Chapter 194: Internal Purge

Chan Prefecture City, Inspection Bureau office, underground interrogation room.

The air was damp and cold, mixed with the smell of blood and medicinal herbs.

The flames of the oil lamps on the walls jumped uneasily, casting distorted human shadows onto the stone walls.

Qian Gui sat silently on a wooden chair, expressionless.

Before him, a man with his hands chained in iron and covered in wounds lowered his head, his breath weak.

He was a hidden agent who, several days earlier, had tried to deliver a message to a squad commander under Zhao Kuangyin.

After days of interrogation, his accomplices and superiors had been uncovered one after another.

But he himself clenched his teeth, refusing to reveal the most crucial information—the channels linking him to the Iron Crow Army, and the possible large‑scale infiltration plan to come.

A veteran interrogator stood to the side, sweat beading on his forehead, and spoke softly.

"Sir, this man is extremely tough; regular methods… aren't very effective."

Qian Gui said nothing, merely staring silently at the prisoner.

His gaze was calm and waveless, neither angry nor pitying.

Silence spread through the room, broken only by the prisoner's heavy breathing and the crackling of the flames.

Suddenly, Qian Gui rose and walked to the prisoner's front.

He crouched, bringing his eyes level with the prisoner's downcast gaze.

"You're not afraid of death."

Qian Gui spoke, his voice low but clear, drilling into the prisoner's ears.

The prisoner's body trembled almost imperceptibly, but he gave no reply.

"But you fear a meaningless death."

Qian Gui continued, his tone flat as if stating a fact.

"The Iron Crow Army gave you power, gave you a mission, making you feel different, a part of carrying out the 'Heaven's Mandate.'"

"But now you're in my hands, like a stray dog nobody cares about."

"Your death will leave no mark in the 'purge plan,' nor will your 'master' remember you."

"You are merely a failed tool that can be discarded at any moment."

The prisoner jerked his head up; a flash of pain shot through his cloudy eyes as he hoarsely said.

"You… understand what…?"

"I understand."

Qian Gui interrupted him, his gaze still calm.

"I understand your talk about 'maintaining nodes' and 'correcting trajectories'—nonsense."

"But I understand even more the will to live of those you regard as ants, to be swept away at will."

He pointed upward.

"In Chan Prefecture City, in the Luo River Three Counties, countless people you wish to erase till the soil, weave cloth, serve as soldiers eating grain, and feed their families."

"All they want in this chaotic age is to eke out a living."

"Yet you, together with your masters behind you, seek to deprive them even of this most basic thought."

"On what grounds?"

The prisoner opened his mouth to retort, but his throat felt blocked.

Qian Gui no longer looked at him, rose, and gave orders to the interrogators.

"Give him the Soul‑Breaking Powder."

"Control the dosage; I want him to stay conscious and feel the backlash of the Killing Qi."

The interrogator's body shuddered.

"Here!"

Upon hearing "Soul‑Breaking Powder" and "Killing Qi backlash," the prisoner's face showed genuine fear for the first time.

That was something more terrifying than physical torment—a curse rooted in the very source of their power.

Soon, a bluish‑green powder was forced into the prisoner's mouth.

Moments later, the prisoner began violent convulsions; beneath his skin, blue‑white worms seemed to writhe, emitting an inhuman wail, while bloody threads tinged with cold seeped from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.

"Ah—! Kill me! Kill me!"

He thrashed wildly, the iron chains clanking.

Qian Gui watched coldly until the prisoner's will completely collapsed under the pain.

"I… I'll talk… I'll talk…"

"The west city… Yongfeng Granary… the dry well behind it… is… is the new contact point…"

"In three days… at noon… a batch of 'goods' will be transferred from there…"

"The one leading it… is… the Vice Commander of the Shade Shadow…"

Having obtained the information, Qian Gui wasted no time, turned and left.

Behind him, the screams faded into silence.

……

Two hours later.

West of the city, Yongfeng Granary.

On the surface everything was normal; porters moved grain sacks, and the abacus clicked.

But around the dry well half‑overgrown with weeds in the rear courtyard, an invisible net had been silently laid.

Qian Gui personally directed.

Several dozen Inspection Bureau experts disguised as laborers and itinerant merchants lay in ambush all around.

Their hands held not swords but strong bows and powerful crossbows, and they had even prepared oil-soaked fishing nets and specially made grappling hooks.

