Chapter 330 Pulling them out one by one
Chapter 330 Pulling them out one by one ( words)
Outside the gate of the imperial prison, in the alley made of gray and black bricks and stones.
The setting sun shines through the eaves of the building and falls on Zhao Duan's face, making him look like a god.
However, the two women in prison uniforms only felt cold, and Qingniao's eyes were filled with deep fear.
She knew the Thousand-Faced God very well, so she knew even more clearly how terrible the methods of the person who could make him so servile must be.
Zhao Duan deeply agreed with this. After the Thousand-Faced God was arrested and imprisoned, he refused to yield despite all kinds of torture.
Don't get me wrong, this doesn't mean that this person has a firm belief, but that he is simply cold-blooded and unruly.
Zhao Duan ignored it at first, until he recently planned to wipe out the Kuangfu Society, and then he remembered this defeated general.
Even though he mastered the flames that could burn souls, it still took him several days to make Thousand Faces kneel down.
Unfortunately, after this person was arrested, the Kuangfu Society cut off many of his contact methods and failed to dig out more valuable information.
This time when he goes out, in order to prevent accidents, the jailer Zhou, who controls the imperial prison, has driven a copper nail, which is a kind of power-retaining substance, deep into Qianmian's dantian.
Only then did he dare to hand over this vicious wolf to Zhao Duan to command.
……
Yun Xi slowly put down her hand, letting one side of her face swell up from the beating. The girl raised her proud chest and sneered with great backbone:
"You can make him surrender, but you can't defeat me!"
She was ready to die bravely.
Haha, you’ll feel the pain if I burn you... Zhao Duan complained in his heart, but he knew very well that punishment was not omnipotent.
What's more, he had other arrangements for Yunxi.
He needed this girl to truly be of use to him, and not be like Qianmian, who might bite back at any time.
Therefore, suppression by force alone is meaningless.
He needed to break her down mentally.
However, he did not expect these stubborn girls to help with the big crackdown tonight. In fact, pulling them out was just a matter of convenience, or in other words, it was "killing two birds with one stone".
"I have no interest in forcing you to surrender. I brought you out here just to open your eyes and see the truth." Zhao Duan mocked.
"Don't you firmly believe that your majesty killed his brother and father, that the Xuanmen coup was initiated by your majesty, and that the second prince Jianwen was persecuted? The purpose of the Kuangfu Society you belong to is to uphold justice in the world, right?"
Yunxi raised her head, looking at him without dodging or avoiding his gaze, and said pointedly:
"Isn't it? You, the fake emperor's lackey, still want to fabricate the truth, make up facts, and deceive the world?"
Bluebird turned his head away, unable to bear to see Yunxi, a passionate patriot who was full of justice and had been thoroughly brainwashed, having his faith shattered.
Zhao Duan smiled and looked at Qianmian: "Do you believe it?"
The Thousand Faces God said with a smile: "Zhuang Xiaocheng, that old dog, is really good at deceiving people. The younger the person, the easier it is for them to believe him."
"Shut up!" Yun Xi yelled, "How dare you, a traitor, insult the Master!"
In the girl's opinion, since Qianmian had become a traitor, naturally not a single word he said could be trusted.
Zhao Duan smiled and ignored Yun Xi. He took out the confiscated disguise mask from his arms, threw it to the Thousand Faces God, and said:
"We got you out so that you can make amends for your crime. Do you know what to do?"
The Thousand-Faced God held the mask "Jiuyi" in his hand, with a cruel and cold smile:
"Don't worry, sir. I will do my best."
After a pause, he said worriedly, "However, the idiots in the Kuangfu Society are extremely tight-lipped. Even if we catch them, I'm afraid it will be difficult to make them speak."
Zhao Duan said calmly: "So, we are still missing one person for the arrest tonight."
Who?
When everyone was puzzled, suddenly, they heard a sound of breaking air above their heads.
In the center of a large sun that had sunk halfway into the ground in the west, a black silhouette was gradually approaching above the continuous buildings in the capital.
The figure was moving extremely fast, and with every step it took, it became a little bigger.
Not long after, a short and fat young man wearing a wrinkled priest robe embroidered with gold edges, with a huge bamboo tube tied with a hemp rope behind him, landed on the ground.
The cloth shoes stepped slowly on the stone road, and the wind pressure blew up a circle of light dust.
"Haha, Brother Zhao, I'm a step late. Don't blame me."
