Ex-Wife is a Big Villainess
Chapter 279 - 163 Ran Qingchen VS (2.0) Qu Hongling

Chapter 279: Chapter 163 Ran Qingchen VS (2.0) Qu Hongling

Compared to the rainy weather of Yuzhou, Qingzhou was entirely different in its meteorological scene, with clear skies as far as the eye could see and light, sparse clouds.

Qingzhou, Mengyao Pavilion.

As the foremost pleasure ground in Qingzhou, it was accustomed to the prosperity of the Capital’s nobles and dandies who mingled among the flowers, its allure was in no way inferior to the top three pleasure places in the Capital region.

After all, some unique shows here were not even available in the Capital.

However, a few days ago, a horrifying massacre had taken place, turning this gold-raking and song-filled land of fireworks into a temporarily sealed-off area by the officials, its former prosperity vanishing in an instant.

That day, what was supposed to be the fragrance-filled, laughter-intertwined Mengyao Pavilion turned into a bloody hell.

It became a nightmare for many clients, inducing lingering trauma.

It resulted in situations where, even at home with their wives, they were like willow branches by the riverside, barely managing a few weak strokes in the water.

The instigator of all this was a protector from the Sky Demon Sect.

At this moment, under the guidance of Qingzhou’s Liushan Division officials, a figure in a blue dress, Ran Qingchen, arrived at the scene of the massacre to conduct an investigation.

Following here were officials like Yuan Anjiang from the Capital.

Entering the pavilion, the iron-like stench of blood hit them, still lingering; the ground was everywhere marked with dried, coagulated dark red stains.

The chairs and tables on the second floor were overturned, dishes and cups in disarray... the golden and silver threaded curtains had been slashed by sharp blades, beads and jewels were strewn about, intermingled with bloodstains, sufficing to hint at the brutality of that moment.

Yuan Anjiang, holding a thick case file, rapidly moved his gaze across the words and pages, and began to read in a deep voice,

"A total of twenty-nine people died, five from Mengyao Pavilion, including the manager and the old madam. The other girls were fortunate to escape harm and were uninjured."

Yuan Anjiang paused, lifting his eyes from the documents, scanning the congealed blood around, "The victims were mostly patrons, among them three local merchants of considerable influence, a few descendants from prestigious families, as well as locally renowned literati and martial artists."

"My lord, here is the list of the deceased."

Shan Dongchuan, the supervisor of Qingzhou’s Liushan Division, handed a roster to Ran Qingchen.

Ran Qingchen waved her hand, "I have already reviewed the list."

Upon her arrival in Qingzhou, she had thoroughly examined the case files concerning the Mengyao Pavilion massacre, among which the identities of two victims had caught her attention.

One was a staff member of the former Qingzhou Prefect, named Xu Daqing.

After the former Prefect was reported by a concubine from his own house, it was this staff member who provided the evidence that ultimately incriminated him.

For this meritorious deed, he was allowed to remain in the prefecture office.

According to the prefecture records, after killing the former Prefect, Qu Hongling had originally planned to kill this staff member named Xu Daqing, but he luckily escaped this fate and survived.

The other victim was the second son of the Su Family, Su Juntong.

Mentioning the Su clan of Qingzhou might not ring any bells for some, but referring to Su Shanke as "the world’s second fastest swordsman" resonated thunderously across Jianghu.

Su Shanke was born into a martial family in Qingzhou, where generation after generation produced martial artists.

Owing to his exceptional talent from a young age, the family placed great hopes on him, nurturing him carefully from childhood and investing their family’s efforts to mold him into a martial arts prodigy.

Su Shanke lived up to their expectations, eventually mastering a peerless sword technique that dominated the Jianghu and commanded awe from all quarters.

Although ranked second, no one dared underestimate the power of his swordsmanship.

More than a year ago, Su Shanke had joined forces with various Jianghu figures and cooperated with the Liushan Division Dragon and Tiger Department on a secret mission to Ten Thousand Mountains to assassinate Qu Hongling. Due to the complex terrain, only Su Shanke and a few others succeeded in locating Qu Hongling in Jade Gorge, where a fierce battle ensued.

In the end, only Su Shanke returned, bearing severe injuries.

Upon his return, he was deranged and amnesic, unable to recall the events that transpired in Jade Gorge.

However, since that time, Qu Hongling had vanished without a trace, rumored to have died in Jade Gorge, until six months later, he reappeared in the Sky Demon Sect. It was said that Qu Hongling had merely been injured and had spent half a year in seclusion to recuperate.

This left many profoundly disappointed.

Now, with both the second son of Su Shanke and the former Prefect’s staff member dead, it was hard not to suspect whether this was Qu Hongling taking his revenge.

However, according to the current investigation, the reason the Sky Demon Sect’s protector Jin Ao had erupted in murder was merely to rescue a pair of sisters who had been humiliated. Even now, he was said to be escaping with one of the women.

Ran Qingchen arrived in front of a secluded room at the very back.

Inside the room, blood was everywhere.

When Jin Ao had erupted in murder, several people had taken refuge in this room, yet they were still killed.

Among them were Su Juntong and Xu Daqing.

"We have inspected carefully; the door to the room was actually not closed."

Shan Dongchuan pointed to the heavy door, "This door is made of meteorite iron, so tough that even a Sanctum Ascension master would struggle to break it."

"Why was it not closed?" Yuan Anjiang asked curiously.

Shan Dongchuan shook his head with a bitter smile, "I’m not sure, the room is specifically meant for taking refuge, and very few know how to operate the stone door. I suspect that the mechanism suddenly failed."

"These people were indeed very unlucky," Yuan Anjiang tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Ran Qingchen’s eyes flashed, "Is it possible that Jin Ao found the mechanism to open the door and reopened it?"

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