Xuanqing Guard

Ma San reacted quickly, and his moves were vicious and decisive enough. Using Zhang De as a human shield, he charged outward, planning to dash into the woods nearby—in that way, at least, he could rely on the trees to lessen the power of the arrow storm.

But it was all in vain.

Because the arrow storm stopped abruptly, and a squad of Xuanqing Guard soldiers appeared out of thin air before the woods, arrayed for a coordinated attack, pressing in on him slowly.

There was simply no chance to escape alive.

Seeing no hope for escape, Ma San wanted to kill the barely-breathing Zhang De with one strike and then take his own life. But an invisible whip lashed out from the side before he could react—his entire forearm suddenly sliced apart, and the True Qi Shield on him was useless.

After a dozen breaths, Ma San was captured. Once the board lock was put on him, he was stuffed into a carriage and whisked away at top speed.

"Lord, one of the three bandits was killed, two captured."

The dead one was Xu Qian. The two captured were Zhang De and Ma San. Zhang De was wounded badly, hit by several Breaking Arrows, and then ambushed by Ma San. Now, he was hanging by a thread.

"Give Zhang De a pill—he can’t die. Also, issue a gag order to the men below: this operation is top secret. Do not mention it to anyone else; violators will be punished for leaking military secrets."

Shen Hao, riding his horse, turned and gave orders to Wang Yiming, who immediately acknowledged, then rode to the carriage behind to have the physician administer medicine to Zhang De. At the same time, he warned everyone about the gag order.

The group split into three contingents and left as usual. No one noticed there was an extra carriage among the "Inspectors" teams.

After leaving Stone Horn, they crossed Beach Stone, then traveled north along the official road—instead of taking a boat upriver on the Bai River, as going against the current was slower than traveling by carriage.

Upon reaching Yu City, the three groups merged, then used the special route of the Teleportation Array to return to Fengri City.

"Lock them directly in the base dungeon. Have our own physician continue treating Zhang De. Whatever elixir is needed, take my order and fetch it from the Alchemy Room. Be sure his injuries are improving. And don’t remove the board lock—twelve hours, at least two people watching him at all times, not a single breath allowed out of sight.

Then give Ma San some restorative decoction, get him alert, let him rest half a day. Tonight, I’ll conduct the interrogation myself. Oh, and summon Wang Jian—I want him to observe as well."

Shen Hao strode quickly into the headquarters, urgently giving orders to Wang Yiming at his side.

Yet, this time Wang Yiming, usually swift and decisive, did not leave right away but hesitated before saying, "Lord, may I also attend and observe the case?"

Shen Hao frowned slightly. He could sense Wang Yiming’s intent to get into the inner circle. Still, he had to admit Wang Yiming was indeed capable, and making him idle like this was not a long-term solution.

Shen Hao gave Wang Yiming a long, deep look. "You may."

Let’s see how it goes. If he could earn Shen Hao’s trust, it would help greatly in the future work of the Black Banner Battalion—at least, Shen Hao wouldn’t need to handle everything personally any longer.

Hearing the approval, Wang Yiming nearly jumped with joy but quickly contained himself, saluted, and retreated. He needed to see to arrangements first; then tonight would be the time to resolve the doubts in his mind.

In fact, Wang Jian didn’t need anyone to summon him. Wang Yiming had just reached the gates when Wang Jian hurried over. They exchanged a few words, and Wang Jian went straight to Shen Hao’s Public Office.

"Lord, did you ask for me?"

"Sit. You got all the intelligence?"

"The moment you succeeded, I received the message here as well. Lord, when does the interrogation begin?"

"Let Ma San rest and recover first. We’ll question him tonight. By the way, any new updates from Beach Stone?"

"Yes, Lord. We’ve had those Xuanqing Guard Inspectors detain Liu Qi for violation of military discipline. That guy loves to gamble, and gambling is strictly forbidden in army regulations, so his arrest didn’t raise any suspicions.

Then I had our own secret agents conduct a surprise interrogation of Liu Qi and got him to write a confession, detailing how his relative Xie Kai was skimming and smuggling military supplies. We’re now looking for a chance to take Xie Kai down."

Shen Hao waved his hand, interrupting, "You can keep collecting evidence in secret, but don’t touch Xie Kai yet. All action waits until Ma San’s confession comes out."

Because the case involved the Jingxi Army and the upper echelons of the Ministry of War, if they were to make a move, they had to cast the net from top to bottom. Otherwise, catching just the small fry while the big fish escaped would only be a waste.

"Understood, Lord. I’ll have them act as ordered."

Wang Jian hurried off to slow down the Four Divisions’ operations. Meanwhile, Shen Hao, left in the Public Office, took out a fresh copper rod and began writing on it rapidly. Though he couldn’t go to the Imperial City to report to Jiang Cheng in person, he had to compile a detailed briefing to send as soon as possible.

That night, Shen Hao saw Ma San bound to a stone pillar in the Interrogation Chamber. Besides Shen Hao and the two top interrogators, Wang Jian and Wang Yiming stood in the corner as observers.

Ma San was completely naked except for the board lock. Inside and out, including his anus, had been thoroughly searched. Anything that could be used for suicide had been stripped off—even eight of his teeth had been pulled.

"Take the thing out of his mouth." Shen Hao wasn’t going to intimidate Ma San at the start; he wanted to talk first.

One of the interrogation experts nodded and stepped up to wrench the iron walnuts from Ma San’s mouth.

"Cough, cough... Lord Shen, never thought I’d get to face you again."

Ma San was, of course, no stranger to Shen Hao’s face—couldn’t forget it, even. The first time he was ambushed in Xiaochuan, Lord Shen had personally led the squad. Back then, Ma San had relied on a Blood Escape Talisman to get away alive. He never imagined, after a few months, he’d be captured by this same man.

"You recognize me? Good. Do you know why you were brought in?" As Shen Hao spoke, a smile appeared. In his previous life, he’d always started his interrogations with this line.

"Lord Shen, why ask what you already know?"

"I’m the one asking questions now."

Ma San managed a relaxed expression and chuckled, "Smuggling? Colluding with the enemy? I’m not even sure what the charges are." His True Qi was sealed; except for his mouth and eyes, he couldn’t move a muscle, not even a finger on the remaining hand. Suicide was out of the question. Though he appeared calm, inside he’d sunk into utter despair, and could only mentally cheer himself on, hoping he’d withstand the Xuanqing Guard’s torture.

"So you don’t plan on denying it. Good, let’s talk."

"Talk? What do you want—who was my supplier?"

"Supplier? We’ll figure that out in no time, no need to waste words with you. Instead, I’m interested in your smuggling routes. How did you get your hands on so many storage bags?"