Chapter 949: Huge Secret
“Great one, spare me, spare me!” The black-clad Chi Tu immediately begged for mercy. In their line of work, strength was everything.
Sang Qien’s jaw dropped. She looked at Zu An as if she were staring at a legend. Everything had happened way too quickly! The mysterious black-clad man had been incredibly intimidating just a moment ago, yet this enemy they had felt absolute despair toward had been instantly defeated by Zu An?
Also, what was that move, Might of the Celestial Drake? It looked really majestic, how handsome… She suddenly felt like she understood her sister-in-law a bit more now. No wonder Zheng Dan couldn't stop herself from liking this man! He really was incredibly attractive at certain times.
Zu An didn’t know that Sang Qien’s impression of him was actually changing. He only continued to stare at Chi Tu and asked, “What’s your name?”
“This humble one is called Gui Li,” the black clad man replied obsequiously, doing his best to smile, but it only looked even uglier than if he were crying. He didn’t look anything like someone capable and powerful.
“Hm?” Zu An’s expression turned cold. Then, the other party screamed miserably as his arm was snapped in half. Furthermore, Zu An instantly sealed all of his acupoints, preventing him from retaliating in the slightest.
“Chi Tu, if you dare lie to me again, what I break next won’t just be your hand.” Zu An suddenly looked at him.
Chi Tu was absolutely horrified. There aren’t many people who know my name; how does he know that? He had been scared of the other party’s purification abilities to begin with. Now that his real identity had been exposed, the pressure Zu An gave him became even more profound and mysterious. He didn’t dare to hide a single thing anymore. “Great one, please forgive me, please forgive me! I’ve used Gui Li as an alias for so long that I almost forgot my own name! I didn’t intend to fool you!”
Zu An didn’t comment on that and said, “You still haven’t answered my question.”
Chi Tu quickly replied, “This is what happened. A silk merchant sought me out and paid me a hefty sum to target a certain person…”
“Ah!” Zheng Dan cried out in alarm and quickly asked, “Was that merchant surnamed Hu?”
“I don’t know his surname; he didn’t want anyone to know his true identity either.” Chi Tu noticed that Zu An’s expression had changed, and he quickly added, “But I have seen what he looks like…!” Then, he gave them a rough description of what the man looked like.
Zheng Dan’s face fell as she exclaimed, “It was him after all!”
“What’s the situation?” Zu An asked.
Zheng Dan explained the situation, and together with Chi Tu’s confession, it wasn’t difficult to determine the truth. Zheng Dan had brought the Zheng clan’s business to the capital, which was naturally bad news for the capital’s local silk merchants.
The other party had used all kinds of methods to try and push out the Zheng clan’s merchants, but Zheng Dan was experienced in that field. She had managed the Zheng clan’s businesses back in Brightmoon City, and she had even secretly grasped the city’s most powerful gang. It wasn’t anything difficult to solve at all. In the end, she had countered every move they made. Not only were those competitors forced to return without achieving anything, she had grown their market share larger and larger.
The other side had the capital’s local tyrants backing them, so for better or for worse, they had someone to rely on. As such, some strings had been pulled in court to suppress and restrict Zheng Dan. But no matter how low the Sang clan had fallen, they were still powerful officials in court. Sang Qien had felt apologetic toward this sister-in-law of hers, as she had been widowed while still so young. That was why they obviously had to help the Zheng clan in this business matter.
Seeing that not even political methods worked, the rival merchants had turned their attention toward nefarious methods and sought out Chi Tu. Such things were a walk in the park for someone like Chi Tu, so he naturally played along. With his cultivation and methods being mysterious, even if something happened, he thought, it would just be that ghost puppet dying at worst. He himself wouldn’t be caught. How could he have expected that he would be found out so quickly?
“I’ve already spoken about everything I know! I hope the great one can be generous and let this humble one go, since nothing really happened to this young miss… This humble one will immediately leave the city, and I’ll never harm another person ever again!” Chi Tu pleaded. He actually found it truly strange. How did the other party find him so quickly? But unfortunately, everything had changed too quickly, and the pressure Zu An gave off right now was too much. He didn’t dare to say a single protest.
As for what he said about how he’d never harm anyone ever again, those were empty words. Those who cultivated these kinds of techniques needed blood and corpses. How could they not harm people?
Zu An obviously knew that as well. He said to Sang Qien, “Little Qien, bring this guy back to the manor. I’ll leave the rest to your Sang clan. There should be no issues with that, right?” He was going to leave the capital soon, and Zheng Dan was the Sang clan’s daughter-in-law in name. It was better for them to deal with it.
“Don’t worry, our Sang clan isn’t so easily bullied!” Sang Qien gave Chi Tu a hateful look. She was clearly still upset about being scared before.
Zu An nodded. There were many who had become destitute and homeless from Sang Hong’s methods under the emperor’s instigation. They were more than skilled in this field of work. Furthermore, the authentic proof was right there. If they couldn't even deal with something like this, Sang Hong and Sang Qien really wouldn’t deserve their reputation. He intended to bring Zheng Dan away so she could get some proper rest. She had been tormented quite badly for some time and really needed to recover.
