The other party's strong methods made the black robed spy aware of the difference in strength between the two sides. He was an experienced intelligence officer, so he would not lose his mind because of a crisis and lose his mind.
On the contrary, his many years of training had made him even more cool-headed in times of crisis.
"Your excellency Xu, you don't have to be like this. You want to investigate the Three Thousand Mile Massacre case, but you are afraid of offending Duke Huai. But I advise you not to be impulsive. There are a few things you need to understand.
"First, the princess was not kidnapped by the barbarians. This can't be hidden. Hehe, I can't tell you the reason. But believe me, if the princess fell into the hands of the barbarians, Duke Huai would know eventually.
"But the princess was rescued by you. As long as the investigation shows that the time when you left the diplomatic mission was the same as the time when the princess was kidnapped, that's enough. If Duke Huai wants to deal with someone, he doesn't need evidence, as long as he thinks you are an enemy. "
King of Zhenbei is more overbearing than I thought … Xu Qi'an continued to listen expressionlessly.
"Second, you saved the princess, which is a great achievement. Duke Huai has been in charge of the army for many years, and he values' fair punishment and reward '. If you can get on Duke Huai's good side, Xu Yinluo, your future will be limitless. Wei Yuan can only promote your official rank, but Duke Huai is a prince, he can promote your noble rank.
"Third, a case is just a case. If you make a mistake, it won't affect your reputation for solving strange cases. Your future is the most important thing, isn't it? Why affect yourself for a case that has nothing to do with you? "
The princess silently took a step back. She didn't look at the black robed spy, and focused on Xu Qi'an.
Although he was a lecher, his style was decent, and he was definitely not the kind of scum who would sell others for his future … The princess had some confidence in this, but she was still a little nervous.
After all, Xu Qi'an was facing the pressure of offending a prince, as well as the prospect of being promoted.
"Bureaucracy exists in every world …" Xu Qi 'an nodded slowly.
"You're right, I'm almost convinced. You're right, the princess is King of Zhenbei's official wife, I don't need to offend a prince. "
The black robed spy's masked face revealed a smile. He was betting that Xu Qi'an wouldn't dare to offend Duke Huai; betting that Xu Qi'an cared more about his future.
On one side was purgatory, and on the other side was fairyland. Even an idiot would know which to choose.
Of course, whether or not these words could be fulfilled, whether or not Duke Huai was willing to give the surnamed Xu a bright future, who cared?
As long as they survived this disaster and returned to the barracks, Xu Qi 'an would be like a fish on a chopping board. As for the Qi Observation Technique, the black-robed scout was not worried. What he had said just now was the truth.
Duke was fair of rewards and punishment.
Xu Qi 'an looked at the black-robed spy, who was obviously relieved, and said in a heavy tone, "Answer one of my questions, and I will let you go. "Blood, what and what?"
The black robed spy's heart sank, and he said sternly, "Xu Qi'an, if you insist on investigating, only destruction awaits you. If Duke Huai were to crush you, it would be as easy as crushing an ant.
"Not only you, but your family, your friends, and friends will all be punished as well. If you don't want them to die with you, you better let me go. "
Seeing that Xu Qi'an was silent, the black robed spy laughed coldly, "If you kill me, you'll at most silence me. What's the point? Can you summon my soul?
"Be sensible and think about it. What I said just now is still valid."
As an intelligence officer, he understood people's hearts, and he knew how to talk. A combination of coercion and enticement, using his future as bait and using his friends and family as a threat.
"You're right." Xu Qi'an grinned.
The black robed spy shivered. He had a bad premonition, and asked tentatively, "Wh, what?"
Xu Qi'an stared into his eyes, and repeated, "You're right, I really do know how to summon souls."
After he finished, he saw the black robed spy's pupils shrink, and he struggled with all his might. He threatened fiercely, "Xu Qi'an, I am Duke Huai's spy. If you dare to kill me, you'll become Duke Huai's enemy. You won't have a good ending.
"Are you an idiot? No, even an idiot is smarter than you. You don't want to walk the sunny path, you just have to …"
With a crack, the angry shout came to an abrupt end.
"So noisy."
Xu Qi'an casually threw the corpse on the ground. The spy's eyes were wide open, and he looked at the sky, as if he had died with a grievance.
Good kill! Princess Consort cheered in her heart.
Her heart slowly calmed down, and she let out a sigh of relief. When she looked at Xu Qi'an again, the admiration in her eyes was undisguised.