Gongshu Tianyuan smiled warmly on his fat face, "I haven't seen you for a long time. If you hadn't sent someone to pass on the news, I wouldn't have known that you had returned to the capital."
The information delay is so serious, and you are still quite proud... People who know you will understand that you spend all day in Tianshi Mansion making inventions, and those who don’t know you will think you are isolated from the world... Zhao Duan sighed and smiled brightly:
"Thank you, Brother Gongshu, for helping me fight tonight. I have no way to repay you."
Gongshu Tianyuan squeezed his chubby body into the carriage, which was immediately full. He said with a smile:
"It's too polite to say that between you and me."
He rolled his eyes and looked at the two beautiful female prisoners in prison uniforms, and said in surprise: "Others have beautiful girls in their mansions, but Brother Zhao has a beautiful girl in his cell. That's amazing. I admire you!"
The two girls turned their heads away silently, keeping their distance from this fat otaku.
"Ahem, it's getting late, let's go. We still have many people to kill tonight, and we can't waste this auspicious day."
Zhao Duan gave the order with a smile, unfolding a document in his hand. It was a rebel from the Kuangfu Society that Lihuatang had recently targeted.
The position is not high, and is at the periphery and bottom of the entire intelligence system.
At this moment, Qian Kerou and others should have set out to set up secret control.
Zhao Duan still remembered the surprise of his subordinates when he planned to close the net: "Sir, we have only caught this small pawn, how can we pull out the entire branch?"
His answer at that time was just four words: follow the clues and find the source
The rebels hidden among millions of people were like needles in the sea, piercing the flesh of the imperial court and causing dull pain.
What he has to do tonight is to pull out these needles one by one.
The driver, wearing a bamboo hat, shook the reins violently:
"As ordered!"
……
……
The setting sun sank into the ground, and the capital city welcomed another night.
For the vast majority of common people, they were not aware of the storm stirred up by the evil national teacher in the upper class, nor were they aware of the actions of King Zhao tonight.
Huangjinwu is the name of a bookstore in the capital city, which means that there is a golden house in the book.
However, due to its remote location, business was not very good. The neighbors all knew that the bookstore owner was a poor scholar who sat in the shop all day long flipping through a few tattered books.
When business is good, I can sell a few books. When business is bad, I can only sell a few sheets of rice paper and brushes all day long.
The poor situation and the name "Huang Jinrong" formed a striking contrast.
When night fell, Huang Jinrong closed the shop, picked up his vegetable basket, and went to the nearby market to buy some wilted vegetables that were sold cheaply when the stalls were closing.
After walking around and coming back, they hung a "Closed" sign outside the shop, and cooked some simple dishes in the kitchen at the back, which they ate with some steamed buns.
Huang Jinrong was about forty years old, lived alone, had no family, was taciturn, and was considered a loner by outsiders.
However, few people know his true identity, that he is one of the spies of the Kuangfu Society in the capital.
As a middle-level manager, Huang Jinrong has several subordinates under him, and above him, there are also superiors. As for which level of the entire intelligence network he is at, he himself is not clear.
Huang Jinrong only knew that this isolated intelligence network was created by Taifu Zhuang Xiaocheng.
However, compared to the time when the Grand Tutor was in charge, the entire organization has been constantly suppressed over the past six months, and the news that his superiors have delivered to him from time to time has made him sometimes surprised and sometimes worried.
"Bang, bang bang..."
Under the cover of darkness, Huang Jinrong was eating his dinner in silence when he suddenly heard a knock on the shop door.
He frowned, stood up and walked out, shouting, "It's closed, go somewhere else."
"Bang, bang bang..."
The knocking on the door became more urgent.
Huang Jinrong's eyes tensed up. He walked to the table, grabbed the dagger hidden in the rice bag, and walked carefully to the side of the door. He heard an anxious voice coming from outside: "Golden Eagle, it's me!"
Huang Jinrong was stunned for a moment when he heard the familiar voice. He looked through the crack in the door and saw a familiar round face.
He quickly opened the door and let the latter in, then looked around and closed the door when he saw that there was no one there.
"Why are you here?" Huang Jinrong looked at his subordinates with a grim expression.
According to the rules set by Zhuang Xiaocheng, informants are forbidden to meet unless it is urgent.
The round-faced young man looked anxious. He pulled him to the backyard, to a candlelit room, closed the door, and said anxiously:
"Something happened! I got the latest information, Ballast is dead!"
"What?" Huang Jinrong was shocked.
