Chapter 470: Pei Du

The people in the hall, however, remained motionless, their expressions all as cold as frost.

They were all very clear that Taihe Tower was their most core stronghold within the secular intelligence network, which could be called its heart.

The fall of Taihe Tower was equivalent to being pierced through the heart in one strike, nearly paralyzing their entire intelligence system.

And Ge Rusong had spent many years of painstaking effort on Taihe Tower.

Hearing of its fall so suddenly, the few were not surprised by his reaction.

Facing Ge Rusong's terrifying anger, Chen Yu stood there at the doorway, face calm and unmoved, not even blinking an eyelid.

Ge Rusong's anger eased slightly, but his expression remained ferocious; he glared at Chen Yu and asked sharply, "When did it fall?"

Chen Yu said, "It should have been late last night."

"Should have been!? You don't even know the specific time?" Ge Rusong's eyes were splitting, as if he wanted to devour someone.

Chen Yu said calmly, "Yes. It is impossible to know the specific time. When Taihe Tower fell, it did not issue an alarm."

"What?!"

Hearing this, a chill ran through Ge Rusong's entire body.

The anger in his eyes had faded, replaced by astonishment; he looked at Chen Yu and asked, seemingly superfluously, "Even that final alarm could not be sent?" He was clearly shocked to the core.

"Yes," Chen Yu said respectfully.

Ge Rusong seemed to pace the hall involuntarily.

The defenses within Taihe Tower were so tight, filled with countless mechanisms, yet the person who broke in was actually able to force Qin Ya to the point where even the final alarm could not be sent...

Ge Rusong paced twice, then suddenly stopped, looked at Chen Yu, and asked, "What are the losses?"

Chen Yu said, "Almost total. Only seven or eight people managed to evacuate urgently at daybreak."

Upon hearing this, Ge Rusong remained silent; his heart was bleeding. The secret agents surrounding Taihe Tower were all capable officers he had painstakingly cultivated, and in a single night, they were nearly all lost...

At this moment, Chen Yu pondered slightly and continued, "After the incident, our people tried to contact the secret agents lurking within Dali Temple to understand the situation, but none of the agents within Dali Temple responded."

The muscles on Ge Rusong's face twitched; he looked at Chen Yu with a cold, sharp gaze and asked, "Anything else?"

Chen Yu said, "Not for now. That is all the news from Shenyun Prefecture."

Ge Rusong said, "You may go."

After bowing, Chen Yu exited the room and closed the door.

Ge Rusong stood there, watching Chen Yu leave; he stood with his hands behind his back and suddenly sighed to the heavens with a desolate look in his eyes.

The secret agent lurking within Dali Temple had been there for six or seven years; who on earth could have dug him out?

Was it Duan Rong?

A few days ago, because of the death of Li Shensi, he had challenged Zhu He in the Elder Council, insisting that Duan Rong had killed Li Shensi. Because when Li Shensi died, Duan Rong was hiding within Shenyun Prefecture.

At that time, Zhu He had said in front of all the elders in the Elder Council that he had sent Duan Rong to infiltrate Shenyun Prefecture to secretly investigate the traitors within Shenyun Prefecture.

Ge Rusong had never taken Zhu He's words seriously; he had always felt that Zhu He was just lying to brush off his challenge.

Now it seemed he had truly underestimated Zhu He and Duan Rong.

Duan Rong was not only truly investigating secret agents within Shenyun Prefecture, but the moment he struck, he took out two strongholds, Taihe Tower and Dali Temple; truly fast, accurate, and ruthless!

Ge Rusong suddenly stood there and glanced at Xu Qie. Xu Qie had just said that Duan Rong's reputation as a master detective in the Southeast Four Prefectures was not unearned; now that it had hit his own sore spot, he could not help but recall Xu Qie's words.

Seeing Ge Rusong looking at him, Xu Qie also fixed his gaze on Ge Rusong and said, "This matter must also be the work of Duan Rong! I just said that this child cannot be judged by common sense. I advise everyone to look at the cases he solved in the Southeast Four Prefectures when you have time; as long as you look carefully, you will see his astonishing brilliance!"

