Chapter 467: The Records of the Hundred Officials

In the pitch-black night, more than twenty dark shadows flickered toward Taihe Tower.

The dark shadow in the lead, moving with alternating speed, was none other than Duan Rong; because he had to suppress his own presence, he appeared as if stuttering, his figure flickering and pausing, which made him look even more eerie and terrifying like a ghost in the night.

Duan Rong arrived before the door of Taihe Tower and gave it a gentle push, and one of the door leaves of the Main Hall opened softly; while inside earlier, Duan Rong had already unlatched this door.

Duan Rong stood sideways at the entrance, signaling for Zhu Cheng and the others to enter.

As he watched the twenty-plus dark shadows file in, his Divine Sense probed to find a patrol of soldiers at the street corner, lazily about to walk over.

"Someone is coming! Move quickly!"

Duan Rong gave a soft shout, suddenly flashed inside, and opened the other door leaf; the remaining ten-plus dark shadows darted into the building with even greater speed.

After the last few dark shadows darted in, a person emerged at the street corner carrying a lantern and yawning, followed by several soldiers patrolling with him.

Duan Rong stood there, gently and carefully pulled the two doors shut, and then whispered: "Make no sound! Wait for the patrol to pass."

The twenty-plus men in black behind him all crouched low on the ground, silent as cicadas in winter.

Before long, the group of patrolling soldiers walked past the street in front of Taihe Tower; after their rustling footsteps faded away, Duan Rong turned his head and said: "Zhu Cheng, take half the men to search the first floor. I have already drugged everyone, just take them away directly."

"Yes, My Lord!"

Zhu Cheng immediately picked half the men and, in the darkness, felt their way toward the Corridor on the first floor.

Duan Rong said: "The rest of you, follow me."

In the darkness, Duan Rong led the remaining half of the men to that Iron Door; Duan Rong opened the Iron Door, and dim candlelight shone out; one could see a person lying on the ground at the entrance, face down, their appearance invisible.

Immediately, a man in black pulled a rolled-up Sack from his back, unfolded it, covered the person lying at the entrance, and tied the mouth of the Sack tight with a thin rope.

While this person was performing this action at the entrance, Duan Rong suddenly flipped his hand, took a Porcelain Bottle into his palm, and poured out more than ten Medicine Pills.

He reached out and handed them to the man in black before him, saying: "The air below is filled with anesthetic. This is the Qingling Pill; one per person, lest you lot go down rashly and get knocked out by the anesthetic."

Those men in black hesitated upon hearing this.

Although they were Zhu Cheng's subordinates, and Zhu Cheng seemed to obey the person before them implicitly, they were not familiar with Duan Rong after all, and for a moment, they dared not take the Medicine Pills in Duan Rong's hand.

Duan Rong frowned slightly. He should have instructed Zhu Cheng to bring these men down instead.

Duan Rong said: "If we wanted to drug you, why would we need the trouble of Medicine Pills?"

As Duan Rong spoke, he flicked his sleeve, scattered a puff of Medicine Powder, and a man in black not far from him immediately swayed and collapsed to the ground.

The rest of the group became highly vigilant and instantly distanced themselves from Duan Rong.

Duan Rong pinched a Medicine Pill from his hand, threw it to a nearby person, and said: "Feed it to the one who fainted."

That person caught the Medicine Pill, his eyes flickering slightly; he dared not eat it himself, but feeding it to someone else, he had no such qualms. His eyes shifted, and he walked over, feeding the Medicine Pill in his hand to the unconscious man in black on the ground.

Within a few breaths, that person woke up leisurely; he stood up blankly, looking at Duan Rong and the others with a strange expression.

The others, now knowing that Duan Rong's words were true, each took a Qingling Pill from Duan Rong's hand, shoved it into their mouths, and darted into the staircase.

Duan Rong led those men in black into the underground space.

Those men in black looked at the underground space illuminated by red candles before them, all with expressions of astonishment!

There was actually such a strange thing inside this Taihe Tower!?

Duan Rong shouted softly: "Take everyone back, do not touch anything else!"

