White-Robed Chief

Leng Shoushi quickly returned, saw his brother pacing out, and patted him on the shoulder, “What are you thinking of?”

“Ninth Brother, should we find the true culprit?” Leng Shoushan turned his head and looked at him. “According to Head Chief Chu, this is the person who killed Fifth Brother, but he was probably acting under someone’s orders. Do we want to find out who gave the order?”

“Yes, of course we do.” Leng Shoushi nodded.

“Based on the way Head Chief Chu is acting, he probably already knows.” Leng Shoushan furrowed his brows as he said, “Even he dares not investigate further. But why? He’s a fearless person, there’s nobody that he’s afraid of in this world, except for the Emperor and the person from Tempest Temple!”

“He is not afraid of masters, his martial arts is strong enough, but even he has his weaknesses.” Leng Shoushi replied, “That’s because he’s someone who prioritizes comradeship. It makes sense if you think about it.”

“Someone who prioritizes comradeship,” Leng Shoushan nodded. “He’s the type of person worth befriending. So, he’s worried about Princess Xiao and the Public House?”

Leng Shoushan nodded.

“The Yi Public House of late is not like it was in the past, there doesn’t seem to be anything it needs to fear.”

“That might not be true.”

“…I can’t think of anything.” Leng Shoushan nodded thoughtfully.

After all, he often usually enjoyed spending his time on worldly pleasures, not touch or interfering in any of the dynasty’s affairs. The only things he knew about were matters concerning the Fairy’s Capital, he did not really care about anything else.

Two middle-aged men clad in armor quickly came over. Their faces were dim as they bowed and gave a closed-fist salute.

“Bring him down and cripple his martial arts first, then slowly try him.” Leng Shoushi stared at the two of them as he said, “You guys are only to try him. There is no need to be astonished if you find out about anything. If I were someone who would kill to do away a witness, you would already be dead a long time ago!”

“Yes, Imperial Crown Prince!” The two middle-aged men replied in a low voice.

Leng Shoushi continued, “Don’t rush, he’s a top-notch assassin. He has a strong character so it won’t be easy to make him spill the beans. Be more patient, this isn’t something that I need to teach, you should understand well.”

“Don’t worry, Imperial Crown Prince, we will handle him carefully.” A man with a round face made a closed-fist salute as he said, “We’ll extract every last bit of information from him!”

“That would be good.” Leng Shoushi waved his hand.

The two of them carried Zhu Wu away.

Leng Shoushan smiled. “Ninth Brother, why are you keeping people like them. They look so shady, they’ll frighten the others.”

“These people are essential too.” Leng Shoushi shook his head. “You might not want to deal with others, but you have to be on guard at all times. Without people like them, the Verdant Cloud Brothel would have been swallowed up by someone else a long time ago. Even I would not be alive.”

“But you’re an Imperial Crown Prince!” Exclaimed Leng Shoushan.

Leng Shoushi scoffed, “Fifth Brother was an Imperial Crown Prince too!”

Leng Shoushan suddenly went silent.

The two soon arrived at Ji Xue Ling’s courtyard and they listened to her playing the guzheng.

They usually would not stop praising Ji Xue Ling’s guzheng skills and were always absorbed in it, but today, there were not listening.

Ji Xue Ling was donned in a pale green gown and she looked simple yet elegant. Her gaze was bright while playing with the guzheng. Her eyes wandered toward the two faces but she did not ask much, she knew that there was something shady going on, but it was better for her not to know.

They usually would not be exposed to something like this to stop them from being tainted by the dark side of the world. After all, only those with a pure heart could produce moving art.

There were all smart girls. After seeing so many people, their insight was different from that of a normal person. They had a good understanding of such things.

After she finished one song, she placed her hands on the guzheng and looked at the two of them. They were still spacing out, unaware that the song had already ended.

She continued to play another song.

Two hours passed without them even realizing. Eventually, she pressed onto the chords as she stood up to pour both of them a drink.

Every once in a while, the brothers would glance at the door.

As soon as they took their silver cups, footstep could be heard approaching. They quickly put down the cups and called, “Come in!”

