Chapter 56: Chapter Fifty-Six: The Demoness Looks at the Needle!

Hearing this, Yang Hanlu's heart also jolted.

But seeing how well prepared the two were, Yang Hanlu also knew they must have found solid information; otherwise they wouldn't be so certain.

Having already avenged her great grudge, she truly had no need to keep anything hidden from them.

She let out a breath, her sword brows knotted in puzzlement, and said:

"How did you know, Master Jiang?"

Jiang Yunzhou pulled an envelope from his bosom and said:

"Actually I've always suspected something was wrong with this case, because the investigation went too smoothly—almost too easy—but I couldn't find where the problem was."

"Until I thought of one person: Qin Gui's steward, the only one who had seen the murderer and was still alive, so I wanted to learn more about Qin Gui from him."

"Interestingly, when he heard the murderer had been caught, his expression grew hesitant; after my repeated questioning and a bribe of ten taels of silver, he finally produced something."

"This is that envelope; inside is what Qin Gui used to preserve his life and threaten Wan Tong. The steward knew his master wasn't a good person either, and seeing his gruesome death frightened him, fearing to offend the murderer, he thought it better not to get involved, so after retrieving it from a friend he dared not hand it over to the authorities."

"But after we learned from here that the murderer Wan Tong had been caught, he finally dared to give us the item, making us promise three times to say we found it at home; I even spent another ten taels of silver for that."

"I then realized I had been deceived: the murderer killed Qin Gui and forged a document that already existed, accusing Wan Tong, to show the murderer wasn't Wan Tong but that Wan Tong was the real target; only a descendant of Qiu Feng fit this revenge motive."

"So I thought of who could have let Qin Gui let his guard down that night—the coroner had just died, and Qin Gui should have been on high alert against Wan Tong, so to let him be unprepared at that time I could only think of two people: the investigator and the steward."

"Old Brother Zhou isn't that meticulous, and his age and record don't match; Heroine Zhen is the one I summoned to handle the case, and I've figured her out completely—eh yo eh yo, no need to say more! So only Chief Banner Yang remains."

"We checked the records, and it so happened that Chief Banner Yang was selected from the Youth Special Section of the South Zhen Ning Office; most of those were orphans from Shangyang City who had been trained and then picked. Chief Banner Yang joined the Youth Special Section seven years ago, when he was thirteen."

"He officially entered the Zhen Ning Office at sixteen; although younger than his peers and female, his strength was not lacking, and after joining he accumulated merit to become the youngest Chief Banner of the Zhen Ning Office."

"Besides that, Heroine Zhen detected varying degrees of demonic aura at the crime scene and where you live, and the place of exile for Qiu Feng's descendants, Dian Prefecture, is close to the demon tribe."

"In short, I suspect Chief Banner Yang reached his present level with the help of a demon and returned to take revenge."

"Lying on the bed, Yang Hanlu heard this and did not argue, but instead gave a rare, hearty laugh and said:"

"\"Master Jiang, your talent truly belongs in the Zhen Ning Office investigating cases; you guessed right—it was me. So today you brought Heroine Zhen to arrest me? \""

"Jiang Yunzhou heard this, shook his head, and said:"

"\"If we really were here to arrest Chief Banner Yang, would we need to go through the trouble of cleaning up and setting a table of food? I said from the start we're here to celebrate you, and incidentally, as friends, to help you clear up these lingering doubts. \""

"Saying this, he threw the genuine evidence left by Qin Gui onto the bed."

"This time it was Yang Hanlu's turn to be at a loss:"

"\"You...... why go to such trouble? This would make you accomplices! Do you even understand the law? \""

"\"You understand the law and yet you kill people? \""

"\"...... \""

"Zhen Qing came to her side, feeling a pang of sympathy, and patted Yang Hanlu's shoulder, saying:"

"\"We believe what you did was right; if it were me, I would not hesitate to kill those five to avenge my family, and besides, you didn't harm any innocents. \""

"Jiang Yunzhou nodded and said:"

"\"Chief Banner Yang, you don't know this, but when I found out the murderer was you, Heroine Zhen's first words were: 'If you dare to report it, I'll strike you down with a single palm right now.' She was completely doubting my character! \""

"Seeing the two treat each other so sincerely, Yang Hanlu felt her vision blur, even feeling the urge to sit up and embrace them."

