The cloaked spy, feeling Xu Qi An’s powerful grip, realized the difference in their strengths. As an experienced intelligence officer, he didn’t lose his composure in the face of crisis. Instead, years of training made his mind even clearer in dangerous situations.
“Lord Xu, there’s no need for this. I understand you want to investigate the Three Thousand Li Blood Massacre case, yet fear offending Prince Huai. But I advise you not to be rash. There are a few things you should consider carefully.
“First, the princess consort wasn’t abducted by the barbarians. This can’t be hidden, hehe. I can’t tell you the reason, but believe me, if the princess consort had fallen into barbarian hands, Prince Huai would eventually find out.
“But the result is that you rescued the princess consort. As long as a later investigation shows that the time you left the delegation matches the time the princess consort was abducted, that’s enough. Prince Huai doesn’t need evidence to deal with someone, only the belief that you’re an enemy.”
The Northern Suppression King is more domineering than I imagined… Xu Qi An thought, his face expressionless as he continued listening.
“Second, rescuing the princess consort is a great achievement. Prince Huai has commanded troops for many years and values ‘clear rewards and punishments’ above all. If you can connect with Prince Huai, Xu Yinluo, your future will be limitless. Wei Yuan can only promote your official rank, but Prince Huai is a prince, he can elevate your noble rank.
“Third, a case is just a case. Failing one doesn’t affect your reputation for solving difficult cases. Your future is what’s most important, isn’t it? Why let an unrelated case affect your prospects?”
The princess consort silently took another step back. She didn’t look at the cloaked spy, her attention fully on Xu Qi An.
Although he’s a lecherous fellow, his conduct is still upright. He’s not the type to betray others for personal gain… The princess consort had some confidence in this, but still felt uneasy and nervous.
After all, Xu Qi An now faced the pressure of offending a prince, as well as the prospect of promotion and ennoblement.
Bureaucracy exists in every world… Xu Qi An nodded slowly:
“You make sense. I’m almost convinced. You’re right, the princess consort is originally the Northern Suppression King’s principal wife. I do not need to offend a prince over this.”
The cloaked spy’s masked face broke into a smile. He was gambling, betting that Xu Qi An wouldn’t dare offend Prince Huai, betting that Xu Qi An cared more about his future.
One side was hell, the other heaven. Even a fool would know how to choose.
Of course, whether these words could be fulfilled, whether Prince Huai would be willing to give Xu a bright future, who cared? As long as they got through this crisis and returned to the military camp, Xu Qi An would be at their mercy. As for the Aura Observation technique, the cloaked spy wasn’t worried. Everything he had just said was sincere.
Prince Huai indeed rewarded and punished clearly.
Looking at the visibly relieved cloaked spy, Xu Qi An said gravely, “Answer one question for me, and I’ll let you go. What exactly is the Three Thousand Li Blood Massacre about?”
The cloaked spy’s heart sank, and he said sternly, “Xu Qi An if you insist on investigating, only destruction awaits you. Prince Huai crushing you would be like crushing an ant.
“Not just you, but your family and friends will all be implicated. If you don’t want them to perish with you, you’d better obediently let me go.”
Seeing Xu Qi An’s silence, the cloaked spy sneered, “Even if you kill me, at most it’s silencing a witness. What meaning does that have? Can you summon my soul?
“Be sensible, think carefully. What I said earlier still stands.”
As an intelligence officer, he understood human nature and knew how to use words. He combined threats and inducements, using prospects as bait and loved ones as leverage.
“You’re right,” Xu Qi An grinned.
The cloaked spy tensed, a sense of foreboding rising. He probed, “Wh-what?”
Xu Qi An stared into his eyes and repeated, “You’re right. I really can summon souls.”
As he finished speaking, he saw the cloaked spy’s pupils suddenly contract. The spy then struggled fiercely, threatening with false bravado, “Xu Qi An, I’m Prince Huai’s spy. If you dare kill me, you’re making an enemy of Prince Huai. You won’t have a good end.
“Are you an idiot? No, even an idiot is smarter than you. You won’t take the bright path, but insist on…”
With a crack, the angry shout abruptly stopped.
“Too noisy.”
Xu Qi An carelessly tossed the corpse to the ground. The spy’s eyes were wide open, staring lifelessly at the sky, seemingly dying with unresolved grievances.
Well done! The princess consort inwardly cheered.
Her heart gradually steadied, and she breathed a sigh of relief. When she looked at Xu Qi An again, the admiration in her eyes was undisguised.
