sjar Chapter 9 A Warning, The Dark Pavilion
Chapter 9 A Warning, The Dark Pavilion
After dealing with Gu Hong, Ying Chen turned his attention to the soldiers who had come with him. These soldiers were not highly skilled; the highest among them was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, and most of them were at the Qi Refining stage.
"General Gu Hong, the city's defense general, colluded with traitors in a plot to rebel. He has now been executed. Considering your ignorance, I will give you a chance..."
"Surrender immediately, and I will forgive all past transgressions. Those who resist will be executed without mercy, and their entire families will be exterminated..."
Ying Chen said coldly.
Crash~~
As soon as Ying Chen finished speaking, people immediately threw their weapons on the ground, and more and more people did so until everyone had put their weapons down...
They were unaware of Gu Hong's plans; all they knew was that the King of Liang was the true ruler of Liangzhou, and that the lives of all of them, and the safety of their families, rested on his shoulders...
Moreover, Gu Hong's pretext for coming was to rescue the King of Liang, so they had little resistance to surrendering; in fact, they were more than happy to accept it...
Seeing how sensible the soldiers were, Ying Chen nodded in satisfaction.
He then ordered the Imperial Guards to escort them back to camp and dispatched Zhao Yun to return temporarily to take over the city's defenses...
After everything was arranged, Ying Chen returned to the Liang Prince's residence.
As for the facilities inside the mansion damaged in the fight, we'll have to find someone to repair them tomorrow...
The next day.
Shuoyang City remained unchanged, except for the lingering faint stench of blood in the air, a testament to the reality of what had transpired the previous night...
Inside the Liang Prince's Palace.
Cui Zecheng stood nervously in the living room, waiting for Ying Chen's arrival. He had heard about what happened last night, and Ying Chen's summons today made him indulge in some fantasies...
A moment later, footsteps could be heard outside.
Cui Zecheng quickly stood up, straightened his clothes, and stood respectfully.
Ying Chen stepped in.
"Your Highness!"
Cui Zecheng bowed respectfully.
"Ok!"
Ying Chen nodded lightly and walked to the main seat to sit down.
Without Ying Chen's presence, Cui Zecheng dared not move and could only stand still.
"Governor Cui, do you know why I summoned you here?"
Ying Chen said in a deep voice.
Thump!
Cui Zecheng immediately knelt down and said, "Your Highness, as the governor of Liangzhou, I failed to discover that there were so many villains in the city, putting Your Highness in danger. I beg Your Highness to punish me..."
Ying Chen nodded, thinking to himself: This Cui Zecheng isn't stupid; he knows why he was called here. But he still needs to be warned. Otherwise, if someone tries to bribe him, he might become the next Gu Hong...
Bang~~
Ying Chen slammed his hand on the table, and the solid wood table instantly fell apart...
This startled Cui Zecheng so much that he trembled and lowered his head even further...
"You know about it too? Do you know how many thieves attacked the Liang Prince's residence yesterday?"
"Five hundred! Five hundred professional assassins! A provincial capital like this harbors so many killers! If it weren't for my abilities, I'd already be dead..."
Ying Chen said angrily.
"Your Highness, forgive me!"
Cui Zecheng trembled all over, a wave of fear washing over him. He knew there were many assassins last night, but he hadn't expected there to be so many!
Thankfully, the King of Liang is alright, otherwise even if he had three heads, it wouldn't be enough to chop him off!
"Hmph! Considering your ignorance, I will not pursue this further. However, while you may escape death, you will not escape punishment: a three-year salary deduction and thirty strokes of the military rod..."
Seeing that it was about time, Ying Chen snorted coldly and said.
This punishment is neither too severe nor too minor; a three-year salary deduction won't have much of an impact on him, it's just a matter of losing a little income.
However, those thirty strokes of the military rod are a different story. The army is mostly composed of cultivators, and ordinary rods naturally cannot harm them. Therefore, the rods used to make the military rods are specially made. Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would not feel good after taking those thirty strokes...
