Chapter 556: Exchanging a Lowly Life

When Yun Xiao spoke those words, Jiang Heqing was left utterly speechless, her irritation peaking as she exclaimed, “Lu Yao, have you completely lost your mind?”

Murder or an alibi—either concept was utterly absurd to the sisters.

Jiang Haiyan, listening to this exchange, had already drawn her conclusions.

"This guy is truly a madman without any sense of proportion."

Realizing this, any fondness she might have felt for the young man plummeted to absolute zero.

She pointed towards the stone door, her expression icy as she commanded, “Get out!”

“What if I don’t?” Yun Xiao challenged.

Jiang Haiyan was taken aback; she had never encountered someone of her age with such audacity.

“Ha.” With a cold laugh, she raised her hand to strike Yun Xiao's forehead, her palm sweeping through the air like a vast ocean, roaring as it moved!

Yun Xiao watched her calmly.

From his chest, a small black beast suddenly burst forth, instantly transforming into the body and lid of a coffin, trapping Jiang Haiyan inside.

“What?”

Her palm struck the bottom of the coffin, and amidst a bizarre cry, the coffin remained completely unscathed, standing like a prison.

“This must be the treasure that blocked the Flying Sword, surely a special artifact!” Jiang Haiyan thought, realizing that this might be the destiny her father had spoken of.

Her eyes warmed slightly. Yet, Yun Xiao's bold move infuriated her further.

“Not only does he dare to fight back, but he dares to trap me?”

What kind of Arbiter Initiate was this?

“Sister!” Just as Jiang Haiyan’s pride was still at play, Jiang Heqing’s cry of alarm made her heart skip a beat.

“Damn it!”

It was only then that Jiang Haiyan realized that Yun Xiao’s target was her sister!

By the time she reacted, it was too late.

Jiang Heqing’s cry abruptly stopped.

“Lu Yao, if you harm a single hair on her head, your entire clan will be wiped out, never to be reborn!” Jiang Haiyan warned coldly from within the dark coffin.

At the same time, she was about to summon her celestial treasure and Life Sigil to break free from the coffin.

In the blink of an eye, the coffin swung open.

"Don't move," Yun Xiao's indifferent voice struck Jiang Haiyan's ears.

She whirled around! There stood Yun Xiao, directly behind Jiang Heqing. One arm was wrapped tightly around Jiang Heqing's slender waist, and in his other hand, he held an azure Sword Soul pressed against her temple.

Jiang Heqing's lips parted, her face pale and her body trembling. Her eyes, red and watery, met Jiang Haiyan's, and she stammered, "Sister! Sister! Calm down, he has nothing to lose!"

"Alright!" Jiang Haiyan suppressed the fury swelling within her, glaring intently at Yun Xiao. "You dare to abduct a daughter of a Rank 4 Heavenly Officer of the Celestial Court—what madness has taken hold of you?"

"I told you, I need you to provide me an alibi," Yun Xiao said calmly.

"Ahh…!" Jiang Heqing's voice quivered, her spine chilling. "Sister, he means he really did kill Zhao Danming and Chen Yu!"

Jiang Haiyan realized it too! If he hadn't killed someone, there'd be no need for this chaos.

"You've really lost it. They just warned you, and you killed them in revenge?" Jiang Haiyan looked at him incredulously. Why did he act so brutally?

"Wasn't it you who used them to probe my secrets?" Yun Xiao raised an eyebrow, his tone chilling. "Jiang Haiyan, don’t try to be clever in front of me."

Her gaze deepened. This man knew everything! Truly a desperado living on the edge! Realizing his ruthlessness and madness, Jiang Haiyan eyed the azure Sword Soul in his hand, her heart skipping a beat.

Those born fortunate did indeed fear the desperate!

"Sister, please cooperate with him. I don’t want to die!" Jiang Heqing’s eyes brimmed with tears, her body collapsing weakly against Yun Xiao.

"Lu Yao, how do you want us to cooperate?" Jiang Haiyan gritted her teeth.

"Just follow my instructions exactly. Make one mistake, and she dies," Yun Xiao stated coldly.

"Fine! But don’t push it too far!" Jiang Haiyan warned.

"I have no need to be excessive. Understand, my only goal is to commit murder without consequence, and I still plan to continue competing in the Immortal Tournament. Making enemies with you benefits me none," Yun Xiao said earnestly.

"Fine." Jiang Haiyan nodded.

Yet, inside, she was utterly speechless! A mere Rank 9 Arbiter Initiate, openly killing two Rank 8 Arbiter Commanders within the halls of the Divine Heaven Jade Purity Office, and then planning to boldly continue participating in the Immortal Tournament?

Yun Xiao dismissed the authority and enforcement of the entire Celestial Court's Thunder Department with a mere gesture.

What was he planning? Facing such a frenzied devil, Jiang Haiyan harbored only concern.

Upon receiving her affirmative response, Yun Xiao looked at the sisters and warned, “You better cooperate fully. Otherwise, trading my lowly life for your little sister's noble one is a gain for me.”

"Yes, yes…" Jiang Heqing sobbed in agreement.

?ι══????????══ι?

At the Eight Symbols Guard Pavilion in the courtyard, Governor Jiang himself was escorting a lady.

She was a woman dressed in a luxurious violet gown that added a touch of sophistication and allure to her mature charm. The high slit of her gown revealed her exceptionally long, shimmering legs, which were whiter and rounder than those of any man present. Her waist was as slender as a snake, and her figure was nearly as curvaceous as a demon war princess'. Her slightly curly, wavy hair shone brilliantly, and her eyes, alive with sparks of lightning, held a seductive promise. Her bright red lips were like flames drawing the eye.

Like General Cao, two small, violet serpents coiled around her ears, weaving in and out of her hair like little pets, giving her the look of a fiery snake demon.

