Mountain and sea lantern

Chapter 646 Silencing
This was a relatively smooth interrogation, or rather, the suspect was quite cooperative.

During the questioning, the suspect seemed to be able to answer everything, while Jia Huan focused more on the details of the questions. Shi Chun either had prepared a response or simply couldn't remember.

Shi Chun himself didn't care much about the ambiguity in some details. Since he dared to turn himself in, he wasn't afraid of this. He also knew that his life or death was not determined by certain details.

However, his confession subtly pointed to Huang Ye, the leader of the northern district of Jukuzhou Divine Mountain, as his main target.

Before the initial interrogation ended, Jia Huan asked someone nearby how Shi Chun managed to escape while carrying the seriously injured Li Hongjiu.

Shi Chun appeared honest, but in his heart he was just trying to fool people, saying that he had used the illusion of the Soul-Destroying Mace, the Soul-Severing Bell, and the Three Corpse Mirror to escape.

Anyway, the arresting officers didn't find out how he escaped, so he had the audacity to lie to the dignified Right Assistant Marquis because no one could prove he was lying, hence his courage.

His logical responses are sometimes so simple and direct; he doesn't overthink things like many cautious people.

After a brief interrogation, Shi Chun was taken off the rack and thrown into prison.

He paced around the dark cell, feeling a strange sense of familiarity with the surroundings. He suddenly realized that this wasn't his first time in prison; he had been imprisoned before even leaving his place of exile.

Meanwhile, the three men, Jia Huan and his companions, who had just left the interrogation room, also stopped to communicate.

The oval-faced woman in palace attire handed the jade slip to Jia Huan for inspection, asking him to verify whether there were any errors or omissions in her records. If there were no errors, she would present it to the Queen for inspection.

The round-faced woman in palace attire suddenly asked softly, "Was the person Fu Que was chasing in that library Mo Shiliu? So the reason for their fight was Shi Chun."

She may not have much knowledge of most aspects of the cultivation world, but she can still benefit from some high-level information.

The battle between Fu Que and Mo Shiliu was no secret, and given the scale of the conflict, based on available information, even those who didn't witness it could deduce who was fighting.

The oval-faced woman in palace attire hesitated and asked, "Could the events within the palace be the work of the demonic forces?"

The round-faced woman in palace attire nodded slightly. If it was the work of the demonic path, then it would make sense. But to say that it was Shi Chun was something even they themselves doubted.

What's the point of Shi Chun's mess? The Demonic Path is different; who knows what kind of conspiracy they're plotting behind the scenes.

After reading the jade slip, Jia Huan returned it to the oval-faced woman, nodded to indicate that there was no problem, and then replied, "Whether it's true or false is another matter. I think Shi Chun seemed frightened during the interrogation, but he wasn't afraid at all. That guy is said to be quite cunning, so we need to verify that before we can say anything. You can go and report back now."

"Thank you for your trouble, Right Assistant Marquis." The two women in palace attire bowed in unison.

Jia Huan nodded slightly, then turned and left...

In the heart of the marshland, deep within the rainbow of Qingqiu, lies an old courtyard—the temporary residence, or rather, the place of confinement, for the Golden-haired Rat clan. The Fox Clan here refuses to allow them to leave this garden.

The elderly clan chief, Jin Fu, strolled around the courtyard. As soon as he pushed open the door to his room, he was startled to see a masked man in a black cloak standing silently in the room like a statue.

"Wang Ping sent me..." The cloaked man revealed his purpose before the other party could speak, and repeated what Shi Chun had said to him when they parted ways for the last time.

That was something only Shi Chun and Jin Fu knew, which immediately proved the authenticity of their intentions.

Jin Fu quickly went inside, turned around and closed the door. When he looked at the mysterious visitor again, he was still shocked. He really didn't know how the other party had managed to bypass the fox guards outside the garden and break in.

Could he have been an insider of the fox clan?
He has now realized something is amiss from the fox clan's attitude of confinement.

At the same time, he did not forget to bow and say, "This old man, Jin Fu, greets the esteemed master."

