Chapter 681: Does He Even Deserve It?

"My Lord, the intelligence on Da'an City for the recent period is all here, down to the smallest detail!"

It was unclear what this Lord Shen was thinking; upon returning, he began investigating all the intelligence from Da'an City over the recent period, flipping through it piece by piece, as if looking for someone.

Shen Yu had not taken the initiative to tell him about these matters, so Gu Cheng did not ask, merely doing his best to assist with the investigation.

In any case, he was in this line of work, so there was no difficulty in investigating.

"What is the meaning of this?"

He pulled one document from the many pieces of intelligence and placed it before Gu Cheng. It stated that a few months ago, a youth had assassinated the Assistant Prefect Du Zhixia, only to fail and be captured.

In the end, this youth was sentenced to beheading, but on the day of the execution, he suddenly erupted with power, not only breaking free from his ropes but also wounding a large number of government experts before escaping.

One must know that this is a high-martial arts world; experts in the Jianghu are countless, and these people love nothing more than upholding justice and punishing evil at the slightest provocation.

Even those who kill corrupt officials or openly hijack execution grounds are numerous.

Therefore, when dealing with these Jianghu experts, to prevent any mishaps, there are usually experts following along during executions.

According to the information in this report, this youth could be considered a minor expert; although he was captured after failing, he must have been treated with some degree of importance—at the very least, that Assistant Prefect Du Zhixia would certainly not have let him have an easy time.

Presumably, when he was being executed, there must have been experts from the Capture Gate or the government nearby.

For him to have escaped despite such an arrangement, it looked suspicious no matter how one viewed it.

Originally, when the youth's strength was still intact, he could still fail and be captured. Now, having been locked in a dungeon and who knows how long he had been tortured, his cultivation base might have long since been crippled.

Yet at the final moment, he was able to have a sudden "cosmic eruption" and escape successfully; no one had ever questioned why.

"This subordinate has actually noticed this matter as well. When this youth was to be beheaded, there were two Gold Medal Catchers from the Capture Gate at his side. It stands to reason that with such experts present, he should not have been able to escape."

"But the result was that both Gold Medal Catchers were wounded, and the other party walked away!"

Carefully watching Shen Yu's expression, Gu Cheng was not sure if this youth was the one Shen Yu was looking for, so he could only state the situation as he knew it, one by one.

As for what Lord Shen would do, that was not his place to manage. However, no matter what Lord Shen did, that Assistant Prefect Du Zhixia would likely not have a good end.

After all, Lord Shen had never shown mercy toward corrupt officials. And Du Zhixia was definitely a corrupt official, and a very well-hidden one at that.

On the surface, he was selfless, but in reality, he had made many private deals behind the scenes; it was only a matter of time before someone assassinated him.

Their Black-Clad Guard monitored all directions, and Du Zhixia was naturally among them, so they had some understanding of him.

Such a person, he deserved it!

"My Lord, according to our secret observations, there should be a problem with this matter. That youth's entire family was murdered, and his family property was seized by others."

"According to the clues uncovered by my Black-Clad Guard, this should have involved the Assistant Prefect Du Zhixia. Du Zhixia broke the law while knowing the law; he truly deserves to die!"

"However, afterwards, various abnormal situations began to appear in Da'an City, and we of the Black-Clad Guard were overwhelmed, so..."

"I understand!" Nodding, Shen Yu then said softly, "Investigate this matter clearly, and additionally, use all your strength to find this youth for me. Whether it is him or not, one look will suffice!"

After speaking, Shen Yu sighed softly; he actually hoped it was not this youth. Because this youth had a clean background, with his life experiences from childhood to adulthood all accounted for.

If that were the case, it would mean Mu Zishan's body had shattered, leaving only his spirit remaining to attach itself to the youth, and perhaps he was about to stage a "Return of the King."

But a "Return of the King" requires quite a bit of time, and during this period, with the Spiritual Qi Surge and wolves circling on all sides, one slight mistake would make one another's meal; life would not be easy.

"Yes, My Lord, this subordinate will go do it now!"

"My Lord, My Lord!" Just at this moment, a shout came from outside, followed immediately by a figure rushing in.

"Keep it down, what does this reckless behavior look like!" After giving a low reprimand to the subordinate who had rushed in, he glanced at Shen Yu before asking, "What happened?"

"My Lord, the latest news: this morning, Assistant Prefect Du Zhixia was killed, and the Capture Gate's Gold Medal Catcher Shui Wuhuan was killed. The person who did it is the very youth who escaped from the execution ground!"

"After the killing, he even left a note saying he would pay blood for blood, and then walked away!"

"What?" Hearing the subordinate's words, Gu Cheng glanced at Shen Yu. Lord Shen had just wanted to investigate him, and in the next moment, he had popped up himself; this was truly a coincidence.