Unknowingly, Xu Qi An’s image in her mind became increasingly vivid and three-dimensional. Her trust in him was also growing. These changes happened subtly, almost imperceptible to herself.
The princess consort was about to say, “Let’s quickly escape!” when she saw Xu Qi An take out a book, tear out a page, and ignite it with his qi. In an instant, a chilling wind arose from nowhere, seemingly accompanied by mournful cries. The warm sunlight in the sky lost its heat.
Then, the princess consort saw a series of not-quite-real figures materialize as blue smoke, hovering in mid-air about ten feet in front of Xu Qi An.
Gh-gh-ghosts… The princess consort’s eyes gradually widened, her small mouth slowly opening. She was terrified.
She had never seen ghosts in her life. Usually, she would just imagine them and scare herself. Now, seeing real ghosts, her mind went blank. She couldn’t think of anything, even forgetting to run away.
Xu Qi An didn’t notice the princess consort’s fearful state. Even if he had, he didn’t have time to comfort the Great Feng’s number one beauty right now.
He had more important things to do.
Besides the three barbarians who died by his hand and the cloaked spy, he had also summoned the souls of soldiers who had died violent deaths.
The new souls were dazed and confused, their gazes vacant.
Xu Qi An looked at the cloaked man and, after a moment of silence, slowly said, “What’s the story behind the Three Thousand Li Blood Massacre?”
The spy’s expression stiffened, and he replied in a hollow voice, “Prince Huai is attempting to break through to the Great Perfection of the Third Rank. He needs a large amount of life essence to increase his martial qi.”
These words struck Xu Qi An and the princess consort like a thunderbolt.
The Three Thousand Li Blood Massacre was done by the Northern Suppression King… At this moment, Xu Qi An’s mind buzzed, as if he had been hit on the head.
I had some suspicions. If the Three Thousand Li Blood Massacre had been done by the barbarians, how could tribal leaders like Tang Shanjun not know about it? How could they not be involved?
It was just Duke Chu Long’s ignorance that made me overlook this detail and believe there was still some inside story to the case… No, the real reason was that I didn’t want to believe it.
I didn’t want to believe that a prince who had guarded the border for over a decade, a member of the Great Feng royal family, would massacre the people who revered and loved him for his selfish desires.
Xu Qi An’s lips trembled as he murmured, “Unforgivable…”
He would rather it had been done by the barbarians. Different camps, facing life and death when meeting. Today you massacre Great Feng citizens, tomorrow I’ll lead troops to raze barbarian tribes.
Since they were mortal enemies, there was nothing to say.
But he couldn’t accept that the one who caused this tragedy was the Northern Suppression King, a prince of Great Feng. He had turned his blade on his people, and the reason was merely to advance to the Second Rank.
Beast!
Yes, it was Prince Huai who did it… The princess consort covered her mouth, tears streaming from her eyes.
After a long while, Xu Qi An heard his hoarse voice ask, “Where did the massacre take place?”
The cloaked man answered blankly, “I don’t know.”
Don’t know… This answer was unexpected to Xu Qi An. Shouldn’t it be in Xikou County? Wasn’t that area sealed off?
Moreover, even the Northern Suppression King’s trusted spy didn’t know about this. This point seemed very unscientific.
“Who knows?” Xu Qi An voiced his doubts.
“The Chu State Commander Que Yongxiu and the ‘Tian’ level spy know,” the cloaked man’s soul said.
Commander Que Yongxiu?
Xu Qi An pondered for a moment, recalling the man’s profile: Que Yongxiu, Chu State Commander, Duke Huguogong.
A hereditary title.
The first Duke Huguogong was the former King of Pinghai, who was the sworn brother of the later Martial Ancestor Emperor.
The Martial Ancestor Emperor was a prince who, five hundred years ago, joined forces with the Buddhist sect to eliminate the first Supervisor, staging a coup under the pretext of purging the court.
The Huguogong lineage was a rare evergreen among the old meritorious nobility, with frequent intermarriages with the royal family. In their family history, they had married two princesses and four commandery princesses.
Que Yongxiu had Great Feng royal blood.
“Que Yongxiu and the Northern Suppression King are in cahoots, perpetrating the Three Thousand Li Blood Massacre… If I gather evidence and report them, I don’t believe Emperor Yuanjing can still protect them both. Even if he wants to, Minister Wei and the court officials won’t agree…”
The assembled officials in the court, the civil and military officials in the capital, good and bad, muddle-headed and astute, were a force that even the emperor couldn’t resist.
Such a horrifying tragedy, that once exposed, the officials in the capital couldn’t ignore it.
