Chapter 1217: Junior Brother Man, Good News! We’ve Got a Big Case
The Hundred Swords Alliance was equivalent to a third-class sect, with both its alliance leader and vice alliance leader being Divine Transfiguration cultivators who had participated in the Sword-Seeking Ceremony. Sword cultivators were renowned for their offensive prowess, rarely meeting their match at the same level.
The existence of the alliance leaders signified that the Hundred Swords Alliance ranked among the upper echelons of third-class sects. With their members scattered across the Wilderness Province, capturing them all would be no easy feat. Even two Transcendent Tribulation experts would struggle to wipe them out in a single night.
“We’re in a hurry. You’d better confess everything about the Hundred Swords Alliance quickly; otherwise, I’ll search your souls.”
On the way back, Lu Yang talked to them in a calm tone, but his words were undeniably chilling.
“Old Lu, don’t get carried away and search both of their souls; just search one,” Constable Meng reminded him. “We need to leave one alive to bring back, or it’ll be difficult for us to explain how we uncovered clues about the Hundred Swords Alliance.”
Search one person’s soul, dig a hole, and bury him. No one will ever know the person existed. It’s that simple.
Lu Yang nodded. “True. We can’t exactly say that Old Wang led us to the Hundred Swords Alliance headquarters. We’d have to coordinate our stories with him, which is a hassle. I’ll just search one soul then.”
“No, no, no. We’ll confess, we’ll confess!” The two Hundred Swords Alliance members shuddered like quails. What kind of constables are they? Not only are they incredibly powerful, but they’re also ruthless.
Through their confessions, Lu Yang gained a rough understanding of the Hundred Swords Alliance.
The Hundred Swords Alliance was an alliance of sword cultivators dedicated to collecting famous swords by any means necessary. Their members were spread across the Wilderness Province, earning them notoriety in the region.
Behind the Hundred Swords Alliance was an official who also had a penchant for collecting swords. This kept the alliance safe. However, the official’s identity was a secret privy only to the alliance leader and vice alliance leader.
The Hundred Swords Alliance headquarters was located in the black market of Zhongshan Commandery.
“Aside from the claim that the Hundred Swords Alliance is a renowned faction, the rest is probably true,” Lu Yang concluded.
He and Meng Jingzhou had visited the Wilderness Province before, where they met Mu Baiyi for the first time and dealt with the Sixth Yu Emperor, Wu Youdao. Despite having spent a fair amount of time there, they had never heard of the Hundred Swords Alliance.
“Let’s deal with the headquarters first. It’s pretty close,” Meng Jingzhou suggested. Conveniently, it was in Zhongshan Commandery, and Quyi County fell under its jurisdiction.
“Keep moving.”
A moonless, windy night was perfect for arrests. Four figures streaked through the air, silently scaling the walls into Zhongshan Commandery.
The two rookie constables had barely started on the job when they were assigned such a big case. It would be a lie to say they weren’t nervous. But no matter how nervous they were, they couldn’t let their enemies escape.
As such, as soon as they reached the black market, they enveloped the entire area with their spiritual consciousness, ensuring not a single Hundred Swords Alliance member slipped away.
The Hundred Swords Alliance’s entrance was deep underground, blocked by a door forged from rare stone. Only by uttering the correct watchword could one open the door.
The door sensed their presence, and a menacing face materialized in its center. “State the watchword.”
Lu Yang ignored the face and shoved the door open, announcing loudly, “Nobody move! Hands on your heads and get down! We’re constables from Quyi County. We’ve received reports that this place is involved in illegal operations, weapons theft, tax evasion, assault, culpable homicide, and a whole list of other crimes. Resisting will only add to your charges!”
“Where did these puny constables come from? How dare they meddle with us?!” The Hundred Swords Alliance abounded with experts who had occupied territory in the black market for centuries by relying on the swords in their hands.
“Mystic Black, Hegemon, so you two were the ones who betrayed our organization!”
“How dare two bottom-feeder trash betray us? We’ll wipe them out at once!”
Who are Mystic Black and Hegemon? Lu Yang was bewildered, then realized that they were the two captured earlier tonight.
After all that interrogation, we didn’t even get their names.
Never mind, it’s not important. In any case, Mystic Black and Hegemon don’t sound like aliases. We’ll find out their real names when we take their statements back at the yamen.
Every Hundred Swords Alliance member wielded a heavenly divine sword. These swords came in all sorts of shapes and sizes, each bearing an imposing name. They could tear through space, alter celestial phenomena, control the earth, or absorb spirit energy...
But none of it mattered to Lu Yang.
Facing the onslaught of divine swords radiating eerie halos, he softly uttered two words, “Swords, return.”
These divine swords broke free from their master’s control without exception, flying to Lu Yang like subjects paying homage to a sovereign of the ages.
The Hundred Swords Alliance members stared in disbelief. They were the owners of these divine swords. Once a sword had recognized a master, it would only become ownerless after the person’s death, allowing others to control it.
Who is this little constable?! How did he do that?!
