Upon seeing Bai Yichen again, Feng Tingliu learned about the aftermath of yesterday from him.
Inspector Wang Yan discovered a hidden door leading to the basement in the magistrate's room. While Bai Yichen was distracting the Devil Cult for him, Wang Yan entered to investigate. The basement was filled with sundries at first glance, seemingly without any problems.
However, the problem was not with the items placed but with the basement itself.
After the basement wall was dug out, what was revealed were gold bricks that could be used to build a wall!
The number of gold bricks was so large that the magistrate couldn't have quietly taken them away overnight. This was what Wang Yan meant by "cannot be taken away".
The origin of the gold bricks still needs to be investigated carefully after returning to the palace. Presumably, most of these gold bricks came from the Second Prince or his accomplices.
"Lord Wang met with the other people sent by the court this morning and is now safe. The magistrate was also arrested on his way back to the mansion and will be taken to the palace with them." Bai Yichen took a sip of tea and continued, "As for the matter of the Devil Cult, Wang Yan has no evidence to prove that the Second Prince is colluding with the Devil Cult, so he intends to suppress this matter. Instead, the people in the city and the martial artists in the martial arts world know about the Devil Cult's night attack on the magistrate."
Such a development was not beyond Feng Tingliu's expectations.
"How is this night attack explained in the martial arts world?"
"Alas." Bai Yichen sighed lightly, "It's nothing more than the Devil Cult being greedy for money and not fearing the court. They even attacked the magistrate at night, burning, killing, looting, and plundering. Fortunately, the people from the Zhu Xie Hui arrived in time to stop this disaster. The Zhu Xie Hui also said that this was all instigated by your Liudu City."
"Oh? The Zhu Xie Hui arrived in time? I didn't see their shadow."
"After youEvacuationed, more than ten people from the Zhu Xie Hui came. Ostensibly, they came to support us, but in reality, they only caught some of the Devil Cult members." Bai Yichen frowned tightly and clenched his fists, "Rather than supporting us, it seems more like they came to rescue the Devil Cult."
"How dare they compete with the Huashan Sect for merit?" Feng Tingliu sneered.
"The one who came is the Hall Master of the Hanlong Hall of the Zhu Xie Hui, a woman. She seems to be very clear about the relationship between the Huashan Sect and the court. She told me that since we want to keep a low profile, it's better to let them take the merit. Their actions are so blatant, which is something I didn't expect..."
When Feng Tingliu heard the name of the Hall Master of the Hanlong Hall, the hand holding the teacup trembled slightly, and then he lifted the cup to his lips as if nothing had happened.
"That woman..."
"As a result, although there is no evidence, I am already convinced that the Second Prince, the Zhu Xie Hui, and the old faction of the Devil Cult are colluding."
"Chih, it's just a self-directed and self-acted play."
"Fortunately, they messed it up." Bai Yichen sighed, "We also need to leave Beiji City. Xia Yi he..."
Feng Tingliu raised his eyes and glanced at the courtyard. At this time on a normal day, Xia Yi would definitely be making a ruckus in the courtyard, either practicing his swordsmanship or playing. But today, it is strangely quiet.
"It seems that he doesn't want to see you."
"Well..." Bai Yichen stood up, took a distant look at the courtyard, then reluctantly withdrew his gaze, and bowed to Feng Tingliu, "Then let's part ways here."
Feng Tingliu also stood up and sent him to the door.
Yu Chi Feng stood behind Feng Tingliu, watching Bai Yichen's departing figure, and leaned over to ask in a low voice, "Young Master, that woman should still be in Beiji City. Should we..."
Feng Tingliu glanced at him and shook his head, "Indeed, killing her can solve the problem. But now that we know that the Zhu Xie Hui is colluding with the old faction of the Devil Cult, making a rash move will only startle the snake."
Yu Chi Feng was stunned for a moment and said with a smile, "Others think that the Young Master is causing chaos in the martial arts world, but I think that what the Young Master has done in Liudu City is for the martial arts world and the people."
"Nonsense." Feng Tingliu frowned and turned around to enter the mansion on his own, "I'm just doing things for Feng Che."