"Let's go, since such a thing has happened, we might as well go take a look!" Shen Yu had also heard the words of the Black-Clad Guard nearby; there was no harm in going to see.

Immediately, led by Gu Cheng, the group marched directly toward Du Zhixia's mansion.

"My Lord!" At this moment, at Du Zhixia's mansion, Madam Du was weeping in sorrow, and standing beside her was the Governor, Yang Zhengqi.

However, Yang Zhengqi's slightly aged face was now furrowed with a deep frown, appearing preoccupied, while he had to endure Madam Du's wailing.

"My Lord, my husband was as clean as water and upright and selfless, yet in the end, he met such an end."

"My Lord, you must uphold justice for us, you must severely punish the murderer, and you must avenge my husband!"

"Madam, please rise quickly; this official will certainly investigate this matter to the end!" Helping Madam Du up, Yang Zhengqi was also full of helplessness; he truly had no way to deal with a woman who cried like this.

He himself was currently overwhelmed; the people from the Black-Clad Guard and the Capture Gate were almost ready to flee, and he was almost unable to hold on.

At this time, Da'an City was full of crises, and there were some things he could no longer suppress. Perhaps it wouldn't be long before everyone was finished; how could he uphold justice for her!

As the Governor governing a region, he could not leave, even if he were to die here, he could not leave. If he were to leave, Da'an City would truly be in complete chaos.

As for Du Zhixia, this fellow was not a good thing, but Du Zhixia was very careful in his actions, so he had never found any solid evidence. Otherwise, he would have taken him down long ago.

Now that he was dead, it was a great joy to the people; and they wanted him to uphold justice for him? They were dreaming!

"My Lord!" Suddenly, a subordinate beside him leaned in and whispered in Yang Zhengqi's ear, "My Lord, the people from the Black-Clad Guard have arrived. It is the Black-Clad Guard Commander Gu Cheng leading the team personally!"

"The Black-Clad Guard, why have they come?"

Just as Yang Zhengqi was puzzled, Gu Cheng had already ushered Shen Yu into the area.

But as they drew closer, Yang Zhengqi's confusion grew even greater; Gu Cheng and the group of Black-Clad Guards were clearly escorting one person. Who was this person of such high status that Gu Cheng, a Commander, was accompanying him?

And this youth, he seemed to have seen him somewhere, but he couldn't recall for the moment; he was old, truly old!

Although his heart was full of doubt, when the other party approached, Yang Zhengqi still took the initiative to step forward: "Commander Gu, I wonder why your Black-Clad Guard has come?"

"Lord Yang, it is Lord Shen who wishes to come and see Assistant Prefect Du!" After speaking, Gu Cheng explained to Yang Zhengqi, "Lord Yang, this is Lord Shen!"

"Lord Shen? Which Lord Shen? Wait, Shen Yu!" In an instant, Yang Zhengqi remembered. Although he had never met Shen Yu, he had seen his portrait; it was Shen Yu!

In an instant, the previously sorrowful Yang Zhengqi suddenly felt much more relaxed. If it was this person, Da'an City might still have hope of being saved.

At this moment, Yang Zhengqi immediately became enthusiastic: "So it is Lord Shen, this subordinate failed to welcome you from afar!"

"Lord Yang is too polite!" After exchanging pleasantries with Yang Zhengqi, Shen Yu looked around, his Super Perception almost penetrating three yards into the ground, and then he couldn't help but click his tongue in wonder.

"Three years as a Prefect, one hundred thousand taels of snow-white silver; the ancients did not deceive me!"

"This Assistant Prefect Du Zhixia has quite the greed!"

"My lord!" Seeing the newly arrived Shen Yu speak slander against her late husband, Madam Du, though fearful, could not help but say, "My husband was an upright official who never took a single cent in bribes; I beg you, my lord, to investigate clearly!"

"He deserves to be called an upright official? And never took a single cent? Then where did all this money come from!"

With a casual wave of his hand, everyone felt the ground beneath their feet shake as soil flew up from the garden and drifted to one side, revealing large chests buried deep underground.

Then, the chests opened automatically, the overflowing gold, silver, and jewels almost dazzling everyone's eyes.

Following that, Shen Yu waved his hand toward the side again, causing the nearby pillar to snap, and a massive amount of gold and silver spilled out from within.

In the garden's pond, inside the nearby rockery—it seemed as if countless gold and silver were buried everywhere.

The massive quantity of gold and silver piled to the side left everyone gaping in shock, and it even made Yang Zhengqi's beard bristle with rage.

"What a fine 'upright official,' what a fine 'never took a single cent'—does he, Du Zhixia, even deserve to call himself an upright official? He truly deserved to die!"