"Astonishing brilliance?" Ge Rusong glanced at Xu Qie and suddenly sighed, "I see that this Duan Rong can no longer be left alive!"

As soon as Ge Rusong said this, the hall fell into a dead silence.

Although they belonged to different factions from Zhu He and were competing for the position of the next Sect Master, they had not yet reached the point of killing the other party's direct disciple.

This was equivalent to tearing off the mask and preparing for a major fight.

Zheng Yi's expression shifted, and he said, "This matter still requires caution; killing a direct disciple of the Sect without authorization is no small matter!"

Lv Zhongtang also sat there, his face flickering between light and shadow.

Ge Rusong, however, said, "Duan Rong was able to take out two strongholds, Taihe Tower and Dali Temple, in a single night. That Taihe Tower was designed by this old man personally, filled with countless mechanisms and several alarms. Only this old man knows best how difficult it is to make it fall without a sound. Even I have to pay him my respects. Such a person, if left to develop, will surely become a great disaster."

The people in the hall changed color upon hearing this. Although they knew Taihe Tower was the core of the secular intelligence network managed by Ge Rusong, they were not clear about the specific mechanism settings.

Ge Rusong had just said that even he had to pay Duan Rong his respects; they all knew how arrogant Ge Rusong was, and for him to say this showed that Duan Rong had indeed aroused his deep fear.

Ge Rusong's gaze swept over everyone, taking in their expressions, and continued, "If you hesitate, you will suffer the consequences! If this child is not removed, even if I restore the intelligence network, I fear it will be destroyed by him again. In that case, we will lose control of the secular world. How then can we compete with Zhu He?"

When Ge Rusong said the last sentence, his gaze was fixed on Lv Zhongtang.

Lv Zhongtang coveted the position of the next Sect Master; initially, he was instigated by Ge Rusong, but by now, greed had long since risen in his heart.

As the saying goes, because there is no attachment, there is no fear.

Whenever you crave something, you will inevitably fear losing it, and in making decisions, you often easily lose your original heart.

Lv Zhongtang said, "Elder Ge's words are true. This fellow named Duan Rong, although he only joined Zhu He's sect half a year ago, his actions are quite strange. We haven't figured out the mystery of Li Shensi's death, and now two intelligence strongholds, Taihe Tower and Dali Temple, have been uprooted by him in a single night. This child truly cannot be left alive!"

Of the five of them, the core was Lv Zhongtang and Ge Rusong; since the two had reached a consensus, the other three found it hard to say anything else.

Lv Zhongtang looked at Ge Rusong and said, "Jiang Zhe is in Shenyun Prefecture; give him the news and let him handle this matter."

Ge Rusong pondered for a moment and said, "Jiang Zhe alone, I fear, may not be enough."

Lv Zhongtang said, "Duan Rong has only been an Inner Sect Disciple for half a year. Jiang Zhe has already reached the Origin Qi Realm Fourth Layer; killing him should be more than enough, right?"

Ge Rusong remained silent upon hearing this. He also knew this matter was of great importance and did not want to bear the responsibility alone.

And Duan Rong's specific cultivation level was only known to a few people on Yunfu Peak; naturally, these few did not know.

Zheng Yi suddenly said, "Since we are acting, we must succeed in one strike. It is better to be safe."

A sharp light flashed in Lv Zhongtang's eyes, as if he had seen through Ge Rusong's thoughts, so he said, "Then let Pei Du go as well."

Upon hearing this, Ge Rusong smiled in his eyes and said, "In that case, it will surely be foolproof."

Pei Du was Lv Zhongtang's disciple and had followed him for many years, having already reached the Qi Cyclone Realm.

Six years ago, on the outskirts of Xiangu County, Lv Zhongtang rode a Cloud-Feather Mad Eagle to pick up Lv Qingzhu. At that time, Pei Du was by Lv Zhongtang's side.

Shenyun Prefecture, the back courtyard of the Zhu Cheng Mansion.

Inside the secret chamber space beneath the rockery, many people were crowded together, sitting on the ground; the space was filled with the sounds of slurping beef soup and chewing flatbreads.

