Chapter 654: Coincidence.

People were crowding the entrance of the inn that attracted everyone’s attention that was passing by. Mada wasn’t immune to it either, they went to check what was going on. However, before they could see through the crowd, they already smelled the pungent smell of blood.

"Make a way!" Jo, Mada’s personal bodyguard pushed the crowd to the sides.

The moment the crowd split, Mada’s eyes narrowed by the gruesome view of the inn. He lifted his hand and blocked his nostrils with his fingers while his hand covered his mouth.

"From which clans are they?" Mada asked Jo, who knew a lot about clans because of Jo’s past as an escort and a wandering warrior before he was hired by Mada’s father, the patriarch of the Raou Clan.

Jo knelt as he looked at the dead bodies in front of him, staring at the headband and uniform they wore. However, his eyes couldn’t stop staring at the glaring eyes and the terrified expressions of the corpses.

"They’re not from small clans," Jo shook his head slowly as he slowly stood up. "These people from the Jin Clan. Those are from the Yu Clan. Those two clans are families because their ancestors are from the same bloodline. They’re quite respectable clans," he added.

"Who did this to them? By the look of it, some of them didn’t even have the chance to unsheath their swords," Mada narrowed his eyes as he stared at the corpses, and it was the first time he saw something as gruesome as this. "Were they ambushed?" He furrowed his brows.

"No," Jo shook his head as he approached Mada and stood behind him. "This is the inn where the Soundless Beauty was, and also a member of the Asghar family," he revealed.

Mada’s brows furrowed deeper and slowly turned around to look at Jo with a curious look on his face.

"So, it’s the Asghar family’s doing?" Mada asked.

"Rather than speculate, I believe asking the witness should clear everything," Jo stared at the inn owner, who was sitting on the chair while some people tried to calm him down.

Mada turned around and looked at the inn owner that was obviously terrified and traumatized by what he saw.

"It would be unwise to ask him right now. We shouldn’t bother him," Mada shook his head. "But what do you think? What do you see from this alone?" He asked Jo as he looked at the decapitated heads on the floor.

"It’s as you said, Young Master. Most of them didn’t even have the chance to unsheath their swords, and everyone died from a single attack. Ten men, no mess on the tables or chairs, no sign of struggle or resistance. Whoever killed them, they’re masters," Jo answered with a stiff expression and a cold and analytic gaze.

"Masters..." Mada repeated under his breath.

Mada and Jo kept the inn from being crowded by people until the inn owner finally calmed down and thanked them.

"Sir, is it okay if I asked what happened here?" Mada asked as he sat with the inn owner while Jo cleaned up the dead bodies.

"Young Master..." The inn owner looked anxious when he rubbed his palms against his thighs with cold sweat on his forehead. "I might be in danger if I told you what happened here," he frowned at Mada.

Mada already knew a glimpse of what happened based on what the inn owner said. He looked over his shoulder at Jo, and he knew he shouldn’t push the inn owner any further, but deep down, he knew that this matter shouldn’t be overlooked because it had something to do with the Asghar family.

"Did they threaten you?" Mada asked with his brows furrowed.

"No, Young Master," the inn owner shook his head. "But..." He paused to look around, still remembering what Anastasha gestured at him before she left with Rasmus, Ruen, and Nie. A finger pressed on her lips with a cold gaze and a smile painted on her face as she stared at him. "I’m just a helpless man. I don’t want to... put myself in danger," he gave his reason as he lowered his head.

Mada let out a deep sigh and realized that he was asking too much and didn’t consider the inn owner’s position and situation. He nodded with understanding, but he still didn’t want to let this go because he didn’t want the Asghar family from doing whatever they want in their nation without getting any consequence.

"So it wasn’t the Asghar family who did it?" Mada asked.

The inn owner shook his head.

"So they have nothing to do with this?" Mada asked again.

The inn owner didn’t answer nor move his head, and it was enough for Mada to understand that the Asghar family was involved in it.

"Was it the Soundless Beauty who did it?" Mada asked with his arms crossed.

"No, and she didn’t even bat an eye when it happened. She only focused on her food," the inn owner answered. "But..." he was about to reveal something but realized it would be dangerous for him.

Mada narrowed his eyes, finding the inn’s owner’s words ambiguous. He noticed that every time the inn owner refused to answer or elaborate, it had something to do with the Asghar family. With that conclusion, he assumed that the Soundless Beauty was connected with the Asghar family.

"So if it wasn’t the Soundless Beauty and the Asghar family wasn’t the one who killed those men, does that mean it was one of the guests that came with Princess Anastasha?" Mada asked.

The inn’s owner shook his head once again.

Mada hummed and nodded with understanding, and seeing how uncomfortable the inn owner was, he decided to end his questions.

"Thank you for your help. There’s nothing to worry about because I will handle this matter. You can trust me," Mada said as he stood up and gave a martial arts salutation to the inn’s owner before he walked away.

Mada approached Jo and shared what he got from the inn’s owner. Jo, who was busy wrapping the bodies with cloth, suddenly stopped his hands and looked at Mada with his brows furrowed.

"So there’s another guest in this inn other than Princess Anastasha, her guests, and the Soundless Beauty," Jo glanced at the people outside the inn. "Maybe we can find that out by asking them," he pointed out.

"Yes, I was about to do that. You can continue, and let me ask them," Mada said before he walked out of the inn and began asking everyone if they saw anyone entering the inn.

(At the same time, inside Anastasha’s carriage)

"It seems that I need a lot of explanation from you, Nie," Anastasha glanced at Nie, who sat beside her while an unknown group surrounded the carriage as soon as they left town.

"I have nothing to say, Princess," Nie answered. "Even I don’t know why I’m being chased in the first place," she revealed.

"You’re lying," Anastasha said with a straight face. "Don’t even try," she coldly stared at Nie.

Nie stared back at Anastasha without reacting to Anastasha’s accusation. She then glanced at Rasmus, who had been quietly sitting across from her with two women sitting on either side of him. She hadn’t heard his voice or even moved his focus from his notebook.

"You need to understand that the threat isn’t out there," Anastasha pointed at the closed window. "It’s what’s in front of you," she raised his brows slightly.

As soon as Anastasha said that, the group that had been making a scene outside suddenly became quiet. She slowly opened the window and made Nie look outside. When Nie looked out the window, her eyes widened slightly when dozens of unknown men had been scattered on the ground, butchered into pieces. When Ruen approached the window as she rode her horse, Nie was startled and immediately averted her gaze.

"Is it done?" Anastasha asked Ruen.

Ruen nodded slowly.

"Do you understand now?" Anastasha glanced at Nie.

"Yes, I understand, Princess," Nie nodded.

"Good," Anastasha smiled as she leaned back. "The journey to the Immortal Mountain is going to take a while, so start talking," she muttered as she closed her eyes.

Nie glanced at everyone in the carriage before her eyes fixated on Anastasha again.

"The Demonic Cult is making a move, and I was framed by them to cause conflict between the righteous clans and the unrighteous clans," Nie revealed. "They used my face and assassinated a few important figures, including the patriarchs of the people that I slaughtered in the inn earlier," she added.

Rasmus suddenly stopped reading and his eyes moved up to look at Nie. The moment Nie and Rasmus made eye contact for the first time, Nie felt uncomfortable, a different kind of discomfort, something that she couldn’t describe.

"Huh, what a coincidence, isn’t it?" Anastasha glanced at Rasmus with a smirk on her face.

Rasmus didn’t say a word and glanced outside the window before he focused on his book again.