Chapter 457

Thump!

The corpse fell straight to the ground.

Blood from the throat bubbled out.

There was still a weird smile on the face.

Wan Baoquan was stunned, his face full of disbelief.

Although he came from Emei, he was not a sorcerer, but traveled the martial world, usually dealing with many cases, but this was the first time he had seen such cruelty.

He knew Record Keeper Zhao clearly; he was definitely not this kind of person.

Most likely he had been struck by some evil art!

"Feng Feng Shixiong brother..."

The junior brother beside him was also at a loss.

Wan Baoquan's eye twitched, his fist clenched fiercely, and he squeezed a few words through his teeth, "Spread the word, let the people from the Commandant's Office come!"

Remembering Dan Hezi's words, he already had a plan in his heart.

He also knew about the undercurrents in Chongqing Prefecture.

Now it seemed that the mastermind behind this matter was most likely related to the officials sent by the imperial court, and the Prince of Shu's lineage had seized the handle and wanted to launch a fierce attack.

People in the martial world protect themselves, and he didn't want to participate in it.

But this matter had touched his bottom line!

…………

Soon, the news of the prison tragedy spread throughout Chongqing Prefecture.

There was discussion everywhere on the streets.

Those with children at home were even more anxious.

Rumors about monsters entering the city to eat children had already appeared.

Outside the county prison, the street had already been blocked.

Corpse after corpse was carried out from inside, and the relatives who arrived upon hearing the news wailed and cursed, but were all blocked outside by soldiers.

Chongqing Provincial Governor Du Ling looked at all this expressionlessly.

He glanced at Wan Baoquan beside him and said coldly: "Didn't I instruct you not to leak this matter!"

He was not a fool; things had come to this, and he had also realized what was going on.

Most likely it was related to his own side.

What he didn't expect was Wan Baoquan's move.

Directly making the matter big, leaving no room for maneuver.

Wan Baoquan's expression remained unchanged, and he hurriedly bowed and cupped his hands, "My Lord, the matter is too big, this subordinate is incompetent and simply cannot suppress it."

Chongqing Provincial Governor Du Ling's eyes were slightly cold, "Constable Wan, don't forget, it was this official who promoted you!"

Wan Baoquan remained silent, only bowing lower.

Patter patter!

Just at this moment, the sound of horse hooves came from the street.

It was Company Commander Liu Qian of the Commandant's Office, bringing a large group of elite soldiers to arrive, and behind him, there was also a Battalion Commander of the Commandant's Office.

That Battalion Commander was short and fat, with a feminine appearance, fair and tender, and although he had a beard, he looked more like an old woman.

When Du Ling saw this, his pupils shrank suddenly.

This was the Battalion Commander in charge of the Chongqing garrison, Luo Hai.

In the struggle between the officials sent by the imperial court and the Prince of Shu's lineage, the attitude of the Commandant's Office had always been very ambiguous.

On one hand, many of them were once under the Prince of Shu, and on the other hand, they were the Emperor's personal troops.

Therefore, even if they supported the Prince of Shu, no one dared to mess around.

Only Liu Qian, this ignorant Company Commander, rushed to the front, while others remained silent and rarely showed their faces.

Luo Hai's appearance was definitely not a good thing.

It was not that the Commandant's Office was going to completely lean towards the Prince of Shu's mansion.

They didn't dare to do that at all.

With one decree from the Emperor, the entire Sichuan Commandant's Office would be purged.

So there was only one reason for them to come.

They had been abandoned...

Thinking of this, Du Ling finally began to panic.

Sure enough, after Battalion Commander Luo Hai rode over, he didn't dismount, just looked down from the horse and bowed slightly, "Greetings, Provincial Governor Du."

"Evil people are causing trouble in Chongqing Prefecture, acting recklessly; this is no longer a matter for the Prefecture Yamen alone, the Commandant's Office intends to take full charge of this case, I hope you will forgive me."

Chongqing Provincial Governor Du Ling looked at the crowd coldly, turned and got into the sedan chair, and said in a deep voice: "Go, return to the mansion!"