The round-faced young man said:
"Bald Stone took the initiative to find Zhao Duan of the White Horse Prison today, and then died there. I heard that the people in the Imperial Court suspected that Ballast Stone was already dead when he went there, and was controlled by... the Imperial Master... The Imperial Master is back! I got the news, and the matter is really urgent, so I had to take the risk to come to you. What's going on?"
Huang Jinrong was in a trance for a moment, then suddenly fell into his chair and murmured:
"As expected, as expected..."
He said with an unpleasant expression:
"I received news from my superiors tonight, saying that the National Master has returned and has contacted Ballast Stone and some high-level members. He also said that something is wrong, but the details are still unclear."
The round-faced young man cursed excitedly:
"Tell me the truth, is he dead or not? I heard that the Imperial Master sent a message to the court, forcing the fake emperor to restore his reputation. He also said that the Second Prince's coup was not instigated by him, but was the Second Prince's own idea..."
Huang Jinrong was in a state of confusion. Upon hearing this, he warned in a deep voice:
"Shut up, where did you hear that? I don't care what you think in your heart, but to the outside world, you must follow the words of the master."
The round-faced young man said angrily:
"Is there anyone here? Everyone knows that the coup was caused by the Second Prince? The Grand Tutor's words are just to fool those nerds and scholars. I won't say anything nonsense.
Moreover, the one who is spreading rumors now is that evil Taoist priest! And Ballast Stone is dead! Does the Grand Master know about this?"
Huang Jinrong remained silent and said dejectedly:
"I can't contact the top leaders, so how can I know? Anyway, I didn't receive any news about the National Master coming, maybe my level is not high enough!"
After complaining for a few words, he suddenly realized something was wrong. He raised his head and stared at the familiar member in front of him with a suspicious look:
"Wait, you're not in the right mood today... No! Who are you?!"
The round-faced young man had a blank expression, his face was wriggling and twisting, and his height was growing rapidly, returning to the appearance of the Thousand-Faced God.
He sneered and said, "Lord Zhao said that those who surrender will not be killed."
Huang Jinrong's hair stood on end, and the dagger hidden in his sleeve flashed a cold light as it stabbed towards the face of the Thousand Faces God!
"Woo!"
The Thousand-Faced God, whose dantian was sealed by the Forbidden Magic Nail, rolled and dodged and did not engage in a fight.
After Huang Jinrong stabbed out the dagger, Tuan Shen broke open the doors and windows and fled to the back door of the bookstore!
“Haha.” The Thousand-Faced God sneered and said nothing, counting silently: “One, two, three…”
There was a thud outside, and Huang Jinrong was beaten back like a sandbag. A captain in night clothes walked out of the darkness and captured him alive.
When a group of people, riding on the cover of night, passed through a secluded alley, and arrived at the entrance of an alley under the moonlight.
The Thousand-Faced God kowtowed and said, "Sir, we have found the person."
A corner of the dark clouds above our heads dispersed, and the moonlight soaked the night like water. The wide curtains of the carriage were lifted, revealing four people in the box.
Zhao Duan looked calm and composed, like a general commanding the central army.
Gongshu Tianyuan next to him was looking at Yunxi opposite with a smile.
The girl in prison clothes held a metal morning glory in her hand. At this moment, a slight voice came from the morning glory:
"Sir, the person has been found."
Gongshu Tianyuan said with a smile:
"I've already told you that this charm is called the Two-Sound Flower. That god has one hidden on his body. If you take one, you will be able to hear everything that happens on the other side, but you still don't believe it. I don't care if you question other things, but the creations of this priest are always top-notch."
Yunxi turned a deaf ear to him. She looked dazed, like a puppet.
On that oval face with messy hair but extraordinary beauty, two lines of crystal tears flowed faintly from the eye sockets, and she murmured:
"No... Impossible... You are working together to deceive me... and deceive him... The coup d'etat cannot be the Second Prince... The Grand Tutor would not lie to me..."
Just now, she heard the entire conversation in the room.
Bluebird sighed softly.
Zhao Duan was too lazy to pay attention to Yunxi. He got off the carriage, lowered his eyes and looked at Huang Jinrong, who was kneeling on the ground and being held down by the Jinyi lieutenant with a knife. He smiled and said:
"Next, don't yell, don't shout, just answer whatever I ask you, got it?"
Qian Kerou raised her hand and took the cloth out of the man's mouth. Huang Jinrong stared at Zhao Duan with bloodshot eyes:
"Zhao Gou, you will die a horrible death!"
Zhao Duan sighed softly and shook his head, "It seems you don't want to live."
