Bastard, It Always Comes Down to the Same Few People

The Su clan doesn’t have the power for something this big, so Dominic Zhai’s theory doesn’t hold up.

William Wang Jinling just smiled and looked away, but Serena Feng was blunt—she shot Dominic’s theory down without mercy.

“Your reasoning isn’t wrong, Prince Dominic. The Su clan has motive to kill, but not the means. They simply aren’t capable of instantly slaughtering the City Lord of Night City and his iron cavalry on Eastlyn territory, then vanishing without a trace.

You have to remember, the City Lord of Night City isn’t weak, and neither are Eastlyn’s soldiers. Even if the Su clan could kill the City Lord, they’d never escape the imperial troops’ pursuit in time. For the Su clan, assassinating the City Lord is a huge risk—they’d never do it unless absolutely forced. Assassination just isn’t their style.

If the plot was exposed, the Su clan would face the wrath of Night City’s iron cavalry. Crushing the Su clan would be easy for them; the Su clan wouldn’t gamble everything like that.

Plus, yes, the Su woman is the City Lord’s wife, but Night City isn’t something the Su clan can just swallow. For them, both the Southern Lyn royal house and the Night family are pillars—they’d never cut off their own support.

If Reid Yale married Su Wan, or if Su Wan hadn’t been disfigured, maybe things would be different. But right now, that’s impossible. With the City Lord dead, Reid will have to marry another great-clan woman to stabilize Night City. The Su clan would end up with nothing.

Marriage alliance is the best way to unite two clans. Night City and the Su clan are already tied by marriage, so the Su clan will support Reid for their own interests. He doesn’t need to marry Su Wan to win their backing.

To keep Night City secure, Reid has to marry a powerful woman from another clan. There’s no way the Su clan would be the ones to kill the City Lord.

William agreed: for the Su clan, killing the City Lord costs too much and gains too little. No one would take on a thankless job like that unless they were desperate.

“If it’s not the Su clan, then who is it? Why kill the City Lord now—what’s the point?” Dominic Zhai looked at William and Serena, hoping for answers.

“How should I know?” Serena didn’t want to answer, but Dominic’s intense stare forced her to speak up.

She truly didn’t know who the killer was, but the motive was obvious—just like William said, it was to frame her and Nolan Dongling, making them the targets of Night City’s fury.

“If you don’t know, how can you rule out the Su clan? Right now, anyone could be the killer.” Dominic insisted, still convinced the Su clan might be behind it.

“The Su clan doesn’t have that kind of skill.” To kill someone right outside Eastlyn’s capital and escape the imperial troops isn’t something just anyone can do.

“Then who do you think the killer is? Or are you saying it’s you?” Dominic was frustrated—after all this, he still hadn’t gotten a useful answer, and the suspicion circled back to Serena.

“If I had that kind of skill, I’d have just killed Reid Yale myself.” Serena snapped back, clearly annoyed.

“True enough. So who would dare target the City Lord of Night City, and do it on Eastlyn soil? That’s basically slapping Eastlyn in the face.” Dominic muttered, while William and Serena stayed silent.

Both of them had looked uneasy when they saw Zuo An earlier, but neither mentioned it. Some suspicions you can only keep to yourself…

The three fell into silence. After a long while, William finally snapped out of his thoughts: “Serena, this is just the beginning. Be careful. I’ll head back to the Walker estate and have my people check if any major players have shown up lately.”

Anyone who can kill the Lord of Night City and a thousand elite guards in an instant is no small player. Serena was right: the Su clan from Southern Lyn doesn’t have that kind of power—and there aren’t many who do.

“Alright. If you hear anything, let me know.” That was exactly what Serena was waiting for.

Sitting here and guessing is pointless; sending people to investigate is the only way forward. Even if the scene’s been tampered with, there’s still a chance to find something useful. Whoever struck ten li outside the capital must still be lurking nearby.

William Wang Jinling nodded, then grabbed Dominic Zhai by the collar and hauled him off, so he wouldn’t stay behind and make trouble for Serena.

Once William left, Serena called for Jada Tang and Mira Tang. She ordered them to send spies to find out who Reid Yale has been meeting lately, and what the Night City Lord was up to before he died.

The mastermind’s goal is to frame her and Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan—when you count it up, it always comes down to the same few people.

Jada and Mira understood the gravity of the situation. Both left with grave expressions, already gathering intelligence.

After issuing her orders, Serena went to find Zuo An. If she had doubts, she’d resolve them; if she couldn’t, she’d isolate him.

Using Adrian Dongling’s raid on Feng Manor as a pretext, Serena had a workshop built for Zuo An in the manor—she brought him to see his new workspace.

The workshop was stocked with drawing paper and measuring tools—basic stuff, but enough to make Zuo An’s work much easier.

“Zuo An, if there’s anything missing or you’re not satisfied, just tell me—I’ll have it redone.” Serena cheerfully introduced the setup, while Zuo An followed silently, never saying a word.