"But I think that what Feng Che and the Young Master are doing is for the people... Eh, Young Master, wait for me." Yu Chi Feng had to quicken his pace to keep up with Feng Tingliu. Seeing this, he quickly stopped talking and dared not mention it again.
"It's time for us to return to Liudu City."
"I'll have someone prepare immediately."
Feng Tingliu leaned against the doorframe, looking at Yu Chi Feng's busy figure, and suddenly became lost in thought.
For the people?
Are those foolish people who only care about themselves really worth protecting?
They are just pawns being toyed with by the Zhu Xie Hui, and they can't even think for themselves.
The Zhu Xie Hui... Huh, the same goes for the interior of the Zhu Xie Hui. They probably can't even tell whether the people they listen to are from the righteous or the Devil Cult, and they just pursue those hopeless reputations. They are just a group of pitiful martial artists in the martial arts world.
Martial artists in the martial arts world?
Feng Tingliu suddenly paused and thought of the merchant caravan that was sent to Huashan to deliver weapons but was intercepted and killed some time ago. When the people of the merchant caravan reported to him, they said:
"Subordinate, subordinate doesn't know, but they didn't use Devil Cult skills. They shouldn't be from the Devil Cult. Instead, their martial arts are different. It's more like... more like the forces of martial artists in the martial arts world."
If the people who intercepted and killed the merchant caravan at that time were from the Zhu Xie Hui, then everything would make sense...
Feng Tingliu suddenly covered his face with his hand and laughed lowly.
A pair of scarlet eyes trembled slightly, filled with killing intent and hatred.
"The Zhu Xie Hui... I will definitely make you pay with blood."
-
Even though Xia Yi longed for freedom and didn't want to return to Liudu City, the group still set foot on their journey back.
In contrast to the unhappy Xia Yi, Xie Zicun was overjoyed and even shed tears upon the group's return.
When Feng Tingliu was away, Xie Zicun did the work of two people and was so tired that his eyes were black and blue, looking as wilted as an eggplant beaten by frost.
As soon as Feng Tingliu returned to the Feng Mansion and got off the carriage before he could even stand firmly, Xie Zicun rushed over, grabbed Feng Tingliu, and was about to take him to the study.
"Let the Young Master rest for a while first." Yu Chi Feng stopped him when he saw this.
"I can't rest! There's a mountain of work piled up!"
"Well, I'll go with him to the study." Feng Tingliu waved his hand and said to Yu Chi Feng, "You go with them to escort the Devil Cult member into the prison and have the people in the prison interrogate him carefully."
Yu Chi Feng looked at the carriage with the Devil Cult member and nodded. But he still stepped forward, squeezed Feng Tingliu's hand, and said in a low voice, "The Young Master should still pay attention to his health."
The people of the Feng Mansion who saw Yu Chi Feng being so bold were quite shocked, but Feng Tingliu didn't get angry as they expected. Instead, he curved his mouth.
"I know what I'm doing."
Although Yu Chi Feng was worried, he still followed the others to the dungeon step by step, looking back from time to time.
At this moment when Feng Tingliu wasn't there, the other servants could finally breathe a sigh of relief. At this moment, they were quite gossipy and gathered around Yu Chi Feng.
Someone nudged his chest and said with a playful smile, "Okay, brother. You're so close to the Young Master?"
"That's right. Are we going to have one more Madam of the City Lord?"
Yu Chi Feng was rather taciturn at this moment. His neck turned red because of shyness. He scratched his head and said, "Don't talk nonsense..."
"Hey, where's the nonsense? We've never seen the Young Master smile like that before. Once he smiles, it usually means someone is going to suffer. I'd say it's good for the Young Master to be like this now."
"That's right. This is a happy event. It can make our work easier."
"Alright, alright. Don't embarrass Brother Yu Chi Feng. Let's escort this Devil Cult member properly."
Yu Chi Feng listened to their words and just smiled beside them,go alonging from time to time, but he seemed rather aloof.
After coming to Liudu City for so long, his only connection to Liudu City is still Feng Tingliu.
Perhaps it's his nature. Yu Chi Feng is not someone who can get along well with everyone.
Thinking like this, the group arrived at the entrance of the dungeon. The Devil Cult member being escorted was unexpectedly quiet, as if accepting his fate.
But Yu Chi Feng remained vigilant. He stood aside and watched as they opened the carriage door and pulled the Devil Cult member out.
