Catching Monsters

Chapter 706 Be Smarter
After listening to their answers, Xu Xiaogang remained silent for a long time. He was also a little puzzled as to why these two wanted to deal with Dongfang Yao.

Clearly, neither of them would answer this question easily.

Xu Xiaogang said slowly, "I think we can talk. I can give you anything you want."

"On the condition that you do not lay a hand on Miss Dongfang."

"Otherwise, I will not let you two off easily."

The two men laughed, and one of them stared at Xu Xiaogang and said, "Lord Duke, you are indeed of noble status among humans, but you don't understand one thing: your status is only within the Zhou Kingdom."

Even if we kill you and return to the Demon Kingdom...

The other person quickly interrupted him, saying, "Alright, enough with the nonsense."

Soon, a whooshing sound suddenly came from outside the door.

The two exchanged a glance and quickly went out of the house.

A middle-aged man who looked to be in his fifties was standing in the courtyard. He was wearing a black robe with intricate embroidery.

Elder Chang Kun.

The two men hurriedly stepped forward and bowed respectfully. Chang Kun glanced at the storeroom with a stern face, then led the two men a short distance away from the storeroom before coldly reprimanding them, "What are you doing?"

"We told you to capture Dongfang Yao, but you ended up capturing Xu Xiaogang instead?"

Chang Kun was furious, staring at the two of them.

All the two could do was recount the events of that time.

After saying that, he said, "Elder Chang Kun, when Dongfang Yao jumped out of the window to escape, we couldn't just go empty-handed, so we had to bring Xu Xiaogang back with us."

"We've both thought about exchanging Xu Xiaogang for Dongfang Yao. The Zhou court would definitely be willing to do that."

Upon hearing this, Chang Kun pointed his finger at one of the men's foreheads and cursed, "What are your heads for?"

"Why did I send the two of you to capture Dongfang Yao instead of having me do it myself?"

"We just don't want to make a big fuss; we can just secretly capture Dongfang Yao."

"If we do this now, won't everyone know that our snake clan is going to capture her?"

"If the fox clan finds out about this, can you bear the consequences?" Chang Kun scolded, exasperated.

The two men lowered their heads as they listened to Chang Kun's reprimand, not daring to argue or speak.

Chang Kun paced back and forth in anger. After a long while, he finally took a deep breath and said, "Alright, that's enough..."

"Let's proceed according to your original plan."

Chang Kun gritted his teeth. Since things had come to this, this was the only way. He said with exasperation, "But you must ensure success on the first try, understand?"

"Yes!"

The two demons nodded repeatedly, but Chang Kun was still a little worried. After thinking for a moment, he said, "I need to personally arrange a meeting with Jiang Yun of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to have a chat."

……

"Did the demons do this?"

Inside the imperial study, Xiao Jingzhi, dressed in a dragon robe, sat on the dragon throne with a sullen face.

Jiang Yun was sitting opposite him, reporting on the matter, while at the same time, a cold light flashed in Qin Hong's eyes.

This matter is too big to be ignored. We're keeping it from Xu Suwen and Tao Yuelan for now so they won't worry.

But Xiao Jing knew that he absolutely had to inform them immediately.

"This is just my analysis based on the current situation. It seems to be the work of the demon race."

"However, I cannot currently guess which demon clan was responsible."

"No matter who did it, Xu Xiaogang is the Duke of Zhenguo of our Zhou Kingdom!" Xiao Jingzhi couldn't help but slam his hand on the table, stand up, and grit his teeth as he said, "The demon race has gone too far in doing this."

Qin Hong, standing to the side, lowered his head and urged Xiao Jingzhi to calm down: "Your Majesty, it seems that the demon saints of the snake and tiger clans of the four great demon races have already awakened..."

"As for the Fox Clan, according to the intelligence from our Tongyou Guard, they are mobilizing the entire clan to purchase ships and search the seas for the whereabouts of their Fox Clan Demon Saint."

"If this was done by snakes, tigers, or even dragons, we are really helpless except to try to have a good talk with them."

Upon hearing the words "Demon Saint," Xiao Jingzhi's anger subsided considerably.

There's no way around it; whoever has the stronger fist is right.

Xiao Jingzhi glanced at Qin Hong: "Have all the experts from the Tongyou Guard get ready to cooperate with Jiang Yun. Xu Xiaogang absolutely cannot be allowed to get into trouble!"

"Yes." Qin Hong nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Seeing Xiao Jingzhi's agitated state, Jiang Yun and Qin Hong took their leave. After leaving the Imperial Study, Qin Hong gave Jiang Yun a strange look and slowly asked, "Lord Jiang, if you need anything, please let me know at any time."

