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Murong Bingyun was dead, and his death was particularly gruesome...

By the time Bei Yu and his companions found him, he had already lost all signs of life, his innards hollowed out, his face twisted in fear, his appearance as miserable as it could possibly be—a stark contrast to the steady, distinguished scion of a noble family from before, it was simply unbelievable.

Especially to Bei Yu and the others.

Several of the women almost vomited on the spot!

The descendants of the Northern Wolf Country were no strangers to gore.

In fact, from the age of five, children of the noble families underwent a blood ritual of wolf’s blood.

Many had even faced the selection of the Wolf God at a tender age, wrestling with ferocious hungry wolves—quite a few had been bitten to death by the ravenous beasts at that young age.

Many had witnessed such scenes in their youth, but even they could not stomach the horrific death of Murong Bingyun!

When Chen Ying received the news and rushed over, her face remained somber!

Something had indeed gone wrong!!

Ever since Shen Qi’s warning, she had felt a sense of unease, fearing that something might happen during the opening ceremony.

And while the ceremony had gone off without a hitch, this major incident had occurred afterward.

Murong Bingyun’s identity was extremely sensitive.

Although he was merely an official heir of a noble family attending school, he effectively represented the diplomatic exchange with Jiangnan, tantamount to inter-kingdom relations.

Moreover, his actual status in the Northern Wolf Country was no less than that of the royalty!

For such a person to die here, and in such a tragic manner, constituted a serious diplomatic incident.

It would not only provoke the anger of the Northern Wolf Country but also damage the hard-earned reputation of Jiangnan. After all, inviting students from abroad was an initiative by Jiangnan, but if even the safety of the students could not be ensured, who would dare send their precious heirs?

"What is the situation at the scene?"

Suppressing the panic in her heart, Chen Ying managed to steady her mind. With Chen Qing absent, she was in charge here, and she couldn’t afford to panic!

"My lord..." the warrior responsible for maintaining the scene hastily said, "As soon as we received the notice, we came right away.

Only the descendants of the Northern Wolf Country and.

.." The warrior glanced at a woman not far away whose body was a mangled mess of flesh and blood: "the one from the Shen Family. .."

"Oh?" Shen Xue’s pupils constricted, "What is her current condition?"

"She is unconscious. We have had a physician from Huang Academy examine her, and they determined that the coma was caused by a severe depletion of qi and blood."

"Qi and blood depletion..." Chen Ying frowned. Wei Gongcheng once mentioned that Shen Xue seemed to have been engaging in the worship of evil entities. Murong’s death now was very likely related to that evil entity.

"Take her to Huang Academy first, and I will personally look after her!"

"Yes..."

"You can’t take her away!"

A girl who was retching lifted her head in agitation, not even bothering to wipe the filth from the corner of her mouth, and screamed, "You can’t take that woman away!!"

Although they didn’t know how their brother died, it had to be related to that woman. Right now, they couldn’t trust anyone!!

"Silence!" Bei Yu, also feeling unwell, interrupted the girl’s shriek, pulled her behind him, and then turned to Chen Ying with a bow, "Please forgive us, headmistress, this is Murong Bingyun’s younger sister. She is quite emotional at the moment."

Chen Ying nodded in response, "It’s understandable.

Given that young master Murong was murdered here, we, as the inviting institution, bear an inescapable responsibility.

Rest assured, we will find the murderer.

No matter who it was, we will bring them to light for you to deal with as you see fit.

Moreover, regarding young master Murong’s death, we will also provide you with an explanation. "

Bei Yu’s expression eased slightly upon hearing about the explanation.

An explanation typically involves compensation.

For someone like Murong, who died in Jiangnan, the powers of Jiangnan naturally have to offer some compensation.

This is a rule of diplomacy. As for what the compensation would be, that would be decided after discussions between both parties.

At least the attitude of the other side was quite positive.

"Then we will leave it to you, headmistress, to make the decisions!" Bei Yu bowed again.

Chen Ying watched them, noting how mature these children from the Northern Wolf Country seemed to be, exhibiting the demeanor of seasoned politicians.

Murong Bingyun was so important and had good relations with this group—it was remarkable how quickly they could calm down after such a terrible death.

