Ambush

"It's him," Kong Que said, nodding with an odd expression. The yamen's sheer efficiency had left her dazed for quite a while. "Then that's the one." The lead constable breathed a sigh of relief. If they had bustled around all day only to nab the wrong person, they would have become a laughingstock. Still, even if they had grabbed the wrong target, the fellow currently in custody was hardly an upstanding citizen either. According to the evidence already in their hands, he was a felon with a long list of heinous crimes to his name; everyone who took part in the operation would receive significant merit. "According to the regulations, Miss Kong Que, we still need you to give a formal identification statement. Could you come with us to the yamen?" Kong Que nodded. By law, this was her duty. "Can they come along with me?" Kong Que pointed to Lu Yang, his two companions, and her younger sister Fu Ling. Heading to the yamen alone made her a little nervous. "Of course. Though they won't be permitted to observe while the statement is being taken." The lead constable understood her concern; it was only human nature. As they spoke, two more constables climbed up the stairs. "Which one is Miss Fu Ling? Oh, Brother Li, you're here too? Weren't you out arresting someone?" The two newcomers paused in surprise upon seeing the lead constable. Brother Li, the lead constable, replied casually, "We finished the arrest and came to verify with the victim. Xiao Wu, what brings you here?" "Oh, we just finished interrogating a suspect. According to her confession, she attempted to hire a local ruffian named Hong to assassinate a young woman named Fu Ling. We came over to verify it as well. Which one is Miss Fu Ling?" "I-I'm Fu Ling." Fu Ling sat up from the bed and stood beside her elder sister Kong Que. Still... who wanted her dead? Brother Li: "..." Xiao Wu: "..." *Did assassins take a fancy to both of you sisters or something? Why are they swarming around the two of you?* "Well then, would both young ladies accompany us?" The two sisters nodded. "Miss Kong Que, you were lucky as well. The assassin you encountered last night was only in the Qi Refinement stage," Brother Li remarked. "According to his confession, above him are Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul assassins. If he failed his mission, stronger assassins would follow to eliminate you. "Allowing an assassin to slip into the inn last night was a failure of local oversight on our part, but rest assured, Miss—now that we have the clues, a second assassination attempt will definitely not happen." Had last night's assassin not spilled everything, the authorities wouldn't have dispatched three Soul Formation cultivators and fifteen Nascent Soul cultivators. As for whether even higher-level cultivators were deployed in secret, Brother Li had no idea. The five of them arrived at the yamen once more, just like the night before. Even the guards at the entrance were bewildered. On night duty two evenings in a row, they ended up seeing the exact same group both times. "This poor monk wishes to ask about the origins of the benefactor who threatened Benefactor Kong Que?" "My apologies, Little Master, but regulations forbid uninvolved parties from inquiring into case details." Shi Chan nodded to show his understanding. The imperial court was very professional in this regard. The Five Great Immortal Sects did possess law enforcement authority, but it could not be exercised arbitrarily just to satisfy personal curiosity, which would run counter to the original purpose of granting such power. When the three had given their witness statements the previous night, they had identified themselves as ordinary cultivators under false names without mentioning their sect affiliations. The authorities wouldn't pry into witnesses' backgrounds without cause. In Shi Chan's experience, declaring oneself a disciple of the Five Great Immortal Sects would inevitably alarm the city lord. The city lord would then entertain them warmly while dropping subtle hints asking when they planned to leave... After all, the immortal sects also held supervisory authority. If a sect filed a report against a city official, that official's entire year of hard work would go down the drain. The two sisters were led away by two separate groups of constables to take their statements, leaving the trio in the administrative area to await the outcome. "Fairy, could you help eavesdrop on that interrogation?" Lu Yang couldn't resist asking. At this moment, the Immortal Fairy was painting on the walls of the Mahavira Hall. Holding a brush, with a cluster of paint buckets at her feet, her face was smeared with colorful splotches. As for what she was painting, it was far too abstract for Lu Yang to decipher for the moment. "Sure thing." The Immortal Fairy tossed the brush into a bucket, wiped her face with the back of her hand—smearing the paint even more in the process—and shared her immortal sense with Lu Yang to monitor the captured man's interrogation. The interrogation room was equipped with formations specifically designed to block divine sense, but evidently, they were powerless against immortal sense. ... Inside the interrogation