Chapter 741: Interrogation

"Lingzhi..."

Xing Ji looked at the Siqing Marquis before him with cold eyes and said, "You are the ones looking for the Auspicious Omen, but my Yunzhou has no Lingzhi Auspicious Omen. I don't even know if such a thing truly exists or if it is merely a rumor. Why did you force the Marquis with such an absurd excuse? And how did you know she could give you the answer?"

The surroundings were pitch black, and one could faintly see iron bars stuck into the ground. They were crisscrossed and densely interwoven, resembling a birdcage. There was only one bird in the cage: the Siqing Marquis. He was standing, but not of his own accord; several chains hoisted him up, maintaining a posture where his toes barely touched the ground.

Xing Ji stood outside the cage like a hunter training a hawk, watching this Sword Hero who had lost all power of resistance, and asked about the events of that day in a voice devoid of emotion. This unrefined interrogation was like a fishing line, pulling the truth out of the Sword Hero without reservation.

The Siqing Marquis's eyes were vacant, and he unconsciously cooperated with the questions: "It was proposed by the Baoying Marquis. She said the Gaoyuan Marquis could tell us the answer."

If this were a normal interrogation, the next step would be shifting responsibility and blaming the missing Baoying Marquis, but Xing Ji confirmed that under these circumstances, the Siqing Marquis could not lie, so he did not interrupt and let the other party continue.

"The Baoying Marquis said the item was indeed in Yunzhou, but perhaps not in the hands of the Gaoyuan Marquis. However, the Gaoyuan Marquis's eyes are the best in the world. She can not only see far and near, but also see heaven and earth, and even see the past and future. Even if we knew nothing about the Lingzhi, we only needed to ask her. She also said the Gaoyuan Marquis could even take whatever she could see; if she could see that Auspicious Omen, she could get it with a reach of her hand. Therefore, there is nothing in the world she cannot find. The key still lies with the Gaoyuan Marquis. Once we find the Gaoyuan Marquis, we find the Auspicious Omen, and then she will offer the Auspicious Omen to a person of supreme nobility in exchange for resources that can extend our lives and advance our cultivation realms. We will split these resources equally, and after that, we will each go our own way."

Xing Ji's brow furrowed even tighter: that the Gaoyuan Marquis could obtain whatever she could see was not an issue; he knew of the Marquis's ability. But this ability was not common knowledge; only those very familiar with the Gaoyuan Marquis's Sword Technique would know. Like him. How did a minor marquis like the Baoying Marquis, who had nothing to do with Yunzhou, know this?

Also, who was that person of supreme nobility?

Could it be the mastermind behind this series of events?

"I asked her, if the Gaoyuan Marquis has this ability, why doesn't she just go find the Auspicious Omen herself? Why share it with us? She said the Gaoyuan Marquis does not value this matter; she likely does not believe in the Auspicious Omen. But we can go and negotiate with her, make her believe, and make her take it seriously. If the Gaoyuan Marquis is willing to share it with us, then the five of us will split it equally; if she is unwilling, then the four of us will split it. Fewer people is even better."

Xing Ji snorted, knowing these people were indeed intent on forcing or even killing the Marquis. Saying five people would split it was nonsense; with such a precious treasure, they would consider even one extra person a burden, so how could they leave one more to share the benefits? Moreover, the Marquis's influence was immense; Yunzhou was much larger than the others' territories, and her subordinates were as numerous as clouds, stronger than those four combined. It was only because she had no reinforcements on the road that they could take advantage of her. Once the Marquis escaped unscathed and returned to mobilize her forces, how could these four marquises stand against her? If they could negotiate properly, that would be one thing, but once they made a move, they had to eliminate the threat once and for all.

If this logic might not occur to common martial artists for a moment, these people were all marquises, all big figures who controlled the military and politics of a region; who could fail to understand this? The Baoying Marquis, who was clearly the mastermind, certainly understood it even better.

"We asked her at the time: 'Where is the Gaoyuan Marquis?' She said: 'Just follow me.' And then she really led us to find the Gaoyuan Marquis. The Gaoyuan Marquis was polite at first, and the four of us tried to persuade her to look for the Lingzhi, appealing to her emotions and reasoning with her. She refused at first, then the Baoying Marquis leaned over and whispered something in her ear, and she agreed..."

Xing Ji felt slightly stunned, but immediately understood: the Marquis had sensed the danger at the time and chose to endure it for the moment.

For the Gaoyuan Marquis, who was accustomed to great storms and waves, it was normal to temporarily set aside her pride and be sensible in situations where her life was at stake and no great cause was involved. It was not strange even if she had reached some deal with the Baoying Marquis.

"The Gaoyuan Marquis glanced toward the northeast, suddenly cried out, and blood flowed from her eyes. She told us: 'No, that thing is too mysterious, I cannot see through it.' We were naturally very disappointed, and the Baoying Marquis said: 'No, you didn't use your full strength, look again?'"

Hearing that the Marquis's eyes were bleeding, Xing Ji's heart was already hanging, and hearing the Baoying Marquis's words, he was furious and hammered the railing hard.

Although he was within arm's reach, the Siqing Marquis had no reaction to Xing Ji's actions, as if this person who held his life in his hands did not exist, his eyes vacant: "The Gaoyuan Marquis naturally disagreed, and we also urged her to look again. As a result, the two sides argued, and we made a move."