Things had come to this, it was a complete falling out; he was too lazy to even say polite words to these people anymore.

More importantly, how to salvage the situation.

After he left, Company Commander Liu Qian snorted coldly, then looked at Wan Baoquan and smiled, cupping his hands: "Constable Wan, this case still requires our joint cooperation."

Wan Baoquan's expression also remained unchanged, and he cupped his hands: "I just want to find the culprit, I'll just assist you, My Lord."

Although he was only a constable, he represented Emei.

Liu Qian's opening was an attempt to win him over.

But Wan Baoquan's response was that apart from the culprit, they would not participate in the conflict between the Prince of Shu's mansion and the imperial court.

Seeing this, Liu Qian didn't say much.

Mount Qingcheng and Emei, as the two largest forces in the Sichuan Mystic Sect, although competing in secret, only competed for superiority and had no life-and-death conflict, and previously during the battle between righteousness and evil, Emei had also sent people to support.

Both sides were very tacit, not participating in power struggles.

If they forced too much, there might be counterproductive results.

Wan Baoquan's betrayal of Du Ling, who promoted him, made him feel bad, so he cupped his hands and said in a deep voice: "Liu, you should already have clues, where is the culprit?"

Liu Qian's expression also became solemn, "After our overnight investigation, we already have some clues; this case involves many people."

"Those child corpses, Chongqing Prefecture only accounts for a part, and some others came from some ethnic minority villages in Sichuan, and some were even abducted from Shaanxi and Hubei provinces."

"Those beggars were only responsible for guarding them; every fixed time, that yamen runner would take people away and send them to the Linjiang Pavilion in Hongyadong."

"And these children were also sent by Wang Biao's men from the Gelao Society..."

When Wan Baoquan heard this, his face immediately became ugly.

Hongyadong and Linjiang Pavilion were industries of the Sichuan Chamber of Commerce.

Wang Biao of the Gelao Society was the third master of the Gelao Society, responsible for the management of the Gelao Society's property.

This was not investigating a case at all, it was clearly the Prince of Shu's mansion's forces counterattacking, using the name of investigating the case to deal with the Sichuan Chamber of Commerce and the Gelao Society.

There would inevitably be another bloody storm.

Seeing Wan Baoquan's unhappy expression, Liu Qian smiled slightly, "We will handle these matters, but manpower is ultimately insufficient; there is another clue that requires Constable Wan to investigate personally."

Wan Baoquan's pupils shrank, "What clue?"

He knew this was the key.

Liu Qian lowered his voice and said: "Many years ago, a treasure-seeker in Chongqing Mystic Sect dug up an ancient tomb of a Tianzhu monk, which contained countless secret arts, and it is said it was sold to a young man surnamed Du..."

When Wan Baoquan heard this, his face immediately became ugly.

He didn't expect it to be related to Du Ling.

"Hmm, I'll investigate!"

Wan Baoquan turned and left, but he headed towards the City God Temple.

Watching his departing back, a trace of mockery flashed in Liu Qian's eyes, then he turned and came to Battalion Commander Luo Hai, respectfully cupping his hands: "My Lord, what should we do next?"

Battalion Commander Luo Hai glanced indifferently, "You are so capable, do you still need me to teach you?"

Liu Qian's forehead oozed cold sweat, "My Lord, forgive me."

He knew he had done some things too far, but Wan Baoquan directly exposed the matter, disrupting his rhythm, so he could only invite Luo Hai to suppress the formation, otherwise it would be difficult to avoid being overturned by his opponents.

Luo Hai, riding on his horse, bent down slightly and whispered: "Do you really think the Emperor doesn't know about these things you've done?"

"The Prince of Shu's mansion acting recklessly is just protecting their food; they don't have those thoughts yet, so the Emperor just turns a blind eye."

"That group of court officials has long been bought by the Open Sea faction, trying to use the Prince of Shu as a knife to further compete for power; the Emperor also knows this."

"There are also some officials who are worried that the Prince of Shu will become too powerful and become a future threat, so they nodded and agreed to this matter; the Emperor is also clear about this."

"This scale, a little more is a disaster, a little less is also a disaster."

"How to weigh it is your business."

"Remember, we are ultimately the Emperor's dogs..."

Having said that, he straightened his waist and rode away with his men.

Liu Qian behind him only felt his whole body cold.

He had just dug a hole for Wan Baoquan to retaliate against the other party for messing around and causing him trouble.

He didn't expect that in the blink of an eye, he would also fall into a more difficult situation. He rushed too fast, putting himself in an awkward position; once he couldn't handle it well, he would be the first to suffer...

At this moment, he seemed to see a huge black shadow in the direction of the capital, watching everything in Chongqing Prefecture with indifferent eyes.

If Du Ling and those people are completely driven away, there must be court officials who will use the Commandant's Office to make trouble, and he will be pushed out to take the blame...

If he helps Du Ling, he will also be retaliated against by the Prince of Shu's mansion.

"Dog, dog..."

Remembering the last sentence Luo Hai said when he left, Liu Qian understood instantly and couldn't help but curse inwardly.

No wonder these old foxes are closer to the Prince of Shu's mansion, but they don't show their heads at all, letting him take the lead.

No matter what a dog thinks in its heart, who to bite and who to pounce on can only be decided by the one holding the leash.

If it breaks the leash, there is probably only one outcome.

"Come here, block this place!"

!.

Thinking of this, a trace of madness flashed in Liu Qian's eyes.

He knew he only had one path left.

Be a mad dog...

…………

"It's chaotic, it's completely chaotic!"

Sha Lifei hurried back, recounted the information he had gathered, and cursed: "The evil people are too bold, actually bewitching a Record Keeper, running into the prison to silence witnesses, and killing many yamen runners."

"The people from the Commandant's Office have taken over, sending troops to the wharf and Hongyadong to arrest people; the third master of the Gelao Society was taken directly from his home, and several shopkeepers of the Sichuan Chamber of Commerce were also taken..."

Li Yan was thoughtful upon hearing this, shook his head and said: "It seems this matter is related to those court officials, and the Prince of Shu's mansion is taking the opportunity to launch an attack."

He was not a fool either; after getting the information and combining it with what he saw, he had already vaguely sensed the trickiness.

"Forget who it is."

Sha Lifei shook his head and said: "Anyway, we have been cleared out; right now the two sides are biting each other, so they can't spare the time to find us."

"The culprit will be caught sooner or later, we should just stay peacefully and leave after the wind blows over."

Li Yan nodded, also expressing agreement.

He originally wanted to intervene and find the evil person who did this, but things had come to this, and that evil person definitely couldn't hide for long.

Just as Sha Lifei said, for a whole day, Chongqing Prefecture was in a mess, especially Hongyadong and the wharf.

The people of the Gelao Society were indignant; they were wealthy and powerful, and had extensive connections, so they found many people, trying to go to the yamen to demand an explanation.

But hearing that it was related to the evil people causing trouble, no one dared to show their heads again.

Even the Gelao Society itself began to interrogate Wang Biao's men.

Although Wang Biao was the third master of Chongqing Prefecture, he was only in the outer hall; above him were the second master and the trusted first master.

Not to mention, the entire Gelao Society had eight elders in the inner hall.

If Wang Biao really participated in this matter, they also had to give an explanation.

As for the Sichuan Chamber of Commerce, it was even more chaotic.

Merchants seek wealth; right now they are starting to participate in power, their methods are still immature, it's fine when things are going smoothly, but in adversity, they lose their composure and start blaming each other.

It seemed that the Prince of Shu's lineage had already gained the upper hand.

…………

Unknowingly, it was night again.

Li Yan and the others rested and hid as usual, either cooking or reading, everything in an orderly manner.

Clang clang clang!

The sound of gongs and drums sounded again.

Those big men from the Zhou family came to find the Wu Troupe again.

But their gong and drum sound was obviously smaller, and everyone's eyes were a bit panicked, appearing absent-minded.

On the contrary, the actors of the Wu Troupe had a bottom line in their hearts.

Wang Daoxuan's trick was indeed effective.

After they performed last night, no one got sick when they came back, but they pretended something happened, and let some people disguise themselves as corpses to escape Chongqing Prefecture.

Now that Chongqing Prefecture was in chaos, no one paid attention at all.

They pretended to be panicked and followed the big men away.

As long as they performed the last play, this matter could be completely resolved.

Arriving at the Zhou family, the people of the Wu Troupe also discovered abnormalities.

The current Zhou family was obviously not right.

There were many fewer people in the courtyard, and even the filial sons in the mourning hall were absent-minded, pale-faced, and whispering to each other.

"Breaking the stage", hanging the Bagua mirror upside down, performing the play...

Everything went smoother than last night.

There were even only a few big men guarding them, and no one came to trouble them.

After performing the play, the people of the Wu Troupe all pretended to be soul-less, pale-faced, and left in a hurry.

This time, no one followed them again.

Returning to the street entrance, the people monitoring were all withdrawn.

"Alright, let's leave as soon as possible!"

The old musician sighed in relief, took the remaining people, knelt down and kowtowed three times from afar towards Li Yan and the others' courtyard, then left quickly, disappearing into the dark street alley.

On the roof, Li Yan revealed his figure, shook his head slightly, jumped down into the courtyard, and smiled at Wang Daoxuan: "It seems everything went smoothly."

"Daoist, what will happen next?"

Wang Daoxuan was silent for a moment and said: "This method is to bewitch the gods; the Pai Sect only knows that the spell was successful, and the Zhou family also thinks they successfully avoided the calamity, but the spell is accumulating."

"When it reaches dawn, the time when day and night Yin and Yang alternate, it will all erupt; planting the cause and reaping the fruit, it cannot be blamed on others."

Li Yan nodded and didn't pay attention anymore.

The Zhou family is wealthy and fell into power struggles, but didn't want to bear the consequences, finding innocent people to block the disaster; it was all self-inflicted.

Even if they didn't take action.

That mysterious senior expert of the opera troupe would also not sit idly by.

…………

On the other side, after the opera troupe left, the Zhou family servants were busy again, lighting the lanterns one by one.

Inside the main hall, Han Kun and the others were also there, but a few people were missing.

"Alright!"

That sorcerer of the Sanfa Sect said proudly: "According to my method, this matter has been successfully avoided; the Pai Sect's so-called Dragon King is nothing more than this."

"Thank you, sir."

Han Kun cupped his hands slightly, but there was no joy on his face.

He looked around and gritted his teeth: "What exactly is going on, when did Young Master Du practice evil arts?"

The Chen father and son also had bitter smiles.

"We just arrived and don't know about this at all."

"According to the servants, those shopkeepers who were taken away also don't know the reason, thinking Young Master Du had special hobbies..."

Before the words were finished, an angry voice came from the roof.

"Having special hobbies, can one disregard human life?!"

Swish!

Wan Baoquan jumped down with several junior martial brothers.

Clang clang clang!

Many people in the room drew their weapons.

"Don't take action!"

Han Kun was anxious and hurriedly stopped everyone.

They only came to grab territory; if they really took action against the yamen, then this matter would be a pot of shit on their heads, and they wouldn't be able to explain it clearly.

"This must be Constable Wan..."

Han Kun cupped his hands respectfully, then smiled bitterly: "I'm not afraid of you laughing at me, but we know nothing about this matter."

"If we had known Young Master Du was so crazy, how would we dare to..."

Before he finished speaking, he sensed something wrong, felt Yin wind suddenly rise, his head felt dizzy, and he fell straight to the ground.

And the others in the room also fell to the ground one after another.

Seeing everyone in the room fall, Wan Baoquan felt his eyelids twitch wildly.

"Damn it, it's happening again..."

(End of chapter)