“Hahaha, I never imagined an expert like you to be hidden among the constables!”
Two resonant voices echoed from the end of the pathway, accompanied by unhurried footsteps.
“Alliance Leader! Vice Alliance Leader!”
The Hundred Swords Alliance members were elated.
“Step back, all of you. This person is an exceptionally rare Sword Dao expert. He’s not someone you all can handle.”
“Yes!”
The two leaders stood shoulder to shoulder, eyeing the unassuming constables with keen interest, and spoke slowly.
“Although the Wilderness Province has many forges forging countless divine weapons, sword cultivators are scarce. My brother and I defeated every Sword Dao expert in the Wilderness Province to earn the right to participate in the Sword-Seeking Ceremony, seeking only to be defeated.
“We never imagined a Sword Dao expert like you to still lurk in the Wilderness Province. Our trip to the Sword-Seeking Ceremony was a detour; we searched far away when our answer was right in front of us!
“Formless and shapeless is the nature of Wuji; primal chaos gives birth to the Great Void. Come, let’s battle. My Wuji Yin-Yang Sword hasn’t met a worthy opponent in ages!” The alliance leader drew his sword.
“The universe is fixed, and the stars shift; with divinations through Bagua, the arcane is revealed. Let’s see how many strikes of my Great Void Divine Sword you can withstand!” The vice alliance leader drew his sword.
“It's the Wuji Yin-Yang Sword! How long has it been since the alliance leader drew this sword?!”
“And there’s the Great Void Divine Sword too! It’s said to have nine forms, but few have ever seen the sixth, and no one has witnessed the ninth!”
The two leaders activated their prized swords that seemed to harbor all kinds of mystic wonders. It was unclear what abilities they possessed.
Thump. Thump.
Meng Jingzhou threw two punches, knocking one person down with each strike. “You yapped for so long; what’s with this flashy nonsense?
“By the way, Old Lu, do you have any recollection of these two people?”
Lu Yang strained to recall the Sword-Seeking Ceremony. “I don’t remember the vice alliance leader, but the alliance leader was probably an opponent of Xuanyuan Tianhen, Xue Shilou’s senior brother. He was eliminated in the first round.
“Also, try to pull your punches next time. You knocked both of them out.”
Meng Jingzhou checked and confirmed it was indeed the case. He quickly pinched their philtrums to wake them.
“Speak! Who’s protecting the Hundred Swords Alliance?!”
Meng Jingzhou released a sliver of his oppressive aura, which resembled a fearsome primordial beast and the blazing sun, high and mighty. The two leaders groveled like ants, not daring to hide anything.
“I-It’s the commandery governor.”
“What now?” Meng Jingzhou turned and asked, “Do we take these people back first, then look for the commandery governor, or do we go straight to him?”
“Straight to him, lest he catch wind of any news and flee.”
Lu Yang left a wooden clone to watch over the Hundred Swords Alliance members while he and Meng Jingzhou sped to the commandery governor’s residence.
Commandery Governor Lu, the governor of Zhongshan Commandery, was currently aboard a pleasure boat, blindfolded and frolicking with several young women in a game of chase.
Suddenly, the women’s laughter ceased. Puzzled, Commandery Governor Lu lifted his blindfold, annoyed. “Why has it gone quiet?”
Two young constables had appeared in the room and were smiling at him.
“Commandery Governor Lu? We’re constables from Quyi County. We’ve received reports of your collusion with the Hundred Swords Alliance. You’ll have to come with us.”
Commandery Governor Lu’s expression shifted, and he flew into a rage, shoving Meng Jingzhou aside. “Get lost! Two puny constables dare to arrest me? You’ve ruined my mood for tonight!”
Meng Jingzhou didn’t budge.
Lu Yang kicked Commandery Governor Lu to the ground and swiftly trussed him up.
Commandery Governor Lu was at the Divine Transfiguration Stage, but before Lu Yang, he felt like a mountain was pressing down on him, leaving him no room to resist. Only then did he realize that these two little constables were no ordinary people.
“Who exactly are you both? Who sent you? I’m an official appointed by the imperial court! You’re not high enough in rank to arrest me!”
Lu Yang was taken aback and turned to Meng Jingzhou. “Is there such a stipulation?”
Meng Jingzhou pondered for a moment. “A commandery governor is a fourth-rank official. Usually, you’d need an official at the fourth rank or higher to arrest him, but it’s an unspoken rule in officialdom; it’s not codified.”
Lu Yang shrugged. “So it’s an unspoken rule. In that case, we don’t have to care about it.”
He always abided by the law and acted according to written statutes. Since the Hundred Swords Alliance case fell under their jurisdiction, anyone connected to it could be arrested.
“Besides, I’m the almighty Pillar Minister; my rank is higher than his. Why can’t I arrest him?”
~~~
At dawn, Man Gu was woken from his sleep. More accurately, he was roused by Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou.
“Junior Brother Man, good news! We’ve got a big case.”
“What big case?”
“We’ve arrested your superior, Commandery Governor Lu.”
“Ah?”
Am I still asleep?