Following Duan Rong's instructions, those men in black all began to act; one person per Sack, they covered the unconscious people lying on the ground in the underground space and tied the Sacks tight.

Before long, Duan Rong led these people, each carrying a Sack on their shoulder, to the Main Hall, where Zhu Cheng had also arrived with the rest of the men.

Duan Rong looked sideways and asked: "Have the rooms on the first floor all been searched?"

"Yes, My Lord! They have all been searched."

Duan Rong's eyes flashed, and his Divine Sense swept through every room, finding that nothing had been missed. Zhu Cheng was still very meticulous in his work.

Duan Rong said: "There is one more in the attic." Duan Rong had not instructed Zhu Cheng about that unconscious old man earlier.

Zhu Cheng said: "I will go."

Zhu Cheng then flickered in the darkness, moved up along the stairs, and before long, came down from above carrying a person.

Duan Rong confirmed that everyone in Taihe Tower had been packed into Sacks, and only then said: "Let's go!"

Duan Rong then led these people and darted out of Taihe Tower; Zhu Cheng walked at the very back and turned to gently pull the two doors shut.

In the pitch-black night, Duan Rong kept his Divine Sense fully open, leading these men in black who carried Sacks on their shoulders, flickering through the shadows of the streets and alleys.

Since it was the dead of night, and under the coverage of Duan Rong's Divine Sense, those patrolling soldiers were all easily bypassed, so naturally, no one could discover the tracks of their party.

However, the eerie scene of these twenty-plus men in black carrying Sacks through the night—if anyone saw it, no matter how one looked at it, they did not look like good people at all?!

In less than half an incense stick of time, they had arrived before the high wall of the Back Courtyard of the Zhu Cheng Mansion.

One by one, the dark shadows, carrying Sacks, leaped over the high wall; the scene was truly like that of robbers committing a burglary.

Inside the high wall, Zhu Peng had already been waiting there.

As soon as Zhu Peng saw Zhu Cheng, he asked: "Did things go smoothly?"

Zhu Cheng nodded and said: "Smoothly."

Duan Rong looked at Zhu Peng and asked: "I told you to bring a troop of soldiers. Did you bring them?"

Zhu Peng said: "I brought them; they are waiting in the open space before the Main Hall in the front courtyard."

Duan Rong nodded and said: "Good, it is good that you brought them." Then Duan Rong turned his head to look at Zhu Cheng and said: "The interrogation of these people is left to you, Zhu Cheng; you are an expert in this! There should be many more people on this Taihe Tower line; dig them all out for me!"

Zhu Cheng cupped his hands and said: "My Lord, rest assured! Under my hands, even if the King of Hell came, I would make him peel a layer of skin."

Duan Rong glanced at Zhu Cheng; Zhu Cheng's mouth was drooping at this moment, his eyes cold, and hearing that expression and tone, he felt a chill in his heart.

"This kid is a ruthless character," Duan Rong thought to himself, then turned his head to look at Zhu Peng and said: "You come with me to the front courtyard."

Zhu Peng responded, and the two flickered away toward the front courtyard.

Upon arriving there, there was indeed a troop of soldiers standing by a dim lantern; these men were all in tight-fitting outfits and armed with blades, but they were not masked; they were wearing the official casual attire of the Privy Council, only having changed their boots into night-walking boots.

These were all things Duan Rong had instructed Zhu Peng about earlier.

Duan Rong nodded; this time, Zhu Peng had not been careless.

Seeing Zhu Peng arrive, that troop of men immediately knelt down and called out: "Greetings, My Lord!"

Zhu Peng said: "The person beside me is Lord Duan. Tonight, you will obey his orders. If there is any defiance, I will surely kill you!"

Hearing this, those soldiers all raised their eyes to look at Duan Rong, cupped their fists, and said: "Lord Duan!"

Duan Rong nodded and said: "My name is Duan Rong! I am a personal disciple of the Sect! I have summoned you all here tonight to trouble you with guarding an important location."

When those soldiers heard "personal disciple of the Sect," the looks they cast at Duan Rong were all filled with fear.

