As Xiao Shu comforted Ah Li, she dialed Li Xiaohao. Though Li Xiaohao was the last person Xiao Shu wanted to contact, given the current situation, who else could she turn to? Old He? Old He could no longer do anything for them; for the rest of his life, he depended on Sister Xiaoyu’s care. Li Taiming? He had a thousand threads connecting him to Li Bingyu, and her intuition screamed that even if Li Bingyu wasn't the Shadow Killer, there was likely some tacit understanding between those two and the Shadow Killer. Currently, the only power she could leverage was probably her own full-blooded brother; at least they shared the same mother, and no matter how awful their relationship, he wouldn't make things worse.

“Hello, I thought I’d never get a call from you again in this lifetime.” As Xiao Shu connected the call, Xiao Hao’s voice, tinged with a hint of dry humor, came through the receiver.

“Yes, this time it was truly out of necessity,” Xiao Shu admitted plainly. “You better get to Ward 9457. Something… happened here…” Before she could finish, the line clicked dead. When she tried redialing, the sound of the phone ringing was already outside the door. Xiao Hao pushed the door open, stopping short at the sight before him, and pointed at the corpse of 9457 with a jocular tone, “Did you do this?”

“Pah,” Xiao Shu spat at him. “Don’t lump me in with you.”

“Then who did? My men are all out; they wouldn’t employ such a precise method of killing.” Xiao Hao folded his arms, intrigued by the manner of 9457’s death.

“What do you mean, a precise method of killing?” Xiao Shu asked offhandedly. Suddenly feeling it was improper to leave Ah Li there, she gently set the girl down, instructing her to go to Uncle Xiaoyu’s ward and stay by her aunt’s side without leaving for a second.

Ah Li left with understanding. Xiao Hao stepped lightly to the side, clearing a path for her, then quipped to Xiao Shu, “You really care about the mental and physical well-being of minors!”

“Forget that irrelevant talk. What did you mean about a precise method of killing just now?” Xiao Shu frowned, tearing open the clothing over 9457’s chest. She discovered the wound was identical to A Mang’s: three inches long, half an inch wide, as if a blunt object had been thrust into the chest with tremendous force.

Xiao Hao also moved to the body, probing the wound with his fingers, inserting his index and middle fingers deep inside. When he pulled them out, he gave a sharp tug, yanking out a heart split in two. Xiao Shu had never witnessed such a sight; she stumbled back two paces, gagging with nausea, and only managed to speak through held breath, “What is the meaning of this?”

“This signifies a fatal blow, right to the heart.” Xiao Hao placed the dark-red organ back onto 9457’s chest, gesturing at the body. “My people kill by targeting the neck, waist, shoulders, and legs. Unless by sheer chance, they won't attack the target’s heart directly, because that requires extreme speed, fine coordination, and powerful wrist strength. They are lifeless Ghouls, at best Wraiths. In terms of motor skills, they are powerful but not precise, and their speed isn't that high.”

As Xiao Hao finished speaking, Xiao Shu continued, “Both Ah Li and I saw the person who struck. I thought it looked like a Shadow, but Ah Li thought it was like a gust of black wind, vanishing in the blink of an eye.”

“Then he is definitely not one of my associates, because A Mang and 9457, after the Rites of Sacrifice, were practically turning into Wraiths. Who killed my subordinate?” Xiao Hao’s expression turned grave.

This time it was Xiao Shu’s turn to be humorous. He adopted a teasing tone: “Using that worthless stamp album for the sacrifice?”