Zhuifeng was a trusted confidant of the Empress’s secret division.
Today, he had an important mission: to follow the Empress’s new disciple and secretly protect the youth as he went down the mountain to complete a mission.
But now, he faced a very irritating problem.
“How did that kid get into the brothel?”
Leaning against an ancient tree by the roadside outside the brothel, Zhuifeng felt conflicted.
Although he was in the secret division, he was also a man with a family.
How could he casually enter and leave a brothel?
Of course, that wasn’t the most crucial part.
If it were simply entering a brothel, he could endure it.
For the mission assigned by Her Majesty, he would go in and let it be.
But the key was that a brothel was a mixed crowd of all sorts, and with his black nightwalker outfit, he would definitely be suspected if he went in.
Even if he really went in, how would he confirm He Qiu’s location?
That kid, as soon as he went in, was surrounded by countless prostitutes and disappeared…
This was awkward.
“I’ll just guard the entrance here.”
Leaning against the tree, Zhuifeng sighed.
And just when he let his guard down, a familiar face suddenly appeared before his eyes—
“Isn’t that the Demon Cultivator [Hungry Blade] wanted by the imperial court?”
He actually discovered on this street the infamous wanted criminal from the rumors.
What made Zhuifeng pay even more attention was that [Hungry Blade] was actually walking toward the brothel.
“Oh no, Her Majesty’s disciple is still inside. He’ll be in danger…”
If [Hungry Blade] also entered the brothel and was in the same environment as the Empress’s beloved disciple, it would greatly increase the danger to He Qiu’s life!
Zhuifeng had followed the Empress for many years and had never failed.
He absolutely could not let the Empress’s new disciple come to any harm.
Thus, in a few brief seconds of on-the-spot reaction, Zhuifeng had a brand-new plan.
Shing!
Drawing his blade, Zhuifeng quietly chased after him.
Then, he closed in behind [Hungry Blade] and delivered a backstab!
“Mmph!”
[Hungry Blade] was ambushed, and before he could react, his mouth and nose were tightly clamped, leaving him unable to make a sound.
Moreover, in Tianxin City at night, with its mixed crowd, no one would care about a passerby’s abnormality.
In an instant, a terrifying pressure loomed over his head.
“Hungry Blade, the imperial court has a bounty of 30,000 taels on you. If you don’t want to die, come with me.”
Zhuifeng clamped the man’s mouth and nose, his voice cold and threatening.
The latter panicked and nodded repeatedly.
Before long, Zhuifeng brought Hungry Blade to a deserted dark alley, tied him up tightly, and began his interrogation.
“Speak. Where were you just going?”
“Cloud… Cloud Dance Pavilion…”
“What kind of place is that, a brothel?”
“Yes, yes.”
“Is that so? Then you’re very familiar with the inside of that brothel?”
Zhuifeng narrowed his cold eyes, scrutinizing the tightly bound, severely injured man.
[Hungry Blade] had suddenly been caught in this place, panicking like crazy.
How could he have expected to run into the imperial court’s secret division just walking down the street?
This was just too unlucky.
Moreover, this man had caught him, but instead of killing him immediately, he was very concerned about the brothel he was about to enter.
‘Could it be…’
‘This imperial court person wants to extract information about the Young Master of the Demon Sect from me!’
‘Wait, could the imperial court have already locked onto the meeting room inside that brothel and be preparing to wipe out our Demon Cultivator gathering in one sweep?’
‘Because logically, to hunt down a rogue Demon Sect Cultivator like [Hungry Blade], there was no need for a killer of the “secret division” level, a trusted confidant of the Empress.’
‘Honestly, his cultivation was at least ninth rank.’
‘Would a big shot of that level come out just to catch one [Hungry Blade]?’
‘That would be overestimating him too much.’
‘Ninety percent certain, there must be an even greater secret behind this!’
‘And right now, Zhuifeng had no intention of killing, which meant he, [Hungry Blade], still had a chance to live!’
“My lord, don’t kill me, don’t kill me! I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!”
Having sorted out his thoughts, [Hungry Blade] repeatedly begged for mercy.
When facing the Empress’s secret division, how could he still entertain any hope of getting lucky?
Confess and you’ll be treated leniently.
Maybe if the big shot was in a good mood, he might let him off!
On the other side, Zhuifeng was also stunned, not understanding why this wanted criminal had suddenly given in.
But he still nodded.
“You’re smart. Speak.”
“That brothel is actually a cover. It’s actually the secret base of the Young Master of the Demon Sect!”
Zhuifeng: Huh?
…
Outside the brothel, Zhuifeng was still having a Cross-server Chat with Hungry Blade.
And inside the brothel, He Qiu had already been silently sitting at the very front of the long table, listening for several hours.
“I have heard that the current Demonic Venerable and that Princess Zi Menghan are both connected to the imperial court and the Empress.”
“It is highly likely that they are both the Empress’s spies.”
“They backstabbed the previous Demonic Venerable in order to split the Demon Sect and make early preparations to submit to the Empress in the future!”
“Therefore, I have gathered everyone today under the orders of the true Demonic Venerable who is even higher up, to unite the Demon Sect’s Leftist Faction in Tianxin City and fight again for control of the Demon Sect!”
“So, what do you all think—”
The seductive woman in a dark purple thin veil stood at the very front, full of momentum, posing as if summoning heroes to plot a great cause.
It was much like a corporate executive describing a future blueprint and great ideals to employees…
To put it plainly, she was just painting a big pancake.
So, as He Qiu listened and listened, he was already getting a bit sleepy.
He had indeed infiltrated this place with Master Nangong’s investigation mission, but he kept hearing this Demon Sect woman talk about the Empress, the imperial court, the Demonic Venerable, the Demon Sect Princess, splitting and seizing power…
He Qiu didn’t understand these affairs of the world.
And He Qiu felt that people and matters like the Empress and Demonic Venerable were too far away from him, with no sense of reality at all.
Listening for a while was fine, but if he had to listen for two or three hours straight, it was really a headache.
He hadn’t remembered a few pieces of valuable intelligence at all.
And just when He Qiu was about to give up, the charming woman beside him suddenly threw the topic to He Qiu—
“Young Master, what do you think?”
“?”
‘Ah, what does she mean by “what do you think”?’
‘What was she just talking about…’
He Qiu looked embarrassed, just like when he zoned out in class and was suddenly called on by the teacher to answer a question.
After a long silence, the youth finally nodded softly.
“I think—it’s fine.”
“Really? That’s great!”
Wan Caimei saw that He Qiu agreed with her plan, so she smiled happily.
Then, she displayed several portraits on the table in front of He Qiu and continued asking expectantly:
“Then, Young Master, which young lady do you think we should kidnap?”
“…”
He Qiu looked at the portraits of several young girls before him and couldn’t help but feel conflicted.
‘Kidnap?’
‘What does kidnap mean? What on earth are these Demon Cultivators doing…’
He had just zoned out and hadn’t heard clearly what plan they were discussing at all!
He Qiu only remembered that the general policy was something about rebelling against the Demon Sect and supporting a new Demonic Venerable to take the throne…
But as for how exactly to carry it out, He Qiu didn’t know.
It was too wordy, and he got sleepy halfway through listening.
However, although he was confused inside, right now everyone’s eyes were on He Qiu, and he really couldn’t hesitate for too long.
So He Qiu simply raised his hand and randomly pointed at a portrait of a certain girl.
Then, he crossed his arms and put on a mysterious cold smile like a villain—
“Heh, let’s go with this girl~”
The portrait depicted a cute and noble little princess.