Chapter 152

"I didn't see anything, is that enough?" Qin Zhanhong shouted, cheeks puffed.

Although she could understand Yang Tiejiang's actions, she was still angry.

"We should hurry and leave this place; this isn't a place to linger. If you have any questions, we can continue later. By the way, what about that little guy? Surely nothing happened to him?" Qin Zhanhong adopted the bearing of an Imperial City Department marriage official, her tone becoming brisk and forceful.

"No, no, I'm fine!" came a voice from the nearby shadow—Xiaoyu.

Qin Zhanhong jumped in fright: "When did you get here?"

"I've been here a while; my senior brother came when he caught the shopkeeper. I just didn't dare to speak up because you were arguing fiercely." Xiaoyu said honestly.

Qin Zhanhong was somewhat shocked.

She hadn't noticed Xiaoyu's arrival at all.

Logically, given her strength, she shouldn't have failed to notice a living person right beside her.

But the fact is, before the other party spoke, she hadn't noticed anything at all.

That's somewhat frightening.

This little guy is practically a born assassin.

She now finally understood why Chen Wuji brought these two people.

Indeed… each has their own strengths!

Compared to them, her subordinates are basically useless.

Qin Zhanhong suddenly recalled what the old-timers in the department had said when she received this mission.

They told her, with strange and solemn expressions, that Nan Jun hid dragons and crouching tigers, that one must always be extra cautious, and even when encountering ordinary folk, one must stay fully vigilant.

Before, she hadn't felt anything.

But now she believed it, completely believed it.

This territory of Nan Jun is indeed somewhat eerie!

Chen Wuji is just an ordinary hunter, a very ordinary one.

He still hunts in the mountains to make a living.

But look at what he's done…

He effortlessly produced weapons the court doesn't have, and found helpers fiercer than the Imperial City Department—could a hunter possibly do that?

"This isn't the place to talk; let's go first." Chen Wuji said.

Seeing Chen Wuji speak, Yang Tiejiang didn't give Qin Zhanhong a hard time anymore.

The group, with three captives in tow, took the back alleys from the north of the city to the south.

The stronghold Qin Zhanhong mentioned was behind a brothel.

More precisely, it was the rear courtyard of that brothel.

Chen Wuji stood in the courtyard, completely dazed.

He couldn't figure out what reasoning they had for choosing this place as a stronghold.

Was it just to make it convenient to look at the girls?

Given that it's pretty dark now, if it were a bit brighter, anyone upstairs could see clearly what they were doing in the courtyard.

"Dad, did you find the ledger?" Qin Zhanhong came out of the room and asked quietly.

Chen Wuji's mouth twitched slightly as he suppressed a smile and shook his head.

Whether to speak or not, Qin Zhanhong's trait here is excellent—she keeps her word!

That "Dad" almost made him transmigrate again.

"I've searched every corner of that room and found no ledger; did you get it wrong?" Chen Wuji gave a light cough, controlled his expression, and spoke solemnly.

"It's not a mistake; the intel is reliable." Qin Zhanhong's expression grew grave: "Since the item isn't with the leader, it might be with someone else—I'll interrogate them myself."

"Wait a moment!" Chen Wuji called out to Qin Zhanhong and summoned Xiaoyu, who was not far away, looking up at the upstairs.

"Did you find anything?" Chen Wuji asked.

"Huh?" Xiaoyu's face turned red as a monkey's butt, his body slightly bent, his expression uneasy.

Chen Wuji glanced at his waist: "At your age, if you dare go to a brothel, your master will surely beat you to death."

"I… I didn't mean to go up, just wanted to look, just look." Xiaoyu choked back his words, face flushed, muttering softly.

Qin Zhanhong pressed her lips into a smile and turned her head aside.

She also noticed some changes in Xiaoyu's body.

Chen Wuji asked in a low voice: "Did you find anything?"

"Yes! Yes…" Xiaoyu hurriedly took down the bundle on his back.

"I didn't just find the ledger; there are also two letters, stamped with many seals—they should be important, so I took them along."

Chen Wuji didn't take it, gesturing for Xiaoyu to hand it directly to Qin Zhanhong.

Qin Zhanhong visibly relaxed, breaking into a light smile: "Thank you."

"You handle the interrogation; we'll go out for a bit." Chen Wuji said.

Qin Zhanhong asked doubtfully: "What are we going out for now?"

"It's still early; I'll go take a look around the Zhang family." Chen Wuji said.

When he lacked strength, facing the Zhang family's oppression, he could only take things one step at a time.

But now he possesses Shocking Heaven Thunder—why would he continue to endure?

If he can act directly, he shouldn't stubbornly use his own weaknesses to pry at others' strengths in an attempt to take revenge.

Just get straight to it.

Just blow him up and it's over.

There's not much Shocking Heaven Thunder left today—first, collect some interest.

Qin Zhanhong glanced at Chen Wuji, still holding the Shocking Heaven Thunder in his hand, "You said there were none left?"

"It's gone, but I just need these few pieces; I can definitely break open the Zhang family's main gate!" Chen Wuji said calmly, "Go about your business, no need to mind us."

"Be careful." Qin Zhanhong said softly, "This thing, and what you're about to do, I won't report to the Court; I'm telling the truth, and there's no need to deceive you."

"Got it!" Chen Wuji waved his hand, called Lao Yang and Xiaoyu, and they left together.

In this scorching summer, even late at night, the air still seethed with heat waves.

The cicadas hidden among the thickets chirred incessantly, competing with the frogs in the grass for who could shout louder.

"Wuji, there's something I didn't really want to say, but after thinking I still need to say it. Cooperating with the Court is no different than scheming with a tiger for its skin, especially for us who hail from Nan Jun!" On the deserted street, Yang Tiejiang couldn't help but say again.

"Whether it's the current emperor or the high officials, they look at us people from Nan Jun with a strange gaze; they will never absolutely trust us, and we had best not trust them either—if we can avoid dealings, we should avoid them."

After learning the history of the Chen family, Chen Wuji had always been clear-eyed about this; he nodded and said, "I don't trust the Court; I just trust Qin Zhanhong."

Yang Tiejiang glanced at Chen Wuji, let out a faint sigh, and said, "Since ancient times, heroes have trouble passing the beauty's gate; I hope you can hold out, and don't drag me down—otherwise I'll definitely beat you to death first."

Chen Wuji: ……

Those words sound somewhat ominous.