Chapter 10 Conflicting Testimonies
Inside the cell.
After the others left, Zhao Duan leaned back in his chair, folded his hands, and asked:
"Tell me, how was Zhuang Xiaocheng able to escape so early?"
According to memory, Zhuang Xiaocheng was hiding in a small courtyard in Dongcheng. After the original owner learned about it, he dispatched the imperial guards to capture him, and hid behind to reap the credit.
Before the imperial guards arrived at their destination, the rebel master and his apprentice had already fled out of the city. Fortunately, there was someone following them, so the imperial guards were able to chase them out of the city.
During this period, it happened to be a daytime curfew. Zhao Duan took advantage of the rules to stop the people from the imperial court, and ended up forcing himself into a desperate situation.
All I can say is, well done...
Seeing the wailing of the patriots of the "Kuangfu Society" fade away, Yunxi smiled bitterly and did not resist again.
After all, in her opinion, the little "intelligence" she had had no value at all.
I didn't say it before, I was just expressing my attitude.
If I could use useless "information" to save my companions from suffering, I think the teacher would agree.
"Because we received the news early and learned that we had been exposed, the teacher made a decisive decision to evacuate." Yun Xi sighed and said.
As expected, there are still accomplices of the rebels in the capital... Zhao Duan was not surprised.
According to known information, the Kuangfu Society has branches in various places in Dayu. As one of the core figures in the society, Zhuang Xiaocheng travels around all year round, coordinating intelligence and issuing orders.
This time, he sneaked into the capital to manipulate the activities of the rebels near the capital.
A role similar to that of a regional "command center".
He asked again:
"Who sent you the message? And how?"
Yun Xi shook her head and said:
"I have no idea."
As if she was afraid that Zhao Duan would not believe her, she added:
"In order to prevent the society's patriots from being arrested by the imperial court and thus implicating others, there is no fixed pattern for the transmission of intelligence.
Sometimes, the teacher would order me to drop a note somewhere in the city, or to retrieve information somewhere, so that the members wouldn't see each other...
The meeting place is also different each time, and important information is transmitted through magic. Only the teacher knows this, and I don't know it."
Zhao Duan had a blank expression on his face, giving the illusion of having traveled into a spy drama.
So professional...
The transmission of magic... is probably similar to sending a telegram. No wonder the "court secret agent" who was watching in the dark did not see anyone contacting the two.
The plan to catch the messenger and follow the clues to the culprit failed.
"So? After hearing the news, Zhuang Xiaocheng chose to take you away?"
Zhao Duan questioned:
"Is there no real expert protecting him?"
Yun Xi shook her head and said:
"This is the capital. If a powerful master enters the city, it will easily attract the attention of the court. Only people like me are the safest."
Very reasonable... Zhao Duan thought about it and suddenly asked:
"At what exact time did Zhuang Xiaocheng learn that I was going to take action?"
Yun Xi hesitated for a moment before saying:
"About a quarter of an hour before we fled, the teacher came out of his study in a hurry. He looked very unhappy and told me to pack up immediately and leave the city with him."
A quarter of an hour... Zhao Duan's eyes suddenly became sharp and he said:
"You're lying!"
Yunxi was stunned and didn't understand what was going on.
Zhao Duan stared at her and said:
"At that time, I went to your residence first, but found nothing there, so I rushed out of the city. At that time, I ordered people to search the house, and at first glance, it did look like you left in a hurry, but including the study, there was not a single trace left.
Since your teacher was in charge of intelligence transmission, he must have left some written records. However, not only are there no letters left in the study, there's not even much charcoal ash from the brazier. If, as you said, he learned about it suddenly, how could he have destroyed the evidence in just a quarter of an hour?
Yunxi opened her mouth, speechless.
"It seems that you are unwilling to cooperate, then I have to..." Zhao Duan made a gesture to call his men to drag "Qingyun" back.
