Hurt my loved ones? I'm not guarding this country's borders anymore!

"What do we do next?"

Xuanwu's voice was deep, tinged with worry.

Shen Jinglong's gaze shifted from the new landlord's cold corpse.

It landed on his shoulder, and the wound was so deep that you could see the bone.

The strange blood flames were still gnawing at his flesh, causing him excruciating pain.

But he didn't show any expression on his face, as if he wasn't the one who was injured at all.

"Clean up the battlefield."

His voice was calm and undisturbed.

"Tie up all the survivors. Don't let any of them escape."

He glanced again at the old man with the crooked mouth.

"Crooked Mouth, you know this place best. Go, turn this place upside down, dig out anything of value."

"Alright!"

Upon hearing this, the old man with the crooked mouth immediately perked up, his eyes shining.

"Just you wait and see, Dragon Lord!"

He was ecstatic: "Hey, I knew this place was something else! I almost got killed, I have to make a killing this time! Good heavens, I feel like I'm going to strike it rich!"

Xuanwu received the order and immediately began to deal with the blood slaves and prisoners who had been defeated.

The old man with the crooked mouth was like a mouse that had fallen into a rice jar, tapping and touching everything in the secret room, not letting any corner go unchecked.

"Dragon Lord, what is this?"

Before long, he discovered a well-hidden compartment behind the armchair where the new landlord had fallen.

There wasn't much gold or silver treasure inside, just a book wrapped in animal hide and a few small porcelain bottles.

Shen Jinglong took the booklet and opened it.

In that one glance, the murderous intent that was about to burst forth from his eyes instantly froze into eternal ice.

This is actually the Bloodflame Lord's "work diary".

The densely packed small characters on it detailed how their organization searched for and cultivated "Blood Phoenix Bodies" as sacrifices for the so-called "Holy Lord" behind them.

His daughter, Sisi, was the only and most perfect "Blood Phoenix Body" they had found.

Holy Lord? Sacrifice? King Anle!!!

Shen Jinglong's fists clenched so tightly they cracked, his knuckles turning white, a surge of boundless rage burning within him.

No matter who's behind you, if you dare to plot against my daughter, I, Shen Jinglong, will make you all sacrifices for her!

He suppressed the murderous intent in his heart and continued reading.

The diary entry states that the author had never seen what the "Holy Lord" looked like. He only knew that the "Holy Lord" was an incredibly powerful figure in the Dragon Kingdom, with an absurdly high status. Even the King of Anle had to bow and scrape before him, behaving like a dog.

The diary also confirms the deal between Prince Anle and "Blood Flame"—using his power to exchange for "Blood Spirit Pills" that could enhance his skills, all in order to climb the ranks.

More importantly, at the end of the diary, a method was recorded to temporarily suppress the cold poison of the "Blood Phoenix Body" with "pure yang substances" and prolong the life of the host.

This confirms what the crooked-mouthed old man said earlier.

Just as Shen Jinglong was digesting these earth-shattering secrets, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the secret room.

"Commander Long!"

The Vermilion Bird, radiating a blood-red aura, strode in and knelt on one knee.

"Reporting to Commander Long! The abandoned mine stronghold has been completely wiped out; not a single enemy escaped!!!"

It turned out that Shen Jinglong had given the signal as soon as the battle started at the brewery.

The Vermilion Bird and Dragon Guard, who had been putting on an act in the abandoned mine, immediately dropped their disguises and launched a devastating attack on the "Blood Flame" and "Shadow Tower" assassins who thought they were hunters.

The assassins thought they had the cat in the bag, but they didn't expect to be the ones caught in the act.

Before being hacked to pieces, the leader of the assassins, speaking with a Liuzhou accent, was still shouting, "What the hell is going on! This was supposed to be a drill, are you serious?"

Shen Jinglong snapped the animal-skin book shut.

Get up.

He glanced at the prisoners who were tied up in a string by Xuanwu, and several of them were clearly leaders.

"Separate them and take them to different cellars."

"I want to conduct the trial myself."

"Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, you two go and interrogate the commander of the 'Shadow Guard.' I need to know all of King Anle's plans."

"Crooked Mouth, come with me. We'll interrogate this leader of the 'Blood Flame' gang."

"yes!"

---

The interrogation began.

In a dark and damp wine cellar, the leader of the Shadow Guard was tied to a pillar.

He was still stubborn, with a disdainful look on his face.

"Don't waste your energy. I won't say anything. The prince will avenge me!"

The Vermilion Bird smiled, a smile that sent chills down the spine of the Black Tortoise standing beside it.

"revenge?"

She stepped forward and lightly tapped the commander's face with the dagger.

"Did you know? There's a kind of torture where you soak a person in boiling lees and slowly cook them. The skin will rot first, then the muscles... but the person will remain conscious and personally experience the entire process of being boiled into a pot of mincemeat."

"You..." The commander's expression changed.

"I'm not a very patient person." Suzaku's eyes instantly turned ruthless.

"You dare to play dirty tricks on Commander Long? I'll show you what it means to wish you were dead. You think you can keep a secret with just one Shadow Guard? Laughable."

Half an hour later, Zhuque emerged from the wine cellar, and the commander had completely collapsed.

He not only confirmed all the details of the cooperation between King Anle and "Blood Flame", but also revealed an even more vicious plan.

Zhuque and Xuanwu immediately reported to Shen Jinglong.

"General Long, that old scoundrel King Anle... he fabricated a batch of so-called evidence against you for colluding with the Northern Bear Kingdom!"

Zhuque's voice was filled with barely suppressed anger.

"He has already dispatched his trusted confidants, carrying this batch of incriminating evidence, to the Northern Border day and night. The plan is that once you lose power in Cangcheng or die, he will immediately detonate this evidence, ruining your reputation and ensuring you can never recover! Then, he will use this as a pretext to interfere in the military affairs of the Northern Border!"

After hearing the report, the secret room became eerily quiet.

Both Xuanwu and Zhuque lowered their heads, not daring to look at Shen Jinglong's expression.

They expected to see Commander Long fly into a rage.

Instead, they heard a low chuckle.

"Hehe... Hahahaha!"

Shen Jinglong laughed, his laughter filled with chilling coldness and murderous intent.

You want to ruin my reputation? Fine, very well!!! I'd like to see whether your sword, Prince Anle's, is faster, or my spear, Shen Jinglong's, is sharper!

He looked up, his eyes bloodshot, but his gaze was as sharp as a knife.

"Any news from Qinglong's side?"

"Yes!" Xuanwu replied immediately, "The Azure Dragon General has already laid a tight net along the northern border as you instructed, ready to intercept the messenger at any time!"

"No need to stop us."

Shen Jinglong's words stunned everyone.

He issued the first command, his voice leaving no room for argument.

"Pass on my top-secret order to Qinglong-ren: let him in. Not only let him in, but 'welcome' him into the country. I want to catch him red-handed. I want this charade to be performed in front of all the soldiers in the North, make it as big as possible!!!"

"This..." Xuanwu was stunned.

"Prince Anle, this is just the beginning." Shen Jinglong's lips curled into a cruel smile. "You gave me a great gift, so naturally I will return the favor with a surprise."

He looked at the Vermilion Bird and gave his second order.

"Pack these people, along with all the evidence here, into a 'return gift' and send it directly to the Emperor's desk in the capital!"