?

  Hainet's officer searched for half a day in the forest, almost sticking his face to the ground and searching in a big circle, but still had nothing to gain. At this time, he suddenly heard someone laughing behind him and saying: "Brother, what are you looking for at midnight? Is it this?"

  Heintz jumped up, turned around hastily, and saw a strange figure standing behind him. Upon closer inspection, it wasn't a monster, but someone who had taken off their outer garment to cover their head, with two holes poked in it, making them look like a bizarrely dressed bandit. This person was holding a shiny golden pen, which was exactly what Heintz had been searching for! Heintz subconsciously asked: "How did it end up with you?"

  Masked man: "Are you really looking for this?"

  Hainet had now reacted and covered up his frightened expression, nodding in response: "Yes, I was passing by earlier and accidentally dropped it here. It was you who picked it up. Thank you, please return it to me!" He thought he was calm, but didn't realize that this reaction was very abnormal, as few ordinary people could remain calm and composed when encountering a masked figure in the woods at night.

  The masked man raised the plastic bag in his other hand: "Oh? So this piece of meat was also thrown away by you? Now that pork prices have risen, it's a pity to throw away such a good piece of hind leg meat. What's even more regrettable is that it can't be cooked anymore because there's highly toxic poison on its surface!"

  Heintz's face changed, and he wanted to take action but restrained himself. It was Marquis Lynton who had him come here to pick up a steel pen and the piece of flesh he had cut off, reminding him that there was poison in the meat. Heintz asked Marquis Lynton what was going on. Lynton only said that he and Aphthene had gone together to deal with Feng Junzi but were ambushed and injured, and he didn't want to leave any traces or clues behind, so he wanted Heintz to clean up the battlefield.

  Heinrich married a distant cousin of Aphthene, which was also an alliance with the Vina family. He had already heard about Aphthene's situation. The first helper Marquis Lington came to Uyou to find was Heinrich. Heinrich lost his precious silver cross sword, which was a great shame, so he agreed to help Marquis Lington. Now seeing that the thing he wanted to find fell into the hands of a mysterious masked man, he couldn't help but secretly feel shocked, and said in a tentative tone: "Who are you? What do you want? Give me the thing, other things can be negotiated."

  Masked man: "Are you negotiating? Then name a price. How much is this pen? And how much does this meat cost per kilogram?"

  The masked man's words made Haiteng a bit confused, unable to figure out his background, and asked in doubt: "How much money do you want?"

  Masked man: "Is this thing yours? Do you admit it or not?"

  Hait nodded: "It's mine, name your price, just return the thing to me."

  Masked man: "One hundred thousand, I want cash."

  Hainet: "What? Who are you to dare blackmail me?"

  Masked man: "The price has gone up now, 200,000! Don't ask me who I am, can you tell me who you are and what kind of person made you come?"

  Hainet: "What do you mean? Don't think I'm afraid of you!" As he spoke, he glanced around at the surrounding area, a secluded thicket where no one else was in sight.

  Masked man: "Keep raising prices, 400,000 yuan, if you keep nagging me I'll raise the price again."

  "Four hundred thousand is four hundred thousand, okay, I agree with you." As soon as he finished saying this sentence, he suddenly moved without warning, his body popping up from the original position like a cheetah, agilely pouncing on the masked man. In mid-air, he stretched out his hand to grab the pen and bag in the other's hand. Even in the darkness, it was possible to see that the palms and fingertips of his hands emitted a thin layer of pale white light, and with this sudden attack, Haint wanted to achieve a one-hit victory.

  However, as he moved, the masked man also moved, his body slid to the side and back, and Haynaut's pounce was just in time for the masked man to circle around to his back and kick him in the butt. Haynaut's speed was already fast enough, but the masked man's speed was even faster, like a ghostly shadow, and seemed to know what he wanted to do beforehand. Haynaut's must-get blow fell empty, and as he tried to pull back, he chopped down a small tree with a trunk as thick as a bowl, while the person in front of him dodged around to his back, followed by the sound of wind coming from behind.

