Purpose

City Guard Main Division.

Xu Hongyu, dressed in a white Flying Fish Uniform, led dozens of people directly out of the Main Division in the drizzling rain, disappearing into the streets and alleys of the South District.

On the third floor of the Main Division, He Mingxuan stood at the window, watching Xu Hongyu's departure with a cold expression and his hands clasped behind his back.

"Sir, are we not going to interfere with the Black Crow Sect's affairs?"

A man in a Dark Green Yamen Director Uniform stood beside him, watching Xu Hongyu's figure disappear, and couldn't help but ask He Mingxuan in a low voice.

He Mingxuan looked down at the South District in the drizzling rain and said faintly, "If she wants to do it, let her do it. I also have some clues about the Black Crow Sect's affairs, and I can roughly guess their purpose. This has already caused dissatisfaction among some people above. Interfering in this matter will not benefit us in any way."

"Besides, the Black Crow Sect has been entrenched for many years, and its Main Altar is located underground, so it is not easy to deal with."

Although destroying the Black Crow Sect's Power would definitely yield some benefits, after all, it was a Power that had been rooted for many years, He Mingxuan decided not to interfere after learning about its difficulties.

There is no need to compete for things that may be thankless. Now, Xu Hongyu is basically dispatching her own people. If the Black Crow Sect is insidious and cunning, Xu Hongyu may suffer heavy losses this time. By then, her Power in the City Guard will be further weakened, and it will be even more difficult to suppress him, the Deputy Main Division.

In the drizzling rain.

The City Guard's large force moved solemnly, filled with murderous aura. For a time, almost every household closed their doors in panic. Wherever they went, the streets and alleys were instantly emptied, with not a single person in sight.

However, this large-scale operation was not a search for bandits, nor was it a tax collection, but to take down the Black Crow Sect's stronghold. The many Yamen Runners went straight to the Black Crow Sect's stronghold almost without stopping.

Soon.

The City Guard Yamen Runners of Nine Stripes Ward, led by Min Baoyi, all arrived at the location of the Black Crow Sect's stronghold.

There were still many people in this area, some with numb eyes, braving the drizzle, hiding some incense sticks in their arms, and rushing to the Black Crow Sect's temple to offer incense. Seeing a large number of Yamen Runners appear, they still didn't react much for a while.

"Go!"

Min Baoyi drew his Yamen Saber with a clang, pointed it at the Black Crow Sect's stronghold, and said in a deep voice, "The Black Crow Sect deceives the people, extorts money, and kidnaps people. It is utterly heinous... By order of the Chief Constable, take down all the members of the Black Crow Sect!"

With Min Baoyi's order, the five Yamen Runner Captains, including Chen Mu, had already led a team of men to spread out, quickly surrounding the entire Black Crow Sect's stronghold, and then suddenly stormed into it.

Chen Mu strolled in the drizzle, and didn't even encounter any decent resistance along the way. He didn't even need to draw his saber, and the Yamen Runners around him, such as Liu Song and Li Tie, quickly ended the battle.

In just a moment.

About a hundred members of the Black Crow Sect in the Black Crow Sect's stronghold were either dead or captured. Some poor people who had been bewitched by the Black Crow Sect were temporarily detained in a courtyard, guarded by Qin Bei.

Min Baoyi, Chen Mu, Wang Gong and others came to the courtyard that Chen Mu had scouted earlier, which was the location of the Black Crow Sect's secret passage to the underground, and ordered a group of Yamen Runners to search carefully.

The courtyard was quickly turned upside down.

Soon, a hollow space was found in a wall in the inner room, but the location of the mechanism could not be found.

"Everyone, step back."

Min Baoyi carefully examined it, waved his hand, signaling everyone who was still searching in confusion to retreat, then drew his Yamen Saber with a clang, and suddenly swung two sabers, slashing at the wall.

With the sound of cracking, the hard and thick wall was chopped to pieces by Min Baoyi's saber like tofu, revealing a dark passage sloping downwards behind it.

"It seems this is the place."

Min Baoyi squinted his eyes and looked into the depths of the passage, only to see that the passage was extremely deep, and he could not see what was at the end.

Wang Gong said in a deep voice, "This place is full of unknowns, and it's hard to guarantee there won't be any dangerous traps. I think we should interrogate those Black Crow Sect members first to see if we can get some useful information before proceeding."

Min Baoyi sheathed his Yamen Saber and nodded slightly, saying, "That makes sense."

Chen Mu also looked at the passage with a thoughtful expression. They had hardly encountered any decent resistance along the way, and the many Black Crow Sect members they had captured were almost all ordinary personnel, without even a single Incense Master among them.

The more it was like this, the more it indicated the importance of this underground passage. The higher-ups of the Black Crow Sect must have retreated into this passage, having completely abandoned the surface part.

"Zhong Chang, Wang Gong, you two guard this place. Chen Mu, you take people to search everywhere to see if there are any other clues. I'll go to Qin Bei's side to see if we can extract any information."

