The steward in charge of leading the way saw the scene and his legs went weak with fear, hastily grabbing Jiang Shouzhong's arm, "It's Silver Moon Tower, don't go over there!"
"Is that He Daya's place?"
Jiang Shouzhong asked.
The steward nodded vigorously with a pale face,
"It is He Daya's place, it seems this guy has provoked the people of Silver Moon Tower. We better not join the commotion, it will bring trouble."
Jiang Shouzhong's face looked somewhat displeased.
He hadn't expected such a curveball to come up along the way.
Lu Renjia cursed under his breath at the bad luck, helplessly saying, "Jiang, let's wait a bit, wait for the people from Silver Moon Tower to leave and then we'll inquire with He Daya."
"What if he gets killed by the people from Silver Moon Tower?"
Zhang Yunwu said in a muffled voice.
Everyone fell silent.
Although it wasn't easy for a homicide to happen in the Capital, the other side was the underworld emperor of the back alleys. Especially in such a broken place with already terrible public order, killing a vermin really wasn't anything significant.
It was a pity that their boss Li Nanshuang wasn't here.
With that girl's fearlessness, she would have already barged in to arrest people.
Listening to the screams inside the courtyard, Jiang Shouzhong turned his head to look at Lu Renjia, "Jia, it's time to show off your connections. I believe you can handle it."
"Ah? Me?"
"You're well-connected, only you are fit for this."
"This… This…"
Lu Renjia, who usually liked to brag about his extensive connections, looked completely deflated.
"What? Can't you do it?" Jiang Shouzhong asked with a note of suspicion, "I remember last time you told us you had your own people in Silver Moon Tower? Were you deceiving us?"
At these words, Lu Renjia's face turned red.
"When has Jia ever lied to you? It's just... just..."
As Jia hesitated, a chilling and sharp voice suddenly sounded from behind them, "Who are you? What are you skulking around here for!?"
The four of them stiffened and turned around.
They saw a slender black-clad female guard who had appeared behind them at some unknown time, staring at them coldly with one pale hand resting on the hilt of her waist knife.
Had Jiang Shouzhong and his group made any sudden moves, their heads would likely roll the next moment.
"Misunderstanding, misunderstanding..."
The steward, legs quaking so badly he nearly knelt, hurriedly began to explain, "I am the steward of Antai Alley, and these three are officials from the Liushan Division."
"Liushan Division?"
The black-clad female guard's brows knitted tightly.
"Yes, yes." Lu Renjia took out the Liushan Division's Identity Token, his forehead beading up with cold sweat, "Miss, we're from the Liushan Division. Also, Zheng from Silver Moon Tower, his cousin's colleague's son-in-law, is a friend of mine, all on the same side here."
The female guard did not relax her vigilance, asking coldly, "What are you doing here?"
"We're here on a case."
Lu Renjia squeezed out an awkward smile.
Perhaps the smile was too sleazy for the shoe-faced man, and the female guard's frosty expression grew even colder.
Jiang Shouzhong stepped forward with clasped hands, "Miss, we are here to find He Daya. He is involved in a 'demon' case. Please inform your master that once we have asked our questions we will leave, and we won't delay your business."
Looking at the handsome and noble Jiang Shouzhong, the chill in the female guard's eyes faded a bit, and she dropped a "Wait here!" before striding into the courtyard.
The group finally took a breath.
"Damn, this woman's killing aura is heavy."
Lu Renjia patted his chest, "Fortunately, Jia here is on the inside, she gave me face. Otherwise, I wouldn't get to drink the chicken soup my sister-in-law made tonight."
A moment later, the female guard walked out of the courtyard door and gestured to Jiang Shouzhong and the others.
The four of them hurriedly approached.
"Go in."
The female guard remained expressionless, stepping aside to let them pass.
Jiang Shouzhong thanked her and entered the courtyard.
"Really troubled you, miss. Many thanks, many thanks..." Lu Renjia bowed continuously in gratitude, about to follow inside, when the woman suddenly blocked him with her hand.
"Only he can go in, the rest of you wait outside!"
The woman spoke in an unquestionable tone.
"Ah?"
Lu Renjia was taken aback, his shoehorn-like face awkwardly trying to smile, "Miss, we're all on the same side, give me some face. Zheng from Silver Moon Tower, his cousin's colleague's..."
