Chapter 94 - 90: Cutting the Weeds and Removing the Roots

Chapter 94: Chapter 90: Cutting the Weeds and Removing the Roots

He slammed hard into the middle of the street, rolled a few times, and then lay still. A dark red pool quickly spread out from beneath him.

Lu Jing’an didn’t recognize the man, but Smiling Tiger did.

It was the very same overseer the Li Family had sent to shadow his every move these past few days!

Seeing his fate, Smiling Tiger was startled, but a wave of satisfaction washed over him.

The sudden loud noise and gruesome sight instantly ignited the already tense atmosphere!

A commotion rippled through the crowd around the arena, and panic began to spread.

Smiling Tiger knew this was the crucial moment to prove his loyalty.

He gritted his teeth, snatched a nearby brass megaphone, and leaped onto the half-destroyed arena platform.

The moment he moved, Black Bear took a single, long stride.

His iron tower-like body blocked the path between him and Lu Jing’an, the muzzle of his gun aimed squarely at Smiling Tiger’s face.

Cold sweat beaded on Smiling Tiger’s forehead as he hurriedly shouted to Lu Jing’an:

"Director Lu! It’s me! I’m here to get the situation under control!"

Lu Jing’an’s gaze swept over him. He gave a slight nod and patted Black Bear’s arm.

Only then did Black Bear step aside, though his vigilance didn’t waver.

Smiling Tiger breathed a sigh of relief and raised the brass megaphone.

He roared at the top of his lungs at the restless crowd below:

"Friends! Don’t panic! Everyone, stay calm!"

"Director Lu is here today to bring justice to our Jinshan Village and eliminate the scourge of the Li Family! He’s not here for you!"

"I, Smiling Tiger, stake my life on it! As long as you all stay put, I guarantee that not a single hair on your heads will be harmed!"

"If anyone makes a wrong move and causes trouble,

Director Lu won’t have to lift a finger—I’ll be the first to deal with them!

If there’s a problem, you can come for me first!"

His voice was sonorous, carrying the rough-and-tumble grit of the Jianghu as it echoed across the open space.

After all, he had operated here for many years and held some prestige.

This combination of roaring and threats actually managed to temporarily subdue the restless crowd.

The crowd remained wary, their eyes darting about,

but they finally quieted down, just staring nervously toward the thatched house, from which dust and smoke had yet to clear.

The fight on Chen Xuan’s end didn’t last long.

A few short, muffled thuds came from inside the thatched house.

The sound of objects shattering, and a blood-curdling scream that was cut off abruptly.

About ten minutes later, all sounds fell into silence.

As the dust settled slightly, a tall, straight figure calmly walked out. It was Chen Xuan.

He dusted off his lapels, though there was no dust on them, and gave a slight nod toward the arena.

Seeing that the dust had settled, Lu Jing’an straightened his own slightly disheveled collar and said calmly to Black Bear, "Let’s go have a look."

"Yes, sir!"

Black Bear replied, ordering some of the Guards to clear a path in front.

Another group brought up the rear, forming a protective circle around Lu Jing’an as they walked toward the ruins.

Smiling Tiger quickly wiped away his sweat and followed.

The crowd silently parted to form a path.

All eyes were fixed on the shockingly young, yet decisive and ruthless Director of the Public Security Bureau.

Their fear was mixed with a complex, hard-to-describe emotion.

With a steady gait, Lu Jing’an was the first to arrive beside the corpse of the man who had been sent flying into the street.

The man’s chest was deeply caved in, while his back was abnormally bulging.

His sternum had been completely shattered, his internal organs turned to pulp. He was long dead.

His face was twisted in a savage grimace, his eyes wide open, frozen in unbelievable terror.

[Detected a Divine Soul that can be Refined/Restored. Collect?]

[Collect]

Lu Jing’an silently gave the command in his mind, collecting the Divine Soul for now.

The Zhengqi Furnace was currently Refining the assassin’s Divine Soul, so this one could only be stored temporarily.

He stepped over the corpse and walked up to the mostly collapsed thatched house.

The thick smell of dust mingled with the faint scent of blood.

Inside, Chen Xuan stood quietly to one side. At his feet lay the bodies of two Martial Artists in black.

And in the very back, an old man dressed in a dark purple, floral-patterned silk robe,

but with a full head of snow-white hair, was slumped against a broken wall.

His head was tilted at an unnatural angle, and traces of blood seeped from his seven orifices. He was no longer breathing.

His face was gaunt and withered, his wrinkles as deep as if carved by a knife, as though all his vital energy had been drained from him in the instant before death.

[Detected a Divine Soul that can be Refined/Restored. Collect?]

The prompt appeared again.

Lu Jing’an’s gaze fell upon the white-haired Fate Cultivator, and a faint flicker of emotion passed through the depths of his eyes.

This was his other important objective for this trip: the Divine Soul of a Fate Cultivator!

[Collect]!