Before long, a squad sent to arrest the chief of Seven Bends Bay flew out through the city gate.
As soon as they emerged, all of Zhixu City flickered, rippling and fading like an illusion. The enormous city suddenly vanished into thin air.
People approaching the gate from outside stopped one after another, dumbfounded. The city was gone, leaving an empty expanse of sky and earth, with only distant mountains and deserted wilderness in every direction. Had they not seen others heading this way too, they would have thought they had taken the wrong road.
Many had no idea what had happened, but some knew there was only one circumstance in which this would occur: Zhixu City had shut its gates and sealed itself off completely.
This was exceedingly rare. Many had never seen it; most had only heard about it.
To the guards on the battlements, the scenery outside remained unchanged, just as before...
In the guest quarters, the outwardly composed Ba Yingshan came to visit again. The moment he saw Qi Yueru, he urged her in a low, anxious voice, "Leave, quickly. You can't stay any longer. Get out of here now."
Qi Yueru could tell from his reaction that something was wrong, and naturally had to ask, "What happened?"
He might have held himself in check had she not asked, but the question sent Ba Yingshan's fury blazing three feet high. Through gritted teeth, he said, "I believed your damned lies and arrested those two local strongmen. Now the Prison Inspector is suspicious. He's taken over the Prison and is personally participating in the interrogation."
Qi Yueru said incredulously, "Arresting two people like that was enough to alert the Prison Inspector? This is your territory. What on earth were you doing? How could you botch even this?"
"Who could have imagined that woman Lan Qiaoyan would stick her foot in too..." Ba Yingshan promptly gave her a rough account of what had happened.
Qi Yueru was speechless after hearing it. She had never expected such a mishap, much less that Lan Qiaoyan would mistakenly think she was the target. Where could they possibly go to argue their case?
As for the idea that Lan Qiaoyan had acted to save her future son-in-law, never mind Ba Yingshan-even Qi Yueru did not believe Lan Qiaoyan could take a liking to such an ant. Putting herself in Lan Qiaoyan's shoes, she was a woman too.
In that case, it really had been nothing more than a misunderstanding.
But whether it was a misunderstanding no longer mattered. Things had reached this point, and Du Huoguan had personally intervened. Although Ba Yingshan said he had cut off the trail, she no longer dared linger. If they truly focused on those two local strongmen and dug deeper, certain connections would be easy to make.
She immediately followed Ba Yingshan's advice and hurried to pack her things and leave.
Earlier, she had kept pressing the authorities here to let her take her son's and younger brother's remains out for burial. But the rules dictated that all exiles who died here must return to dust and earth here. There were exceptions to everything, yet she could no longer spare a thought for that now, afraid that if she delayed, she would be unable to escape even if she wanted to.
It would be inconvenient to leave together, so Ba Yingshan stepped out of the guest room first. Yet he had barely taken a few steps outside when he abruptly stopped and looked up into the empty sky, his expression changing.
Watching from inside, Qi Yueru saw that he had not left and was standing there without responding for some time. She immediately walked out and surveyed their surroundings. Just as she was about to ask, Ba Yingshan spoke first. "I'm afraid you won't be able to leave for now."
Qi Yueru asked nervously, "What do you mean?"
The answer arrived as soon as she finished speaking. City Lord Ba's trusted subordinate hurried over and reported to him in a low voice, "City Lord, the Prison Inspector has ordered the city sealed. Every passage leading outside has been cut off!"
Ba Yingshan gave a grave grunt of acknowledgment. After dismissing the man, he glanced back at the grim-faced Qi Yueru and said quietly, "Satisfied now?"
He was clearly mocking her for refusing to heed his advice earlier and insisting on stirring up trouble.
At this point, Ba Yingshan could hardly say much more to vent his frustration. He gestured for her to return to her room and wait calmly, then strode away.
After learning the details of the city's current situation, he went straight to Du Huoguan.
Du Huoguan was still circling the Star Map in the pit, leisurely placing stones.
After saluting, Ba Yingshan asked, "Prison Inspector, why has the city been sealed?"
Du Huoguan glanced at him and gave a clear answer. "Shi Chun and his companion were framed. We're arresting the instigator, some chief from Seven Bends Bay."
"Framed? To think such a thing happened!" Ba Yingshan looked furious. He immediately cupped his hands and volunteered, "Your subordinate will personally lead men to arrest him!"
Holding a gemstone between two fingers, Du Huoguan waved his hand and said, his gaze fixed on the Star Map, "There may be a traitor within. You should avoid any appearance of involvement."
The words were simple and blunt. Such was the power of confidence in one's authority. They left Ba Yingshan with nothing to say. He could only force out an acknowledgment, obediently cooperate, and then obediently take his leave.
Toward evening, someone brought the materials Du Huoguan had requested: Shi Chun's and Wu Jinliang's statements, along with some detailed information related to them.
After reading through them, Du Huoguan considered matters for a while, then went up to the top floor again.
The space on the top floor had changed again. A Brocade Couch had been added, and Nie lay asleep on his side, his head resting on a high pillow.
The open black umbrella had been tossed onto the floor, and the brushes and paints on the table looked as though they had been casually discarded as well.
Du Huoguan walked to the couch and, addressing the seemingly sleeping man, recounted Shi Chun's and his companion's statements, then described the personal histories he had gathered on the two.
With clear targets, obtaining information that was not secret posed little difficulty for him. Besides, Shi Chun had built quite a reputation for Eastern Nine Plains, and countless people had already made inquiries about him.
Du Huoguan summarized the first half of their histories, trying to cover it as briefly as possible, since his focus was on what came afterward: Shi Chun's offense against Qi Yueru's son, Shen Youkun, and his sudden acquisition of a large quantity of supplies a month ago. He would then be able to analyze the connections between these events.
Unexpectedly, before he could reach that part, he merely mentioned that, starting several years ago, Shi Chun had gradually sent dozens of people out of Eastern Nine Plains and was quite capable. Nie, sleeping on his side on the Brocade Couch, suddenly opened his eyes.
Du Huoguan could not continue, because Nie held out a hand to him, clearly asking for the papers he held.
He no longer wanted to listen; he wanted to read them himself. This was exceedingly rare, as this powerful figure seldom showed interest in anything anymore. Du Huoguan actually froze, and only when Nie crooked his fingers at him did he hurriedly present the papers with both hands.
With the stack of papers in hand, Nie shifted slightly into a more comfortable reclining position for reading. He first examined the page Du Huoguan had turned to, apparently reading with great concentration and care.
The sight greatly surprised Du Huoguan, who stood waiting beside him.
After finishing the current page, Nie read through all the papers one by one, including Shi Chun's and his companion's statements, which had already been recounted to him. Finally, he turned back to the page that had been on top when Du Huoguan handed them over.
Looking half asleep and half awake, he studied it for a while longer, then slowly said, "In other words, over these years, he had at least several dozen chances to leave the Land of Exile, and gave every one of them to someone else."
This man, who rarely spoke, had actually opened his mouth because of an utterly insignificant nobody.
Du Huoguan was astonished, and had no idea why the other man's attention had settled on this point. Still, he nodded. "That's correct. Judging by the information gathered here, it isn't really a secret. After Shi Chun took charge of Eastern Nine Plains, he publicly told its people that he had grown up eating at the tables of its hundred households and would not let them down. He said that as long as even one person remained unable to leave, he would not leave either, and that he would definitely be the last to go."
Nie's gaze remained on the paper. "In other words, he truly acted on those words, and lived up to them."