The moment the name Sasaki left his lips, Huang Fu's expression changed drastically. But he recovered quickly, stepping forward with a face full of smiles.
"My lord, you must be mistaken."
"Who is Sasaki? This humble one is Luoshui City's Sacrificial Officer. My name is Huang Fu."
Shen Qing's gaze was icy. Mistaken? There was no mistake.
His Innate Six Senses had caught every change in Sasaki's expression with crystal clarity.
He had never expected this man to worm his way into the position of a ninth-rank Sacrificial Officer in Luoshui City.
A Japanese pirate was actually sitting in an official post of Great Wu.
How disgusting.
In the next instant, a fierce wind swept through the courtyard. Shen Qing turned into a phantom and lunged at Sasaki, driving a punch straight into his abdomen. Sasaki's eyes bulged, and he was sent flying, smashing through three walls in a row.
Behind the crowd, Huang Min's eyes were filled with gravity. Even he had found Shen Qing's movements difficult to see clearly just now.
But Shen Qing had already held back. Otherwise, with the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill fully unleashed, that punch would have been enough to kill Sasaki eighteen and a half times over.
Sasaki painfully grabbed the ruins of a nearby wall and struggled to climb back up.
Shen Qing's cold voice rang out.
"Sasaki, why did you sneak into Luoshui City? What are you plotting? Tell me everything truthfully!"
Blood continuously spilled from the corners of Sasaki's mouth. He knew he had definitely been exposed today.
But where had things gone wrong?
Yet he had no time to think, because Shen Qing was walking toward him step by step. The tapping of his boots against the ground struck his heart like a death warrant.
He let out a hoarse roar.
"Father-in-law! Save me!"
Zhang Zhu finally came back to his senses, his face full of anger.
"You're Shen Qing, the new Hundred Households Officer at the Hundred Households Office? Do you know who I am? I am Zhang Zhu, the Prefectural Judge of Luoshui City!"
"This is my son-in-law, Huang Fu. He is absolutely not the Sasaki you speak of!"
"I'm telling you, even if you're one of the Imperial Guards, you must give me an explanation today! Otherwise, this matter won't end here!"
Shen Qing turned around, his gaze icy, and seized Zhang Zhu by the throat.
"You're the fucking Prefectural Judge of Luoshui City?"
"Didn't even know a ghost had entered your own house?!"
"You still want to protect this Japanese pirate? You should be thinking about whether you can keep your head this time."
Things were already crystal clear. Sasaki's ability to obtain the position of Luoshui City's Sacrificial Officer was obviously inseparable from Zhang Zhu.
A Japanese pirate had married the daughter of Luoshui City's Prefectural Judge, and that Prefectural Judge had personally helped the pirate obtain an official post.
For those two crimes alone, stripping him of his official robes would already count as a reward.
With a casual toss, Shen Qing threw Zhang Zhu to Black Dog's feet. Black Dog expertly took out iron chains and bound this peak Houtian Realm Prefectural Judge.
By now, the guests inside regretted everything so deeply that they wished they could slap themselves a few times. Why had they insisted on attending this banquet today? Why had they insisted on wading into this muddy water?
One of the bolder guests shakily rose to his feet. "Lord Shen, I have nothing to do with Huang Fu... no, Sasaki. Can I leave first...?"
Shen Qing gave a cold laugh. "The Imperial Guards are handling a case. Do you think this is children playing house? You think you can leave whenever you want? Whoever dares take even half a step out of this courtyard today—beheaded!"
As soon as his words fell, the sound of weapons leaving their sheaths rang out. Black Dog led a team of Imperial Guards flooding into the courtyard, while the surrounding high walls were filled with Imperial Guards holding hand crossbows.
Shen Qing slowly walked toward Sasaki, who lay amid the ruins.
"Speak. Name."
Huang Fu braced himself against the ground and desperately tried to crawl away.
"My name is Huang Fu! My name really is Huang Fu! Believe me!"
Shen Qing stepped on Huang Fu's ankle and exerted a little force. A piercing series of cracking bones sounded out.
"Name."
Sasaki opened his mouth wide and let out a heart-rending scream.
"I'll talk, I'll talk... My name is Hiroshi... Sasaki Hiroshi..."
