Manifesting Before the Crowd

Cang Yinyue stood alone among the constables, her willow brows like mist. A veil covered her face, concealing her true appearance.

Yet the look she gave the man before her was filled with undisguised mockery.

"Fu Yu, if you don't believe me, then you don't believe me. Don't tell me you've been putting on that hypocritical act for so long that you can't even speak the truth anymore?"

At her words, Fu Yu's originally gentle expression froze. He narrowed his eyes slightly, just about to speak.

But at that moment, Cang Yinyue shifted her gaze past him to Ji Feiyun behind him and asked directly,

"You tell me. Do you believe I captured that Great Qi remnant?"

Ji Feiyun fell silent for only a moment before shaking his head.

"Of course I don't."

The moment the words left his mouth, he flipped his palm and suddenly struck out.

A powerful gust from his palm surged forward, directly sweeping away the tightly wrapped black cloth on the cart.

The next instant, the four corpses lying on the cart were revealed before everyone.

The constables before the Imperial Secret Police headquarters all looked toward the corpses. Before long, cries of alarm rose one after another.

"Dead-Face Elder!"

"Lame Grass-Skimmer!"

"This should be... the Red Rakshasa Woman..."

"And this armored soldier missing an arm... could he really be the Great Qi remnant we've been hunting all this time?"

At that moment, Ji Feiyun stared at the four corpses on the cart, utterly stunned. His pale face shifted through a storm of expressions.

Gong Lishan, who had originally been standing beside him, strode forward in a few quick steps and hurried to the cart, carefully examining the four bodies.

After a while, Gong Lishan drew a deep breath, looked up at Fu Yu as he turned to face him, and nodded.

"Preliminary confirmation: this is undoubtedly that Great Qi remnant. I have seen him before. The wound where his arm was severed was inflicted by that expert in the Great Li Imperial Palace using the Ghost Shadow Cloud-Splitting Sword Art."

Then Gong Lishan swept his gaze over the other three corpses and said,

"They were also wanted criminals of the Imperial Secret Police. I assume you recognize them. These three were closely connected to the case you were investigating before, but now they are all dead."

As he spoke, Gong Lishan looked toward the necks of the four corpses. Each bore a thin, darkened line of blood—a clear indication of their true cause of death.

Fu Yu stood silently, no expression visible on his face. The atmosphere in the air seemed to be gradually freezing solid.

Cang Yinyue stood off to one side with her arms folded, saying nothing as well. She merely watched the constables, who had fallen silent as cicadas in winter, their faces displaying shock, disbelief, admiration, and all manner of other emotions.

This feeling was even more satisfying than last time with Guan Shanxue. No wonder Li Musheng had once sighed to her,

"If someone cultivates profound martial arts but doesn't use them to show off, then it would have no meaning at all!"

Now she understood those words deeply.

Since she had captured wanted criminals whom even the Imperial Secret Police and the Heavenly Brocade Guard had been powerless against, naturally she had to manifest her greatness before the crowd. Otherwise, what a waste of such a fine opportunity.

"Catcher Cang, how did you do it?"

At this moment, Gong Lishan was the first to break the silence and ask Cang Yinyue.

As soon as he said this, Fu Yu finally turned his head slowly and looked at Cang Yinyue.

At the same time, the surrounding constables, including Ji Feiyun, all fixed their eyes on her.

Cang Yinyue shook her head without explaining. She merely looked at Fu Yu and sneered.

"What you people cannot accomplish, others naturally can. In any case, I have brought you the people you wanted. Make sure every bit of the credit is recorded under my name."

As she spoke, she shifted her gaze and searched the constables around her.

At that moment, the constable who had been guarding the gate earlier came jogging out from inside with a middle-aged man in white robes, saying hurriedly,

"Catcher Cang, I've brought the Merit Registrar."

Cang Yinyue nodded, then turned and prepared to leave. Yet halfway there, she suddenly stopped again.

"Oh, right. There is one more thing."

Cang Yinyue turned back toward Fu Yu, her voice indifferent.

"Remember this: I, Cang Yinyue, do not acknowledge the marriage arrangement between us. I hope that from now on, you will stop telling people that I am your fiancée."

After saying that, Cang Yinyue turned and left without lingering, walking straight into the Imperial Secret Police headquarters. Before long, she disappeared from sight.

The matter of Green Mountain Tower was of great importance. She had to personally report it to the Divine Catcher.

At the same time, after hearing Cang Yinyue's words, the many surrounding constables all stared in surprise with their mouths hanging open.

They watched Cang Yinyue's retreating figure vanish, then secretly glanced at Fu Yu, who had remained silent throughout.

The foremost of the Ten Great Catchers, who had always been composed and steady in the face of trouble, now had an unmistakably unpleasant look on his face.

"Brother Fu."

Ji Feiyun hurriedly spoke up in reminder.

Only then did Fu Yu gently close his eyes, then slowly open them again. Shaking his head, he said in a deep voice,

"It is nothing. Yinyue must be angry because I did not trust her earlier. Once I explain things to her later, it will be fine."

After speaking, he swept his gaze over the four corpses on the cart, gave Gong Lishan a look, then turned and left, no longer paying attention to the constables around him.

Not long afterward, Gong Lishan pushed open the door and entered Fu Yu's room from outside.

"What did you find?"

Fu Yu asked coldly. Ji Feiyun, standing to the side, also looked toward Gong Lishan.

"Dead-Face Elder's bones were shattered throughout his body, and his internal organs were pulverized. Before his death, he suffered the impact of an immensely powerful force. The Red Rakshasa Woman's skull, meanwhile, was completely crushed. Before Catcher Cang killed them, these two had already lost the ability to resist."

Gong Lishan spoke slowly, then furrowed his brow and continued.

"However, Lame Grass-Skimmer and that Great Qi remnant did not appear to have suffered fatal injuries. They truly did seem to have died at Catcher Cang's hands."

"Furthermore, before Catcher Cang killed that Great Qi remnant, she should have interrogated him."

Fu Yu revealed a thoughtful expression at those words.

"Someone must have helped her, and that person is extremely powerful. At present, they appear to be a Half-Step Martial Grandmaster, though they may even be a Martial Grandmaster..."

As he spoke, he narrowed his eyes slightly, then turned to Ji Feiyun.

"Go inform Marquis Cangyuan Mansion of everything that happened today. Also investigate whether any strangers appeared around Cang Yinyue during her recent trip outside. I want to know every detail connected to this."

Ji Feiyun nodded lightly. Then, as if suddenly recalling something, he said,

"I once saw someone appear at Cang Yinyue's side. That person was rather unusual."

He then recounted to Fu Yu, down to the smallest detail, everything he had seen of Li Musheng at the restaurant and Aurora Pavilion.

Fu Yu's expression remained impassive, and no emotion could be seen in his eyes.

"She is becoming more and more interesting. She actually brought back a Seventh Prince whose identity may or may not be real?"

Ji Feiyun shook his head.

"Cang Yinyue is so ugly. For Brother Fu to take a liking to her is the greatest fortune of her life, yet she actually acts so spoiled and arrogant."

Fu Yu glanced at him, and a flash of icy menace passed through his eyes.

Seeing this, Ji Feiyun hurriedly lowered his head.

"I spoke out of turn."

Fu Yu withdrew his gaze and waved a hand.

"First, do as I said and investigate that person's identity. As for what comes afterward, I will make my own decision."