Chapter 662: Ambush

"It is this man." Peacock nodded with a peculiar expression on her face.

The high efficiency of the authorities left her stunned for a long time.

"Then there is no mistake." The leading constable let out a sigh of relief.

If they had labored the entire day only to arrest the wrong person, the mockery would have been immense.

Yet even if they had taken the wrong man, the one they held now was by no means a good soul.

According to the evidence currently in hand, the captured individual was a heavily wanted criminal with numerous atrocities to his name; everyone involved in this operation would be credited with a major service.

"By regulation, Lady Peacock, you still need to provide an identification statement. Would you mind accompanying us to the magistrate's court?"

Peacock nodded; this was her duty under the law.

"Can they come along with me?" Peacock pointed to the trio of Lu Yang and her younger sister, Fuling, feeling somewhat anxious about going to the court alone.

"Naturally they can, though they cannot stand by as observers during the recording of the statement." The leading constable understood Peacock's apprehension; it was only human nature.

The imperial court was highly professional in these matters.

But who could possibly want to kill her?

Brother Li: "..."

"Which one is Lady Fuling?"

As for whether higher-ranking cultivators had been dispatched in secret, Brother Li remained in the dark.

"Which one is Lady Fuling? Oh, Brother Li, you are all here too? Weren't you out arresting someone?" The two newly arrived constables froze for a moment upon seeing the leading constable.

Brother Li was indeed the leading constable, and he replied casually, "Now that the arrest is complete, we came to verify things with the victim. Xiao Wu, what brings you here?"

Shi Zhan nodded, signaling his understanding.

"I—I am Fuling." Fuling sat up from the bed, standing side by side with her older sister, Peacock.

Xiao Wu: "..."

"Then will the two young ladies walk with us?"

Just as they had the night before, the five of them repaired to the magistrate's court once more.

Has the assassin taken a liking to you two sisters, hovering about you both?

The two sisters nodded in unison.

"Though allowing an assassin to slip into the inn last night was a failure of our governance, please rest assured, young lady. Now that we possess the clues, a second assassination attempt shall certainly not occur."

The guards presiding over the gates felt a surge of surprise; they were responsible for the night shift, yet they had encountered this exact troupe two nights in a row.

"Lady Peacock, you were fortunate as well. The one you encountered last night was merely a Qi-refining assassin. According to the captive's confession, above him stand Foundation-establishment assassins, Golden-core assassins, and Nascent-soul assassins. Had his mission failed, increasingly powerful assassins would have come for your life."

"This poor monk wishes to inquire about the origin of the benefactor who threatened Lady Peacock?"

"Apologies, young master, but we have regulations. Those outside the case cannot pry into its details."

"Oh, we have just finished interrogating a criminal suspect. According to her account, she attempted to hire a local rogue named Hong to assassinate a young lady named Fuling. We came over to verify this as well."

Had last night's assassin not spilled his secrets completely, the authorities would not have deployed three Soul-transformation masters and fifteen Nascent-soul masters.

As they spoke, two more constables ascended the stairs.

The Five Great Immortal Sects did indeed possess law enforcement rights, but they could not exercise them on a whim out of personal curiosity, which would violate the original purpose of establishing such authority.

When the three of them had given their statements as witnesses the previous night, they had declared themselves ordinary cultivators using false names without revealing their affiliation to the immortal sects; the local authorities would not scrutinize a witness's identity too deeply.

According to Shi Zhan's experience, declaring oneself a cultivator of the Five Great Immortal Sects would inevitably alarm the city lord, who would then entertain you with overwhelming hospitality while subtly probing when you intended to depart...

After all, the immortal sects also held the power of supervision. If they were to submit a formal complaint, an entire year's administrative labor would be rendered entirely worthless.

The two sisters were led away by separate factions of constables to give their statements, leaving the trio in the administrative area to await the outcome.

"Immortal, could you assist by listening in on that interrogation?" Lu Yang could not help but ask.

At that moment, the Immortal Immortal was painting upon the wall of the Great Hero Hall, clutching a brush with a heap of buckets overflowing with pigments at her feet, her face smeared with a vibrant collage of colors.

As for what she was rendering, it was far too abstract for Lu Yang to discern for the time being.

"Very well." The Immortal Immortal tossed her brush into a bucket and wiped her face with the back of her hand, only making her visage grander in its colorful mess. She shared her immortal consciousness with Lu Yang, probing into the questioning of the captured man.

The interrogation room possessed a specialized formation designed to sever spiritual sense probes, but it evidently could not obstruct an immortal consciousness.

Within the interrogation chamber shrouded by layers of formations, two seasoned constables were staring with solemn countenances at the man who had just been brought back.

