Chapter 22: The Widow of the Chai Family

  Yang Shuang Feng was soaked from head to toe in less than a minute, and Shan Ya Xuan hastily brought over a waterproof cloak for him to wear, but Yang Shuang Feng carelessly pushed it away. He wanted to thoroughly cleanse himself with the long-awaited rainwater.

  Yang Ji Rui couldn't hide the excitement and anticipation in his heart: "If we could have a rain like this in our Minis area, it would be great. It seems that the rain won't stop for at least one or two days."

  Yang Songfen opened his big eyes and looked east, where it was gray and misty, with no end in sight. Only endless rainwater shrouded this vast land. He waved his arms vigorously and shouted loudly: "The drought is over!"

  He had never been so excited about a rain since he was little. It was because this rain, this continuous heavy rain, seemed to indicate that the severe drought that lasted for six years was finally coming to an end!

  The unexpected rain not only excited Yang Suofeng, but also many people in the Donghai Hall trading firm showed excessive enthusiasm for this long-awaited heavy rain. They stood by the carriage with Yang Suofeng, openly accepting the baptism of the fresh rainwater. Of course, Yu Huan and Tang Bingna were not among them, they just lifted the curtain of the carriage to look outside.

  In the wilderness, there was no place to take shelter from the rain, and it seemed that nobody had any intention of taking shelter either. The horse carriage continued on its way, trudging through the increasingly muddy road. On both sides of the road, in the fields, farmers gradually appeared, carefully digging up the earth and storing away the rainwater. Their flying hoes made Yang Su's heart suddenly feel a sense of urgency, he suddenly became a bit anxious, even the cold rain couldn't hide this inexplicable anxiety.

  Mnemosyne, when can you return to Mnemosyne?

  Mannis, is it raining now?

  Suddenly, a knight from the Donghai Hall trade caravan rushed over on horseback from afar, the urgent sound of horseshoes startling everyone. The splashing water and mud caused by the horseshoes made everyone feel tense, and all eyes were involuntarily fixed on him. This knight was sent by Donghai Hall to scout ahead, did his sudden arrival mean that there was some kind of danger up ahead?

  As he was hesitating, the knight's horse stopped beside Yu Xuan's carriage. He reported some information to Yu Xuan and Tang Bingna in a low voice, then turned his horse around and left quickly.

  Tang Bingna beckoned to Shan Yaru with a wave of her hand, signaling her to come over. Shan Yaru glared at her fiercely, but didn't go over.

  Tang Bingna called twice, and finally Yang Jirui went over in the rain. Yang Jirui listened to Yu Huanjuan for a while, then whispered something with her again, and Yang Jirui paced back and forth there, not returning for a while.

  Yang Shuangfen looked at Shan Yaoyu in confusion, and Shan Yaoyu said: "I only heard that knight say there were many dead people at the front turn, and the deceased was also one of the lords of the Minis region, it seemed to be a certain Cai family. I wonder how to deal with it, Yu boss said to ask for your opinion."

  Yang Shuangfeng was stunned for a moment, then said in shock: "Qingchuan Dao's Gao Yangfu's Caizhai? How is that possible?"

  Shan Ya Xuan said uncertainly: "I heard him say that, you two will know when you get back."

  As expected, a moment later, Yang Jirui returned with a heavy heart, hanging his head low and said sorrowfully: "Yang, there are many dead people ahead, seemingly from the Cai family. Mr. Yu asks you to go forward and take a look, to discuss how to handle it."

  Yang Shuangfen frowned and said: "How are we going to deal with this? Criminal cases are the business of local officials, can't we just hand it over to them?"

  Yang Ji Rui said with a worried expression: "It seems like it's not an ordinary murder case, but a premeditated one. The victim is very likely to be Cai Yan Qi, the new lord of the Cai family, one of the fourteen lords of Menis... and," he hesitated for a moment, his voice somewhat bitter, "it's also possible that it was done by the hands of the Rainbow Unit of the Radiant Empire..."

  Yang Shuang heard the name of the catcher and was slightly stunned, unable to help but say: "Does the catcher dare to come here to kill people?"

  Yang Ji Rui said worriedly: "It can't be confirmed yet whether the catcher is leading the team in person, but from the scene, there's an 80% chance. The horseback rider just now wasn't an ordinary warrior, he was a wandering knight hired by Luona, named Hua Rong Feng, a member of the Luona Flower family, and has some reputation in Luona. I believe his vision won't be too different, at least he won't mistake people."

  Yang Shuang said with a bit of horror: "Why did the catcher want to kill the tailor's family?"

  Yang Ji Rui said expressionlessly: "Because our household also received the order to return to Meini City to quell the riot."

  Yang Shuang said hesitantly: "Is it just because of this?"

  Yang Ji Rui nodded heavily.

  Yang Shuang's suspicion soon turned into reality. After bypassing a small forest that blocked the view, he saw the scene of the murder. It was a bend in the road, right in the middle of a mountain valley, and the light wasn't very good. After investigating the scene, almost everyone could determine that the only reason the victim was killed was because he was a lieutenant general in the army and had been ordered to quell the rebellion in the Menis region.

  The murderer did not kill indiscriminately, the female entourage was not molested, but all male members and guards were killed. However, their large amount of property was not looted. Except for the young man wearing a red army general's uniform who died miserably and the corpses everywhere, everything else seemed to be intact. What was most shocking was that on the long sword inserted into the throat of the ill-fated army general, a piece of cloth was hung with several bloody characters written in blood: "Those who return to Meini will be killed without pardon!" The signature was two large characters "Bounty Hunter".