Sunlight filtered through the clouds, sprinkling into the courtyard.

Noon was approaching.

A faint mechanical sound came from the well mouth.

A disguised stone slab was lifted slightly, and a black shadow slipped out like a ghost, warily scanning the surroundings.

Just as he confirmed safety and prepared to send a signal,

"Move!"

Qian Gui's icy voice served as the signal.

In an instant, the sound of tearing air erupted!

More than ten crossbow bolts, from different angles, swept in a covering fire toward the well mouth and possible hiding spots nearby.

At the same time, the experts disguised as laborers fiercely lifted the canvas on the cart, revealing a second rank of crossbowmen, completely blocking all escape routes.

The "Yinying" Vice Commander reacted with astonishing speed.

In the instant the crossbow bolts reached him, he actually shrank back more than half his body into the well mouth as if boneless, simultaneously sweeping his sleeves to deflect two lethal arrows.

But the ambush crossbow bolts were too many, too dense.

"Pfft!"

Two crossbow bolts still struck his shoulder blade and thigh.

He grunted, yet his ferocity exploded; he leveraged the momentum to burst fully out, his poisoned short blade flashing with a cold light.

"Net!"

Qian Gui gave the order.

The two pre-prepared oil-soaked fishing nets descended like a hood, their surfaces studded with iron hooks, specifically designed to restrain those who leap high and dart about.

The Vice Commander roared, brandishing his short blade, instantly tearing one fishing net apart.

But the other net had already reached him; the iron hooks caught his clothing and flesh, though not inflicting serious injury, they severely hampered his movements.

In that moment of hesitation,

"Whoosh!"

A specially made crossbow bolt, its head bearing reverse hooks, pierced his sword‑holding wrist with precision.

"Clang!"

The short blade fell to the ground.

Almost simultaneously, another crossbow bolt struck his uninjured hamstring.

The Vice Commander's stance faltered; his eyes flashed with disbelief, rage, and a trace of fear.

He had not expected the opposition to be so thoroughly prepared, their methods so ruthlessly aimed at him.

He let out a furious roar, disregarding his wounds, like a wounded beast lunging bare‑handed at the nearest Inspection Bureau man, intending to drag someone down with him in death.

That expert's face turned pale; he seemed about to be engulfed by the killer's terrifying aura.

"Halt."

Qian Gui's voice sounded again.

He himself did not step forward to clash head‑on, but calmly waved his hand.

Two experts beside him, each holding a long pole with a lasso, fiercely flung the loops, precisely snaring the Vice Commander's neck and waist, then hauled back with force.

At the same time, three or four strong crossbows were aimed again at his vital points.

The tremendous restraining force and deadly threat completely distorted the Vice Commander's movements; his lunge halted abruptly.

He crashed heavily to the ground, struggling, emitting an unwilling howl.

Qian Gui then stepped forward slowly, gazing at the enemy firmly subdued by multiple restraints, and instructed those beside him.

"Dislocate the joints, gag him, search his body thoroughly, prevent suicide."

"Yes!"

The crowd surged forward, skillfully subduing him.

The remaining elite of the Iron Crow Army in the well, after losing their upper cover, were also forced out by bows and smoke, either dead or captured.

The entire purge operation was meticulously planned; not a single one escaped.

Yet Qian Gui wore no smile.

He looked at the subordinate being carried away, whose throat the Vice Commander had crushed in his dying counter‑attack, and his eyes grew colder.

The Iron Crow Army's elite were indeed terrifying.

Had we not seized the absolute initiative, outnumbered them, and equipped ourselves with targeted weapons, the cost would certainly not have been limited to just one man.

Their infiltration was more dangerous than anticipated.

Today we uprooted one stronghold; tomorrow another two might appear.

This war in the shadows has never ceased.

He lifted his head, gazing toward the Regional Governor's Mansion, then turned northward.

【115> The Governor holds the front line against the enemy.

The commander is repelling the enemy at the front line.

He must guard the rear courtyard, eliminate all hidden dangers.

"Clean it up."

"Separately imprison all captives under strict guard, interrogate them through the night."

"I need to know where their next 'node' is."

【120> He issued the order in a low voice, his tone icy as iron.

He issued the order in a low voice, his tone icy cold like iron.

Sunlight shone on him, yet it could not dispel the chill and resolve that sprang from darkness.

In the shadows of Deep Water Prefecture, hunting and counter-hunting continue.