The Empress's No.1 Lackey

"But with just the men at your disposal, can you really capture him? Has Lord acted yet? Or is Lord lurking in the shadows even now?"

Outside in the courtyard carriage, Ma Yan's expression changed slightly.

Iron Ruler Pass lay beside him with closed eyes, unable to hear the conversation in the courtyard due to serious injuries.

"..." Zhao Douan remained noncommittal:

"What are you trying to say?"

Haitang smiled charmingly:

"Nothing much, but you'd better hurry. With such a grand capture operation, the moment Iron Ruler Pass is seized, the eyes of the rebels have undoubtedly begun to act. Those associated with him might be dragged out as accomplices and are likely already fleeing.

By the way, a reminder. If Iron Ruler Pass admits to deceit too quickly after being captured, and does so very directly, it might be that, he is covering for someone."

Zhao Douan narrowed his eyes: "Explain."

Haitang smiled:

"As I said, I've been investigating him too. Although I don't have solid evidence, I've discovered something interesting. In private, he seems to have a very close relationship with the Master of Peach Hall."

Peach Hall's arrest officer... Zhao Douan pictured the corresponding figure in his mind.

The other one among the Nine Halls who's a female detective.

She didn't stand out in appearance, in her thirties and rather low-profile.

An office romance... could it be... Zhao Douan raised an eyebrow.

But if the two of them really were involved, the chances of them both defecting were indeed quite high.

That could also explain why Iron Ruler Pass had acted so directly just now, dealing a deadly blow with almost no idle talk.

Afterward, he calmly admitted his guilt and then fell silent, surprisingly cooperative.

If this was explained by his knowledge of being exposed, and he intentionally acted this way to cover for Peach Hall's arrest officer, then all the doubts would become clear.

And since Peach Hall was ranked towards the end, it was one of the more distant targets in the line of deception.

Zhao Douan commanded sharply:

"Retreat!"

A large group of Jinyi guards swiftly exited with a whoosh.

Haitang smiled and said:

"Take care, I won't see you out. Don't worry, I won't leave my home, I'll wait for the dust to settle."

She had the air of being a female Zhuge Liang with everything under her control.

But the next second, unexpectedly, as Zhao Douan, who had already turned to walk toward the gate, the right hand hanging by his side, suddenly "swish"—his sleeve was torn apart.

If one were to slow down the footage countless times.

One could see, his well-proportioned long fingers suddenly flipping outward, throwing out a palm-sized flying knife, antiquely designed and of a mysterious dark golden color.

The flying knife seemed to have a life of its own, breaking free of its master's control, tearing through the sultry air to create a torrential flow.

At an extremely terrifying speed, almost pulling a residual image, it headed towards Haitang in the courtyard, who was sitting and drinking.

"Boom boom—"

Within a deep explosive sound, a cone-shaped qi shield was actually propped up at the tip of the flying knife.

Danger!

The "female Zhuge Liang," who was always composed, suddenly changed color dramatically.

Even when Zhao Douan released the flying knife, she had already lightly patted the stone table.

One after another, iron flying knives leaped out from the pouch, blocking in front of her.

But in the end, they were no match for the speed of the Golden Crow.

"Snap!"

The wine cup she held between her fingers instantly shattered, the wine splashing everywhere!

Splattered on her cheeks, her delicate nose, chin, lips, neck, and over her heart...

But the Golden Crow Flying Dagger had already circled around, returning to its master like a called back dog, securely grasp in the hand of Zhao Douan who had thrown the knife.

All of this happened in an instant.

Zhao Douan didn't even turn his head back, continuing to stride outward, his voice drifting over:

"You spoke well. But this officer doesn't like being told how to do my job."

With that, he disappeared outside the courtyard gate.

Leaving behind in the courtyard, servants standing dumbfounded, fine iron flying knives suspended mid-air, and Haitang, still in the pose of holding her wine cup, stone-like and frozen, with a drop of wine sliding down her face.

Just now, the female detective of the Divine Chapter Realm, seemed to have felt the brush of the Death God passing by.

...

Inside the carriage.

Ma Yan looked at Zhao Douan with complex eyes:

"Your flying knife just now, you had a chance to kill her."

Zhao Douan leaned back somewhat exhaustedly and spread out his right hand helplessly. Fresh blood was slowly seeping from his palm. He mocked himself and said:

"Only after encountering Iron Ruler Pass did I realize the chasm between the Great Realms.

I gave my all just now, pushing the speed of the knife to the extreme, and with the element of surprise, I barely managed to do this much.

If I hadn't, even if my knife were ten times better than hers, but without enough speed, I would also probably not even get close to her."

Ma Yan gazed at him deeply:

"You used the Power Storage Method I just taught you."

He was somewhat moved in his heart.

