How Had It Come to This?

"This man truly is a Retainer General of my Jade Mountain..."

Listening to the boy's irrefutable interrogation, Cao Ming raised a hand and lifted the bloody figure from the deep pit, a complicated expression surfacing in his eyes.

He truly could not understand it.

How had a Retainer General whose only praiseworthy trait was his martial skill ended up before him in such a manner?

"It was my fault."

After a moment of silence, Cao Ming chose to state his stance first.

No matter what, the problem had arisen on his end. It was a responsibility he could not evade.

"Of course I know it was your fault."

Ye Li set down his teacup with an amused look. "You let your own confidant commit such misdeeds. I truly do not know how Prefect Cao had the nerve to question me so grandly before."

"This happened to run into me today. Had it been some other Retainer General, would they truly have been knocked unconscious and dragged away by your Jade Mountain, their credentials seized?"

"If that is the case."

At this point, Ye Li casually pulled out the jade-sealed document from his robes and flung it straight toward Cao Ming, sneering coldly.

"No need to snatch it. Take it!"

Crack!

The sound of the jade seal embedding itself into the bluestone floor was exceptionally clear and grating. Cao Ming felt the blood and qi throughout his body surge upward.

The patterns on the jade seal flickered between brightness and darkness.

Upon its smooth surface, he could see his own face gradually flushing red.

"This is..."

This sight left Su Yongye and the guards rapidly exchanging glances. Anyone could see the stunned shock in the others' eyes.

What was this?!

After staying in Jade Mountain for so long, where had they