Chapter 283 Stolen
The formation tightly enveloped the entire City Lord's Mansion. The palace soldiers hurried along, their expressions serious. Under the moonlight, their figures moved back and forth like shadows, as if searching for something.
Nan Xiao rushed to the outside of the City Lord's Mansion. In addition to the formation, the City Lord's Mansion was also surrounded by palace soldiers in three circles inside and three circles outside. The security was so tight that not even a mosquito could fly out.
Su Xun and Zhang Shuyi also arrived one after another.
"What happened to Junior Sister? Did the demons appear again?"
Nan Xiao shook his head: "I don't know, I just saw the commotion and came over."
Zhang Shuyi: "Go ask."
Just as the three of them took a few steps forward, a burly general in shining armor, like a towering mountain, stood before them. With a cold expression, he shouted, "No further, everyone!"
Su Xun looked calm as he took a step forward, speaking in a clear and polite manner, "General, we are disciples of the sect alliance. We noticed something was wrong here and were afraid that the demons were causing trouble, so we came to investigate."
Hearing this, the burly general's expression relaxed a bit. He knew that the people in the sect alliance were all unfamiliar faces and might be new arrivals.
"Thank you for making this special trip. There's no demonic activity. There was simply a burglary in the mansion, and an item was missing. We're currently searching for it."
He began to chase them away: "I won't bother you with such trivial matters. It's better for you to go back and rest early. You should save your energy to deal with the demons, which is the real business."
Su Xun did not force it: "Okay, if you need our help, General, you can come find us again."
Several people turned and left.
Zhang Shuyi was a little depressed: "Are we just going to leave like this? This situation doesn't look like a simple theft, right?"
With such a big scene, what kind of treasure must have been lost?
"It's indeed not simple." Su Xun paused, glanced in that direction, and said indifferently: "But they clearly don't want us to know. If we keep trying to get close to them, it would seem that we have no sense of propriety and lose our reputation."
Zhang Shuyi looked at the two of them calmly and saw that their expressions were calm. They showed neither curiosity nor any special expressions.
"Aren't you really curious?"
He was curious anyway.
Su Xun raised an eyebrow, looking nonchalant. "What's there to be curious about? There's a saying, 'The more you know, the faster you die.' What if it's some shameful affair? If we get involved blindly and end up in trouble, that would be really annoying."
He naturally placed his arm on Zhang Shuyi's shoulder, raised his chin slightly, and smiled: "Junior Brother Zhang, sometimes you don't have to be so curious. In this regard, you have to learn from me, your senior brother. Let me tell you..."
Zhang Shuyi stood straight, with a dignified demeanor and a simple face. He turned to look at Su Xun, his eyes wide open, and was stunned by what he heard, looking like he was being taught a lesson.
Nan Xiao covered her face with her hands. Fourth Senior Brother was corrupting the flowers of the motherland again.
She dragged Su Xun away with a dull face, turned to Zhang Shuyi and said, "Junior Brother Zhang, don't believe everything my senior brother said. You have to make your own judgment."
Su Xun straightened his clothes and said, "Junior Sister, I'm not happy with what you said. I'm just speaking from experience. If it weren't for Junior Brother Zhang and my liking for him, I wouldn't say anything to anyone else."
Nan Xiao habitually perfunctorily replied, "Yeah, yeah, Senior Brother is right."
…
Nan Xiao originally thought that the matter could be handled in one night, but three days later, the security around the City Lord's Mansion was still tight.
Because the thief has not been caught for a long time, many people are curious about what valuable things were lost, and more and more people are paying attention to this matter.
The elders of the sect alliance had also specifically spoken with City Lord Wen, asking with concern if he needed assistance. City Lord Wen politely declined, citing the need to not overwhelm the sect's human resources.
Inside the city lord's palace
In the spacious courtyard, all the slaves were gathered in the middle of the open space.
All around, palace soldiers with indifferent expressions were pacing back and forth.
The servants, young and old, all lowered their heads, their faces filled with fear, and knelt on the cold bluestone ground, shivering in panic.
The middle-aged man standing in front of them was dressed in a dark brocade robe with intricate patterns embroidered with gold thread on the corners, which reflected a cold and hard light in the sunlight.
His face was serious, and his sharp eyes swept over everyone like an eagle. He had the majestic aura of a superior, which made the servants feel breathless.
"Is everyone here?"
The steward on the side replied: "Yes, City Lord."
"On the night of the theft, where were you and what were you doing? Did you notice anything unusual? Tell the truth. If you tell a single falsehood, you will be killed." The Anyang City Lord turned to look at Steward Zhao beside him and ordered in a cold voice, "Steward Zhao, take them down for questioning. If anyone fails the Heart-Searching Pearl's interrogation, drag them out and execute them immediately as a warning to others."
As soon as he said this, the servants below trembled even more violently. If they were not under pressure from the city lord, they would have wanted to shout "Sir, it's unfair."
Because there were quite a few slaves, an ordinary young man in the crowd, although hunched over and acting cowardly, had no fear in his eyes. Instead, he showed an inappropriate calmness, but no one noticed his abnormality.
The slaves were taken away for questioning.
The Lord of Anyang sat in a chair, feeling annoyed at the thought of his lost possessions. With a single palm strike, the coffee table beside him instantly shattered into pieces.
Wen Anche and Wen Anruo walked in and saluted respectfully: "Father."
"Why are you here? Did you find any clues in the things I asked you to investigate?"
The two shook their heads, and Wen Anche said, "The moment father disappeared, not only did our house go on alert, but the city gates were also immediately closed. We've been checking the city for the past few days and haven't found anything unusual."
Wen Anruo: "Father, we have also checked all the demon spies in the city, and have found nothing so far."
The Lord of Anyang City sighed, "Is it possible for something to grow legs and fly?"
Wen Anche stepped forward and suggested, "Father, that object has a formation mechanism. Once it is touched, the surrounding trap will be activated. I think it is likely that the object is still in the mansion."
Wen Anruo agreed, "Father, Anruo thinks what my eldest brother said is right. Since the other party knew that we had it in our mansion, he must have come prepared. But he didn't expect us to set up a formation on it. The thief and the things should be in the mansion, but they used some special method to cover it up."
"Also, An Ruo speculates that this thing is valuable, so it's unlikely that one person could have stolen it. The thief is most likely to have accomplices. We should pay more attention to those who have been close to the City Lord's Mansion recently. Maybe we can follow the clues and catch them all in one fell swoop."
The Anyang City Lord's anger subsided a bit, and he said with relief, "Yes, it seems you have all grown a lot in recent days."
The burly general beside him hesitated for two seconds, then bowed and said, "City Lord, I have something to say."
He had thought it was a coincidence before, but now after hearing what the eldest lady said, he realized that the three sect disciples he met at that time were most likely the thief's accomplices.
Regardless of whether it is true or not, he should report the matter to the city lord for judgment.
"explain?"
The burly general said, "On the night of the theft, three disciples from the sect alliance came here..."
He recounted what happened at that time.
Wen Anche frowned: "Why are the sect disciples getting involved?"
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