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Qin Fang returned to his room and disposed of the two bodies, even the ashes vanished with a casual wave of his hand.

Meanwhile, in the forest, Steward Fu searched for two to three hours but found nothing aside from two patches of blood.

These two bloodstains were in separate locations, and one site yielded a large number of bullet casings, yet he hadn't heard any gunfire, which made Steward Fu quite puzzled.

Several hours later, Steward Fu returned to the Fu Family with two blood samples and arranged for them to be tested.

Initially, he intended to check if Qin Fang and Shi Yuan had returned to their yards, but considering the impracticality of such action, he had to abandon the idea.

However, Steward Fu went to see Family Head Fu Qinglin because he sensed something strange was happening, feeling that besides Qin Fang and Shi Yuan, there might be someone else in this forest...

Bagong Mountain is the Fu Family's territory, particularly some specific locations which are forbidden areas of the Fu Family. Now, someone might have infiltrated with a large amount of weaponry and ammunition, making it impossible for Steward Fu not to feel apprehensive.

"How is the situation?"

When Steward Fu arrived, Fu Qinglin was still practicing, yet he didn't keep Steward Fu waiting too long before he came to ask about the situation, evidently quite concerned as well.

"Family Head, there seems to be some deviation from the plan..."

Steward Fu shook his head and reported to Fu Qinglin the situations he encountered, including some of his speculations.

Initially, Fu Qinglin didn't take it very seriously, as Shi Yuan's death was rather good news for the Fu Family, and he was even considering shielding Qin Fang from the Cui Family's potential grievances.

However, Steward Fu's discoveries suggested complications beyond his earlier predictions.

The intrusion of unidentified armed individuals into Bagong Mountain is not good news for the Fu Family...

"Prepare yourself; use concealed forces if necessary!"

After a long silence, Fu Qinglin finally instructed, indicating that the Fu Family has some hidden cards, only to be used at critical moments.

Finding so many bullet casings on the Fu Family's territory made Steward Fu speculate that a group of unidentified armed forces had infiltrated, raising questions about their purpose and by whom they were sent, with answers seemingly obvious...

Qin Fang didn't realize that his minor action of taking away the bodies of two Grandmaster-level experts to not waste their things inadvertently intensified some latent tensions between the Fu and Cui Families.

Although this escalation was not fully apparent yet, it was close, especially since a highly-ranked member, Cui Zhimin, not surviving raised tensions; any further anomalies from the Fu's side would lead to mutual suspicion between the two families...

Unfortunately, these matters hardly concerned Qin Fang, who enjoyed a sweet sleep, feeling refreshed upon waking the next morning.

"Qin Fang, don't you find the atmosphere a bit odd today?"

Having slept well, Qin Fang went to the front hall for breakfast with Liu Xianhe, who whispered to Qin Fang.

"No, everything seems normal..."

Qin Fang smiled nonchalantly as he ate breakfast, unfazed.

Of course, he knew why the atmosphere was off: Shi Yuan Yilang didn't show up… The only two remaining disciples of Shi Yuan Yilang turned pale upon seeing Qin Fang.

Many experts present noticed such a change, each showing different expressions; although they tried to maintain composed demeanors, Qin Fang spotted some unusual subtle actions...

Even Fang Zonglin, who was relatively close to Qin Fang, occasionally shot him odd looks... But his two disciples seemed oblivious, eagerly calling "Uncle Master" without detecting anything unusual.

"I just feel something's amiss today..."

Noticing Qin Fang's calm look, Liu Xianhe hesitated slightly, though the peculiar atmosphere bothered him as he quietly murmured while eating.

Once breakfast concluded, Steward Fu arrived on schedule, surprise unmistakable on his face upon seeing Qin Fang.

Then he noticed Shi Yuan Yilang's absence, and Shi Yuan's two disciples, whose faces turned pale as if they wanted to flee immediately, made him frown slightly while trying hard to maintain composure.

"After finishing dining, please proceed to the tournament arena for the judging..."

Although he harbored countless suspicions in his heart, Steward Fu nonetheless said nothing, not even questioning Shi Yuan's absence.

