......
This voice echoed through the high-walled courtyard.
The mont "749" was ntioned, the atmosphere turned deadly silent.
As the saying goes, a man’s na is like the shadow of a tree. The 749 Bureau was infamous, and Lu Ding had a fearso reputation. Just hearing the na made people tremble, let alone facing it directly.
Sa thing again.
Caojia Alley wasn't small, and neither was the Cao Family Mansion.
Searching every corner would take forever. But Lu Ding didn't care—he knew Cao Yuan was from the Cao family. If the monk could run, the temple couldn’t. Today, he blocked the main gate and asked one thing: would they hand him over or not?
Talk about "debts have owners, grievances have culprits"? Nonsense.
Lu Ding didn't play by those rules.
Since they pushed Cao Yuan into the position of Young Master, then everyone would bear the consequences together.
He took a step forward.
The surrounding Cao family disciples, though terrified, also stepped up, trying to block his path.
Lu Ding raised an eyebrow. “You have no idea what you’re doing.”
A deep, reverberating sound burst from within him, sending shockwaves through the air.
Dozens of Cao family disciples collapsed, unconscious.
"Sister Shi Taishui, how arrogant! You dare co to my Cao family, flaunting your power and injuring my people—do you take us for nobodies?!!"
A figure leaped from the depths of the mansion, carrying a fierce aura. A cold glint flashed first—an ear-piercing sword cry followed.
Lu Ding raised his hand and grabbed the white-glowing longsword with his bare flesh.
His sheer strength shattered the blade, inch by inch.
The young man arrived right after, forming Qi mid-air and stomping down with full force.
Lu Ding planted his foot and kicked upward.
From below to above—even though he was at a disadvantageous position, that kick sent the man flying back the sa way he ca.
Only this ti, the landing wasn't as graceful. He crashed into a large brick wall, collapsing a massive section.
"I thought you were so big shot. Today, I'm saying exactly this—your Cao family has no one. What can you do about it?"
"If the Cao family really had soone, would they have pushed a useless coward like Cao Yuan into the Young Master's seat?"
"If the Cao family really had soone, would they be involved in smuggling funerary artifacts overseas?"
"If the Cao family really had soone, would they be so powerless in expansion that they had to consider working with Daheshan to swallow the Xie family's market and business?"
"And now, the old ones won’t co out, so they send the young ones to take the fall?! Get Cao Yuan and the one in charge of the Cao family out here, now!!"
Lu Ding’s aura surged, sending chills down everyone's spines.
Deep in the mansion, several people realized they couldn't hide any longer and reluctantly stepped forward.
Two figures appeared—Cao Yutang and Cao Jianshu, both listed in the 749 Bureau’s investigation report for assisting and approving Cao Yuan’s smuggling of funerary artifacts.
Both were veteran Linghai Realm cultivators.
Cao Yutang, the head of the Cao family, stepped forward. "Investigator Lu, this must be so misunderstanding."
He was confident that the smuggling operation had been handled flawlessly—no loose ends.
So how did Lu Ding know?
Resisting law enforcent was pointless. Win or lose, it wasn’t worth it—unless it beca absolutely necessary.
For now, the best approach was to deny everything. The Cao family never did any of it.
But as the old saying goes: in ancient tis, it was the Embroidered Uniform Guards; today, it's the 749 Bureau.
If you wanted to keep sothing hidden, you shouldn’t have done it in the first place.
With modern technology and the 749 Bureau’s all-pervasive thods, there was no way they wouldn’t have left a trace.
Lu Ding didn’t bother arguing.
Evidence?
If he pulled out the evidence now, they’d just stall him long enough for Cao Yuan to escape.
How many tis had novels played out this exact scenario? First ca the confrontation, then the evidence, then the fight—only for the key target to slip away in the chaos.
Those were real lessons.
Lu Ding wasn’t making that mistake.
He glanced over. “I’m calling you ‘Cao Family Head’ out of courtesy. Without it, who the f*** are you? I’m here to make an arrest—do you not understand human language?”
