When the news of Fang Rui's death reached the Fang Family, the entire Fang Family was enraged.
"Fang Rui is dead? Who did it!"
"Those scoundrels dare to bully my Fang Family!"
"Investigate! Investigate thoroughly! No matter who did this, they must die!"
"......."
Fang Family Inner Residence.
Fang Qixian's face was grim, like a volcano about to erupt.
The few people standing by, reporting, were as quiet as cicadas in winter, fearing to anger him.
"Has Ding Tong returned?"
Seeing Fang Qixian ask, a middle-aged man beside him stepped forward halfway, biting the bullet as he replied.
"Reporting to the Family Elder, there is no news yet."
Bang!
Fang Qixian slammed his palm onto a pear blossom small table, and the powerful strike instantly shattered it.
"Didn't I tell you to investigate? Where's the news!"
Watching the faint golden Profound Light flash in an instant, the middle-aged man's eyes narrowed, and he couldn't help but swallow.
"Family Elder, please calm your anger. The area outside Weishui Town is vast, and the investigation time is currently limited, so there are no clues about Ding Tong yet. However, please rest assured, Family Elder, several teams have already been dispatched for a carpet search, and we expect to find clues about Ding Tong in a few days!"
Fang Qixian's gaze shifted to the middle-aged man, causing him to involuntarily flinch slightly. Fang Qixian didn't speak; he stood up, his calm face concealing suppressed rage.
My Fang Rui!
My Fang Rui!
He still remembered a few days ago, when he enthusiastically selected personnel, preparing to assassinate his enemy. The scene was still vivid, as if it had happened yesterday.
Seeing Fang Rui's naive actions, he stepped in and gave him a few appropriate pointers. He told Fang Rui to take his waist token and find Tower-Bearer Ding Tong!
Tower-Bearer Ding Tong! A martial arts master at the Inner Qi Second Level Perfection. His strength was far superior to the retainers Fang Rui had chosen.
Watching Fang Rui leave excitedly, he, as a father, also felt happy.
Who knew that this farewell would be a final one!
Thinking of this, Fang Qixian's fiercely suppressed rage could no longer be contained.
"Investigate! Go investigate! If a few teams can't find anything, then send more people! Ten teams! Twenty teams! Whatever it takes! I have only one demand: by sunset tomorrow, I want to know if Ding Tong is dead or alive! If he's dead, I want to see the body; if he's alive, I want to see the person!"
"Yes, Family Elder!"
Looking at the furious Fang Qixian, the surrounding people were dripping with cold sweat.
"Go investigate quickly!"
Fang Qixian roared.
The few people, as if granted a great pardon, rushed out the door.
Fang Qixian stood with his hands behind his back, his face filled with Evil Qi.
If it were an ordinary Inner Qi Realm First Level practitioner, with Fang Rui's protective force at the time, there would have been a great chance to escape. Therefore, the person who made the move was at least a martial arts expert at Inner Qi First Level Perfection.
Did this person kill Fang Rui because someone was behind him, or for some other reason!
And... what about Ding Tong?
Ding Tong hadn't returned for several days, so he was most likely dead! It was just unknown whether Ding Tong's death was a deliberate trap targeting Fang Rui, or simply an accident during the assassination.
If it was the former, it meant someone was meticulously setting up a trap, and the target was not Fang Rui, but him, or even the Fang Family!
If it was the latter, it meant that behind Chen Ping'an stood at least one martial arts master at the Inner Qi Third Level!
However, at this moment, for Fang Qixian, he didn't care about either the former or the latter.
He only knew that his Fang Rui was dead.
"No matter who it is, I will make them pay for Fang Rui's life!"
"And... Chen Ping'an! Since Fang Rui wanted to kill you in his lifetime, I, as his father, must help Fang Rui fulfill this wish!"
"After this power struggle between the aristocratic families comes to an end, I will personally go to Baishi City and take Chen Ping'an's life!"
......
Fang Rui's death caused a stir in Weishui County City. Mainly because the nature of his death was too severe. Considering all circumstances, the entire Fang Family highly suspected that this was a deliberate trap targeting him.