Duan Rong said: "Taihe Tower appears to be a teahouse, but in reality, it is a spy stronghold for eavesdropping on the secrets of the powerful and noble in the prefecture. The people of Taihe Tower have already been captured by us, but the staircase itself is evidence and must not be damaged. I order you all to guard inside the building! Unless you are all dead, do not allow anyone to enter the building by even half a step! Is my order clear?"

Among that troop of soldiers, there was clearly one who was the leader. Hearing this, he cupped his fists and said: "Lord Duan, rest assured! To enter Taihe Tower, one must step over our corpses!"

"Good! You have spirit!" Duan Rong walked over, lightly patted that man on the shoulder, and said: "Once this matter is over, you will be a Privy Deputy Envoy."

Hearing this, the man immediately kowtowed to the ground with a *thud* and called out: "Many thanks for your cultivation, My Lord!"

Duan Rong turned his head to look at Zhu Peng and said: "Zhu Peng, you do not need to go to Taihe Tower. Go help Zhu Cheng with the interrogation."

Zhu Peng's expression flickered; he had no idea how to conduct an interrogation, but since Duan Rong had spoken, he could only respond with an acknowledgment.

Duan Rong looked at the troop of soldiers before him and said: "Everyone, follow me. The night is dim and hazy, so be sure not to get lost."

Once Duan Rong finished speaking, his figure flickered, and like a ghost, he flashed over the high wall not far away.

Those soldiers were all startled; Duan Rong's movement technique was truly too fast, and how could they keep up?

"What are you still stunned for? Hurry up and follow Lord Duan!" Zhu Peng barked a light command from where he stood.

Only then did those soldiers snap out of it and immediately leaped over the high wall one by one. After the group jumped down, they realized Duan Rong was standing outside the wall, waiting for them.

After the entire group of soldiers had leaped over the high wall, Duan Rong deployed his movement technique and darted into a nearby alley, and the group of soldiers immediately followed into the night.

Along the way, Duan Rong used his Divine Sense to scout the path, leading this troop of soldiers to bypass patrols and arrive outside the door of Taihe Tower without a sound.

Duan Rong pushed open the two doors of the first-floor Main Hall, letting the troop of soldiers file inside.

Afterward, Duan Rong led the soldiers' leader to that Iron Door and instructed: "This is the most critical place; you guard here personally. As for the other key passages, arrange them yourself and send men to guard them tightly."

"Yes, My Lord!" that man said, cupping his fists.

Duan Rong nodded, then his figure flashed, and he darted into the staircase.

His figure flickered like a ghost, and in an instant, he had arrived once again in the underground space of Taihe Tower.

Red candles were still hanging high, but at this moment, it was deathly silent inside, and not a single shadow could be seen.

Duan Rong walked to that desk, picked up the slips of paper on it, and flipped through them with a *rustle*. The information on these slips was mostly trivial matters, some of which were completely unimportant, but some were leverage on the powerful and noble within this Shenyun Prefecture.

On this desk, there was merely a summary of one day's eavesdropped information, yet there were already several valuable items; if accumulated over the years, it would be unimaginable!

Duan Rong's expression shifted, and he came to a shelf in the corner. He saw that on the shelf were wooden boxes, one after another, inserted vertically like books in a library from his past life.

Duan Rong swept his gaze and discovered that on the side of each wooden box, a person's name was written; without exception, they were all people in high positions.

Wang Maochun, Chen Shanmeng, Zhu Zhengfu... civil and military officials from the first to the third rank, not a single one was missed; they were all on the list.

The scene before him reminded Duan Rong of a television series he had watched in his past life, in which a corrupt official had also collected the tracks of various people in officialdom and compiled them into a volume, naming it the Hundred Officials Records.

Was the shelf before him not a living Hundred Officials Records?

Whoever mastered this Hundred Officials Records could hold the hundred officials hostage and control the secular court and the public!

Duan Rong suddenly thought of one thing: Li Shensi was clearly a person who did not involve himself in disputes; if it were not for this, Zhu He would never have agreed to him succeeding as the Minister of the Secretariat.

But just before he took office, he had suddenly defected and leaned toward Lv Zhongtang, Ge Rusong, and their faction.