  Oh no! I've met a master! Heinrich, who also has rich fighting experience, didn't even turn his head back and continued to charge forward. He flipped over in mid-air, turned around, and landed on the ground with a low growl, punching out one fist. However, this punch was halted halfway through, and that masked person had already slid to his side with one step, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him facing two different directions. The pen had been put away, and in its place, the man held a slender, silver-glinting small knife, its sharp blade tip pressed against Heinrich's neck. Just then, the masked person coldly said: "This knife just cut through that piece of meat, and the blade tip has deadly poison on it. Don't move carelessly."

  This masked man is naturally Bai Shaofeng. If Haitian God's officer had taken the initiative to attack with the cross sword, he might have exchanged a few moves with Xiao Bai, and even if he was going to lose, he wouldn't have been subdued in one move. Unfortunately, Haitian insisted on launching a sneak attack, which is the most useless move for Bai Shaofeng. As soon as his mind moved, Xiao Bai sensed it, and even where he wanted to pounce and focus his attention, Xiao Bai could feel it. Compared to agility, Haitian was no match for Xiao Bai, and in one round, he was pinned down by a knife at his throat. In terms of speed and cunning, Haitian couldn't gain the upper hand in front of Bai Shaofeng.

  Xiaobai took action and settled it, and Haiteng also had some pride, still holding back his voice and saying: "Now I ask you to answer, since I can get what you want to find, I know what you are doing. So if you answer one wrong sentence, my mood will be very bad, if I'm not happy my hand will shake, and your safety cannot be guaranteed... did you understand?"

  Hainet didn't move a muscle and replied: "I understand, go ahead and ask."

  "Are you here for this pen and this piece of meat?"

  "Yes."

  "Was it the Marquis of Lingdun who sent you?" As soon as the words fell, Bai Shaofeng suddenly felt something was off and quickly retreated, his body swiftly moving backwards. He sidestepped behind a tree, using its cover to slide away about four or five meters. Immediately after, the tree in front of him was severed with a loud crack by a flash of white light. Haitian's divine officer unleashed his strongest aura, risking his life as he suddenly swung his hand towards Bai Shaofeng with all his might.

  Luckily, Xiao Bai reacted quickly. As soon as he sensed the killing intent in Haitian's heart, he felt something was off and dodged the attack just in time. If he had still been standing there, Haitian's palm would have landed squarely on his ribs, and it's hard to say how badly he would have been injured. Xiao Bai stood at a distance, panting slightly: "Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

  Hainet turned around, panting and said: "Why didn't you kill me?" He had just risked his life to launch a desperate attack, preferring mutual destruction rather than being controlled by Xiao Bai. Unexpectedly, his move still missed its mark. If Xiao Bai had taken advantage of the situation and counterattacked with his knife after dodging, Hainet would already be dead. He was thoroughly convinced that he was no match for Xiao Bai, and this fearless man now felt a little afraid in his heart.

  Bai Shaofeng said angrily, "I didn't plan to kill you in the first place. Picking up trash isn't a capital offense! Besides, if I killed you, I'd have to think of ways to get rid of your body and cover my tracks. You say it's not troublesome? It's just asking you two questions, do you need to risk your life?"

  "Haynt: 'As a noble knight, honor is more important than life. I will not accept the humiliation of being coerced by you!' This man was a fearless and stubborn young man who refused to yield to Xiao Bai's coercion even if it meant risking his own life."

  "In the Vatican, there is actually someone who is not afraid of death. Xiao Bai also felt a little surprised. This person's temperament is quite different from that of Laxus and others. He didn't urge him again, but stood there coldly and said: "I know you were called by Marquis Lingdun, this thing has nothing to do with you, but according to my previous rules, the price should be increased again. Now it's 8 million, let Marquis Lingdun prepare the cash. I don't have time to chat with you, I should leave."