However, Chi Tu screamed, “Don’t send me to the manor! I… I have a huge secret to tell you all!” He knew that the court suppressed evil arts. Once discovered, he would immediately suffer the most severe punishment. If he was handed to the government, death would be a better ending.
“A huge secret?” Zu An sneered. He didn’t give it much attention at all. What kind of secret could somebody like this know?
When he saw that Zu An didn’t believe him, Chi Tu immediately cried out, “It has something to do with Cloudcenter Commandery’s duke!”
Zu An had already started walking away, but his footsteps stopped when he heard Chi Tu’s plea. He wouldn’t care that much if it were anyone else, but his mission this time was precisely to investigate the disappearance of Cloudcenter Duke. How could he let this clue go? He turned around and asked, “Oh? Do tell. What happened to the Cloudcenter Duke?”
“You have to agree to let me go first.” Chi Tu immediately knew that the other party was interested in his bargaining chip.
Zu An didn’t yield and sneered. “What kind of person is the Cloudcenter Duke? You only know your evil arts that you can’t even show in public, so how could you have anything to do with him? Little Qien, make sure you deliver him to the officials properly.”
Sang Qien immediately agreed. “Alright.” Then, she walked forward to bring him away.
Chi Tu panicked and exclaimed, “I really do know! I encountered a seriously injured and dying person, and I learned that he was Cloudcenter Duke’s trusted aide! He came to the capital to issue an accusation, but he ended up being attacked midway!”
Zu An was already seventy to eighty percent convinced when he heard those words. “And where is that guard?”
“His injuries were too serious and he already died,” Chi Tu said, his expression a bit strange.
“You probably refined his soul, I reckon.” Zu An sneered.
Chi Tu quickly explained, “Cultivators in my field indeed need human souls, but that guard was already fatally injured and beyond saving. I merely helped free him from his struggles a bit earlier. I only learned about this tremendous secret from his soul.”
Sang Qien and Zheng Dan both shivered. Even your soul would be enslaved after you died? That really was a life worse than death…
“Speak, what kind of secret is that? If it is important enough, I’ll let you live,” Zu An said indifferently.
“No way, you have to make a vow! Otherwise, what if you go back on your word afterward? I won’t be able to do a thing about that!” This matter was related to his very life, so Chi Tu had no choice but to remain unyielding.
Zu An fell silent. Sang Qien and Zheng Dan quickly advised him not to make the vow, because this was no joking matter.
But Zu An had his own plans. He said, “Fine. I, Zhao Zhi, vow that as long as your secret has value, I will spare your life. Otherwise, Zhao Zhi will suffer the wrath of the heavens.”
Sang Qien and Zheng Dan were about to stop him, but their eyes immediately widened when they heard the vow. Zheng Dan bit her lip to prevent herself from laughing. Sang Qien instead scoffed inwardly. This man was always up to no good after all.
Chi Tu was shocked and exclaimed, “So you were King Qi’s heir!” King Qi’s reputation was well known throughout the world. The name of his son was no secret.
Zu An sneered. “What, do you think anyone would dare try to impersonate this young master?”
“Not at all! This humble one has no such intention…” Chi Tu immediately said with an apologetic smile. He thought to himself, No wonder this guy is so powerful even though he’s still so young! He was raised with a sea of resources ever since he was little, so of course it’s not something my petty cultivation can compare to. The two beauties who willingly followed the other man only further convinced him. What man other than King Qi’s heir could have such charm?
When he saw that Zu An had made such a serious vow, Chi Tu didn’t hesitate any longer. “That guard came to the capital to inform the court that the Cloudcenter Duke didn’t go missing back then, but rather had his life conspired against.”
“By whom?” Zu An quickly asked.
Chi Tu hesitated, but he still answered, “He was harmed by his own younger brother, Jian Taiding.”
Zu An was shocked. Even though everyone had suspected that Cloudcenter Duke’s disappearance was fishy, they would never have expected it to involve his own blood-related brother. This matter would definitely cause a huge uproar once it was released. He didn’t dare to treat it carelessly and asked, “Do you have proof?”
“That guard seemed to have carried some evidence on him, but it was taken by the assassin,” Chi Tu replied.
Zu An asked for a few more details. Unfortunately, the refined soul had suffered damage to its memory. A lot of the information was fragmented and there wasn’t much that remained useful.
“Can I leave?” Chi Tu gave him a hopeful look.
Zu Ann didn’t pay him any attention and instead said to Sang Qien, “Bring him back to the Sang clan and lock him up. Don’t send him to the court yet.”
Chi Tu’s expression suddenly changed. “Zhao Zhi, you dare to go back on your word? Are you not scared of the wrath of heaven?!”
Zu An replied with a smile, “What does a vow Zhao Zhi made have to do with me?”