Chapter 997: The culprit is a woman (1/2)

Something big happened at the lake?

“What is it?” Long Feiye asked coldly.

“The two shadow guards lying in ambush were both murdered. Cui Yun’s gone as well. The culprit has extremely strong martial arts and sword skills. This subordinate heard cries for help, but all I saw was a woman by the time I hurried over!” the shadow guard exclaimed.

Cui Yun was the name of the female mercenary in charge of the lakeside mission. Long Feiye and Han Yunxi exchanged looks before heading for Yinyang Lake without a word. Most likely, that culprit was the killer of the six female victims. By the time the couple arrived, Xu Donglin was there as well and examining the two shadow guards’ bodies.

“Your Highness, princess, both of them died by a sword. It was a single slash to their throats!” Xu Donglin reported.

Long Feiye knelt down for a closer look. “The sword skills really are formidable,” he observed.

Han Yunxi’s heart chilled. She knew that if Long Feiye said so, then the killer must really have excellent sword skills--even better than that of the shadow guards.

“Is Cui Yun dead or alive?” she asked.

The shadow guard that had reported the incident shook his head. “This subordinate only saw the fleeing woman when I arrived on the scene.”

In other words, he couldn’t be certain whether the culprit had killed Cui Yun and taken her body away or just kidnapped her first.

“Looks like the culprit only reserves the daggers for female victims,” Long Feiye remarked.

All six women had been cut by a dagger and died from bleeding from their seven orifices, but the two dead shadow guards today had perished from a sword. Although the sword wasn’t poisoned, the wounds showed that the murderer had excellent swordsmanship.

“The culprit ran towards the right, this subordinate’s already sent men to chase after her,” the shadow guard added.

Han Yunxi and Long Feiye never expected to meet such a skilled killer. Now that they’d startled her, luring her out again would be difficult. With a dead end at the justice department, their clues would run out unless they found some hints from the shadow guards! Long Feiye examined the bodies one last time and wanted to say something, but changed his mind and said, “Xu Donglin, arrange for a burial with full honors.”

Han Yunxi looked back towards the lake and saw that its surface was as smooth as a mirror. It perfectly reflected the blue skies and white clouds above, looking clean and pure. Such a scene unconsciously attracted Han Yunxi to approach its shores. Long Feiye hurried after her and muttered, “There’s too many strange incidents associated with this lake. Don’t get too close.”

As soon as he spoke, Han Yunxi halted and exclaimed, “There’s poison!”

Perhaps she had been too far, but now the detox system was blaring warnings in her head while she was only a step away from the water. But it wasn’t the lake that was poisoned, but a person beneath its waters. After all, the detox system was best at finding poisons within the human body. The detox system didn’t break down the individual poisons, only told her that “someone” was poisoned. Han Yunxi tried a deep system scan and got the same results.

“Long Feiye, there’s someone inside the lake, and he or she’s poisoned,” Han Yunxi hesitated, then added, “Judging from my experience, it should be another body!”

A corpse!

Could it be Cui Yun? Long Feiye immediately ordered the shadow guards to get the body out of the water.

“It’s right in the center of the lake, it should be pretty deep down,” Han Yunxi reminded.

But the guards had hardly gone in the water when Han Yunxi’s detox system lost track of the poison. “Quickly,” she urged, “The body’s sinking.”

Very soon, one of the guards surfaced again. “Your Highness, princess, there’s a whirlpool dragging the body inside! It’s Cui Yun’s body, without a doubt! This subordinate can’t go any deeper!”

“Go call for Baili Mingxiang!” Long Feiye ordered.

Soon enough, Baili Mingxiang arrived on the scene. After getting the details of the situation, she jumped into the water without a word. But soon enough, she had broken through the surface again.

“Mingxiang, what’s the situation?” Han Yunxi asked anxiously.

“Princess, can Guard Xu come underwater with this servant? That body...this servant doesn’t dare to touch it!” Baili Mingxiang’s voice was trembling.