Xu Qi An resisted the urge to return to the capital with the souls because this wasn’t enough. The soul of a single spy wasn’t sufficient to bring down the Northern Suppression King and Duke Huguogong.
He turned to the three barbarians and asked, “What was your reason for ambushing the Northern Suppression King’s spy?”
The Qing Yan Tribe barbarian on the left answered, “To find the place where the Northern Suppression King massacred people and report to the chief.”
The middle Qing Yan Tribe barbarian continued, “The chief also wants to advance to the Second Rank.”
The Qing Yan Tribe barbarian on the right finally answered, “During this time, we’ve been hunting each other with the Northern Suppression King’s spies, losing many of our tribesmen.”
“Why look for the place where the Northern Suppression King massacred people?” Xu Qi An glanced at the wooden-faced remnant soul of the cloaked man.
He immediately grasped the key point, believing there was a big problem here.
Logically, finding the crime scene was the job of the case officer like himself, and it was also one of the pieces of evidence he had to find. If even the victims couldn’t be found, the case couldn’t be investigated further.
However, the Northern Suppression King’s spy didn’t know the crime scene location, while the barbarians were searching for it. This indicated that the Three Thousand Li Blood Massacre hadn’t truly ended yet.
“To seize the essence of blood,” the barbarian on the left answered.
Xu Qi An asked the middle and right barbarians as well, receiving the same answer.
Analyzing the ambush case, the barbarians wanted to seize the Northern Suppression King’s fortune in two ways: First, capture the princess consort; Second, seize the essence of blood.
Based on the information from the second point, it could be deduced that the Three Thousand Li Blood Massacre case hadn’t ended, or rather, the Northern Suppression King hadn’t yet achieved his great success. Otherwise, the Qing Yan Tribe scouts should have already withdrawn.
No wonder there were no Qing Yan Tribe experts when surrounding the princess consort. Most likely, they had all infiltrated Chu State, searching for the location of the Three Thousand Li Blood Massacre. Meanwhile, the Northern Suppression King’s spies were secretly engaged in a battle of wits with the barbarians, hunting each other.
No wonder no spies were escorting or receiving the princess consort. They must have been too preoccupied, trying to hide the Three Thousand Li Blood Massacre on one hand and hunt the barbarians who had infiltrated Chu State on the other.
“Does only your Qing Yan Tribe know about this?” Xu Qi An asked again.
“Yes,” the barbarian answered.
This doesn’t seem right… How did the Qing Yan Tribe’s chief come to know about this? Xu Qi An pondered for a moment, then asked:
“Have you seen any sorcerers in your tribe?”
“Yes,” the barbarian replied blankly.
Hmm, if that’s the case, the Qing Yan Tribe knows all the inside details of the Three Thousand Li Blood Massacre, and all this was told to them by the mysterious sorcerer group.
From this, two conclusions can be drawn: First, the mysterious sorcerer group is supporting the Qing Yan Tribe’s chief, helping him seize the Northern Suppression King’s fortune and advance to the Second Rank.
Second, the mysterious sorcerer group’s stance is clear – they’re stealing Great Feng’s fortune, supporting barbarian leaders, infiltrating the court, and eroding Great Feng’s national strength.
Xu Qi An didn’t continue questioning. He said in a deep voice, “Crouch down and cover your eyes.”
The princess consort cooperated skillfully, immediately crouching down and covering her eyes.
Xu Qi An took out a fragment of the Earth Book, collected the bodies of the cloaked spy and the three barbarians into the small jade mirror, then opened the Dharma Wheel and collected their souls.
“Let’s go!”
He came to the princess consort, crouched down with his back to her, and said, “Get on.”
This time, the princess consort didn’t hesitate. She opened her arms and embraced Xu Qi An’s neck. She found that she no longer resisted having some physical contact with this man.
How strange.
The princess consort turned her head to look behind. A gust of wind blew, and those not-quite-real souls dissipated like dream bubbles in the wind.
She suddenly felt a piercing sadness in her heart and said softly, “He doesn’t deserve the title of Northern Suppression King.”
“Be quiet and hold on tight.”
“Mm.” She tightened her arms and obediently lay on Xu Qi An’s back.
With a boom! Trembling on the ground, Xu Qi An shot off like an arrow, disappearing into the wilderness.
…
At noon, a hundred li west of San Huang County.
The princess consort sat by a small stream, rather un-ladylike, gnawing on a chicken leg. As she ate, she glanced at the dazed Xu Qi An. The usually haughty princess spoke with rare gentleness:
“What do you plan to do next?”