"How dare you."

Jiang Yun clasped his hands in a fist salute and shook his head.

After leaving the palace, Jiang Yun rubbed his temples in a carriage, looking somewhat troubled.

When she got back, Xu Suwen would definitely ask herself why she was so busy in the middle of the night.

It's impossible to keep this from her forever.

It’s really nerve-wracking.

Just as Jiang Yun was frowning in distress, as he was riding in the carriage and about to return to the Jiang residence, the Imperial Guard driving the carriage suddenly shouted, "Who goes there?"

Jiang Yun lifted the carriage curtain and looked outside.

At this moment, a middle-aged man dressed in a black robe stood with his hands behind his back, blocking Jiang Yun's path with a blank expression.

The Imperial Guard driving the carriage pointed at the other party and scolded, "Do you know who's in the carriage? You dare to stop us? I think you're tired of living."

After saying that, he was about to get off the carriage and drive the other party away.

Jiang Yun didn't recognize the person who stopped the car, but he could sense a strong demonic aura emanating from the other person.

"Don't be presumptuous," Jiang Yun said, stopping his subordinate's rude behavior.

Jiang Yun jumped off the carriage, staring at the other person: "Who are you?"

"I would like to have a talk with Lord Jiang."

After saying that, the man glanced at a teahouse on the street that was still lit up and gestured for it to proceed.

Jiang Yun didn't hesitate much and nodded, because he could tell that the other party was much weaker than him.

After entering the teahouse, the two ordered a private room.

The other party also got straight to the point, saying, "Xu Xiaogang is in my hands, and I know that your Embroidered Uniform Guard has been searching for him for a long time today."

"Tomorrow night, I'll choose the place, and then we'll..."

Jiang Yun interrupted him: "You haven't introduced yourself yet. What ethnicity are you from?"

Upon hearing this, Chang Kun frowned slightly and said, "Jiang Yun, which clan I belong to is none of your concern. Tomorrow night, all you need to do is prepare Dongfang Yao..."

"Your status isn't low, is it?" Jiang Yun didn't seem to care much about his words; instead, she was more concerned about the other person's identity.

Chang Kun was slightly taken aback, and for a moment he did not understand the meaning of Jiang Yun's words.

"What do you mean?"

Jiang Yun: "Originally, I was worried because, you know, Dongfang Yao is indeed not very important to me, but she is someone Xiaogang values."

“I know Xiaogang’s personality too well. He definitely won’t be happy to be traded for Dongfang Yao.”

"Not to mention, Dongfang Yao and my disciple have a deep and abiding bond; they grew up together." "Tell me, what will my disciple think of me if I were to offer Dongfang Yao in exchange for someone else?"

"Sir, you should be able to understand my difficulties."

Chang Kun realized something was wrong: "What are you trying to do? The person is in my hands. I'm here to negotiate with you."

"What's the point of talking? You're already here, so just stay."

After saying that, Jiang Yun instantly produced the Three Pure Ones Fist in his hand. With a wave of his hand, the tail of the fly instantly bound Chang Kun tightly.

Although Chang Kun was an elder of the snake clan, he was only at the second rank. Moreover, he did not expect that Jiang Yun would suddenly attack him.

Most importantly, the snake clan was unaware that Jiang Yun had reached the first-grade realm...

He felt confident and fearless in coming to see Jiang Yun.

He was evenly matched with Jiang Yun in strength, and he also had hostages in his hands...

But Jiang Yun's strength far exceeded his expectations.

Looking at the trapped Chang Kun, Jiang Yun calmly said, "Now we can have a proper chat, right?"

“You…” Chang Kun gritted his teeth slightly, took a deep breath, and said, “I am Chang Kun, an elder of the snake clan.”

People of the snake race?

No, it's the snake race again...

The snake clan elder died at his own hands.

The snake clan chief died at his own wedding banquet.

Now another elder from the snake clan has arrived.

So you're incompatible with the snake clan?
Jiang Yun asked expressionlessly, "Alright, the next question is, why did you capture Dongfang Yao?"

"I can't say." Chang Kun said without hesitation or doubt.

Instantly, the tail of the Three Pure Ones Flick contracted and tightened, the intense pressure causing Chang Kun to grit his teeth in pain. Its eyes turned into snake pupils, staring straight at Jiang Yun: "Jiang Yun, if you dare to act recklessly, my Serpent Saint will not let you off easily."

Seeing that the other party had brought up the Serpent Saint, Jiang Yun had some doubts, but he didn't show it on his face: "Can you exchange yourself for Xu Xiaogang?"

"I……"

"Where are your men? Do you have any way to contact them?" Jiang Yun asked slowly.

