The Blade-Wielding Legend-Chapter 1408 - 725: Zhao Qingxu’s Tail (Part 2)

These were not a big deal to him.

The most painful thing was that every night when he slept, he was often awakened by the terrifying scenes of that time.

Unexpectedly, he was able to escape the investigation because of this Japanese matter.

After composing himself, Tian Qianhu quickly walked into the Xuan Sacrificial Officer Hall.

"Master Tian, you finally came."

A Daoist hurriedly came out to greet him and led him towards the direction of the building.

This Tian Qianhu was also one of the personnel in capturing Zhao Changsheng and was quite familiar with people from the Xuan Sacrificial Officer Hall. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Not long after, the two arrived at the dark cell.

"Master Tian."

Seeing Tian Qianhu enter, Luo Mingzi quickly stepped forward and apologized with a full face of guilt, "I burdened you, I even pleaded to Your Majesty regarding the matter in the South, but the Captain Bureau over there..."

"I understand, Daoist, no need to say more."

Tian Qianhu quickly bowed with hands folded, speaking solemnly, "As long as we can eliminate Jianmu, these issues of mine are nothing."

Luo Mingzi patted his shoulder, didn't bother to comfort him, and led him into a cell.

Inside the cell, a person was covered in blood-stained clothes, tied to a wooden frame.

It was the Commandery Prince of the Prince Ying Mansion.

This once reckless Commandery Prince no longer had the noble demeanor of the past, his face was pale, stained with dirty blood, his eyes filled with fear, tremblingly said, "Stop beating, stop beating, I've already told you everything I know!"

Luo Mingzi said coldly, "This is Tian Qianhu of the Captain Bureau, repeat what you know."

"Yes, yes..."

The Commandery Prince dared not waste time and started explaining the events.

The incident was relatively simple.

After the Prince Ying Mansion was destroyed, this Commandery Prince escaped a misfortune and originally intended to flee, only to find himself weak and incapable of doing any work, and was tricked out of the little silver he had on the way.

In desperation, he panicked and hurried back to the Capital, seeking Wu Anfu.

He falsely claimed to know about the treasure of the Prince Ying Mansion, only for a meal.

Upon discovery, seeing Wu Anfu's fury, he quickly claimed to be able to acquire the blueprints.

As the saying goes, even a broken ship has three pounds of nails, the Commandery Prince, in his heyday, befriended many dubious friends, but now in adversity, those who pushed against him would only lead to his demise.

Just then, he ran into an acquaintance.

This person was a street kid from East City, named "You Er", who used to earn rewards following him around.

Being recognized on the street, the Commandery Prince was scared to death, but this "You Er" was loyal, helped him conceal his identity, and brought him to a tavern for a delightful meal.

The Commandery Prince, being a muddlehead, drank excessively and lamented about his life, venting his recent experiences and crying as he borrowed money from You Er, planning to leave the Capital.

Unexpectedly, this "You Er" claimed to be able to get the blueprints but demanded a share of the silver after selling them.

The Commandery Prince had no choice but to agree, using a desperate approach.

He didn't expect that the next day "You Er" managed to get the blueprints.

Subsequently, Wu Anfu contacted barbarian emissaries to sell them.

The Commandery Prince originally waited in the Capital to divide the silver, but was instead approached by Luo Mingzi.

After hearing this, Tian Qianhu was somewhat puzzled, "Daoist Luo, this person doesn't seem to have any connections with the Japanese, does he?"

"The strange thing is here."

Luo Mingzi shook his head and said, "We already went to capture 'You Er', but that person's home was already deserted, and nearby neighbors said he had taken his wife and children to the countryside several days ago, and hasn't been seen since."

"The Captain Bureau continued to search and found this person was a Japanese secret agent hiding in the Capital."

"It's not right..."

Tian Qianhu immediately detected the problem, frowned, and said, "If this You Er is a Japanese secret agent, acquiring the Divine Artifact blueprints, he would directly hand them to his own people; why pass them through the Commandery Prince?"

"Supposedly the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, completely pointless."

"Provoking the Wala and the South Seas, and facing the Captain Bureau..."

Halfway through speaking, he suddenly realized the reason, "This 'You Er' has issues!"

"Exactly."

Luo Mingzi nodded and said, "The Capital must have infiltrated a group of Japanese experts, 'You Er' being their contact, managed to acquire the blueprints from somewhere, and informed this group for a mid-route massacre."

"Tian Qianhu, I've heard you were investigating Zhao Changsheng in the South, and dealt with pirates multiple times, do you have any ideas?"

"This..."

