Forcing the Issue...

The guards were startled and drew their sabers, slashing wildly. The tiger dodged nimbly, pouncing and pinning one down in a flash. Another guard rushed to his comrade's rescue, only for someone to catch him by the wrist and twist hard, popping the joint out of its socket. Ever since he had loosened Dong Rui's joints last time, He Lingchuan had found this technique very handy. As the man cried out in pain, He Lingchuan followed up with a punch to the cheek, knocking him cold instantly. Granted, this guard was a bit tougher than Dong Rui, so He Lingchuan had to put a little extra force behind it to put him down. The disparity in their strength was quite significant. When had the other Lingxu City guards ever suffered such indignity? Roaring with fury, they charged in, blades swinging. The Chiyan troops Jiao Yu had mobilized were no pushovers either. With a wave of their commander's hand, over a hundred soldiers pushed forward to meet them. The courtyard was not large, and in an instant, chaos erupted. Furious, Zhongsun Mou aimed two water arrows at He Lingchuan, who dodged them with a simple twist of his torso. "He, how dare you attack an envoy from above!" With over a hundred people separating them, He Lingchuan could not be bothered with him. Picking his ear, he simply turned and walked back toward the room. Enraged, Zhongsun Mou crouched down, pressed his hands to the ground, and chanted an incantation under his breath. Suddenly, hard ice condensed across the ground. The sheet of ice spread rapidly toward the wing room. Everything in its path—whether trees, rocks, or Chiyan soldiers—began to freeze from the lower halves touching the ground. Even if the Chiyan soldiers were not completely frozen, they felt as if plunged into an icehouse in an instant. Their movements grew sluggish, their strength waned, and even turning around was a couple of beats slower than before. Not to mention that even breathing became difficult. This was the jiaoren race's ice freezing art—wide in scope and superb at incapacitating enemies. For anyone, impeding the movement of so many people at once was no easy feat. However, this inn was built beside the water, right next to a massive lake where moisture was exceptionally abundant, and dense fog drifted about today, providing a tremendous boost to the jiaoren's magic. Even with the protection of origin power, the Chiyan soldiers could not entirely counteract its adverse effects. Of course, this spell could only last for a limited time. Zhongsun Mou's guards seized the opportunity to push past the line, attempting to storm into the wing room. The Chiyan soldiers dared to intercept them, but they hesitated to strike at Zhongsun Mou, who stood in the rear working his sorcery. An Inspector of Lingxu City—which demon kingdom officer would truly dare touch him lightly? Seeing the ice about to reach the wing room door, He Lingchuan whipped around and flicked several pebbles straight at Zhongsun Mou. They flew with blinding speed. "Watch out!" A nearby guard raised his saber to deflect them. Parrying three in succession, although the pebbles were knocked away, the guard's web of the hand went numb from the shock, and he nearly dropped his blade. What terrifying power this man has! The fourth pebble was already incoming. Left with no choice, the guard gritted his teeth and swung his blade again. To his shock, this pebble shattered on contact, releasing a plume of yellow smoke that whooshed directly into everyone's faces with the strong wind! "Hurk..." From Zhongsun Mou down to a dozen guards, every single one began retching uncontrollably. Origin power could reduce physical or divine-ability damage dealt by an enemy, and diminish the potency of poisons and curses, but a foul stench... A foul odor caused no actual bodily harm and fell outside those categories, triggering only an overwhelming physiological reaction. He Lingchuan had modified these "stink bombs" multiple times to arrive at this current version. The stench was more potent, and the dosage was far more precise and economical, unlike before when he hurled an entire pouch, which easily alerted his targets. With the casting interrupted, the ice freezing art could no longer be sustained. The restraints on the Chiyan soldiers lifted instantly, and they pushed back with the upper hand. Although He Lingchuan had considered the wind direction before striking—the lake breeze was blowing toward Zhongsun Mou—seeing their wretched state, none of the Chiyan soldiers dared get too close either. Zhongsun Mou vomited incessantly, the stench so unbearable his eyes rolled back in his head. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that an envoy of the crown prince would resort to such low, disgraceful tactics. Truly Fu Shanyue's lackey—a pair of scoundrels, through and through! He Lingchuan raised his wrist, and two sleeve arrows thudded into the tree trunk right behind Zhongsun Mou's cheeks on either side. "Take another step forward, and I'll pin you dead to that tree!" The gust from the arrows brushed against Zhongsun Mou's temples, though without scratching him in the slightest. With that, He Lingchuan stepped into the room. The fighting was kept outside. Inside this wing room sat another man, his face covered in dark stubble, his hands and feet bound in iron chains. Runes were engraved upon the chains, pulsing dimly, their ends piercing through the prisoner's collarbones. He had heard and seen the turmoil outside, but his expression remained aloof, as if it had nothing to do with him. He Lingchuan walked up to him, grabbed a chair, and sat down. "You must be Fu Songhua? For someone hiding in plain sight in a bustling city, your business was thriving quite nicely—much better than Hong Chenglüe's." At the mention of Hong Chenglüe's name, Fu Songhua's jaw twitched slightly. "I am the special envoy sent by Crown Prince Fu Shanyue to investigate the case. If you have been wronged, speak freely." Fu Songhua said nothing. He Lingchuan had no choice but to ask again, "Did you really kill the courier from Lingxu City?" This time, the reply came swiftly: "Yes." Outside came Zhongsun Mou's sneering laughter. "Is Mr. Mai your subordinate?" "Yes." "Where did he commit crimes last spring?" "..." Fu Songhua didn't think much about it. "I don't recall." He Lingchuan saw that his mind was clear and his speech natural, showing no signs of being bewitched by sorcery. In other words, he had confessed willingly. This made sense. After all, Zhongsun Mou had to escort him back to Lingxu City; when facing the presiding magistrates, Fu Songhua could not be in a dazed, soulless stupor. Zhongsun Mou needed a conscious confession from him. "Two trees by the gate—an elm on the left, a crabapple on the right. The shop across the street has doors of two different colors, selling pastries. Every day at quarter to two in the afternoon, their freshly baked mung bean cakes come out piping hot and flaky, loved by adults and children alike..." He Lingchuan spoke slowly and steadily. He spoke without context, but Fu Songhua's face drained of color. He even lunged forward, rattling his iron chains with a sharp clang. "What... what did you do?!" He Lingchuan pointed outside. "Did that fish-man threaten you with this?" Fu Songhua gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing with fury. With the noise outside, He Lingchuan leaned in close and whispered, "That leverage is no longer in his hands. You may speak freely." Fu Songhua could not help asking, "Then where... where is it?" "In my hands, of course!" "..." He Lingchuan turned solemn. "Tell the truth, and the people you care about will be safe." Fu Songhua hesitated. "Time is short. That fish-man will be walking in here soon." Outside, the clash grew fierce once more. Although the Chiyan troops held numerical superiority, their opponents were Lingxu City guards; none dared to truly cut loose and kill them. The Lingxu City guards, on the other hand, had no such reservations. Consequently, the confrontation escalated. Zhongsun Mou simply pushed through the crowd, striding boldly toward the wing room. Who dared lay a single finger on him? Fu Songhua gritted his teeth and suddenly roared, "I've been wronged! I didn't kill the courier! I'm innocent!" Though his true power was suppressed by the runic chains, his voice was naturally booming. Even amidst the clamor outside, this single roar drowned out everything else. Even the other guests who had gathered to watch the commotion heard him clearly. "I didn't kill anyone! I was framed!" "I beg the Special Envoy to reopen the case and clear my name!" Having let out the first shout, the subsequent cries flowed much more smoothly, and he even varied the