A Family of Hopeless Romantics, Except for the Evil Little Junior Brother

The messenger was dead.

No doubt about it, he was the one who killed the five Mount Shushan disciples.

After killing them, he casually rewarded their belongings to a local cult underling.

As a result, when this underling was arrested by the Demon Suppression Bureau, the belongings were unexpectedly found on him.

Which led to the messenger being exposed.

After being defeated by Lu Ziyin, the messenger tried to escape, only to be accidentally killed by Lu Ziyin...

In the City Lord’s Manor.

Lu Ziyin rubbed his chin with his fingertips, deep in thought.

Though the killer had been slain by his own hand, it didn’t really matter.

Having become Peak Master of Silver Sword Peak, he had finally completed his first task.

Lu Ziyin nodded in satisfaction, then wrote down a complete record of the incident on paper.

It was Shushan’s rule—every time a mission was completed,

every disciple who took part had to submit a detailed report.

If two disciples completed a mission together but submitted conflicting reports,

it indicated something went wrong during execution.

This rule was unique to Shushan.

Rumor had it that some unnamed Shushan disciple had once proposed it to a former Sect Leader.

Which caused every disciple to grumble and curse that disciple’s ancestors for eighteen generations.

Troublesome as it was, it did solve many issues.

Lu Ziyin glanced at the report he had written.

His handwriting was neat and flawless.

He gently blew on the ink to dry it.

Li Xuanxiao walked in. “Senior Brother Lu, there’s something I need to inform you of.”

“What is it?”

“I went to visit the old sword cultivator we met before, but his home was already abandoned.”

Lu Ziyin nodded. “It’s been so many years, perhaps something happened to his family, or maybe they moved away. Did you ask his neighbors?”

“His neighbors disappeared too. In fact, it’s not just the neighbors—a lot of people in that area are gone.”

“Oh? Disappeared?”

“I only heard about it from the townsfolk, not sure what’s going on.”

“Maybe they all moved away,” Lu Ziyin said, still lost in admiration of his handwriting.

Li Xuanxiao kept guiding gently, “That’s what I thought too. But isn’t the street a bit too empty? Plus, I heard a lot of people are out looking for missing family.

When they tried to post notices, they were arrested by the local officials. At first, I thought this might be related to the missing Shushan disciples.”

He muttered just loudly enough for Lu Ziyin to hear as he shook his head and walked off.

Lu Ziyin blinked. “Large-scale citizen disappearances? Hiss......”

After giving his Senior Brother the hint, Li Xuanxiao waited by the doorway. When he saw Lu Ziyin leave the City Lord’s Manor, only then did he leave himself.

“........”

Inside the City Lord’s Manor.

The City Lord frowned as he watched Lu Ziyin leave through the Twin Recording Stone.

“Meddlesome!”

Twin Recording Stone.

Shushan disciples—Lu Ziyin, Li Xuanxiao, Su Wan,

and even Princess Zhao Lu—were all within his surveillance range.

Although the one he really cared about was Lu Ziyin, he still worried the other disciples might do something unexpected.

At present, the most obedient of them all seemed to be that Li Xuanxiao.

Most of the time he was quietly cultivating in his room, or following behind Lu Ziyin.

Whatever Lu Ziyin said, he would do.

Then again, what could you expect from a Foundation Establishment Stage disciple?

The real problem was this Lu Ziyin—he was truly an anomaly.

If he realized what was happening in the city, it would be a real headache.

The City Lord stared closely at the scene in the Twin Recording Stone, which now only showed Li Xuanxiao.

He didn’t want to watch anymore.

Li Xuanxiao was currently reclining comfortably in his room, reading a monthly report.

At that very moment, the real Li Xuanxiao in the shadows was staring at the City Lord, who was staring at the projected Li Xuanxiao.

Deep underground, Li Xuanxiao was watching Li Xuanxiao watching the City Lord watching Li Xuanxiao.

Spying on me?

Too despicable!!!

What kind of shameless person would place a Recording Stone in someone else’s room...

As expected, this City Lord was hiding something.

With such a massive population disappearance, how could the City Lord not know?

The only one who could cover this up was the City Lord himself.

Li Xuanxiao’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Just a City Lord? Or someone above him? Higher still?

Maybe even the royal family—Li Xuanxiao prepared for the worst.

Hissssss.

Li Xuanxiao drew in a sharp breath—terrifying!

...........

Lu Ziyin headed into the city to inquire about the missing civilians.

With nearly two hundred thousand people gone, there was no way to keep it all under wraps.

So, it was quite easy for Lu Ziyin to confirm the population loss.

He had only planned to ask because of Li Xuanxiao’s reminder.

But once he did, he realized the number of missing people in Panlong City was way too high.

And that didn’t even include those with no relatives or friends to notice their absence.

Lu Ziyin quickly realized something was very wrong.

He returned to the City Lord’s Manor and happened to run into the City Lord.

Lu Ziyin got straight to the point and asked about the missing population in Panlong City.

The City Lord answered calmly, “Panlong City has a large transient population. Cults are rampant. Many people were deceived by cults and left the city.

Recently there was a forced labor campaign to repair the riverbanks, and some were sent away.

There was also a flood not long ago—many citizens couldn’t get enough to eat... and outside the city, ferocious beasts lurk in the deep mountains and forests.

Over time, rumors of disappearances spread.

But some are real, some are false. Most of it’s just hearsay and exaggeration—not as bad as people make it out to be.”

Lu Ziyin nodded in realization. “I see.”

“Since it’s so rare for Peak Master Lu to visit, why not stay in Panlong City for a few more days? Let me properly host you.”

“No need, next time perhaps. I’m on a mission and must return to Shushan to report in. I’ll leave first thing tomorrow.”

“Then I won’t insist.”

After some polite exchanges, Lu Ziyin returned to his room.

The City Lord, meanwhile, told Lu Ziyin to remain in the manor that evening, as they planned to hold a banquet to bid farewell to the Shushan group.

Back in his room, Lu Ziyin muttered that he had probably overthought things.

Street rumors weren’t reliable.

He walked around the room with his hands behind his back, eyes landing on the bookshelf.

He gave it a glance—nothing looked particularly interesting.

Then he noticed a brightly colored book.

He wasn’t interested at first, but the color caught his eye.

It was his favorite color.

Then the title grabbed his attention.

“Only the Smartest Can Guess the Ending.”

“Hey! Wasn’t this written just for me?”

Lu Ziyin opened the book and started reading.

The story wasn’t long.

It was about a constable solving a case.

The murderer, trying to cover up the truth, deliberately fed false clues to the constable.

Then used a scapegoat, pinning everything on them.

The constable killed the scapegoat, thinking it was all over.

But in fact, the killer had done all this to cover up an even bigger truth.....

Lu Ziyin nodded thoughtfully.

Hmm?

Suddenly, it hit him—why did this story feel so familiar!?