"But looking at the silver needles and talismans on her body, she asked puzzledly:"

"\"You...... what are these needles and talismans for? \""

"No sooner had she spoken than the glowing green qi surge burst forth again, mixed with the voice of a bewitching demon woman:"

"\"It's obviously to deal with me, right? \""

"Hearing this, Zhen Qing condensed her fingers with both hands and flung out a golden talisman that smashed onto the demonic qi, saying:"

"\"Not bad! \""

"Yang Hanlu hurriedly warned the demon, saying:"

"\"Don't hurt them! \""

"Watching the green demonic qi clash with the streams of golden talismans, still spreading, the talismans were pushed back bit by bit; Zhen Qing focused her spirit, steadied her breath, closed her eyes slightly, then opened them again."

"In her eyes, which were originally like obsidian, points of starlight began to sparkle."

"She then used her finger as a brush to draw another talisman streaked with starlight in the air and cast it, barely managing to suppress the demonic qi."

"The demon, somewhat surprised, said:"

"\"I didn't expect you little thing to already be sixth rank. \""

"Still sitting leisurely on the bed with sleeves folded, Jiang Yunzhou muttered under his breath:"

"\"Heroine Zhen, you said this demon has no true form and is only possessing you, so you could definitely suppress it, right? \""

"Zhen Qing glared at Jiang Yunzhou and said:"

"\"Who knew something without a true form could be this strong—what the hell is this thing? Why aren't you helping? \""

"Jiang Yunzhou shrugged, speaking with righteous confidence:"

"\"I can't. \""

"The demon let out a cold snort and said:"

"\"If you weren't injured, could you little thing still suppress my aura? \""

"Just as the two were arguing, Jiang Yunzhou furtively produced a silver needle."

"Acting extremely fast, while the two were locked in struggle, he aimed at Yang Hanlu's body and pierced the He Men acupoint he had previously used to give Princess Ning Le Zhao Zhinan a foot massage."

"Only a muffled groan was heard from both Yang Hanlu and the demon, and Yang Hanlu's legs clenched tight."

"The demonic aura, which had been formidable, instantly contracted; although Zhen Qing didn't understand what had happened, she nevertheless swung the golden talisman before her outward, finally binding the demon (a mass of green qi) temporarily outside Yang Hanlu's body."

"Only then did the demon shout angrily at Jiang Yunzhou:"

"\"You brat! You dare! \""

"\"Eh eh eh, it's not like I caught you; I was just assisting, alright? \""

Zhen Qing also felt curious and said:

Which acupuncture point did you just hit with that needle? It's surprisingly effective.

If Heroine Zhen wants to try, I'll needle you for a few more hours when we go back.

Even though bound by the golden talisman, that demonic aura showed no sign of yielding:

You can't catch me; before long I'll be able to return to Yang Hanlu's body.

Despite being moved by Jiang Yunzhou and Heroine Zhen's actions, Yang Hanlu still nodded helplessly and said:

What she said is right; there's no point wasting effort. We two are now a single body with two souls, and besides, I promised her this.

Jiang Yunzhou, however, moved closer and explained to the monster:

Great demon, you've misunderstood; we don't intend to capture you, we just want to clarify what kind of deal you have with Captain Yang.

How would you know there's a deal?

Zhen Qing beside them added:

Demonic wares are much like merchants; they often have various dealings with humans. Captain Yang was able to become the chief of the South Peacekeeping Office at a young age, easily slay those few to take revenge—I think you helped a lot, and I believe this help wasn't given for free.

The talisman master knows demons pretty well; not bad. We two have a deal: as long as I help her get revenge, she'll give me her body.

No way!

Little girl, I'm just telling you the terms of the deal; I'm not negotiating with you, and you have no qualifications to bargain with me over price.

Jiang Yunzhou picked up the evidence Qin Gui left on the bed and said:

That may not be the case; I believe you, Great Demon, chose Captain Yang not because she's formidable, for with your help anyone could become formidable.

You chose her because, to take revenge, she would return to the Peacekeeping Office, so what you really need is her position as Captain Yang in the Peacekeeping Office, right?

If we two go out now and report you, letting the Peacekeeping Office bring Captain Yang and you to justice, wouldn't all your prior preparations have been for nothing?

Trying to scare me? If you really intended to report me, you wouldn't have come here.

Jiang Yunzhou wiped off his smile, lowered himself, and said each word deliberately:

That's because we don't know about your deal with Captain Yang; now that you're trying to seize her body, she's gone, and we have no need to protect her. So, want to make a bet?