His breathing was a little unsteady.

A full-force strike from a Qi Gathering expert was indeed extraordinary.

If he had been at his peak, Liu Shuanghe would definitely have been no match!

Clutching his left arm, from which blood was still gushing, a trace of sorrow flashed in Li Mingqi's eyes. He had actually been ambushed by a Bone Refinement martial artist. He had never expected Chen Yuan to be so ruthless.

Daring to assassinate a superior official was a capital offense, punishable by the extermination of three generations of his family if the news leaked out.

"Chen Yuan, you deserve to die!"

Knowing that he had almost no chance of survival, Li Mingqi also roused his viciousness, wanting to take Chen Yuan down with him.

With a stomp of his foot, he fiercely attacked Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan concentrated his mind and spirit, gripping the hilt of his blade, ready to strike at any moment. Although he had never killed a Qi Condensation martial artist before, Li Mingqi was now severely injured, so it wasn't entirely without opportunity.

However, Liu Shuanghe didn't give Li Mingqi a chance, stepping in front of Chen Yuan with his sword and repelling Li Mingqi.

"You think you can kill someone in front of me?"

Liu Shuanghe snorted coldly.

"Liu Shuanghe!"

Li Mingqi's eyes turned bloodshot as he channeled all his strength to fight him.

Sword shadows flickered, leaving marks on the ground. Li Mingqi retreated repeatedly, quickly being forced into a corner, a look of unwillingness in his eyes.

"Pfft!"

The sword pierced into Li Mingqi's right chest, directly impaling him.

The two were only a few feet apart. Li Mingqi could even feel Liu Shuanghe's breathing. He swung his right arm, slashing his sword fiercely at Liu Shuanghe's neck.

"Clang."

Liu Shuanghe raised his arm to block, producing a metallic clang. He was wearing armor!

"County Lieutenant Li, tell me who is behind the plot to destroy my Liu family, and I can give you a quick death. Otherwise, today you will surely suffer a death by a thousand cuts!"

Liu Shuanghe's eyes were fixed on Li Mingqi.

He had long suspected that there was someone targeting the Liu family from behind. Otherwise, after the Liu family had given up so many benefits, those people should have stopped according to convention.

But no matter who he asked to mediate, or what efforts he made, those who were attacking the Liu family seemed unwilling to show any mercy, heading straight for the destruction of the Liu family.

This ruthlessness made it seem as if the Liu family really had some kind of blood feud or stolen wife grudge with them.

Li Mingqi smirked, revealing a trace of mockery:

"Kill Chen Yuan, and I'll tell you everything. Otherwise, you'll never know who's scheming against your Liu family. Before long, the Liu family, which has been passed down for centuries, will completely disappear from the world."

"Humph."

Ignoring Li Mingqi's provocation, Liu Shuanghe drew out his long sword and punched Li Mingqi's severed left shoulder.

"Ah... ah...."

An agonizing pain enveloped Li Mingqi's mind, his eyes wide as he clenched his teeth.

"Still not talking?"

Liu Shuanghe stepped on Li Mingqi's chest, his eyes cold.

"Heh heh..." Li Mingqi spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Master Liu, since County Lieutenant Li won't talk, just kill him quickly. This constable still has a show to put on." Chen Yuan approached slowly.

"Chen Yuan, I misjudged you. You actually dared to stab me in the back. I won't let you go even as a ghost!" Li Mingqi felt a surge of hatred when he looked at Chen Yuan's face.

It was all Chen Yuan's fault, otherwise, how could he have ended up in such a mess?

He had been looking forward to wiping out the Liu family, then looting Ping'an County again before leaving to retire, or perhaps opening up connections at the upper levels and being transferred to another county to serve another term as County Lieutenant.

Now, it was all gone.

"Master Li, don't make yourself sound so innocent, and don't make Chen sound so villainous. This is all you deserve. When you used me as a pawn to attract the Liu family's anger, you should have realized that you were also a pawn."

"Dare you say with a clear conscience that you didn't use me as a shield to attract the Liu family's anger?"

"I've always been one to repay kindness with kindness and revenge with revenge. How could I not take this kind of revenge?"

"So, I paid a late-night visit to Master Liu and asked him to work with me to kill you. To be honest, I'm about to be transferred to the Prefecture City. I was hoping everything would be peaceful, but you insisted on courting death, so you can't blame others."

"As for becoming a ghost, I wasn't afraid of you when you were alive, do you think I'd be afraid of a mere ghost?"

Chen Yuan was expressionless as he stepped forward, one step at a time.

His words were very calm.

"You're being transferred?"

Li Mingqi's eyes were full of shock. He knew nothing about this.

"Nanling Prefecture City, Sky Survey Division. I was planning to tell you these past few days, but I didn't expect you to secretly send people to kill Liu Ruoqing and Liu Changzhi, forcing me to take action against you."

"Chen Yuan, since you're being transferred, why did you have to attack me? As long as you leave Ping'an County, would the Liu family dare to seek revenge against you in the Prefecture City?

You're clearly ungrateful. Don't forget, who promoted you from Blood Refinement to Constable!"

