Back at the manor, just as he was about to open the door, he suddenly stopped.
Slowly pulling back his hand, he spoke into empty space: "Since you're here, come out. Stop skulking around like ghosts."
His tone was completely flat, sounding very much like he was talking to himself.
The manor remained dead silent.
The next moment, a sinister laugh broke the quiet.
"Hehe, I wouldn't have thought a cripple like you would have such sharp ears."
An icy voice rang out, accompanied by the cruel chuckle.
Soon, three figures slowly emerged from the shadows of the manor.
All three were dressed in tight black clothes, with sturdy builds and flat-capped hats pulled down so low that their faces were obscured.
Each man held a pitch-black hand ax, exuding a sharp, murderous intent.
They meant business!
Lin Pingfan turned around, tilting his head as he stared at the three of them.
"I don't suppose we know each other?!"
One of the burly men replied with a sinister smirk, "Of course we don't."
Another man let out a similar chilling laugh: "We are the Three Judges under Yama of the Black Triangle, and that woman Shangguan Yunyu sent our boss to Modu Prison!"
Lin Pingfan raised an eyebrow slightly, instantly realizing that these three were enemies of Shangguan Yunyu, here to avenge their boss.
Moreover, it was Shangguan Yunyu who had arrested Yama and sent him to Modu Prison, publicly calling off their engagement right there in the prison. Afterward, Yama had been finished off directly by Lin Pingfan.
Lin Pingfan’s expression remained entirely unchanged at the sight of them.
"If you have a grudge against her, go find her. What are you looking for me for?"
The burly man spoke coldly while lightly stroking the blade of his ax, wearing a vicious expression: "You and that woman Shangguan Yunyu are pretty close. Are you going to come with us willingly, or should we break your legs and drag you away?!"
With that, the three of them closed in on Lin Pingfan in unison.
Lin Pingfan's expression grew gradually colder: "I'll say it one last time: if you have a grudge against her, go find her. Don't come bothering me!"
"Oh ho, you damned cripple, you've got quite the attitude!"
The leading man mocked with a sneer as he walked toward Lin Pingfan.
Seeing this, Lin Pingfan, whose patience was already wearing thin, flashed a murderous glint in his eyes.
The lead brawny man let out a strange cry and flashed right in front of Lin Pingfan, swinging his hand ax to cut through the air with a whistling rush.
*Swish!*
The ax cleaved straight down toward Lin Pingfan's head.
Lin Pingfan showed not a trace of panic.
What looked like lightning-fast chopping to anyone else appeared completely like slow motion in Lin Pingfan's eyes at that moment.
He decisively sidestepped while thrusting out his right hand with fingers formed into a sword-poke, aiming straight for the artery in the man's wrist.
*Thud!*
With a muffled sound, the sword-fingers pierced right through the man's wrist.
The hand ax slipped from his grip as a fountain of blood spurted out.
A scream broke from the man's lips, and the next instant, Lin Pingfan raised his foot and viciously kicked him in the chin.
*Crack!*
His jaw shattered, and the pulverized bone splinters pierced directly through his upper palate into his brain, killing him on the spot.
Immediately afterward, Lin Pingfan's body moved like a ghost, appearing behind another one of the men in the blink of an eye.
His sword-fingers thrust out once more...
In less than ten seconds.
The Three Judges under Yama were dead on the spot.
He grabbed the three men by their legs, dragged them out of the manor, and tossed them straight into the trash can across the street.
"Are these the Three Judges!?"
Having dealt with the three of them, Lin Pingfan turned around and walked back into the villa.
At that moment, Shangguan Yunyu was sitting in the passenger seat, while Kuimulang was driving.
"Only a handful of people in Yanxia possess a Dragon Card. Could the Young Master really have bought Shanhai Tiangong?"
With a solemn expression, Shangguan Yunyu questioned Kuimulang who was driving. No matter how she thought about it, she couldn't believe Lin Pingfan was capable of buying Shanhai Tiangong; the only possibility was that it had been purchased by the Young Master.
