The sky over the rivers and lakes is very clear

Chapter 264

Nishino En also said, "Those men in black who ambushed me and Lao Yan from Xuan Yue Shui Yu, although I can't tell if they are from Japan, it's certain that their martial arts are of the Japanese lineage!"

Zhu Liuyue nodded in agreement.

After exchanging a few more words about other things, Xi Yeyan turned the conversation to the question everyone was most concerned about: "Brother Liu Yue, according to Miss Zhu, are the families of Generals Yu and Qi indeed in the Western Regions caravan?"

Zhu Liuyue's usually cheerful face darkened. After a moment's pause, she said, "Perhaps she was here before, but now, she's gone."

Before anyone else could react, Zhu Huihui panicked: "How could this be? The Twelve Zodiac Envoys of the Blood Pavilion risked their lives for this, it can't be fake news! How could the families of the two generals be gone?"

Feng Xuese grasped her hand and patted it gently: "Huihui, don't worry! Brother Liuyue must have a plan!" Huihui wanted Zhu Liuyue to escort her to Xuan Yue Water Island to deliver the Serpent Envoy's words to her in order to save the families of the two generals. However, having suddenly received such important intelligence, Zhu Liuyue would definitely not delay. He would surely escort her while secretly planning to take action to rescue them—anyone would do the same, only this little idiot of his didn't understand…

Zhu Liuyue's gaze lingered on the clasped hands, her eyes dark and unfathomable.

After a moment, he looked away and said calmly, "I brought Miss Zhu to Xuan Yue Water Island. At the same time, I have already dispatched people to investigate all the merchants who have passed through the customs in the past few months. Among them, the most suspicious is a caravan from the northwest heading southeast. This caravan started from the capital, traveled west to purchase local products, and then went south after reaching Liangzhou. It then traveled east along the waterway. The reports along the way stated that it was going to Jiangnan and other places to purchase silk, porcelain, tea and other items, intending to sell them overseas."

Nishino En murmured, "Starting from the capital, first heading west, then south, and then east by water?"

That's it! No wonder we couldn't find the two generals' families; it turns out they were focusing their investigation on the wrong things.

After Generals Yu and Qi were falsely accused and imprisoned, their families and relatives were secretly exiled to the southern frontier. A month after leaving the capital, they disappeared on the road. Whether it was Blazing Sky, Maple Snow City, Deep Ice Realm, or Connecting Heaven Water Island, all focused their attention on the route out of the capital. No one expected that the enemy had actually infiltrated a caravan and secretly escorted them westward. Although they took a long detour, they successfully evaded the sight of their pursuers.

What a cunning enemy!

Zhu Liuyue continued, "My men found the caravan at a place called Jinshui Post Station. Unfortunately, by the time my men arrived, there wasn't a single survivor in the caravan."

Everyone was startled: "What?"

"All the merchants in this caravan, including the innkeeper and his staff, a total of forty-one people, have been killed. However, none of the bodies were found to match the characteristics of the two generals' family members."

Everyone fell silent. The enemy was incredibly ruthless! Their consistent tactic had been to leave no survivors and indiscriminately eliminate all witnesses!

That day, Feng Xuese took a deep breath and asked, "Poison?"

"Yes, it's poison," Zhu Liuyue said. "According to experts, it's an inhaled poison called 'One-Finger Incense,' which kills instantly upon inhalation. My men found traces of this poison in the lamps at the post station. It's fortunate that Jinshui Post Station is far from towns; otherwise, if the poisonous incense had spread through the air, the death toll would likely have been much higher!"

In other words, there will be no witnesses to this case, so there is no way to find any clues.

After a moment of silence, everyone sighed deeply in unison.

Zhu Huihui looked at them and became anxious.

She had already fulfilled her promise to the Serpent Envoy to deliver the message, but the Serpent Envoy and his men had risked their lives to send it out in order to save the families of the two generals! Now, instead, they had lost the generals' families. She...she...she had let the Twelve Zodiac Envoys down so much...

"What should we do? What should we do?" She stood up and paced back and forth in the cabin, muttering to herself, but she had no idea what to do.

Everyone was dizzy and annoyed by her nagging.

west Yeyan urged her to leave: "Zhu Huihui, it's getting late, you should go and rest."

"I dare not!" Zhu Huihui shook her head.

Nishino En was greatly surprised: "You don't dare?" Is there anything she doesn't dare to do?