  The fresh blood on the cloth had not yet dried completely, and it was seeping down layer by layer, forming streak after streak of shocking bloodstains. Although the fresh blood at the scene had been washed away by the heavy rain, a strong smell of blood still lingered in the air, making people feel like vomiting.

  "They are all from Jingchuan Dao's Gaoyang Fu Cai family. They, like you, have received the same order, so be extremely careful." Dan Yaxuan's face turned a bit pale as she quietly reminded Yang Shuangfeng, clearly showing some anxiety. This was something anyone could think of - since the captor had already killed one person, they wouldn't mind killing another; Yang Shuangfeng might just become the next target. After so many days together, she had unknowingly come to regard Yang Shuangfeng as a very important person and was exceptionally concerned about his safety.

  Yang Jirui was also present, with a similarly gloomy expression. However, what he was worried about in his heart was not the cruelty of the captor, but the captor's calmness and restraint. Instantly killing so many people, yet not violating the women or plundering their wealth, his goal was clear and single-minded, without any extraneous branches. This tiny detail undoubtedly showed that the captor was absolutely a man who could do great things.

  However, Yang Songfen did not show any fear. He walked calmly to the side of the already deceased Cai family leader, took a deep breath, and with one swift motion, pulled out the long sword that was stuck in his body. He held it horizontally across his chest, carefully examining it. This was a sword identical to his own, the only difference being the color of the hilt's wrapping thread - the army lieutenant general's was red, while the navy lieutenant general's was blue. Yang Songfen took out a handkerchief and wiped clean the bloodstains on the sword, then sheathed it with a "brush" sound.

  The family members of Cai's household looked at Yang Shuangfeng with a mixture of confusion and complexity, not knowing what he was going to do.

  Yang Shuang's eyes quietly scanned the family members of Cai Jia, and his heart tightened slightly. The family members of Cai Jia were not many, only four people, perhaps they were completely frightened by the killing in front of them, and they were temporarily still in a state of loss, only able to stare at him numbly.

  The four family members of the Cai household were all women, and they were all young and beautiful. One of them, a young woman wearing a black long dress, should be the newlywed wife of the recently murdered head of the Cai household. She had eyebrows like a new moon, a melon-shaped face, a slender figure, and her wet clothes revealed the beautiful curves of her body without reservation. Amidst her weakness, there seemed to be a hint of strength, and also a hint of **. These two seemingly contradictory feelings blended together, causing Yang Suofeng to involuntarily take notice. However, the young woman in black ignored Yang Suofeng's gaze, her eyes fixed on the brutally murdered General Lu.

  But Yang Shuang's heart was deeply shaken, his face also looked extremely shocked, even a little at a loss, it took him a while to recover, he finally bravely confirmed that this woman was not the one who had been deeply in love with him in his past life, although they looked very similar, equally beautiful, equally strong-willed.

  The other two women looked similar in appearance, obviously sisters. The two had undergone a huge change and their nerves could not withstand it. The younger sister, wrapped in a light yellow cloak, was weak and had already fainted from crying. The older sister, wrapped in a deep purple cloak, seemed very strong, her eyes were red and tearful, but she never cried out. She held her younger sister in her arms, looking at Yang Shuang's every move with the same confusion.

  However, Yang Shuangfeng was most concerned about the girl standing at the edge, who wore a simple and unadorned dress. The other three women were wearing extremely expensive fabrics, but she was wearing coarse hemp cloth, and on rainy days, she didn't even have a waterproof cloak, only a small umbrella. What use could this small umbrella be in such heavy rain? Under the torrential downpour, her whole body was already soaked through, and due to the cold, her face looked a bit pale, with a hint of blue on her lips, looking extremely helpless and pitiful. She stood there, her eyes red-rimmed from crying, but not looking particularly heartbroken. For some reason, Yang Shuangfeng felt that this girl's behavior was somewhat strange.

  After Yang Jirui's reminder, Yang Shuangfeng learned that the unfortunate deceased, Lieutenant General Lu Jun, was actually Cai Yanchi, the heir of the Cai family in Gao Yang Prefecture, Zhenchuan Dao. Like Yang Shuangfeng, he had been appointed by His Majesty as the 16th leader of the Cai family with ulterior motives and was required to return to Meini to quell the rebellion. However, this time he truly died before achieving his goal.

  The beautiful young woman in black dress was named Su Xianglian, the fourth daughter of the Su family in Gao Ning Prefecture, Huhe Dao. The Cai and Su families were considered to be of equal social status, but now her hometown had fallen under the influence of the Mani religion. She was Cai Yanchi's new wife.

  The two sisters were the deceased's younger sisters, with the elder sister named Cai Miemi and the younger sister named Cai Xianxian. Both were famous beauties among the nobility in Meini.

  As for the solitary woman wandering around, she was the deceased's distant cousin, named Cai Bingxiang.

  It can be imagined that, like Yang Shuangfen, Cai Yanqi was also a hot-blooded young man. Upon receiving the emperor's order, he didn't care about the rumors outside and eagerly led his family members and guards on the road. With a heart full of passion, he wanted to return to Meini to make achievements, but unexpectedly, he suffered a poisonous hand before even leaving the imperial court. Cai Yanqi had brought more than 100 family generals and guards with him, apparently also prepared for the danger of this trip, but unfortunately, they still met with misfortune.

  Yang Shuang looked around, but did not see Yu Huan and Tang Bing's figures. The shadow in his heart involuntarily increased a few points. Could it be that Donghai Hall and the Empire of Light really had a close connection?