When Serena finished, Zuo An finally said, “Very good.”

“Glad you like it. I was worried you wouldn’t—since I’ve never seen your old workshop, I could only set it up the way I’d want.” Serena walked to the door, locked the workshop in front of Zuo An, and handed him both keys. “Here. Both keys are yours. No one from Feng Manor will enter without your say-so.”

Zuo An took the keys in silence, watching Serena closely. He waited for her to ask, but she showed no sign of questioning him. Just as she turned to leave, Zuo An finally asked, “Aren’t you going to ask?”

“Ask? Ask what?” Serena paused, her voice icy-cool.

“I showed up at a pretty convenient time, didn’t I?” Zuo An sounded almost amused. How could Serena be so calm? She must suspect something, or she wouldn’t have brought him here.

“It was convenient, but does it matter? Hardly anyone knows where you go—they all think you’re protecting me from the shadows.” Serena still didn’t turn around. She made her suspicions obvious; Zuo An would have to be blind not to notice.

“But you know. Aren’t you curious who killed the Night City Lord?” Zuo An arched an eyebrow, thinking of his bet with the killer. He didn’t believe Serena wouldn’t wonder.

“Of course I’m curious. But I know it wasn’t you.” Serena turned to face Zuo An, her expression calm and steady.

If Zuo An had done it, he wouldn’t have bothered with a bullet—his swordsmanship alone would be enough to make Night City suspect Serena. Everyone at the top knows Zuo An protects her; if the Night City Lord died by his hand, it’d be as good as dying by hers.

“Why are you so sure?” Zuo An asked, realizing he’d lost the bet.

“You never do anything for free. No one paid you to kill the Night City Lord.” Killing people isn’t hard for Zuo An, but taking out the Night City Lord would be a headache.

The Night City Lord has all of Night City behind him. Making an enemy of them is way too much trouble for someone as lazy as Zuo An.

“You’re that sure he wouldn’t pay?” That ‘he’ could only be Ninth Royal Uncle Nolan.

“The frame-up was way too clumsy—not his style. And he’d never choose to strike outside the capital.” Serena had considered the possibility of Nolan being behind it, but quickly dismissed it.

If Nolan wanted the Night City Lord dead, he wouldn’t pick this moment, and definitely not outside the capital. Killing there would be a direct slap to the Emperor’s face. Nolan’s busy angling for the Imperial Examinations—he wouldn’t risk it now.

“Clumsy? If the killer heard you say that, they’d probably be furious. Don’t you really want to know who did it? I saw the whole thing.” Zuo An’s eyes flashed with a fierce light, remembering the scene outside the capital.

Whoever it was—ruthless, meticulous. It was only their second encounter, but Zuo An felt like he’d finally met an equal. If the timing had been different, he’d have challenged them on the spot.

“Too expensive. I’m afraid I couldn’t afford the price.” Fine, she admitted it—she wanted to know. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have tried to test Zuo An.

Zuo An hadn’t killed the Night City Lord, but he definitely knew something. Getting info out of him was nearly impossible—that’s why Serena tried to win him over with the workshop. Clearly, it hadn’t worked.

“I wish I could sell you the answer, but I made a bet with the killer: if you suspected Nolan, I’d tell you who did it; if you didn’t, I can’t say a word.” Zuo An sounded almost regretful, and secretly admired the killer’s cunning.

He’d known Serena would never doubt Nolan, so he’d agreed to a bet that kept the only eyewitness silent.

Serena ground her teeth. “If you can’t say, why bring it up at all, you bastard?”

Just when she thought she’d found a lead, it vanished. Damn it—was she really going to end up in prison? Murder meant death.

“Even if I don’t say it, you can guess—there aren’t that many suspects. Like you said, not many dare to strike outside the capital.” Zuo An watched Serena grit her teeth, satisfied as he left.

He’d finally vented all the frustration he’d bottled up in Mystic Healer Valley. As for the Night City Lord’s death, Zuo An wasn’t worried; there was no way Nolan would let anyone use this to destroy Serena.

Just as Zuo An predicted, when Nolan got news of the Night City Lord’s death outside the city, his expression didn’t change. He ordered a search of everyone active in and around the capital, then began methodically ruling out suspects.

Southern Lyn? Impossible—their relations with the Night City Lord were good. Westlyn? Also impossible—they were mired in civil strife. Northlyn was too far away; their influence hadn’t reached Eastlyn yet.

Chu City, Cloud City, Liancastle—the rest of the Nine Cities had no motive. With the Night City Lord dead, they gained nothing. That left only Eastlyn. From the sword wounds, it was clearly a professional assassin. If Zuo An and Storm Cloud Bu hadn’t been together the whole time, Nolan would’ve suspected Zuo An himself.

Nolan closed his eyes, fingers tapping the desk. After a long moment, he opened them, a cold smile on his lips, and strode out the door…