"Wait here!"
The female guard narrowed her phoenix eyes, her gaze as sharp and cutting as before.
Lu Renjia immediately shut up and obediently waited outside the courtyard door.
Jia had hit a snag.
...
The courtyard was very simple, with only three small rooms.
Jiang Shouzhong stepped into the courtyard and immediately felt an oppressive frosty and murderous aura envelop him.
What met his eyes was a horrifying pool of crimson blood.
And two severed fingers.
A man dressed in coarse clothes, with his hair in disarray, was curled up on the cold ground, trembling as he clutched his injured hand, desperately suppressing the wails in his throat.
Next to him stood a female guard clad in black.
Her figure was slightly slender compared to the one he had encountered before.
The sword in her hand was unsheathed.
The silvery blade gleamed with a vicious and chilling light under the winter sun.
In front of the main house sat a lady.
The lady exuded an air of nobility and breathtaking beauty, warding off the cold with a white fox fur coat.
The plush fur was smooth as silk, sparkling with pristine luster, setting off the lady's partially exposed snow-white neck, which seemed even more dazzlingly fair.
She sat there quietly, like an orchid in a secluded valley.
Despite the fur coat wrapping her body tightly, one could faintly discern the graceful curves of her figure, conveying a sense of lushness.
The only pity was that a white gauze covered the lady's face, hiding her features and revealing only her vaguely defined eyebrows and a pair of shallow, indifferent eyes.
The remaining two black-clad female guards stood by her side.
Positioned on either side of her.
Only then did Jiang Shouzhong realize in surprise that these four highly skilled black-clad female guards seemed as though they had come from the same mold.
Other than slight differences in stature, their faces were identical.
Quadruplets?
Jiang Shouzhong suppressed the astonishment in his heart and saluted the lady,
"I am Jiang Mo from the Wind Thunder Hall of the Liushan Division, here to inquire about a demon case from He Daya. I apologize for disturbing the lady."
Jiang Shouzhong presented his Identity Token with both hands.
Though he appeared calm on the surface, inwardly he was speechless.
An official of the state, showing such deference in the presence of the underworld's might.
Is there no king's law left? No legal system?
"Dong Xue,"
The lady, holding an aged scroll in her hand, had not once raised her head to look at Jiang Shouzhong. Her vermilion lips parted slightly.
Her throaty voice was melodious and captivating, with a hint of huskiness.
Reading a book outside in such cold weather?
Jiang Shouzhong inwardly scoffed at her eccentricity.
The guard on the right stepped forward to take the Identity Token from Jiang Shouzhong's hand and presented it before the lady.
With her slender, nimble fingers, the lady turned a page, her expression naturally charming but her tone indifferent as ice, "Xia He, bring the man over for Master Jiang to question."
The sword-wielding female guard dragged He Daya, who was huddled on the ground like a dead pig, and threw him at Jiang Shouzhong's feet.
"Officer, save me!"
"Officer, please save me. They want to kill me!"
"..."
Hearing that Jiang Shouzhong was from the Liushan Division, He Daya clung to his legs like a drowning man grasping for a lifeline, snot and tears begging for help.
Jiang Shouzhong glanced at the lady.
While she continued to lower her gaze to read her book, remaining aloof and undisturbed.
"Ahem..."
Jiang Shouzhong coughed into his fist, steadied his spirit, and looked down at the pleading He Daya, "You know Ge Dasheng, right?"
"Save me, officer, please, you must save me!"
He Daya clung to Jiang Shouzhong's leg, not letting go, his blood mixed with snot staining the trousers, terrified that letting go would mean facing death.
Jiang Shouzhong asked several times, but the other party only cried and begged, not responding.
The lady, disturbed by the noise while reading, knitted her brows in displeasure.
Whoosh!
A flash of cold light.
A finger fell to the ground.
At the sight of his severed thumb, He Daya screamed in agony, but just as the scream came out, a cold blade rested on his neck.
The scream abruptly ceased.
The guard named Xia He spoke with frost in her voice, "Answer whatever Master Jiang asks."
He Daya looked at her in terror and nodded repeatedly.
Jiang Shouzhong felt an odd sense of dissonance.
The underworld assisting an official in questioning a suspect?
What a bizarre world indeed.