  "Who are you and how did you find me?"

  A faint voice came from afar: "I'll spare your life, just to let you pass a message to Marquis Lingdun. His pen and that piece of rotten meat on him are in my hands. Let him be careful! What kind of Temple Knight is he? I think you're even more capable than him! You don't need to know who I am, I'll contact Marquis Lingdun myself." As soon as the words were spoken, his figure had already disappeared into the distance.

  Xiaobai returned home almost at eleven o'clock, Zhuang Ru and Qingchen were both waiting for him. Qingchen knew he was going to Luoyuan to attend a dinner party and had an inexplicable unease in his heart. Xiaobai entered the house to change shoes, as soon as he bent down, he heard Qingchen ask: "Why are there two holes on your back?"

  Xiao Bai smiled and took off his outer garment, covering his head with it. He tied the two sleeves behind his head and said, "On my way home tonight, I ran into a group of little thieves, so I became a masked hero for a while."

  He had just finished speaking when he heard Zhuo Ru exclaim in surprise, touching his chest: "Good heavens, what a little scamp! The undershirt on your chest is also torn with a big hole... Can't you be more careful? Every time you go out, people worry about you like this?"

  Xiaobai lowered his head and saw that the chest area of his shirt was also torn open, which was caused by Haitian's divine official palm tip energy being as sharp as a knife edge, passing through his chest without hurting him but cutting open a hole in his clothes. Xiaobai's hands moved extremely fast and didn't feel any danger, but Zhuangru saw it and was frightened. Xiaobai smiled to comfort Zhuangru: "Don't worry, the clothes will be compensated for, and they can even get a lot of money back, I made a profit today."

  Zhuang Ru: "Who cares if the clothes are broken or not? I'm talking about you!"

  Bai Shaofeng: "I'm even more innocent now, there's nothing on me from head to toe, or else I'll take off my clothes and let you all inspect me?"

  Qing Chen glared and said: "A meal for dinner has made you like this, one day I will go to the Luo's house and ask them how they treat their guests?"

  Bai Shaoliu: "I have nothing to do with the Luo family, I really did encounter a little thief on the road. The clothes were intentionally damaged by me, otherwise what would I make people compensate for? ...Just in time to change into a new set for going out at night."

  Zhuang Ru: "You're going out again? Not even taking a rest today?"

  Bai Shaofeng: "Cultivation emphasizes persistence, this is called concentration and determination. If you eat a meal and encounter a small thief at night and don't practice your skills, what kind of cultivation is that? Qingchen, do you think so?"

  "Wait a minute, I'll go with you to Yingliu River and show you that I also have perseverance and determination."

  Zhuang Ru went to prepare things and sighed: "You are all capable people, I wish I could also be a little bit skilled."

  Qing Chen: "Sister really thinks so? Okay, I'll teach you from tomorrow, anyway there's nothing to do at home."

  "Can I make it?"

  Qing Chen: "Learn as much as you can, it doesn't matter if you can't learn it all, anyway there's no harm."

  "Okay okay, thank you Qingchen sister!"

  After going out, Xiao Bai asked Qingchen: "Zhuang sister's foundation seems not suitable for cultivation? This is not something that everyone can barely do, some people learn all their lives and may not achieve anything, or even have the opposite effect."

  "Qing Chen: 'Yu Daxia once told me that any kind of cultivation can go astray, and it's all about the person's heart nature, not anything else. As for whether one can achieve something, it depends on their innate talent and good fortune. I only taught Zhuang Jie the way of regulating her breath and cultivating her energy, so even if she practices it, there won't be any harm.'"

  "Is this the unity of form and spirit you taught me?"

  Qing Chen: "Yes, I just want to teach Zhuang sister this, whether she can learn it or not is none of my business."

  Bai Shaofeng: "If that's the case, then teach her. At least it won't do any harm. When I was teaching in the Black Dragon Sect, this was also my foundation...I think in the future when you establish your own sect and become a master, just call it Qingchen Sect."

