The full moon hung high in the night sky, illuminating a lavishly decorated room.
A cold wind blew through the wide-open window, causing the oil lamp on the table to flicker intermittently.
Beside an overturned chair lay a young nobleman dressed in luxurious attire.
At this moment, his delicate face appeared pale and colorless, his eyes tightly shut, and his lips a shade of purple.
An arrow had audaciously pierced his chest, aiming directly at his heart.
"Ugh..."
Suddenly, the young man coughed violently and awoke. He opened his eyes, gazing around in confusion, only to find himself in unfamiliar surroundings.
"Where am I?"
"Wasn't I at the detective agency? Ouch..."
A surge of memories flooded his mind like a tidal wave. George Gerard was the name of this body.
As a newly appointed baron, he could have enjoyed a glorious future, but on this very night, a sudden assassination ended his life.
At this moment, Su Ming from Blue Star had inherited his body.
It was rather unfortunate; Su Ming had merely taken a nap at his detective agency, only to awaken and find himself transmigrated.
Staggering to his feet, a sharp pain emanated from his chest. Su Ming then remembered the arrow still lodged in his body.
"Damn, I forgot about this."
Staring at the arrow embedded in his chest, Su Ming was at a loss. However, the increasing pain urged him to either pull out the arrow or endure the agony.
After a moment of hesitation, Su Ming took a deep breath, endured the excruciating pain, grasped the arrow's shaft, and pulled it out in one swift motion.
Immediately, golden-red blood gushed out alongside the arrow, and Su Ming collapsed to the ground.
An indescribable pain surged through his body. It seemed that the moment he removed the arrow, his strength flowed away with his blood.
Clutching his bleeding chest, Su Ming slowly transitioned from kneeling to lying down, eventually losing all strength and collapsing entirely. His vision blurred.
Yet, his will to survive constantly reminded him not to succumb to sleep.
Perhaps moved by his determination, under his strong will, his heavy eyelids gradually opened. A strange sense of comfort spread from his heart throughout his body.
No longer feeling pain, Su Ming relaxed into this comfort and gradually fell asleep.
...
Morning.
As the bright sunlight streamed into the room, a knock sounded at the door.
"Knock, knock, knock."
"Lord Baron George."
Maintaining the same posture from the previous night, Su Ming—no, George—opened his eyes once more.
Struggling to rise from the floor, he wiped his slightly damp cheeks, only to realize his entire body was covered in blood.
What puzzled George was that his blood contained traces of gold, and the blood, which should have dried or clotted by now, still flowed like water, dripping from his body.
Suddenly, as if recalling something, George tore open his tattered shirt.
Seeing his chest, he displayed an expression of realization.
The wound left by the arrow had already healed, leaving only a hideous scar.
It seemed that his body had undergone some change last night.
George knew clearly that even with his first-tier strength, he couldn't possess such an ability.
Looking at the large pool of blood on the floor, George mocked himself with a shake of his head. Indeed, someone who could lose this much blood and still be fine was no ordinary person.
At this moment, the voice outside the door sounded again.
"Lord Baron George?"
Recognizing the familiar voice, George knew it was his personal servant, Enqin.
Having grown up together, Enqin was deeply trusted by him.
Unsure whether the assassin came from inside or outside the castle, Enqin was the person he trusted most.
Immediately, George opened the door and pulled Enqin inside.
"Lord George, what happened to you?" Seeing George covered in blood, Enqin asked anxiously.
George patted Enqin's shoulder, signaling him to calm down, and said, "Enqin, I'm fine. Don't ask about this matter. Clean up here and leave the arrow."
Seeing George unwilling to say more, Enqin suppressed his doubts and began cleaning.
Meanwhile, after giving instructions, George went alone to the bathroom to wash up.
After freshening up and dressing neatly, George left his room, led by another maid to the dining room.
Once seated, the waiting servants began serving breakfast, and the butler, Jess, entered.
In the original owner's memory, Butler Jess had served the family since the previous baron's time, making him a seasoned and experienced elder.
"Lord George, the warm red wine from Pierceburg has been prepared for you. Shall I serve it now?"
"Please do, Jess."
"As you wish, Lord George."
Jess took the red wine from a servant and slowly poured it into George's glass.
During this time, George observed everyone's expressions, but neither Jess nor the others seemed unusual.
It appeared they were unaware of the assassination attempt. Could the assailant be from outside the castle?
...
After breakfast, following the original owner's routine, George went to the outdoor training ground for morning exercises.
Swinging his sword, George absentmindedly struck the training dummy.
While maintaining the original owner's daily habits, George pondered who might want to assassinate him at this critical juncture.
Was it Jess? Clearly not; as the castle's butler, he had no reason to kill him.
Could it be Marcus? A robust and steady figure appeared in George's mind, but he shook his head. As his knight, Marcus wouldn't make such an unwise choice.
Nor would it be Catherine. Like Marcus, she was a nurtured transcendent. If he fell, they would also suffer greatly.
After setting down his sword and taking the towel handed by a servant to wipe his sweat, George continued thinking. Excluding everyone in the castle, the assassin must be an outsider.
The morning exercise soon ended, and George returned to his study.
By now, Enqin had cleaned the study and handed the arrow to George.
Taking the arrow, George instructed, "Enqin, make sure not to speak of what happened here."
Enqin nodded, "Understood, Lord George." He then left the study.
After the door closed, George examined the arrow closely. The tail had a protruding part, and the feathers were above this section—a typical crossbow bolt design.
Additionally, the bolt's style was common, indicating the assassin didn't want to reveal their identity.
Setting down the arrow, George went to the window. Assuming his earlier deductions were correct, the assassin likely entered from outside.
The study's windows were spotless, thanks to daily cleaning by servants. However, George noticed something unusual below the window.
Looking down, the majestic stone walls supported the entire castle. George observed that one or two bricks below the window appeared different.
They lacked a corner, and the missing parts were precisely on both sides of the window.
This subtle detail would go unnoticed by most, but due to George's previous profession, he detected it.
As he suspected, the assassin entered from outside.
To evade the castle's patrols and scale the walls to assassinate him, the assailant must be a transcendent, possibly of a higher tier than himself.
This realization gave George a headache. Transcendents possessed unique powers beyond ordinary soldiers.
Moreover, with