Chapter 213: Shen Family's Second Young Master, Shen Yun'ya

Shen Qing spoke: "Since you want to meet, there must be more than one person, right? So, do you have any impression of the others?"

Wang Lianshan shook his head: "We only gathered briefly for the first month, and after that, we only communicated in a single line, never meeting again. I can't recall."

"Did you have any impression of a left-handed person in that group?"

Wang Lianshan kept shaking his head.

Shen Qing's voice turned icy: "Are you forgetting, or just unwilling to say?"

Shen Qing gave Old Li a look; Old Li nodded, pulled out several steel needles from his bag, and walked over.

As Old Li drew nearer, cold sweat kept beading on his forehead.

"Don't come over... don't come over!"

"I really can't remember..."

Ma Qing let out a cold laugh, stepped forward, and grabbed Wang Lianshan: "I know you can't remember—this is to help you recall, isn't it?"

Wang Lianshan's body began to tremble: "I think, I'm about to remember..."

But Old Li still didn't stop walking.

Just as Old Li reached Wang Lianshan, Wang Lianshan shouted loudly: "I remember!"

Shen Qing raised his hand slightly; Old Li halted his steps, though that icy gaze remained fixed on Wang Lianshan's fingertips, sending a chill down his spine.

"I truly don't remember that gathering three months ago, but the person I communicated with in a single line seemed to be left-handed."

"Now that I think about it, I realize he always used his left hand to hold things when we met! His right hand never moved—yes, yes, yes! He must be left-handed!"

Shen Qing crouched down, reached out, and patted Wang Lianshan's face, smiling: "See, you remembered after all?"

"Then go on and say it."

Wang Lianshan's face turned pale: "Since our first meeting, I've only communicated with him in a single line, and things like banknotes were all given to me by him."

"His codename is Viper; his speech accent sounds like a local from Yunzhou. He should be a swordsman. Yesterday, when he came to deliver the order to poison Lin the Commander, he was covered in blood, with a sword at his waist. At that critical moment, he shouldn't have had time to disguise himself, so that sword must be his true weapon."

Indeed, people don't know their limits until pushed—under the threat of torture, Wang Lianshan's mind raced, instantly connecting all the clues, even deducing that the sword was Viper's true weapon.

Wang Lianshan squeezed out a smile: "Minister Shen... seeing how cooperative I am, couldn't you give me another chance...?"

"Before, I had no choice; now I want to be a good person..."

Shen Qing laughed, then casually tossed him to Jia He.

"There are surely more who know—throw him into prison, use every necessary method, just don't kill him."

"And don't let this news leak out."

"Yes!"

Now they're all holding back anger inside—our chief was betrayed by his own people and nearly died; who could swallow this?

If the Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander and the Six Gates Chief Inspector really died, especially if poisoned in the Detention Office, then every one of them must die.

So this feud can be said to be irreconcilable.

Wang Lianshan seemed to sense his own fate—if thrown into the great prison, who knows what punishments await?

He is a Deputy Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard; no one knows its punishments better than him.

"No! No! I've confessed everything—give me a quick death!"

Jia He spat on his face, then kicked him straight in the chest, knocking him unconscious.

Shen Qing rose and walked toward the outer hall, saying as he went: "Then let's begin the investigation—start with this 'Viper'."

"Yes."

Being a Golden Core Realm swordsman, left-handed, and a native of Yunzhou—that already narrows the field considerably.

Shen Qing stepped out of the hall, out of the Detention Office.

After walking around Zijun City, he found the shadow guards assigned to him here by the Shen family.

The shadow guards passed some intelligence to Shen Qing, though it wasn't much better than what the Embroidered Uniform Guard had.

Shen Qing ordered them to also investigate the Reincarnation Tower and Viper.

Then he headed toward the outer courtyard, when just then, a shadow guard called out to him.

"Young Master Three! Wait a moment—I still have some intelligence here; I feel you might need to know."

Shen Qing stopped, turned to look at the shadow guard: "The intelligence for me?"

The shadow guard nodded: "Yes, just three days ago, that is, on your way to Yunzhou, Young Master Three."

"Young Master Two returned from the North Sea; he should already be in Wuyangzhou by now."

Shen Young Master Two's name is Shen Yun'ya; he is the son of Shen Qing's second uncle, eight or nine years older than Shen Qing. In memory, Shen Qing and this Shen Yun'ya have never gotten along.

Because Shen Qing lacks talent, Shen Yun'ya has often bullied him.

If it were just ordinary teasing, it would be fine—but Shen Yun'ya really goes too far, even nearly killing Shen Qing several times.

Shen Qing said flatly: "What does his return or not have to do with me?"

The shadow guard hesitated, then spoke: "Young Master Three, Young Master Two said he wants to come find you—he might already be on his way to Qingzhou."

"I know about your relationship with Young Master Two, Young Master Three..."

Everyone in the Shen family knows Shen Qing and Shen Yun'ya don't get along; many in the shadow guards know too.

Shen Qing laughed: "When we were young, he bullied me, and the Shen family elders didn't intervene."

"So if I kill him now, the Shen family elders probably won't intervene either?"

Moreover, Shen Qing has long suspected that his lack of talent in childhood might be connected to this elder brother.

The shadow guard's voice stammered: "Young Master Three... are you joking...?"

Shen Qing turned to face him: "I'm not joking. If he really dares to come, I might truly kill him."

"You can relay these words back to Wuyangzhou word for word—of course, the choice is yours."

As soon as he said that, the shadow guard's palms began to sweat.

Among the shadow guards, there are also factions; at other times, the main branch of the Shen family can freely dispatch the shadow guards, but once the situation becomes urgent, the shadow guards will only listen to the leader of their own faction.

The shadow guard hesitated for a long time, exhaled a long breath, and spoke: "Third Young Master, I will not relay this news back to Wuyang Prefecture, and I will closely monitor the Second Young Master's information for you, reporting it to you immediately."

As he spoke, the shadow guard removed the mask from his face, revealing a relatively young face.

He knelt on one knee on the ground: "Shen Qiu of the Shen family branch pays his respects to the Third Young Master!"

The Shen family branch has no requirement for the main branch to kneel and bow, but Shen Qiu's bow was a declaration of allegiance; his branch favors Shen Qing more and has chosen Shen Qing's faction.

Shen Qing smiled, turned his head, and walked toward the outside of the room.

"You will not regret this choice."