As for Chen Ping'an in the incident, he was not listed as a primary suspect.
The most crucial point was that one day after the news broke, the death of Tower-Bearer Ding Tong was confirmed!
Tower-Bearer Ding Tong, famous for many years, was a genuine martial arts master at the Inner Qi Second Level Perfection. Such a master could not escape and died on the spot.
That meant the person who made the move had at least entered the Inner Qi Third Level Tianlin Descends Peak Realm! And this was not an ordinary Tianlin Descends Peak practitioner; it was at least an experienced veteran master skilled in combat who could achieve this.
For Chen Ping'an, at his current age, it was absolutely impossible to reach this level!
Even Weishui's number one Prodigy, Liu Ziming, at his age, had only just barely entered the Inner Qi Second Level.
If Chen Ping'an could do this, he would have probably already made a name for himself throughout Dragon Safety Province, instantly becoming a sought-after figure!
Furthermore, it was too difficult to conceal one's martial arts Realm within Weishui County City. In recent days, the Realm Chen Ping'an displayed was merely having just entered the Inner Qi Realm, with nothing special about it.
Therefore, in the Fang Family's investigation, Chen Ping'an was temporarily excluded from the list of culprits.
Also, the matter of assassinating Chen Ping'an was not suitable for widespread publicity at this time. On the surface, Chen Ping'an had no relation to Fang Rui's death.
The Fang Family's investigation into Chen Ping'an was also placed at the very end.
......
The Baishi City Garrison Command, which can report upwards to the Weishui Town Pacification Bureau and downwards manage all major and minor forces within the city, inspecting the common people in all directions. From the perspective of functional division, it is the most powerful institution within Baishi City.
However...
Due to the opening of the Long'an Trade Route, Baishi City has been a mixed bag of forces in the past decade or so. On the surface alone, there are three major Families, four major Gangs, and the Chamber of Commerce Alliance formed by numerous small merchant forces, making up these eight major forces.
Below the six major forces, the various other forces are even more chaotic. In addition, there are various devils and monsters hidden behind the scenes, such as the Ten Thousand Demons Sect.
The situation within the entire city can be described as incredibly chaotic. In the past decade, the Commander position alone has changed three times; besides one who retired due to severe injuries, the other two lost their lives.
This was just the Commander; for the Deputy Commander and Squad Leader positions below, even more have died.
For example, Chen Ping'an's predecessor died inexplicably at home.
The Weishui Town Pacification Bureau was also extremely annoyed by this situation. However, the opening of the Long'an Trade Route had reached its final stage, and various interests within and outside the province needed to be balanced, and Weishui's interests needed to be protected. The Weishui Town Pacification Bureau could no longer spare too much energy.
They could only barely allocate personnel to maintain the status quo, only hoping that no major chaos would arise within Baishi City!
Fortunately, the current Baishi City Commander, Feng Shixian, is a ruthless person. With his Inner Qi Third Level Tianlin Descends Peak Realm, he suppresses all sides and maintains the balance within Baishi City.
Normally, an Inner Qi Second Level practitioner would be sufficient to hold the position of Baishi City Commander! There's no need to send a master at Inner Qi Third Level Tianlin Descends Peak!
So initially, when the Weishui Town Pacification Bureau transferred Feng Shixian here, they also wanted to rectify the atmosphere within Baishi City and stabilize the situation.
Feng Shixian's transfer indeed stabilized the situation in Baishi City for a period, but from the recent incident where the Deputy Commander died inexplicably at home, it is clear that Feng Shixian is also quickly losing control of the city's situation.
Chen Ping'an's mind recalled the news about Baishi City. Without encountering any bothersome incidents, he followed the entering city queue and smoothly arrived within Baishi City.
After entering the city, Chen Ping'an didn't rush to report to the Zhenfu Division. With a thought, he decided to understand the situation within the city first. He casually found an inn, settled his carriage and luggage.
He then took Chen Er'ya and Shaoyao and began to wander around the city.