Bang! A man slammed the dungeon door open and stormed out, his face showing undisguised anger.
He went straight back to his office, only to see a figure standing by the window. It was none other than Qi Duolai, standing with his hands clasped behind his back.
The man in charge of interrogations straightened his expression and hurried to the window to pay his respects. “Chief Inspector, why have you come in person?”
Qi Duolai ignored the question. “How is it going?”
The man’s face twisted in frustration. “They refuse to leave. They absolutely refuse to leave. I have never seen anything like it. They are just lingering in the cell, saying they will not leave until we give them an explanation. I told them we have thoroughly investigated the Treasure Pavilion and found no evidence of their involvement in the kidnapping. They just started yelling, accusing us of covering up for the Treasure Pavilion and condoning their kidnapping.”
Qi Duolai said, “Did you not tell them that the Treasure Pavilion will not hold them responsible for the damage?”
The man sighed. “I did. They just turned it around and said the Treasure Pavilion has a guilty conscience. They even demanded we identify the dead man, making it seem like they are interrogating us.” At this point, he felt somewhat puzzled, wondering why they could not identify the dead man. Was it truly difficult, or was there a hidden problem? However, it was not his place to doubt, so he could only offer a well-meaning reminder. “Chief Inspector, there is really no need to be so wordy with them. We should just kick them out.”
Qi Duolai said, “Kicking them out is easy, but how do we resolve the matter? Do you feel that too few people hear them shouting in the cell, and you want them to go out and cause a massive uproar? What if they run to Qianliu Mountain to file a complaint? How would we handle that?”
Do we need to be afraid of them? the man muttered to himself. He spread his hands. “Chief Inspector, that would be troublesome. The three of them are too stubborn. The problem is that our interrogation is too gentle. I am afraid we could not even scare a weak woman. Chief Inspector, forgive my bluntness, but it is time to use torture. Under severe punishment, I will definitely pry open their mouths. I guarantee they will submit obediently, and I guarantee a quick conclusion.”
Qi Duolai frowned slightly and said slowly, “That is not necessary. We have not reached that stage yet. If we truly reach that point, it will not be too late to use force.”
Confusion gradually appeared on the man’s face. “Chief Inspector, may I ask a bold question? Do these three have some background?”
He thought about it and could only come up with this reason. If they were ordinary people, they would have been thrown into the Zhenhai Command. If they dared to bite the head of the Zhenhai Envoy, they would definitely be subjected to severe torture. The Zhenhai Command would never hold back and endure like this.
Qi Duolai said, “You will know when it is time for you to know. By the way, have they eaten the things we prepared?”
The man nodded. “Their cultivation is restricted. Without the support of their cultivation, their physical bodies cannot absorb spiritual energy for nourishment. It is hard for them not to be hungry. They have eaten it all.”
He might not know other things, but he knew for sure that the food given to the three had been laced with something. Otherwise, he would not have been specifically instructed.
“Keep persuading them.” Qi Duolai left these words and walked away.
What else could the man by the window do? He could only cup his hands and agree.
In a corner not far away, Liu Piaopiao, half-hidden sideways, watched Qi Duolai go upstairs.
Reaching the rooftop terrace, Qi Duolai navigated through the corridors. Just as he walked into a pavilion and stopped beside Zhu Xuan, a sudden clap of thunder exploded in the sky, making him look outside.
The sky was covered with dark clouds. A bright flash of light stretched across the heaven and earth. The sky grew darker and darker, and the thunder rumbled continuously.
Facing the gradually darkening scene, Zhu Xuan seemed to mutter to himself. “It is going to rain.”
“I am afraid it will,” Qi Duolai replied, and then relayed the previous conversation.
Zhu Xuan said, “Is he forcing me to help him find the hostage?”
Qi Duolai said, “It seems that is his intention.”
Zhu Xuan said, “If that is truly the case, he seems certain that I can definitely find the kidnapped person.”
Qi Duolai said, “After all, you are in charge of the entire Mirage City.”
Zhu Xuan said, “What I mean is that his initial choice to smash my shop was purposeful. How could he be so certain that I could find the kidnapped person right after the incident happened? The Zhenhai Command is not omnipotent. Yet, as soon as the incident occurred, he targeted me. Do you not think this exceeds his current capabilities? The Nether Temple only cares about its own affairs and does not have many informants to gather information. Logically, he should not have the ability to obtain enough information, nor would he have much information to interpret. How could he know the matter is related to me?”
Qi Duolai said, “Do you suspect…”
Zhu Xuan said, “He disappeared before and after the incident. He must have gone to meet someone. It is possible that he decided to smash my shop only after meeting with someone. Step up the tracking of his movements. I want to know who he met.”
Qi Duolai said, “We have already put a tracking drug in his food. This time, as long as he goes out, no matter where he runs, we can find him at any time. The problem is that he refuses to go out now. Should we forcibly kick him out? His identity is right there. People above are definitely watching. A dead man cannot be identified, and the Treasure Pavilion was smashed but we let people go without holding them responsible. It looks like we have a problem ourselves. Once someone bites on this, we cannot explain it clearly. Those who are eyeing your position will definitely bite too.”
