have overturned the case by just nodding in agreement. However, this young man seemed to be seeking death and refused all chances to live.
Ren Xuan stood at the edge of the cage, looking at the young man's unyielding look, and finally couldn't bear it anymore.
"Kid, you don't know what's good for you, do you?" Ren Xuan cursed, his voice filled with undisguised irritation. He turned to Lu Shi'an and said, "Don't worry about him. He wasn't the only one there that day!! Just wait, I'll find someone for you!"
As Ren Xuan spoke, he turned and walked out of the prison door.
It was not difficult for Ren Xuan to find Yuan Feng.
He didn't believe how far this kid could run away from home.
Sure enough, Ren Xuan caught the little devil red-handed on the trunk of a green tree in the woods at the entrance of the village.
The oldest tree in the village was more than ten meters tall, and its branches were as wide as two Yuan Fengs. The little boy leaned against the trunk with a piece of grass in his mouth.
Fortunately, Ren Xuan knows some martial arts, otherwise he really wouldn't be able to get up.
The moment Ren Xuan stepped onto the tree trunk, a short sword made of black gold and black iron appeared out of thin air and hit him right in the middle of his eyebrows.
The young man, who was resting his head on his arm, opened half of his eyelids. Yuan Feng saw who was coming and waved his hand to put away Qingfeng.
This kid is obviously angry. Ren Xuan sighed in his heart and thought, okay, let's coax him.
"Xiao Feng, why did you run so far? Brother Yuan was very worried about you."
"No way!" The little kid gritted his teeth angrily, "He wants to give me to someone else!!"
Yuan Feng turned away angrily, not even looking at Ren Xuan.
"Impossible?" Ren Xuan feigned anger, sparing no effort to coax the child: "I just went to your house, and your brother said it himself, 'You should raise your own brother yourself.'"
The young man opened half an eye, but still remained stubborn and didn't move: "That won't do! He's still arguing with me! I don't want to pay any attention to him!"
Ren Xuan was surprised: "What happened again?"
Yuan Feng: "My brother doesn't buy me mooncakes! He buys them for other kids in the village!"
Yuan Feng: "He just doesn't like Xiao Feng!!"
Ren Xuan thought to himself that it might be one of your fellow disciples who had beaten you, but he pretended not to know: "No way?"
Yuan Feng said angrily: "Why not?"
He kept insisting: "I'm not as obedient as those kids."
Ren Xuan continued to flatter this ancestor: "But Xiao Feng is my biological brother."
The boy's remaining half eye finally opened.
Yuan Feng snorted, "I'm still fighting recklessly."
General Ren had no bottom line when coaxing the child: "This way Xiaofeng can protect her brother in the future."
Yuan Feng curled his lips: "Brother even scolded me for being ignorant."
General Ren patiently coaxed: "Xiao Feng will grow up."
Feeling much better now, the young man sat up straight and asked, "Can you come pick me up?"
Little devil, you haven't finished yet, right? Ren Xuanqiang smiled: "No problem."
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