Lu Xiaofeng entered Jile Tower for the third time, but his mood was completely different from when he had first come.
Today was not like yesterday; someone was helping draw attention away.
Every area was heavily guarded, so after entering the first floor, he found no opportunity at all to go elsewhere.
Lu Xiaofeng came to the staircase and waited for a while before seeing two rows of torches surge into Jile Tower.
"Six Doors, investigating a case!"
"Today, we are only here for Jile Tower! Everyone else, leave!"
Jiang Long and Luo Ma shouted, drawing their weapons and charging at those around them.
The guests inside were horrified and scattered in all directions, trying to flee. Meanwhile, the people of Jile Tower bared vicious expressions and lunged directly at the constables.
For a moment, it was Blade Wind, Sword Rain, with blood spraying everywhere. The entire Jile Tower descended into chaos.
Naturally, the guards at the staircase had no mind to keep watch anymore and joined the battle.
Seeing this, Lu Xiaofeng flashed upstairs.
Upstairs, everyone else had heard the commotion as well, including the master of Jile Tower.
When he saw what was happening below, his expression changed. He immediately ran toward the back of the building and activated a mechanism in one of the walls, revealing a secret passage.
But a gust of wind swept past him, and Lu Xiaofeng directly blocked his way. "Master of Jile Tower, where do you think you're running?"
"Lu Xiaofeng!"
The master of Jile Tower gritted his teeth and turned to flee in another direction.
Jile Tower was filled with mechanisms, and as its master, he naturally knew them all. As he ran, he activated one trap after another in an attempt to stop Lu Xiaofeng.
Though Lu Xiaofeng's qinggong was exceptional, he still had to slow down in the face of those mechanisms. For a moment, he failed to catch up.
At that moment, Luo Ma rushed up to the second floor and ran straight into the fleeing master of Jile Tower. He thrust his sword at once.
"Take him alive!" Lu Xiaofeng hurriedly shouted.
But Luo Ma could not stop his sword in time. The blade pierced through the master of Jile Tower's throat, killing him on the spot.
"Ah!"
Lu Xiaofeng sighed helplessly.
Boss Qian hurried over, pulled open the master of Jile Tower's sleeve, and revealed an axe tattoo.
"This is the tattoo of the Luban Divine Axe Sect... So the master of Jile Tower was Yue Qing!"
"Whether he was Yue Qing cannot be determined by that mark alone."
Lu Xiaofeng said, "Zhu Ting happens to be here. Let him identify his senior brother."
When Zhu Ting arrived, he did not even need to remove the mask. He merely lowered his head for one look and said, "How could he possibly be my senior brother? For us of the Luban Divine Axe Sect, the most important thing is skillful hands. One look at this man's hands tells you they are not the hands of a craftsman."
Boss Qian was astonished. "He isn't Yue Qing? Then where is Yue Qing?"
Lu Xiaofeng said, "Where is Yue Qing? Naturally, that is something we must ask you... Boss Qian!"
Boss Qian panicked. "Hero Lu, what do you mean?"
Lu Xiaofeng said, "I mean that this so-called master of Jile Tower was merely a pawn pushed out to die. You were the one controlling Jile Tower from behind the scenes!"
"That's right!"
Wuyan came down from the third floor and said, "He was the one controlling Jile Tower from behind the scenes! My father, Yue Qing, was forced by him into committing those wrongs! Hero Lu, Uncle Zhu, officers, you must not let him go!"
"You! You're talking nonsense!"
Boss Qian completely lost his composure and could not help looking toward Luo Ma.
Luo Ma's expression was cold. His longsword reflected the candlelight, and the killing intent in his eyes was unmistakable.
At that moment, what was there left for Boss Qian not to understand?
So this so-called sacrifice of the pawn to save the king—the pawn being discarded was not merely the master of Jile Tower lying on the ground. It included him as well!
Luo Ma, the true mastermind behind the scenes, could kill the master of Jile Tower with a single sword stroke without hesitation. Naturally, he could kill him just as easily!
And at that very moment, Luo Ma happened to be standing right beside him!
