Luye Zanra's teeth were deeply embedded in his lower lip, his gaze like a frozen river, filled with fear and anger, yet he dared not utter a word.
The pistol in Chen Zhennan's hand, that cold, metallic object, seemed to her like the scythe of death, making her heart pound wildly.
She knew that if Chen Zhennan moved his finger even slightly, her life would be extinguished in an instant, like a candle flickering in the wind.
Chen Zhennan's gaze was as sharp as a falcon's, and he wanted to get more secrets from Luye Zanliang, but as darkness fell and night descended, an ominous premonition arose.
Behind them, in Edo Castle, the fire was still burning, the flames soaring into the sky and turning the night sky blood red.
Traces of battle and bloodstains still remain on the stone path at the palace gate; it is clearly not a good place to talk.
Chen Zhennan mounted his horse with agile movements like a leopard, his figure appearing exceptionally tall in the firelight.
"Shiyu, take them to the palace!"
Yan Shiyu nodded slightly and waved to signal the two team members to escort Luye Zanliang and Da Hairen, and then follow Chen Zhennan into the palace in a grand procession.
The imperial guards in the palace all retreated in fear, and no one dared to make any rash moves. Even their emperor had been captured, so the imperial guards naturally dared not put up any resistance.
Chen Zhennan, head held high and chest puffed out, escorted their Japanese emperor and empress into the main hall.
Sitting on the throne of the Great Sea Man, his figure appeared exceptionally majestic in the shadows of the hall.
The Ōamato, Rinno Sanryo, and the Japanese ministers stood below, their figures appearing so small in comparison to Chen Zhennan.
The Japanese ministers looked at each other, but there was no courage in their eyes. No one dared to speak; they all lowered their heads, as if awaiting their fate.
The special forces soldiers surrounded the entire hall, keeping a close eye on the Japanese ministers.
Chen Zhennan looked at the palace with curiosity, then said sarcastically, "Your Japanese palace is too small. Zhou Xiang's Lingnan Prince's Mansion is a hundred times better than this."
His words revealed a disdain, a ruthless mockery of the country's insignificance and powerlessness.
Inside the main hall, a heavy atmosphere weighed on everyone's hearts like a boulder, making it hard to breathe.
Finally, unable to contain his curiosity and unease, Lang Sheng pointed at Chen Zhennan and demanded, "Chen Zhennan, what exactly do you want?"
Chen Zhennan smirked, "What are you talking about? Can't you speak human language? Shiyu, gag him. I'm not interested in listening to his babbling."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Yan Shiyu responded and immediately called two special forces members to tie up Dahai Ren tightly.
Yan Shiyu found a rag from somewhere and stuffed it into Dahai's mouth.
The man from the ocean stared wide-eyed, his gaze filled with anger, and he stammered, unable to utter a coherent sentence.
Upon seeing this, many of the Japanese officials in the main hall wanted to step forward to stop Yan Shiyu to show their loyalty. They slowly approached, seemingly preparing to take action.
"Anyone who dares to take a step forward, don't blame me for being impolite."
Yan Shiyu's single glance was enough to make everyone back away.
Yan Shiyu didn't care about the lives of these Japanese devils. If anyone dared to approach, he would personally send them to their deaths.
On the dragon throne, Chen Zhennan's gaze was as sharp as a hawk's, slightly narrowed as he looked down at Luye Zanliang.
"What's your name again? Luye Zanliang, right? I'm asking you, where are your Shadow people?"
Chen Zhennan's question was straightforward, leaving Luye Zanliang in a difficult position.
“Speak, or I will make you pay back one tael of silver for every life you lose.”
Upon hearing this, Luye Zanliang's face instantly turned panicked, and he replied tremblingly, "They're all overseas."
One tael of silver for one life; even if you add up all the people in the country together, it wouldn't be enough for Chen Zhennan to kill.
Chen Zhennan's eyes sharpened further as he pressed on, "Is Shadow currently transporting silver?"
"Yes."
As the two continued their conversation, the man from the Great Ocean grew increasingly shocked. As the ruler of a nation, he was unaware that his empress had secretly established such an organization.
Chen Zhennan slowly extended two fingers and said calmly, "I'll give you two choices: one, reveal the location of Shadow overseas; two, pay 60 million taels of silver to compensate Beirong City for its losses."
His conditions were simple yet cruel; every word was like a sharp knife, cutting into Luye Sanra's nerves.
Upon hearing the figure of 60 million, Rono Sanyo was stunned. Even if you turned the entire country upside down, you probably couldn't find 60 million taels of silver.
Luye Zanliang took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, saying, "I only allowed Shadow to take 20 million taels of silver from Beirong City, but you're asking for 60 million! Edo was engulfed in flames, and it's in the same boat as Beirong City. I'll return the 20 million taels of silver to you!"
Her words carried a hint of anger and resentment, as if she were accusing Chen Zhennan of greed.
Chen Zhennan frowned slightly and squinted as he asked, "Luye Zanliang, you said twenty million, but that number doesn't match up."
A hint of curiosity and confusion flashed in Luye Zanliang's eyes as he explained, "I only asked Shadow to take 20 million taels of silver; it's impossible for it to be more."
Her answer was brief and forceful, as if she were defending her authority and credibility.
"Take it? You make it sound so reasonable. Thirty-three million taels of silver were stolen from Beirong City, and countless officials fled to your Japan with the silver. You didn't know any of this?"
Upon hearing this, Luye Zanliang was startled, and his brows furrowed tightly.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
Chen Zhennan scoffed and said sarcastically, "If the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too. Nothing is impossible. How can you be so sure that your subordinates haven't disobeyed you?"
With that, Chen Zhennan slowly stood up, ending the boring conversation.
"I'm here for no other reason than to take back the silver from my Great Yan, and also to teach you a lesson. Your Shadow people have been indiscriminately killing innocent people in Beirong City. This organization has no reason to exist."
Upon hearing this, Rono Sanryo trembled.
Shadow was founded by her, with more than 3,000 people, all of whom are the most elite in the country. If all of these people were to die, it would be impossible to create such an assassin organization again for fifty years.
Seeing the hesitation on her face, Chen Zhennan reached out and drew the long sword from his back, slowly walked down the steps, and slowly came to Luye Zanliang.
“If you do something wrong, you must pay the price! My people of Great Yan have died, but I will not rest until the murderer is dead.”
As he spoke, Chen Zhennan slowly placed the long sword against Luye Zan's neck.
"I'll ask you one more time, where are your shadow assassins? You can choose not to answer, but the entire population of Edo will be executed along with them."
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