He turned around and said to Gongshu Tianyuan: "Thank you for your help."
"It's a small matter,"
Gongshu Tianyuan waved his hand, slowly got off the car, pulled off the big bamboo tube behind him, and pressed it to the ground with his fat hands with a "dong".
In the curling white smoke, a beautiful and enchanting fox slowly crawled out of the bamboo tube and stared at Huang Jinrong.
Fox Fairy!
Wild Fox God!
At the celebration banquet that day, Gongshu Tianyuan used the wild god to possess his body and made the head of the secret service in Prince Jing's mansion speak, but the price was the death of the target.
"Ho ho-"
Huang Jinrong's cursing stopped instantly. His eyes were blank, as if he had been possessed by a fox spirit, and he answered every question.
Gongshu Tianyuan said casually: "Who is your superior, how to contact him, what is the password and other secret words..."
In the carriage, Zhao Duan handed the interrogation to his men, took out a handkerchief and kindly handed it to Yunxi. Seeing that she was in a trance, he gave it to Qingniao:
"Wipe your tears. Haha, it doesn't matter if you don't want to believe it. The night is long, and there are still many people waiting in line for us, right?"
Yunxi shuddered all over, without saying a word, but just pursed her lips very hard.
However, a crack has appeared in the faith in my heart.
The Thousand-Faced God rolled up his sleeves and stared at Huang Jinrong carefully, memorizing his appearance, preparing to disguise himself as him and trick him into coming online.
He smacked his lips and asked curiously, "Sir, why don't you use the spiritual fire to burn this man, which will surely make him surrender, instead of going through so much trouble to ask the priest for help?"
Zhao Duan glanced at him calmly, smiling:
"If someone fears punishment, you ask him to say whatever he wants, but do you dare to believe what he says?"
The Thousand-Faced God shuddered, avoided the gaze and lowered his head.
Zhao Duan patted his shoulder gently, turned and entered the carriage, and said lightly:
"Follow the clues and speed is of the essence. What we need to do is to catch the person as quickly as possible, before they react, through one node after another. There is no time to waste on torture and distinguishing the truth from the false."
Bluebird suddenly mustered up the courage and said, "Will he die?"
Zhao Duan closed his eyes: "Who wouldn't die? He or you never showed mercy when killing people."
After a while.
Huang Jinrong, whose valuable information had been drained away, fell to the ground and died with blood coming out of all his orifices, while the fox fairy who had swallowed a soul showed a look of unsatisfied expression.
Zhao Duan patted the cushion and said, "Let's go, next one."
"We have to hurry up and not let that demon escape."
……
……
Kong Hanlin returned home at dusk.
This skinny old man with shaggy beard and white hair has the arrogance of an upright official.
Even though he had been summoned to the palace in the early morning and knew clearly that the evil spirit might come after him, he still did not hide or ask for help.
He didn't even disrupt the rhythm of the day.
After leaving the palace, he went to work in the Hanlin Academy as usual, proofreading several manuscripts, and then found several grammatical errors and ambiguities in the sage's semantics.
He called in the young Hanlin scholars and criticized them, cursing that the scholars of today were getting worse and worse and were not as good as his older generation.
"The world is in decline!"
"Disgraceful to politeness!"
Then he sent the manuscript back for rewriting and slowly went to the yamen canteen to have lunch, which was still a meal of tofu, pickles and rice.
He spent another afternoon hanging out, ignoring the other Hanlin scholars' vague whispers about him, and returned home as usual in the twilight.
Without telling his wife about these things, after eating and soaking his feet, Kong Hanlin went into the study to read the books of sages.
As the night deepened, the whistling wind caused the window paper to tremble slightly.
Before I knew it, the study door was pushed open and a figure walked in.
It was actually a woman, about thirty years old, with an ordinary appearance. She was not a member of the family and no one knew how she got in.
"Who are you? How dare you disturb me while I'm studying!" Kong Hanlin stood up and looked up, unafraid.
The woman with rough hands and feet did not answer, but just sat opposite him with a smile.
The pair of bloodshot eyes swept across the sage books on the table, which were several times thicker than before, and the rice paper spread out on the table with the words "A Master does not speak of strange things, supernatural powers, or demons" written on it.
She smiled slightly:
"Mr. Kong, if you have no fear in your heart, why do you seek the protection of a saint?"
Kong Hanlin's beard trembled, his eyes were slightly confused: "Demon!"
……
Correct typos first and then correct them
(End of this chapter)