Zhu Huihui said with a bitter face, "If I don't do what I promised, I'm afraid the Twelve Zodiac Envoys will come back tonight and strangle me!"

Nishinoyan: "..."

Zhu Liuyue couldn't help but laugh and said, "Miss Zhu, you don't need to worry. I have already sent more people to investigate this matter, and I will not let the general's family suffer."

Feng Xue Se suddenly said, "I have a question. Brother Liu Yue, could you please answer it for me?"

"Brother Xuese, please proceed."

Feng Xuese slowly said, "Back then, when Brother Liuyue came to Luomei Nunnery, was it merely to visit the orphaned daughter of your master, Mei Hanlin?"

He, Fang Jianwu, and Xiye Yan had discussed this issue before...

He remembered that it was shortly after Zhu Huihui brought him to Xuan Yue Water Island, when he told Fang Jianwu about meeting Liu Yue at Luo Mei Nunnery on Xi Feng Mountain. Upon hearing this, Fang Jianwu raised an eyebrow and simply said, "What a coincidence!"

He asked Fang Jianwu what she meant by this matter.

Fang Jianwu said, "Xue Se, you and Miss Zhu went to Luomei Nunnery to look for clues in a murder case. This young Prince Zhu just happened to appear at Luomei Nunnery, and it was also the scene of a family annihilation murder. Is it really just a coincidence?"

Feng Xuese understood Fang Jianwu's implied meaning.

Their persistent pursuit of this case stemmed not only from their anger at the black-clad men's indiscriminate killing of innocent people and their desire to avenge their "brothers who refused to eat or drink," but also, more importantly, from their determination to ascertain whether the people brutally murdered on the riverbank were relatives of Generals Yu and Qi, who had mysteriously disappeared after being exiled from Beijing.

The two generals were renowned for their unparalleled achievements and enduring fame. From the court to the common people, everyone praised them. Although they were falsely accused and imprisoned, anyone who dared to murder their families would be condemned by the entire nation. This is why the massacre on the riverbank was carried out with such secrecy; even passersby who witnessed the tragedy were silenced. Even their relatives and neighbors who might have heard of the incident were to be killed, simply to prevent the truth from being revealed and inciting public outrage.

Zhu Liuyue happened to be at Luomei Nunnery at that time, which could have been a coincidence. However, he was a prince and had a close relationship with the two generals. Everyone in the court knew that Prince Xin was loyal and righteous and had always been a pro-war faction in the court. He had a close personal relationship with Generals Qi and Yu. This time, he had gone to great lengths to help the two generals get imprisoned and was implicated and punished by the current emperor by being confined to his home.

Therefore, Fang Jianwu believes that Zhu Liuyue's visit to Luomei Nunnery may not be as he claims, merely a chance visit to his late master's daughter, but rather related to Generals Yu and Qi! Although Prince Xin is under house arrest by the tyrannical emperor, Zhu Liuyue's martial arts skills and status in the martial arts world sometimes make things much easier for him than for a high-ranking prince.

At the time, Feng Xuese considered it for a moment and felt that Fang Jianwu's view seemed reasonable, but it lacked a necessary premise. That is, it was still unknown whether this case really involved Generals Yu and Qi. Therefore, there was no strong evidence to prove it.

For this reason, Nishino En even sent someone to investigate the abbess of Luomei Temple. The result, of course, confirmed what Liu Yue said: "The abbess of Luomei Temple, Master Jinghui, is the only daughter of her teacher, Mei Zihe. She lost her mother when she was young, and her husband died shortly after she got married. She had no children and returned home to serve her father. After her father's death, she became a nun and worshipped Buddha."

While they were carefully investigating the whereabouts of the two generals' families, they were also pursuing the riverbank massacre and the mysterious black-clad assassin—unfortunately, at that time, both of these leads were still broken!

Now, the two broken threads have almost come together, finally confirming that the case is indeed related to the two generals. So, the probability that Zhu Liuyue's appearance at Luomei Temple was a coincidence is quite small, right?

Zhu Liuyue laughed: "As expected, you can't hide it from Brother Xuese!" He paused, "My appearance at Luomei Nunnery can be said to be a coincidence, or it can be said to be inevitable."

Zhu Huihui asked, "What do you mean?"

Zhu Liuyue smiled at her, his handsome face like a flower: "It's a coincidence, firstly because Abbess Jinghui of Luomei Nunnery happens to be the orphaned daughter of my teacher; secondly because fate brought you and Brother Xuese together."

"Then why is it said to be inevitable?"