"Yes! Thank you, Your Highness, for sparing my life!"
Cui Zecheng naturally had no objections. After all, his life was saved, and compared to his life, what were thirty lashes?
Then, members of the Imperial Guards entered and dragged Cui Zecheng out to be flogged...
"Your Highness, the interrogation results are in!"
At this moment, Lu Bing walked over and said respectfully.
"Oh? Tell me!"
Ying Chen became interested and spoke up.
"promise!"
"The two people we arrested yesterday were the leaders of two assassin groups, both with early-stage Golden Core cultivation. According to them, they accepted a bounty for assassinating you for an assassin organization called Dark Pavilion. Other assassins in the city were doing the same. The reward for this bounty was extremely generous, which is why they were all so eager to take it..."
Lu Bing recounted the intelligence he had obtained during the interrogation.
"The Dark Pavilion?"
Ying Chen was somewhat puzzled.
"Your Highness, the Dark Pavilion is an assassin organization spread across multiple dynasties, containing numerous powerful individuals. Anyone can post or accept bounties within the Dark Pavilion. The assassins who came to assassinate you this time did so because someone posted a bounty within the Dark Pavilion..."
Lu Bing explained.
Ying Chen frowned. Things were getting complicated. An assassin organization that spanned several dynasties definitely had Nascent Soul stage experts within it, and there was even a possibility that there were even stronger ones...
As long as no one completes the bounty, assassins will keep coming to kill him. He's not afraid, but if they keep coming, he'll get really annoyed...
If the person who issued the bounty increases it, it's possible that a Nascent Soul or Deity Transformation expert might come to assassinate him...
"Is it possible to find the headquarters of that secret society?"
Ying Chen asked.
Lu Bing shook his head and said, "The headquarters of the Dark Pavilion is very well hidden. With the current strength of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, it's not enough to find them..."
Ying Chen was somewhat disappointed, but there was nothing he could do; the Embroidered Uniform Guard's strength was indeed too weak at the moment...
"Have the Imperial Guards remain on high alert at all times. Anyone who enters Liangzhou these days and is identified as an assassin must be killed immediately. The normal lives of the people of Liangzhou must not be disrupted..."
Ying Chen gave instructions to Lu Bing.
"Here!"
Lu Bing responded respectfully.
Afterwards, Lu Bing left. Ying Chen also went to the training room again. He was still too weak to handle all crises and needed to improve his strength as soon as possible...
............
The capital of the Qin Dynasty.
The Second Prince's Mansion.
"Your Highness, the mission failed. None of the assassins sent to Liangzhou succeeded..."
In a secret room, a man in black spoke to the Second Prince, Ying Luo.
"How could we fail! The sixth prince is only at the Foundation Establishment stage, and he doesn't have any experts in his household. The strongest among those who went this time are all at the Golden Core stage, and Gu Hong from the city defense army is also assisting them. Tell me, why did we fail...?"
Ying Luo looked at the man in black with a gloomy expression and said.
"Your Highness, some strangely dressed people have appeared around the Prince of Liang, each with Foundation Establishment cultivation. The assassins are no match for them. As for the leader of the assassins, he was killed by the leader of the group. According to my judgment, that person has at least Nascent Soul cultivation..."
The man in black spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly.
"Nascent Soul stage? How is that possible? How could there be a Nascent Soul expert by Sixth Brother's side? Could it be that he was hiding his true strength before, wanting to make a name for himself?"
Ying Luo was full of confusion, unable to understand why this was happening.
"Since that's the case, then increase the bounty for me, and send Nascent Soul cultivators, or even Deity Transformation cultivators, to kill him. I refuse to believe that he has a Deity Transformation expert by his side..."
Ying Luo said sinisterly.
"Yes!" the man in black replied respectfully, then turned into a wisp of green smoke and disappeared into the secret chamber.