I manage female characters in all the heavens.

There was only one line of text above, written in neat handwriting, exactly the same as the handwriting on the transaction letter:

[You've had a long and tiring night, Marquis, get some rest. Don't be surprised; this lesson will be good for your growth.]

puff--!!!

Zhu Wushi spat out a mouthful of blood, staining the note in his hand red.

It wasn't an injury, it was extreme anger that overwhelmed him!

Growth? At my level, what growth is there to speak of?!

He suddenly remembered the fragrant cardamom he had obtained in the basement of the manor.

That bean... that bean he had gone through so much trouble, almost losing his life underground, to get it...

He immediately took it out of his pocket and examined it carefully. The more he looked at it, the more familiar it seemed. Wasn't this the one he had put in the hidden compartment? The wrinkles and patterns on it were exactly the same as he remembered.

It's the one from before! He only just realized it!!

"Aaaaaaahh ...

The roar, like that of a wounded prehistoric beast, rose from the underground chamber and shook the entire Dragon Guard Manor!

The buildings on the ground had their doors and windows shattered! The stone carvings and artificial hills in the courtyard were covered with fine, spiderweb-like cracks!

Duan Tianya, Guihai Yidao, and Shangguan Haitang were discussing the strange phenomena in the capital in the council hall when they heard the noise and their faces turned pale with horror. They rushed toward the underground entrance together.

But they couldn't get in.

The entire underground area was sealed off by a violent, invisible true energy. The entrance was filled with overflowing qi, and touching it would cause injury!

Inside the secret room, Zhu Wushi's eyes were bloodshot, his long hair stood on end, and his true energy was leaking out uncontrollably like a volcanic eruption!

How terrifying is a thousand years of internal energy? Not to mention the thousand years of internal energy formed by the unparalleled divine skill of the Absorption Technique.

More than a decade ago, the combined power of the more than one hundred masters from the eight major sects by Taihu Lake far exceeded a thousand years. So how could he have secretly absorbed power for more than a decade without stopping, which would probably amount to several thousand years?

He used the Absorption Technique to refine, purify, and unify these complex millennia-old elements, ultimately forming a thousand-year-old power that surpassed everyone's imagination.

At this moment, he was so enraged that he lost control. With the burst of his true energy, the walls of the secret room, which were made of fine steel, began to twist and deform, as if a huge bomb was about to explode!

"I...I will kill you...I will kill your entire family...I will kill everyone connected to you!!!"

He roared and threw a punch at the top of his head!

Boom! ...

The three-zhang-thick layer of soil, stone slabs, and steel plates was blasted through by this punch! The palace above was also shattered, and the ruins were scattered throughout the Dragon Guard Manor, leaving everyone dumbfounded.

Sunlight streamed through the hole, illuminating his hideous, demonic face.

Zhu Wushi leaped out and landed on the roof of the main hall of the Dragon Guardian Manor.

He looked down at the guards and servants running around in panic. Everywhere he looked, everyone seemed to have fallen into an ice cave and collapsed to the ground.

He couldn't even withstand a single Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom; he couldn't see the meaning of the Dragon Guard Manor's existence, and the impulse to destroy everything was brewing in his heart.

"Godfather! What's wrong with you?!" Duan Tianya cried out urgently. He had never seen such a terrifying godfather before.

"Godfather!" Haitang exclaimed, trying to wake her most respected godfather.

Guihai Yidao remained silent, merely resting his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to strike at any moment. If Shenhou launched an attack against him, he would retaliate with a fatal blow, displaying utter ruthlessness and indifference.

This is understandable, of course.

Firstly, he was not Zhu Wushi's adopted son and didn't have much affection for Zhu Wushi to begin with; secondly, he was now in the state of perfected Ruthlessness, severing all feelings, righteousness, pity, love, relatives, and friends, including Zhu Wushi and his two colleagues.

Zhu Wushi did not respond. He simply raised his right hand slowly, palm facing the sky, his power roaring, and a vast aura soaring into the sky.

Dark clouds gathered in the sky again, this time covering a much larger area—almost half of the capital city!

Low-hanging clouds, streaked lightning, and thunder roared like the wrath of the heavens. Millions of people in the capital looked up in terror, wondering why this apocalyptic scene kept recurring.

However, this time, everyone could tell where the strange phenomenon was coming from: the direction of the Dragon Guard Manor!

Inside the palace, Zhu Houzhao, who had long since returned to the throne, pushed away the beauty in his arms and rushed outside the hall. His face turned deathly pale as he looked at the dark clouds that had suddenly appeared, centered on the Dragon Guard Manor and covering half of the capital.

"Imperial Uncle... is he even human?"

Duan Tianya and the others were all shocked. To actually manipulate the phenomena of heaven and earth with human energy was simply inhuman. And what are you doing, Godfather?!

finally……

Zhu Wushi took a deep breath and slowly lowered his hand.

The dark clouds in the sky gradually receded.

He can't do that.

It's not that I can't bear to, but that I can't.

If he were to destroy the Dragon Guard Manor in a fit of rage at this moment, the image he had cultivated over the years would completely collapse, and his grand plan to seize the throne would be in vain.

