Chapter 914: The Ghost Mother Sect

"Inspector! Two Commandants!"

Liang Qu strode in with the momentum of a dragon and a tiger, crossing the threshold into the room.

With this, all four of the most powerful individuals of the Fifth Rank and above within the Pingyang Prefecture River-Po Office were gathered on the top floor.

Inside the main hall, many keen-nosed clerks whispered to one another, discussing the situation, sensing the scent of a coming storm.

Was there to be another war on the Great Marsh?

"Why did those eight Ghost Mother Sect members come here?" Wei Lin stood to the left of the table, arms crossed, demanding an answer.

"Eight?" Liang Qu looked toward Xu Yuelong.

Xu Yuelong nodded: "The eight people you had Long Pingjiang bring back are all Ghost Mother Sect members."

Liang Qu pondered for a moment, then cupped his fists toward Su Guishan, who was gazing at a map in the center.

"These eight were taken by Bai Yuan while it was exploring the Eastern Waters for Dream Meng Meng Bai Huo. According to it, when it encountered them, two were hanging on a wooden frame being skinned alive; I know nothing of the others. I had originally assumed they were people captured by the Ghost Mother Sect for blood sacrifices."

"They are Ghost Mother Sect members, but also people who committed a crime." Su Guishan pulled several pages of paper from the side and handed them to Liang Qu. "The two were stealing from their own sect, wanting to take the Dream Meng Meng Bai Huo, change their identities, and seek another path. It just so happened that when they made their move, they were stopped by the Yi Clan Elder, Yi Jing. That actually saved us quite a bit of trouble."

Liang Qu unfolded the papers.

They were all confessions signed and thumb-printed.

In the center of each page were two pure red blood prints; it went without saying whose they were.

From returning to Pingyang Prefecture from the Frog Clan, less than a stick of incense's time had passed—normally not enough for an interrogation. However, Yi Zhiheng and Yi Zhiyu had suffered brutal torture; after the physicians fed them life-saving pills and they caught their breath, they didn't even need to be asked. They spilled everything, blurting it all out.

The cause and effect were clear at a glance.

Troops value speed; based on this alone, the rescue was not in vain.

There was even a topographical map with the layout, and the specific strength of the three Elders and one Old Ancestor!

As the mastermind behind the fish theft, Yi Zhiyu hadn't made a "conspiratorial" decision on a whim or in a fit of hot-bloodedness; he had long had a plan!

He had planned for this for a long time, and had even thought about coming to the shore, intending to use the intelligence in his hands to trade for a chance at survival if things went wrong!

Another Master Zhao.

"No wonder the reaction was so fast."

Liang Qu recalled the situation.

Almost as soon as he took the Dream Meng Meng Bai Huo, a Ghost Mother Sect Grandmaster jumped out to intercept him, without a moment's delay. They were likely worried and had been lingering nearby.

The opponent reacted fast, but he had flown away even faster, which avoided a later encounter and the entanglement that would have led to being trapped.

Liang Qu organized the pages.

"The Ghost Mother Sect is riddled with evil; even their descendants are disloyal and alienated!"

"Talk about the real business, less official jargon!" Su Guishan picked up a paperweight to press down the confessions. "How the two were injured is irrelevant. In the Eastern Waters, there is the 'Net Master' constantly monitoring every move in the water. Even if we know the location of the tributaries, it is difficult for the imperial court to act. How did that Bai Yuan of yours bypass it to find the treasure fish?"

"It has its own divine abilities."

"Can it carry people?"

"Not at the moment."

Wei Lin furrowed his brows: "If it can't carry people, how did Bai Yuan bring back the Ghost Mother Sect members?"

"It relies on divine speed. If it came and went without a trace, how could it have caused such a big commotion?"

"Quiet!"

Su Guishan interrupted the two and looked around the circle.

"Things have reached this point; we didn't capture these tongues for nothing. I only want answers, no need to argue about the reasons! I ask you all, can we take this opportunity to make the Ghost Mother Sect lose another branch?"

The three fell into deep thought.

Liang Qu began a brainstorming session.

The information brought back this time seemed very valuable, but the Ghost Mother Sect was not a corpse without reactions.

Firstly, knowing the location had been leaked, the Ghost Mother Sect would not sit idly by; secondly, the existence of the Net Master was an established fact—any movement would trigger a response; thirdly, those three Ghost Mother Sect Commandery Prince branches were adjacent to each other, with over ten Perfected Form experts. In terms of raw strength, they were actually a bit outmatched. They would need to coordinate with surrounding prefectures to act, which was not a task for a day or two. By then, everything would be too late.

It was difficult to handle.

"Currently, we can only have the River-Po Office of the Southern Territory cooperate to slowly eradicate the 'Net Master'; we cannot be impatient," Xu Yuelong said.

"Eradicate until the year of the monkey? The Vine Star Fish is incredibly resilient; can we eradicate it as fast as it grows?" Wei Lin countered.

Both men's words had merit.

Su Guishan, sitting at the head, did not stop them.

