"Captain Changsun, why would you go to Jinzhou City to be a captain of the patrol division?" Zhou Hong asked curiously. After all, the capital was a larger place, and everyone flocked to the capital, yet she ran off to a third-tier city.
"Alas, it's a long story," Changsun Qinghe sighed.
"It's fine. We have a long journey to the capital, so take your time and tell me."
"It's like this. When I was three years old, my parents arranged a marriage for me. The groom was an infant only a few months old, and moreover, he was from a sixth-rate family. It's a pity that the infant disappeared a few months later. Some say he was stolen by human traffickers and taken to Jinzhou City. The reason I chose to come to Jinzhou City is perhaps, deep down, I want to see if I can find that person."
"I don't quite understand. You were already three years old then, and the other party was just an infant of a few months, and their family was even stronger than yours. Why would they choose to have a child marriage with you?" Zhou Hong asked with some confusion.
"I'm not entirely sure. My parents said that the other party's parents consulted many young ladies' birth charts and found that mine and their newborn infant's birth charts were very compatible. Thus, they contacted my family and arranged a child marriage between me and an infant three years younger. It's a pity that the infant was abducted by human traffickers within a few months. Otherwise, I might have married into a collateral branch of a sixth-rate family."
"Oh, I see," Zhou Hong nodded.
"These are all old stories, best left unsaid. Perhaps the other family has already forgotten, after all, they couldn't find their lost child. Although some say he was trafficked to Jinzhou City, others say he was killed long ago, as their family had many enemies back then."
Zhou Hong didn't ask any more questions.
Along the way, the two chatted, and finally, after more than two hours, they arrived in the capital.
After getting off the plane, Changsun Qinghe asked, "Zhou Hong, do you have a place to stay?"
"Don't worry, I'll find a hotel myself. I have some business to attend to later, so we'll contact each other tomorrow."
"Alright." Changsun Qinghe didn't ask further. She hailed a taxi and returned to her family.
Zhou Hong didn't look for a hotel to stay at. Instead, he went to the Huo family first to handle the most important matter, to avoid further complications.
"Hello, driver, do you know the Huo family in the capital?" Zhou Hong asked the driver after getting into a taxi.
"I do."
"Good, then take me to the Huo family."
The driver immediately set off.
About fifty minutes later, the driver said to Zhou Hong, "We've arrived at the Huo family."
Zhou Hong looked ahead and indeed saw a grand gate.
"Thank you."
After getting out of the car and paying the fare, Zhou Hong quietly slipped around to the side of the Huo family and entered unnoticed.
At this moment, a grand assembly was being held in the main hall of the Huo family.
"Patriarch, no matter how we contact them, we can't reach Steward Wang or the disciples who went with him," a bearded man reported in the hall.
"Patriarch, could something have happened?"
"Impossible. How could anything happen to Steward Wang in a mere Jinzhou City? The strongest in such a third-tier city is probably only at the eighty-seventh level of a martial artist."
Many people in the hall began to murmur.
After a while, the elder sitting at the head of the hall said loudly, "Everyone, quiet down. If we can't contact Steward Wang, something must have happened. Now, immediately send an elder from the family to Jinzhou City in person."
"Yes, Patriarch."
Just then, a voice came from the rafters above the hall, "No need to go. I'm here."
"Who?" Everyone in the hall was startled, especially the white-bearded Patriarch. He didn't know when someone had hidden in the rafters. His own strength had reached the twelfth level of a Martial Master.
The person in the rafters was none other than Zhou Hong.
Zhou Hong jumped down from the rafters.
"Everyone, no need to be nervous. As long as you are sensible, I don't necessarily have to kill everyone."
Everyone was shocked to hear Zhou Hong say he would kill them all.
"Don't think about escaping. If I wanted to kill you all, not a single one of you present could escape."
Immediately, the few people who were about to escape stopped in their tracks.
"You... who exactly are you?" a white-bearded old man asked hurriedly.
"Aren't you going to Jinzhou City to investigate the cause of Huo Haoran's death? No need to investigate anymore. Huo Haoran was killed by me. As for why I killed him, I don't want to explain. By the way, the five or six people you sent to investigate found me, so I killed them too."
"What? They're dead?" Everyone in the Huo family's main hall was shocked.
"That's right. They captured my friend and tried to threaten me, so I simply crushed them to death. However, I was afraid you would send more people to harass me, so I came to the capital to kill a few of your pillars. If I do that, I doubt you'll dare to investigate this matter further. Tell me yourselves, who dies? I'll only kill three." After speaking, Zhou Hong scanned everyone in the hall.
Everyone in the hall turned their eyes to their Patriarch.
At this moment, the Huo family's Patriarch was also at a loss.
"You... why are you targeting our Huo family?" the Patriarch asked quickly.
"It's not that I'm targeting your Huo family. It's that your family's Huo Haoran offended my people, so I took action to eliminate him. To avoid trouble, I said it was done by the Dark Night Phantom at the scene. I didn't expect the people you sent to not believe it and eventually investigated my friends, which is why they died. Alright, enough nonsense. Today, I will kill your Huo family's Patriarch. I hope you learn your lesson and never set foot in Jinzhou City again."
Having said that, Zhou Hong moved instantly, and the Huo family's Patriarch was grabbed by the head.
"Ah." Everyone in the hall was stunned. They had been wondering if Zhou Hong truly possessed such strength, but seeing the Patriarch's head instantly caught by Zhou Hong, they no longer dared to doubt.
"Senior, spare my life! Senior, spare my life!" the Huo family's Patriarch shouted.
"Give me a reason to spare you," Zhou Hong said coldly.
"I won't investigate Huo Haoran's death anymore. This bastard is dead and gone, please don't implicate our family." The Patriarch was sweating profusely. It would be too much of a loss to die for a good-for-nothing brat and cause harm to his family.
Everyone in the hall immediately knelt down.
"We beg the senior to show mercy and spare our Huo family."
"Hahaha, my original intention for coming to the capital was only to tell you not to send any more people to Jinzhou City and to stop harassing my friends. Since my objective has been achieved, I'm not set on killing."