Even referring to her as headmistress, they clearly wanted her to take charge in the capacity of a student. Chen Ying couldn’t fault their approach in any way, feeling only guilt in her heart.

"I will arrange for Ice Jade to preserve young master Murong’s body. We will ensure the integrity of his body while also securing a breakthrough in the case. If you wish to observe the proceedings, you are welcome to do so."

"Thank you, headmistress... We trust you. Whatever you think is best, headmistress, please proceed!"

Chen Ying nodded at the words, "All right, if you trust me, then you can all go out first."

Several people were stunned, not expecting to be really driven out. A few disciples wore a clearly displeased expression, but Bei Yu and the others calmed down and paid their respects one by one, "Then we, the students, will take our leave first."

"Good..."

-----------------------------

"Bei Yu, why such a submissive stance?"

Once outside, not to mention the indignant little girl from the Murong Family, the other disciples also looked upset, especially Wutu Yun, who frowned tightly, "Murong died on their turf, even if it wasn’t done officially by them, we still have the right side of the argument. Is there a need to be so servile?"

"You know it’s their turf as well?" Bei Yu said coldly: "Do you think I’m not heartbroken, not grieving for Murong? Don’t I want to vent? But what good does getting angry do?"

"Protected by the Northern Border, we pose no threat to Jiangnan. Without tolerance, do you expect to intimidate them? What will you threaten them with?"

Wutu Yun: "...."

"Moreover, Murong’s tragic death is far from simple!

" Bei Yu lowered his voice, "If Chen Qing isn’t out of his mind, he wouldn’t kill a direct descendant of a major family right after summoning the children of all the major powers to study, as this concerns their reputation and the future prospect of the Jiangnan Academy becoming a top-level Sorcerer Academy. "

"Most likely... it was the work of outside forces."

"Outside forces?" Wutu Yun was startled, "Who? We have no feuds... Could it be those guys from the Northern Border?"

At this point, Wutu Yun’s complexion suddenly turned dark: "I’ve noticed long ago that those people from the north, especially the legitimate son of Duke of Wei, bore malice towards Murong Bingyun!"

"In terms of motive, the north is the most likely.

.." Bei Yu nodded, "But the actual situation may not be so, that Shen Xue who comes from the Capital City, Murong died trying to rid her of that evil entity, I fear the ultimate reason is somewhat related to that concubine-born girl of the Shen Family. "

"And there’s a possibility..."

"What possibility?" The others hastily inquired.

Bei Yu sighed, "We from the Northern Wasteland allied with the Capital City before, jointly attacking Duke of Wei, and the envoy who went at that time said that there was something wrong with the Capital City. The ones now holding courtly power speak in the same vein as Duke of Wei, not Siao Family’s person, but some kind of creature.

If the thing inside the Shen Family girl is related to that creature in the Capital City, then it’s troublesome. .."

Wutu Yun was no fool and instantly understood what Bei Yu meant.

If there was a relation, then it was a probe and power game between two major forces. If so, Murong’s vengeance... was most likely impossible to avenge!

--------------------------------

"What’s your take on this?"

After everyone had left, the figure of Wei Gongcheng appeared.

Seeing Wei Gongcheng arrive in time, Chen Ying felt slightly relieved. Chen Qing had a discerning eye, with Wei Gongcheng being composed and having the makings of a great general, giving her the impression that he was even more reliable than Seventh Master Shen.

"I don’t know..." Chen Ying shook her head: "I have no clue at all. Why would that creature target the Murong Family’s people?"

"The specific reasons are unclear, but there is definitely an element of testing us..." Wei Gongcheng shook his head, "If we want to know the truth, we must find Murong’s spirit."

"Right!" Chen Ying suddenly realized, "All those who die in Lyuzhou fall under your jurisdiction; finding Murong’s spirit would give us a general idea of the situation."

"It’s not that simple..." Wei Gongcheng said with a bitter smile, "I suspect... Lyuzhou... has been infiltrated by something that can devour spirits!"

"This..." Chen Ying suddenly stiffened; with such a thing around, wouldn’t the Lyuzhou Hell Ruler also be in jeopardy?

"Then Murong has already...?"

"No..." Wei Gongcheng, however, shook his head, "Murong’s spirit is still here!"