The moment those words were spoken, Zhang Zhu staggered back two steps, nearly collapsing onto the ground. Black Dog grabbed his collar and prevented him from falling.
As for the surrounding guests, they felt as though they had fallen into an icy abyss. There really was a Japanese pirate. Not one of them could hope to leave now. Spending only a month in an Imperial Guards prison would already count as preferential treatment.
Shen Qing stepped on Sasaki's other ankle.
"How many of you are there in Luoshui City?"
Sasaki's eyes were full of terror, and his voice had already taken on a tearing rasp.
"There are..."
In the corner, Huang Min's gaze grew colder and colder. He could not let Sasaki keep talking. If he continued, who knew how many others he might drag down with him?
With a flick of his palm, three kunai appeared in Huang Min's hand and shot rapidly toward Sasaki.
A few sparks flashed, and Shen Qing casually knocked all three kunai away.
But those three kunai had only been a feint. The true killing move was Huang Min himself.
Huang Min thought, I have trained in Ninjutsu since childhood. Within the Xiantian Realm, none can match my speed.
Luoshui City's Battalion Commander and Pacification Commissioner aren't here. What can a mere Hundred Households Officer from Luoshui City do to me?
Killing Sasaki before leaving will be as easy as turning over my hand.
A smile curled at Huang Min's lips, his eyes brimming with confidence.
But then a flicker of confusion appeared in his eyes, because Shen Qing, who had just been standing beside Sasaki, had vanished.
In the next moment, the hairs on Huang Min's back stood on end. Shen Qing was behind him!
Huang Min laboriously turned his head and saw a fist rapidly expanding in his pupils.
Huang Min's face twisted wildly as his entire body was smashed into the ground.
Shen Qing looked down at Huang Min as though he were garbage.
"So I hit him, but not you?"
That punch had flattened Huang Min's nose, knocked out half his teeth, and stirred his brains into mush. Yet he could still speak.
"Baka, it doesn't hurt at all."
"Kill me if you want. I'm not a soft egg like Sasaki. Don't dream of getting any information from me."
Shen Qing snorted. "A hard mouth? Let's see just how hard it is."
He grabbed Huang Min's right thumb and gave it a slight squeeze. Shen Qing crushed the bones in it into powder, the pain shooting straight through to his heart.
Huang Min clenched his teeth. His face turned pale, but he did not utter a sound.
Shen Qing grabbed his right index finger and did the same thing. Beads of sweat the size of beans formed on Huang Min's face.
With a crack, the index finger snapped. But Shen Qing showed no intention of stopping and had already seized the middle finger.
The resolve in Huang Min's eyes vanished completely, and he hurriedly cried out.
"I'll confess... I'll confess... Stop squeezing... stop squeezing..."
"My name is Yamamoto Shinichi..."
Shen Qing's face filled with disgust. He pierced Yamamoto's Qi Sea with one finger, then casually tossed him to Black Dog.
"Interrogate him. I want to know where this batch of soybean seeds came from and what they are for."
"Also, how many Japanese pirates are hidden in Luoshui City? And who has been sheltering them?"
Before long, Black Dog and the others had prepared a full set of torture instruments.
After going through several arrests with Shen Qing, Black Dog had begun carrying torture instruments with him at all times, because he had discovered that Shen Qing enjoyed interrogating criminals on the spot.
Not long afterward, Yamamoto and Sasaki's screams echoed throughout the courtyard.
Shen Qing found a table laden with wine and dishes, casually picked up a piece of Mung Bean Ice Cake, and took a bite.
The instant it entered his mouth, coolness rippled through him like waves of water.
Shen Qing sat in a chair, popped a grape into his mouth, then turned to look at the group of guests.
"I advise you all to think carefully about who this Sasaki was close to in the past."
"Meritorious reports will be rewarded."
Sasaki was, after all, a Japanese pirate. How many people could truly have been close to him? Every person they named meant one less suspect.
The guests exchanged glances. In the next moment, someone rushed toward Shen Qing, fighting to be first.
There was not the slightest trace of their former decorum.
"My lord, I wish to report..."
At the request of many readers, an ad-free VIP membership feature is now available.
Click to view
Before you continue