This could be easily explained. After Shi Yuan and Qin Fang had a conflict yesterday, he didn't even attend the tournament and has yet to appear, which isn't particularly unusual.

With this, Qin Fang and his group continued to the martial arts arena to act as judges, pretending to know nothing about these additional matters.

In reality, however, certain insiders were far more shocked than those who were unaware.

"Cui Zhimin has disappeared..."

When Steward Fu unexpectedly received this news, a mysterious expression crossed his face.

Cui Zhimin's status in the Cui Family was roughly equivalent to Steward Fu's in the Fu Family, being one of the most trusted figures beside the Family Head, and his strength was also formidable.

The Fu Family and the Cui Family had been rivals for many years, and knew each other's strengths thoroughly; Steward Fu was well aware of Cui Zhimin's prowess, even he wasn't confident in defeating Cui Zhimin, let alone killing him...

Furthermore, Steward Fu knew that Cui Zhimin's identity was quite complicated, with a powerful force behind him that even large families like the Fu Family feared greatly.

If this force had intervened in the feud between the Cui and Fu families over the years, the Fu Family might have long lost its current influence, becoming another defeated side under the Cui Family...

Yet now Cui Zhimin suddenly vanished, and the matter grew increasingly enigmatic...

During the tournament, Bagong Mountain was under lockdown, with the Fu and Cui families having appointed personnel for inspection; leaving the mountain at night was prohibited, even for key figures of the Fu and Cui families.

Should there be an extremely urgent matter, it would still have to be reported to the patrol disciples first; but Cui Zhimin evidently did not do this.

Moreover, the Fu Family had someone who witnessed Cui Zhimin returning to his room to rest, with almost no commotion throughout the night, yet he mysteriously disappeared without a trace.

For now, the information was merely blocked off, as there were very few on the mountain who could imprison someone of Cui Zhimin's extraordinary strength, probably only one or two people.

Currently, this was just speculation within the Cui Family, not even communicated to the Fu Family, merely circulating as a bad rumor internally...

The Fu Family, being the local power on Bagong Mountain, had no trouble obtaining this information, even though it was spreading on a small scale within the Cui Family.

"Qin Fang has returned... Shi Yuan, Cui Zhimin have disappeared... the two bloodstains discovered on the mountain... could there be an unknown connection here?"

Privately, Steward Fu recollected these events, faintly sensing that, despite seeming chaotic, they were somehow interconnected, as the entire affair gradually seemed clearer.

"Could it be that he is behind all these?"

With this thought, Steward Fu's gaze inadvertently shifted to Qin Fang, sitting silently at the end of the judging panel.

At this moment, Qin Fang sat quietly with eyes slightly closed, seemingly resting with an inexplicable calmness, showing no trace of anything unusual.

Cui Zhimin and Shi Yuan were indeed extraordinarily skilled, nearly the most formidable experts below the Grandmaster Level; but that did not mean they were truly invincible.

According to the information received by Steward Fu, despite Qin Fang being the youngest among the judges, his strength was not weaker than any; even Fu Qinglin, a Grandmaster-level expert, clearly judged that Qin Fang could take down Shi Yuan Yilang...

Though Cui Zhimin was stronger than Shi Yuan Yilang, his strength was limited; given Qin Fang's capability to eliminate Shi Yuan Yilang, taking down Cui Zhimin wasn't out of the question either.

Especially considering the details noticed by Steward Fu, it was very likely that Cui Zhimin had died from a gunshot; hence, even if Qin Fang couldn't kill Cui Zhimin by martial prowess, it was quite possible with firearms.

Steward Fu harbored a question though, that was...

"How did he acquire the gun and bullets?"

All guests entering the mountain for the ceremony underwent a very rigorous security screening; even though figures like Qin Fang weren't subject to the strictest checks, there were concealed security devices at the mountain gate which would easily detect any weapons being brought in.

Steward Fu had those bullets assessed by experts, confirming they were fired from an M4 or similar assault rifles' barrel.

With such large weaponry, it clearly wasn't easy to sneak them onto the mountain, hence Steward Fu found this extremely puzzling...(To be continued. If you like this work, please support by voting for it on Qidian (qidian.com) with recommendation and monthly votes, your support is my greatest motivation.)

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