Yun Zhonghe realized that, though Wen Daofu's voice sounded cheerful, his eyes flickered with a hint of despair.
"My lord, Lady Castellan has arrived." The voice outside sounded once more.
Wen Daofu looked at Wenshan's dead body lying on the ground for a long time before walking out.
"Your humble subject pays his respect to you, Lady Castellan." Wen Daofu knelt scrupulously.
"Teacher, please rise," Jing Zhongyue said. "What's the outcome?"
Wen Daofu said, "The fish has taken the bait, and that's Wenshan. This person has stayed dormant while lurking by my side for ten years. And he has not revealed his true identity until today, which was really admirable and awe-inspiring. But it was very unfortunate, for we did not manage to catch him alive. He committed suicide."
"It would be useless even if we did catch him. See, he won't open his mouth to say anything. Besides, their entire intelligence network has already fallen into our hands. It no longer matters whether he's alive or not," said Jing Zhongyue as she sat down on a chair in a graceful manner.
"Teacher, this intelligence network of the enemy has remained hidden for close to ten years. And now, it has been busted in one fell swoop. This is all thanks to my senior brother. Upon returning after three years of mourning, he achieved such a tremendous coup. He's just so amazing and admirable."
And just who was this senior brother that she was talking about?
Wen Daofu said, "My Lady, the surprise this time does not only lie with Chu Zhaoran, who has returned, but also with Yun AoTian."
Then, Wen Daofu clapped.
Yun Zhonghe walked out.
Jing Zhongyue could not help feeling startled when she saw Yun Zhonghe. Why was he still here?
She had handed this person over to her teacher, trusting that the latter would send him away. This Yun AoTian was such an ignorant and incompetent character who had neither knowledge nor practical skills. And on the other hand, her teacher, Wen Daofu, how high was he in terms of rank and expertise?
It should not have even taken more than half an hour for Yun Zhonghe to suffer a crushing defeat, then receive dozens of heavy strokes from the rod and be driven out of the City of Torn Gust, right?
Why was he still there at that time?
Wen Daofu said, "This Yun AoTian is the second surprise I gained today. Though he has never learned any criminal investigation skills, he shows an extraordinary talent in this respect."
Then, Wen Daofu gave Jing Zhongyue a detailed account of the entire process.
There was no exaggeration, nor was there anything hidden.
Jing Zhongyue suddenly felt somewhat skeptical as she looked at Yun Zhonghe. She was filled with disbelief.
It was difficult enough to be able to tell that the former adviser of the judicial department had committed suicide, and yet, it was even more difficult to be able to guess that the murderer was Mr. Wenshan.
And what was even more rare was that he had actually thought of using the fraud technique to make Wenshan reveal his true identity at the very last minute.
This Yun AoTian actually still had such a talent? Even Teacher Wen Daofu was convinced by him? He had personally spoken up to recommend him.
In this sense, it was indeed kind of a slap in the face for her, Jing Zhongyue!
Wen Daofu said, "Though Wenshan has been exposed, his downfall had nothing to do with Yun AoTian. On the contrary, the talent that he showed was simply amazing. I hope to keep him here at the Bureau of Torn Gust."
Suddenly, Jing Zhongyue was placed in an awkward position.
This official position of the adviser of the judicial department held great importance and the one assuming this post would at least have to be of a scholarly background. How could it be entrusted to Yun Zhonghe?
Even if she did not conform to the conventional practice of selecting talents, there was already someone assigned to this position of the adviser of the judicial department. That was her senior brother, Chu Zhaoran, who had returned from three years of mourning. He had just made a tremendously meritorious contribution by wiping out the considerable intelligence network of the enemy. Not only was he going to take up the post of the adviser of the judicial department, but he was also going to highly ranked with the deputy position to the main head of the department.
Yun Zhonghe said, "In truth, this position of the adviser of the judicial department is assigned to someone else, so you can't possibly give it to me, right?"
Jing Zhongyue was silent. Then she looked up at Yun Zhonghe for a while.
Yun Zhonghe said, "Then I don't care. Since you have already promised me, you must keep your word. I can give up this position of adviser of the judicial department. I even find the name of this official position pretty unpleasant. You can do a swap and give me another official position, but it must absolutely not be lower than this position of the adviser of the judicial department. And most importantly, the name must be prestigious."
Jing Zhongyue said, "Then what official position do you want? You might as well just tell me about it."
Yun Zhonghe said, "Grand Commander-in-chief of the Embroidered Uniform Guards. This name sounds quite prestigious to me."
The moment this was said, the crowd laughed.
Jing Zhongyue said, "For your new position, I will officially announce it at the Great Council of the Residence of the Castellan on the morrow. I will not disappoint you. You should leave for now."
This was a true statement. If it were an official inauguration made public, then Yun Zhonghe's official position would really be implemented and not just a sweeping comment to hoodwink him.
