Chapter 651: Ambush

"It's this person." Kongque nodded, her expression peculiar. The government's efficiency surprised her; it took her a while to process it.

"Then there's no mistake." The head constable let out a sigh of relief. If they had spent an entire day on this only to arrest the wrong person, it would have been a huge problem. Even if they had arrested the wrong person, the one they caught wasn't a good person anyway. According to the evidence they had, the person arrested was a major repeat offender with numerous crimes, and everyone involved in this operation would be credited with a significant achievement.

"According to regulations, Miss Kongque still needs to provide an identification statement. Would you be able to accompany us to the yamen?"

Kongque nodded; this was her duty as stipulated by law. "Can they come with me?" Kongque pointed to Lu Yang, the other two, and her sister Fuling. She felt a little nervous going to the yamen alone.

"Of course, they can, but they cannot observe while you give your statement." The head constable understood Kongque's concern; it was only natural.

As they spoke, two more constables came upstairs. "Which one is Miss Fuling? Oh, Brother Li, you're here too? Weren't you out arresting someone?" The two latecomer constables were surprised to see the head constable.

Brother Li, the head constable, casually replied, "We've finished the arrest and are now verifying with the victim. Xiao Wu, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, we just finished interrogating the suspect. According to the suspect's confession, she tried to hire a thug named Hong to assassinate a girl named Fuling, so we came to verify."

"Which one is Miss Fuling?"

"I—I am Fuling." Fuling sat up from the bed and stood beside her sister Kongque. But who would want to kill her?

Brother Li: "..."Xiao Wu: "..."

Have the assassins taken an interest in both you sisters, circling around you two?

"So, both of you ladies, would you come with us?"

The sisters nodded.

"Miss Kongque, you were also fortunate; you encountered a Qi Refinement stage assassin last night. According to the captured assassin's confession, there are still Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, and Nascent Soul stage assassins above him. If his mission failed, stronger assassins would be sent to kill you."

"Although it was due to our inadequate governance that an assassin was able to infiltrate the inn last night, rest assured, young lady, now that we have clues, a second assassination attempt will certainly not happen."

If last night's assassin hadn't revealed everything, the government wouldn't have dispatched three Soul Transformation stage cultivators and fifteen Nascent Soul stage cultivators. As for whether higher-level cultivators were secretly deployed, Brother Li did not know.

The five of them returned to the yamen, just like the previous night. The yamen guards at the gate were surprised; they were on night duty and had seen this same group of people for two consecutive nights.

"This humble monk would like to ask about the background of the patron who threatened Miss Kongque."

"I apologize, young master, but we have regulations that outsiders cannot inquire about ongoing cases."

Shi Chan nodded, indicating understanding. The imperial court was very professional in this regard. The Five Great Immortal Sects indeed had law enforcement authority, but they could not use it arbitrarily based on personal curiosity, as that would violate the original intent of establishing such authority. When the three of them gave their statements as witnesses last night, they claimed to be ordinary cultivators and used pseudonyms, without revealing their affiliation with immortal sects. The authorities would not extensively investigate the identity of witnesses.

In Shi Chan's experience, if you claimed to be a cultivator from one of the Five Great Immortal Sects, it would certainly alarm the city lord. The city lord would enthusiastically entertain you, then subtly inquire about when you planned to leave... After all, the immortal sects also had supervisory power, and if an immortal sect were to submit a complaint, a whole year's work could be wasted.

The two sisters were taken by two groups of constables to give their statements, while the three remained in the processing area, awaiting the outcome.

"Immortal, could you help us listen in on that interrogation?" Lu Yang couldn't help but ask.

At this moment, the Immortal Maiden was painting on the wall of the Grand Hall, holding a brush, with a pile of paint buckets at her feet. Her face was smeared with various colorful paints. As for what she was painting, it was too abstract for Lu Yang to discern for the time being.

"Alright." The Immortal Maiden tossed the brush into a bucket, wiped her face with the back of her hand, making it even more smudged, and shared her immortal consciousness with Lu Yang to probe the interrogation process of the arrested man. The interrogation room had a formation specifically designed to block divine sense probing, but it clearly couldn't block immortal consciousness.