"You have three minutes. If I don’t see Cao Yuan in three minutes, your entire Caojia Alley will be charged with harboring a fugitive. Do you understand?!"
Lu Ding showed no respect at all.
Logically, Cao Yutang should have been furious.
A young punk, right here in Caojia Alley, in front of so many people, outright insulting the Cao family head—who could tolerate that?
Even a clay figure had so temper.
But Cao Yutang didn't get angry.
His face actually relaxed, letting out a quiet sigh of relief.
Only found out about Cao Yuan?
Good. Good. As long as it didn’t implicate the entire Caojia Alley, that was a win.
Insult him? Whatever. Insults wouldn’t take a piece of his flesh.
Everyone in Bao Fan District knew Lu Ding was outrageously arrogant and absurdly strong. That was just his usual persona. If he suddenly acted polite, now that would be suspicious.
As long as this didn’t drag him or Caojia Alley into it, everything was fine.
Besides—
Cao Yuan wasn’t his son. His life or death ant nothing to him.
With Cao Yuan caught, all he had to do was claim he committed suicide out of guilt. That would wrap up the funerary artifact case neatly, erasing any loose ends.
At worst, the Cao family would simply stop smuggling funerary artifacts in the future. No big deal—they had already made plenty of money.
This business was never ant for Caojia Alley anyway. Letting it go wouldn’t hurt.
And it would even free up the Young Master's seat.
Any of his sons could take the role.
Among the second branch of the Cao family, besides Cao Yuan and Cao Zi’ang, there wasn’t a single decent candidate.
And Cao Zi’ang was a 749 investigator—he couldn’t, and wouldn’t, take the position.
It was the perfect solution.
In that instant, Cao Yutang's attitude turned very cooperative.
“Investigator Lu, our Caojia Alley will fully cooperate with your law enforcent. Please wait a mont—I’ll bring Cao Yuan imdiately.”
It was obvious what he was up to.
Everyone knew it.
Cao Jianshu knew. Lu Ding knew.
But Lu Ding didn’t care.
All he wanted was a result.
Dead or alive—it didn’t matter. If they brought out a corpse, it would save him the trouble. The mont he confird Cao Yuan's body, he’d strike and take down these two old foxes.
Playing along for now? Sure. Consider it entertainnt.
But Cao Jianshu couldn’t accept it.
That was his son.
His own son!
His face changed instantly, and he reached out to stop him. "Cao Yutang, you b**d! What the f are you trying to do?!"
Before his hand could reach, Lu Ding intercepted and locked it in place.
His voice was cold. "Cao Jianshu, are you obstructing law enforcent?"
Feeling the imnse force on his arm, Cao Jianshu could no longer care about anything else. He shouted loudly, “Investigator Lu!!! Lu Ding!!! That b*****d Cao Yutang wants to kill my son!!”
His words laid bare the hidden truth.
Cao Yutang looked at Lu Ding anxiously.
But Lu Ding’s expression remained firm. “Impossible. The Cao Family Head is the master of Caojia Alley, and Cao Yuan is the Young Master. And now you’re saying the Family Head wants to murder the Young Master? What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue?”
"Exactly! How could I possibly harm Xiao Yuan? He’s my nephew! And with Investigator Lu here in person, as the Patrol Investigator of Bao Fan District, he surely wouldn’t wrongfully accuse Xiao Yuan. If Xiao Yuan made a mistake, we in the Cao family believe in taking responsibility. As his father, you can’t go to avoid suspicion."
"As the Young Master of Caojia Alley, ordinary family mbers don’t have the authority to go either."
"As the head of the Cao family and Xiao Yuan’s uncle, it’s only right that I go. Investigator Lu, please restrain my younger brother—he might say sothing irrational. I’ll be back soon.”
The two of them played off each other so well that anyone who didn’t know better would think they were on the sa side.
Watching Cao Yutang leap away as if afraid of wasting a single second, Cao Jianshu felt only despair… complete and utter despair…
But deep down, he still held onto a sliver of hope.
Blood is thicker than water.
This was his own elder brother.
Cao Yuan’s own uncle.
He wouldn’t… He shouldn’t… Right…?
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