Li Mingqi stared fixedly at Chen Yuan.

He quickly found some problems in Chen Yuan's words.

"I defeated a group of opponents before you promoted me. And don't forget who helped you solve the Beihai Gang, who quelled the bandits, and who else..."

"What kindness have you shown me?"

Chen Yuan stopped in his tracks, his gaze unwavering.

"Heh heh... Eloquent words."

"Arguing about these things is meaningless. I don't want to waste too much time. As for you, sir, I won't give you the chance to leave a last word. It's the same if you say it down below. Someone will accompany you."

Chen Yuan smiled, disliking too much nonsense. This was a paid chapter, did he really think the readers wouldn't scold him?

"You want to attack my family?"

Hearing that someone would accompany him, Li Mingqi immediately thought of his family.

Liu Shuanghe also glanced at Chen Yuan in surprise, not expecting this kid to be so ruthless, actually wanting to eradicate the roots. But thinking about it, it made sense. They had already formed a deadly feud.

If he didn't eradicate the roots, would he wait to be retaliated against?

Chen Yuan didn't argue, those who understood, understood. Then he said to Liu Shuanghe:

"Brother Liu, let's do it. There's no point in trying to force anything out of him. Don't waste time."

After a moment of silence, Liu Shuanghe nodded, feeling that Chen Yuan's words made sense. Looking at Li Mingqi's appearance, he didn't seem willing to talk. In fact, he might not even know.

Immediately, the sword flashed, sealing Li Mingqi's throat with a single strike.

A line of blood appeared on Li Mingqi's neck, with a trickle of fresh blood slowly flowing out of the wound.

Li Mingqi's eyes widened, and he made a few 'hoarse... hoarse...' sounds in his throat, a look of unwillingness in his eyes. In the last moment of his life, he vaguely saw a fleeting smile on the corner of Chen Yuan's mouth.

This kid was really ruthless!

Then, Li Mingqi died with his eyes open. Liu Shuanghe looked at his opponent and, for some reason, felt a sense of sympathy for a fellow sufferer.

Li Mingqi was dead, and he died at his own hands.

But....

What would become of the Liu family's fate?

Could they really get through this crisis safely, as Chen Yuan had said?

If they couldn't get through it, perhaps his own end would be no better than Li Mingqi's.

Thinking of this, Liu Shuanghe slowly squatted down, gently closing Li Mingqi's wide-open eyes, and said in a low voice:

"Master Li, I can't let you die with your eyes open. Have a good journey. In the next life, be a good official..."

Chen Yuan quietly came to Li Mingqi's side and said:

"Brother Liu is really kind-hearted."

"Everyone has to die someday. Perhaps when I die in the future, I will also die with my eyes open. I hope someone will be like me, closing the eyes of the dead so that they can see the road below."

"They will."

Chen Yuan nodded very seriously.

After a long silence, Liu Shuanghe's expression turned serious, and he said expressionlessly with his back to Chen Yuan:

"Don't forget what you promised me. The Liu family must get through this disaster safely."

"Of course, Chen keeps his word."

"That's good. As long as Constable Chen can keep his promise, then we will always be friends. Right now, we are in the same boat. If the Liu family doesn't have a good time, your end will definitely be no better."

"Oh?"

"Heh heh... To put it bluntly, Constable Chen, I'll keep your secret forever, so you better..."

"Swish!"

Just as Liu Shuanghe turned his head to continue speaking, a black light flashed before his eyes, and before he could react,

the black light instantly pierced through his throat, and the essence and blood of his entire body surged towards the black light.

"You ambush..."

Liu Shuanghe's body seemed to be imprisoned, and he could only watch as his essence and blood were rapidly drained.

He had not yet condensed his evil energy, so he could not resist the evil aura of the Blood Evil Blade. When Chen Yuan first came into contact with the Blood Evil Blade, he had the same reaction.

The only difference was that Liu Shuanghe didn't have the Aura Altar to save him, and he could only feel his life slipping away.

In just ten breaths, with a 'boom', Liu Shuanghe's body fell heavily to the ground, his skin shriveled and dry, his eyes wide open, and he had been sucked dry of blood by the Blood Evil Blade.

And his death was exactly the same as Li Mingqi's!

"Swoosh."

After draining the blood, the black light instantly returned to Chen Yuan's left arm. He could feel a sense of satisfaction radiating from it, quietly lying dormant there.

Chen Yuan's eyes flickered. It seemed that this Blood Evil Blade was not omnipotent. It could only erupt once in a short period of time, but it was indeed a necessary weapon for killing and ambushing.

The reason he chose to strike when Liu Shuanghe turned his head was precisely because that was his most relaxed moment. Although he had been facing away from Chen Yuan, he had never let go of the sword in his hand.

It was obvious that he was guarding against Chen Yuan's ambush.

Unfortunately, in the end, he still couldn't prevent it.

Looking at Liu Shuanghe's wide-open eyes, Chen Yuan said in a low voice:

"You can't keep my secret forever, because only the dead can keep secrets."