Or rather… Duan Feihong was the murderer!
However, it was unclear whether this Duan Feihong was the real deal, or just another imposter in a human skin mask.
All of a sudden, the plot had thickened.
First, it was the massacre of the Dagger Gang. Then it was Chen Xiaodao accusing Duan Feihong of the murder.
No one even knew whether the Duan Feihong in question was authentic.
What a mess!
Now, Su Jingxing was just as troubled as Wei Jiajia.
Of course—it wasn't that Su Jingxing was afraid. Neither did he regret killing Chen Xiaodao.
In the situation earlier, it was either him or Chen Xiaodao.
He wasn't even the real Duan Feihong, so why should take the fall for this mysterious man who may or may not be "Duan Feihong"?
Besides, if Chen Xiaodao played nice, Su Jingxing wouldn't have minded a conversation.
However, he was clearly out for his life, and Su Jingxing wasn't about to let him have his way.
If the situation allowed, he too would have preferred to immobilize Chen Xiaodao by crippling him instead of killing him. However, Chen Xiaodao was going at him with his final breath, and if Su Jingxing pulled punches, he would have sustained an injury himself.
Using too much strength, on the other hand, would disperse Chen Xiaodao's final breath; with his final breath dispersed, Chen Xiaodao would die beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Between himself and Chen Xiaodao, the choice was obvious for Su Jingxing.
Many people realized what was going on too, but being on different sides, they obviously refused to take Su Jingxing's stand.
Huang Boyi was the first to speak.
"Duan Feihong, do you have anything to say for yourself?" he asked coldly, poised to strike as he curled his hands into the shape of a claw.
Su Jingxing ignored him.
What was there to say?
He wasn't the culprit!
The Duan Feihong of dubious identity should be the one getting interrogated!
Su Jingxing looked at Wei Jiajia expressionlessly and covertly gave her an eye signal.
The first request had been fulfilled!
The conditions of the deal were three requests.
The first deal required him to kill Chen Xiaodao.
Su Jingxing had met the conditions!
The means did not matter as much as the end—which was Chen Xiaodao dying at Su Jingxing's hands.
Wei Jiajia wore a complex expression on her face. She received Su Jingxing's signal, but she couldn't find any words to say.
Right now, she was feeling even more troubled.
Eldest Senior Brother was the one who attacked the Dagger Gang?
Moreover, he almost killed Chen Xiaodao?
Was this mysterious figure really her Eldest Senior Brother?
With Su Jingxing as precedence, Wei Jiajia could no longer be certain if the "Duan Feihong" who annihilated Dagger Gang was real or fake!
One thing she was certain about, however, was that Su Jingxing was not behind this.
During their few encounters, she had gotten a good grasp of Su Jingxing's personality.
If she wanted to convince Su Jingxing to destroy the Dagger Gang, she would probably have to offer up the long-lost nine-steps martial arts!
…
Wei Jiajia remained taciturn as many thoughts flashed through her mind.
Su Jingxing wasn't bothered by the lack of reaction either.
As long as Wei Jiajia had no objections, he had no plans of exposing her.
As for Huang Boyi…
Su Jingxing darted a glance at him. Then, without saying a word, he walked towards Chen Xiaodao's corpse.
[Corpse discovered. Would you like to extract it?]
Yes!
"Don't try to run before you answer my question!"
Seeing that Su Jingxing was ignoring him, Huang Boyi let loose an angry roar. Forming claws with his hands, he charged at Su Jingxing like a fierce tiger descending the mountain.
Saw it coming from a mile away!
Su Jingxing snorted. Then, he held his hands up, clenched his fists, and threw a vicious punch.
Bam!
Fists and claws collided, producing a dull sound.
Before the others could see what was going on, they saw Huang Boyi reeling backward uncontrollably.
Tap tap tap!
His powerful stomps left imprints in the ground.
Boom!
With nowhere left to retreat, Huang Boyi crashed loudly into the wall.
At that instant, the entire wall visibly shook three times.
Dust and debris fell from the ceiling.
"Wha…" Wu Shouhan and the others were stunned.
Swish!
Quickly snapping out of his gaze, Qi Zhaochen darted at Su Jingxing.
"You are not allowed to leave yet!" threatened Qi Zhaochen. With a bellow, he unleashed his aura.