The man possessed handsome features laced with a sinister aura, his hands bound by spirit-binding locks that rendered his vast spiritual energy entirely useless.

The two seasoned constables felt a heavy pressure; the opponent was suspected of suffering from a mental affliction, his way of thinking entirely aberrant from ordinary men, and it remained uncertain whether he was feigning it or truly diseased.

"Name?"

The handsome man smiled with careless ease, habitually attempting to fiddle with his nails, though the restriction of the spirit-binding locks denied him the gesture.

"Heh, this is the first time anyone has dared to demand this seat's name so bluntly. No matter, it does no harm to tell you. This seat is named Night Owl."

"Age?"

"One thousand six hundred years."

The constable slammed his hand upon the table in fury, pointing at the man and shouting, "I advise you to confess honestly and stop playing the fool with me!"

Night Owl's eyes turned gloomy. "If I were you, I would not raise my hand. Mere low-tier cultivators, yet you dare to dictate to this seat. Summon a Body-integration master who is actually qualified to speak with me."

The other seasoned constable seemed to recall something, pulling his companion back as he asked suspiciously, "Are you an ancient Body-integration master who dispersed his cultivation to retrain?"

"You possess a modicum of discernment, at least."

The two constables came to a sudden realization; it was no longer surprising then.

"Specific identity?"

"To arrest this seat without even knowing my identity—your courage is far from small!"

"This seat is the Master of the Dark Night Pavilion, Night Owl. Even the Emperor of the Great Yu would treat this seat with due courtesy upon meeting!"

The two constables recollected their knowledge of ancient history. It seemed there had indeed been such an organization in antiquity, an assassin guild founded in the sixty-thousandth year of the Great Yu calendar, fourteen ten-thousand years ago.

"Then why did you continue to establish an assassin organization after dispersing your cultivation to retrain?"

Judging by the circumstances of the arrest, this man named Night Owl had formed a new assassin group, behaving with absolute tyranny.

"Mere insects, yet you dare to inquire after this seat's designs. No matter, I shall inform you."

"In the struggle of a grand era, human strength has its limits. Contending for resources single-handedly can never rival the great factions. Thus, this seat reconstituted the Dark Night Pavilion."

"Do you know what manner of cultivator is the strongest? It is not the sword cultivator who shatters ten thousand laws with a single blade, nor the body cultivator of peerless physique. Those are merely frontal combats. Between cultivators, no measure is too unscrupulous when crossing hands; assassination is the ultimate form of combat. Therefore, the assassin is the strongest cultivator."

With those words, Night Owl rose in a leisurely manner. "The Dark Night Pavilion returns to the mortal realm, and all of you shall serve as sacrifices!"

"As for that woman who has aroused this seat's interest—Peacock, is it? She cannot escape the palm of my hand!"

"This seat has spoken: she shall either submit to me, or perish."

"The one who dares to defy this seat has yet to be born!"

The constable slammed the table in rage. "Behave yourself! Sit down!"

As though entirely deaf to the command, Night Owl continued to speak to himself, "This seat has dispersed his cultivation to retrain; naturally, there are those who guard my path."

The expressions of the two constables shifted instantly as dawning realization struck them.

There was an accomplice they had failed to apprehend, and one possessing no meager cultivation!

A terrifying pressure enveloped the City Lord's manor, revealing the presence of a cultivator at the Body Integration stage!

From the depths of the dark night, that powerful cultivator extended a massive hand, shattering the layered arrays of the interrogation room and tearing away the roof before speaking with deep reverence: "Pavilion Master, I have arrived late."

"Too slow. Return and accept your punishment!"

The Vice Pavilion Master had been raised by Night Owl since childhood and was branded with a master-servant imprint; thus, even though Night Owl had dispersed his cultivation to start anew, resulting in a vast disparity in their current power, the Vice Pavilion Master was bound to obey his commands.

Suddenly, three more auras of the Body Integration stage soared into the sky, locking onto the Vice Pavilion Master, each one visibly mightier than his own!

"The State Governor possessed remarkable foresight indeed; someone truly was lurking behind."

"Save the chatter. Let us capture him quickly and return to rest."

"This one is a big fish."

The Vice Pavilion Master’s eyes nearly split with rage: "Dogs of the imperial court!"

It was a trap—the court had laid an ambush!

The Vice Pavilion Master turned sharply to flee, but the three Body Integration experts would grant him no such opportunity; striking in unison, they subdued him instantly.

The two constables breathed a sigh of relief and pressed Night Owl firmly back into his chair: "Behave yourself!"

"I will confess everything."