Chapter 219: Embroidered Uniform Guard Cleans Up

Chapter 219: The Brocade-Clad Guard Washes the Floor

"You're Jinyiwei-born, at the very least. Torture and interrogation are your bread and butter. How is it that nothing remains in your hands?"

Wang Xie leapt down from the window, the scabbard of his Spring Embroidery Saber striking the hem of his Flying Fish Robe with a crisp ring.

He leaned close to Li Jun, gazing at the head the man held aloft in his grip.

"Questioning is out of the question. Uploading his consciousness to the Imperial Prison is out of the question. Your current status doesn't even qualify you to enter the Imperial Prison for interrogation."

Wang Xie sighed. "Kill him. He looks pitiful enough."

Li Jun fixed Wang Xie with a deep look, then his five fingers tightened slightly.

*Crack.*

【Acquired 90 Mastery Points】

【Consumed 90 Mastery Points, Muscle-Splitting Bone-Displacing Hand (Seventh Rank Technique) advanced to Seventh Rank Late Stage 28/100】

"What, does the Jinyiwei moonlight as cleaners now?"

"What did you say?!"

Wang Xie flared with rage. "You think I *wanted* to come? The Boss personally sent me to wipe your ass!"

The only man Wang Xie would call 'Boss' was naturally the Centurion of the Chongqing Prefecture Jinyiwei, Yan Bahuang.

Li Jun froze at the words. "Why?"

"Why else? To reform a lost lamb with genuine sincerity, of course."

Wang Xie rolled his eyes, his tone sour. "First time I've seen the Boss coddle someone this much. Tell me honestly—do you have another name, Yan Jun?"

Li Jun narrowed his eyes. "Don't think I won't hit you just because you play the honest fool."

The two locked gazes, then simultaneously broke into faint smiles.

"Enough. Get moving. Once the Shou Lou Shan Guards arrive, leaving won't be so easy."

Li Jun nodded silently. Just as they brushed past one another, his steps suddenly halted.

"Thank you."

"We're family. No need for formalities."

Wang Xie turned his head, smiling. "Find a chance to meet the Boss. Maybe after talking with him, you'll realize—what clings to the Empire's body aren't just parasites and crows."

Li Jun offered no comment, vaulting from the window's edge.

Like a black falcon, he vanished into the night.

*Hiss!*

Wang Xie lit an expensive paper cigarette, clamping it between his lips. He hiked up his robe's hem and crouched beside that grotesque, terrifying head.

"To claw your way out of the lawless Siamese Convict District all the way here... Jin Shenghuo, you're a figure of note. A shame you didn't throw in with the right people."

Pale, thick smoke jetted from his nostrils. Wang Xie reached out, stuffing Jin Shenghuo's two dislodged prosthetic eyes back into their sockets, then drew the eyelids shut.

"Burial is out of the question for you in this life. But once you've spilled everything you know, I'll get you out of the Imperial Prison—spare you some suffering."

*Whoosh!*

A thread fine as hair extended from the Wuchang Register ring on Wang Xie's finger, burrowing into the shattered frontal bone with eerie sentience, piercing the brain matter that had long ceased to wriggle.

The dead Jin Shenghuo's features violently twitched, his bloody maw gaping wide as if loosing a silent scream.

The convulsing head dragged the mechanical heart along, twisting and contorting across the rubble-strewn ground.

But as the fine thread withdrew, the 'resurrected' Jin Shenghuo stilled once more.

"Boss. Jin Shenghuo is dead. His consciousness has been uploaded to the Imperial Prison."

Wang Xie rose slowly, turning to face the tightly shut gates of Listening Wind Pavilion.

"Li Jun got nothing. But... I feel he sensed something."

"Mm. I think he'll come to see you."

*Boom!*

The gates of Listening Wind Pavilion exploded inward. Clamorous footsteps and furious roars surged in together.

At that very moment, the defensive mechanisms inside—which had remained inexplicably silent—reactivated.

Blinding crimson light erupted.

*Clang!*

A streak of cold light flowed from the scabbard at his waist.