"We thought that with the four of us against her one, it would be easy to capture her. Unexpectedly, this old woman was very cunning; she used a sneak attack to take one of us down. The remaining three of us had the upper hand, but we could never take her down, and I was even scratched by a small cut. We fought from day until night, and at night, someone suddenly came to support her. An old Sword Hero suddenly killed his way out and fought side by side with her."

Xing Ji asked suspiciously: "Who? Was it Commander Nan?"

The Siqing Marquis said: "We didn't recognize him. The Gaoyuan Marquis even asked: 'What did you come here for?' The old man said: 'I came to help you, Gaoyuan Marquis.' Then she didn't speak anymore. With the two of them against the three of us, we couldn't contain them much longer. If the Gaoyuan Marquis hadn't consumed quite a bit of energy earlier, we might have even lost. In the end, the two of them broke through together, and we chased after them. Actually, I didn't want to chase anymore at the time, but the Baoying Marquis said: 'If they don't die, and the Gaoyuan Marquis goes back, we will all die.' We had no choice but to keep chasing."

"They were very fast, and the visibility at night was poor, so we saw that we couldn't catch up. At this moment, the Baoying Marquis suddenly said: 'I didn't want to use this move, but this cannot be blamed on me.' Suddenly, I don't know what she took out and threw forward, and I saw the Gaoyuan Marquis and the old man suddenly sway and fall down at the same time."

"Since she had fallen to the ground, we rushed up, intending to capture her, when we saw her eyes light up, brighter than the green eyes of a wild beast, and we were all startled. It is said that the Gaoyuan Marquis's entire Sword Technique lies in her eyes; she must have been preparing for a Death Struggle. I thought I wouldn't touch this bad luck, so I stepped back, and I saw something suddenly flash in her pupils. I only felt it was strange, looked down, and discovered that the wound I had just received had actually healed."

"But that was not her real move, just a prelude; her move was still brewing. I felt the surrounding world twist, and I saw her and the old man's figures becoming fainter and fainter, as if they had been erased. In such a situation, I naturally retreated two more steps, but the two of them were bold; not only did they not retreat, they lunged forward! The Baoying Marquis even shouted: 'How can I let you run?' But they were all a step too slow. Suddenly, something like a rag appeared in the air, wrapped around those who were close, and bundled them away together, including the Gaoyuan Marquis and the Baoying Marquis. Then I felt a sense of danger, turned around, and ran. Not only did I run, I also activated an Escape Technique to save my life, and I teleported while in the air. Unexpectedly, halfway through the teleport, I felt a pain in my back, and then I knew nothing."

Xing Ji snorted, thinking: This is a coward. Because he was a coward, he wasn't dragged into it, and he escaped in time, which is why he barely survived. Also because he was a coward, he only saw the surface and knew almost nothing of the inside story.

It seems the one in charge was the Baoying Marquis, but beyond the Baoying Marquis, there was another... at least one mastermind.

He interrogated him again and again for details, confirmed there were no omissions, and said to the Siqing Marquis word for word: "You also had a part in forcing the Marquis to this point! How can I tolerate you?"

After a while, Xing Ji put away the black curtain and found that Tang Zhao, who had been on the side, was gone again. Helpless, he could only send a message to Tang Zhao first, then wait on the spot.

After a while, Tang Zhao returned. His expression was grave, and he first asked Xing Ji: "Any gains?"

Xing Ji said: "Yes, I have finished the interrogation. I finally know why these guys wanted to trouble the Marquis—it turns out it wasn't for revenge, nor for the great affairs of the world, but just for absurd rumors and inexplicable treasures. A few marquises, acting like the fools in stories who search for martial arts manuals to compete for 'Martial Arts Supreme.' They are nothing more than tools used by others. Why are there so many fools in this world? What did you go find?"

Tang Zhao said: "I went to find the Baoying Marquis."

Hearing the three words "Baoying Marquis," Xing Ji was quite surprised and said: "How did you know about her?" He had just finished interrogating the Siqing Marquis and only then analyzed that the person who started the trouble was the Baoying Marquis; how did Tang Zhao know?

Tang Zhao said: "I analyzed it. Just now I went around the camp again and found that several camps had obvious trampling marks and were the most chaotic. I guessed that the people in charge of those camps were not there. Almost all the camps had a camp panic last night, but if the marquises were in charge, they could have restrained their troops with their strength. The ones that truly collapsed were likely the ones that were unfavorable to the Marquis. Then, after Exclusion of the Siqing Marquis who was already caught, I tracked the marquis teams that left first, asked them about the situation at the time, and finally, I felt the Baoying Marquis was the most suspicious, so I first collected information on her, and then focused on searching her camp."

Xing Ji sighed in admiration; he had a confession, while Tang Zhao only had a few clues, yet he was able to deduce it to this point, and asked: "Did you find any useful clues?"

Tang Zhao said: "You could say that. I was quite lucky. The camps outside have undergone time distortion, and their states are different; some camps were delayed, and some were reversed. Very fortunately, the Baoying Marquis's camp was reversed in time, so some things that had been destroyed were restored. This..." He opened his hands, and in them, he held a thin piece of letter paper, which floated in the air without touching anything. "This paper was originally burned in the fire in the main tent, and even the ashes were scattered, but as a result of the time distortion, it was restored as it was. I think the thief could not have imagined this, right?"

Xing Ji also felt quite fortunate. Originally, such top-secret letters were burned after reading and would never see the light of day. Now, by some coincidence, they had seen it, just like the Siqing Marquis being able to escape and leave a living witness for them to find; it was absolutely a kind of luck, a coincidence that could only appear when luck was maxed out.

"So, what is written in the letter?"