The cloaked man handed him a piece of paper. "Wang Ping instructed that if the people from the Dongsheng Royal Court find Huang Yingying and ask her about the situation, he should tell her to say what is written on this."

Jin Fu respectfully took the paper and examined it. He found that it mentioned the murder of Lord A Xun in Dazhi City. He instructed that no matter who asked him about it, he should keep the same confession he made in Dazhi City. If he told Bai Qiru the truth, he should insist that he had lied to Bai Qiru in the event of a confrontation with Bai Qiru.

"This this…"

Jin Fugang hesitated for a moment, then the cloaked man said, "You don't need to ask me. I don't know anything and I can't understand anything. I'm only responsible for delivering messages. We shouldn't stay here any longer. Go outside and keep watch for me."

"Oh, okay." Jin Fu respectfully replied, backing away until he reached the door before putting away the paper in his hand. He opened the door, looked outside, and then went out to close the door.

After wandering around outside for a while, when he returned to open the door, he found that the people inside had vanished without a trace, which he found unbelievable.

Without further delay, he quickly had Huang Yingying summoned and they spoke privately behind closed doors. He then handed the paper to Huang Yingying for her review.

Huang Yingying looked slightly surprised after reading it. He really hadn't told Bai Qiru the truth about that night. One reason was that the matter was already in the past, and the other was that he was arrested by the city guards immediately after surrendering and asking for help, and then he was taken to the sacred mountain. There was no time or convenience to tell Bai Qiru the truth, and there was no suitable opportunity to talk about the later situation.

The question is, what's going on here?
Just as he was about to speak, Jin Fu whispered a reminder: "Wang Ping sent this, so something must have happened. If the situation described on the paper does occur, just do as instructed."

"What are they up to now..." Huang Yingying muttered, stroking her chin.

Phoenix Clan Chief Feng Xi descended the sacred mountain alone. In a forest of Heart-Wrapping Grass, he encountered dozens of people in disguise.

After a private conversation with the leader, Feng Xi paced back and forth in deep thought for a while, but ultimately led them up the mountain. He then appointed Feng Jue, the lord of Zhongshan, to personally lead a dozen men to Yaoshan City on business; half of them were those in disguise.

The group entered the city secretly; part of them went into the city lord's mansion to hide, while the other part kept a close eye on Lou Xiu, the Inner Court Commander.

The city lord, unaware of the matter, summoned Lou Xiu as instructed by Feng Jue.

Before the city lord and Lou Xiu could react, the people lying in wait on either side suddenly and silently made their move, secretly arresting Lou Xiu.

Lou Xiu, who was completely unable to resist, was knocked unconscious and secretly taken away before she could even utter a word.

Meanwhile, in the central area of ​​the northern district of Shenshan, Huang Ye, who was strolling among the pavilions and towers, suddenly stopped and turned his head to look at the second floor of the Ling Mansion. He had heard some strange noise coming from upstairs and quickly flashed away, flying directly in through the window.

After landing, I looked around and swept my magic around, but I couldn't see anyone. However, I saw a piece of paper on the table where I was handling official business. When I got closer, I saw that it read: Exposed, Danger, Retreat immediately!

Shocked, he examined the paper repeatedly.

Suddenly, a commotion came from downstairs. A subordinate came up, cupped his hands, and reported, "Lord, the clan chief has ordered all district lords to go to the temple for a meeting."

"Okay, I'll go right away." Huang Ye replied calmly. After the person left, he immediately showed a look of surprise and uncertainty. He took out the paper behind his back to check it, and then took out the mother-child talisman and quickly sent a message to a certain place.

Upon receiving the response, he immediately left, not to the temple, but to quietly descend the mountain, intending to test it.

As a result, before they could even descend the mountain, they were stopped by the goddess Feng Qingping, who suddenly appeared and led a group of people.

Feng Qingping questioned, "Huang Ye, the clan leader has summoned a meeting. Where are you going?"

Seeing that he was accompanied by strangers, Huang Ye knew at a glance that the warning on the paper was real. The temple must have set a trap for him. He knew that there was no chance of getting away with it and that reinforcements would not arrive anytime soon.