Thump!
Following suit, Su Jingxing unleashed his aura fully and launched a punch that burst through the air.
At the same time, he exuded his internal force, creating an air blast that fanned out in the office.
Qi Zhaochen blocked the blow. Immediately, he felt a tremendous force sweeping over him, neutralizing all of his attacks and pushing him back. He reeled backward uncontrollably.
Tap tap tap!
Similarly, his feet left deep prints on the floor.
Right before hitting the wall, Qi Zhaochen bellowed and leaped into the air in a swirling motion. Positioning his feet behind himself, he landed on the wall with two loud thuds, then rebounded off it to neutralize the remaining force. When he had stabilized himself on the ground, his hands were shaking uncontrollably.
He looked towards Su Jingxing, who had already leaped out from the window.
Using the Eight Steps Rising Dragon, Su Jingxing's body was enveloped by a layer of internal force. He traversed across the wall with Spiderman-like movement, making use of various structures along the way. Before long, he was a distance away from the building. Then, he hopped across some rooftops and disappeared into an alley.
"Impressive!" praised Wu Shouhan as he came back to his senses. He looked through the window in the direction where Su Jingxing had vanished."To think that Duan Feihong had become so powerful in the few years of absence."
"Agreed. It seems like he hasn't hit sixth-grade yet."
"If he's this strong at seventh-grade, wouldn't he become even stronger at sixth-grade?"
"Who knows. Duan Feihong is our prime suspect right now. He might not even have a chance to enter the sixth-grade."
"Oh, right! I nearly forgot he murdered Chen Xiaodao and massacred the Dagger Gang!"
"He did kill Chen Xiaodao, but we don't know for certain if he's behind the Dagger Gang's massacre yet."
"Heh. Why else would he be running away?"
…
The long-bearded old man and the others continued bickering about the topic.
"Hmph!" Huang Boyi, who had mostly recovered, harrumphed coldly in response.
His eyes were burning with hatred, and his flushed face was distorted with anger.
As a seventh-grade martial artist, he was actually forced back by a single punch!
If Duan Feihong had been a sixth-grade martial artist and used true energy on him, he would have found it easier to swallow.
However, at the moment of collision, he could clearly feel that his opponent was using a combination of internal energy and pure strength.
This was utterly humiliating for him!
In comparison, Qi Zhaochen fared better.
He clenched his fists tightly to stop the shaking. Then, he took a deep calming breath and looked at Wei Jiajia. "Is he really Duan Feihong?" he asked huskily.
Mhm?
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Wu Shouhan, raising his eyebrows as he turned his gaze to Wei Jiajia.
Huang Boyi, the long-bearded old man, and the others also turned to look at Wei Jiajia with curious eyes.
"He's…" Wei Jiajia froze up with her mouth open. At length, she admitted, "He's someone I hired to pretend to be my Eldest Senior Brother."
Wu Shouhan and the others were at a loss for words.
This was certainly an unexpected twist!
"What's his name? Where is he from? Where does he live?" grilled Huang Boyi when his initial shock had passed.
Wei Jiajia shook her head. "I don't know."
"Yeah, as if! Weren't you the one who hired him?" hissed Huang Boyi.
"I'm telling the truth," said Wei Jiajia with a helpless smile. "I only got to know him because he once stepped in to save me when I was in a pinch. Although I hired him, I have no idea what his name is, what he looks like, or where he stays. It's not like I had the courage to ask him either. Whenever we met up, he always wore a mask."
After the recent events, Wei Jiajia dared not conceal the truth, knowing that she couldn't possibly fool them for long.
Rather than being watched day and night by the Martial Suppression Office, it was better to come clean.
Of course, Wei Jiajia deliberately omitted the part about trading the Eight Steps Rising Dragon away.
"Hmph. Anyone who sneaks around with a mask on is clearly up to no good!" commented Huang Boyi sourly, his face stone-cold.
Qi Zhaochen fell silent.
After thinking for a moment, he said, "We can take our time with the matter regarding Duan Feihong. Would you and your younger brother be keen to stay at the Martial Suppression Office for a few days?"
"Sure!" replied Wei Jiajia delightfully.
Now that things had become more complicated, it would be safer for them to stay at the Martial Suppression Office…