Chapter 328: Closing the Net Early! The First Step to Eradicating the Rebel Party
How can it be considered bewitching?!
Inside the private room, the water in the copper hot pot was already boiling, and the hot steam gushed out, covering the face of the person who was actually in charge of the Kuangfu Society branch.
Zhao Duan narrowed his eyes and looked at the other person. At this moment, he couldn't help but feel "conviction" in his heart.
“Dongdong——”
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door of the box, and the waiter's voice came from outside:
"Sir, would you like some more water?"
The sudden sound broke the atmosphere in the room.
The confusion in Zhao Duan's eyes suddenly cleared up, and he said calmly, "No need."
Outside, the waiter who was standing next to the door, holding an iron kettle with a long and pointed spout, answered and turned away.
"Sir, what do you think?"
The middle-aged man was slightly annoyed by the waiter's interruption, but still asked patiently.
Zhao Duan looked at him quietly, then suddenly smiled, his tone sarcastic, and uttered only two words:
"That's it?"
The middle-aged man was stunned.
Zhao Duan sneered, "I thought the so-called Imperial Master could have some clever words, but since you don't want to waste my precious time, you just said this bunch of nonsense."
The middle-aged man wanted to speak.
Zhao Duan interrupted:
"When the cunning rabbit dies, the running dog is cooked... What Buddha, what conspiracy? After all, it's nothing more than these six words from ancient times to the present. Do you think that with such vulgar words, you can move my heart? Fear me? Separate the relationship between me and His Majesty? Do you think you are worthy?"
The middle-aged man's expression froze and he remained silent.
Zhao Duan leaned forward, supported himself on the table with both hands, stood up slightly, and assumed an oppressive posture.
The two people's faces suddenly came close, and the coldness and murderous look on his face were no longer concealed:
"I'm disappointed. Perhaps you believe that relying on the so-called power of demagoguery, supplemented by conspiracy theories that appear sophisticated but are actually just 'common sense', can intimidate me..."
The middle-aged man said quickly: "But the possibility I mentioned exists. Do you want to deny it?"
Zhao Duan sneered, and the two of them moved closer together. His voice suddenly became very low:
"I believe it. But... as long as you thieves are still here, how can I be abandoned again?"
The second half of his sentence that he didn't say was:
By the time the Kuangfu Society and the Eight Kings fell, he should have had enough power to protect himself.
Well, this is just the worst-case scenario. If he marries the empress... it will be a completely different world.
There is no word "lose" in the logic of a bootlicker.
"Is that what you think, sir?"
The middle-aged man's expression calmed down. He wanted to say something, but found that Zhao Duan suddenly stood up and distanced himself from him.
His words got stuck in his throat because he suddenly felt a chill between his eyebrows, like a drop of rain hitting there.
A delicate flying knife flew through the mist of the copper hot pot and landed in the palm of the handsome man in front.
There was a bloody hole between the eyebrows of the middle-aged shopkeeper.
At this moment, a stream of scarlet and sticky blood, like a slender and narrow waterfall, gushed out from between the eyebrows and poured into the milky white bone soup boiling in the hot pot.
The boiling bone soup gradually subsided, and the tofu rolling in the pot also turned red.
The light in the branch agent's eyes dimmed, lifeless, and he looked down dejectedly.
The corpse lay reclining in a high-back chair, its eyes filled with confusion.
Zhao Duan stood in front of the window, overlooking the bustling streets outside. He put his left hand behind his back and slowly closed his right hand in front of him, clenching the Golden Crow Flying Knife. He spoke softly:
"Noisy."
At the moment when the middle-aged shopkeeper died, Zhao Duan clearly felt that his somewhat dusty mind was suddenly wiped clean and regained clarity.
He was slightly startled before realizing that it was only at this moment that the power of bewitchment truly disappeared?
Just now, even though he had guarded his exterior, his mind had been "polluted" unknowingly.
“Gee! Gee!”
On the street, the sound of galloping horses came from afar, and Ma Yan and Haitang came galloping over.
The two of them had sharp eyes and could see each other from hundreds of meters away.
Ma Yan didn't hesitate and rushed into the restaurant with Haitang.
Amid the astonished gazes of the guests and waiters below, he ran up to the private room, pushed open the door, and saw the body lying next to the hot pot, and Zhao Duan with his hands behind his back and his back to them.
"Ah——" the female detective exclaimed and subconsciously grasped the hilt of the knife.
Ma Yan's expression changed slightly: "What's going on?"
Zhao Duan turned around and calmly recounted everything that had just happened.
Haitang was stunned, staring at the corpse in disbelief. She said, "So, the agent of the Kuangfu Society in the capital came here on his own initiative to seek death?"
Zhao Duan shook his head and said seriously, "He is not an agent."
"Who is that?"
"He is the evil Taoist priest, the National Master of Dayu." Zhao Duan explained calmly.
This time, even Ma Yan looked confused.
Zhao Duan glanced at the two of them and explained patiently:
"I spoke to him earlier, deliberately testing his judgment. When he spoke of the Second Prince's seizure of the throne and the late Emperor, his tone and demeanor didn't sound like that of a rebel leader. Instead, it sounded more like that demon defending himself.
Just imagine, a loyal person who was appointed by Zhuang Xiaocheng as the leader of the rebels in such a key place as the capital must be loyal and reliable. How could he make such sarcastic comments, even with a hint of mockery and contempt, to evaluate Jian Wen and the late emperor?
