Chapter 1690: Sending a Death Sentence

Zu'an was startled, then calmly replied, "I receive a court salary and am an Embroidered Uniform Emissary, who values loyalty above all else. How could I not be loyal to the nation?"

Tang Tian'er sighed faintly, "It seems you don't truly consider me a friend, unwilling to tell me the truth."

Zu'an smiled slightly, "Don't you also have many secrets? I haven't asked you to tell me all of yours."

"But the information I've given you is clearly more than what you've told me," Tang Tian'er pouted, evidently a bit displeased.

Zu'an mused, "I even told you my identity as Golden Token Eleven. Do you still think I don't consider you a friend?"

Tang Tian'er paused, then her usual sweet smile appeared on her face, her mood visibly brightening.

"Is there something you need, coming to find me this time?" Zu'an seized the opportunity to probe.

"Can't I come to see you if there's nothing wrong?" Tang Tian'er scoffed, but then added, "Actually, there is something I need to tell you this time. After you hear it, you can decide if such an emperor is worth your loyalty."

"What is it?" Zu'an's spirits lifted immediately when he heard it concerned the emperor.

"You should know why the imperial court and the demon race have been at war recently, right?" Tang Tian'er asked.

"Apparently, a small border city was massacred by the demon race, and the emperor, in a rage, dispatched the Qin family's two dukes with a large army to suppress them," Zu'an replied. The Qin family's expedition had been going on for a long time. Unfortunately, the demon race wasn't easy to deal with; both sides were locked in fierce combat, originally at a stalemate. It was only after he returned from the demon lands that a chance for peace talks emerged.

However, what he had always found strange was the massacre. He had served as regent of the demon race, and the intelligence he gathered at the time indicated the demons hadn't committed the act; he believed it was a human frame-up.

Still, he hadn't dwelled on it much. After all, it was possible for the official demon authorities to deny it, and the demon royal court's control over local regions wasn't strong enough. Some local demon factions had considerable autonomy, so secretly committing such an act and then denying it was also plausible.

At this moment, Tang Tian'er suddenly spoke, "That massacre wasn't carried out by the demon race. It was the emperor who did it."

"What?" Zu'an was stunned. His first reaction was disbelief. After all, although Zhao Hao had some character flaws, he was still considered a capable emperor, and that small city's inhabitants were his own subjects. Why would he do such a thing?

"You know our Carefree Pavilion excels at gathering intelligence. Back then, during that massacre, our pavilion suspected something was amiss, so we sent people to investigate further. We've only recently confirmed it," Tang Tian'er paused, then continued, "Has your immediate superior, Zhuxie Chixin, disappeared recently?"

"That's right. He seems to have gone on some secret mission," Zu'an replied in a deep voice.

"What secret mission? In the end, wasn't it just to massacre the people of that small city?" Tang Tian'er's expression was cold.

Zu'an frowned, "Why would they do that?"

"According to our investigations recently, Zhuxie Chixin seems to be refining an evil elixir using the lives of an entire city. After analysis by the higher-ups in Carefree Pavilion, we speculate that Zhao Hao either had his five heavenly decays accelerated or was injured, requiring the essence, blood, and souls of a city's populace to replenish himself. However, Zhao Hao is already unmatched in the world, and there have been no recent reports of him fighting anyone. So, it's likely the former."

Zu'an's mind suddenly became clear. He naturally knew what had happened to Zhao Hao. Back in the Western Dog Hill secret realm, his fragmented soul, possessing the crown prince, had been utterly annihilated. His loss was unimaginable.

He had never expected Zhao Hao to be so deranged, using an entire city's population to refine medicine.

At the same time, he finally understood the mysterious list. He had previously wondered why anyone would be so audacious as to attack Zhao Hao. Now it seemed they had all learned through their own channels that Zhao Hao was injured, which made them eager to act.

"You seem to believe it already?" Seeing his expression, Tang Tian'er was a little surprised, having originally thought she would need to expend great effort to convince him.

"Do you have evidence?" Although Zu'an largely believed it in his heart, he kept a straight face outwardly.

"No, the entire city's population was massacred. Who could find evidence? It's simply the most probable judgment we've made by synthesizing various pieces of information," Tang Tian'er added, "unless Zhuxie Chixin is captured and interrogated."

Zu'an naturally knew that was impossible. He said in a deep voice, "Are you here to ask me to cooperate with you?"

Tang Tian'er shook her head, smiling, "No, I just wanted to tell you this. Don't think I have ulterior motives for you~"

Then she waved at Zu'an, "I still have things to handle, so I'll be leaving now. Let's chat again next time we have a chance."

With that, she skipped away, clearly in a good mood.

Zu'an fell into thought. An understanding between him and Zhao Hao was inevitable sooner or later. Before, it was merely for self-preservation, but now, there were also the innocent souls of that massacred city.

As for Tang Tian'er suddenly telling him this without asking for anything in return, it was also understandable. She likely wanted to plant a seed in his heart so that if things truly escalated in the future, he might not side with Zhao Hao.

However, she didn't know that he also wanted to deal with Zhao Hao. Of course, even if he told her now, Carefree Pavilion would suspect he was trying to use the opportunity to infiltrate their ranks and would become guarded. So, the current state was better.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. The young lady has been gone for so long, and you're still staring wistfully in the direction she left," at this moment, Yun Jianyue's sarcastic voice rang out.

Qiu Honglei stood beside her, but her expression at this moment was extremely peculiar. Why did it feel like her master had stolen her line? Shouldn't it be her turn to show this temper?

Hmm, it must be because Master cares for me, worried that I'd become a jealous woman in Azu's eyes and lose points when competing with Chu Chuyan.

Oh, Master is truly too kind, always thinking of me. She's the one who acts as the villain. I must repay her well in the future.

Zu'an retorted irritably, "Sister Yun, where is your mind going? She just told me something very shocking."

"What?" Seeing how serious he sounded, the two women no longer cared about their playful jealousy.

Only then did Zu'an explain the massacre. Qiu Honglei listened, her indignation rising, "How utterly inhumane! How could that dog emperor commit such a beastly act!"

Yun Jianyue sneered, "Compared to the desires of these emperors, what are the lives of ordinary people? Especially Zhao Hao, who is inherently cold-blooded. However, with him acting so perversely, his downfall isn't far off."

She had now made up her mind to find a way to spread this news, thereby shaking Zhao Hao's foundation. After all, their Demonic Sect had always been in opposition to the imperial court.

After the few of them discussed for a while, Zu'an asked, "What are your plans now? Do you still intend to return to Purple Mountain?"

At this, Qiu Honglei looked at him with a half-smile, "So, do you want me to go back to Purple Mountain and fight with that Miss Pei?"