Unknowingly, Xu Qi'an's image in her mind had become more and more distinct, and her trust in Xu Qi'an had also grown. These changes happened quietly, and were hard to detect.
Princess Consort was about to say: Let's run!
She saw Xu Qi'an take out a book, tear off a page, and ignite it with his energy. In an instant, a chilly wind blew, and there seemed to be a mournful cry beside her ears. The warm sun in the sky lost its warmth.
Then, the princess consort saw several illusory figures turn into green smoke and float in the air ten feet in front of Xu Qi 'an.
Ghost ghost ghost … Princess Consort's eyes widened bit by bit, and her mouth opened bit by bit. She was scared silly.
She had never seen a ghost in her life. Usually, she imagined it and scared herself. Now that she saw a real ghost, her mind was a little muddled, and she lost all her thoughts. She even forgot to escape.
Xu Qi'an didn't notice that Princess Consort had fallen into a state of fear. Even if he noticed, he didn't have the time to comfort Daibun's number one beauty.
There were more important things waiting for him to do.
Other than the three barbarians who died in Xu Qi'an's hands, and the black-robed secret agent, he also summoned the souls of the dead soldiers.
The new souls were silly, and their eyes were lifeless.
Xu Qi'an looked at the black-robed man, and after a few seconds of silence, he said slowly, "What's going on with the massacre of three thousand miles?"
The secret agent's expression was stiff, and his voice was hollow as he replied, "His Highness Duke Huai needs a large amount of life essence to increase a martial practitioner's vitality to break through to the Third Grade Great Perfection Stage."
This sentence was like thunder exploding in Xu Qi'an and Princess Consort's ears.
The massacre of three thousand miles was done by the King of Zhenbei … At this moment, Xu Qi'an's mind was buzzing, as if someone had hit him on the head.
I actually expected it. If the massacre of three thousand miles was done by the barbarians, how could Tang Shanjun and the others, as the tribe leaders, not know about it? How could they not participate?
It's just that Chu Xianglong didn't know about it, so I overlooked this detail, and thought that there was more to this case … No, the real reason was that I didn't want to believe it.
I didn't want to believe that a prince who had guarded the borders for more than ten years, the royal family of Daibun, would slaughter the people who respected and loved him for his own selfish desires.
Xu Qi'an's lips trembled, and he muttered, "Unforgivable …"
He would rather it was all done by the barbarians. They were from different camps, and when they met, they would fight to the death. Today, you slaughtered the people of Daibun, in the future, I will lead the army to flatten the barbarian tribes.
Since they were mortal enemies, there was nothing more to say.
But he couldn't accept that the one who caused this tragedy was the King of Zhenbei, the prince of Daibun. He waved the butcher's knife on his own people, and the reason was to advance to Second Grade.
Bastard!
Yes, it was Duke Huai … Princess Consort covered her mouth, and tears flowed out of her eyes.
After a long time, Xu Qi'an heard his own hoarse voice ask, "Where was the massacre?"
The man in the black robe answered blankly, "I don't know."
He didn't know … This answer was out of Xu Qi'an's expectation. Shouldn't it be Xikou Prefecture? Wasn't that place locked down?
Also, even the secret agent of the King of Zhenbei didn't know about this, which was very unscientific.
"Who knows?" Xu Qi'an asked the question in his heart.
"Chu Zhou's Commander Que Yongxiu and the secret agent 'Tian' know," the soul of the man in the black robe said.
Commander Que Yongxiu?
Xu Qi'an pondered for a moment, and recalled this person's information: Que Yongxiu, Chu Zhou's Commander, Duke Protector.
A hereditary title of nobility.
The first Duke Protector was the sworn brother of the Lord of the Conquests, who later became Emperor Wu Zong.
Five hundred years ago, Emperor Wu Zong worked together with the Buddhist Sect to kill the first Supervisor, and usurped the throne in the name of cleansing the Emperor.
The Duke Protector was a rare evergreen tree among the old nobles, and had many marriages with the royal family. In the history of the family, the Duke Protector had married two princesses and four princesses.
Que Yongxiu had the blood of the Daibun royal family in his veins.
"Que Yongxiu and the King of Zhenbei conspired to create the massacre of three thousand miles … Collect evidence and report them. I don't believe that the Yuanjing Emperor would cover up for them. Even if he wanted to, Duke Wei wouldn't allow it, and neither would the officials in the court …"
The officials in the court, the officials in the capital, the good and the bad, the stupid and the smart, were a force that even the Emperor couldn't resist.
