Chapter 144: 135 Continued (Part 2)

The Fang family’s Fang Wenxuan is dead.

However, according to the information released by the Fang family, Fang Wenxuan did not die of homicide but of a heart ailment.

A heart ailment… Fang Wenxuan actually had a heart ailment??

Some people didn’t believe it, but the Fang family quickly produced a series of past prescriptions, all from doctors treating Fang Wenxuan.

Wushan Prefecture is large, but some social circles are not.

As a member that governs Wushan Prefecture, the Fang family ranks just below the top three families. Any slight incident would be analyzed by many.

Now that Fang Wenxuan, a direct descendant, has died, it’s inevitable that people would come up with various conspiracy theories.

There were rumors saying someone from the Business Office had a conflict with Fang Wenxuan, which triggered his heart ailment.

Others rumored that he became jealous at a pleasure house, got upset, and had a sudden heart attack.

But regardless of the situation, the Fang family actually decided not to pursue the matter further, publicly stating that Fang Wenxuan had always been sullying the family’s reputation outside, and his accidental death could be seen as a fitting end.

This statement immediately caused a stir among the many small and medium families in Wushan Prefecture.

No matter what, the Fang family had said so.

After the first few days, Lu Meisha from the Business Office hurriedly added fuel to the fire, recounting the incident with Fang Wenxuan when she was with Zhang Rongfang.

Actually, she hadn’t seen clearly what Zhang Rongfang did with his hands, but from start to finish, it was only after Zhang Rongfang acted that Fang Wenxuan spat blood.

So, clearly, Zhang Rongfang was the problem.

Zhang Rongyu and Suda Heqi were startled upon hearing this and quickly summoned Zhang Rongfang for questioning.

But he flatly denied it, saying he was only eighteen years old, had practiced martial arts but only learned a bit from others in the Dao Palace, and was not that skilled.

At the scene, he only intended to scare the other party.

Soon after, news came out that the Fang family confirmed Fang Wenxuan’s cause of death, stating that life and death are fated, and they would investigate no further.

Only then did Zhang Rongyu and Suda Heqi breathe a sigh of relief.

After reprimanding Zhang Rongfang to not make trouble lightly, everything returned to calm as if back to its original tranquil state.

January 27th.

“Zhang Rongfang! Stop right there!”

Inside the Business Office.

Lu Meisha stood with her chest out, her face cold as she called out to someone not far away.

She had already checked; since the Fang family did an autopsy and claimed it was a heart ailment, then it must be a heart ailment.

But Fang Wenxuan was fine before and suddenly fell ill afterwards. She personally witnessed that this incident is inseparable from Zhang Rongfang.

Thinking back now, she could be 100% sure that it was Zhang Rongfang who deliberately frightened, provoked, and triggered the heart ailment…

Otherwise, with the Fang family’s methods, how could they not find out the cause of death?

Therefore, these past few days, she had been on edge, afraid that the Fang family would find out the cause.

Fortunately, the two Fang family guards at the time also escaped, and no one around noticed.

Plus, Zhang Rongfang acted quickly. It was truly good luck that no one noticed.

Thinking of this, Lu Meisha felt both angry and resentful, and she quickly stepped in front of Zhang Rongfang as he turned around.

“Aren’t you planning to say something?!”

Zhang Rongfang was carrying a book basket, preparing to attend the governance class arranged by his sister and brother-in-law.

His sister and brother-in-law were alarmed by the previous incident, so they quickly hired a teacher to give him comprehensive lessons in various subjects.

The teacher was invited from a local academy in Wushan Prefecture, a renowned local instructor.

So he had been attending classes these days.

“Say what? What’s the matter?” Zhang Rongfang asked with a strange expression, looking at Lu Meisha, who was approaching.

Lu Meisha’s bun-shaped face puffed up, adorably pink, her chest upright, making it somewhat hard to look away.

But although she was pretty, her temperament and character were not the type Zhang Rongfang appreciated.

So when he saw her, he felt a bit impatient.

“I’m talking about the previous matter, the Fang family issue!” Lu Meisha said in a low voice, “What were you thinking at the time? Did you think that by doing that, no one would find out?!”

Her last sentence was hushed, as if afraid of being overheard.

“Do what? What are you talking about? Didn’t Fang Wenxuan die of a heart ailment himself?” Zhang Rongfang spoke nonchalantly.

The Fang family’s intention, he had already learned from the Golden Wing Pavilion.

The matter was concluded, closed.

If even the victim’s family didn’t pursue it, why was Lu Meisha still pressing? Wasn’t she asking for trouble?

“Don’t pretend!” Lu Meisha said angrily, “Do you think just because you’ve studied martial arts and reached a grade, you can act recklessly?? Let me tell you, if it weren’t for Fang Wenxuan coincidentally having a heart ailment! This time… this time….”

There were also suitors around her—young talents who had become graded experts—but none were like Zhang Rongfang, acting recklessly because of a bit of martial skill.

If it wasn’t for good luck and the Fang family being magnanimous, it would surely have caused trouble for her brother!

In the Great Spirit, what could his little martial skill do?

If the Fang family were truly serious, they could easily send a few third or fourth-grade martial artists to cripple the others.

The two sides were not on the same level at all.

But before she could finish, Zhang Rongfang stopped listening to her nonsense and turned to leave naturally.

“Wait! You…!!”