Zhu Xuan said, “If there is really no other way, just let the Wang family release the hostage. Of course, do not rush. No matter how bad it gets, we must put on a show. Wang Xuetang spent money after all. It is not appropriate to let him release the hostage in a hurry. A day or two earlier or later will not affect us.”
“Very well!”
Just as Qi Duolai agreed, another flash of lightning streaked across the sky, as if it were going to shatter Mirage City.
With a crash, rain suddenly swept across the earth. The heavy rain came abruptly.
It was only mid-afternoon, but the sky was already dark. More and more lanterns were lit. The brilliant lights of various colours made this rainy day colourful, and the rain also added a unique charm to Mirage City.
Pedestrians on the street quickly ran under the eaves to shelter from the rain, or braved the rain to run home.
The number of people on the street suddenly became much smaller. Soon, umbrellas were opened one after another on the street. Some people strolled with umbrellas, while others twisted their willowy waists under their umbrellas.
There were large carts that did not close for the day, carrying large canopy umbrellas. They were pulled by wild men, and musicians played inside the carriages, accompanying the young women dancing gracefully under the umbrellas outside. They travelled along the streets to announce the opening of new shops and the like.
Rat catchers ran swiftly in the rain, quickly clearing the mess left by those sheltering from the rain.
On the roofs, demon cultivators revealed their true forms and let the heavy rain wash their bodies.
Some households kept their windows tightly closed to block the rain, while sentimental people pushed their windows open and leaned by the window to enjoy the rain.
On the balcony, Hu Youli stood with her arms crossed, leaning against the door frame. She stared blankly as the rain wantonly watered her potted plants, with no mood to tidy them up. Occasionally, she raised her eyes to look in the direction of the Zhenhai Command, her face showing anxiety. She wondered about the current situation of Yu Qing and the other two, and whether they were suffering greatly inside the Zhenhai Command.
What worried her more was that she did not know what kind of matter she had been dragged into.
She had now clearly realised that the three were definitely not the poor cultivators she had imagined. Just based on the fact that the party who made a move could silence Aunt Yao, the kidnappers must not be ordinary people in Mirage City. Why would such people kidnap a child? Were three poor wretches worth such treatment?
Moreover, those three actually ran to the Treasure Pavilion and smashed the shop of the Zhenhai Envoy. Was this something ordinary poor wretches could do?
She was quite scared now, worrying about herself, and had no mind to go out and do business these past few days.
Of course, she had also been instructed by Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie to help them with one thing, which was to wait for someone!
In short, she did not know when the three would return. The only thing left in the house was a bug that could shrink into a stick, and she occasionally had to help feed it.
Bang!
A flash of lightning exploded in the direction behind her, and the flashing light suddenly made her hair stand on end.
She did not know if it was an illusion. When the lightning flashed just now, it seemed a figure appeared on the balcony. Judging from the angle, there might be someone behind her, because she was at the door of Yu Qing’s room. This room was empty, with no tall furnishings to cast shadows.
What terrified her even more was that the air was circulating, and the wind from the balcony behind was blowing towards her.
She clearly remembered that the doors and windows of the back balcony were closed.
She tensed her body, slowly turned around, and slowly looked back, her whole body on high alert.
Bang!
Another flash of lightning exploded, and the light shone into the room once again.
Hu Youli also saw the source of the figures. There were indeed people in the room, and not just one. Two were standing side by side.
The two wore black cloaks and large bamboo hats on their heads. The hats were clearly coated with grease, and black gauze hung around the brims. It was a relatively thick black gauze, making it unlikely for outsiders to see the faces under the hats.
Even if the wind blew, the hanging gauze of the hats remained completely motionless.
The attire of the two uninvited guests was slightly strange, especially since they suddenly appeared in someone else’s home in such a dark and rainy environment, giving people a creepy feeling.
Hu Youli did not know how these two had entered silently. She did not even know they had approached her. What did this mean? It meant their cultivation was very high.
Startled, she almost let out a scream. She forced herself to hold it back, feeling nervous, and said in a trembling voice, “You… you are…”
The two hat-wearing men suddenly made a coordinated movement. Their cloaks swayed together and parted, each revealing a hand, and they simultaneously displayed an object.
It was a metal object, two black command arrows, each a foot and a half long. This length was enough to be used as a weapon.
Bang!
Thunder exploded again, and the lightning illuminated the patterns and text on the black metal command arrows, allowing people to see the words clearly.
At the same time, the wind blew open the hanging gauze of the hats, revealing two non-human faces. Deep eyes stared at Hu Youli, and then were covered again by the falling gauze.
Hu Youli was shocked and instantly understood who these sacred beings were. She also realised this might be the person the three had asked her to wait for.
One of the hat-wearing men spoke in a calm, flat male voice. “Are you Hu Youli?”
“Yes.”
Hu Youli nodded repeatedly like a chicken pecking at rice…
Not long after, Hu Youli crawled out from the entrance under her house, holding an umbrella in her hand.
After landing, she opened the umbrella and stepped into the rain.
She had hardly gone out for a few days and finally showed her face. Biting her lip slightly, she walked quickly all the way towards the Zhenhai Command.