Yun Zhonghe left.
But as soon as he walked out of the door, he was immediately stopped by several warriors. "Mr. Yun, you can't leave for now. Please go to your room to take a rest first."
Though they were very polite, they took a firm stance.
Then, Yun Zhonghe was confined to a small room.
In the room, there were tea and pastries. Yun Zhonghe could eat, and he could also sleep. But he was not allowed to take even a single step out of the room.
This was not house arrest, but rather, for the big operation that was coming up next.
For the sake of absolute secrecy, all related personnel was not allowed to leave.
***
There was only Jing Zhongyue and Wen Daofu left in the room. A moment later, Lady Cold Jade came in.
"Teacher, can we make a move now?" Jing Zhongyue asked.
Wen Daofu said, "Yes. After Wenshan was exposed, he was bent on getting that name list so that he could destroy it. And we have been keeping an eye on him the entire time, so there was simply no way he had the time to contact anyone on the outside. The enemy has yet to notice anything, so we are just in time to wipe out the enemy's intelligence network in its entirety."
Lady Cold Jade asked, "The name list is confirmed to be the right one?"
Jing Zhongyue said, "Chu Zhaoran has spent half a year's time to seek out these clues and name list. And he has secretly screened a few people to confirm the fidelity of the list. It is a spy network lying dormant in an ambush in my City of Torn Gust. And it's also one that's of a very high level."
Lady Cold Jade hesitated for a moment, then knelt down on one knee as she said, "My Lady, capturing and arresting spies are matters that our Black Blood Hall oversees, so why did you leave it to Chu Zhaoran?"
Jing Zhongyue said, "Because you are a woman. There are certain things that must be left to the men to handle."
Left to the men to handle? Making use of handsome men?
Lady Cold Jade hung her head low and remained in silence.
"Now go, arrest people according to this list," Jing Zhongyue said. "Other than this list of thirty people, there is also another massive name list. Arrest them all. Not a single one must be left out. I'd rather you capture the wrong person than let anyone find the chance to give us the slip."
"Yes!" Lady Cold Jade said.
Then Jing Zhongyue said loudly, "Chiliarch Lin!"
"Your humble subordinate is here!" a general outside shouted loudly in reply.
Jing Zhongyue said, "Seal off the City of Torn Gust. Take a thousand warriors with you and obey all of Lady Cold Jade's commands with due respect. Assist Black Blood Hall in carrying out this arrest operation."
"Yes!"
"Set out!" Jing Zhongyue ordered.
Suddenly, the few gates around the entire City of Torn Gust were all closed tightly.
Then, two thousand warriors surged out of the residence of the castellan like tidal waves and walked out of the Torn Gust Bureau.
"Bang, bang, bang, bang..."
The warriors were all clad in suits of armor, and as they walked across the ground, their footsteps sounded so full of power and menace.
Yun Zhonghe could also hear it clearly from inside the room. As he looked out through the window, all that he could see were Black Blood Hall warriors in neat formations, walking past him line after line.
Troop after troop of cavalry was galloping all over the place.
It was a major operation, and something big was happening.
There was no telling how many people would be captured and killed today.
Now, Yun Zhonghe was certain.
A name list of that spy network truly existed, and it had already fallen into the hands of the City of Torn Gust.
That former adviser of the judicial department was merely a prelude, simply cannon fodder, to bait Mr. Wenshan into exposing himself.
Wenshan should supposedly be a leader of the spies. Now that he was dead, a massive arrest operation would thus commence.
At that point, Yun Zhonghe truly felt the glint of cold steel of this city from all that flashing of knives and swords.
After a moment, it was as if inside his ears, he could hear the screams, shrieks, and sounds of people being murdered outside.
Just like how the wind sweeping through the tower would herald a rising storm in the mountain!
The muscles in Yun Zhonghe's face twitched intermittently as he ate the pastries.
***
At the stronghold of the Order of Black Dragons of the Great Ying Empire, Anting Tavern!
"Bang, bang, bang, bang…"
Troop after troop of warriors rushed in and completely surrounded the entire Anting Tavern, making it utterly impossible for anyone to get out.
"Crack, crack…"
Hundreds of warriors prepared their bows and arrows and took aim at every corner of Anting Tavern.
The pair of siblings, Xu Anting and Xu Antiing, felt inwardly horrified.
This… What was going on?
Could it be that they were exposed?
Absolutely impossible!
"What should we do? Should we fight it out with them?"
"Chief, you run first. We'll keep you covered," shouted a few warriors of the Order of Black Dragons.
"Brother, should we burn all the data?" Sister Xu Antiing asked.
"No, give me some peace, give me some peace!" Xu Anting said. "The latent force sent from our side has not established any contact at all with the outside world, meaning to say that the other latent organizations of the Empire are completely unaware of our existence. If we have been exposed, then there is only one possibility. Yun AoTian betrayed us. But… that is absolutely, unquestionably impossible."
