Seeing that his words were effective, Lou Xiu was secretly pleased. It went so smoothly that he didn't even have a chance to say some of the prepared lines, which surprised him a little.

Since he could achieve his goal without wasting words, he naturally cupped his hands and accepted, saying, "I take orders."

"Go," Li Xianghong dismissed him and then called the maid outside the pavilion in, nodding toward Lou Xiu's departing figure, "Do as he wishes and see what he wants to do."

No words were needed; the maid immediately understood and left.

With no one else around, Bai Qiru asked, "You intend to test him with this?"

Li Xianghong replied, "What else can I do? Without evidence, I can't just throw him in jail and interrogate him based on an anonymous letter saying there's a problem with my people. Would he confess? If it were that easy, I'd be easy to bring down, and a few letters could topple my Dazhi City."

She looked again in the direction where Lou Xiu left, "I hope it's a coincidence that he happened to mention A Xun's corpse."

She took out the letter, opened it again, and read the contents, muttering to herself, "What is the sender's purpose? Who would benefit from Lou Xiu's downfall..."

Outside a carved chamber among the mountain slopes, guards from the City Lord Mansion stood watch.

Lou Xiu came with a crew from the tax supervisor's office, and the City Lord's personal maid was already waiting.

Noticing the maid's surprised gaze, Lou Xiu quickly pointed to Mei You's group to explain, "Most were dispatched into the city for inspection, and it's inconvenient to move the ones on duty. The tax supervisors happen to be free, so I brought them over to help out."

The maid nodded slightly, "Luo Ti, let's proceed with the handover."

She turned and personally guided them to inspect the relevant stone chambers.

Inside, there were bodies of humans and demons alike, over a dozen in total. Lou Xiu discreetly counted and noticed that one he cared most about was missing. He immediately asked, "Why can't I see A Xun's body?"

The maid explained, "A Xun's status demands a report to the Divine Mountain, so it's not appropriate to mix with others. We placed it separately." With that, she gestured for him to follow.

Lou Xiu followed her in and out until they reached a nearby stone chamber.

Inside, on a board, lay a five-foot-long, hair-burnt, charred 'Red-eyed Black Cloud Mink' corpse.

Lou Xiu walked around it and sighed with regret, "How did it come to this?"

His gaze settled on some items placed beside the corpse, including accessories and a charred Qiankun Bag.

He pointed to the items and asked, "Are these all A Xun's belongings?"

The maid nodded, "Yes."

Lou Xiu asked, "Have they all been gathered?"

She gestured invitingly, "Everything that could be found at the scene is here."

What followed was simple; the groups conducted a comprehensive handover of the body and related items.

After ensuring control of the site with his own men, Lou Xiu personally saw off the City Lord's personal maid, allowing him a breath of relief. From now on, he could move freely here.

After signaling Mei You with a glance, he quickly reentered the room where A Xun's body was kept.

There was nothing special—he carefully examined A Xun's belongings, particularly emptying the Qiankun Bag to inspect each item, trying to determine what the shadowy figure wanted.

He didn't believe the person would be interested in all A Xun's possessions, certain that there was something specific the person wanted among them. But what could it be?

Yet after thoroughly checking everything, opening even the bottles and jars, and inspecting each pill, he was still at a loss.

He didn't know what secrets A Xun's belongings held, nor what the person in the shadows was up to.

After repeated inspection, he had to replace what belonged in place and properly put away the rest.

He didn't take the belongings with him but memorized every object and quickly returned to his residence to create forgeries, replicating what he had seen.

The process was fairly simple; A Xun's items weren't unique rare objects, and many were common, at least for him, gathering a batch wasn't difficult.

He merely used fire to scorch them somewhat and filled the Qiankun Bag with similar items.

He then secretly took the items back to where the body was kept and swiftly swapped them with A Xun's belongings.

This hectic work was done swiftly, without any delay.

He had no choice; the Divine Mountain people would definitely come. If Dazhi City couldn't quickly satisfy the Divine Mountain's inquiries, they would certainly interfere. He had to resolve the issue before their intervention.

The swapping process was remarkably smooth, but after the night's toil, dawn was already breaking.

Standing at the mountain's edge, he took a deep breath facing the horizon, then turned back to his courtyard, closed the door to be alone, and pulled out the Mother-child Talisman given by the mysterious person to send a message inquiry: Are the ten tax supervisors still alive?

Inside a pavilion on the mountain's peak, Bai Qiru, one hand holding a smoking pipe, played chess with Li Xianghong.

The unresolved matter left them restless and unable to relax.

A maid hurriedly approached, leaning in to whisper in Li Xianghong's ear, "Luo Ti exchanged all of A Xun's belongings."

The two women playing chess looked up in shock simultaneously.

Li Xianghong frowned, "Is there anything special among A Xun's relics?"

The maid replied awkwardly, "We did take a look before. After the killers succeeded, they didn't take Lord A Xun's relics, indicating they didn't care about them, so we didn't pay much attention to Lord A Xun's relics either. It seems we didn't find anything special."

Li Xianghong asked again, "Were all the relics taken away, not just a specific item?"

The maid answered, "Not a specific item, all of them were taken."