Even Jiang Taiping stood by her side, indicating the high status of this woman.

Liu Mumu stood aside, bowing slightly with a look of reverence as she greeted, "Thunder Emissary."

She knew this woman held the position of Thunder Emissary, a Rank 4 Heavenly Officer.

Jiang Taiping was slated to be promoted to the same position, yet this woman was considerably younger than him.

The position of Thunder Emissary was the pinnacle for Jiang Taiping, but not for her!

"Emissary Jiang," the woman spoke slowly, exuding a lazy confidence that none dared to disregard. She called out to Jiang Taiping, then said, “Bring out the young talents of your Sky Soaring City.”

"Right away," Jiang Taiping chuckled awkwardly, then signaled to Liu Mumu.

Liu Mumu nodded, stepped outside the training room into the courtyard, and shouted, “Time’s up, gather and move out!”

BANG!

One of the stone doors swung open immediately, and Dongfang Yong stepped out in his Arbiter armor, his face stern.

After a few steps, he looked back and saw that the doors to Lu Yao, Zhao Danming, and Chen Yu’s cultivation chambers were still closed. He turned to Liu Mumu and said, “Wait a moment, I’ll call them.”

As he walked towards their cultivation chambers, Dongfang Yong was somewhat speechless, thinking, “What’s taking so long at a time like this?”

What followed was the most important occasion of their lives!

"Zhao Danming!" Dongfang Yong boomed as he pushed open the stone door, peering inside.

"Nobody here?"

Without much thought, he moved to Chen Yu's cultivation chamber.

"Hurry up! The Thunder Emissary is waiting outside," Liu Mumu urged from the doorway.

Her urging was met with a shout from Dongfang Yong!

"Sister Mumu, something's wrong!" Dongfang Yong stood trembling at Chen Yu's door.

"What happened?" Liu Mumu hurried over.

Glancing inside, she detected a faint scent of blood and noticed two articles of clothing on the ground.

"These belong to Zhao Danming and Chen Yu!" Dongfang Yong's face paled as he spoke with a shaky voice.

"Impossible…" Liu Mumu turned to him, "What did you all do after coming back from outside?"

"Nothing, just went back to our cultivation chambers to rest!" Dongfang Yong's face twisted with worry. "Sister Mumu, they wouldn't just run off, would they? Could something have happened?"

Liu Mumu closed her eyes, extending her spiritual sense, and finally said with a quivering voice, "I sense the agonizing cries of dying spirits, someone died here!"

And it was clear who it was.

"How could this be…" Dongfang Yong's mind reeled, these were people he had known since childhood.

More crucially, this was a place of law enforcement under the Celestial Court, the Divine Heaven Jade Purity Office!

"This is unprecedented!"

Knowing she could not bear the responsibility, Liu Mumu quickly left to find Governor Jiang.

"Where are they?" Jiang Taiping was chatting and laughing with the Thunder Emissary when he saw Liu Mumu return alone, and his face immediately turned stern.

"Governor Jiang, Zhao Danming and Chen Yu might have died in their cultivation chambers," Liu Mumu said, her eyes trembling. Her mind had been a blank until she spoke those words, and then she suddenly remembered a young man in white!

THUMP! THUMP!

Her heart raced wildly.

"What?!" Jiang Taiping, Dongfang Sheng, and the other Heavenly Officers from Sky Soaring City thought they had misheard.

"Excuse us for a moment, Thunder Emissary," Jiang Taiping and others turned into streaks of phantoms, rushing to the scene.

"A murder at the Hall of Soaring Thunder? In my several hundred years, I've never seen such a thing. Interesting," the Thunder Emissary murmured, her eyes gleaming curiously as she followed them.

When she arrived, she saw Jiang Taiping and the others gathered at Chen Yu's door, each face ashen.

"It's confirmed; they're dead," Jiang Taiping said grimly.

His proteges from Sky Soaring City, not yet battle-tested, had been slain! How could such a bizarre incident occur? And the victims were his most trusted successors!

How could Jiang Taiping face the families of Zhao Danming and Chen Yu?

"Dongfang Sheng, seal off the Eight Symbols Guard Pavilion immediately and check the magical array records for any entries or exits!" Jiang Taiping ordered coldly.

"Yes." Dongfang Sheng, seeing his son Dongfang Yong safe, heaved a sigh of relief and hurried off to carry out his duties.

"Really dead, huh?" The Thunder Emissary stepped forward gracefully, the crowd parting to let her view the scene.

After examining it, she shook her head and clicked her tongue. "This must be the work of some reckless youth... To commit murder at the Hall of Soaring Thunder, if this case isn't solved, it's the Thunder Department's reputation that will be tarnished."

Just then, the visibly enraged Dongfang Yong burst into another cultivation chamber.

"Just as I thought, he’s not here!" Dongfang Yong growled, then looked towards Jiang Taiping and the others.

"Are you suggesting Lu Yao did this?" Jiang Taiping's expression darkened.

Hearing this, Liu Mumu also felt a tremor in her heart, her gaze filled with complexity and worry.

"Governor Jiang! Thunder Emissary!" Dongfang Yong suddenly knelt before them. "I'm 100% certain, it was Lu Yao who killed them!"

"Your reason?" Jiang Taiping demanded.

"Right after returning to the Hall of Soaring Thunder, Zhao Danming and Chen Yu confronted him at the door, warning him to stay away from Jiang Haiyan and Jiang Heqing. They even threatened Lu Yao with his family!" Dongfang Yong, unconcerned about the deceased's reputations, laid everything bare.

After speaking, he hurriedly added, "This young man has committed murder and is surely on the run now! We must seal the Divine Heaven Jade Purity Office and capture him!"

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