Old An watched as his Miss trotted toward Yun Ming with such ease, feeling absolutely "heartbroken"!
Clearly, Ya Li had traveled far and wide over the past few years, healing the sick and encountering many talented young men, so why was she so fixated on Yun Ming? Being fixated was one thing, but to be so unreserved—the old rules of keeping a distance between men and women, of maintaining respect through distance, had been completely forgotten...
Ya Li did not know that her guardian, Old An, was complaining about her, but even if she did, she would continue to act as she pleased, repeating the same "offenses."
Yun Ming released the hand he had been holding with Ya Li and began to discuss the plan for entering Saga City with the group.
Yun Ming first spoke to Yang Wutian.
"Fifth Grand Uncle, please interrogate that lead Horse Chopping Blade Great Soul Master first. See if you can find out from him who exactly gave the order to suppress the news! Also, gather any other useful information about the city."
"Oh, and don't mess up his face."
Yang Wutian gave a grim smile and replied.
"Fine, I will make sure he opens his mouth!"
With that, he dragged the Great Soul Master away from the area.
Not long after, Yun Ming and the others heard some faint screams from afar! It seemed the man had refused to talk and Yang Wutian had "increased the intensity."
Before long, Yang Wutian returned, dragging the Horse Chopping Blade Great Soul Master, who was bleeding from his seven orifices. Yang Wutian threw the man onto the ground and began to relay the information he had obtained.
"This brat is named Zhang Tong, and he is one of the branch team leaders of the ten City Guard Branch Teams in the city."
"The reason he came out to catch people himself is that two of the fleeing civilians were his former subordinates who had escaped using his connections. He was afraid of being implicated, so he asked two other friendly branch team leaders to help cover it up, and he came out personally to eliminate the loose ends."
"The one who relayed the order to cover up the information to this brat is the Deputy Military Commander in charge of the City Lord's Mansion guards, named Lin Xiao."
"Besides him, five other City Guard Branch Team leaders received the same order. Furthermore, to maintain stability during this period, three City Guard Branch Teams were sent into the city to keep order, and the last team is responsible for management and coordination."
Oscar heard this situation and clicked his tongue in wonder.
"The one in charge of the City Lord's Mansion guards is giving orders to the city defense, and out of the ten city defense units, anyone who isn't 'their own' has been sent away? This mastermind behind the scenes certainly has enough power!"
Yang Wutian continued.
"He doesn't know the exact death toll in the city, but he heard a branch team leader who was reassigned to keep order guess that it might already exceed ten thousand, and the rate of death is constantly increasing."
"The atmosphere in the city is already very oppressive, and he feels that a conflict could break out in a matter of days!"
"That is about all I have gathered."
Yun Ming nodded, pondered for a moment, and combined the current information to summarize.
"The tense, oppressive atmosphere in the city is already nearing a critical threshold."
"If we hadn't encountered the pursuit today, or if the ones being pursued weren't us, then Saga City would have fallen into complete chaos in a few more days."
"Based on the intelligence we have now, the person behind the scenes has paid a huge price to block the news and deceive the entire city. We don't know his true purpose, nor do we know the high-level spirit master forces at his disposal."
"But we can be certain that the mastermind has power, money, and that to achieve his goal, many people will inevitably have to die."
"Time is running out now. Even if we call for reinforcements, we don't know if they will arrive in time. Therefore, if we want to save more people, we must act quickly to quell all of this ourselves before the public unrest in the city leads to bloodshed."
"So, we have to do this."
Half an hour later, a squad of Black Armor Soldiers with blood-stained clothes arrived at the city gate. Zhang Tong flashed his spirit and Spirit Ring to verify his identity. The duty officer, a branch team leader, saw that the leader was a friend and ordered his trusted aides to quietly open the gate to let them in.
After entering the city, that branch team leader approached Zhang Tong and asked.
"Old Zhang, how did it go?"
Zhang Tong feigned that nothing had happened, gave his friend a look of affirmation, and said.
"It's all taken care of! Thanks, Lao Lei!"
The branch team leader known as 'Lao Lei' waved his hand and said.
"Good brother, why mention it!"
"Alright, it'll be your turn to be on duty again in two hours, go back and get some good rest!"
Zhang Tong greeted him and led his men toward his station.
"Right, heading off."
Seeing them leave, the branch team leader returned to his post to continue guarding the city.
After Zhang Tong's group returned to their station, he spoke to his team.
"We're here, come out!"
One of the Black Armor Soldiers sensed the surroundings and, finding no one tailing them, signaled to the other two that it was safe. The three stepped out of the ranks. A young man in the middle of the three said to the squad of Black Armor Soldiers.
"Don't worry, once the matter is settled, I will give you the antidote as promised!"
The three who walked out of the ranks were Yun Ming, Ya Li, and Old An, while Oscar and Yang Wutian were nowhere to be seen.
Earlier outside the city, Yun Ming had selected three lucky ones from Zhang Tong's subordinates, letting them take the other fleeing residents to a nearby town to stay temporarily while reporting to the nearest Martial Soul Hall. Yun Ming and the other two used the method of impersonation, disguising themselves as Zhang Tong's subordinates and having the man bring them into the city quietly and without a trace.
As for how to make them obedient and ensure no news leaked, it was simple! Each person was given a poison specially made by the Breaking Clan, the kind that required regular doses of an antidote. If they didn't take it on time, the outcome would naturally be a fate worse than death. Coupled with a system of collective punishment—if one person snitched, the whole group would be cut off from the antidote—they were left to supervise each other.
As long as they didn't cause trouble and kept silent, Yun Ming would naturally provide them with the permanent antidote as promised.
Hearing Yun Ming's words, Zhang Tong had no other choice but to choose to believe him. Yun Ming continued.
"Where is the map of the city I asked for?"
Zhang Tong returned to the Camp and took out a scroll, handing it to Yun Ming. Yun Ming passed it to Old An to open and inspect; Old An flashed upward to a high vantage point, compared the path they had just taken with other landmarks, and after confirming everything was correct, he nodded. Seeing this, Yun Ming took out a medicine bottle and tossed it to Zhang Tong.
"This is today's antidote!"
Zhang Tong caught the medicine bottle cautiously, then watched as the three of them took off their military uniforms, left the garrison of the city defense troops, and headed toward the Isolation Zone.
Seeing those three baleful stars leave, a Black Armor Soldier stepped out from the ranks and asked Zhang Tong.
"Boss, are we really just going to follow the orders of these people?"
Recalling the interrogation methods of Yang Wutian and the Soul Saint cultivation Yang Wutian had revealed before him, Zhang Tong said in a low voice, filled with both fear and helplessness.
"Go! We have no choice."
Seeing that Zhang Tong had said as much, the Black Armor Soldier understood his boss's meaning: nothing happened today.
After leaving the garrison of the city defense troops, Ya Li looked at the side of Yun Ming's face and asked softly, feeling somewhat puzzled.
"Brother Ming, how did you manage to persuade your Fifth Grand Uncle?"
ps: Seeking monthly tickets, seeking recommendations.
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: DaoistReader