Once such a shocking massacre was exposed, the officials in the capital would not sit idly by.
Xu Qi'an resisted the urge to take the soul back to the capital, because it was not enough. The soul of a secret agent was not enough to bring down the King of Zhenbei and the Duke Protector.
He turned to look at the three barbarians and asked, "Why did you kill the secret agent of the King of Zhenbei?"
The barbarian on the left answered, "Find the place where the King of Zhenbei massacred and report it to the chief."
The barbarian in the middle answered, "The chief also wants to advance to the second rank."
The barbarian on the right answered, "During this time, we have been hunting with the secret agent of the King of Zhenbei, and we have lost many of our people."
"Why do you want to find the place where the King of Zhenbei massacred?" Xu Qi'an looked at the remnant soul of the black-robed man who was standing there blankly.
He immediately grasped the main point, thinking that there was a big problem here.
Logically speaking, finding the place of the crime was his job as the chief, and it was also one of the evidence that he had to find. If he couldn't even find the victim, he couldn't investigate the case.
However, the secret agent of the King of Zhenbei didn't know the place of the crime, and the barbarians were looking for it. This meant that the massacre of three thousand miles was not over.
"Take the blood." The barbarian on the left answered.
Xu Qi'an then asked the barbarians in the middle and right, and he got the same answer.
According to the analysis of the ambush case, the barbarians wanted to take the King of Zhenbei's fortune, and they had to do it in two ways: first, to take the concubine, and second, to take the blood.
According to the second information, the case of the Three Thousand Miles Massacre was not over, or in other words, the King of Zhenbei had not completed his mission. Otherwise, the scouts of the King of Zhenbei would have retreated a long time ago.
No wonder there were no highly skilled fighters from the King of Zhenbei during the attack on the concubine. If he was right, they had all sneaked into Chu Zhou City to look for the location of the massacre. And the secret agents of the King of Zhenbei were fighting with the barbarians in the dark, hunting each other.
No wonder there were no spies to escort the Princess. They had to hide and hunt the barbarians who had sneaked into Chu Zhou City at the same time.
"Only the Qing Yan Tribe knows about this?" Xu Qi'an asked again.
"Yes." The barbarian answered.
That's not right … How did the leader of the Qing Yan Tribe know about this? Xu Qi'an thought for a moment and said:
"Have you seen any spellcasters in the tribe?"
"Yes." The barbarian answered.
If that was the case, then the Qing Yan Tribe knew everything about the massacre, and it was the spellcasters who told them about it.
One, the spellcasters were supporting the leader of the Qing Yan Tribe to take the King of Zhenbei's fortune and ascend to Second Rank.
Two, the spellcasters were trying to steal the fortune of Daibun, support the leader of the barbarians, infiltrate the court, and nibble away at the national power of Daibun.
Xu Qi'an did not ask any more questions, but said in a deep voice: "Squat down and cover your eyes."
The concubine cooperated and squatted down to cover her eyes.
Xu Qi'an took out the fragment of the Book of the Underworld and put the bodies of the spellcasters and the three barbarians into the Jade Stone Mirror. He then opened the Dharma Wheel and collected their souls.
"Let's go!"
He squatted down in front of the concubine and said with his back facing her: "Come up."
This time, the concubine did not hesitate. She opened her arms and hugged Xu Qi'an's neck. She found that she was no longer resistant to physical contact with this man.
How strange.
The concubine turned her head and looked behind her. A gust of wind blew, and the souls that were not real enough were like illusions. They were torn apart and dissipated in the wind.
She suddenly felt a stabbing pain in her heart. She said in a low voice: "He doesn't deserve the title of King of Zhenbei."
"Shut up and hug me tightly."
"Okay." She tightened her arms and lay down on Xu Qi'an.
Bang! The ground trembled as Xu Qi'an shot out like an arrow and disappeared into the wilderness.
…
At noon, a hundred miles away from Sanhuang County, the direction was west.
The concubine sat by a stream and nibbled on a chicken leg in an unladylike manner. As she ate, she glanced at the dazed Xu Qi'an. She had always been arrogant, but now she spoke in a rare gentle tone:
"What do you plan to do next?"
Xu Qi'an looked at her and smiled. He fiddled with the bonfire. "Actually, the reason why I brought you north was to use you to threaten the King of Zhenbei, to make him hesitate. My original intention was bad."
She pursed her lips and said gloomily: "I know."
She wasn't a fool. This man had gone to the north to investigate a case and brought her with him. She could guess what he was planning with just a little bit of thought.
Xu Qi'an was surprised: "Hey, you're not angry? This doesn't match your usual personality. "
The concubine shook her head and said softly: "I was born beautiful. When I was nine, I followed my parents to Jade Buddha Temple to burn incense. The abbot of the temple saw me and wrote a poem. Yes, you should know that poem.
"From then on, I became famous. My parents worked even harder to nurture me, hoping that I would become a well-educated and talented girl who was proficient in the four arts.
"When I was thirteen, because of my beauty, the pressure on the family increased. Not only did I have to deal with the high officials who came to ask for my hand in marriage, even the clansmen who were not related by blood looked at me strangely.
"My parents and elders protected me very well. It wasn't because they loved me, but because they didn't want their precious goods to have any flaws. Finally, that year, the emperor sent someone to find me and asked me to enter the palace.
"My parents and elders were so happy that their eyes were brimming with tears. Yes, the goods they had painstakingly nurtured were finally sold for the highest price.
"After I entered the palace, I only saw the emperor once, and then I was left out. Later, I found out that the emperor had already started to cultivate and was not close to women. To me, this was a good thing. The palace had good food, good food, and I didn't have to suffer to cater to stinky men.
"After the battle of Shanhai Pass, I was given to Duke Huai and became his legal wife. I stayed in Duke Huai Palace for twenty years. I knew exactly what the two brothers were planning.
"But what could I do? I was just a weak girl. Not to mention the fact that there were guards and maids watching over me, even if there weren't any restrictions, I would have lost half my life if I ran from Duke Huai Palace to the outer city gate.
"I've been a commodity since I was young, constantly being given to others. When the day comes that I no longer have any value, I will be abandoned like a pair of worn-out shoes. "
Beside the bonfire, she hugged her knees. Her voice was soft, and there was no sadness or happiness on her face.
"So even if you use me as a bargaining chip, as a commodity, I won't blame you. Compared to the two brothers, I think you are a good person."
"This, this is too tragic …" Xu Qi 'an felt a surge of pity in his heart. This had nothing to do with her beauty. This feeling of pity was the same as for Zhong Li.
It was completely out of pity.
He looked at the princess and questioned, "You really don't blame me?"
The princess was very honest this time, and nodded her head, "Yes, I thought you were going to sell me out, and I was so angry."
Xu Qi'an laughed, "Women are like this, their mouths don't match their hearts."
She also laughed, and then asked, "How do you plan to deal with the King of Zhenbei's matter? Since he was the one who did it, the nature of it is much more serious than lying about military intelligence.
"If you insist on going against him, I'm afraid the outcome will not be good."
The mountain breeze blew, and the bonfire swayed. In the quiet atmosphere, after a long time, Xu Qi'an said slowly, "Find the location of the Three Thousand Mile Massacre, stop him, punish him, and if possible, kill him."
The princess looked at him in a daze.
… …
Sanhuang County, Elegant Melody Pavilion.
"Knock knock …"
Cai'er, who was leaning on the soft couch and reading a book, heard the knocking on the door, followed by the brothel keeper's laughter, "Cai'er, Master Zhao is here, entertain him well."
Cai'er put the book away, and replied in a sweet voice, "Yes, mother."
The room's door was pushed open, and a middle-aged man dressed like a rich man came in with a lewd smile on his face.
He stepped over the threshold, turned around, and closed the door. When he turned around, the smile on his face disappeared, and he was serious and serious.
The middle-aged man looked at Cai'er, and nodded, "Did you tell him about the news of Xikou County?"
Cai'er bowed, and said respectfully, "Yes, he didn't suspect anything."
The middle-aged man let out a sigh of relief, sat at the table, poured a cup of tea, and said leisurely, "But with his quick-wittedness, he will definitely realize that something is wrong. But at that time, the matter will be over."
Cai'er didn't say anything.
The middle-aged man continued, "In a few days, I will go north. You should leave Sanhuang County in the near future. If I die on the way, don't ever come back."
After a pause, he said in a serious tone, "An attendant in black."
Cai'er lowered her head, "I will die a hundred times without regret."