He had only talked about it once, and Zhao Douan had already grasped it.

Though it still seemed raw, the speed of learning was indeed astonishing.

The method of power storage, compounded with the quality of the Golden Crow Flying Dagger, renders Zhao Douan's full-force strike potent enough to threaten those in the Divine Chapter Realm.

Yet, he was merely Middle Grade among mortals.

Zhao Douan, however, was not satisfied with himself, but he did not continue on this topic, saying instead,

"Let's just test her one last time."

"Test her?" Ma Yan snorted, without exposing him, and with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, said,

"How about my subordinates? Their minds are not inferior to yours, right?"

"Smart enough, but too foolish," Zhao Douan coolly assessed,

"Their desire to show off is too strong. If they don't know how to hide their clumsiness, they're not as good as Zhang Han."

Ma Yan nodded his head, agreeing with this judgment.

Immediately, he spoke earnestly,

"Do you think what she said just now is credible?"

Zhao Douan thought for a moment and answered,

"I'm willing to believe.

She was right about one thing, the moment my deception strategy began, the rebel's spies would have already taken action.

And I'm no longer able, to execute each strategy one by one.

At this moment, the rebels connected with Iron Ruler Pass would have already received the news and begun to withdraw."

He calmly judged,

"My speed will likely not be sufficient to reach Peach Hall's arrest officer's home in time."

Ma Yan's eyes turned cold as he said,

"But I can."

The velocity of a martial artist in the Worldly Realm is extremely terrifying. Most crucially, a person can move in a straight line, leaping over walls and roofs, but a galloping horse cannot.

The current strategy is, continuing the deception holds little value; the top priority is to save time and capture the criminals.

Zhao Douan gestured a salute, "Please, elder martial brother, capture the ghost."

Ma Yan looked at him, "Aren't you afraid that I might be the ghost?"

Zhao Douan smiled, then suddenly lifted the carriage curtain and shouted towards the sky,

"Please reveal yourself and accompany Lord to capture the thief."

His voice rang loud and clear, startling the surrounding Jinyi guards.

They looked around, bewildered, not knowing who their superior was talking to.

Ma Yan, too, was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly cast his gaze out.

In an instant, following some deliberately revealed fluctuations, he looked toward a nearby rooftop.

There, on the ridge of the roof, appeared a young monk in white robes, who seemed rather scholarly.

He looked nothing like an expert; yet at that moment, with his hands together, he said in a clear voice,

"Alright."

Ma Yan's pupils suddenly constricted!

It seemed that he recognized the identity of the monk on the distant rooftop and then smiled bitterly, shaking his head,

"He's gone."

He had realized that this was the backup Zhao Douan had arranged in case he was the ghost.

And Ma Yan, likewise, knew that he indeed was not his match.

As he spoke, he grabbed hold of Iron Ruler Pass, leaped out of the carriage, and soared as if transforming into a giant bird, disappearing into the distance in the blink of an eye.

The white-robed monk on the rooftop, too, had vanished without a trace.

As the two of them disappeared, Hou Renmeng, Shen Juan, and others looked lost, turning towards Zhao Douan,

"My Lord, what do we do next... do we continue?"

Without any bodyguards left, what's there to continue... With only that little salary, why risk our lives... he waved his hand,

"Turn around, head back to the Tie family."

The task of capturing the Master of Lihua Hall was left to Ma Yan, but Zhao Douan still had work to do.

"The more complex and populated the intelligence network is, the harder it is to completely destroy the traces of contact with companions, even if it's a single-line connection."

Zhao Douan pondered secretly, with the office held at Iron Ruler Pass, he undoubtedly had a considerable number of subordinates in the Kuangfu Society.

He would destroy evidence and provide cover for Peach Hall's arrest officer, but he might not be so diligent in protecting his "subordinates."

Especially now, being confined at home today and realizing that Lihua Hall was arresting rebels, Iron Ruler Pass would surely try to send out this intelligence.

Perhaps, there would be clues left unattended in haste.

...

After a short while,

When Zhao Douan and his men returned to the Tie family, Qian Kerou and Zheng Laojiu, who had stayed behind to search, brightened up and approached him:

"My Lord, we have found something."

"What?" Zhao Douan's spirits lifted, but then he saw Qian Kerou hand over a note as if offering a treasured possession:

"We found this in Iron Ruler Pass's study. Zheng checked the dryness of the ink stains, and by his experience, judged that it was written last night. It must have been passed on to him, but not yet destroyed."

Zhao Douan pinched open the crumpled note with his fingers. The writing on it was brief:

"Zhao, upon returning from the Imperial Court today, drafting official documents, delivering to Sun Lianying, possibly requesting guards."

The handwriting was odd, as if deliberately written with the left hand, the strokes unnatural.

Zhao Douan's expression instantly froze.