The most anxious person at the northern hour was none other than Angeliya. She truly regretted not having made Amyreda leave just now; now, Zhong Shenxiu and Robin were back, meeting them head-on!

"Oh? What cute children!" Amyreda hadn't noticed the sudden shift in atmosphere, and after a brief pause, she exclaimed in surprise.

No one spoke; all attention was focused entirely on Zhong Shenxiu and Robin, as they were the crux of all the problems!

However, at this moment, Amyreda uttered a sentence that left Charlotte speechless and sweating profusely: "Big sister, are these two children yours? They're so cute!"

In that moment, Charlotte nearly choked. She could never have imagined Amyreda would ask such a tricky question. She was a maiden untouched, let alone having borne children—she hadn't even been in a relationship! How was she supposed to answer this?

Finally, with no other option, Charlotte could only shake her head awkwardly.

"They aren't yours!" Amyreda sounded quite disappointed, then seemed to have another idea, turning to Elina with an expression of sudden realization. "Then I know, they must be this sister's! Look how much these two children's noses resemble this sister's!"

Elina's mouth dropped open; she hadn't anticipated that this little girl, Amyreda, would involve her in such a... delicate matter. She was still single to this day!

Laurent was also momentarily stunned by Amyreda's words. He looked back and forth, comparing them, and then said something that caused Elina extreme internal conflict: "Hey. Don't knock it, they really look a bit alike!"

Ignoring how speechless Elina was at that moment, let’s focus on Angeliya. She was already worried enough, and now her little sister had said something like that—it was clearly inviting disaster!

"Amyreda, you are not allowed to speak from now on!" Angeliya yelled at her sister for the first time in her life. Her eyes darted toward Zhong Shenxiu's expression; the atmosphere had become oppressively heavy as never before!

Amyreda was completely stunned silent by her sister's roar, and the way she looked at Angeliya seemed almost unfamiliar.

At this point, Zhong Shenxiu and Robin had walked up to the group.

"Hey, little girl, how did you get here?" Zhong Shenxiu wore a faint smile, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.

Logically speaking, Zhong Shenxiu and Robin shouldn't have returned at this time, but reality proved that Zhong Shenxiu’s actions frequently defied common sense.

Amyreda opened her mouth, wanting to retort, "I am not a little girl," but when she glanced at her sister Angeliya's expression, she quickly closed it again.

Seeing that she remained silent, Zhong Shenxiu didn't get angry. Instead, he turned to Angeliya and asked, "Hey, girl, is she your sister?"

Angeliya was startled, a little confused as to how Zhong Shenxiu knew. Did he eavesdrop outside the whole time? But for someone with Zhong Shenxiu's observational and deductive skills, it wasn't necessary to eavesdrop on such a minor detail—if he didn't know by now, he shouldn't be around!

Though she didn't understand, Angeliya nodded honestly. At this moment, she knew she had to comply with Zhong Shenxiu as much as possible.

Meanwhile, Amyreda's eyes shot wide open. She never expected Zhong Shenxiu to address her sister that way. Even more surprising was her sister's demeanor toward Zhong Shenxiu—was this still the icy Angeliya she knew?

"What are you doing here?" Zhong Shenxiu casually asked another question.

However, when it reached Angeliya’s ears, it morphed into an inexplicable tension: "Just... just looking around!"

Zhong Shenxiu fell silent, and the brief quiet made the atmosphere feel even more stifling!

Don't know where Angeliya mustered the courage, but she actually said to Zhong Shenxiu at this moment, "Can I take my sister out?"

She dared not make any move without first gaining Zhong Shenxiu's consent.

Zhong Shenxiu looked up at her and agreed quite readily: "Go ahead!"

This response even surprised Angeliya. She had expected Zhong Shenxiu to make things difficult for her, perhaps taking advantage of the situation to strike another bargain or something, but her expectation was entirely wrong.

What kind of person was he, really?

Angeliya found Zhong Shenxiu increasingly inscrutable!

Finally, Angeliya practically dragged Amyreda away, and she didn't return for a long time.

The small courtyard became eerily quiet, unnerving everyone. Elina had come to confront Zhong Shenxiu, but now, for some reason, she didn't know what to say!

"Hey, woman, did you several of you come here because you have questions for me?" Zhong Shenxiu displayed an air of complete confidence.

Laurent and the others focused their gazes on Elina, seemingly waiting for her decision!

Elina took a deep breath, then burst out with her questions: "Did you say that we wiped out everyone from the 'Double Axe Mercenary Group'? On what grounds do you say that? Why are you framing us? Didn't you say last time that our accounts were settled?"

As Elina fired off question after question, Zhong Shenxiu maintained his faint smile, as if everything was unfolding exactly as he anticipated.

"Are you done questioning?" Zhong Shenxiu looked at Elina with leisurely composure.

