“No! He cannot be Xuanba, impossible, impossible!” Li Shimin muttered. The next moment, he pushed away Duan Zhihong and rushed to the coroner, grabbing his collar and shouting fiercely: “You’re lying! There’s no such thing as blood drop bone verification!” The usually gentle and refined Li Shimin now looked ferocious and terrifying, as if he wanted to devour someone. The coroner was filled with dread and stammered: “This humble one… this humble one only spoke according to what was recorded in the book, and did not… did not… lie.”

Li Shimin stared at him intently, making the coroner break out in cold sweat. Because his collar was gripped too tightly, he gradually felt unable to breathe. Just as he was about to beg for mercy, he was suddenly pushed down to the ground by a great force, followed by Li Shimin’s low roar: “Get out! All of you get out!”

The coroner and others scrambled out. Duan Zhihong, feeling uneasy, stepped forward and said: “Second Young Master, you shouldn’t be too…” Before he could finish, a bone-chilling cold gaze had fallen on his face: “I told you to get out, did you hear me? All of you get out!”

“Yes.” Duan Zhihong reluctantly agreed and turned to leave. When only Li Shimin remained in the room, he extended his trembling hands and slowly grasped that charred, coal-black hand. Tears slowly fell from the corners of his eyes, one drop after another…

“Xuanba!” He called out painfully, over and over again. But no matter how he called, Li Xuanba would never answer him again, nor would he run to Jingji Pavilion as before, snatch the documents from his hands, and then forcefully drag him to spar in martial arts. Seventeen years of brotherhood had come to an end at this moment.

If he could have discovered Xuanba’s disappearance earlier, if he could have sent people to find Xuanba sooner, perhaps… Xuanba wouldn’t have died. It was his carelessness that killed Xuanba, it was he…

Self-blame filled Li Shimin’s chest, making him even more unbearably painful. He wished he could take Li Xuanba’s place in suffering the blade and the burning flames, but… he could do nothing, only hold the corpse tightly and let the pain devour him bit by bit.

Since becoming sensible, he had only cried twice – once when Lady Dou passed away, and the other time was now.

After a long while, Li Shimin raised his head, looking at the disfigured corpse, and said word by word: “Xuanba, your second brother promises you that I will definitely find the murderer who killed you and tear him into a thousand pieces to comfort your spirit in heaven!”

He didn’t know if Li Xuanba in heaven could hear him, but this was the only thing he, as the second brother, could do. Even if he had to search every inch of Honghua Commandery, he would definitely find the murderer!

Duan Zhihong waited anxiously outside. Several times he wanted to go in, but forced himself to endure. He had followed Li Shimin for many years and knew well the feelings between the brothers. Now that Li Xuanba had suddenly been murdered, it was undoubtedly a heavy blow to him.

However, there was one thing he couldn’t figure out. Although Li Xuanba had a somewhat hot temper, he was extremely lenient toward the people in the commandery. He had never heard of any deep hatred between him and any young master. Who could be so vicious as to want to kill the Third Young Master?!

Just as he was pondering, the tightly closed door suddenly opened, and Li Shimin walked out expressionlessly. He quickly approached and said: “Second Young Master…”

Li Shimin raised his hand to interrupt him and said coldly: “Go find a fine coffin. I want to bring Xuanba back to the residence.”

“Yes!” Duan Zhihong responded and left. He soon brought back a fine nanmu wood coffin and carefully lifted the corpse into the coffin together with several guards. Then they drove the horse carriage back to the Governor’s residence with Li Shimin.

When the guards at the Governor’s residence gate saw them carrying a coffin down from the carriage, they were so shocked their mouths fell open. If they hadn’t seen Li Shimin present, they would have thought someone was deliberately bringing bad luck to the Governor’s residence.

After barely composing themselves, they quickly walked down and bowed to Li Shimin: “Second Young Master, what happened?”

Li Shimin ignored them and directly ordered Duan Zhihong to carry the coffin inside and temporarily place it in the East Flower Hall. He himself went to Pine Wave Residence to see Li Yuan, who was reviewing documents. Seeing him enter, Li Yuan removed the crystal lens he had obtained from Persian merchants and said: “Is there news of Xuanba?”

Li Shimin forcibly suppressed the grief in his heart and said hoarsely: “Your son has found third brother.”

Li Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, then scolded lightly: “Tell him to come see me immediately. Going out for three or four days without a word, making the entire residence worry about him and search everywhere – he really has no sense of propriety. I suppose it’s because of my previous refusal of his request.”

“Reporting to father, third brother cannot come.” Li Shimin’s words made Li Yuan pause, then he asked with some concern: “What? Is Xuanba injured? Is it serious?”

Hearing Li Yuan’s words, Li Shimin could not hide his grief. He knelt on both knees and choked out: “Please accept my condolences, father!”

These words struck Li Yuan like lightning, and he froze completely. Condolences… these two words were only used when someone had passed away. If Shimin was saying this, could it be that Xuanba he…

Li Yuan dared not think further. He stood up and stared at Li Shimin, asking in a trembling voice: “What… what do you mean by this? What happened to Xuanba?”

Li Shimin bit his teeth tightly and opened his mouth with difficulty: “Reporting to father, Xuanba he… he was murdered!”

Li Yuan’s whole body trembled, and he held tightly to the desk to avoid falling. After a while, he came to his senses and said urgently: “Take me… take me to see Xuanba, quickly take me!”

Li Shimin answered in a low voice and supported Li Yuan to the East Flower Hall. When he saw the charred corpse, he could not believe in any way that someone who had been alive just a few days ago had now become a piece of charcoal. He kept shaking his head: “This cannot be Xuanba, impossible!”

Li Shimin handed the peace pendant in his hand to Li Yuan and said hoarsely: “This was found on the corpse. It’s identical to the ones father gave to your sons. Moreover… your son followed the coroner’s advice and performed blood drop bone verification. The blood could fuse with the bone, proving that your son and he… share the same bloodline.”

Li Yuan’s hands trembled as he received it. The peace pendant… it was something he had specially commissioned to be made, and specially sent to Venerable Hui’an for blessing, hoping it could protect Jiancheng and the others. In the end, Xuanba died, but the peace pendant was still here intact – how ironic!

The most painful thing in this world was for the gray-haired to send off the black-haired. Moreover, when his wife passed away, he had promised her that he would take good care of their children and watch them marry and establish their careers. Yet how long had it been? Xuanba was already… already dead. After a hundred years, how could he face his wife who died young!

After a long while, Li Yuan clenched his hands and said coldly: “Do you know who killed Xuanba?”

“It’s not clear yet, but your son swears he will definitely find the murderer!” Facing Li Shimin’s words, Li Yuan nodded and said coldly: “At any cost, we must catch the murderer and absolutely cannot let him go!”