After a pause, Zhao Duan continued:
"However, what really makes me sure of this is that this person was already dead before he came to see me."
He pointed to the congealed blood.
Haitang, who has extensive experience in criminal investigation, understood immediately:
"The blood of a newly killed person is fresh and thin, but this person's blood is too thick... This is the characteristic of a dead person!"
She raised her tear-stained face and said in astonishment:
"You mean, the demon Taoist might have killed the rebel first, and then used some evil method to bend over the corpse to meet you?"
Zhao Duan sighed:
"Only this can explain why an ordinary rebel's words have such a deceptive power. Humph, ever since this person came in, I felt something was wrong.
However, perhaps it was precisely because it was only a possession, and not the demon himself, that I was not successfully bewitched...
Well, actually, I’m not entirely sure whether I’m still under the influence.”
Ma Yan looked at him for a while and said firmly:
"You're fine. With your level of cultivation, it's difficult to manipulate you. Most importantly, any spell can be released by killing the direct caster. This has been verified long ago. If you're worried, you can visualize the Six Chapter Sutra later and explore it yourself."
Is that so... I learned...
Zhao Duan felt relieved. He had too little experience with evil sorcerers and did not dare to take such strange magic lightly.
Ma Yan stepped forward, carefully examined the body, and said with a grim expression:
"It seems the situation is worse than we expected. That demon can actually possess the dead and bewitch them. This makes it even harder to capture the real one."
Haitang frowned and said:
"If this demon Taoist isn't lying, then he's clearly already taking control of the Kuangfu Society in the capital. But why did he kill this agent? Just to get a puppet to possess?"
She felt an inexplicable chill down her spine, and instinctively feared and loathed this evil way of killing and manipulating people at will.
Ma Yan exhaled and sneered:
"The reason evil sorcerers are not tolerated by the righteous is because they worship evil gods, which can cause their minds to become twisted and erratic. They often act based on their moods and kill without caring about the reason. They often kill at will."
His tone showed that he was not surprised that the emperor had deceived the national teacher into killing someone and using the body as a corpse.
They're like a group of mental patients; it's hard to reason with them using normal logic.
At this time, the Jinyi captains who followed behind also rushed over and surrounded the restaurant, causing a commotion downstairs and the guests were terrified.
Ma Yan took a deep breath and said:
"I'll handle this matter later. I'll also report the demon's new abilities to His Majesty later. You can go back first."
Zhao Duan nodded, took two steps, and suddenly said:
"I believe that we shouldn't just passively take a beating. Taking the initiative might be more effective. Since this evil Taoist has already contacted the Kuangfu Society, we can start by tracing the source of the traitor."
After saying this, Zhao Duan walked downstairs and left.
The two were left frowning and thinking, but they had no clue.
…
Lihuatang.
"grown ups!"
Inside the hall, the troublemakers were playing cards during their lunch break.
Seeing Zhao Duan return, they were startled and stood up one after another. They hid the cards in their hands behind their backs or threw them under the table, trying to be well behaved.
Although the government issued an order to track down the imperial teacher, Lihua Hall, as the odd one out among the nine halls, always obeyed orders but not announcements.
Without Zhao Duan's order, everyone was too lazy to move and just wanted to slack off.
"Stop touching me. How's the progress of what I told you to do?"
Zhao Duan pretended not to see it and sat in the main seat with his big horse and golden sword.
Qian Kerou said seriously, "We've already sent someone to keep an eye on the target. Now, according to your order, confiscate the nets and prepare to catch the big fish."
Hou Renmeng also said: "The Thousand-Faced God is very cooperative. My Lord, you are really powerful. With one move, you have completely subdued this rebel."
During this period, Zhao Duan has been preparing to wipe out the rebels in the capital.
The original intention was to meet the year-end KPI and take another step towards bringing Zhuang Xiaocheng back.
However, unexpectedly, the sudden return of the National Master disrupted the original plan.
"Don't wait any longer, close the net early tonight,"
Zhao Duan said coldly, "I will do it myself, you will make arrangements immediately."
Wait any longer... He was afraid that the fish he had finally set his sights on would be swallowed by the crazy demon.
Even the agent said to kill and then kill... This kind of madman can never be speculated based on logic.
Everyone was stunned, and then they were all shocked, their faces flushed with excitement:
"Yes! I obey your command! Deploy the defense immediately!"
Finally there was work to do, but they had been feeling uncomfortable and wanted to kill someone.
Zhao Duan stroked the hilt of his sword, looking at the withered pear tree in the yard, a fierce gleam in his eyes:
"National Master? You're vindictive? Haha, I want to see how capable you are."
The entire capital city was on the defensive, but he insisted on taking the initiative and attacking in one fell swoop.
"Come here, follow me to the Imperial Prison," Zhao Duan stood up, pressing the hilt of his sword, stirring up a gust of cold wind, a smile on his face:
"I've raised her for so long, it's time to take her out for a walk."
…
Inside the imperial prison, in a dim cell.
Yunxi, curled up in bed and deep in sleep, shuddered for no apparent reason:
"A-choo!"
The girl, a disciple of Zhuang Xiaocheng, opened her eyes, a blank expression on her face. "Who's talking about me?"
…
Typos should be corrected first and then replaced
Thanks to Yu Zhongzhou for the 2,000-point reward and Shuixing for the 100-point reward from Masked Ultraman!
(End of this chapter)
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