Li Xianghong looked at Bai Qiru opposite him, "If there truly exists some sort of transaction with the kidnappers, could it be that the item the kidnappers want from the transaction is A Xun's relics?"

Bai Qiru retorted, "Then what does Lou Xiu want to get from the kidnappers? Surely it can't just be to save my spouse, can it?"

Li Xianghong snorted, "If that were truly the intention, it wouldn't be done so secretively."

At the front and back entrances of the library's main hall, Shi Chun partially showed himself, watching the light in the kitchen corner of the courtyard knowing Dong Liangyi had risen early again as usual to prepare breakfast for the family.

He had no interest in Dong Liangyi's breakfast because it wasn't delicious.

Suddenly, he felt a Mother-child Talisman in his hand, then hid behind the door to check the message on it, and then replied directly: They're all dead.

He didn't deceive the other party. He knew without asking that Wu Jinliang had killed them all, leaving no survivors.

Lou Xiu's face twitched. This wasn't good news for him. With the tax supervisor's men suddenly disappearing at this time, it was hard not to arouse suspicion.

But what could be done? Should he terminate the transaction with the other party for this reason?

The disappearance of the tax supervisor's ten men could still be remedied. However, if the current transaction couldn't be completed, he would have no room to maneuver. The entire Dazhi City was under lockdown; he couldn't escape now.

After temporarily setting this thought aside, he sent another message: Having given the thing to you, what assurance can I get?

Shi Chun replied: I can't give you any assurance. I also don't want you to expose this transaction. Does that count as some kind of assurance? Whether you choose to continue with this transaction is up to you. I'm not forcing you.

Lou Xiu's face twisted again. After clenching his fists for a bit, he ultimately had no choice and stubbornly asked: I've got the thing, how do we trade?

Shi Chun: Kindly deactivate the barrier sealing Dazhi City for an outside-city transaction.

Lou Xiu: The order to seal the city came from the City Lord; it's not something I can undo at will.

Shi Chun: Sir, you manage the inner court; considering you could easily obtain A Xun's relics, your words surely hold weight with the City Lord. Perhaps convincing the City Lord to lift the ban isn't difficult. You might as well give it a try. Conducting the transaction within the city is risky for me if you harbor any ill intentions. It must be outside the city. Let's talk again once you find a way to open the city.

With that, the communication between them ended.

Lou Xiu's face was an ugly scowl. After pondering deeply, he fished out the blackened Qiankun Bag, his gaze flickering unpredictably, then retrieved a type of locating Mother-child Talisman, throwing it into the Qiankun Bag.

He then gathered his things and left.

Shi Chun also put away the Mother-child Talisman in his hand, lifted his foot several times before finally stepping into the backyard, heading towards the kitchen.

Walking cautiously and quietly, observing his surroundings, he reached the kitchen door where he deliberately made his footsteps heavier.

The slender figure busy in the kitchen turned to look. Seeing it was him, their eyes met at the door.

Shi Chun ultimately stepped inside, revealing the fruit-filled plate in his hands, "I've come to return the plate. Thank you for the fruit, Miss."

Dong Liangyi gestured to the table at the side, "Just leave it there."

To Shi Chun, he had his answer and got final confirmation—the fruit plate was indeed sent by this woman. He then expressed his gratitude, "I was indeed out at the time; thank you for covering for me, Miss."

Dong Liangyi immediately turned back to her work, replying with her back to him, "No need to thank me. A Divine Mountain Envoy is such a person; I know it couldn't have been you who killed them. I also know you usually don't go out unless Gao He calls for you. Your wages aren't high, it's not easy saving money. I think it's better for you to reduce going to such places with him."

What kind of places? Shi Chun was momentarily stunned, quickly realizing it was because of Wu Jinliang's involvement.

How could he let such a misunderstanding stand, especially since he came prepared?

He immediately pulled out a beautifully ornate hairpin from his sleeve, offering it, "Gao He didn't call me out; I went out myself. I bought a small trinket, not sure if Miss might like it."

Of course, it wasn't purchased. Even he didn't know where Elder Xia Fuli of Wukang Mountain obtained it from.

Dong Liangyi glanced, stunned, eyes filled with surprise and disbelief upon seeing the hairpin.

Shi Chun offered it with both hands, "I hope Miss won't disdain it."

Halting her task, Dong Liangyi hastily waved her hands in a fluster, "No, no, it's not appropriate. I don't need it. You keep it to give to someone else."

Her words were somewhat incoherent.

Shi Chun didn't bother arguing, concerned about alerting others in the courtyard. He directly placed the hairpin on a nearby shelf, "If Miss doesn't fancy it, feel free to discard it."

With that said, he turned to leave, but at the doorway, fearing it wasn't impactful enough, he added, "In my eyes, Miss is the most beautiful woman in the world."

Dong Liangyi's face turned bright red instantly.

Shi Chun didn't see it because he ran off right after making his statement.

There was nothing he could do; he feared the woman might reneg on not revealing his presence. Eliminating her wasn't appropriate for this time. After pondering, this seemed like the best move. If she dared expose it, it would mean the hairpin gift would be unveiled. Based on his understanding of her character, she wouldn't have the heart to reveal the truth unless absolutely necessary. It should be enough to stabilize her.

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