Chapter 980

Under the Fifth Lord's murderous stare, Hu Baobao poured out all the information he knew without the slightest hesitation, and he even occasionally provocatively glanced at the Fifth Lord.

Chen Wuji arrived after hearing the news, glanced at the Personal Guard's records, and almost laughed himself sideways.

After searching high and low to no avail, it came easily without effort.

The scout only detained a few suspicious people, but unexpectedly ended up capturing the two most important individuals in the northern city.

I don't know why, but the Hu Family's head, Hu Baobao, seems not very smart; no matter how you look at him, he resembles a landlord's foolish son.

"Ask Hu Baobao how he became the Family Head," Chen Wuji whispered an order to Chen Li.

Chen Li agreed and ordered people to separately interrogate the few close aides under Hu Baobao.

As the Family Head, Hu Baobao had already given up, so the others naturally saw no need to hide anything; they basically answered whatever the Personal Guard asked, making the whole interrogation process extremely smooth.

"Family Head, it's been clarified," Chen Li strode over and whispered to Chen Wuji.

"Hu Baobao killed his two elder brothers to seize the position of Hu clan chief."

"Although the Hu family were refugees forced to relocate to the Refugee Settlement, Hu Baobao's father had some talent; after the Hu family ended up in the Refugee Settlement, his father quickly spotted an opportunity, leveraging the advantage of their large numbers to both swiftly gather refugees and persuade mountain bandits to form an alliance, competing with the Wild Dogs for territory, thereby establishing a foothold in the northern city."

"In the matter of succession, Hu Baobao's father was also rather ruthless, giving several equal opportunities; anyone could become the next Hu clan head, but it depended on ability."

"Hu Baobao was the most ruthless among the brothers; he used a honey trap to incapacitate one brother, then plotted to ambush and kill two elder brothers, finally securing the Family Head position. Just now a kid said Hu Baobao almost killed his own father as well."

Chen Wuji clicked his tongue; Li Er's influence was indeed far-reaching, even this remote small family had learned his essence.

"Family Head, this brat can't stay; he's too ruthless, two-faced and treacherous, solely profit-driven!" Chen Li said solemnly, "If he remains in the army, future troubles will be endless; today he can so decisively sell out his own clansmen, tomorrow he'd dare sell his comrades-in-arms, even the Family Head!"

Chen Wuji smiled faintly and nodded, "I never intended to keep him anyway; the Hu family's conduct has already been made clear by Chu Yun and Old Master Qin, so why keep them to cause me trouble?"

"I originally thought he was just a landlord's foolish son, but I didn't expect him to be a sly and deceitful type!"

Chen Wuji, upon saying this, suddenly realized a blind spot: people like this often appear honest and simple, even looking a bit foolish.

Or rather, such outward appearances either indicate genuine stupidity or the utmost deceit!

"Let Baobao bring out his people later, we'll go through them thoroughly; those roughly similar will be temporarily placed in the prisoner camp for later arrangement, while those utterly devoid of conscience will all be executed!" Chen Wuji ordered.

Although this task requires some effort, it is necessary.

Chen Wuji must ensure the purity of his subordinates; he cannot accept just anyone.

Chen Li acknowledged, first noting this down, then said, "Family Head, the General Huo that Baobao mentioned is the Snake Staff Elder, and that Fifth Lord is the Snake Staff Elder's confidant; but this old thing has a stubborn mouth and still hasn't said anything to this day."

"Baobao only knows that the Snake Staff Elder wields great power, but he isn't clear about the specific forces involved, hasn't even met the person, and the only information we can currently obtain is this."

Chen Wuji grunted, his mind suddenly stirred, "First verify whether the Wild Dogs have any connection with the Snake Staff Elder, and get to the bottom of this."

"Yes!"

The Wild Dogs behaved normally, and what they said was watertight.

But since it involves the Snake Staff Elder, Chen Wuji cannot help but be more cautious.

This Snake Staff Elder, that old Taoist priest, loves nothing more than secretly stirring up trouble behind the scenes; although the harm he's caused so far is very limited, he's truly disgusting.

Moreover, no one can guarantee that just because they haven't caused harm before, they won't in the future.

Even if someone uses that disgusting method to merely kill a subordinate, Chen Wuji feels it's a loss.

"Our earlier speculation was correct; the Snake Staff Elder had already made full preparations in Nanyue Jun. He's just waiting for the world to fall into chaos, then with a single order, the troops of all prefectures and counties will swiftly respond and occupy Nanyue." Chen Wuji muttered.

From Guiling Xian to Liu Min Ji, and then to the currently highly suspicious Lingshouzhou, everywhere bears the Snake Staff Elder's trace; that old Taoist priest has almost converted all usable forces into his own people.

If it weren't for this war, he might already have succeeded, and Nanyue Jun might have become the Wise King's territory.

It's just a pity that, despite the Snake Staff Elder's old Taoist priest calculating everything with extreme precision, he still overlooked many things; by the time the war has reached this point, his earlier arrangements have actually been almost completely destroyed.

Chen Li shook his head and chuckled, "I suddenly feel that His Majesty the Emperor is truly somewhat pitiful."

"Not knowing people leads to such losses; although he is indeed somewhat pitiful, it's no one else's fault." Chen Wuji said, "Having treacherous ministers among officials is normal, but to raise so many great villains in one reign like the current Emperor is no easy feat; he deserves to be imprisoned now!"

As for the current Emperor, Chen Wuji now can't be bothered to speak.

Pitiful as it may be, the former Emperor's eyes were truly blind.

Chen Wuji waved his hand, getting back to the point, "Find a way to make that old man talk; I need to know the Snake Staff Elder's other deployments in Nanyue Jun, the more detailed the better, to squeeze out everything he knows."

"Yes!"

……

In the small courtyard where only a wine flag was hung, Wang Yu furrowed his brows as he paced back and forth nonstop; the already dry ground was kicked up dust by his steps, leaving a very clear imprint.

Guo Shuhan sat at the side table, hand shielding his wine cup, looking speechless, "I say, Brother Ningyuan, can you take a break? You've worn the ground thin from trampling; keep going and it'll turn into farmland—look, there's even a layer of dust floating in my wine cup."

Wang Yu abruptly stopped his steps, "I constantly feel uneasy in my heart!"

"You're just scaring yourself."

"Perhaps… yes, but my intuition has never been bad."

"Then tell me, what should we do? Fight our way out or surrender? Give me a plan, I'm listening!" Guo Shuhan was truly fed up, having been tossed about by Wang Yu, leaving him feeling unsettled inside.

Although he clearly knows nothing unexpected could happen, he still can't help but overthink.