Chapter 358: Don't worry about me, go catch the murderer first

Upon hearing this, the crowd below was startled and rose to their feet, each unleashing their ling yuan to soar into the air.

"Who could be attacking the Zhang family?"

"Could it be the Zhou family? Or the Chao family? In times like these, probably only these two remaining giants have the strength and audacity!"

"I think so too. The Su family had the capability originally, but unfortunately, they ran into that trouble."

"Ah, let's not dwell on that. For now, we should track down the attacker. They dared to launch a sneak attack right in Dongting District, so they couldn't have gotten far."

As the group flew through the air, exchanging theories, commands were swiftly relayed, and soon the entire Zhang residence sprang into action.

Suddenly, an elder paused while fiddling with his transmission jade slip.

"Could it be that Xu Xiaoshou has come knocking?"

Everyone froze at the mention, and after a long pause, they burst into mocking laughter.

"Seventh Elder, come on, a mere xiantian like him is probably hiding somewhere. If you were in his shoes, would you dare show up?"

Seventh Elder retorted, "He managed to counter-kill a wangzuo—could you do that?"

"Ha! Counter-kill a wangzuo? Do you actually believe that?" the crowd jeered.

"Isn't it obvious? That assassin just took too long and got caught by the city lord's mansion. Can't you see the ploy here?"

"Seriously… I'm done with this!"

Seventh Elder fell silent; deep down, he didn't believe it either. He was just throwing out possibilities during the brainstorming session.

"Or perhaps…"

A flash of insight struck Seventh Elder, and he suddenly remembered that Dongting District had protective formations.

How could the attacker have slipped in silently, bypassing the barrier to strike inside? He could see with his spiritual sense that the protective barrier of Dongting District had indeed been shattered in one spot, but the breach was small. Judging by the explosion's pattern, it seemed more like it had erupted from within outward.

Clearly, there was an infiltrator!

How did he get in?

Seventh Elder abruptly thought of Zhang Xin Xiong's friend, who hadn't arrived as expected.

"Maybe it was that friend of Zhang Xin Xiong's kid who did this?"

Everyone paused again, then doubted, "No way. Zhang Xin Xiong is strong, sure, but only at the zongshi level. In the Tian Sang Ling Gong inner court, who could be his friend and surpass that level?"

"Besides, even if someone did, who could pull off an explosion like this?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the elders nodded, clearly agreeing that was the logical conclusion.

But Seventh Elder disagreed.

"No, the Ling Gong does have people stronger than Zhang Xin Xiong."

"Who?"

"Xu Xiaoshou!"

Seventh Elder stated matter-of-factly, "That guy, wasn't it said that on the arena, he struck like lightning and directly beheaded… um, cough cough."

Everyone went silent. How had they circled back to Xu Xiaoshou?

They had just ruled out all possibilities for him, and now here they were again…

"Enough discussion!"

Zhang Duoyu suddenly appeared above the group, his voice stern. "Seventh Elder's point has some merit. Zhang residence, conduct a full sweep and beware of anyone disguised and sneaking in."

"Additionally, mobilize everyone and focus the search outward!"

"Whoever dared to bomb my Zhang residence won't escape today!"

The crowd felt a chill and quickly responded.

"Yes!"

Outside Dongting District, in a nearby alley.

Sounds of wailing, dog barks, and rooster crows filled the air, all flooding into Xu Xiaoshou's mind.

Xu Xiaoshou was stunned.

"This power… is it really this terrifying?"

He had imagined the explosion's force, but having never tested a xiantian dan combined with eighteen furnaces exploding at once, he was still shocked by the damage.

"This thing—under a surprise attack, even a zongshi expert would be done for!"

What he saw was a crater resembling the aftermath of a small atomic bomb, with its depth and width obliterating everything. Not just Zhang Taiying's private estate, but the entire Dongting District had no intact buildings left standing.

Everything was leveled in that blast!

As for the spiritual pool, if he hadn't moved it, there probably wouldn't even be a drop of fish soup left—maybe even the fish meat had been vaporized.

Whoosh, whoosh!

Flames raged around him, but Xu Xiaoshou had no time to think. He needed to escape immediately.

Hordes of people were rushing in, and as someone moving against the flow, he'd be the first target.

Thinking quickly, Xu Xiaoshou rolled in the dirt.

After that, not only were his clothes blackened, but his face was completely smudged, making him unrecognizable.

Only then did he struggle to his feet and weakly cry out, "Help… help!"

The rushing crowd spotted a survivor and several rushed over.

"How are you?"

Seeing his guard uniform, they knew he was one of their own and asked with concern.

Xu Xiaoshou grabbed one of their hands, gasping, "Don't worry about me—go after the attacker!"

"The attacker? Did you see them? Where?"

The group grew excited. Getting this information first would make them the heroes of this incident!

"That way!"

Xu Xiaoshou pointed randomly, swallowing hard as he struggled to speak. "Go quickly… and get an elder!"

"It's a masked person in black robes—you won't stand a chance alone!"

"Any other details?"

The group pressed eagerly.

Xu Xiaoshou shook his head, painfully shutting his eyes and feigning unconsciousness.

The next second, he felt himself being casually dropped on the spot.

Those who had gotten the intel dashed off in the direction he pointed.

Xu Xiaoshou: ???

Were these guys really charging in like that, no questions asked?

Didn't they suspect him at all?

And though I said not to worry about me and to go after the attacker… did they have to just abandon me?

I'm still injured here!

Before he could pretend to get up and flee, several terrifying auras soared overhead from nearby.

These were clearly top experts, flying straight past him toward the direction the others had gone.

Xu Xiaoshou was startled and lay even flatter.

Thirteen zongshi and one wangzuo!

Just from that passing group, he spotted that many, nearly stopping his heart in fear.

Thankfully, his disguise seemed to work perfectly.

There were other wounded and bodies nearby, so clearly, anyone below zongshi level caught in the blast had suffered badly.

The experts followed his false lead without even pausing to question him.

Obviously, a mere guard wasn't worth their time for interrogation.

And those who got the first-hand info didn't bother sharing it as second-hand news.

Xu Xiaoshou was left behind.

Alone, he couldn't help but feel thrilled.

"Did I just pull off this sleight of hand?"

It was way easier than he'd imagined—by dozens of times!

Being at the xiantian level really made people overlook him completely!

Soon, Xu Xiaoshou's "perception" picked up the emergency responders hurrying over.

These folks were carrying bodies and wounded, and it wouldn't be long before they reached him.

"I can't stay down anymore. The big shots should all be scattered by now—no one's coming back here…"

Xu Xiaoshou pondered, his eyes flickering.

With his "perception" and the system's "under surveillance" alert, he could easily detect any scrutiny.

But neither had triggered yet.

That meant his bluff had succeeded!

Xu Xiaoshou flipped over, brushed the dust off himself, and stood up. Gazing in the direction the experts had come from, a sly smile spread across his face.

"Zhang Taiying, heh, watch me clean out your family vault!"