Chapter 1034: 妖异光芒

Sang Hong thought about their interactions over this period and admitted that Gold-Medal Eleven was indeed very mysterious, so he didn't press the matter further.

Meanwhile, Pei You was still caught up in the excitement of the recent events. "Lord Eleven is incredibly cool!" he exclaimed. "He took down so many soldiers with just a few gestures. From now on, why should we ever fear Jian Taiding's army?"

"It's not that simple," Sang Hong, who clearly had more extensive knowledge, interjected. "True armies possess many countermeasures against this kind of sonic attack."

In truth, he wasn't sure if it was a sonic attack or a soul attack, as he himself had felt his soul tremble at the time.

"It was incredibly impressive anyway. I must find a chance to ask him about it. If I could learn that technique, imagine how grand I'd be!" Pei You's eyes shone with excitement, clearly already fantasizing about the scene of himself showing off with a musical instrument in front of a crowd.

Zu An coughed. "I'm afraid you won't be able to learn that."

"Hmph, my talent is among the best of my peers…" Pei You glanced at Zu An, his confidence instantly waning. "Although I'm not as good as Brother Zu, I'm still easily among the top three or four. How could I not learn it?"

Zu An's expression was peculiar. Daji's ability was an innate skill; even if she could speak, she couldn't teach it, let alone the fact that she couldn't speak at all.

"Alright, alright, this is definitely related to cultivation," Sang Hong advised with the air of a senior. "Your cultivation isn't high enough, and attempting to learn it forcefully would only harm you."

Pei You nodded. "Lord Eleven's cultivation is indeed unfathomable. What rank has he reached? Or is he already a Grandmaster?"

Sang Hong shook his head. "I can't see through him either. His cultivation doesn't appear very high, yet the combat power he displayed was extremely astonishing."

He himself could never have subdued so many county soldiers with such ease today.

"I was originally quite worried, but now I realize how mistaken I was. Those appointed as Gold-Medal Embroidered Uniform Envoys are truly peerless masters," Sang Hong exclaimed with admiration. "Now that we have Gold-Medal Eleven and A'Zu, even if we genuinely fall out with Jian Taiding, we have nothing to fear."

Zu An was sipping tea to clear his throat and nearly choked at Sang Hong's words. He felt it necessary to offer a reminder: "Uh, although Lord Eleven is unfathomable, we shouldn't rely on him too heavily. Remember, his mission might not align with ours, which is probably why he's consistently avoided meeting us. Furthermore, he operates in the shadows, making timely communication difficult. What if a conflict truly arises, and he happens not to be around?"

He was aware of Sang Hong's strategic capabilities and worried about misleading him into overestimating their strength, potentially leading to wrong decisions. Therefore, he felt it best to clarify the situation beforehand.

Sang Hong nodded repeatedly. "You are indeed thoughtful, A'Zu. What you said is quite possible. From now on, when we do anything, we must account for the possibility of his absence."

Zu An seized the opportunity. "Perhaps we should interrogate Dong Jin first?"

Discussing himself with others while pretending not to know it was him felt truly strange.

Using Daji to impersonate Gold-Medal Eleven inevitably had some flaws, and he worried that continuing the discussion might expose them.

"Good!" Sang Hong had originally intended to meet Gold-Medal Eleven first to express his gratitude and discuss the current situation. Since the other party was absent, interrogating Dong Jin became the immediate priority. "Bring Xiao Jianren along."

Xiao Jianren was a Silver-Medal Embroidered Uniform Envoy, and investigating cases was their forte. With Gold-Medal Eleven absent, he was the highest-ranking Embroidered Uniform Envoy present.

Soon, the group arrived at the makeshift prison, where Dong Jin sat listlessly on the bed.

The Imperial Guard had already administered wound medicine to him, and though his injuries were severe, his life was no longer in danger.

"Lord Dong, tell us, who sent you to stir up trouble?" Sang Hong asked coldly.

"No one sent me," Dong Jin replied. "I was merely indignant that the Prefect was arrested by you for no reason and came to demand an explanation." He then secretly glanced at Zu An, finding it hard to believe that this seemingly delicate person possessed such terrifying explosive power.

"We had just apprehended him, and you immediately arrived with troops. How could that be such a coincidence?" Sang Hong scoffed. "Don't use 'constantly observing city movements' as an excuse. Even if your spies were spread throughout the entire city, you couldn't have reacted that quickly."

Dong Jin hesitated for a moment before replying, "It seems I was set up. Earlier, some subordinates reported what had happened to me, claiming the Prefect had sent someone to ask for my help. I didn't think much of it at the time and brought my men here."

"Which specific subordinates?" Xiao Jianren, standing nearby, interjected, pulling out a small notebook to take notes.

