“Impossible!” Mo Qianzhi’s weathered face shone with determination. The hardships he’d endured in Yingzhou over the years were etched on his features. Still, his eyes gleamed with unusual brightness, lacking their former steadiness and betraying the excitement of a man whose ambitions were close to fruition.
Shen Du longed to strangle him on the spot. The tragedy of years past was enough; he had no desire to relive it. Shaking his head, he glanced around and changed his tone:
“Silence! There’s no need for you to mention my father’s death! What nonsense about ‘demons in human skin’? You’ve lost your mind! As an imperial official, how dare you utter such treasonous words? Mo Qianzhi, if you wish to die, kill yourself. Why drag your family down with you?”
Shen Du knew the Local Constables were in contact with Zhu Yan; he’d seen it himself. Even now, they were helping the Imperial Guard. They must have heard Mo Qianzhi’s recent outburst.
It didn’t take a genius to realize this would be reported to the Empress. In terms of crimes, Mo Qianzhi had essentially committed treason.
Beheading would be a light sentence; his entire clan might be implicated.
Mo Qianzhi merely laughed: “From the depths of peril comes life anew. To perish for a great cause is the glory of the Mo clan. The gods, if they exist, will protect my family.”
At this point, Mo Qianzhi’s smile faded, his gaze turning cold. “Shen Du, since you refuse to heed my warning, don’t blame me for what comes next.”
He twisted his body to avoid Shen Du’s blade, then waved for the Half-Faced Ghosts to engage him. He didn’t forget to issue another command: “Brothers, heed my order! Continue firing arrows! Slay these demons, and the gods will bless you!”
The archers, already his men and now further brainwashed by his speech, obeyed without question. They fired not only at those on the city walls but also at the civilians below the gate.
The already hellish scene became even more nightmarish as if another cauldron of oil had been added to the inferno. It instantly became a landscape of sword mountains and fire seas.
Civilians fell one after another. Even the skilled Local Constables and Imperial Guards weren’t immune to stray arrows. With the Half-Faced Ghosts eager to deliver killing blows, Shen Du’s side suffered heavy losses.
As the Half-Faced Ghosts again engaged Shen Du, Mo Qianzhi drew his sword. Since Shen Du wouldn’t listen to reason, Mo Qianzhi had no qualms about personally removing his head.
Shen Du was at his wit’s end. Not only had his persuasion failed to stop Mo Qianzhi’s bloodshed, but it had made things worse, with even ordinary civilians now targeted.
“Mo Qianzhi, you’ve gone mad. If you continue, don’t blame me for disregarding our past friendship.”
Those men only listened to Mo Qianzhi’s words. It seemed Mo Qianzhi had been plotting for years. Now, the only way to break this deadlock was to capture the ringleader who was inciting the masses.
As for the truth behind all this, Shen Du would investigate thoroughly later, determined to unravel every twist and turn.
At the same time, a terrifying thought flashed through his mind like lightning, but Shen Du refused to believe it.
Sensing movement behind him, Shen Du thrust his sword backward, stabbing a Half-Faced Ghost before kicking him away. He then turned to attack Mo Qianzhi, who raised his sword to parry. The two exchanged blows back and forth.
In the heat of battle, Shen Du grew increasingly fierce. Gradually, Mo Qianzhi began to lose ground. His clothes were slashed, and even his arm suffered a sword wound.
As Mo Qianzhi stumbled backward, a jade pendant fell from his body.
Instead of pursuing it, Shen Du picked up the fallen pendant. As soon as he touched it, he sensed something was amiss.
Seeing the pendant in Shen Du’s hands, Mo Qianzhi turned back to snatch it, but it was too late.
With a slight exertion of force, the outer layer of the pendant crumbled to dust. As the wind blew it away, what remained in Shen Du’s palm was a jade moth.
Instantly, Shen Du’s expression changed dramatically. He looked at Mo Qianzhi in disbelief.
He… was a member of the Fire Moth organization!
Shen Du couldn’t believe his suspicion had been confirmed. Where had things gone wrong?
Thinking of how he had trusted Mo Qianzhi, even being completely honest with him, Shen Du wanted to slap himself.
If not for this trust, how could he have exposed Zhu Yan’s mission? How could he have fallen into this trap to be killed?
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Zhu Yan put Mo Qianzhi’s ravings aside and swiftly applied medicine to Pan Chi’s wound, warning him not to move again. Only then did she have time to examine the Half-Faced Ghost whose hand and foot tendons she had severed?
The Half-Faced Ghost, having been shot with an arrow and tortured by Zhu Yan, was nearly half-dead.
Zhu Yan crawled closer, keeping her dagger at his throat as a precaution before reaching out to remove his mask.
As expected, beneath the mask, Ji Dafu glared at her with bulging eyes, looking as if he wanted to devour her alive.
Mo Qianzhi was right; he should have killed her when he had the chance, rather than worrying about her being someone the boss wanted alive.
The death of one Zhu Yan wouldn’t matter much; women like her could be found in droves at the city gate.
“So it is you, Ji Dafu. It seems you are indeed a member of the Fire Moth Party. I suppose you killed Li Kaishang as well? First, you killed Li Kaishang and framed Li Kairui, then changed your mind and pushed Liu Zongyuan out as a scapegoat. What exactly are you planning? And what was your purpose in kidnapping Du Xiaowan and massacring civilians today?”
Ji Dafu glared at Zhu Yan and snarled, “So what if I killed Li Kaishang? He deserved to die! As did Liu Zongyuan, and these foolish commoners.”
As to kidnap Du Xiaowan and slaughtering civilians, he would not utter a single word about it, even in death.
Seeing his fanatical state, Zhu Yan slapped him hard across the face. “Wake up! The truly foolish one is unaware of his stupidity. Ji Dafu, perhaps you’re the foolish one here! Can you hear their cries? These civilians are innocent! Think about it – you’ve been a son and a husband. You have parents, a wife, and children. Do you know how much pain their loved ones will feel when they learn of their tragic deaths?”
“Tell me, why did you kill Li Kaishang? What was the purpose of killing people, decapitating them, and gouging out their eyes? And why this massacre of civilians now?”
Faced with Zhu Yan’s interrogation, Ji Dafu remained silent. With his hand and foot tendons severed, he was already a cripple, not worth keeping alive.
Zhu Yan stared at him, instantly grasping his intentions. She pinched the pressure points on either side of his jaw, forcing his mouth open, then removed Pan Chi’s shoe and stuffed it in, warning, “Ji Dafu, if you’re not afraid of implicating Li Kairui and are determined to die, I won’t stop you.”
The fact that he could push Liu Zongyuan out as a scapegoat to clear Li Kairui’s name showed that he cared about his brother-in-law.
Sure enough, Zhu Yan had hit a nerve.
Hearing her words, Ji Dafu’s eyes widened. “Mmph… mmph mmph…”
Zhu Yan yanked out the shoe. Ji Dafu spat a few times before threatening, “Zhu Yan, don’t you dare touch him. Otherwise, I’ll haunt you even as a ghost.”
Zhu Yan rolled her eyes at him. “Death is like a blown-out candle. Do you think I wouldn’t dare? You’ve colluded with the Fire Moth Party and committed numerous evil deeds. Do you think your brother-in-law can stay out of it? Of course, if you confess honestly, I, Zhu Yan, swear on my life to guarantee Li Kairui’s safety.”