As he gestured to answer with his hands clasped, he suddenly waved his hand and unleashed a streak of light that blasted towards Feng Qingping. He then transformed into a phantom and swiftly shot into the air.

Thankfully, the Divine Mountain Formation was gone, otherwise there would have been no way to escape.

boom!
Feng Qingping swung her sword to block the attack of the flowing light, and the sound shook the heavens and the earth.

Before she could retaliate, the strangers around her had already given chase.

As soon as the commotion broke out, several figures shot out from the summit of the sacred mountain and gave chase. Even the Phoenix Clan Chief, Feng Xi, personally took action, and in a fit of rage.

Unexpectedly, Huang Ye was indeed suspicious. The clan leader deeply suspected that the Divine Mountain Formation had been stolen by Huang Ye.

They had a plan, but the enemy was caught off guard. Moreover, many of the strangers who were disguised were more powerful than Huang Ye. Among them were even people who had long fought against the demonic path and were quite experienced in dealing with it. They had prepared a backup plan, so naturally they would not let Huang Ye escape easily.

Suddenly, those lying in ambush outside leaped into the air to intercept them, and a massive, earth-shattering battle erupted instantly.

With things having come to this point, Huang Ye dared not hold back. Instantly, a torrent of demonic energy surged forth as he unleashed his signature demonic techniques in a full-scale counterattack.

"The Demonic Path!" Feng Xi, who had rushed over, exclaimed in shock upon seeing this. He was both surprised and furious, and became even more certain that the theft of the Divine Mountain Formation was related to Huang Ye.

The fighting was so loud that, although it was far from Yaoshan City, it still alarmed everyone in the city.

Meanwhile, Feng Jue had just secretly captured Lou Xiu and taken her out of the city. To avoid alerting the enemy, both sides had basically agreed to act at the same time, but there was an unexpected incident on Huang Ye's side.

Upon hearing the commotion, Feng Jue, who had just arrived outside the city, changed his expression slightly, stopped, and turned around to look.

The commotion was deafening, but it stopped after only a few sounds. As I said before, everything had been meticulously planned. They had the upper hand and caught the unsuspecting. Huang Ye was doomed and was caught in no time.

If Huang Ye hadn't received a warning beforehand, there probably wouldn't have even been any fighting.

After Huang Ye and Lou Xiu were captured and taken to the Divine Mountain, Feng Xi, the patriarch of the Phoenix Clan, had a dispute with the secret agents sent by Dong Sheng. Because Feng Xi broke his promise, he refused to let the secret agents from Dong Sheng take the people away directly and wanted to interrogate them himself first.

The reason is none other than the theft of the sacred mountain's protective array.

This is Xiniu Hezhou, and it is also the territory of the Phoenix Clan. Feng Xi insisted on detaining the people first. Dong Sheng's secret dispatch personnel could not make a rash decision, so they ordered someone to urgently send a message to the Dong Sheng Royal Court.

However, when the reply from the Eastern Victory Royal Court arrived, a shocking incident occurred in the Divine Mountain Prison. In the secret room used to house serious criminals, Huang Ye and Lou Xiu, who were being held in solitary confinement, died. Both of them, whose magical powers were restricted, were killed with a single blow.

Several guards who were watching over the cage also died, and both the guards and the watchmen died silently.

The secret agents from Dongsheng were anxious and publicly denounced Fengxi for going back on his word and causing trouble. They believed that as long as they brought the prisoner back to Dongsheng, there would be no problem. They even had reason to suspect that Fengxi did it intentionally, otherwise how could the suspect be silenced under such circumstances?
They concluded that the murderer was most likely an acquaintance of the killed guard!
Feng Xi's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and his gaze swept over everyone as if he wanted to devour them. Even he himself wouldn't believe that this wasn't done by an inside traitor.

This is clearly an emergency cover-up!
In other words, there are still people practicing the demonic path within the Phoenix Clan!
What can be done now that it has already happened? The only thing we can do is search the suspect's belongings in order to find relevant clues.

The two groups joined forces to investigate and emptied a bunch of things from Huang Ye's Qiankun Bag, including several Soul-Binding Bags that were tightly sealed with metal objects, which looked rather special.

(End of this chapter)