"Zhang Yong, Wang Hu, Zhao Wei…" Dong Jin listed several names, then quickly added, "They were the ones who committed suicide outside earlier. I never imagined they were assassins sent by others. I've truly been victimized this time."

Sang Hong sneered, "Are you trying to pin everything on the dead, creating a case with no witnesses?"

"I truly didn't lie." Dong Jin immediately became flustered. However, those individuals had reported to him privately at the time, and there were no other witnesses. As he desperately searched for a way to clear his name, his eyes suddenly lit up. "Right, under those circumstances, those assassins clearly intended to escalate the situation. If a real fight had broken out, I probably would have died too. Why would my own retainers try to kill me?"

"Besides, I'm just a county commandant. I don't have the means to support so many assassins."

Sang Hong and the others exchanged glances, then Xiao Jianren spoke, "We will determine whether you're telling the truth or not. Provide detailed information on the family backgrounds, personal histories, and social connections of those individuals you just mentioned, without any omissions."

"Yes, yes, yes," Dong Jin, his arrogance completely gone, quickly recounted the information about those individuals.

Seeing that no more information could be extracted, Sang Hong and the others departed first.

"What do you all think?" Sang Hong asked with a frown.

"Dong Jin likely isn't lying," Pei You said. "Only ancient aristocratic families with centuries of heritage have the resources to cultivate such assassins. I've reviewed Dong Jin's background; he comes from humble origins and couldn't possibly afford them."

As someone from one of the Great Zhou Dynasty's top aristocratic families, he was well-qualified to make such a judgment.

"So who is truly behind this?" Zu An also agreed with the assessment; a mere county commandant wouldn't possess such capabilities.

"Although the current situation is complex and chaotic, there's a principle that helps see through to the essence of an event," Sang Hong began. "Whoever is the biggest beneficiary of this incident is the most suspicious."

"Jian Taiding!" Zu An and Pei You exclaimed in unison.

"Exactly. Previously, the Prefect's Mansion and the Governor-General's Office were at odds, balancing each other out. Now that Zuo Su has fallen, and a series of his trusted subordinates like the county commandant have also been implicated, Jian Taiding will become the sole dominant power." Sang Hong's brows furrowed with worry; he felt manipulated by Jian Taiding but had no choice but to follow his lead.

After all, Zuo Su's collusion with the demon race was a grave matter.

"I just feel like something isn't right," Zu An said, frowning, but he couldn't articulate what it was.

Just then, Xiao Jianren emerged after taking the confession. Sang Hong said, "Lord Xiao, I'll trouble you to investigate the backgrounds of those assassins and see if you can uncover any clues."

However, since they were called assassins, their previous records and backgrounds were likely fabricated. One could only hope they inadvertently left some flaws or omissions.

"Yes!" Xiao Jianren was about to depart when Zu An called out to him:

"Earlier, I asked you to keep an eye on the Crown Prince of Qi's stronghold. Have you made any discoveries?"

"The Crown Prince of Qi has consistently kept a low profile. Apart from occasionally visiting the Pei family, he only goes to various shops to buy gifts for Miss Pei: food, clothes, and everyday items."

"Has no one else visited him?"

"No."

"How often does he visit the Pei family?"

"Almost every day."

Seeing that Zu An had no further questions, Xiao Jianren cupped his hands and left to investigate the backgrounds of those soldiers.

At this point, Pei You clicked his tongue. "I didn't expect the Crown Prince of Qi to be such a romantic, going to visit my cousin every day to show his affection."

"That's not right!" Zu An suddenly stood up. "Zhao Zhi, despite his arrogance and various flaws, is certainly not someone who would neglect important matters for the sake of beauty."

"And Da Manman... *cough, cough*, even if he were truly infatuated, King Qi would never permit it. The Pei family has a problem!"

"What problem?" Pei You was startled. Although Pei Shao's branch wasn't directly related to theirs, they were still part of the Pei family, and he worried they might have committed some heinous crime.

"Can't say for sure now. We'll only know after an investigation." Zu An could no longer sit still.

Pei You said, "How about I accompany you? As fellow members of the Pei family, I expect they'll show me some deference."

"No need, it's easier for me to act alone." What a joke; with Da Manman as his personal insider, why would he need anyone else?

"Very well, be careful on your journey!" Sang Hong advised.

Zu An nodded and quickly vanished into the night.

Sang Hong turned to Pei You. "Send more guards to watch Zuo Su. Under no circumstances can he be allowed to send messages to the outside world."

"Leave it to me. I'll personally guard him; I guarantee not even a fly will get near him." Pei You accepted the order and departed.

He soon arrived outside the prison cell and sat in meditation, simultaneously extending his aura to monitor every blade of grass and tree around him.

In the dead of night, Pei You suddenly opened his eyes, a strange, eerie glow flickering within them.