Wang Jian always thought of himself as a hardened man, seasoned by wind and rain, the kind who can swallow broken teeth and his own blood, but his back was drenched in cold sweat as he looked at the swaying figure before him, barely able to stand.
Seven hundred and sixty men! Of them, more than three hundred were true cultivators from the Xuanqing Guard, all skilled veterans far beyond ordinary soldiers. Not to mention, over three hundred strong crossbowmen surrounded the outer ring to seal off any escape.
But even with such a heavy siege, with six layers of encirclement set up—what should've been a sure thing—instead, the ground was littered with corpses.
Over seven hundred circling one man, yet the side with the numbers lay dead and wounded in heaps—not counting the injured who were dragged away, the dead alone exceeded sixty.
The longer they fought, the more frightened; the longer they fought, the icier their hearts grew.
He'd heard of the vicious means and dreadful craftiness of evil cultivators, but he never expected that even after trapping the bastard in a dead end, he'd still be this hard to subdue.
Of course, so many died mainly because they wanted him alive. If they'd tried to kill him on sight, at least half as many would have survived.
"Send in another ten—he's about to lose it!"
Steeling himself, Wang Jian gave the order. This time, the ten going in were none other than the personal guards of Chen Tianwen, who'd rushed over earlier—Wang Jian's final, decisive blow.
...
When Shen Hao stepped into the central courtyard of the Qi Mansion and saw Wang Jian, his gaze went past him to the black-robed man behind, hands bound and neck locked with the God-locking Lock.
Even captured and battered, the black-robed man still held his chin high; a pair of fierce, defiant eyes also looked past Wang Jian, fixing on Shen Hao.
"Tch, should I call you Xiao Zhongliu, or just any stray mutt?" Shen Hao instantly recognized the black robe—it was the very "Xiao Zhongliu" he'd dug through all of Five Rams City to find.
"Heh, what makes a mere Xiaoqi think you're fit to ask my name? Bah!"
He tried to spit at Shen Hao, but his injuries were too grave, and with his True Qi sealed by the God-locking Lock, the glob just dribbled down his own chin.
"Looking for death!" Before Shen Hao could respond, two warriors beside him came in hard, fists raining down with deadly intent, thudding mercilessly against flesh.
"Enough, don't kill him." Shen Hao waved to stop the venting warriors, sneering coldly, "He'll be handed to the garrison soon enough; those executioners have plenty of ways to make him regret being born. He'll know suffering worse than death."
At that, all around them broke into laughter. Indeed, compared to killing the bastard for revenge, throwing him to the garrison's interrogators meant a fate much crueler than death.
The captive clenched his jaw in silence, eyes burning to swallow Shen Hao alive. He knew, if not for Shen Hao's feint and concealed trap, he'd never have fallen so low.
But it was too late.
Once an evil sect cultivator fell into Xuanqing Guard hands, a living mouth was impossible; all that changed was the manner of death.
"Leave a few brothers to wrap things up. You're coming with me. We're dragging this pig back to Li City to report in. Leave a few more here in Five Rams City to finish the paperwork with the government. Handle the aftermath."
"Xiaoqi, you mean... the case is closed?"
"Of course it's closed. Come on, we'll discuss on the road."
Capturing an evil cultivator alive—especially one who might be among "that group"—was no small matter. Shen Hao dared not delay. As soon as the sun rose, he set off with Wang Jian and over a hundred Xuanqing Guards, making a show of returning to Li City with their prisoner.
...
Once in Li City, Shen Hao handed "Xiao Zhongliu" over to the General Flag's dungeon, then brought Wang Jian to knock on Chen Tianwen's public office door.
Unlike his usual distracted self, Chen Tianwen actually set everything aside, listening intently to Shen Hao's report.
"You're saying this 'Xiao Zhongliu' not only took part in the Qi Family's human blood trafficking, but directly instructed them in smuggling forbidden materials to refine Yin Tofu?"
"Yes, sir. 'Xiao Zhongliu' was involved from start to finish in the Qi case—not only linking up their blood-dealing, but directing them to procure forbidden goods for making Yin Tofu."
"Directing?" Chen Tianwen rapped the table, catching Shen Hao's word choice.
"Yes. I believe 'Xiao Zhongliu' and the Qi Family weren't partners. It's more likely subordination—the real master of the family's operations was this 'Xiao Zhongliu'. Both the blood trafficking and Yin Tofu originated from him..."
Chen Tianwen listened carefully as Shen Hao's deductions paralleled Wang Jian's earlier analysis, filling in all logical gaps left by Wang Jian.
Shen Hao continued: "Qi Wen Yuan and Qi Heng Soldiers—the father and son—were probably the two closest to 'Xiao Zhongliu' in the Qi Family. Afterward, they weren't dismembered in the mansion, but met a far worse fate. I believe they were both turned by 'Xiao Zhongliu' via secret techniques into two Third-Grade Evil."
Chen Tianwen nodded.
For a true evil cultivator to manipulate a family like Qi, it was nothing—he'd have plenty of means. Then, using the Qi Family as cover to secretly brew Yin Tofu. The logic fit perfectly.
"But why, in the end, did Xiao Zhongliu massacre the entire Qi Family? And after the bloodbath, why didn't he just take the Yin Tofu and leave?"
"My opinion, sir: slaughtering the Qi Family was vital to create those two Third-Grade Evil. I recall the document library had records on such forbidden methods—called 'Bloodline Blood Grudge' by the sects."
As for why the Yin Tofu was left—at the time, I think for Xiao Zhongliu, the time just wasn't right. The box of Yin Tofu was hidden within the Sky Splitting Array. While it concealed mechanical traces, the formation patterns on the box matched a blood array. I suspect it's linked to the deliberately staged Jingguan, the arm-table, and so on in Qi Mansion."
Chen Tianwen understood. "You mean, the Yin Tofu relied on the massacre's blood to fully mature? And the slaughter also assured the two Evil could mutate and take form?"
Shen Hao nodded, affirming that was exactly his meaning.
"But—for now, this is just deduction. I'm sure the reality isn't far off, but sir, we still need to pry open Xiao Zhongliu's mouth."
At this, Chen Tianwen laughed and slapped Shen Hao's shoulder hard, saying, "Once he's in our cells, we'll show him what it means to beg for death but be denied it. No matter how tough, he'll last three days, then the truth will flow."
Shen Hao, your unit has done a great thing this time!
Don't worry, I'll submit a full account and recommend rewards. Go back and rest a few days—wait for word from me."
On the way out, Chen Tianwen even broke precedent by slapping Wang Jian's arm and offering a few words of encouragement.
But 'rest' was a luxury—Shen Hao still had plenty on his hands.
There were the compensation matters for their fallen brothers. The case transfer with the government office back in Five Rams City. And—most pressing of all—a quiet place where he could check if, after swallowing a full twenty pieces of Yin Tofu, any mutations had begun to show in himself...