phrasing. Zhongsun Mou's steps faltered. He had not anticipated Fu Songhua's sudden retraction of his confession. Meanwhile, He Lingchuan stood at the doorway and called out, "Just as I said, there is something fishy about this case! Under Chiyan law, any claim of injustice must be investigated. This case must be retried! Magistrate Tian—" He had no idea what Chiyan law actually stipulated, but he figured it would not decree that grievances could not be aired. Magistrate Tian had suffered under his torment these past few days. Hearing him draw out his words, the magistrate jolted and blurted out, "The county yamen is yours to command!" Zhongsun Mou glanced back at him, his gaze vicious. Keeping his head down, Magistrate Tian hastily retreated, completely missing the glare. "Fu Songhua is a fugitive wanted by Lingxu City! For me to interrogate him and take him back is entirely legal and justified!" Zhongsun Mou fumed at He Lingchuan. "On what basis do you dare meddle?!" "Your wanted criminal happens to be a key witness in my case. Committing perjury and then recanting violates Chiyan criminal law. By law and reason, he must remain here to stand trial." "He Xiao, being so arrogant, aren't you afraid the Ruler of Chiyan will tear you to pieces afterward to appease Lingxu City's wrath?" "How considerate of you to worry on my behalf," He Lingchuan laughed loudly, pulling a letter from his robe and waving it at him. "I just received a personal letter from the Crown Prince telling me to investigate boldly without fear—the Ruler of Chiyan will back me up." In truth, Fu Shanyue's exact words were that so long as He Lingchuan didn't beat this fellow Zhongsun Mou to death or cripple him, nothing else mattered and he could do whatever he liked. There was only this single bottom line; as long as he didn't cross it, anything went. Being arrogant and domineering—wasn't that He Lingchuan's specialty to begin with? "Outrageous..." Zhongsun Mou could hardly believe his ears. Had Fu Shanyue lost his mind? No matter how recklessly he acted in the past, he had always known where to draw the line. Before Zhongsun Mou could finish speaking, He Lingchuan suddenly spun around and flung several throwing knives, their sharp clangs pinning several water snakes to the floor. Calling them snakes was generous; they were barely larger than earthworms, formed of condensed water with indistinct heads and bodies, save for a pair of needle-sharp fangs. Evidently, the result of a bite from one of these things would very likely be swift death by poison. Zhongsun Mou had argued with He Lingchuan to divert his attention while secretly sending water snakes to silence Fu Songhua. The light inside the room was dim, and He Lingchuan had been facing outward, making it difficult to notice that droplets of water on the ground had been enchanted. However, the eyeball spider lurking in the room was no slouch. He Lingchuan wasted no more words. Hoisting Fu Songhua, he rushed to the window, kicked open the lattice, and vaulted onto the roof behind the building. With two leaps, he was already far in the distance, leaving only a sentence drifting back through the air: "Commander Lu, see you at the county yamen!" Commander Lu was the officer he had requisitioned. Hearing this, he immediately roared, "Fall back! To the county yamen!" ... He Lingchuan's speed was exceptional. Though Fu Songhua was a burly man weighing nearly two hundred jin, He Lingchuan carried him effortlessly. After numerous twists and turns, the commotion behind them faded away. Shifting his steps, He Lingchuan suddenly leaped onto another roof and slipped in through the window. This was another guest room at an inn, one that He Lingchuan had reserved just this morning. Fu Songhua stared at him for two moments with a strange expression. "Aren't we going to the county yamen?" The Special Envoy of the Chiyan crown prince dared to go head-to-head with an Inspector of Lingxu City? Was this man truly that reckless and fearless? "No one will disturb us here." He Lingchuan peered out the window, then shut both the door and windows. "Rapid fire. What is your actual connection to the murder of the Lingxu City courier?" "None," Fu Songhua replied without batting an eye. "I didn't kill it, nor have I ever even seen it, but six days ago I was arrested without cause." "And no connection to Mr. Mai either?"