Duan Rong, Zhu Cheng, and Zhu Peng, however, were sitting in front of a stone table; before them were not only three bowls of piping hot beef soup, but also a large platter of beef-filled flatbreads.

The three of them had long been famished, and they began to eat heartily.

A thick, bloody stench, mixed with the smell of beef soup, spread throughout this space... but the crowd, exhausted and hungry after a night of busyness, no longer cared in the slightest about the bloody smell filling their nasal cavities.

Over the course of last night, they had captured nearly sixty people and locked them all in the rooms deep in the corridor. As the night passed, a thick pool of blood slowly flowed down along the corner of the wall in the dark corner of the corridor, the blood mixed with bits of flesh, while not far away, the soldiers were crowded together in a dense mass, munching on beef soup and flatbreads.

After drinking a large bowl of beef soup and eating three beef-filled flatbreads, a wave of warmth spread through Duan Rong's stomach; he wiped his mouth and let out a satisfied burp.

Duan Rong sat there resting for a while, and after Zhu Cheng and Zhu Peng had finished eating and the chewing sounds in the secret chamber had slowly died down, he swept his gaze over the crowd and said, "I know you brothers are all very tired, but now is not the time to rest."

"Zhu Peng!" Duan Rong suddenly looked at Zhu Peng and called out to him.

"Ah!" Zhu Peng was still picking his teeth; startled by Duan Rong's call, he was slightly taken aback.

Duan Rong said, "Go back to the Privy Council, mobilize two squads of Heavy Armored Cavalry, and surround Taihe Tower."

Zhu Peng muttered, "Mobilizing the Heavy Armored Cavalry requires the written order of Commissioner Lin; if I mobilize them without authorization, it is an act of overstepping."

Duan Rong said, "Can you mobilize them?"

Zhu Peng said, "I can certainly mobilize them; I am very familiar with those leaders of the Heavy Armored Cavalry."

Duan Rong said, "That will do. Just go ahead and mobilize them; I will clean up the mess for you."

"With those words from you, brother, that's all I need." Zhu Peng chuckled, then grabbed his saber and rushed out.

Duan Rong looked at Zhu Cheng and said, "Zhu Cheng, go and invite Wang Maochun, Chen Shanmeng, Zhu Zhengfu, and Ge Hengtai; just say that I am inviting them to drink tea at Taihe Tower."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Cheng's expression shifted; he did not quite understand Duan Rong's meaning, but he did not ask, instead grabbing his saber and rising, ready to head out.

"Zhu Cheng!"

Duan Rong suddenly called him to a halt.

Zhu Cheng's figure paused, and he turned his head to look at Duan Rong, only to hear Duan Rong say, "Take a bath and change your clothes before you go. With meat crumbs all over your face and the smell of blood all over your body, are you going to invite people to drink tea?"

Zhu Cheng gave a bitter smile and said, "Yes, my lord!"

After Zhu Cheng left, Duan Rong stood up, looked at the people in the secret chamber, and said, "You brothers, guard the secret chamber well here and wait for your Lord Zhu to return!"

After Duan Rong finished speaking, he glanced at the dark corridor and then walked out of the secret chamber.

After walking out of the secret chamber, Duan Rong walked slowly out of the back courtyard; this time he did not leap over the high wall, but walked along the path out of the Zhu Cheng Mansion.

After Duan Rong walked out of the small alley of the Zhu Cheng Mansion, he walked slowly along the side of the street, and before long, he arrived in front of Taihe Tower.

The Zhu Cheng Mansion was also on Changle Street, so it was not far from Taihe Tower to begin with.

He saw that on the ground at the entrance of Taihe Tower, there were many fresh fruits and vegetables and the day's pastries; occasionally, people coming for morning tea would see the main gate of Taihe Tower tightly shut, discuss it for a few moments, and then walk away.

Duan Rong walked over and pushed the door lightly, discovering that the door was tightly shut; using his Divine Sense to penetrate it, he saw two soldiers standing guard inside with sabers drawn.

Duan Rong's expression remained unchanged; with a wave of his hand, the door bolt snapped in response.