"Commander, the Young Master's identity is completely indeterminate. In the confidential research system, his clearance level is the highest possible—Seven Stars."
"It's the same level as the Imperial Sovereign. My clearance... simply cannot access the Young Master's true identity."
Kuimulang's expression was deadly serious. Let alone him, even Shangguan Yunyu could only query up to a six-star classification at most.
Shangguan Yunyu took a deep breath, her delicate brows furrowing deeply: "It seems the person who bought Shanhai Tiangong is, nine times out of ten, the legendary Young Master."
"How much else do you know about the Young Master!?"
Faced with Shangguan Yunyu's inquiry, Kuimulang wore a bitter expression: "Commander, I only know that the legendary Young Master suddenly appeared during the winter five years ago, stirring up a massive wave across Yanxia."
"Those who once came into contact with the Young Master all kept his identity strictly confidential, choosing even to die rather than yield."
Shangguan Yunyu narrowed her eyes slightly: "In that case, we shall pay a personal visit to the legendary Young Master and see just what kind of person he really is!"
As her voice trailed off, the car pulled to a stop in front of Shanhai Tiangong.
"Commander! Look over there!"
Shangguan Yunyu, who had been about to ring the doorbell, was startled by the exclamation from Kuimulang behind her!
Turning her head, she was shocked to see three people stuck upside down in the trash can across the street from the villa!
Shangguan Yunyu's pupils constricted, her nostrils flaring: "A homicide!"
The scent of fresh blood flooded her sensitive nasal passages. She and Kuimulang quickly ran over to the trash can and hauled the three corpses out.
"Commander, these three are the Three Judges under Yama!"
Recognizing the true faces of the three men, Kuimulang let out another exclamation.
Shangguan Yunyu naturally recognized them as well. Back during the encirclement of Yama, the Three Judges had slipped away silently; she never expected them to end up dead right here!
Shangguan Yunyu quickly examined the injuries on the three corpses, and gradually, a look of shock appeared on her face!
"This... killed with a single blow!"
"Look at the wounds on the backs of their heads—something was poked right in to cause death. The shape of this wound... a finger!?"
Shangguan Yunyu couldn't help crying out, her eyes filled with sheer terror.
"The Three Judges were taken out so effortlessly—who on earth did this!?"
"The Young Master!?"
Suddenly, Shangguan Yunyu turned her head in utter shock to look at Shanhai Tiangong.
"Commander Shangguan, should we report this!?" Kuimulang asked with an extremely grave expression. Three corpses had just been tossed into a trash can like this; the Young Master clearly didn't care about the consequences at all.
After a brief moment of contemplation and hesitation, Shangguan Yunyu resolutely picked up her satellite phone to brief her superior on the situation.
She reported everything verbatim—the homicide and her suspicion that the murderer was none of other than the Young Master.
"Leader, if I hadn't discovered the bodies in time and ordinary citizens had found them first, it definitely would have caused a public uproar."
"Should we bring the Young Master in for questioning first!?"
Shangguan Yunyu took a deep breath and solemnly requested instructions from her superior.
An aged voice came through the phone: "The ones he killed were slipped fish from your operation in the Black Triangle. He was helping you, so why would you bring him in for questioning!?"
"Furthermore, the Young Master's identity is not something you are permitted to investigate."
"Now I order you to send the three corpses back to the department. From this moment on, you are forbidden from investigating the Young Master's identity on your own authority, or you will be disciplined according to military regulations!"
*Click!*
The call hung up, leaving Shangguan Yunyu looking stunned.
Was her superior... protecting the Young Master?!
She felt a violent shock in her heart. The mysterious Young Master was actually capable of making even her superior show partiality toward him!
In the end, she had no choice but to help Kuimulang load the corpses into the car, clean up the bloodstains in the trash can, and leave Shanhai Tiangong.
Meanwhile, at the Liu Family estate.
Liu Changqing sat gloomily in his study, his arm still wrapped in gauze.
Standing before him, Liu Haotian wore an exceptionally ferocious expression, a flash of unwillingness flickering in his eyes.
"Dad, are we really just going to let this matter go like this?!"