Dogs That Bite Don't Bark

In recent years, the Fourth Prince had often purchased sturdy slaves and brought them into his residence, claiming it was to "add some masculine vigor" to the household. But everyone knew what he really meant.

Especially in the past few years, as the Emperor's health had steadily declined, the struggle within the Imperial Family had grown increasingly fierce. Missing-person cases within the city had also gradually increased. The disappearances of many strong Soul Masters and men were believed to be possibly connected to the Fourth Prince.

To put it this way, if his maternal family had not possessed an enormous background—being one of the very few pure-black families within the heavily "whitened" Sun Moon Empire, with a special claim to legitimacy—and if they had not allied with a supposedly immensely powerful hidden sect during the usurpation, providing tremendous assistance to the current Emperor...

To the point that even if the Emperor was angry, he had no choice but to show almost limitless tolerance...

Otherwise, with the Fourth Prince's temperament and behavior, he would have long since either been assassinated or conveniently died of illness.

What was this family thinking, letting this thing out? Where was the dog chain they usually kept tied around his neck? Have they gone mad, letting this thing out to bite people?

Kong Jie cursed the Fourth Prince and his maternal family inwardly, but his expression revealed not the slightest hint of it.

"Brother Chen, forgive me, but these are Mingdu's rules. Even a Titled Douluo must obey them. Will Brother Chen do it himself, or should I lend you a hand?"

"No need. I'll do it myself."

Chen Li snorted and tossed the man he had been carrying over. Several Soul Engineers, their heads drenched in sweat, hurried forward and used heavy shackles along with various devices capable of effectively suppressing Soul Power to bind the man. Chen Li then withdrew his own Soul Power and stepped into the encirclement.

Within the Sun Moon Empire, so long as a Titled Douluo did not commit some grave crime like treason, rebellion, colluding with the enemy, or betraying the nation, they generally would not be treated too harshly.

Just like Chen Li. Although he had directly clashed with the Imperial Family, not only did he not need to wear any devices, he did not even need to have his Soul Power sealed. Merely being placed under symbolic supervision was already enough to satisfy the rules.

On the ground, Kong Jie helped the blank-faced, trembling Fourth Prince to his feet. One hand pressed against his back as he slowly infused him with Soul Power belonging to the Crescent Moon Martial Soul.

As the Soul Power flowed into him, the Fourth Prince's mind, which had been pushed to its limits, slowly began to recover. However, the little reason he normally possessed in the first place, already diminished by his upbringing and external suppression, had completely gone bankrupt at this moment.

"Kill him! Kill him! I want him dead! I want his whole family dead! What Mingde Hall? What Hongchen Family? What Dragon Elephant Sect? All of them die! Die, die, die! Die for me—for this sovereign! You slaves, get up there already! You dogs, go bite him!"

The Fourth Prince, Xu Tianba, clutched the Crescent Moon family crest on Kong Jie's chest and shouted at the man helping him up, madly hurling curses at everyone.

At that moment, feeling the spray of saliva on his face, watching the Fourth Prince shouting in his face, and seeing the family crest on his chest—the crest he was so proud of—being casually kneaded into a ball, Kong Jie, who considered himself retired from the interrogation department, finally failed to restrain his emotions.

Kong Jie maintained his gentle smile and lightly patted the Fourth Prince's back with his right hand. Vast Soul Power flowed into the Fourth Prince's body with that pat, churning within him through a special technique that placed immense pressure on the body without causing injury, provoking his nerves.

The intense pain stimulated the Fourth Prince. Under normal circumstances, it would have made him lose control of his bladder and bowels long ago.

But Kong Jie cared deeply about the Imperial Family's dignity. While using his unique technique to stimulate the Fourth Prince's nerves, he also devoted a portion of his attention to maintaining the Fourth Prince's outward appearance.

Though he was nearly collapsing from pain inside, outwardly, his face was merely slightly flushed, as if he were too furious to speak.

Kong Jie had been personally transferred by the current Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire from the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Corps, which answered directly to the Imperial Family, to take charge of a part of Mingdu's defensive system. This was not because of Kong Deming's influence, nor simply because he possessed ninety-second-rank Soul Power, but because he was truly exceptional.

Although his name had not been prominent in the past decade or so, back when he had served in the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Corps, Kong Jie had a nickname: Black Moon.

The title had not come from his soul skills or his signature Soul Tool, but from his Martial Soul and his usual "achievements."

After losing his lover on the battlefield in his youth, Kong Jie had taken a different path. Though he rarely acted personally on the battlefield, he had remained active there, interrogating all kinds of targets to force information from them.

His interrogations were sinister and vicious.

He was ruthless enough to manipulate every nerve, uncover the things his subjects feared most and held dearest, and easily shatter a Soul Master's will.

Yet at the same time, he was extraordinarily "gentle."

So gentle that ever since he had begun his career, he had never accidentally killed anyone during an interrogation. So gentle that those interrogated by him often bore only a few faint marks, while he could inflict any form of torture with a precision beyond ordinary imagination.

Merciless and cruel, able to make anyone collapse without drawing blood, he was thus fearfully and respectfully called Black Moon by both colleagues and enemies.

At the same time, he was one of the current Emperor's trusted generals. Even his wife from a political marriage had been personally introduced by the Emperor back when he had not yet become Emperor.

During the Xuanwu Gate palace coup, he had relied on his own abilities to take control of part of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Corps.

Not only had he provided military support during the coup, he had also used his own methods to slow the reactions of the other Soul Engineer Regiments, allowing the coup to quickly and steadily come to an end.

After the coup ended and the new Emperor ascended the throne after killing his brother, Kong Jie was also the one who tracked down, one by one, those still harboring ulterior motives. Using his own methods, he forced out their secrets and maintained peace for quite a long time through terrifyingly high-handed measures.

Over the following years, as the overall situation gradually stabilized, he was impeached en masse by many ministers. The Emperor himself punished him, forcing him to retire from the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Corps.

Though it appeared that he had been cast aside once he was no longer useful, not long after his retirement, he was very "coincidentally" transferred to Mingdu and placed in charge of leading a City Defense Army unit.

In just two short years, he became the commander of the entire City Defense Army, thoroughly replacing its ranks from top to bottom and turning it into one of the greatest military forces protecting the Sun Moon Empire's capital.

He was both an ordinary leader of the City Defense Army and a means by which the increasingly powerless Emperor on the Sun Moon Empire's throne monitored Mingdu.

In his daily life, he had almost completely shed the habits and methods he had accumulated in the interrogation department. He was like a man who had washed his hands of the past, becoming a gentle old man.