Boss Qian reacted with astonishing speed. He grabbed Zhu Ting beside him and hurled him at Luo Ma. Then, with a flick of his hand, he scattered several tiny golden darts.
Luo Ma had indeed intended to make a move, but no matter what, he dared not kill Zhu Ting directly like this.
He could only restrain his sword and catch Zhu Ting with his free hand.
Lu Xiaofeng moved like lightning. In an instant, he had flashed over, catching one of the golden darts between two fingers and preventing Zhu Ting from being injured.
As for the others, there was no need to worry.
With such a large number of hidden weapons, unless one used a hidden-weapon technique like A Sky Full of Flower Petals Scattering Money, they would generally have little power.
Yet because of this, everyone's movements had been halted.
When they turned back, Boss Qian had already vanished.
But Lu Xiaofeng had guessed the direction in which he had fled and immediately used his qinggong to pursue him.
The others did not understand. Seeing both men disappear, they could not help growing anxious.
Wuyan said, "The two of them may have left through the secret passage. I know where it is. Follow me!"
The crowd was uncertain, but at the moment, they could only follow her to a spot on the second floor. Sure enough, they found a hidden passage.
This was precisely the passage the master of Jile Tower had intended to use when fleeing earlier, but Lu Xiaofeng had intercepted him before he could enter it.
As one of the people controlling Jile Tower behind the scenes, Boss Qian naturally knew of this passage as well. Seizing the opportunity just now, he had escaped through it.
Lu Xiaofeng knew that too. Thus, in that instant, he had thought of this secret passage and given chase.
"Where does this passage lead?" Jiang Long asked.
Wuyan said, "Yunjian Temple."
"Yunjian Temple?"
Luo Ma said in surprise, "I heard Boss Qian's wife had fallen ill and had been recuperating at Yunjian Temple all these years. It seems he truly was the one controlling Jile Tower behind the scenes. He used this secret passage to travel from Yunjian Temple to Jile Tower!"
Wuyan nodded. "That's right. Exactly so."
Led by Wuyan, everyone proceeded through the secret passage.
Meanwhile, Boss Qian had already arrived at Yunjian Temple.
The temple was even quieter at night.
The wind howled past, and a figure had already blocked Boss Qian's path.
"Phoenix Dancing in the Nine Heavens... Its reputation truly was well deserved..."
Boss Qian looked at the figure before him, his face filled with despair. With a thud, he dropped to his knees. "Hero Lu, I know it was my insatiable greed that brought about today's disaster. I know I am certainly doomed to die... But I beg Hero Lu to show mercy and not let my crimes implicate my wife, children, and elderly family members..."
"Wife, children, and elderly family members... Are you referring to Madam Qian and Miss Xia'er in this temple?"
"No!"
Boss Qian said, "Since things have come to this, I will tell Hero Lu the truth. The true mastermind behind this case was not me, but..."
"Luo Ma, right?" Lu Xiaofeng cut in.
"Hero Lu already knew?"
Boss Qian said in astonishment, "Hahaha, Luo Ma thought he could deceive everyone. Even at a time like this, he wanted to sacrifice the pawn to save the king. He never expected that his little trick had long since been seen through by Hero Lu!
That's right. Luo Ma was the mastermind behind this case. Back then, he came to me and asked me to assist him. And I... in the end, my greed knew no bounds, and that was how I committed this great wrong!"
With a sigh, Boss Qian continued, "Hero Lu, I still possess irrefutable evidence that can nail Luo Ma. I will tell it to you, and I only hope that afterward, Hero Lu can spare the lives of my wife, children, and elderly family members!
Several years ago, after Luo Ma had taken control of Yue Qing and his daughter, forcing them to design and build Jile Tower and create the printing master plate for silver notes, he wanted to eliminate them!
But I felt that would be unwise. Jile Tower was entirely under Luo Ma's control, and the master plate was in his hands. I could only provide assistance from the sidelines and had no control over anything. He could abandon me at any moment and do all these things alone.
So I took the risk of saving Yue Qing and his daughter, then imprisoned them in Yunjian Temple... Madam Qian was actually Yue Qing, while Xia'er was his daughter!"
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