Inside the interrogation room, enveloped by layers of formations, two experienced constables stared sternly at the recently apprehended man. The man was handsome, with a sinister aura, his hands bound by spirit-binding shackles, rendering his spiritual power unusable. The two experienced constables felt immense pressure; the man was suspected of having a mental illness, his thought process differing from ordinary people, and they weren't sure if he was faking it or genuinely ill.

"Name?"

The handsome man smiled nonchalantly, habitually fiddling with his fingernails, but unfortunately, he couldn't due to the spirit-binding shackles. "Heh, it's the first time anyone has dared to ask for my name so directly. It matters not if I tell you; my name is Yexiao."

"Age?"

"Sixteen hundred years old."

The constable slammed his hand on the table, pointing at the man and shouting, "I advise you to confess honestly! Don't play dumb with me!"

Yexiao's eyes darkened. "If I were you, I wouldn't raise my hand. You are just two low-level cultivators, yet you dare to lecture me. Go fetch someone in the Fusion stage who is worthy of speaking with me."

The other experienced constable seemed to realize something. He pulled his colleague back and asked suspiciously, "Are you an ancient Fusion stage cultivator who discarded cultivation and re-cultivated?"

"You have some insight."

The two constables suddenly understood; then it was no longer strange.

"Specific identity?"

"You don't even know who I am, yet you dare to arrest me. You've got some nerve!"

"I am Yexiao, the Lord of the Dark Night Pavilion. Even the Great Yu Emperor would treat me with respect!"

The two constables recalled their knowledge of ancient history. There seemed to be such an organization in ancient times, an assassin's guild, established in the 60,000th year of the Great Yu Calendar, 140,000 years ago from the present.

"Then why did you continue to establish an assassin organization after discarding your cultivation and re-cultivating?"

According to the arrest, this Yexiao had formed a new assassin organization and was domineering.

"You are but two mere insects, yet you dare to inquire about my plans. It matters not if I tell you."

"In the great struggle of this era, individual strength is limited. Competing for resources alone cannot ultimately contend with major powers. That is why I re-established the Dark Night Pavilion."

"Do you know what type of cultivator is the strongest? It's not a sword cultivator who shatters all techniques with a single strike, nor a body cultivator with unparalleled physique. Those are merely direct combatants. Among cultivators, when fighting, all means are employed. Assassination is the best combat method, and therefore, assassins are the strongest cultivators."

As he spoke, Yexiao slowly stood up. "The Dark Night Pavilion has returned to the world, and you are all sacrifices!"

"As for the woman who piqued my interest, Kongque, was it? She won't escape my grasp!"

"I've said it: she either submits to me, or she dies."

"Those who defy me have never been born!"

The constable slammed the table in anger. "Behave yourself! Sit down!"

Yexiao acted as if he hadn't heard, muttering to himself, "I discarded my cultivation and re-cultivated, so there will naturally be someone to protect my path."

The two constables' expressions changed, realizing something. There were still accomplices they hadn't caught, and their cultivation was not low!

A terrifying pressure enveloped the City Lord's Mansion, evidently from a Fusion stage cultivator! In the darkness, the Fusion stage cultivator extended a large hand, crushing the interrogation room's layered formations, tearing open the roof, and respectfully said, "Pavilion Master, I am late."

"Too slow. Go back and receive your punishment!"

The Vice-Pavilion Master had been cultivated by Yexiao since childhood and bore the master-servant mark. Even though Yexiao had discarded his cultivation and re-cultivated, and their cultivation levels differed greatly, the Vice-Pavilion Master still had to obey Yexiao's commands.

Suddenly, three more Fusion stage auras shot into the sky, locking onto the Vice-Pavilion Master. Each of these auras was stronger than the Vice-Pavilion Master's!

"The Provincial Governor indeed had foresight; there really were people waiting."

"Stop talking nonsense, quickly apprehend him, and then we can go back and rest."

"It's a big fish."

The Vice-Pavilion Master's eyes widened in fury. "Imperial court dogs!" It was a trap; the imperial court had an ambush!

The Vice-Pavilion Master turned to flee, but how could the three Fusion stage cultivators give him that chance? They simultaneously made their move and captured him.

The two constables breathed a sigh of relief and pressed Yexiao back into his chair. "Behave yourself!"

"I'll confess everything."