Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The Pear Garden was one of Yuzhou City’s three most famous opera houses. It sat on the east and faced the west. On the north and south sides of the garden were tour corridors that surrounded the garden. The tour corridors were two stories high and the audience could sit inside and watch the show.
On the west side was an elegant and simple archway.
They walked into the opera house. The gray tiles and red columns were magnificent.
At this moment, a loud voice suddenly rang out from the Pear Garden.
Following this, the sounds of drums and gongs could be heard.
They only heard the lyrics of the song, mournful and mournful. The audience below the stage cheered and clamored.
Zhao Qingmei sat on the second floor, clad in a set of plain white clothes. She had a cold expression on her face as she watched the show below the stage.
“Sect Master!”
Before long, the Ghost-Faced Buddha appeared behind her.
“How’s the investigation going?”
Zhao Qingmei took a sip of tea.
“Your subordinate is incompetent. I was unable to find this person.” The Ghost-Faced Buddha quickly bowed and said.
Tan Yun frowned and said, “I feel that this person might just be passing by Yuzhou City and might have already left. Otherwise, how could the Mortal Sect’s experts not be able to investigate?”
The Demon Sect’s Mortal Sect was an organization that was comparable to the Human Emperor’s Heavenly Network. It was not difficult to investigate a Rank Two expert unless he was an expert from the royal family or other top-tier forces.
An expert that even the Mortal Sect could not find, just what kind of existence was he?
Zhao Qingmei said calmly, “Since there are no results, don’t waste your manpower and resources. Have you heard anything about the other matter I asked you to investigate?”
The Ghost-Faced Buddha said, “I investigated but I found other information.”
Zhao Qingmei knocked her fingers gently on the table and remained silent.
“The Divine Foresight’s Jiang Sanjia is in Yuzhou City and he is imprisoned in the Yuzhou dungeon.”
“A Yuzhou City’s magistrate shouldn’t be so capable.”
“Sect Master is wise. Jiang Sanjia is jointly detained by Cao Gang’s head of Yuzhou, Liu Haoping, and Yuzhou City’s magistrate. Behind them may be the Cao Gang…”
“Cao Gang?”
Zhao Qingmei remained calm and composed.
Ghost-Faced Buddha said in a deep voice, “Ever since Cao Gang swallowed the Furious Whale Gang, their sphere of influence has already spanned Jiangnan Dao, Jinling Dao, Jiangdong Dao, Yi Dao, and their gang members have expanded by hundreds of thousands. During this period, the three monsters of the West Mountain, Cangshan Eagle, and other Rank Two experts have also joined in, causing Cao Gang’s momentum to soar in a short period of time. Their strength is one of the best among the five gangs. Coupled with the help of the four great merchant associations behind them, their prestige is like the sun in the midday sky, and they faintly have the might of the number one gang in the world.”
“It seems like the Great Yan Dynasty has changed after the Demon Sect hasn’t visited the Great Yan Dynasty for decades.” Zhao Qingmei chuckled.
From the beginning to the end, his expression was calm and indifferent, not changing in the slightest.
“They’re just a bunch of dogs and chickens.” Tan Yun raised his head and snorted.
“Don’t underestimate these four trading unions.” The Ghost-Faced Buddha shook his head and said, “These four trading unions are made up of merchants from Jin Union, Jiangnan Union, Jiangdong Union, and Nan Union. Behind them is a huge economic lifeline. Not only are there cloth, banks, porcelain, silk, and even the trade of the desert plains, they basically occupy about 20% of the livelihood of the Great Yan. Just a stomp of their foot would shake the entire Jiangnan Dao.”
“And this Yuzhou City’s magistrate, Cao Anmin, is just one of the figures in Jiangnan’s business. He can’t even be considered a core figure.”
For a prefectural magistrate from an important city like Yuzhou City to be unable to enter the core of Cao Gang, one could see how impressive the upper echelons of Cao Gang were.
Zhao Qingmei glanced at the actress below and asked, “Why are they imprisoning this Divine Foresight?”
The Ghost-Faced Buddha took a deep breath and said, “This is Cao Gang’s core secret. Only Yuzhou City’s prefectural magistrate, Cao Anmin, and Yuzhou City’s head, Liu Haoping, know about it. The information I received is that Cao Gang seems to be a very ancient item, and it might even be traced back to the Great Zhou Dynasty.”
“Interesting.”
Zhao Qingmei chuckled.
“Sect Master, what should we do now? Should we snatch food from the tiger’s mouth?” The Ghost-Faced Buddha paused for a moment before saying, “The Divine Foresight from Phantom Valley is the descendant of the Phantom Valley and the divination must consume Qi and blood in his body. He had relied on his divination to roam the martial world for decades. His life has long been exhausted. In addition to being in the dungeon, he might not have the strength to push out the murderer who killed the old Sect Master.”
Phantom Valley Sect was an extremely mysterious faction in the martial world, and Divine Foresight Jiang Sanjia was one of their successors.
“With his life.”
Zhao Qingmei answered faintly, “I can do it again, but it’s not a big deal this time. I’ll do it if I can.”
“I understand.”
Ghost-Faced Buddha’s eyes narrowed slightly. “I have already investigated the situation in the Yuzhou dungeon. Many experts and Cao Gang are gathered in the dungeon. These people are elites selected by Cao Gang.”
“We kill the elites.”
…
In the dark, silent cell, there was a damp and rotten smell.
On both sides of the long and narrow passage were prisons. The prisons were extremely simple and crude, all of them built from stone. The bed in the corner only had a single straw mat.
The Yuzhou dungeon was divided into two levels. The ones locked up in the upper level were all ordinary prisoners. Most of them were hooligans who stole from others. They might be released after a few days.
Meanwhile, the people imprisoned in the second level of the underground world were felons. Most of these criminals were extremely vicious and evil. As long as the time came, they would be executed.
As they advanced deeper into the second floor, the number of prisoners in the cells on both sides decreased. Many of the cells were even covered with bloodstains and strange symbols.
This was especially true in the depths of the second level. The air was heavy with a rotten stench, giving off an extremely sinister feeling.
Clang! Clang!
At this moment, the sound of an iron weapon vibrating could be heard coming from the deepest cell.
“Brother Jiang, stop struggling. The more you struggle, the more it will deplete your life.”
A voice sounded.
The air in the prison cell was filled with dense chains. These black chains had a strange luster. Clearly, they were not made of ordinary iron.
These chains formed locks that connected to the person in the center of the cell.
That person’s hair was disheveled, his clothes were tattered, and his face could not be seen clearly.
Beside him stood a middle-aged Confucian scholar dressed in official robes. This person was Yuzhou City’s prefectural magistrate, Cao Anmin.
Yuzhou City was one of the few core cities of Jiangnan Dao. To be able to become a Yuzhou magistrate, not only did one need some talent, but one also needed strength and a strong background.
Cao Anmin had a strong and powerful background. He was from the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce, and the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce was one of the four biggest chambers of commerce that controlled Cao Gang.
Therefore, Cao Anmin had been a magistrate of Yuzhou for thirteen years. No matter what happened, he would not budge.
“You seem to be more afraid than I am when my life force is gradually depleted?”
His hair was disheveled and his eyes were bloodshot.
That pair of eyes was suffused with blood color. In the dark and silent prison, it was like a streak of blood-red light in the abyss. It made one’s back turn cold and their heart turn cold.
“Afraid?”
Cao Anmin laughed. “I’m indeed afraid. I’m afraid that if Brother Jiang dies like this, I won’t be able to report to the higher-ups, but this won’t threaten me.”
“All this time, I still have some admiration for you, Jiang Sanjia, for not using any methods…”
If Jiang Sanjia died, it would be very difficult for him to report to his superiors. However, if they threatened him because of this, they would be underestimating Cao Anmin.
Jiang Sanjia sneered. “Do you think I’m afraid of your methods?”
“A person who isn’t afraid of death is indeed afraid of many things.”
Cao Anmin took a deep breath. There was a cold glint in his eyes. “However, people who are not afraid of death might be afraid of other things.”
“For example?”
“Kunning Palace’s steward eunuch is very greedy. It’s very easy to send you in. What do you think?”
As soon as Cao Anmin finished speaking, Jiang Sanjia’s pupils constricted. There was someone in Kunning Palace that he did not want to see in his life.
“Hahahaha!”
Cao Anmin raised his head and laughed out loud.
This laughter was extremely mocking in Jiang Sanjia’s ears.
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“Brother Jiang, this dungeon is heavily guarded. Not only are there dungeon guards, there are also Cao Gang’s elites guarding it. Ordinary people are utterly unable to enter. I advise you not to take any chances.”
“After all, you do not wish to die either. Else, you would’ve already died from anger. I’ll give you a final period of time to think about it. After all, I can continue to wait, whereas others cannot.”
After Cao Anmin finished speaking, he left the cell with his hands behind his back.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The moment Cao Anmin walked out, the guard behind him closed the cell door again and locked it with three metal locks..