Moreover, Su Xin has not yet been saved, and he still needs the Dragon Guard Manor to find out the location of the last Heavenly Fragrance Cardamom.

"Calm down... calm down..."

Zhu Wushi closed his eyes and forced himself to calm his breathing.

When he opened his eyes again, they had regained their former depth and majesty—only deep within them, there was a trace of scarlet that could never be erased.

"Tianya," he said, his voice hoarse.

"Yes!" Duan Tianya knelt on one knee, letting out a sigh of relief.

"Use all the resources of the Dragon Guard Manor to investigate." Zhu Wushi said, enunciating each word clearly. "Investigate all suspicious persons who have entered or left the capital in the past few days, investigate all undercover agents involved in underground transactions, and investigate all clues related to explosives and Tianxiang Doukou."

"I must find out—who exactly is mocking me!"

"Yes!" Duan Tianya accepted the order and left.

Shangguan Haitang looked worried. As the most intelligent and meticulous of the three secret agents, she noticed the change in her adoptive father and began to have some doubts about his sense of justice.

This is her professional habit, and also her intuition.

Emotionally, she didn't want to believe that her most respected godfather had a problem, but rationally, doubt was doubt.

She didn't know what to do.

Seven more days have passed in a flash.

During these seven days, the capital city appeared calm on the surface, but undercurrents were surging beneath.

Under Yunluo's angry clamor to help the Imperial Uncle find out who was playing tricks on him, the Eastern Depot and the Dragon Guard Manor cooperated sincerely for the first time. Countless spies swarmed through the city like locusts, turning the capital upside down.

The underworld is in a state of panic as the secret strongholds of various factions are uprooted and hundreds of people are secretly arrested and interrogated.

But, nothing was gained.

Yunluo handled things too cleanly.

All the black-clad assassins who participated in the transaction committed suicide after completing the mission, leaving no trace of their remains. Those who did leave behind were so badly mutilated that their origins could not be determined.

Yagyu Tajima-no-kami's body was disposed of by "Yunluo," and all traces were erased. Zhu Wushi waited for him for a long time that day but never saw him, so he knew that he was probably already dead.

The ruins of the West Suburb Manor were completely destroyed by Zhu Wushi's palm strike, with even the explosive residue buried deep underground.

As for the theft of Tianxiang Doukou—the secret chamber of Hulong Villa was intact, with no signs of damage, as if the bean had grown legs and run away on its own.

Zhu Wushi even suspected an inside job, but after investigating, everyone was found to be innocent.

All leads have gone cold.

Zhu Wushi sat in his study, looking at the mountain of useless intelligence, his face so gloomy it could drip water.

He knew he had encountered the most formidable opponent of his life.

An opponent who is shrewd, ruthless, and knows him very well.

"Who could it be..."

He muttered to himself, names flashing through his mind, until only two remained: Cao Zhengchun? Gu Santong?

It's all possible.

Just then, there was a gentle knock on the study door.

"Come in."

Shangguan Haitang pushed open the door and entered, her expression solemn: "Godfather, I just received news... Pi Xiaotian, the acting supervisor of the Eastern Depot, secretly left the capital three days ago, and his whereabouts are unknown."

"Currently, the head of the Eastern Depot is a handsome eunuch named Cao Shaoqin, who is said to be Cao Zhengchun's nephew."

Zhu Wushi's eyes narrowed: "How many men did Pi Xiaotian bring?"

"A thousand elite troops, all top-notch fighters from the Eastern Depot; the Black-Clad Arrow Squad has also been taken away." Shangguan Haitang paused.

"In addition, we also found that before Pi Xiaotian left the capital, he took 127 death row inmates from the prison. Those people also disappeared. They were all masters with extraordinary martial arts skills."

One hundred and twenty-seven death row inmates, all highly skilled...

One thousand elite troops from the Eastern Depot...

Zhu Wushi felt bewildered. When did the Eastern Depot start recruiting people from prisoners?

"What did you go there for? Did you find anything?"

"It is said that the Eastern Depot suffered heavy casualties in an attack by Japanese female assassins at the Cheng residence. This time, they are sending troops to Japan to avenge their defeat and also to punish the disloyal."

Zhu Wushi remained expressionless. "There are no disloyal subjects in Dongying; they are all my lackeys."

No, that's not right. The black-clad assassins in the previous transaction were all dealt with using Japanese ninjutsu. This must have been done with the help of a master from Japan.

So it seems there really are disloyal people in Japan.

"Order my spies from the Dragon Guard Manor to temporarily cease their conflict with the Eastern Depot's spies, so as not to cause trouble for Pi Xiaotian's campaign against Japan. They may even provide assistance if necessary."

“Japan really needs to be taught a lesson. This is a rare good thing that the Eastern Depot has done. I support them,” Zhu Wushi said to Shangguan Haitang.

Shangguan Haitang accepted the order and left.

"Pure Heart..."

He whispered his lover's name, a hint of vulnerability flashing in his eyes.

But soon, vulnerability was replaced by a deeper obsession.

"No matter what... I must save you."