Chapter 170

"You guys, you've ruined Lord Jia's good deed." Iron-Armored Guard Pacification Commissioner Deng Cheng said while drinking tea, his face full of smiles.

The hall master of the Bai Hu Hall apologized to the side: "Who knew that sissy thing would be a famous actor."

"My lord, please forgive us; we are all rough people and don't recognize martial or literary actors."

"We only knew this pretty boy wanted to get his hands on the lifeblood of you lords."

Deng Cheng was very satisfied with the Bai Hu Hall master's answer and then asked: "What is the background of this Lou Yuesheng? Have you found out?"

Actually, Lou Yuesheng didn't have to die, even if he saw the boxes the Bai Hu Hall was transporting and storing the account books and lists in.

What was there to hide? He couldn't see the contents of the boxes anyway.

The real cause of death was that Lou Yuesheng actually wanted to investigate.

"This subordinate is not very clear; I only found out afterward that he was invited by Lord Jia." The Bai Hu Hall master only knew he was an opera singer.

"He definitely wasn't an ordinary person; if an ordinary person saw a gang moving goods in the middle of the night, how could they dare to approach? They would have hidden as far away as possible." Deng Cheng shook his head, reasonably suspecting that Lou Yuesheng had another identity.

"But... this matter involves Lord Jia, so it's hard for us to investigate." The Bai Hu Hall master said cautiously.

He could see that this Pacification Commissioner didn't think much of their Provincial Governor.

Deng Cheng was very dissatisfied with Jia Jia Simou; if it weren't for his timely arrival, Jia Jia Simou would have truly become a knife in Ma Ma Yunfeng's hand in another day or two.

Fortunately, he had managed to pull him back immediately and had also learned some interesting things.

For example, the matter of the former Green-Clad Guard Battalion Commander.

This had already been reported to Commander Qi Qianshan; Chen Chen Jiunan's ability to escape pursuit and sneak into Linyuan City was highly likely related to this Green-Clad Guard Battalion Commander.

Compared to their reorganized Iron-Armored Guards, the original Green-Clad Guards were all people who had been through wind and rain and had killed enemies on the battlefield.

Anyone who could become a Battalion Commander was no simple character.

He didn't have much confidence in dealing with them, but fortunately, he was just a small fry acting as a vanguard, so he didn't need to worry about these things.

The reason he came to Linyuan City first was to move these account books and lists away so they wouldn't fall into Ma Ma Yunfeng's hands.

He would leave overnight with these dozen or so boxes tonight and would never stay.

"You cowards." Deng Cheng laughed and scolded: "Fine, I won't make it difficult for you."

"Withdraw the craftsmen one after another tomorrow; this line of yours is broken, and the Empress Dowager has been quite frugal these days."

The Green Dragon Society was responsible for water transport, while the Bai Hu Hall was responsible for craftsmanship, not only monopolizing the iron industry in Linyuan City but also secretly forging weapons and armor, which were then handed over to the Green Dragon Society to be transported out for sale.

For Linyuan City and even the Iron-Armored Guards, the Bai Hu Hall had plenty of people to replace, but these craftsmen were highly skilled workers, and each one was extremely precious.

Linyuan City was bound to be chaotic next, so these craftsmen had to be sent away as soon as possible.

Once things calmed down, they could completely resume their old business and continue selling.

"Yes, yes, yes, my lord, please rest assured; in seven days at most, all craftsmen will be sent out of the city without anyone knowing." The Bai Hu Hall master said hurriedly.

"Too slow, three days." Deng Cheng shortened the time and was about to say something else when his expression suddenly changed.

With lightning speed, he drew the long saber at his waist and slashed vertically from bottom to top.

A golden light in front of him was split in two, failing to hit him.

He couldn't help but exhale a breath of turbid air; the long saber was covered in cracks, and even the hand holding the saber couldn't stop trembling.

The enemy was very strong, and he was no match at all.

Being able to take the first move didn't mean he could retreat unscathed from the second.

"Who is it, come out!" He roared, gathering his breath in his chest again.

Practicing martial arts is nothing more than training the muscles, bones, and skin externally, and training a breath internally.

As long as this breath doesn't dissipate, one dares to kill even in the face of gods and ghosts.

At the same time, noisy sounds came from the Bai Hu Hall, making Deng Cheng's expression look extremely ugly.

The one who made the move was definitely the Zhao Ming Society.

Ma Ma Yunfeng acted with grandeur and dignity, always grabbing weaknesses first and then using his influence to suppress others.

But he followed the rules and wouldn't just kill his way in like this.

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a monster pounce in and attack Deng Cheng without hesitation.

"No, why is it you, the former Green-Clad Guard Battalion Commander..." Deng Cheng recognized the visitor and said immediately.

He hadn't even finished speaking when he was forced to counterattack, as the attack had already arrived.

Da Bao's features were too obvious; anyone with eyes could see them.

Chu Chu Danqing was watching the battle from afar and had no intention of intervening in the battlefield.

As for his identity being exposed? That was just a small matter.

Da Bao fought Deng Cheng, the Pacification Commissioner, and the Bai Hu Hall master alone; the two were very strong, and Da Bao was no match, constantly at a disadvantage.

Fortunately, Da Bai was there, constantly monitoring Da Bao's HP, so although he couldn't beat the enemies, the enemies couldn't kill him either.

The Son of Heaven and the Ghost Grievance Mother were cleaning up the personnel of the entire Bai Hu Hall, while the Ghost Grievance Infant began searching for the account book boxes.