room shrouded in layer upon layer of spell arrays, two seasoned constables glared grimly at the newly apprehended man. The man was handsome with an aura of malice, his hands bound by Spirit Binding Locks that rendered his spiritual energy completely unusable. The two seasoned constables felt immense pressure. Their suspect seemed to suffer from a mental illness—his manner of thinking was thoroughly abnormal, and they couldn't tell if he was putting on an act or genuinely deranged. "Name?" The handsome man gave a nonchalant chuckle and habitually tried to inspect his fingernails, though the Spirit Binding Locks prevented him from doing so comfortably. "Heh. It is truly the first time anyone has dared to demand this seat's name so bluntly. No harm in telling you—this seat is named Ye Xiao." "Age?" "One thousand six hundred years old." *Smack!* A constable slammed his hand onto the table, pointed at the man, and shouted, "I advise you to come clean! Don't play dumb with me!" Ye Xiao's gaze darkened. "If I were you, I wouldn't raise a finger. Mere low-level cultivators, and you dare point and shout at this seat? Summon a Body Integration cultivator who is worthy of speaking to this seat." The other seasoned constable seemed to realize something. Pulling back his colleague, he asked suspiciously, "Are you an ancient Body Integration cultivator who dispersed your cultivation to cultivate anew?" "At least you have some eyes." Enlightenment dawned on both constables. That explained it. "Specific identity?" "You dare arrest this seat without even knowing this seat's identity? How audacious!" "This seat is the Pavilion Master of the Dark Night Pavilion, Ye Xiao! Even the Emperor of Great Yu treated this seat with courtesy upon meeting!" The two constables racked their brains for ancient historical knowledge. Indeed, there seemed to have been such an organization in antiquity—an assassin syndicate founded in the 60,000th year of the Great Yu Calendar, some 140,000 years ago. "Then why did you re-establish an assassin syndicate after dispersing your cultivation to cultivate anew?" Based on the arrest report, this man named Ye Xiao had founded a new assassin syndicate and acted with utter arrogance. "Mere insects, yet you dare pry into this seat's designs? Well, no harm in telling you." "In the struggle of the Golden Age, human strength has its limits. Competing for resources single-handedly will never overcome great factions; thus did this seat re-establish the Dark Night Pavilion. "Do you know what kind of cultivator is the strongest? Not the sword cultivator who claims One Sword Breaks Ten Thousand Arts, nor the body cultivator of peerless physique. That is merely direct combat. Between cultivators, every unscrupulous means is employed in battle, and assassination is the supreme way of fighting. Therefore, assassins are the strongest cultivators." With that, Ye Xiao rose unhurriedly. "The Dark Night Pavilion descends upon the mortal realm once more, and all of you shall serve as sacrificial offerings! "As for that woman who piqued this seat's interest—Kong Que, was it? She cannot escape the palm of this seat's hand! "This seat declared that she will either submit to this seat or die. "The person who defies this seat has yet to be born!" The constable slapped the table in fury. "Behave yourself! Sit down!" Ye Xiao acted as though he hadn't heard a word, continuing to speak to himself, "Since this seat dispersed cultivation to cultivate anew, someone naturally acts as this seat's Dao protector." The two constables' faces fell as realization struck. There was an accomplice they hadn't caught yet—and a formidable one! A terrifying pressure enveloped the city lord's estate: shockingly, it was a Body Integration cultivator! In the dark of the night, that Body Integration cultivator reached out a colossal hand, shattering the interrogation room's layered spell arrays, tearing off the roof, and saying respectfully, "Pavilion Master, I have arrived late." "Too slow! You will receive your punishment when we return!" The Vice Pavilion Master had been raised by Ye Xiao from childhood and branded with a master-servant imprint. Even though Ye Xiao had dispersed his cultivation to cultivate anew, resulting in a vast disparity between their cultivation levels, the Vice Pavilion Master still had to obey Ye Xiao's every command. Suddenly, three more Body Integration auras soared into the sky, locking onto the Vice Pavilion Master. Every single one of these three auras was stronger than that of the Vice Pavilion Master! "Lord Provincial Governor truly had foresight—there really was someone backing him." "Cut the chatter. Let's capture him quickly so we can head back and get some sleep." "It's a big fish." The Vice Pavilion Master's eyes widened in fury, looking as if they might split open. "Court dogs!" He had fallen into a trap! The imperial court had laid an ambush! The Vice Pavilion Master spun around to flee, but how could the three Body Integration cultivators give him the chance? They struck simultaneously, instantly subduing him. The two constables breathed a sigh of relief and shoved Ye Xiao back down onto his chair. "Behave yourself!" "I'll confess everything."