Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 255 - 219 Neijianchashi_1

Chapter 255: Chapter 219 Neijianchashi_1

"So you’re saying that Xue Wuya, Master Shenhui and all those involved in the Maitreya Teaching case, along with several extremely guilty and wicked evil cultivators locked in the water prison, as well as Demoness Zidie who was confined in the first underground layer, have all escaped?"

Qiu Qianqiu let out a mocking laugh: "Interesting, no sooner had I thrown these people into the water prison, they manage to escape from the Zhenyao Tower."

His words made the atmosphere in the hall even more oppressive and heavy. Everyone’s faces, including Li Xuan and Jiang Hanyun, were as dark as the bottom of a pot.

Another person stepped forward: "After the Zhenyao Tower was blasted open, seven Xunjian who were holding the fort at the direction of the east courtyard wall were killed in action, and another twelve were injured."

Li Xuan cast a sidelong glance and saw a man with a chubby face and large ears, robust as a mountain, who was five times the size of an average person. It was Fang Xiangshan, the General Commander of the Shenxiang Department. He was in charge of guarding the inner and outer courtyards of Zhuque Hall when the incident occurred.

"Thump!"

This was the Fumo Zongguan at the head of the table, who lifted the heavy sword in his hand and planted it heavily on the ground. The dull sound seemed to strike people’s hearts.

Ordinarily, the sightless old man was benevolent and good-natured. But now, his face was as cold as ice. His pupil-less eyes scanned the crowd, releasing a chill that made everyone shudder.

"Who can tell me exactly what happened? At the time of the incident, four Fumo Xiaowei were stationed within the Zhenyao Tower. The Zhenwu Fengmo Array and Zhenhun Pillar had just been renovated, and there was fifty percent more staff on duty inside the tower than usual! How could such a disaster still occur?"

The wrath of the Fumo Zongguan was like a thunderstorm, sweeping and crushing every corner: "This is truly ridiculous. In the fifteen years that I have been managing Zhuque Hall, although there have been endless troubles, I have managed to maintain the situation.

I often took pride in maintaining peace in south Zhili for over ten years after the Tumu Fort incident. I thought my accomplishments were in no way inferior to my predecessors and did justice to the many predecessors of Liudao Division! But, in the end, I did not expect to face such shame! Gentlemen, ever since Mongo retreated to the plains, the Zhenyao Tower has been undisturbed for three hundred years! Are you trying to make me close my eyes in death with regret?"

At this point, the hall was completely silent until after more than a dozen breaths, Qiu Qianqiu interrupted, "Zongguan, calm down. The urgent matter at hand is to quickly find out the cause of the change in the Zhenyao Tower——"

As he said this, the door opened and a Daoist in purple law robes and a seven-beam star crown led a group of spellcasters from both the Buddhist and Daoist sects into the hall.

Li Xuan, standing on the side, raised his eyebrows slightly. He recognized the Daoist in the purple law robes as Zhang Yingyuan, the chief guest Qing of Zhuque Hall and vice tianshi of Tianshi Sect.

What surprised him was that Xue Yunrou was also following behind Zhang Yingyuan. As the girl passed by, she playfully winked at him.

Qiu Qianqiu seemed to perk up: "Vice Master Zhang, is there a result?"

"Thankfully, we have identified the cause," Zhang Yingyuan stood in the middle of the hall, looking around at everyone: "Just now, several Daoist friends and I thoroughly searched the tower. We found that whether it was the Zhenhun Pillar or the Zhenwu Fengmo Array, only some of the runes were damaged, and the rest were largely intact, especially the main part, which was not damaged at all. The reason why both stopped working at the same time is that someone used a delayed God-fire Talisman and high-explosive bombs at the top and bottom of the tower, destroying the array pivot."

"So you’re saying——" the Fumo Zongguan gripped the heavy sword in his hand tightly: "This could have been an inside job? And the person is among us?"

Li Xuan also looked doubtfully at the many Fumo Xiaowei and two Fumo Zhonglangjiang who had rushed back to Nanjing.

As far as he knew, the top of the tower was the hub where the Zhenhun Pillar operated, and the third underground layer was the base for Zhenwu Fengmo Array.

And only those above the Colonel level who were specially authorized in Zhuque Hall had the qualifications to enter these two places.

"I don’t think it’s possible. It’s a certainty! The Fengmo Array wouldn’t just silence for no reason, and the Zhenhun Column wouldn’t just stop running out of the blue."

Qiu Qianqiu let out a cold laugh, looking at the people in the field: "Who was on duty in the Demon Tower today? Stand up."

Li Xuan then saw four pale-faced figures walking out from amongst the people.

He recognised all of them - General Commanders Zhen Shenlian of Guixiu Department, Lei Yun of Huoya Department, Shen Zhimou of the Black Snake Department, and Yin Ruolan of the Qingyi Department.

Qiu Qianqiu looked at the four of them, his gaze icy: "Where were you four when the incident occurred? Do you have any witnesses?"

Zhen Shenlian and Shen Zhimou exchanged a glance, the latter being the first to answer, "I and Xiaowei Zhen were responsible for the top of Zhenyao Tower, watching over the ’Zhenhun Pillar’. I am not sure about Xiaowei Zhen’s situation. But until just before the incident, I was on duty on the eastern side of the tower top and never left."

Lei Yun immediately followed, bowing to answer, "According to the duty roster, the Zhenwu Fengmo Array was guarded by me and Xiaowei Yin tonight. I have never left before the incident. The prison head and prison guards on the second underground floor can testify for me."

Yin Ruolan also silently cupped his fists, indicating that his situation was also the same.

"Those under suspicion aren’t limited to just these four," Zhang Yingyuan held one hand behind his back and stroked his beard with the other: "I have seen both explosion sites, and those gunpowder and talismans were hidden in extremely obscure locations, and they could even have been hidden using illusion techniques. In other words, the possibility of a crime by anyone who has been on guard at both the top and bottom of the tower within the last seven days can’t be ruled out. Their goal could have been achieved by pre-positioning the God-fire Talisman and gunpowder."

Li Xuan was puzzled by this and asked Ma Chenggong, who stood next to him, in a whisper using secret language transmission, "Why within the last seven days?"

——The latter was a ’Captain-to-be’, which was the reserve force of Fumo Xiaowei, hence he was also qualified to attend the meeting tonight.

"That’s because seven days ago, Vice Master Zhang led a team to perform maintenance on it."

Ma Chenggong stared fixedly at what was ahead. His face was bitter, his voice distracted, "The rule has always been that the ’Zhenhun Pillar’ and ’Zhenwu Fengmo Array’ inside the Demon Tower need maintenance every half a month. What needs repairing is repaired, what needs patching is patched. This time, Deputy Zongguan Qiu has invited Vice Master Zhang to supervise this personally, just to be safe."

While the two were talking, Qiu Qianqiu was questioning Zhang Yingyuan, "Does Vice Master have any other clues?"

Zhang Yingyuan shook his head, "Investigation and detective work aren’t my strong suits. I’ve faithfully sketched out the exact scenes of the two explosions. As for more clues, you’ll have to investigate on your own."

The blind old man had his eyes half-closed, looking at the people in the hall, "Did you hear Vice Master Zhang’s words? Anyone who had been stationed at both the top and bottom of the tower within these seven days, please step forward."

This time, four people stood up - Jiang Hanyun, the commander of Mingyou City, and Fang Xiangshan, the Commander of Shenxiang Department. The next two were the head of Treasure Tower, Li Shoufang, and Ma Chenggong. Plus the three who had already stepped out - Zhen Shenlian, the commander of Guixiu City, Lei Yun, the Commander of Huoya City, and Shen Zhimou, the Commander of Heishe Department. That’s seven in total. The other two Six Paths Bureau Colonels were not here.

Li Xuan was slightly surprised. He knew that before Qiu Qianqiu ordered an increased guard on the Demon Tower, it was usually guarded by two Xiaoweis, paired with two Six Paths Bureau Colonels.

Therefore, it was common for those like Ma Chenggong, who received ’Xiaowei salary’, to be drafted in for duty.

But he hadn’t expected that this old Ma would also be drawn into this.

Just at this moment, someone suddenly scoffed, "Those suspected are not just these few, but also includes Deputy Zongguan Qiu, right?"

This statement attracted everyone’s attention. Li Xuan also turned his head, again looking towards the entrance. He saw another group of people in black, stepping briskly into the entrance.

The one leading them was also wearing an armor of Liudao Fumo. However, the color of his armor was somewhat dull and dark. He wore a half mask on his face and the exposed half face had several scars. His slightly blue eyes emitted a chilling luster.

After the man stopped, he gave Fumo Zongguan a slight salute, "Neijianchashi Shi Xin, sees Zongguan."

Li Xuan’s mind slightly startled. Neijianchashi falls under the Inner Court of the Liudao Division, considered the Liudao Division’s internal surveillance institution.

The blind old man looked at these men in black and furrowed his brows, "Neijianchashi, what brings you here?"

"Obviously, I have come to investigate the matter of the Demon Tower." Shi Xin maintained a wooden expression, answering indifferently, "This incident was caused by an insider. I believe everyone is clear on that. It is within my authority and duty to investigate any illegal matters within the Liudao Division."

"We at Zhuque Hall can handle this case on our own!"

These words were spoken by one of the two Fumo Zhonglangjiang present.

Li Xuan had just met this man. Xue Yunrou had referred to him as ’Lord Wang’, that should be Wang Shouyi, one of the four Fumo Zhonglangjiang of Zhuque Hall.

His tone was rather impolite, "Do we need your Inner Court to meddle in this?"

"The problem is that you can’t handle it! Otherwise, why would something like this occur at the Demon Tower? This hasn’t happened in three hundred years."

Shi Xin showed no regard for Wang Shouyi’s words. He scoffed and his gaze turned piercingly cold as he looked at Qiu Qianqiu, "Apart from these Xiaoweis and Six Paths Bureau Colonels, there are the two Zongguans who can access both the top and the bottom of the tower. And Deputy Zongguan Qiu today gave an order to move the prisoners into the water jail. Then this incident occurred, which can’t help but raise suspicions."

After hearing this, Qiu Qianqiu wasn’t angry. He just gave a slight nod, "True! I am indeed under great suspicion."

As he said this, he stood up from his seat and with a solemn face, stepped into the hall.

"It’s good that Deputy Zongguan Qiu is willing to cooperate."

Shi Xin nodded in satisfaction, then flicked his sleeve, "Have all of them caught! All of them, send them to the ninth floor of the Demon Tower for custody."

The men in black had already looped their chains around people like Jiang Hanyun and Ma Chenggong.

Seeing this, the blind old man’s expression became displeased, "Neijianchashi, what are you trying to do?"

"Until they can prove their innocence, these suspects need to be strictly monitored. I’m already being very generous by not using Zhenyuan Nails on them."

Shi Xin bowed his head slightly, and responded in a carefree manner, "And as for the Zongguan himself, from today onwards, your commands will have to be reviewed by me. And you will have to inform me of your whereabouts in advance!"

Upon hearing this, Li Xuan exchanged glances with the rest of the people in the hall. Each saw the look of surprise in the others’ faces.