I became the demon of the female devil

Chapter 292 Shen Zhixia's Thoughts! A Shocking Change in the Prison, the Mysterious Chu Heng!

The next morning.

Huaizhenfang, Tianlin Guard.

Chen Mo walked through the training ground and headed towards the yamen (official residence).

Last night, I stayed up too late with Ling Ningzhi, and when I woke up it was already Chenshi (7-9 AM), so I naturally missed the roll call.

However, everyone was already used to this, after all, given this person's style, it was already quite an achievement for him to even come to work.

"Lord Chen, you've arrived."

"Greetings, Lord Chen."

The constables greeted them with clasped hands.

Although Chen Mo was the deputy commander of the Fire Division and a favorite of the Crown Prince, he never put on airs and could get along well with the lower-level soldiers. In addition, he solved many major cases, so everyone respected him from the bottom of their hearts.

This is extremely rare in Tianlinwei, where factional strife is rampant.

As soon as Chen Mo stepped into the gate of the yamen, he saw his brother-in-law sitting in a chair, leisurely sipping tea.

"Oh, Lord Shen, what brings you here?" Chen Mo greeted him with a smile.

Li Yuan hurried forward and whispered, "You've finally arrived! For the past five days, Lord Shen has come looking for you every day, but he's always come up empty-handed. I don't know how to explain this anymore..."

Chen Mo: "..."

Shen Shuchou put down his teacup and shook his head, saying, "It's normal to skip work occasionally, but I've never seen anyone come to work on occasion... Do you still remember your position as deputy commander?"

Chen Mo came over, sat down on the armchair next to him, picked up the purple clay teapot and poured him some tea. "I have an errand to run, I've been on duty in the palace for a while now, and I finally managed to get some time off."

The tea was filled to seven-tenths full, and Shen Shuchou tapped his fingertips lightly on the table twice.

He naturally knew that Chen Mo was also serving as a lieutenant general in the Imperial Guard, and that this visit was precisely because of this matter.

"Let's get down to business first."

Shen Shuchou straightened up and said, "Tomorrow is the Emperor's birthday, and there will be a grand sacrificial ceremony. As is customary, a banquet will be held for all civil and military officials. I have received orders from above to patrol the outskirts of the imperial city and assist in maintaining order..."

"patrol?"

Chen Mo frowned slightly. "This wasn't the case before, and besides, this isn't the job of the Tianlin Guard, is it?"

Shen Shuchou said, "This year's situation is a bit special. It is said that the Commander himself gave the order. We cannot fathom the specific reasons. We only need to carry out the order... As you are the commander of the palace guards, it is only right that you lead the team."

Chen Mo rubbed his chin with his fingers, feeling a vague sense of unease.

First, Chu Yanli gave him a dragon scale, and now the commander has personally given the order. Could it be that something big is about to happen?

But this is Kyoto, what kind of trouble could possibly happen here?
Seeing him deep in thought and silent, Shen Shuchou spoke up and said, "You don't need to take it too seriously. It's probably just a formality, but you have to do a good job of putting on a show. I will have the Water Division fully cooperate and follow your orders."

"okay, I get it."

Chen Mo nodded in agreement.

"Ahem." Shen Shuchou cleared his throat and said, "Now that we've finished discussing official business, let's move on to personal matters."

"Private matters?" Chen Mo asked, somewhat puzzled.

Shen Shuchou didn't speak, but slightly raised his eyelids and glanced at Li Yuan.

Seeing this, Li Yuan realized what was happening and bowed his head, saying, "Please sit down, my lords. I still need to take stock of the patrol personnel for tomorrow, so I will take my leave now."

Having said that, he bowed and withdrew.

Only the two of them remained in the courtroom. Shen Shuchou, his previous indifferent demeanor gone, glared at Chen Mo with his fierce eyes and said in a deep voice, "Tell me the truth, kid. What exactly did you do to Zhixia?"

Chen Mo asked in confusion, "What do you mean by that, Lord Shen?"

"Are you still playing dumb with me?" Shen Shuchou gritted his teeth and said, "Zhixia came back this time and stayed there peacefully, but suddenly she went back to the sect without saying a word. Do you dare to say that it has nothing to do with you?"

Chen Mo explained, "Lord Shen has misunderstood. Zhi Xia told me that she had been away for too long this time, and Wu Sheng Mountain had sent multiple messages summoning her back..."

Shen Shuchou waved his hand to interrupt, saying, "You believe her just because she says so? Martial arts cultivation emphasizes practical experience and combat, not meditation and Zen. As long as you reply to the sect regularly, it's normal to be away for three to five years. How can someone be sent back after only a few months?"

"Is it because you've been involved with too many women, making her unhappy, that's why she can't stay in Kyoto anymore?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Mo was stunned.