The Devil Cult member's hands and feet were chained, and he staggered, looking very weak as if he had been tortured.
"Move!"
The Devil Cult member was pushed forward. Suddenly, he raised his head and glanced at Yu Chi Feng.
Yu Chi Feng's alarm bells rang in his heart, and an accident occurred at this moment.
The Devil Cult member didn't know where he got the strength from. With his heavy chains on his hands, he gave a hard pull and hit the person next to him in the face. Then he jumped up on the spot and nimbly kicked the person who rushed over from the other side. He was very agile. Even when he fell, he quickly dodged the capture, rolled, and ran in the opposite direction of Yu Chi Feng.
"Don't run!"
Several people quickly rushed forward to catch him, but the Devil Cult member was small and thin. He jumped up and down like a monkey and could play with people's chains, making them extremely frustrated.
Seeing this, Yu Chi Feng drew the long sword behind him, pushed aside the person blocking his view.
"Let me handle this."
Yu Chi Feng firmly held the long sword and stepped forward. He raised his long leg and swept it. The Devil Cult member actually raised his hand to block with the chains and nimbly turned around.
At the moment he turned around, Yu Chi Feng kicked at his back again. He had to be distracted to dodge, but Yu Chi Feng's real goal was the chains that bound his two feet.
The long sword crossed down and pierced into the soil, right between the Devil Cult member's legs. If it shifted a little upwards, it could have crippled his life. In this way, he was chained to the sword with the chains.
The Devil Cult member panicked and kicked the sword, but he didn't expect that the sword was heavier than it looked. After a crisp sound, it didn't move at all.
Yu Chi Feng narrowed his eyes and kicked again, directly aiming at the Devil Cult member's ribs. Only after several cracking sounds and the Devil Cult member's painful screams did thisfarce come to an end.
The sound made the people next to him feel the pain.
"Take him down." Yu Chi Feng instructed.
Several people quickly stepped forward, seized the Devil Cult member, and held him between two people to prevent him from escaping again.
But with this movement, it affected the Devil Cult member's ribs, causing him to scream in pain and losing the thought of running away.
"You're abusing the prisoner! Ahh! It hurts so much!"
"You still have the strength to shout. It seems that the interrogation wasn't enough." Yu Chi Feng frowned and exchanged a glance with the person next to him, "I hope you still have this strength later to tell us some useful things."
The Devil Cult member was dragged into the dungeon. Presumably, in a short while, his screams will echo in the dungeon.
Yu Chi Feng put the long sword back and turned to return to the Feng Mansion.
Feng Tingliu and Xie Zicun were busy until late at night before they handled most of the mountain of work in the study. The remaining work only needed Feng Tingliu to do by himself.
Thus, Feng Tingliu gave Xie Zicun a vacation, telling him to rest well and it would be good to go out for a walk.
"I understand. Work and rest in moderation to be able to work for you later."
When Xie Zicun walked out of the Feng Mansion, his steps were unsteady. He wished he could collapse on the street and sleep in his clothes.
So as Feng Tingliu said, Xie Zicun rested for a few days, soaking in the Tianyi Pavilion or the Tiangong Pavilion to research his new inventions. Unfortunately, he suddenly found that he lacked materials that couldn't be found in Liudu City, so he decided to go out of the city and make a trip to Beiji City.
Feng Tingliu agreed. After all, someone like Xie Zicun wouldn't arouse suspicion even if he went to Beiji City, and it would also be a good opportunity for him to relax.
But what no one expected was that on the day Xie Zicun ended his rest and returned to Liudu City, he really brought trouble to Feng Tingliu - two troubles, to be exact.
Feng Tingliu sat in the main seat, looking at the two teenagers who were kneeling in front of him, and his face became even darker.
"I told you to rest, not to give birth." Feng Tingliu glanced at Xie Zicun beside him.
Xie Zicun forced a bitter smile, "I had no choice. They stopped me at the city gate and insisted on joining Liudu City."
"You two, raise your heads." Feng Tingliu looked down at the two and commanded.
The two teenagers raised their heads, and in their two pairs of eyes, there was a wolf-like light.
Little wolf cubs. Feng Tingliu sneered in his heart.