Chapter 809, Confirming the Level-18 Professionals
The Second Prince is still in the city.
Wu Heng wanted to ask—if she didn't know where the Second Prince was, how could she be sure he was still in the city?
But he swallowed the words.
The why didn't matter—as long as he had the info.
Wu Heng thought for a moment and asked the third question.
"These 'lords' you speak of—who are they?"
The corpse fell silent, then answered, "Members of the Secret Cult, and some high-level Professionals gathered through other channels."
Wu Heng frowned and double-checked the corpse.
Members of the Secret Cult had a self-protection mechanism—ask certain things and the corpse would collapse, ending the spell.
He'd seen this in previous encounters.
Now it seemed just saying the words 'Secret Cult' didn't trigger it.
He confirmed the corpse was still fine.
Wu Heng shifted direction and asked, "How many Professionals above level 18 are in the city?"
The corpse replied, "I know of six."
Damn, this city's really hiding monsters—six Level-18s! No wonder the First Prince turned to dark forces.
With this much power, the Second Prince might actually take the capital and replace his brother.
One last question: "List the locations of these Level-18 Professionals."
The corpse fell silent again, then replied, "The General Commander is in the Command Mansion, the Intelligence Minister is in the building behind City Hall, three are in the Prince's Mansion, and one follows Clifford."
Clifford—that was the Second Prince's name.
Funny how little respect the corpse showed for him.
That was all five questions. The corpse laid back down.
Spell ended, and Glenda said, "Looks like this Second Prince isn't so simple."
With Rentam City sweeping through everything, they'd all thought he was incompetent.
But if these Level-18s had joined the battlefield—
The war might've gone another way.
And the fact that the Prince still needed decoys and distractions? It meant the First Prince had him cornered.
"Yeah, anyone vying for the throne is no pushover," said Wu Heng.
Then Glenda glanced at the male corpse. "Gonna ask him too?"
"Why not? He's already dead," Wu Heng cast Speak with Dead again, and the corpse sat up.
He asked all five questions quickly.
Turned out this guy was just a subordinate of the Minister, promoted recently, and had to 'visit' her every night.
A medieval office fling, basically.
No real secrets or intel—nothing on the Prince or the other high-levels.
A poor bastard who got caught in the crossfire.
Finished with both corpses.
Wu Heng rewrapped them and sat back in his chair.
Glenda asked, "So, what now?"
Benny and Xiaoxiao looked over too.
Wu Heng thought aloud, "Well, at least we know who and where the Level-18s are."
Glenda narrowed her eyes. "You want to go after them first?"
"If the opportunity's right, maybe."
Striking first—maybe clearing out a few of them—depended on the timing.
If someone hit the Prince's Mansion, that might serve as cover.
If Wu Heng acted now, the blame might fall on those attackers—not on him or Rentam.
"But your current identity makes getting close hard," Glenda added.
"No rush. Step by step."
...…
Clatter-clatter—
While they spoke, sounds of marching and clashing steel came from outside.
Everyone went quiet. Xiaoxiao darted through the wall, took a look, and flew back. "Uncle, city guards are here—a lot of them!"
The guards showing up now?
Were they exposed?
Didn't seem likely—they'd been careful.
Even if someone was investigating, no way they traced it this fast.
Wu Heng packed up the Minister's stuff. "Get ready. If things go south, we fight our way out."
"Okay, Uncle," said Xiaoxiao.
Benny and Glenda both nodded.
BANG BANG BANG!
A heavy knock on the gate.
Glenda, still in the corpse body, opened the door a crack—and saw fully armed guards outside.
Before she could say a word—
The captain barked, "By the commander's order: All of Redwind Gang is to assemble and assist in the search for a fugitive. Gather at the alley entrance. No delays."
Glenda answered fast, "We'll gather the men right away."
The guards moved on and the gate shut.
Wu Heng exhaled. They weren't exposed. The Redwind Gang was just part of the city-wide sweep.
"Benny, follow them and listen for any intel. Glenda, get our people. Xiaoxiao, stick with me."
Benny nodded and flew off.
Glenda said, "I only know where two of our guys live."
"Then get those two to find the rest."
"Got it." Glenda stepped out.
Wu Heng stood at the alley gate, watching the noisy street.
"Uncle, you think it's because the Minister's missing?" asked Xiaoxiao on his shoulder.
"Could be—but it's damn fast."
"They don't have any detectives. They won't track us."
Wu Heng whispered, "We stole that detective story."
"Oh right—I forgot."
More gang members arrived. Xiaoxiao went silent and hovered above, keeping watch.
The alley filled with people.
Wu Heng gave a short pep talk, then led everyone to join the guards.
Grouped into squads, torches in hand, they followed the guard through their district, house by house.
Torches stretched like a glowing snake.
The residential area buzzed with chaos.
...…
Wu Heng trailed at the rear, shouting now and then to blend in.
Then Benny flew back and whispered, "It's because the Minister disappeared."
Wu Heng stepped aside and asked quietly, "How'd they find out?"
"The butler went to send the man home, found both missing, couldn't find them anywhere. Called the guards."
"That's what the butler said?"
"Yeah, people are missing. He probably just told them everything."
Made sense.
The butler was likely interrogated.
Keeping quiet might've made him look guilty.
Wu Heng had figured they wouldn't notice until morning—wrong.
"They say anything else?"
"They're blaming the last Prince's Mansion attackers. They're just sweeping the city, not expecting to find much."
"The whole city's searching?"
"Yeah, even the other districts are lit up."
Wu Heng nodded.
So the guards thought it was those attackers. Made sense—the skill level needed to do this silently was no joke.
This massive sweep was mostly for show.
Even if they did find that group, guards wouldn't be able to stop them.
Morning light crept in.
The guards began to call it off.
Redwind Gang members reassembled, looking ragged, as they listened to the guards' speech.
When it ended—
A familiar squad leader walked up. "You're dismissed. The market still needs order. You know what to do."
"Got it," said Wu Heng.
The squad leader gave one last glance, then walked off.
As he left, gang members started cursing.
"Shit, they get to sleep while we work."
"Those bastards think they're kings."
"Whatever—at least we're not on the front lines."
"Yeah, we bought that. What do you think that money was for?"
Wu Heng heard all this.
He clapped. "Don't get yourselves in trouble. Streets are quiet anyway. Do a quick patrol and head back to bed."
Everyone perked up. "Got it, boss!"
"Alright, dismissed."
They scattered, chatting, ready to prep the market.
...…
Once done, Wu Heng walked toward the gang HQ.
Just a few steps in, he saw a carriage parked at the alley's entrance, with two guards beside it.
He stopped. Brow furrowed.
Tilted his head—his ghost scouts flew out to check.
"You're the Redwind boss, right? The General Commander is waiting inside. Get in," one guard said coldly.
Wu Heng nodded and got in. On the way, Benny returned and synced the interior feed.
In the hall sat six elite commander guards—each about Level 12.
That was high even by regional standards—like a steward's rank.
And in the bedroom: an 18th-level man in iron armor, casually flipping through the drawers.
The General Commander.