Wang Xie plucked the half-burned cigarette from his lips, flicking ash with a fingertip.

He watched the Shou Lou Shan Guards swarming through the doorway, leveling his Spring Embroidery Saber forward.

"Jinyiwei on official business. Uninvolved parties, scatter!"

Inside the silver hall, within the sprawling manor.

Zhang Ruzhen stood amid the wreckage covering the floor, glaring at the phantom figure before him, his voice sharp as a blade.

"Jinyiwei on official business? This is Hongya Mountain! The Prince's residence! Since when does the Jinyiwei have the right to handle cases here?"

"Yan Bahuang, what exactly do you mean?"

"Jin Shenghuo colluded with the Honghu rebels, plotting treason and rebellion. The Jinyiwei moved to arrest him, but met fierce resistance. Left with no choice, we executed him on the spot."

Yan Bahuang spoke calmly. "That is my meaning."

Zhang Ruzhen seethed. "You fabricate charges at will! You clearly know Jin Shenghuo wasn't one of the Honghu."

"Eunuch Zhang is privy to the truth? Then pray tell, old man—just who *was* Jin Shenghuo? Or rather, whose man was he?"

"You—"

Zhang Ruzhen's brows shot up, but he abruptly swallowed his words.

A sudden alarm rang in his heart. The pedantic, rigid Jinyiwei Centurion before him had likely guessed something—that was why he was fishing with this pretext.

If he carelessly let slip the truth, explaining it to the Prince later would be... difficult.

Thinking to this point, the handsome, refined eunuch suppressed his rage, shifting his tone, his voice turning cold. "If that's the case, then Jin Shenghuo dared collude with the Honghu. This end is his own doing—he deserved death ten times over."

"However, at the time of the incident, Listening Wind Pavilion's defenses showed signs of intrusion. Judging by the residual technique traces... they bear some resemblance to the handiwork of the Daoist Dragon Tiger Mountain."

"Oh?" Yan Bahuang's brow twitched. "There's this matter too?"

"Not only that. The Heaven's Eyes and Earth's Ears outside recorded someone jumping from the building to flee. By appearance... they bear some resemblance to that fugitive the Chengdu Prefecture yamen has been hunting recently."

Zhang Ruzhen sneered. "By this logic, those two are likely involved in Jin Shenghuo's death. Or rather—this was simply an internal feud among the Honghu rebels?"

"Eunuch Zhang's leads are most useful. This official will dispatch men to collect evidence. Should a conclusion be reached, I will notify you at once."

Yan Bahuang donned his official authority, adopting bureaucratic language.

An air of utter impermeability, water off a duck's back—it made Zhang Ruzhen's teeth itch with hatred.

But there was nothing he could do. Zhang Ruzhen was merely a steward of the Prince's manor; he held no official rank whatsoever.

YanBahuang would give the Prince of Qin face, but he would not give *him* an inch of it.

"However, this case involves the Honghu rebels; it is a matter of grave importance. I hope Eunuch Zhang will refrain from spreading word of it. Should this official hear even a whisper of rumor before every last traitor is in custody—regardless of truth or falsehood—every single person suspected of leaking secrets will not escape."

"Commander Yan, what magnificent official airs you put on! This humble servant is, at the very least, the Prince's steward, not some common ant to be crushed!"

Zhang Ruzhen batted his eyes, a sinister aura coiling around his form.

"Under the Great Ming's laws, when the Son of Heaven commits a crime, he is punished the same as a commoner."

Yan Bahuang's projection flickered violently, and before it vanished, it dropped a sentence that rang with the weight of a gavel.

"Zhang Ruzhen, since you know full well your station is but a steward of the Prince's manor, this official will gift you one more line. Heaven's reason is manifest; do not bring ruin upon yourself!"

*Crash!*

Yet another priceless porcelain vase joined the wreckage strewn across the floor.

"Heaven's reason? Beneath this empire's sky, is there still room for your Legalist 'reason'? An ingrate who spurns a kindness offered, yet dares to threaten this household?!"

Zhang Ruzhen's face darkened, his throat bobbing as he spat viciously onto the ground.