"Reporting to the Inspector." Just at this moment, an attendant outside the door knocked and reported again, "The 'tongue' in the prison has other important matters; they say they want to tell the officials personally!"

The four looked at each other.

Other important matters?

Su Guishan waved his hand.

"Go take a look!"

The interrogation room.

Unrelated personnel were cleared out.

Yi Zhiheng and Yi Zhiyu were wrapped in bandages, separated by a layer, no longer as ferocious and terrifying as before.

"You are talking about the Alchemy Branch?"

"Yes." Yi Zhiyu leaned against the bed, enduring the pain to force himself to stay alert. "The sect's lack of new blood has been a problem exposed long ago.

Therefore, in order to continue their own survival, each branch, thirty years ago, selected some young descendants with talent for alchemy, placed blood curses on them, and sent them to the land to specifically cultivate the Dao of Alchemy. Once they achieved success, they would return, thus opening up a separate Alchemy Branch.

The Alchemy Branch has been established for over ten years and has been very effective, continuously transporting back many precious elixirs." Liang Qu's eyes burst with light.

Elixirs!

The Ghost Mother Sect barely manages the waters; wouldn't most of the elixirs they refine be water-attributed?

While the remnants of the Great Qian were gasping for breath, they had actually secretly hidden such a good place.

He smelled the scent of sudden wealth!

Xu Yuelong raised his eyebrows: "Listening to what you say, you know where the Alchemy Branch is located?"

"I know a general direction."

As soon as these words were spoken.

His companion Yi Zhiheng looked over in surprise.

"You, a mere Galloping Horse, how could you know the location of the Alchemy Branch?" Wei Lin's eyes showed suspicion, and he even radiated a bit of pressure, clearly intending to take his life if he couldn't explain.

Yi Zhiyu coughed twice, raised his hand to tap his heart, knocking out a dull sound and scarlet blood.

Su Guishan reached out to press it, condensing his qi into a thorn.

After a long while.

"Love Gu!?"

"This official is very insightful!" Yi Zhiyu grinned, a striking streak of blood seeping from the bandages on his face. "Six years ago, a woman of my Yi Clan was also selected to enter the Alchemy Branch. Relying on the Gu in my heart, I can vaguely sense the other person's location. Stealing the Dream Meng Meng Bai Huo was not my original plan; I had intended to have no future, and use this to defect to the Alchemy Branch."

The amount of information was too large.

Everyone was stunned.

Yi Zhiheng was even more terrified; he actually couldn't see through this companion who used to be laughing and acting crudely!

"Why do you have Love Gu? This is a technique from the Southern Frontier, right?" Xu Yuelong asked.

"The Water-Bathing Sect is, after all, a remnant of the Great Qian. Proper cultivation techniques and resources are blocked from us collateral descendants, but they don't guard against side-door paths. Refining inferior Love Gu is not complicated."

Liang Qu sighed inwardly.

He wasn't afraid of people having ideas; he was afraid of those whose ideas and execution were both maxed out.

Everyone was a talent.

Sunlight pierced through the bars, pillars of light cast into the prison, illuminating spots on the dark walls.

Yi Zhiyu's pupils rotated.

"You officials must be at your wits' end because you know the situation but cannot act, right? Pingyang Prefecture is slightly inferior to the Ghost Mother Sect in strength, but the Alchemy Branch is different.

As far as I know, the Alchemy Branch only has three Perfected Form experts guarding it, and there are many treasures. The benefits of striking it are far beyond those of ordinary branches!"

"Even if we know, how do we bypass the Vine Star Fish?"

"Vine Star Fish?"

"You don't know?"

Yi Zhiyu shook his head.

Low-level disciples didn't know such secrets...

Several people reached a conclusion.

No one answered Yi Zhiyu's question. The four asked a few more questions, called for the guards to continue interrogating others, and were about to return to the top floor to discuss.

"Official!" Yi Zhiyu raised his head and shouted, "Change to another path? Is it possible?"

The interrogation room was dim.

The four all had their backs turned, blurred between the pillars of light.

Yi Zhiyu's lips were parched, his blood-deficient heart beating wearily, his whole body burning like a raging fire. He knew his life was held in the hands of the four people in front of him.

As long as one person spoke.

One person!

Su Guishan looked toward Xu Yuelong.

Xu Yuelong understood, turned around, and said: "If what you say is true, and there are results, we will help you recover, and can give you a clean slate, or let you be a minor clerk in the Pingyang River-Po Office."

"You can come under my command." Liang Qu said.

"Who are you?"

"Liang Qu."

Yi Zhiyu's eyes widened instantly, his trembling pupils scanning up and down, as if he wanted to firmly imprint Liang Qu's figure into his mind.

Liang Qu of Dashun!

Yi Zhiheng couldn't suppress his envy.

That was a talent whose name even few in the isolated Ghost Mother Sect didn't know!

The undisputed number one of the younger generation!

A blessing in disguise!?

Creak.

The prison door closed.

The dust in the pillars of light danced quietly.

"Hoo..."

Yi Zhiyu leaned back against the bed, staring at the ceiling, muttering to himself.

"He is Liang Qu?"

(End of chapter)