Everyone was startled by this “crack.”

The Five Cities Command was Xie Zhifei’s territory. Before interrogating Lai Granny, Master Xie had instructed that no one was allowed to disturb them.

So then, who was the blind fool who made this “crack” sound?

Something wasn’t right in the air. It seemed like…

Li Buyan’s expression underwent a subtle change. Her hand slowly moved to her waist.

“It’s killing intent.”

Just as these three words left her mouth, sword wind attacked. Li Buyan’s hand jerked to draw her sword while her other hand shoved Pei Xiao behind her, engaging in combat with the black-clothed person.

Ding Yi’s eyes darkened and he moved as well.

The change happened too quickly.

So quickly that when Pei Xiao scrambled up from the ground, he still hadn’t figured out what was happening before his eyes.

Was this a prison break?

Or an assassination?

If it was a prison break, at the feet of the Son of Heaven, who would have such audacity?

If it was an assassination?

Pei Xiao was shocked out of his wits.

Could it be that assassin?

“It’s that assassin.”

Xie Zhifei’s expression changed dramatically. He sprang to his feet and whispered in Yan Sanhe’s ear: “Quickly find a corner and crouch down.”

With that, he gently pushed Yan Sanhe inside, then leaped out of the cell himself. He closed the door, locked it—the movements flowing seamlessly.

After locking it, he shouted at Lai Granny.

“What are you standing there for? Find somewhere to hide! He’s come to kill you.”

Lai Granny had probably never encountered a killing in her entire life. Whether she was stunned or scared senseless, she remained motionless.

Yan Sanhe desperately pulled Lai Granny to a corner, standing before her, watching the fighting outside the prison anxiously, her voice changing pitch.

“All of you be careful.”

Li Buyan and Ding Yi no longer had the capacity to be careful. In such a narrow prison corridor, the black-clothed person’s every move was a killing strike—they could only fight desperately.

But they were simply no match.

This person’s hand techniques were formidable, and his footwork was also excellent. His body was as flexible as a loach—the two of them couldn’t even touch his edge.

Xie Zhifei stood at the side, anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

With three people fighting, there was already insufficient space. There was simply no room for him to step forward and help—if he wasn’t careful, he’d just create chaos.

“Xie Wushi, what do we do?”

Even Pei Xiao could see Li Buyan and Ding Yi’s difficult situation, anxiety making his palms sweat.

But Xie Zhifei couldn’t think of a single solution. Even calling for reinforcements—the three people had blocked the way.

Just then, the black-clothed person glanced into the prison, then lightly leaped up, delivering a vicious kick to Ding Yi.

Pain struck Ding Yi’s chest. His mouth opened and he spat out blood.

Seeing the blood, Xie Zhifei could no longer care about anything else and charged forward with his sword.

The black-clothed person seemed to have anticipated he would act, lightly dodging to the side. His body swam like a fish to Ding Yi’s side, delivering a heavy strike to his right hand.

“Clang!”

Ding Yi felt his right arm go numb. His hand loosened and the sword fell.

The black-clothed person’s hand flipped, steadily catching the sword. His gaze swept over Pei Xiao several paces away. His eyes turned fierce and he hurled the sword at him.

Everyone had thought the black-clothed person’s target was Lai Granny. How could they have anticipated he would attack Young Master Pei, who had no martial skills at all?

Everyone’s souls shattered.

In this critical moment, Li Buyan’s foot pushed forcefully against the wooden bars. Her body flew over like a whirlwind, throwing herself at Pei Xiao and knocking him heavily to the ground.

“Be careful!”

Yan Sanhe cried out anxiously, unconsciously taking a step forward.

The black-clothed person had been waiting for precisely this moment. His right hand rose, the blade in his hand flying like an arrow, hugging Yan Sanhe’s ear as it flew straight toward the corner.

“Thud!”

It struck Lai Granny directly in the heart.

Yan Sanhe slowly turned around, her pupils suddenly dilating.