So it turns out that it wasn't the sect that called Shen Zhixia back, but that she wanted to leave on her own?
why?
Looking back on everything that had happened, first being betrayed by her best friend, then witnessing Lin Jingzhu proposing marriage, and recently being drugged with aphrodisiacs along with Li Yuan...

Although she always chose to tolerate it, did she really not mind at all?
Shen Zhixia has always been silently supporting him from behind, but what has he done for Shen Zhixia in return?
"That's why she was so open the day before she left, saying she wanted to leave me with a 'deep impression,' and then she gave me the navigation compass and the entry permit, hoping that I would go to Wusheng Mountain to find her..."

"If I had tried to persuade her to stay a little longer, maybe she wouldn't have left."

Chen Mo cursed himself for being so stupid, not even noticing something like this.

He genuinely liked Shen Zhixia, but he had to admit that as the number of women around him increased, it was indeed difficult to treat them all equally, and he inevitably neglected her emotional changes.

"Don't worry, Lord Shen, once I've finished my current business, I will personally go to Wusheng Mountain to bring Zhixia back," Chen Mo said solemnly.

Seeing this, Shen Shuchou's anger subsided a bit, and he said earnestly, "We are all men, and I understand some things, but no matter how many female confidantes you have outside, you can't let my sister suffer. She has a heart full of love for you."

Chen Mo nodded and said, "I know better than anyone how good Zhi Xia is, and I will never let her down in this life."

"Okay, with you saying that, my trip these past few days hasn't been in vain."

Shen Shuchou looked at Chen Mo with a complicated expression.

This former subordinate, whom he once thought was a good-for-nothing playboy, has unknowingly grown to this level, with an official rank equal to his own, and even a cultivation level that is firmly above his.

However, he felt no jealousy at all; on the contrary, he felt honored.

After all, he was the one who brought the person out, and he was also his "brother-in-law"!
"If you need any help with Chu Heng's case, just let us know. Although the Shen family isn't exactly a prestigious clan, we still have some influence in the Ministry of War," Shen Shuchou said.

"Thank you, Lord Shen, I've got it." Chen Mo said, cupping his hands in thanks.

"Hmm? Still calling me Lord Shen?" Shen Shuchou raised an eyebrow slightly.

Chen Mo realized what he had said and changed his words, saying, "Thank you, brother-in-law."

"You're too kind, we're all family."

Shen Shuchou nodded in satisfaction.

Although Shen Zhixia hasn't officially married into the family yet, he thinks it's only a matter of time.

"I still have official business to attend to at the office, so I'll head back now. Keep an eye on things tomorrow, and whatever you do, don't skip work again..."

"Hmm, the tea is good. Since you can't really understand the flavor anyway, I'll take it back and try it for you..."

Shen Shu casually stuffed the entire can of tea into his sleeve, the movement extremely natural, then stood up and slowly left.

"..."

Chen Mo shook his head.

He used to steal tea from Lord Shen, but now the roles have been reversed.

After seeing Shen Shuchou off, Chen Mo walked deeper into the government office.

He had not seen Chu Heng since the last joint trial by the three judicial departments.

On the one hand, "Floating Dream" cannot be used continuously on the same person and has been in a cooling-off period. On the other hand, they are also collecting relevant information and looking for corroborating evidence.

Of course, this is not to convict Chu Heng.

Regardless, Chen Mo would not let him leave the imperial prison alive. He would wait until after the Emperor's birthday celebrations to make his move. Even so, he still needed to investigate the matter thoroughly, including Chu Heng's motives and the secrets hidden in the Prince Yu's mansion—his intuition told him that this was inextricably linked to the Xu family.

Passing through the dark yamen, entering the dungeon, and arriving at the interrogation room.

He ordered the jailer to bring the man in, and Chen Mo sat in a chair, flipping through the yellow register in his hand.

The document that Xu Qingyi gave him recorded all the major events and changes that had occurred in the Prince Yu's Mansion in recent years.

Upon careful comparison, several suspicious points were indeed discovered.

In just two months two years ago, the Yu Prince's Mansion recruited as many as fifty laborers, but no employment contracts were provided, and their specific identities were not even registered. It was only known that most of them were stonemasons and earthworkers.

Then last year, another batch of workers were recruited. Because there were not enough workers in the city, they also went to the surrounding counties to recruit more people.

There were more than a hundred people in total.

The purpose of hiring them was to repair the mansion.

"If it's just repairs, would it require so many people?"

"And they only have earthworkers; they haven't even hired carpenters or bricklayers... Compared to repairs, earthworkers are better at digging trenches, carving mountains, and excavating tunnels..."

Chen Mo's eyes flashed as he thought of the three cave entrances he had seen at the Prince Yu's residence, two of which were blocked by huge rocks, their destinations unknown.