Min Baoyi quickly arranged the assignments.

Everyone responded and quickly went into action.

Chen Mu had explored the Black Crow Sect's base once before at night, so he was relatively familiar with the place. At this time, he led Liu Song and others to search room by room, but after a thorough search, they found nothing.

When he returned to the courtyard, he happened to see Min Baoyi walking over with a gloomy face, obviously having gained nothing from the interrogation either. The captured Black Crow Sect members didn't even know about the underground Main Altar or the secret passage, just like the two people Chen Mu had grabbed that night, knowing nothing no matter what they were asked.

"Wang Gong, you arrange for people to go down and investigate," Min Baoyi said in a deep voice.

Since there were no clues anywhere and they couldn't get any information from interrogation, they could only send people down to explore. Anyway, there were still many Black Crow Sect members who could be driven ahead, exploring step by step, and sooner or later they would be able to clear the underground.

Wang Gong nodded with a gloomy face. Of course, he didn't like exploring the underground in such an ignorant situation, but there was no other way at the moment. He quickly grabbed a few Black Crow Sect members and ordered people to drive them down together, exploring in batches.

After a while.

The first batch of people who went down returned, with spots of blood on their bodies. Of the four Yamen Runners, one was seriously injured and one was slightly injured, having been attacked by mechanisms and hidden arrows in the tunnel. As for the Black Crow Sect members who were driven ahead, they were all dead.

After asking about the details, Wang Gong waved his hand, signaling the men to go down to rest and recuperate. Then, he replaced them with another batch of people, driving some Black Crow Sect members ahead again to explore.

This was repeated.

After a long while, more than a dozen Yamen Runners were injured, and more than thirty Black Crow Sect members died. The general situation of the underground passage gradually emerged, but they still hadn't explored to the end.

However, according to the clues, this passage was very long and had long been far away from their current location, heading roughly towards 'Two Stripes Ward'.

According to the map, it should be more accurately leading to the center of Two Stripes Ward, Nine Stripes Ward, and Wutong Ward.

"It seems their Main Altar is really located in the center of the three areas," Min Baoyi said in a deep voice.

Just as he was about to order someone to convey this message to all parties, a burst of footsteps suddenly came from outside.

"How is the situation?"

A clear and cold voice rang out, a voice that Chen Mu was very familiar with.

Turning his head to look, he saw a woman wearing a white Flying Fish Uniform and a bamboo hat walking into the courtyard in the drizzle, followed by a dozen Yamen Runners. It was the South District Chief Constable, Xu Hongyu, whom he hadn't seen for a long time.

The continuous drizzle was like a layer of curtain, adding a layer of hazy beauty to the cold and fair face under the bamboo hat.

"Greetings, Chief Constable."

The Yamen Runner Captains and Yamen Runners in the courtyard didn't dare to look too much and respectfully saluted.

Min Baoyi also saluted and then quickly recounted the current situation.

Xu Hongyu nodded slightly after hearing this, and said, "I will immediately transfer manpower to guard that place. In addition, the investigation of the other two locations will be suspended. We will open a gap from your side and then attack."

There are passages in all three locations, and each passage has traps and mechanisms. Naturally, there is no need to waste manpower advancing on three routes. It is enough to open the passage on Nine Stripes Ward and attack the other party's Main Altar.

But just at this moment.

Suddenly, a figure wearing a raincoat hurried over. It was Xiao He, Xu Hongyu's personal maid whom Chen Mu had seen several times before. She quickly came to Xu Hongyu with a solemn expression and said something in Xu Hongyu's ear.

"Really?"

Xu Hongyu's expression changed slightly.

"Ninety percent true."

Xiao He nodded solemnly.

Xu Hongyu's face suddenly darkened, and she said in a deep voice, "No need to investigate. Summon everyone and follow me to attack immediately!"

Min Baoyi and others who were closer also heard Xiao He's low-voice report, and their expressions changed one by one at this time.

Chen Mu also heard it and his eyes turned cold.

The information Xiao He reported was that the Black Crow Sect was using some kind of secret method to cultivate and manipulate a kind of Gray-skinned Demon Rat, and called it the 'Guardian God'. This rat itself is not very strong, but once it bites someone, it can cause convulsions and epilepsy in mild cases, and drive people into madness in severe cases, tearing and biting others, almost like the source of a plague.

Now this kind of Gray-skinned Demon Rat has not yet been fully cultivated, and only the offspring are appearing in the city. Once it is completely completed, it can quickly spread to the entire city. At that time, the lives and deaths of the million people in the Outer City will be controlled in its hands, and it can be destroyed with a single thought!

At that time, even the several major families in the Inner City will only be able to hold back for fear of harming something valuable, and the Black Crow Sect will also take this opportunity to become a force capable of negotiating with the major families in the Inner City, seeking power and influence from it.