She wanted to speak, but several times she opened her mouth yet couldn’t make a sound.

She wanted to walk over, but her feet seemed to weigh a thousand pounds.

She stared blankly at Lai Granny, watching her limbs convulse, watching her slowly slide down, watching her close her eyes unwillingly and resentfully.

The prison door was pulled open from outside. Xie Zhifei strode in, pulling her into his embrace, his large palm patting her back.

“It’s alright, it’s all over.”

It was indeed over.

The black-clothed person had killed the one he wanted to kill and disappeared without a trace in a matter of moments.

Ding Yi clutched his chest, painfully swallowing a mouthful of bloody saliva.

On the other side, Li Buyan lay pressed on top of Pei Xiao. She pounded the ground in frustration.

“Young Master Pei, are you alright?”

“I’m… I’m fine.”

Pei Xiao’s voice trembled badly. “You, are you alright?”

“Just barely.”

Li Buyan rolled off Pei Xiao, her back leaning against the bars, breathing heavily. “That bastard actually played a feint—we all fell for it.”

She was focused entirely on her frustration, not noticing that Young Master Pei slowly sat up, slowly glanced at the thoroughly dead Lai Granny, then kept his burning gaze fixed on her.

Not withdrawing it for a long time.

Inside the bars.

Yan Sanhe’s face remained buried in Xie Zhifei’s chest.

She’d actually been mentally prepared, so when Young Master Pei suggested bringing the person to the prison for interrogation, she’d felt her eyes light up.

Though the prison was dark and terrifying, it had one advantage—safety.

People inside couldn’t get out, and people outside couldn’t get in.

She’d originally planned to keep Lai Granny locked up for ten days to half a month after questioning her, to hide from the black-clothed person. Who could have known this person had grown bold enough to kill his way into the Five Cities Command?

Who exactly was he?

Why did he want to kill off everyone who knew the inside story from back then, one by one?

“I’ve caused another person’s death.”

Hearing this, Xie Zhifei knew this girl was taking Lai Granny’s death onto herself as well.

“It wasn’t you who caused it. It has nothing to do with you.”

His gaze turned to Li Buyan.

Li Buyan immediately jumped up from the ground, calling out: “What ‘you caused it,’ ‘I caused it’—what’s the point of thinking such useless thoughts?”

“Right!”

Ding Yi said hatefully: “It was all caused by that black-clothed person.”

“Yan Sanhe.”

Li Buyan gave a cold laugh. “We don’t have time to be fragile. We need to first analyze what we can investigate from Lai Granny’s words, and we need to think of a way to capture that black-clothed person.”

“Right!”

Ding Yi ground his teeth. “It’s not the thief stealing we fear, but the thief watching. We must catch him.”

Yan Sanhe finally raised her head.

Xie Zhifei looked at the redness in her eyes.

“The Great Hero is right. We still have so much to do. I’ll first go check if any of the brothers outside were injured, and I need to handle the Lai family’s affairs.”

Yan Sanhe was silent for a while before finally nodding.

…

At the Five Cities Command, not a single guard was injured.

Only the two guards watching the prison entrance had been knocked unconscious.

The matter of Lai Granny was more troublesome.

A living person entered the Five Cities Command, only to be carried out horizontally—how could this be explained to the Lai family?

There was no way to explain it, so the only option was to pave the way with money.

Xie Zhifei was willing to spend money. Adding to the fact that Lai Granny’s case involved the Zheng family, and as the saying goes, commoners don’t fight with officials—the Lai family took a large sum of money and immediately carried Lai Granny’s corpse back.

After settling the Lai family’s affairs, it was already noon the next day.

Xie Zhifei returned to the separate courtyard and spoke a few words with Yan Sanhe before collapsing on the bamboo couch in the study. The moment his eyes closed, he fell asleep.

When he woke, it was already evening. The room was very dark without lamps lit. Yan Sanhe sat in that patch of darkness.

Seeing him look over, she said in a very soft voice:

“Chengyu, I want to capture that person alive.”