  Qing Chen: "I am the leader of the Qing Chen Sect, who are you?"

  "Your heart's desire!"

  Qing Chen: "Hate it, speaking no more than three sentences and already being unscrupulous, what's called a soulmate?"

  "The one in your heart is always better than the one in your dreams, at least you can see and touch them."

  Qing Chen: "Sleepwalker? Who are you dreaming of again?"

  Bai Shaoliu: "It's not me, it's someone else. I want to tell you something about Mr. Feng and Aphrodite. It's a bit of trouble now, someone might be trying to harm Mr. Feng. On the way back tonight, I've already called Chen Yan at Hui Shui Zhi Wei Building. Chen Yan said she would inform Mr. Mei." Along the way, Bai Shaoliu briefly told Qingchen about what happened in Binhai Park that night and how the Vatican handled Aphrodite. Neither of them could figure out how Lord Lingdon's leg was injured.

  "In a small private room in a restaurant, Luo Bing asked Bai Shaoliu after closing the door: 'You called me out at noon and said you had something to show me, what's so important?'"

  Bai Shaoliu: "I know you're busy, but this is important. I can only bother you with it. Can you see anything strange about this pen?... Be careful not to point the nib at yourself. Here's also a piece of meat, cut from Marquis Lingdun's leg, there's a small steel ball inside the meat, containing anesthetic and deadly poison."

  Luobing picked up the pen and took a look, sucking in a breath of cold air: "This is a steel ballpoint pen, used by special agents, I've seen it before! But such high-end goods are still the first time I've seen them, this guy really has money and likes to be particular!"

  "What's gotten into you?"

  Luobing: "Generally, high-end spies use steel ballpoint pens that are made to resemble fountain pens. But take a look at this pen - it's an authentic Montblanc fountain pen, one of the most expensive in the world. An ordinary one costs tens of thousands, and special editions can cost hundreds of thousands. Mr. Luo uses a pen from the same brand for signing documents... How much would it cost to modify such a pen into a steel ballpoint gun for spies?"

  "This pen is just like a car, Marquis Ling Dun is rich and particular enough."

  Lu Bing: "It's not that he's stingy, but rather that he doesn't take the rules of this line of work seriously. Assassins try to avoid using weapons that can be traced back to them. If they do use one, they absolutely shouldn't leave any clues behind. But this pen can be traced back, each one has a serial number when it's produced and there are records of who it was sold to. Marquis Ling Dun's abilities aren't small, he could have found someone to modify the pen like this, but he's still an amateur at assassination!"

  Bai Shaoliu: "He was never a special agent to begin with, how could he compare to your level of professionalism? He didn't even think that the pen would be left at the scene and couldn't be retrieved in time, no wonder they sent someone to retrieve it... Can we take it apart? I'm afraid there's still a mechanism inside that I haven't dared to touch."

  Luobing: "It won't work here, we need to use a specialized tool. Forget about lunch, come with me to the Luoyang Building."

  Bai Shaofeng and Luo Bing went to the Luoyang Building, in a room filled with machinery, Luo Bing had a magnifying glass hanging from his eye, carefully disassembling the pen on the workbench into a pile of parts. As he disassembled it, he couldn't help but praise: "It's really well-made, and there's even an insurance mechanism to prevent accidental firing, how did they manage to fit that in such a small space?"

  Bai Shaoliu: "I just want you to open it and see if it's a steel ball gun, how did you disassemble it into this state?"

  Luo Bing: "This is a single shot, I want to reload the steel ball back in, this gun can still be used. In theory, the steel ball is not recoverable, use once and need to install new ones, if use recovered steel balls toxicity will greatly weaken, but only recover one or two times should be no problem, enough to kill again."

  Bai Shaofeng: "You've taken it apart into such a mess, when can you put it back together?"

  Luō Bīng: "Doing this kind of work isn't what I'm best at. If Lǎo Guǐ wants to stay here, it'll be settled in no time."