The girl, who was tied to the cross in a spread-eagle position, was extremely anxious. Her face turned pale as she hurriedly shouted:
"I'm not lying to you! It's true! I'm not allowed into the teacher's study room, but I'm often cleaned. Maybe it's always been like this."
Zhao Duan pressed on: "How often do you clean it?"
Without waiting for the latter to think, he said:
"Don't think about it, answer immediately!"
Yun Xi panicked and said:
"Usually every three to five days, they'd take out a basin of paper ashes and ask me to throw them away. The last time, about three days ago, they threw away a lot, a huge bag. I remember it very clearly..."
Three days ago... Zhao Duan's eyelids twitched!
According to the original owner's memory, this time point was exactly when he learned this fresh information from the imperial court through the informant he bribed.
There is indeed a problem.
He had a blank expression on his face, and took advantage of the girl's panic to ask her second question:
"How did Zhuang Xiaocheng escape? What's with that Earth God Temple in the bamboo forest in the southern suburbs?"
Yun Xi shook her head again:
"I don't know... Because of the daytime ban and heavy rain, we didn't go through the city gate. The teacher used a magic scroll to tear a hole in the city wall, but the road was muddy and the carriage couldn't move fast, so the soldiers caught up with us.
I fought desperately, and then I followed the teacher's instructions and fled into the Earth Temple, where I was surrounded by you. You know everything that happened after that. As for the sorcerer, I think he was an expert in the society and cast a spell to rescue me."
After spewing out these words in one breath, Yunxi gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and stretched out her fair neck:
"That's all I know."
He looked as if he was just going to lie down and let Ren Gan do whatever he wanted. No matter how much you threaten him, it will be useless.
On the other side of the cell.
Zhao Duan fell into deep thought.
At this moment, he was searching through the original owner's memories in his mind from the perspective of an observer.
Combining the known information, I suddenly noticed many anomalies:
In the Earth Temple.
The first thing Zhuang Xiaocheng said when he saw him was, "I never thought that I would be found by a running dog like you."
I didn't think it was unusual at the time, but after careful consideration, I came up with another interpretation:
He didn't expect to be caught by Zhao Duan, so who did he think would catch him?
In addition, Zhuang Xiaocheng's behavior was very strange from beginning to end.
Why did he start destroying the correspondence three days in advance, but retreated with a grim expression a quarter of an hour before Zhao Duan took action?
Why does he have a "magic weapon" that can tear open the city wall, but has to rely on a female disciple of ordinary martial arts level for protection, and has no magic weapon to protect himself?
Why did they not leave after arriving at the bamboo forest, but wait until Zhao Duan arrived and reinforcements appeared?
"There's a problem, a big problem!"
Zhao Duan's thoughts raced:
"First of all, the Bamboo Forest Temple is clearly a 'teleportation point.' Whether it was a temporary arrangement or a pre-planned one, it's all Zhuang Xiaocheng's way of protecting himself. There's nothing wrong with that."
"Secondly, Zhuang Xiaocheng seemed to have known that his whereabouts had been leaked. In this case, it would have made sense for him to destroy the intelligence documents in advance. But why didn't he run away?
Did they wait until I was about to take action before hastily evacuating? It was as if they had deliberately led me to the southern suburbs…"
Zhao Duan's expression changed slightly, and he couldn't help but have a bold idea:
"Could it be that Zhuang Xiaocheng's target is me? He wants to lure me to his death?"
But the thought only lasted for a second before he dismissed it:
"No, it doesn't make sense logically. If it's directed at me, it can't explain some of the details."
"Furthermore, you'd sacrifice so much and take such a huge risk just to lure and kill a gigolo who's under the empress's skirt?"
Zhao Duan even laughed at himself.
If it were a game of chess, you would risk sacrificing a veteran general and a female pawn in exchange for an enemy general...
It’s better to surrender this kind of chess player.
Since it can't be targeting him, who in this game of chess is worth the other party's efforts?
A flash of lightning suddenly flashed through Zhao Duan's mind, and a name almost came out of his mouth:
"Zhao Ya!"
(End of this chapter)
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