However, it can be basically confirmed that this was a cover-up for the construction of a tunnel.

As for those hired workers, their fate was self-evident: they were squeezed dry of their last bit of value and became nourishment for Chu Heng to cultivate his evil arts.

wow-

At that moment, the cell door was pushed open.

Two jailers escorted Chu Heng in.

After a few days apart, his condition had worsened. He was pale, listless, and emaciated, with a thick layer of blood scabs covering his prison uniform.

The last time he saw Chen Mo, he still had the energy to curse, but this time he ignored Chen Mo, his eyes were empty and lifeless, and he seemed to have been hollowed out.

The prison warden approached and whispered, "Sir, as you requested, three people took turns guarding him. We haven't let him close his eyes since the last interrogation ended... At first, we used ice water, but when that didn't work, we started using branding irons, and finally, we simply pierced his bone marrow with steel needles..."

Having worked in the imperial prison for so many years, he had never seen such methods before.

Especially in the last two days, Chu Heng completely broke down, began to hallucinate and talk nonsense, and Chu Heng felt his hair stand on end just watching him.

This kind of mental torture is far more terrifying than any physical punishment.

"well done."

This is exactly the effect Chen Mo wanted.

Last time, when "Floating Dream" was used, it invaded Chu Heng's soul. However, when the interrogation reached a crucial question, it seemed that some force prevented him from continuing.

This time, to ensure the effect, Chu Heng's willpower was weakened in advance using this method.

I wanted to try again and see if I could pry any useful information out of him.

wow-

The jailer pulled the iron chains and hung Chu Heng on the rack.

At the same time, the clerk took out paper, pen, and a recording stone to begin recording the interrogation process.

Chen Mo walked up to Chu Heng, pressed the hilt of his knife against his chin, and lifted his drooping head.

Looking at his dazed state, Chen Mo frowned slightly. Clearly, Chu Heng's cognitive function was on the verge of collapse. Under these circumstances, he had lost his orientation and was no longer responding to external stimuli.

"It seems we've gone a bit too far."

"At the very least, one needs basic communication skills to activate supernatural powers..."

Chen Mo channeled his soul power, slashing into the sea of ​​consciousness like a sharp blade.

"Uh--"

Chu Heng's body trembled, his lips parted, and he let out a hoarse growl.

Stimulated by the excruciating pain, a sliver of clarity returned to her cloudy eyes, and she finally noticed the man before her.

"Chen...Mo..."

His expression was twisted and ferocious, and his voice was filled with deep-seated hatred, as if the waters of the Three Rivers and Five Lakes could not wash it away.

Without wasting words, Chen Mo directly activated his divine power, his eyes turning into dark, deep vortexes.

The moment their eyes met, Chu Heng's expression suddenly stiffened, then became wooden, entering a state of being "controlled".

Considering Chu Heng's fragile mental state, Chen Mo did not proceed gradually as before, but chose to act quickly and asked directly, "Since the year before last, the Yu Prince's Mansion has begun to recruit a large number of earthworkers. What is their purpose?"

Chu Heng replied in a muffled voice, "To excavate the tunnel so that subsequent plans can be carried out."

Chen Mo pressed further, "Where does the tunnel lead? And what are the so-called follow-up plans?"

"The tunnel leads to nine...nine..."

"Nine what?"

"I do not remember."

Seeing his bewildered expression, Chen Mo frowned.

Under the control of "Floating Dream," Chu Heng couldn't possibly lie; he must have genuinely forgotten.

Could it be that someone erased this part of his memory?
While his supernatural powers were still in effect, Chen Mo changed the subject and asked, "You've been secretly mining red sand, colluding with the demon race, and even plotting to obtain the Eight Desolations Demon-Slaying Formation diagram. What exactly are you trying to do?"

Chu Heng said in a low voice, "To live."

?

Chen Mo asked, puzzled, "What do you mean? Who wants to kill you?"

"He He……"

Suddenly, Chu Heng's body began to tremble as if it were a leaf, his neck bent at an eerie angle, he looked up at the ceiling, his eyes rolled back, and he made a "hoarse" sound in his throat.

After a short while, he regained his composure and remained stiff and motionless.

"what happened?"

Just as Chen Mo was about to examine the situation more closely, Chu Heng slowly lowered his head.

Eyes facing each other.

Looking into those eyes, Chen Mo was stunned.

Chu Heng's pupils had disappeared, completely filled with the whites of his eyes, staring at him silently, sending a chill down his spine.

"Who are you?" Chen Mo asked in a deep voice.

Chu Heng began, "I am Chu Heng, the heir apparent of Prince Yu..."

Fortunately.

It seems the supernatural power is still working.

Just as Chen Mo was about to breathe a sigh of relief, a mocking voice suddenly came to his ear:
"Do you believe it?"

(End of this chapter)