There were two reasons for letting Da Bao go up.

First, Chu Chu Danqing needed live captives, and second, Da Bao needed training.

Chu Chu Danqing could rely on attribute gaps to bully the weak, but Da Bao was one of the main combat forces and definitely needed to fight more.

Deng Cheng's gaze swept over the Son of Heaven and the Ghost Grievance Mother; he could sense the threat they posed.

He couldn't even beat one, let alone two together.

So, after briefly repelling Da Bao with the Bai Hu Hall master, he said decisively: "Split up and run!"

It didn't matter if Chu Chu Danqing took the leather boxes containing the account books and lists; his own life was what mattered.

After saying this, Deng Cheng rushed toward the nearest window, intending to break through it and leave.

Da Bao, having stabilized his stance, immediately chased after him.

There was no need to worry about the Bai Hu Hall master; the Ghost Grievance Mother went to handle him.

After about two minutes, the Bai Hu Hall master was dragged to Chu Chu Danqing's side.

He was still alive but unconscious, and there were bruises on his skin left by the erosion of Yin energy.

On the other side, Deng Cheng, under Da Bao's life-for-injury fighting style, had his two arms torn off and was finally captured.

Da Bao dared to fight without regard for his life because Da Bai's healing never stopped, which was why he was so fearless.

Deng Cheng was not like Da Bao and had many constraints; even though he was stronger than Da Bao, he lost because he had too many worries.

The captured Deng Cheng stared fixedly at Chu Chu Danqing.

"What? Something wrong?" Chu Chu Danqing had Da Bai heal Deng Cheng so he wouldn't die from excessive blood loss.

After all, both arms had been torn off; if not handled in time, it would be difficult to interrogate him later.

He still didn't know the full truth of Lou Yuesheng's death.

"His Majesty is far-sighted." Deng Cheng squeezed out this sentence with difficulty.

Chu Chu Danqing couldn't quite understand what the other party was imagining, but it didn't matter; since he helped Chu Chu Danqing imagine a shield, he would just go along with it.

"As long as you know." After Chu Chu Danqing finished speaking, he had a Ghost Grievance Infant notify Liu Bai to come and support.

If he only captured Deng Cheng and the Bai Hu Hall master for interrogation, there wouldn't be much of a problem.

The real trouble was these dozen or so large boxes, which couldn't fit in his storage space.

With these account books and lists, the remaining two gangs, the Vermilion Bird Tower and the Black Tortoise Gate, would be easy to solve.

As for personnel shortages and economic problems? Ma Ma Yunfeng was a Prime Minister; if he couldn't even handle this, then why did he come to Linyuan City to break the game?

Moreover, Chu Chu Danqing had also provided an assist; if he failed, it could only be said that the momentum was not with the Zhao Ming Society and the Shuo Emperor.

After about half an hour, several carriages arrived at the entrance of the Bai Hu Hall.

Liu Bai and Chen Chen Jiunan came in person, and the remaining Zhao Ming Society members began to move the goods and dispose of the corpses.

"Young Master Chu, you handled this matter a bit too crudely." Chen Chen Jiunan looked at the scattered Bai Hu Hall and said helplessly.

"Urgent matters require expedient measures." Chu Chu Danqing said slowly: "Besides, don't stand there and talk without feeling the pain."

"You haven't settled any payment, so it's hard for me to do both things perfectly for you."

Chen Chen Jiunan was speechless for a moment.

At first, he asked Chu Chu Danqing to help protect Ma Ma Yunfeng, but then Ma Ma Yunfeng entrusted Chu Chu Danqing to investigate Lou Yuesheng.

"Fortunately, those craftsmen weren't qualified to stay in the Bai Hu Hall." Liu Bai showed relief after taking inventory.

"The matter is settled; when will my things arrive?" Chu Chu Danqing naturally had a sense of proportion; how could he not distinguish between gang members and ordinary people?

Moreover, although craftsmen were not of low status, they didn't have much status either.

How could they live in the Bai Hu Hall? The managers, on the other hand, could.

"They are already on the way and will need two more days." Chen Chen Jiunan explained after hearing Chu Chu Danqing's urging.

"Fine." Chu Chu Danqing looked at the loaded large boxes and the disposed corpses, then said: "Where do you intend to interrogate these two?"

"I need to know how Lou Yuesheng died and why he died before I can report back to Ma Ma Yunfeng."

He was just making an excuse; they would definitely give a copy to Ma Ma Yunfeng after the interrogation, so there was no need for Chu Chu Danqing to act as a middleman.

It was just to complete the side quest as quickly as possible.

"I have a hidden residence that is just right." Liu Bai said immediately.

Neither the boxes nor the interrogation were suitable to be conducted in his Liu mansion.

Even the carriages used to transport this batch of goods were called from another place.

Liu Bai was a local after all; if his identity were exposed, it would implicate his whole family.

Unless Ma Ma Yunfeng successfully controlled Linyuan City and used it as a base to radiate throughout the Great Shuo.

But no matter what, Liu Bai had to leave himself a way out.

This was not for himself, but for his family.

"Lead the way." Chu Chu Danqing didn't hesitate at all: "I must get to the bottom of this tonight."

Liu Bai and Chen Chen Jiunan didn't quite understand why Chu Chu Danqing was so urgent.

They didn't oppose Chu Chu Danqing's statement; they were afraid that if they were late, complications would arise.

Not only did they need to interrogate, but they also needed to check the accounts to further determine the situation in Linyuan City.

(End of chapter)