This sudden defection of Li Shensi was very likely related to the records in the shelf before him.

Duan Rong stood before the shelf, his gaze sweeping across it, and he quickly saw Li Shensi's name. He pulled out the wooden box labeled with Li Shensi's name.

He opened the wooden box, propped it on the shelf, and flipped through the documents inside.

It didn't matter if he didn't look, but upon looking, he felt shocked, and at the same time, he felt as nauseated as if he had swallowed a fly.

This Li Shensi actually had a penchant for "dragon-yang" (homosexuality), and had even played several boy prostitutes to death.

Duan Rong's complexion was ugly; he felt somewhat disgusted.

With such leverage held in the hands of Ge Rusong, it was no wonder he had to defect.

That guy, with a rather burly figure and a thick, bushy beard, was actually gay, and the kind that was a total pervert.

Did he deserve to be smashed into a pulp?!

Duan Rong cursed and closed the wooden box.

He put the wooden box back on the shelf, his expression shifting as he swept his gaze toward the several chests in the corner of the wall.

Duan Rong walked to those chests, opened one of them, and discovered that inside were also thread-bound volumes, likewise recording the secrets of many people, and most of these were those of the wealthy Gentry.

Duan Rong's brows furrowed slightly, and he suddenly emptied one of the chests.

Then, carrying that empty chest, he came to the shelf, opened those wooden boxes on the shelf one by one, and threw all the documents inside into the chest.

The shelf was full of civil and military officials from the first to the third rank; this was clearly the most valuable thing in this underground space.

He intended to take it away!

After Duan Rong filled the chest to the brim, he suddenly began to flicker through this underground space like a ghost.

He was currently devouring the Spirit Tool in various places.

In this underground space, there were mostly books, and there were not many Artifacts. Before long, Duan Rong had finished devouring them, and he carried the large chest out of this place.

Duan Rong carried the large chest and walked out of that small Iron Door.

The leader, who had brought two soldiers to guard there, was slightly stunned when he saw Duan Rong; he truly had not expected Duan Rong to come out carrying a large chest.

"My Lord!"

Duan Rong had already walked past, and only then did the leader call out respectfully to Duan Rong's back, while Duan Rong carried the large chest and left Taihe Tower without looking back.

Duan Rong carried the large chest and flashed into the pitch-black night. At this time, he did not need to lead anyone; he fully deployed his movement technique, flashing like a ghost through various alley entrances.

Not long after, Duan Rong carried the large chest and leaped over a high wall in the Back Courtyard of the Zhu Cheng Mansion.

As soon as he landed, he tapped his toes and vaulted forward; the place where he landed again was already not far from the garden Rockery.

Duan Rong's figure had just arrived when a voice called out, "Who is it?!"

"Me!" Duan Rong replied in a deep voice, carrying the large chest.

Zhu Peng, accompanied by two men, stood guard there with blades in hand, yet he watched Duan Rong with vigilant eyes.

If not for being familiar with Duan Rong's voice, Zhu Peng would have nearly struck; in the night, carrying such a strange chest was truly somewhat chilling.

A dim lantern beside the Rockery cast a faint light onto Duan Rong's face; Zhu Peng stared, and who else could it be but Duan Rong?

Duan Rong cast a sidelong glance at Zhu Peng. He had asked Zhu Peng to help Zhu Cheng with the interrogation; it seemed Zhu Cheng had sent him directly to guard the entrance to the secret chamber. However, this could be considered putting him to good use.

Duan Rong said, "How is the interrogation going inside?"

Zhu Peng stammered for a moment and said, "Zhu Cheng is currently interrogating."

Duan Rong knew that asking Zhu Peng was a waste of time, so he carried the chest and walked directly into the secret chamber beneath the Rockery; just as he stepped into the entrance of the secret chamber, he heard faint screams coming from the depths of the chamber.

Those screams were like those of a malevolent ghost from the Nine Underworlds...

Duan Rong carried the chest down the steps; as those shrill and ethereal screams reached his ears, even he could not help but feel a chill in his heart at this moment...

(End of chapter)