Sun Bu was greatly shocked after hearing this. The four words "Jiangdong spy" were even more terrifying than bandits. He had only arrived in Guangzhou today—how could he possibly have been exposed already?
Seeing that Song Chen wore neither a military uniform nor armor, Sun Bu had no idea who he was. Struggling fiercely, he roared, "Y-you're slandering us! We are all law-abiding citizens who travel by ship and trade goods. How can you let your tongue wag so wildly?"
"Words are useless. Take him away," Song Chen said, not bothering to argue with Sun Bu.
"Is there no law left? No justice left?" As Sun Bu struggled and shouted, someone stuffed a filthy rag into his mouth.
As Sun Bu and Shi Xun were being led out of the dockside inn, they discovered that the doors and windows of every other guest room were tightly shut. The innkeeper and servants had vanished as well, and the place was silent as death.
They were loaded into prison carts and taken back to Guangzhou City. The group of eight was imprisoned separately, while Sun Bu was brought to the Jiao Province Chamber of Commerce's dungeon for Song Chen to interrogate personally.
Once the black hood was removed, Sun Bu saw Song Chen's face again. Sweeping his eyes around the room, he saw torture implements hanging all over the walls, while two burning braziers in the corner crackled and hissed.
A tall table stood nearby, along with tall stools manufactured in Jiao Province. Sun Bu did not know which government office had arrested him, and he was still considering what excuse he could use to defend himself.
"You are Sun Bu?" Song Chen's words snuffed out Sun Bu's hopes.
"N-no, I'm not. Are you an officer of Guangzhou? I am Li Lang,