  Bai Shaoliu: "Who is Lao Gui?"

  Luobing: "Before I joined the special training camp, my comrades and I were a group of six people with nicknames Old Gai, Ghostly, Stone, Rushou, Zongye, and Xiaoxiao. The 'Old Devil' I mentioned is actually Ghostly, who was skilled in various tools and was known as a legendary thief in the local area, able to open any lock."

  Bai Shaoliu: "You mean Xiao Xiao is Xiang Zhengrong? Now all of you comrades are doing your own things?"

  Luobing: "Hurry up and die, he died 20 years ago during a mission. Among the other five people, only Team Leader Lao Gai is still doing secret work. We all left the organization to do our own things... As for me, I was expelled after making a mistake. If Mr. Luo hadn't helped me out, I would have almost ended up in a military court. I've told you all this before... Put your pen and steel ball here, come back in a few days to get them. And give me that piece of meat too, I'll find an icebox to freeze it so it doesn't go bad."

  "Up to now, I still can't figure out what happened at that time. Is this pen the Marquis of Lington's or not? In theory, it could also be Miss Vina's pen, so I left this pen to make it clear and incidentally knock on the Marquis of Lington. Why do you want to put the steel beads back on?"

  "Let me tell you the answer, based on your description of the scene and the location of Lord Lingdon's injury, it should be that he himself pulled out the steel ball gun and shot his own leg. At that time, his posture should have been with his right hand hanging down holding the gun and his left leg stepping forward... As for the possibility of misfiring, it is very small, it is likely that someone else controlled his movements, such as holding his wrist, or even possibly being manipulated by Xiao Yunyi."

  Bai Shaoliu: "Feng Furen, how can she have such great abilities?"

  Lu Bing: "She's not that capable, but she's been eccentric since childhood. When she married into the Xiao family, everyone was grateful. Finally, there's someone who doesn't mind her quirks; otherwise, I don't know who could put up with her... Remember when Feng Junzi first visited the Xiao family and met Xiao Tianhong, Xiao Yunyi's grandfather? He treated him like a treasure and immediately gave him the Tianxin Sword, which he had treasured for many years, to Feng Junzi, who didn't even know martial arts."

  Bai Shaoliu: "And then there's this story, what's so strange about Feng Furen?"

  Lu Bing: "If she wants to play a prank on you, she can make you go out and get lost, and even make you accidentally eat rice into your nose. Who can stand it? It's just Mr. Feng, her tricks don't work in front of him... Never mind Xiao Yaotou, I'm asking you, what's the use of this steel ball gun after reloading?"

  Bai Shaofeng suddenly woke up and exclaimed, "No matter who it kills, it can be framed on the Marquis of Lingdun. Didn't you say that this pen has a serial number and sales records?"

  Lu Bing: "Exactly, that's what I think! A noble marquis of the royal family brings a pen like this to Wuyou City, definitely not with good intentions. This person is not a good thing either. In fact, if he wants to deal with someone, there's no need for him to take action himself. If he takes action personally, it can only be said that his purpose is unspeakable... If a big shot is assassinated and the murder weapon is this pen left at the scene, it will definitely be traced back to him."

  "Big shot?"

  Lu Bing: "Of course, it must be a big shot. Who would spend such a huge cost to investigate the death of an ordinary citizen on an international scale? I'm not saying that we must kill some big shot, but rather that this pen in your hand is equivalent to being able to give Lord Lingdon a show of color at any time."

  Bai Shaoliu: "Thank you, Master, for reminding me. I will keep this pen and also secretly warn the Earl of Lingdun... Now, I think I'll go to Luoyuan Garden. Miss Gu and Miss Luo should both be in Luoyuan Garden, right?"

  Luobing sighed: "You should go to Luoyuan and have a look, take some time to accompany Miss Luo and comfort her more. Mr. Luo told her about his condition last night, and the little girl is very sad."