<h4>Chapter 1280: Chapter 1588: Obtaining the Record (1)</h4>


    At this moment, Ling Chen and Su Mei were in the room at the top of the tower searching for the record concerning the Skyhawk Pavilion’s actions. The room was filled with documents piled high, making the search extremely arduous. Ling Chen nced at Su Mei who was rummaging through a file box and shook his head silently; searching like this was not practical, he didn’t have much time to waste. After a moment of thought, Ling Chen focused his gaze on the desk in the center of the room.


    There were quite a few documents on the desk, but he had just searched through them and found nothing rted to the Skyhawk Pavilion. Apart from the documents, the desk also held a pen holder and a stack of thick white paper. The desk and the chair beside it werepletely dust-free and very clean, indicating that Su He frequently came here.


    Not long ago, the Skyhawk Pavilion had taken action, killing dozens of martial arts figures. For such an operation, Su He would definitely keep a record of it. Moreover, gathering so many Skyhawk Pavilion assassins meant that more actions would be carried out. If he were Su He, and had to frequently use that record, it would definitely be ced somewhere easy to ess.


    With this thought in mind, Ling Chen walked straight to the desk and sat down in that seat. "What are you doing?" Noticing Ling Chen’s peculiar move, Su Mei put down the material in her hand and asked.


    Ling Chen did not speak but fixed his gaze around the desk and its surroundings. After scrutinizing for a few moments, the meticulous Ling Chen suddenly noticed the desk was without drawers, with a tabletop at least ten centimeters thick. He tried to move the desk, finding it not as heavy as he imagined. If it were a solid wood desk, it would surely be quite heavy. This suggested the tabletop might be hollow.


    Thump, thump, thump! Ling Chen tapped the tabletop, and the sound confirmed there should be ayeredpartment inside.


    Immediately, Ling Chen carefully inspected around the desk. Soon, at the bottom of the desk, Ling Chen found several seams connected together. He gently patted the edge of the seam twice, and suddenly a wooden board loosened.


    Upon seeing this, Ling Chen’s eyes lit up, and he hurriedly moved the wooden board aside and reached inside. By this time, Su Mei was already standing beside Ling Chen, both hopeful and tense, her exquisite face showingplex emotions.


    She desperately hoped to find the record Ling Chen mentioned so she could verify if what he said was true. On the contrary, she was afraid to see the record.


    "Found it!" Ling Chen excitedly pulled his hand out, revealing a thick record book made of parchment.


    cing the record book on the tabletop, Ling Chen discovered there wasn’t a speck of dust on the record book, indicating it was frequently used by Su He. With anticipation, Ling Chen flipped open the first page, which was inscribed with brush-written characters. Judging by the handwriting and paper, it seemed to be quite old.


    On the yellowed paper, several lines read: October 30, 1896, Skyhawk Pavilion ordered to assassinate the Songquan Sect Leader, including the Sect Leader’s disciple, killing a total of forty-three people. Below the content was a signature: Su Mu.


    "Su Mu was my great-grandfather," Su Mei said from the side.


    Ling Chen silently turned to the second page. December 4, 1896, martial artist Chen Zhiquan harbored ill intent, secretly forming factions intending harm to Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion; Skyhawk Pavilion ordered to eliminate the threat, killing thirteen people. Again followed by Su Mu’s signature.


    Turning through several pages, sure enough, all the actions of the Skyhawk Pavilion were meticulously recorded, each time and date clearly documented.


    The record book wasposed of hundreds of pages, and Ling Chen skipped ahead, directly turning to the middle, where the signature at the bottom changed from Su Mu to Su He. This indicated that the Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion at that time was Su He. Ling Chen casually flipped through it, finding that under Su He’s tenure, the orders were numerous, more than twice as many as Su Mu. Further on, it was Su Mei’s father, Su Zhengyang. However, at the end of this record, the signature once again reverted to Su He.


    Ling Chen looked at the content of thest page, eyebrows furrowing.


    September 14, 2017, Skyhawk Pavilion ordered to Tianhai City, set fire and killed twenty-eight martial arts figures, Su He.


    "Miss Su, I think I needn’t say more," Ling Chen said, looking at Su Mei. At this moment, Su Mei’s face was pale, her fists clenched tightly, her delicate body trembling slightly, seemingly with tears welling in her eyes.


    "Miss Su, these matters have nothing to do with you, you..."


    Su Mei shook her head, biting her bloodless lips, saying: "These were done by the Su Family, how can it have nothing to do with me? I always naively believed that the existence of Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion was to uphold peace in martial arts, but not until now did I realize how wrong I’ve been. The words my grandfather and father told me were all false, Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion’s deeds were only to consolidate its status."


    Ling Chen closed the record book, keeping it close, preparing to offer Su Mei somefort. However, before he could speak, he heard a loud ’bang’ at the door.


    Not good! Ling Chen’s expression changed, he quickly turned to look at the door. Upon entering earlier, to prevent Su He from showing up, Ling Chen had ced a wooden stick behind the door to block it. But given Su He’s abilities, that stick couldn’t hold for long.


    "It must be grandfather who’s arrived," Su Mei eximed urgently.


    "Let’s go, we must hurry down."


    "It’s useless, we don’t have time to escape back," Su Mei nced to both sides, suddenly approached Ling Chen, saying: "There’s only one way now, take me hostage."


    "Take you hostage?" Ling Chen was slightly stunned, immediately understanding Su Mei’s intent. Indeed, there was no other way. With this realization, Ling Chen whispered ’I apologize,’ then put on his mask again, and held Su Mei by the neck.


    Just as he finished the movement, a crash sounded, and the door was finally busted open from outside. As Su He and two middle-aged men rushed in, Ling Chen quickly retreated toward the sted-out window.


    "Don’te any closer, or I’ll kill her," Ling Chen said coldly.


    "Grandfather... save me!" Su Mei struggled desperately, shouting Su He’s name.


    Watching the hostage situation, Su He, with a somber face, angrily growled through clenched teeth, "Release my granddaughter!"


    "Release her?" Ling Chen sneered, saying: "If I let her go, will you allow me to leave?"


    Su He’s eyes flickered, nodding as he said, "As long as you let her go, I promise you can safely leave."


    "Humph! Old Su, do you think I’ll believe your words? She’s my lifeline, unless I’m safe, otherwise..."


    "Who exactly are you?" Su He stared coldly at Ling Chen, "Daring to take hostage of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion Master, you must be tired of living."


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