In Zhang Yuan's view, being able to wipe out the Illusionary Mist Nine Bandits so quickly had indeed involved a great deal of luck.
According to his original plan, he would use his talent to provoke Jia Lie Bi and Ao Ba Pa into colluding with the Illusionary Mist Nine Bandits to make a move against him.
The Jia Ma Empire also had assassin organizations. If they could afford it, they did not necessarily have to hire mountain bandits. Zhang Yuan had merely handed them every favorable condition, leaving them with only that option.
Still, it had only been his guess that the two families could contact the Illusionary Mist Nine Bandits, and the plan could have failed. Fortunately, he had asked Ling Ying to keep watch and confirmed that Jia Lie Bi and Ao Ba Pa had contacted the bandits.
Though he had this plan in mind, his true targets had been the Illusionary Mist Nine Bandits rather than the Jia Lie Clan and Ao Ba Clan. He lacked the military merit needed to advance to commander, so he wanted to lure the snakes from their holes and kill a few.
But the plan had progressed far too smoothly. He had successfully formed partnerships with Lin Zhengqing and the Mittel Auction House, so he decided to make things bigger—take down all of the Illusionary Mist Nine Bandits and crush the Jia Lie Clan and Ao Ba Clan while he was at it.
However, the Illusionary Mist Nine Bandits had escaped several imperial purges. Even when a Dou Wang had taken action, only a few of them had been killed. Zhang Yuan did not dare claim he could definitely capture them all; he had only hoped to kill one more for one more share of merit.
Who would have thought that Jia Lie Bi would actually cooperate with the Illusionary Mist Nine Bandits? He was clearly injured and was the Da Dou Shi from the two clans least likely to come here.
During that clash with the Xiao Clan, after shattering Jia Lie Bi's Dou Qi Armor, Zhang Yuan had secretly planted a strand of Three Dragon Thunder Gang Fire within him. It was meant to lie dormant for half a month before detonating his Dou Crystal, leaving him either dead or crippled while ensuring the Jia Lie family could never find the culprit.
But now that they had met in the Illusionary Mist Mountain Range, Zhang Yuan's realm had already surpassed Jia Lie Bi's. He detonated the Heavenly Flame from afar, turning him into a self-destructing Da Dou Shi and inflicting unexpected damage on the nine bandits.
When he had traded barbs with Sen Ma Rong earlier, he had not only been waiting for Lin Zhengqing and Master Gu Ni to arrive. He had also been buying time to mobilize the Heavenly Flame and gather some information along the way.
All he could say was that everything had fallen into place. Even without Lin Zhengqing and Master Gu Ni's help, he could have handled it himself.
Still, if he wanted to convict the Jia Lie Clan and Ao Ba Clan, he would need the two men's cooperation.
"Luck?" Lin Zhengqing smiled. "You are too modest, young friend. Though I have eaten more salt than you have eaten rice, I greatly admire your resourcefulness."
"Indeed." Master Gu Ni walked over to Lin Zhengqing's side, removed the hood from his head, and said, "Young friend, you leave nothing to chance. There is no need to be modest. It is only a pity that the two of us were unable to be of much help this time."
Zhang Yuan fell silent.
Explaining it would be too troublesome. They could believe whatever they wanted.
"You two are too polite. When it comes to dealing with the Jia Lie Clan and Ao Ba Clan, you will have to contribute greatly," Zhang Yuan said with a smile, subtly reminding them of their agreement.
"Do you have evidence proving that they colluded with the Illusionary Mist Nine Bandits?" Lin Zhengqing asked.
"Yes. Irrefutable evidence." Zhang Yuan nodded. "Jia Lie Bi has already been slain by me, and his head is up ahead. I also had someone use a Recording Stone to record Jia Lie Bi appearing alongside the Illusionary Mist Nine Bandits and surrounding us."
Although Jia Lie Bi had self-destructed, Zhang Yuan had controlled the Three Dragon Thunder Gang Fire to devour the flames and preserve his head. After all, it was worth a great deal of military merit.
A Recording Stone was a special kind of mineral. Anyone could activate it by infusing it with Dou Qi, after which it would record everything within a certain range, including voices and even the slightest movement of the wind and grass.
The duration and range of the recording depended on the quality of the Recording Stone. Even the lowest-grade one was worth as much as a Yellow Tier High-grade Dou Technique, and it could not be used more than once. Thus, few people used such things.
"Then that is good." Lin Zhengqing smiled. "Once I return to Wutan City, I will follow the plan you devised, young friend. We will apprehend the upper ranks of the Jia Lie Clan and Ao Ba Clan, execute those involved in this matter, and return all the properties the two clans promised to restore, as stipulated in the contract."