Lu Meisha wanted to catch up, but suddenly, the image of Zhang Rongfang’s cold, indifferent eyes after he acted on Fang Wenxuan flashed in her mind.

My heart suddenly skipped a beat, and I stood there without moving.

Watching Zhang Rongfang’s back as he turned the corner and left, Lu Meisha stomped her foot hard, snorting with anger, and had no choice but to turn and leave.

She needed to find her best friend to come up with a plan. Zhang Rongfang had just arrived and almost caused a major incident. They were lucky this time, but what about the next?

For her brother’s safety and career, she had to stabilize the situation from behind! She had to think of a good plan.

*

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*

Zhang Rongfang had no idea what Lu Meisha was thinking.

Although he could guess a little, he wasn’t interested in figuring out the thoughts of an ordinary little girl.

Before taking action, he had considered not exposing too much of his strength.

So, even if someone saw or discovered him, they would at most think he was a graded martial artist, without deducing his level from his speed.

After all, it was best if as few people as possible knew about his rapid rise to Ninth Grade in such a short time.

Such an event that even Celestial Maiden Tong felt was incredibly shocking would make others question if he was truly Zhang Rongfang.

Carrying a bookcase on his back, Zhang Rongfang soon arrived at a small courtyard behind the Commerce Office.

A few people were already waiting here to study together.

These individuals were the younger relatives and friends of his brother-in-law who lived in the Commerce Office.

Including Zhang Rongfang, there were six people in total. After waiting for a brief moment, they saw a white-haired elder in a blue robe with wide sleeves, carrying a pot of milk tea, strolling leisurely into the courtyard.

The elder’s name was He Hanzhi, a renowned educator in Wushan with a reputation for training numerous officials who preside over various departments in Wushan.

In short, most of what he taught were subjects related to governance in the Great Spirit’s officialdom.

His brother-in-law Suda Heqi’s intention was also quite clear: to nurture him and then recommend him for official duties.

Zhang Rongfang also felt he lacked experience supervising subordinates, whether in Tan Yang’s Penal Department or in Mingjing Palace, as he rarely handled matters personally and always delegated tasks impulsively.

“Today, let’s talk about a sensational case from a few years ago in Wushan.”

He Hanzhi walked to the front of the group, instructed someone to bring a chair over, and slowly sat down.

“This case is called the Shadow in the Forest. Does anyone know about it?”

His usual approach was to integrate various real-life examples into teachings, allowing students to independently understand how to solve problems.

This teaching method was extremely clever and practical. Zhang Rongfang decided to attend every session after just one class.

The course clearly broadened his way of handling various events.

Among the six people, a slightly chubby young man with glasses stood up.

“Shadow in the Forest, are you referring to the missing person case in the Yinhuai Forest, teacher?”

“Yes, that is correct,” He Hanzhi smiled, quite satisfied with these motivated students.

“The Shadow in the Forest case involves an unknown number of missing girls. The government suppressed the Injustice Bell many times, and eventually, they directly blocked the road to the Yinhuai Forest to completely suppress the case’s attention.

One of the lieutenants who handled this case back then was my student.”

The six were slightly surprised, but no one spoke, waiting for He Hanzhi to continue.

Zhang Rongfang was also interested in a case that hasn’t been solved yet? Could it be the Sea Dragon?

“I guess you all wonder if it’s the Sea Dragon? This notorious organization always has members being captured and brought to justice each year, but after some time, they re-emerge like weeds,” He Hanzhi laughed.

“Initially, I also thought it was the Sea Dragon, but later, my student found a witness.

From the witness’s account, we obtained some very peculiar information. It was precisely this information that puzzled my student, prompting them to seek me out to solve the mystery, and that’s how I came to know such detailed information.”

“Peculiar information? May I ask, teacher, in what way is it peculiar?” a slightly dark-skinned woman stood up and asked.

“The witness claimed….” He Hanzhi paused.

“They saw with their own eyes that the missing girls all walked into the depths of the forest by themselves. No one coerced them, nor was anyone accompanying them. It was just them alone.”

“And… it was in the middle of the night.”

“That can’t be right, teacher. If it was at night, how did the witness know or see it? Could it be that they wander in the forest at night?” the dark-skinned woman frowned.

“Exactly.” He Hanzhi nodded, “My student also asked this question at the time.”

“The answer is, the person was a thief. They had a hideout in the Yinhuai Forest for storing their stolen goods.

Because of this, they entered the Yinhuai Forest at night and witnessed this bizarre scene.”

He Hanzhi shook his head slightly.

“I was quite shocked and puzzled myself. You must understand that these missing girls were all under sixteen, had never practiced martial arts, and were physically weak.

Such girls would likely scream at the sight of a stray dog in the woods, so how could they walk alone into the eerie Yinhuai Forest outside the city in the dead of night?

You have to know, the night forest is a time when many predators hunt. Even martial artists have to be extremely cautious when entering.”

Zhang Rongfang also nodded silently, agreeing with the logic.

“Perhaps they were drugged?” he suggested.

“There’s no way to verify,” He Hanzhi shook his head, “We couldn’t even find the corpses, so naturally, we couldn’t check if they were drugged.”

“Anyway, the Shadow in the Forest case hasn’t been solved to this day, but there’s no longer an issue. The authorities have set up checkpoints and watchtowers around there, and anyone approaching is turned back.”

“So, this kind of thing won’t happen again.”

“And today’s assignment is for you to gather as much information as possible about the Shadow in the Forest case.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep