Chapter 162: A Web of Entangled Schemes

"What are you doing!"

"Don't come over!"

Seeing this situation, Qin Zhangfeng immediately shielded Liu Zheng.

Seeing Wei Shao die a miserable death, Pei Qianyun gritted his teeth and roared to the heavens: "You dog thief, you harmed my brother, pay with your life!"

Qin Zhangfeng struggled to fight against him.

"Stop right there!"

Yang Ke shouted angrily, then looked coldly at Liu Zheng: "Young Master Liu, what is the meaning of this?"

Liu Zheng raised an eyebrow and smiled: "What does Mr. Yang mean? Could it be that you also think I killed the Great Leader?"

Everyone was furious.

"If not you, then who?"

"Shameless brat!"

"Skin him and pull out his tendons!"

The brave men of the Baiya Army were all enraged.

Du Biao also looked over with a deathly pale face: "Brother Liu, why is this, why is this! Could it be that you have also become a running dog of the imperial court?"

Once these words were spoken, everyone's emotions were instantly ignited.

Isn't that so?

This Young Master Liu is the Prefect of Yinzhou; if he isn't a man of the imperial court, then what is he?

Someone said viciously: "Fine, I was wondering why you were so kind to come and reinforce us; it turns out you were harboring evil intentions! Second Leader, our Big Brother has been murdered, you must avenge him!"

"Avenge him!"

"Kill this dog thief!"

The group of the Black and White Duo were all pleasantly surprised; they had not expected such a major turning point. In the end, Wei Shao had died after all.

Although they hadn't killed him themselves, it could be considered the resolution of a major crisis in the pugilistic world, so they were happy to stand on the sidelines and watch the show.

At this moment, the swarming crowd of the Baiya Army, along with the pugilistic friends Wei Shao had invited, all surrounded them.

A full five or six hundred people!

Surrounding the hundred or so people on Liu Zheng's side.

The atmosphere at the scene was tense, with swords drawn and bows bent.

"Kill him!"

"Avenge him!"

"Dig out his heart!"

"Dog thief!"

Everyone began to spit and curse.

Yang Ke watched coldly, and Du Biao also wore a look of disbelief.

Liu Zheng, however, had a calm smile on his face.

Yang Ke looked heartbroken: "Young Master Liu, the Baiya Army and Yinzhou have always been on friendly terms; why would you do this? You must give my brothers an explanation!"

Liu Zheng sneered: "So no matter what I say, it's me who killed him?"

Yang Ke said angrily: "If not you, then who? Yes, I did ask Young Master Liu today to find a Method to seize the Great Leader's Account Book for the sake of the pugilistic world and the overall situation of Baiya, but I gave strict instructions that you must not harm the Great Leader's family!"

Hearing this, everyone's eyes turned red; they praised the Second Leader for prioritizing the big picture, and then one after another, they denounced Liu Zheng's villainous behavior.

"You, you are talking nonsense!"

Qin Zhangfeng was so angry he clenched his fists: "We didn't even go near the Horse Carriage!"

Yang Ke sneered: "Does General Qin mean to say that it was done by Pei Qianyun?"

Qin Zhangfeng was immediately rendered speechless.

Everyone had seen Pei Qianyun's bravery and loyalty; to say that he had done it was absolutely impossible.

Liu Zheng smiled at Yang Ke: "Mr. Yang, what do you intend to do next?"

The crowd cursed, demanding to skin the dog thief and pull out his tendons to serve as a warning to others.

Yang Ke, however, shook his head and looked coldly at Liu Zheng: "Prefect Liu, ever since you entered Baiya, Yang Ke and the Baiya Army have treated you like a brother, yet today you have committed such an act that enrages both man and god..."

"But although Yang Ke is furious, Prefect Liu is ultimately not one of us in the pugilistic world; this matter should still be sent to the authorities for legal handling!"

Once these words were spoken, many were unwilling and continued to curse, but they did not want to offend someone with the status of the Prefect of Yinzhou. Furthermore, with thirty thousand Yinzhou Army troops stationed outside the city, if they really killed this Prefect Liu on the spot, could Baiya City withstand the rage of the Yinzhou Army?

"Legal handling?"

Liu Zheng laughed out loud: "How many years has it been? Is there still any place in Baiya that can handle things legally?"

"There is!"

Before his voice had even faded, someone had already answered him.

Crack! Crack!

At this moment, nearly ten thousand soldiers ran in from outside the Baiya Palace. When everyone saw them, their expressions changed instantly—the people from the Baiai Inspectorate had actually come too!

And riding on horseback was none other than the Inspector of Baiya, Zhang Chengjiang, and his daughter Zhang Xiao, a woman wearing a white veil.

After seeing the newcomers, Yang Ke cupped his hands and said: "Inspector, Prefect Liu has killed our Big Brother of the Baiya Army; I wonder what the punishment should be?"

Zhang Chengjiang rode over and laughed heartily: "A life for a life, it is naturally a capital crime! Prefect Liu, oh Prefect Liu, why go to such lengths? Is a mere commoner worth you taking action yourself?"

Liu Zheng smiled and met his gaze: "So Yang Ke has always been a man of the Inspectorate. Then the people who tried to assassinate me the day I entered the city were also arranged by Yang Ke?"

"You..."

Zhang Chengjiang glared at him.

Yang Ke's expression also changed slightly.

Clearly, neither of them expected Liu Zheng to guess the full story so easily.

The crowd, however, was in an uproar upon hearing this.

"What?"

"People from the Prefectural Office?"

"This, how is this possible!"

The members of the Baiya Army, in particular, looked at one another in dismay. In their eyes, the Second Leader was a man of immense personal charisma; in recent years, his prestige within the Baiya Army had even surpassed that of Wei Shao. How could such a popular leader be a dog-thief colluding with the government?

Killing intent was fully revealed in Yang Ke's eyes: "Liu Zheng, things have reached this point, why bother with such baseless accusations?"

Liu Zheng said indifferently: "Baseless accusations? A fine 'baseless accusation'! A fine Mr. Yang, a fine scheme!"

He suddenly looked at the veiled Zhang Xiao and smiled amusedly: "If I, Zheng, am not mistaken, all of this scheming originated from your hand. May I ask, Miss, whose people are you? The Crown Prince, the Third Prince, or the current Emperor?"

This soul-searching interrogation made the expressions of Zhang Chengjiang and Yang Ke look quite unpleasant.

Only Zhang Xiao remained silent for a moment before saying indifferently: "The Crown Prince!"

Once these words were spoken, the atmosphere at the scene became eerie.

Du Biao looked sharply at Yang Ke, but Yang Ke's face was ashen, and he did not utter a word.

Zhang Xiao's pride did not allow her to lie.

Moreover, to her, a Yang Ke was nothing more than a dog; was he worth her lying for?

"Second Brother, you, you, you..."

Du Biao retreated a few steps in horror, his face filled with disbelief.

"Second Leader, is this true?"

"Are you a man of the Prefectural Office?"

"Why! Wasn't it you who kept saying that it was the Great Leader who wanted to seek amnesty, why would it be you!"

Many could not believe it; they felt their world had collapsed. They looked at Yang Ke in terror, wanting to get a denial from his face.

However.

They were disappointed nonetheless.

Yang Ke was silent for a long time, then laughed loudly: "So what if it is me? Who wants to be a bandit for their whole life! Who doesn't want to clear their name and ascend to the halls of elegance!"

"Brothers, Baiya should have returned to the jurisdiction of the Prefectural Office long ago. Lord Zhang has already promised that all of us in the Baiya Army, regardless of the crimes committed before, will be granted a full amnesty!"

"And there is hope to gain official status!"

"Why not do it?"

"Tell me, why not do it?"

Yang Ke spoke through gritted teeth, his emotions extremely agitated: "Haven't we suffered enough all these years? No matter how prosperous the Baiya Army is, no matter what the Baiya Army does, those commoners, those people, have never looked at us with respect! Yes, when the Great Leader was alive, I respected him..."

"But now, the Great Leader has been killed by this dog-thief!"

"It was him!"

"It was him who killed the Great Leader, not me!"

"Understand?"

"All these years, being with you bunch of brutes, I've had enough, I've long had enough!"

"Those who are my brothers, come with me!"

"I, Yang Ke, guarantee your wealth and status. The horse farm will still be ours, it's just changing its name, why is that not possible, why is it not possible?"

By the time Yang Ke finished speaking, his emotions were almost out of control.

The members of the Baiya Army at the scene were all expressionless, filled with sorrow, grievance, and anger.

Du Biao spat out a mouthful of blood, clutched his chest, and mocked himself: "Yang Ke, Yang Ke, so it was you, it was all you... how cruel your heart is!"

"Kill this dog-thief!"

Within the Baiya Army, someone rose in fury.

Yang Ke smiled coldly.

Before he even gave the order, the nearly ten thousand soldiers of the Prefectural Office had already struck, hacking that person into pieces.

"Yang Ke, you dog-thief!"

"Kill him!"

Several more people rose, and were killed in turn.

The scene fell into an atmosphere of terror.

"This has nothing to do with us!"

"We are just here to watch the excitement!"

"Go, go, go! Let me get further away!"

Those martial artists were so frightened that they all ran away.

The scene was completely controlled by the Prefectural Office and Yang Ke.

Zhang Xiao, through her veil, said coldly: "Prefect Liu, is there anything else to say? If not, take him to the dungeon!"

"Wait."

Liu Zheng waved his hand and said with a smile: "Eldest Miss Zhang, may I, Liu Zheng, ask a few questions?"

Zhang Xiao said: "Young Master Liu is indeed bold; in such a situation, you can still remain calm. For this alone, I, Zhang Xiao, allow you to ask."

Liu Zheng looked at the pretty face under the veil with interest; although he could not see it clearly, this elusive appearance seemed to make her more charming. He asked: "Miss Zhang, how long have you been playing this game of chess?"

"Five years."

Zhang Xiao answered indifferently.

Liu Zheng raised an eyebrow.

Five years?

I heard that this Zhang Xiao is only seventeen years old this year, so five years ago, she was only twelve? At twelve, she had already devised such a strategy to retake Baiya when the Baiya Army was world-renowned.

A monster!

Truly a monster!

Liu Zheng nodded and smiled: "Then if Liu Zheng has not guessed wrong, this Baiya Palace was also built five years ago?"

Yang Ke was stunned.

A flash of brilliance shone in Zhang Xiao's eyes.

Du Biao looked over in shock: "Brother Liu, that is indeed the case, how did you know..."

Liu Zheng smiled lightly.

Five years ago, the layout began; if Liu Zheng remembers correctly, at that time, the Baiya Army was at its peak, enjoying unparalleled glory.

But facts prove that the more such a time it is, the easier it is for such a group to have internal problems.

From that time on, Yang Ke slowly let the Baiya Army develop the habit of arrogance, luxury, and debauchery, and developed the bad habit of detaching from the masses; these changes were subtle, and until now, people would not think that this was something Yang Ke did deliberately.

But he...

He really succeeded.

"Viscount Liu, is there anything else you wish to ask?"

Zhang Xiao smiled faintly.

Liu Zheng shook his head: "Ever since I came down from the battlefield, all of this has been in Miss Zhang's calculations, from Yang Ke inviting me into the city to assist in defense, to the assassination attempt after entering the city, deliberately letting me think it was someone else's doing so I would form an alliance with him, and then step by step, letting me fall into the trap, and finally creating the illusion that Wei Shao was killed by me, because he had always wanted to kill Wei Shao, but he dared not!"

"He could only use someone else's hand, and of course, it was best if it were me!"

"Because the Crown Prince has found me an eyesore for too long, right?"

"A homicide case is enough to ruin a person!"

"Using Jianghu affairs to plot against a court official!"

"Not only seizing the horse farm but also pledging allegiance to the Crown Prince!"

"What a calculation, what a calculation!"

Liu Zheng looked up and laughed.

The whole place was silent.

Everyone heard it and felt their hair stand on end.

Someone rose in anger, only to be killed again.

Yang Ke did not even look, bowing his head in silence.

Zhang Xiao looked at Liu Zheng and smiled again: "Viscount Liu, before going to prison, is there anything else you want to ask?"

Liu Zheng chuckled: "Eldest Miss Zhang, have you ever thought about the situation today if Wei Shao had not died?"

"What? Impossible!"

Yang Ke's expression changed drastically.

Zhang Xiao's delicate body also trembled.

Liu Zheng's eyes were like lightning as he looked at Yang Ke: "Why is it impossible? Because this matter was arranged by you yourself, right?"

Everyone in the hall was furious again.

Yang Ke's face turned blue and white; his reaction just now had already explained everything.

Zhang Xiao sneered: "Viscount Liu, when the government handles a case, it relies on evidence; this bluff of yours is..."

Then, she slowly could not continue.

Because she saw the smile on Liu Zheng's face becoming more and more strange, more and more intense.

And then.

The sound of galloping War Horses resounded through Baiya Palace once again.

Clatter, clatter!

Thirty thousand Yinzhou troops forcefully entered the city.

And the person leading the army was none other than Wei Shao, holding the Yinzhou Tiger Tally in one hand!

"What?"

"This..."

"He, how is he still alive?"