"Done!" Elina's stern expression sharply contrasted with Zhong Shenxiu's relaxed look.

Zhong Shenxiu answered all her questions with a single sentence: "I spoke the truth!"

"You!" Elina was so angry she nearly exploded.

"Do you know why I said that?" The smile on Zhong Shenxiu's lips deepened. "Do you need a reminder?"

Elina paused, momentarily stunned by his expression, wondering why he sounded so certain.

It was then that Zhong Shenxiu continued: "Do you recall one dark and windy night in the Monster Beast Forest when you eliminated a squad of Skeleton Warriors?"

Elina didn't understand why Zhong Shenxiu brought that up and quickly asked, "Didn't you say that matter was settled?"

"You misunderstood my meaning. What I meant was that the batch of Skeleton Warriors you completely annihilated were precisely the 'Double Axe Mercenary Group'!"

Having said this, Zhong Shenxiu adopted an expectant look, seemingly eager to see the group's reaction.

Indeed, his statement struck them like a thunderclap, stunning everyone!

"What did you say?" Even the usually image-conscious Elina couldn't help but shout out.

The destructive power of Zhong Shenxiu's statement rivaled a magnitude-twelve typhoon, sweeping away the rationale of everyone present!

"Now you understand what's going on, right!"

After a moment of shock, Elina suddenly recovered and questioned Zhong Shenxiu again: "I admit we destroyed those Skeleton Warriors, but you can't say we killed them—how do you explain that?"

"Yes! Did I ever say you killed them?" Zhong Shenxiu countered.

Instantly, all eyes shifted back to Charlotte.

Charlotte flinched. She understood the unspoken meaning hidden in their gazes: they were questioning her, asking, "What exactly is going on here?!"

Charlotte stared blankly at Zhong Shenxiu and asked in a slightly trembling voice, "You... didn't you say it was them who killed the people?"

"When did I say that?" Zhong Shenxiu retorted again.

"You... you..." Charlotte hadn't expected Zhong Shenxiu to play such a trick on her. She finally managed to steady her breath and questioned him again, "Didn't you tell me this morning?"

Elina and the others nearby were completely baffled. They couldn't figure out what was happening, but one thing was certain: Zhong Shenxiu had just admitted that they hadn't committed the murders!

"Repeat exactly what I told you this morning!" Zhong Shenxiu remained utterly unperturbed.

"This morning, you told me to go to a residence called 'Tianbao Place' and that the woman named Elina inside, along with a few of her students, were the culprits. Didn't you say that?"

"That's right, I did say that!" Zhong Shenxiu admitted readily.

This response stunned Charlotte. She had expected Zhong Shenxiu to deny everything outright, not admit it so quickly.

However, Zhong Shenxiu then added, "But didn't I say one more thing to you before that? I asked if you wanted to know how the 'Double Axe Mercenary Group' ultimately met its end, didn't I?"

Charlotte nodded dazedly. Zhong Shenxiu had indeed said that.

"Then that settles it. Elina and the others destroyed those Skeleton Warriors—doesn't that prove they are the murderers?"

Zhong Shenxiu adopted an expression that clearly implied, It was your own misunderstanding, don't blame me!

And Charlotte wore an expression of, How could this be?

Zhong Shenxiu ignored Charlotte and asked Elina, "Woman, do you have any more questions now?"

Elina shook her head blankly. The truth was clear now; this was merely a misunderstanding!

"Since you have no more questions, I do have something I want to ask you all?" Zhong Shenxiu's smile vanished from his face.

"What is it?" Elina tensed up again.

"Which one of you has been leaking my address to others?" As he spoke, Zhong Shenxiu scanned their faces repeatedly.

Laurent started abruptly upon hearing this, suddenly feeling guilty and afraid to look up at Zhong Shenxiu. He thought to himself: Could it be because of this that he deliberately said what he did to lure us here?

Laurent's change in expression did not escape Zhong Shenxiu’s notice, but Zhong Shenxiu had no intention of making things difficult for him. Instead, he told Elina, "Woman, go back and discipline your brother properly. I'll let this slide for your sake this time!"

Elina was shocked. She glanced sideways at Laurent and indeed saw her brother looking strangely guilty!

After Elina left, Zhong Shenxiu gave a slight curl of his lip; no one could guess what he was thinking.

"Hey, woman..." Zhong Shenxiu suddenly called out to Charlotte, "Are you feeling wronged?"

Although Charlotte didn't answer, she shot him a look like a resentful wife.

Zhong Shenxiu smiled faintly, walked up to her, and said something that shocked Charlotte: "Woman, as compensation for you, I can grant you a favor!"

"Wha—what favor?"

At that moment, Charlotte could clearly hear the frantic beating of her own heart. If you wish to know what happens next, please log on to Can [Note: This is a placeholder for a website/platform name], there are more chapters, support the author, and support legitimate reading.