"Impossible. There is no way he would betray us," Xu Antiing said firmly. "He is a lunatic, an artistic genius. There's no way someone like that could possibly betray us."
Xu Anting said, "Then let's not make any move at all. There's no need to burn the materials. We'll just pretend that nothing has happened."
Just then, an intense knocking of the door sounded from the outside.
"Bang, bang, bang, bang…"
Xu Anting let out a long breath and said, "Go and open the door."
A waiter walked over and opened the door.
Instantly, dozens of warriors swarmed in.
A centurion of Black Blood Hall said in a cold voice, "Which of you is called Xu Antiing? A woman!"
"I… I am…" Sister Xu Antiing stepped out.
That warrior of Black Blood Hall pulled out a painting and carefully matched it with her.
In fact, there was no need to make the comparison at all, for Xu Antiing's facial features were simply too obvious. That stunningly beautiful and flawless face had two knife wounds, which destroyed the kind of beauty she originally was.
"Have you ever taught the guqin at Tianyu Pavilion?" the centurion of Black Blood Hall asked. "You frequent that place?"
"That's right," said Xu Antiing.
With a wave of his hand, the centurion of Black Blood Hall ordered, "Arrest her!"
Without warning, several warriors of Black Blood Hall stepped forward and put on the shackles on Sister Xu Antiing.
Xu Anting stepped forward and said, "My lord, my lord. There must be some misunderstanding somewhere. Please show mercy with your generosity and make an exception for us this time!"
Then he secretly slipped a handful of sycees over to the warrior.
That warrior of Black Blood Hall looked at the stash of sycees in his hand and found that there was actually a hundred sycees. That was a very generous amount.
"Boss Xu, you're so thoughtful. But this case has been raised before the highest authorities, there is nothing I can do," said the centurion of Black Blood Hall. "Before this case comes to an end, no one is allowed to leave Anting Tavern. The moment one person goes missing, the rest of you will be arrested."
"Take her!" ordered the centurion of Black Blood Hall.
Sister Xu Antiing was taken away and locked up inside the horse carriage.
"Off to arrest the next target," said the centurion of Black Blood Hall. Then in a mighty and stately manner, he rushed off to the next destination.
Only after all the warriors of Black Blood Hall had left did Xu Anting slowly sit down. He wanted to pour himself a cup of tea, but his hands could not stop trembling.
Just as expected. This was related to the previous seizure of Tianyu Pavilion.
Back then, Xu Anting was about to take Yun AoTian to Tianyu Pavilion to try his luck. He would make use of his manly charms to seduce Lady Musk and, after that, enter the residence of the castellan.
But the resulting situation was that the moment they arrived there, Tianyu Pavilion was seized.
Then news came that because there was a horrifying murder case, and five sons of influential officials had died in there.
The castellan, Jing Zhongyue, flew into a rage and ordered the adviser of the judicial department to solve the case within a month or be punished with the charge of committing a capital felony.
About half a month after that, Tianyu Pavilion was reopened.
After weighing the situation over and over again, Xu Anting felt that this place was not very much at risk, so there was no need to evacuate and retreat.
If he left, Yun Zhonghe would really be left all alone.
"Boss, what should we do?" a warrior of the Order of Black Dragons asked. "The moment one is captured and sent to Black Blood Hall, even if he is cleared of suspicions, it will still result in death for sure. Out of those who have gone in, none has ever made it out alive."
Another warrior of Order of Black Dragons said, "Go find Lord Yun Zhonghe. He has managed to enter the residence of the castellan and has already become Jing Wubian's confidante. So long as he extends a helping hand, he will definitely be able to save Xiaotiing."
"Shut up!" Xu Anting said in a stern voice. "At this time, we must absolutely not go looking for Yun Zhonghe. Do not even mention a word about him. At this sensitive and crucial moment, the moment you make a move to approach him first, you will put him at great risk."
The warrior of the Order of Black Dragons said, "But in this case, Xiaotiing will die."
Xu Anting said, "We will devise a way to save her in the most conventional methods. We will do our best."
The warrior of the Order of Black Dragons asked, "What if we can't rescue her?"
Xu Anting felt heat surging up to his eyes as he said, "If we can't save her, then we'll have to leave it to fate. If the brothers and sisters of other people can die for the Empire, then how could it be that my sister can't? Not to mention little sister, even if I were to be caught in there, all of you are not allowed to save me either."
"All of you keep this in mind, the interests of the Empire are paramount. The interests of the Order of Black Dragons are above everything else!"
"Everything that we do is for the strategy of the City of Torn Gust, and Lord Yun Zhonghe is the core of this strategy. So long as we keep him safe, anyone else can be sacrificed."
***