Two gloomy-looking middle-aged men walked into the small courtyard with big strides and appeared outside the hall.

“Ji Xue Ling, do go out for a while.” Leng Shoushi turned his head and said.

Ji Xue Ling gently nodded before leaving.

Leng Shoushi glanced at both of them.

The middle-aged man with a round face glanced around him, then he turned his body to close the door and walked back to Leng Shoushi and Leng Shoushan.

“Say it,” said Leng Shoushi.

He looked at the demeanor of the round-faced man and instantly knew that they had extracted a lot of important information.

“Zhu Wu explained everything very straightforwardly, he knows that he is going to die for sure, so he only asked for a quick death,” the middle-aged man with the square face said in a deep voice, “that’s why he told us everything he knew. We feel that it’s genuine.”

“Mm,” said Leng Shoushi, “Who was it?”

“The one who commanded him was the Deputy General of the Xi Jiang’s King Ping, Sun Zhanhe.” Said the square face man.

“King Ping!?” Leng Shoushi and Leng Shoushan’s expression both changed.

The square face man nodded, his face expression was still gloomy.

The round face man let out a small sigh. “Also, he coordinated with somebody in the Fairy’s Capital. It is the Minister Counsellor from the military, Gu Qi.”

Leng Shoushi and Leng Shoushan expression changed once again.

The square face man frowned. “What he said should be true.”

After glancing at the two Imperial Crown Princes, the round face man sighed again. “After he finished his task, he immediately ran away. He didn’t head to the west, but instead to the Ji River Valley in the Ji Public House instead. He was caught there.”

“What do you mean?” Leng Shoushan quickly asked, “Is the Ji Public House part of this too?”

The square face man replied, “Zhu Wu was not sure either.”

Leng Shoushi and Leng Shoushan looked at each other. Their face expression showed what they were thinking – this was a possible rebellion!”

“Then why did Zhu Wu kill my fifth brother?” Asked Leng Shoushan quickly.

The square face man said, “He was just following orders, he doesn’t know about anything else.”

“Damn that bastard!” Leng Shoushan slammed the table with hatred. “I will kill him for sure!”

Leng Shoushi continued, “How did he learn about the whereabouts of our fifth brother?”

“… A scribe told him about it,” the square face man said, “he didn’t bribe him, it was possibly due to the Minister Counsellor, Gu Qi.”

“Damn it! Damn it!” Leng Shoushan clenched his teeth.

He felt cold when he thought about it. Scribes were being bribed freely – nobody was safe! They could kill as they wished, so there was no difference between him and his fifth brother since his puny life could be taken at any time!

Leng Shoushi turned his head. “Are you going to continue the investigation?”

Leng Shoushan asked, “Ninth Brother, what do you think?”

“This case is a big problem,” Leng Shoushi furrowed his brows. “I just don’t know why our fifth brother was assassinated…”

He glanced at Leng Shoushan.

Leng Shoushan furrowed his brows too. “Ninth brother, do you think that our fifth brother joined them?”

“It is nothing if our fifth brother joined them, I am just afraid that Uncle Kang…” Leng Shoushi shook his head.

“Impossible!” Leng Shoushan quickly snapped.

Leng Shoushi continued, “All in all, this must be kept strictly to ourselves. Zhu Wu must be quietly executed. His execution must be done in the Ji River Valley.”

He glanced at the two gloomy men. “I suppose I don’t have to tell you about how serious this is.”

Both of them made a closed fist salute.

“Keep your mouths sealed and do not leave the residence from today onward. Do not meet anyone else. I won’t kill you, but I am not sure about the others!” Leng Shoushi said in a deep voice, “I will send more Protectors to aid you.”

“Yes, Imperial Crown Prince!” Both of them replied in a deep voice.

They knew that it was not a simple task. If anything went wrong, their entire family would be killed, regardless of the fact that they were part of the imperial household!

Leng Shoushi grumbled to himself and did not say a word. He was in deep thought about what else he might have missed.

On the other hand, Leng Shoushan was constantly worrying aloud with his brows furrowed.

He was caught up in the possibility that their fifth brother or their father was a part of this ploy. This would be a monstrous disaster.