Tian Qianhu also felt confused, frowning and saying, "The Japanese, have small etiquette but lack great righteousness, acting ruthlessly and cruelly, but not foolish, there must be another motive."

"There's someone behind 'You Er', and he can acquire the blueprints..."

As he spoke, a spiritual light suddenly flashed in his mind, and he exclaimed, "It's Zhao Qingxu!"

"Japan pirates were already colluding with Jianmu, when the 'Pantao Conference' was yet to be destroyed, Zhao Qingxu must have had contact with 'You Er', this demon dared to plot against the Divine Artifact, there must be someone in the Academy cooperating!"

Luo Mingzi, after hearing this, wasn't surprised, nodded and said, "Master Qianhu and I think alike."

"Young Hero Li once told me, plotting against the Divine Artifact is just a bait, Zhao Qingxu might have another purpose, if he indeed did this... Tian Qianhu, could you think of anything?"

Tian Qianhu shook his head and said solemnly, "Zhao Qingxu is too cunning, if it were possible to predict, he would have been captured long ago."

"At the moment, we can only find those Japanese agents first, are the archives available?"

"They're all here."

Luo Mingzi waved his hand, and several junior brothers immediately presented a thick archive.

Tian Qianhu carefully examined it, as he flipped to the investigation notes from yesterday's site, a sudden flash of spiritual light lit up in his mind, "It's Yu Yiyuan Shikigami, how did this scoundrel come to the Capital?!"

Luo Mingzi's eyes lit up, "Master Tian knows the culprit."

"Yes."

Tian Qianhu gritted his teeth and said, "Previously in the South, we found out Zhao Changsheng's last appearance was exterminating a Damen village, also related to pirates, and went to investigate."

"Who knew upon reaching the Damen boat house ruins, we'd be ambushed by a group of experts, I escaped by jumping into the sea, relying on learning Japanese language, mingled into an island Ronin camp, the attacker was a guest of honor."

"At that time, I got some information, and after multiple inquiries on the road, only then did I learn this person's identity."

"Over there in Japan, the Onmyoji faction is quite powerful, has an esteemed status, and is under Imperial Family tribute."

"Unlike here, when encountering fierce ghosts, they often seal them sternly, followed by long-term tribute, throughout countless villages, including some formidable entities, that may be refined into Shikigami by Onmyoji."

"It's said to be as many as a hundred, known as the 'Hundred Ghosts Night Parade,' the controllers are called 'Hundred Ghosts Seat'."

"The Shikigami dedicated by their family, is called 'Yu Yiyuan', the inheritor of Shikigami is called Yu Yiyuan Shikigami, becoming a core member within the 'Hundred Ghosts Seat', possessing a high status."

As he spoke, his eyes filled with blood, "That's how my brothers died horribly."

"The opponent manipulated the Shikigami, many didn't have time to react and were directly frozen to death, others faced brutal massacre."

"Hmph!"

Luo Mingzi said coldly, "Japanese have treacherous hearts, causing chaos in our Divine State, none can be let go, since Master Tian recognizes, is there any clue for tracking?"

Tian Qianhu gritted his teeth and said, "These Japanese exorcism techniques are quite powerful, but pose significant risks."

"The matter of Yu Yiyuan Shikigami isn't a secret in Japan, every seven days, they need to consume children's blood, using the masculine Qi in a child's blood to suppress Shikigami's backlash, once halted it becomes unbearably painful, hence this person is feared as a demon by everyone in Japan."

Luo Mingzi immediately understood, turned and said, "Quickly, check where children have disappeared in the Capital."

"Also, capture all Japanese merchants in the city and inquire clues!"

"Yes, senior brother!"

The movements at the Xuan Sacrificial Officer Hall were swift, along with cooperation from the Captain Bureau, numerous hiding Japanese merchants were promptly captured.

However, the information they gathered was somewhat unexpected.

"No wonder these people didn't leave."

Luo Mingzi handed the intelligence to Tian Qianhu and spoke at the same time, "This Yu Yiyuan Shikigami is under Toyotomi Hideyoshi's adopted son Toyotomi Hideyoshi, originally the heir, but Toyotomi Hideyoshi had another son, Toyotomi Hideyori."

"To pave the way for his own son, Toyotomi Hideyoshi has already executed Toyotomi Hideyoshi, declaring him and his followers as rebels."

"This Yu Yiyuan Shikigami has now become a stray dog!"

"I see..."

Tian Qianhu glanced at the archive again, suddenly enlightened.

"Zhao Qingxu is putting out toxic bait, using these people!"

"What exactly is he plotting?"