Seeing that the other party did not speak, the tail of the Three Pure Ones whisk tightened instantly. The intense pain forced Chang Kun to nod repeatedly and say, "Yes, yes, yes!"

"That's good."

……

Soon, the carriage slowly drove to the Sanqing Temple.

The streets surrounding Sanqing Temple were patrolled and protected by the Imperial Guards.

Jiang Yun held the Three Pure Ones Flying Staff in his right hand. Chang Kun, who was bound and floating in mid-air, was taken inside by Jiang Yun like a balloon.

Soon, Wen Chen arrived upon hearing the news. Seeing Chang Kun captured by Jiang Yun, he asked, "Master, what is this?"

"Go and call Dongfang Yao over," Jiang Yun said slowly.

"Yes." Wen Chen was puzzled. He glanced at Chang Kun, then quickly turned around to inform Miss Dongfang.

Not long after, Dongfang Yao, who was already having trouble sleeping, rushed over upon hearing the news.

"Lord Jiang, who is this person?" Dongfang Yao asked curiously.

"They probably want to catch the mastermind behind your actions," Jiang Yun said calmly.

Dongfang Yao looked at Jiang Yun in surprise and couldn't help but praise, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard is so capable! They found out the person behind this so quickly!"

Back when I was wandering the martial arts world, I had heard many legends about the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and I never imagined that their reputation was well-deserved.

Jiang Yun, flattered by the praise, couldn't help but touch her nose, thinking to herself, "Isn't this Chang Kun just delivering himself to my doorstep?"

Dongfang Yao, however, was still concerned about Xu Xiaogang: "Lord Jiang, the mastermind behind this has been caught, but what about Xu Xiaogang..."

Jiang Yun: "Doesn't this still require an investigation?"

Jiang Yun slowly turned around and asked, "Chang Kun, tell me, why did you capture Miss Dongfang?"

Chang Kun closed his eyes, feigning ignorance: "I don't know."

He also figured that Jiang Yun wouldn't dare kill him; at most, he would use him to exchange for Xu Xiaogang's return.

As for Dongfang Yao's secret, he dared not reveal it; if he did, things would get out of hand.

Jiang Yun felt somewhat helpless looking at his attitude.

The methods used by the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the Imperial Prison are passable for dealing with ordinary people, but even they may not be able to extract much information from ordinary people with strong willpower.

It's unrealistic to expect to get anything out of Chang Kun using those methods.

Soon, the tail that had been binding Chang Kun was released.

"Notify your men to bring Xu Xiaogang over tomorrow night to replace him. The location is at the gate of the North Garrison Command."

"If you dare to play any tricks, I'll kill you." Jiang Yun paused and said, "I've killed quite a few of your snake clan members. I'm not just trying to scare you, understand?"

"You'd better not try anything funny."

Chang Kun's face darkened. He bit his finger, and a drop of blood slowly fell. Before it hit the ground, the drop of blood transformed into a small, crimson snake.

He slowly squatted down, glanced at Jiang Yun, and said to the little snake, "Tomorrow evening, take Duke Zhenguo Xu Xiaogang to the Northern Garrison to exchange people. I've fallen into Jiang Yun's hands, and he wants to use me to exchange for Xu Xiaogang. Don't try any tricks."

After saying this, the little red snake burrowed into the ground and disappeared without a trace.

"Lord Jiang, are you satisfied now?"

Jiang Yun smiled and said, "Of course, tonight I will give Elder Chang a proper welcome."

……

Outside the capital, in a house, two monsters guarding Xu Xiaogang were watching the time outside the courtyard, waiting for Elder Chang Kun to return.

Unexpectedly, a small snake suddenly emerged from the ground.

"It's Elder Chang who sent us a letter," one of the demons quickly called out to the other.

After the small red snake emerged, Elder Chang's voice rang out.

"Tomorrow evening, take Duke Zhenguo Xu Xiaogang to the Northern Garrison to exchange people. I've fallen into Jiang Yun's hands, and he wants to use me to exchange for Xu Xiaogang. Don't try anything clever."

Upon hearing this, the two of them immediately looked worried.

"Elder Chang has been captured by Jiang Yun, what should we do?"

"That goes without saying, we'll use Xu Xiaogang to exchange for Elder Chang."

The other person frowned: "No, no, Elder Chang was just scolding us for being stupid."

"Think about it, Elder Chang specifically told us not to try anything clever."

"Elder Chang already thought we were both stupid, so he wouldn't normally try to be clever."

"But Elder Chang's comment is a subtle way of telling us to be smart and not just hand people over like this."

The two exchanged a glance, both sensing that Elder Chang had implied something.

(End of this chapter)