Zhang Yuan's plan was simple: invite them to dinner, behead them, then take in the obedient ones as dogs.
Lin Zhengqing would invite them to a banquet and drug them, then punish the experts of the Jia Lie Clan and Ao Ba Clan who were Three-Star Dou Masters or above—the so-called involved parties.
After publicly beheading them according to the law, he would uphold justice and return the Xiao Clan's properties.
Whichever branch leader from the two clans proved more obedient could become the new clan head and act under the Xiao Clan's command.
"Perhaps there is no need to go through so much trouble."
Hearing Lin Zhengqing's words, Zhang Yuan lightly shook his head. He looked at Sen Ma Rong, whose body was numb and unable to move, and asked, "Are you people from the Chuyun Empire?"
Sen Ma Rong's pupils suddenly contracted. Though his mouth had regained movement, he remained silent.
"People from the Chuyun Empire?" Lin Zhengqing and Master Gu Ni's expressions changed drastically.
The Chuyun Empire and Jia Ma Empire were sworn enemies, and conflict had always plagued their border.
The Northeast Province bordered the Chuyun Empire and had seen the most battles. The empire's citizens were extremely hostile toward the other side.
If the Illusionary Mist Nine Bandits were people from the Chuyun Empire, then Jia Lie Bi's collusion with them would not merely be a violation of imperial law. It would be treason, a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations.
"Though you refuse to speak, I know you definitely are."
Noticing the change in Sen Ma Rong's eyes, Zhang Yuan's face turned cold. He crouched down, lifted him up, and said to Lin Zhengqing and Master Gu Ni, "I need to use some methods to interrogate him. Please wait here, seniors."
Without waiting for their replies, he directly took Sen Ma Rong away.
Lin Zhengqing and Master Gu Ni were both intensely curious, but neither followed him. Instead, they exchanged a glance and went to rendezvous with the other Black Armored Guards.
Elsewhere, after entering the depths of the mist, Zhang Yuan directly formed Exotic Fire Wings and carried Sen Ma Rong to a cliff.
"You're a Dou Wang?" Sen Ma Rong asked, his eyes filled with shock.
Zhang Yuan did not answer. Instead, he asked, "Tell me your true identities, the true identities of your accomplices, and your real purpose for coming here."
Sen Ma Rong gave a cold snort, his face full of disdain. He had no intention of answering.
"I admire that you are a real man." Zhang Yuan crouched down and smiled. "So I have decided to treat you well."
"Torture?" Sen Ma Rong sneered. "You little bastard from the Jia Ma Empire, I am an ancestor when it comes to playing with poison. If any of your methods can make me so much as frown, then I won't bear the surname Sen Ma."
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Zhang Yuan raised his hands and applauded.
The Chuyun Empire's royal family and major powerful sects all cultivated poison. Eventually, the entire nation had begun playing with poison. They truly were all deranged.
"Then I'll begin."
Zhang Yuan infused a strand of Heavenly Flame into Sen Ma Rong's body.
Methods like the ten great tortures of the Qing Dynasty were too dark. He could not even be bothered to use them, lest Ling Ying misunderstand and pass incorrect information on to Xun Er.
With the Three Dragon Thunder Gang Fire, he could repeatedly ravage and restore Sen Ma Rong's body while continually amplifying his sense of pain.
He wanted to see how long Sen Ma Rong could endure—and how many times the pain he could withstand.
"Spare me! Let me die! Let me die..."
Sen Ma Rong raised his head toward the sky, his eyes filled with terror.
"Not even a quarter of an hour, and only three times the pain. Your heart does not seem as tough as your mouth," Zhang Yuan said with a look of disgust.
Then Zhang Yuan smiled at Sen Ma Rong. "You know what I want to hear. Start answering properly."
"If your answers do not satisfy me, or if I discover that you are lying, I will raise it to four times, five times, even ten times the pain and let you experience it a few more times."
"If your answers satisfy me, I can grant you a quick death."
Zhang Yuan was handsome and possessed an extraordinary temperament. Few women could likely resist the charm of his faint smile.
But in Sen Ma Rong's eyes, he was an absolute demon.
The words "quick death" sounded like heavenly music to him.
"I'll talk. I'll tell you everything."
Sen Ma Rong revealed everything, not daring to conceal even the slightest detail.
After hearing it all, Zhang Yuan sharply sucked in a breath.
"They say there is no such thing as free pie falling from the sky in this world."
"No pie fell this time. Instead, pure gold and silver rained down."
"What a heaven-shaking achievement."
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