Duan Rong pushed the door open casually.

The moment he pushed the door open, the sound of sabers being drawn rang out, and two blades of light slashed toward him.

Duan Rong's figure flickered, and without anyone seeing how he moved, he had already flashed past the two people guarding the entrance.

The two men were slightly stunned; the person who had entered was clearly a supreme expert. The two only felt a black shadow flicker before their eyes, and their saber strikes had already missed.

The two turned their heads while holding their sabers, only to see that Duan Rong had already sat down at a table.

The two were slightly astonished and called out, "Lord Duan!"

Duan Rong glanced at the two soldiers and said, "Go call your leader here."

"Yes!" The two sheathed their sabers, and one of them ran toward a corner of the first floor; before long, the leader had come to pay his respects to Duan Rong.

Duan Rong looked at him and said, "Has anything happened since last night?"

The man cupped his fists and said, "Reporting to my lord! Before you arrived, not a single person had stepped into Taihe Tower."

Duan Rong nodded and said, "Very good! Guard your respective positions and open the doors of the first-floor Main Hall."

"Yes!" the man replied with a cupped-fist salute, then arranged for two soldiers to stand guard outside the door of the first-floor Main Hall.

Duan Rong, however, brought over tea sets and tea leaves, and began to leisurely brew tea at the table.

During this time, people kept wanting to come to Taihe Tower for tea, but upon seeing the soldiers guarding the door with sabers and seeing that the inside was empty, with only one person sitting there, they retreated in suspicion.

About half an incense stick of time later, the sound of thundering hooves like a sudden storm rang out on the street; Zhu Peng rode up on a tall horse, bringing two squads of Heavy Armored Cavalry, his presence imposing and magnificent.

The two soldiers guarding the door were slightly surprised but not panicked, because they recognized that these were the troops of the Privy Council, and the one leading them was their superior, Zhu Peng.

Zhu Peng directed the two squads of Heavy Armored Cavalry to surround Taihe Tower completely, then jumped off his horse and walked into the building with long strides.

As soon as Zhu Peng entered the building, he saw Duan Rong sitting at a table, holding a cup of tea and leisurely sipping it.

Zhu Peng smiled slightly, sat down opposite Duan Rong with a thud, and laughed, "You're brewing tea? Come, let me have a taste."

Duan Rong poured him a cup, and after Zhu Peng drank it, he smacked his lips and said, "Mm, I can taste it; it's pre-rain Qingling Tea."

Duan Rong laughed, "Oh, you know your stuff! Come, try this pot."

Duan Rong took down another pot and poured Zhu Peng another cup.

Zhu Peng took it and drank, saying, "This is aged Pu'er Tea."

Duan Rong raised an eyebrow and smiled, saying, "How many years aged is it?"

Zhu Peng raised his cup and said, "Another cup."

Duan Rong poured him another cup; Zhu Peng drank this cup in three sips, and after finishing it, he hesitated slightly and probed, "It should be twelve years."

Duan Rong smiled slightly and said, "Not bad, just off by one year."

Zhu Peng said, "Is that so? I've been drinking too much alcohol, my tea ceremony is a bit rusty."

Duan Rong said, "You've had your tea, now get out. This isn't for you to sit at; I'm going to be hosting guests in a moment."

Zhu Peng said "Oh," then stood up and walked out.

Duan Rong said: "Go out and clear those fruits, vegetables, and snacks at the entrance to the side."

Zhu Peng replied and went out the main gate, personally setting to work to carry those fruits, vegetables, and snacks to the side, then sat in that corner, picked out some snacks he liked, and began to eat.

Before long, several small green-tasseled sedan chairs arrived from different directions and stopped in front of Taihe Tower, which was surrounded by Heavy Armored Cavalry.

The sedan curtains were lifted, and several people stepped out one after another; they were exactly Wang Maochun, Chen Shanmeng, Zhu Zhengfu, and Ge Hengtai. Seeing the glint of the armor on the Heavy Armored Cavalry surrounding Taihe Tower, their eyes all twitched, not knowing what had happened.

(End of this chapter)