Xu Qi An looked at her, smiled, and poked at the campfire. “The reason I brought you north was to use you to threaten the Northern Suppression King, to make him hesitate. My original intention was bad.”
She pursed her lips and said dejectedly, “I know.”
She wasn’t a fool. What this man intended by bringing her along while investigating the case in the north was easy to guess with a little thought.
Xu Qi An asked in surprise, “Oh? You’re not angry? That doesn’t fit your usual character.”
The princess consort shook her head and said softly, “I’ve been beautiful since I was young. When I was nine, I went to the Jade Buddha Temple with my parents to burn incense. The abbot of the temple saw me and wrote a poem. Mm, you should know that poem.
“From then on, my fame grew. My parents worked even harder to cultivate me, hoping I would become a well-educated lady skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
“By the time I was thirteen, because of my extreme beauty, the pressure on my family grew greater and greater. Not only did they have to deal with noble officials coming to propose marriage, but even some distant relatives looked at me strangely.
“My parents and elders protected me well, not because they loved me so much, but because they didn’t want their precious goods to have any flaws. Finally that year, the emperor sent people to our door, wanting me to enter the palace.
“My parents and elders were overjoyed, tears in their eyes. Yes, the goods they had painstakingly cultivated had finally sold for the highest price.
“After I entered the palace, I only saw the emperor once, and then I was neglected. Later I learned that the emperor had already started practicing Taoism and was abstaining from women. This was good for me. I had good food and lodging in the palace, lived in luxury, and didn’t have to compromise myself to please some stinking man.
“After the Shanhai Pass battle, I was given to Prince Huai, becoming his principal wife, and lived in Prince Huai’s mansion for twenty years. I knew clearly what the two brothers were planning.
“But what could I do? I’m just a weak woman. Even if no guards were watching me or maids monitoring me, even if there were no restraints and I was free to run, by the time I ran from Prince Huai’s mansion to the outer city gate, half my life would be gone.
“I’ve been treated as goods since I was little, constantly being given away. When the day comes that I have no more value, I’ll be discarded like an old shoe.”
By the campfire, she hugged her knees, her voice gentle, her face showing neither joy nor sorrow.
“So even if you treat me as a bargaining chip, as goods, I won’t blame you. Compared to those two brothers, I think you’re a good person.”
This is too tragic… Xu Qi An felt a surge of pity in his heart. This had nothing to do with beauty; this feeling of pity was the same as what he felt for Zhong Li.
It was purely out of sympathy.
He looked at the princess consort and questioned, “You don’t blame me?”
This time, the princess consort was very honest, nodding her head, “I do blame you. I thought you were going to betray me earlier, and I was furious.”
Xu Qi An laughed, “Women are like that, saying one thing and meaning another.”
She laughed too, then asked, “How do you plan to deal with the Northern Suppression King’s matter? Since he did this, it’s much more serious than falsely reporting military intelligence.
“If you insist on opposing him, I’m afraid the outcome won’t be good.”
The mountain wind blew, and the campfire flickered. In the quiet atmosphere, after a long while, Xu Qi An slowly said, “Find the location of the Three Thousand Li Blood Massacre, stop him, punish him, and if possible, I will kill him.”
The princess consort gazed at him in a daze.
…
San Huang County, Yayin Tower.
“Knock knock…”
Cai’er, reclining on a soft couch reading a leisure book, heard the knocking, followed by the madam’s laughing voice: “Cai’er, Old Master Zhao is here. Entertain him well.”
Cai’er put away her book and responded coquettishly, “Yes, Mama.”
The door of the room opened, and a middle-aged man dressed as a wealthy gentleman entered, wearing a lecherous smile.
He stepped over the threshold and turned back to close the door, and when he turned around again, the smile on his face was gone, replaced by a solemn expression.
The middle-aged man looked at Cai’er and nodded, “Did you tell him the news about Xikou County?”
Cai’er bowed respectfully and said, “Yes, he didn’t suspect anything.”
The middle-aged man breathed a sigh of relief, sat down at the table, poured a cup of tea, and said leisurely, “However, given his astuteness, he’ll certainly realize something’s amiss afterward, but by then, things will be over.”
Cai’er remained silent.
The middle-aged man continued, “I’ll be heading north in a few days. You should leave San Huang County soon. If I die on the way, don’t ever come back.”
After a pause, he said in a serious tone, “Green-robed attendant.”
Cai’er lowered her head: “I’ll die a hundred deaths without regret.”