Chapter 83

"Thump... thump... thump..."

The hard leather soles of the boots made a dull sound as they stepped on the wooden stairs. In the spacious hall, where only low sobs could be heard, the sound was unbearably jarring. As a result, the people gathered in the Perfumed Pavilion couldn't help but shiver in unison.

Wu Fan's steps were slow, one hand resting on the railing as he slowly made his way down from the upper floor, his face expressionless.

"Her! Him! And... him!" Wu Fan pointed into the crowd three times and said, "Bring them out!"

The Eagle Yang guards, upon receiving the order, immediately sprang into action, roughly dragging out two men and one woman.

Wu Fan first sighed, then walked over and paced in front of the three, saying, "I told you, 'Come forward on your own, don't wait for me to catch you'..." His expression changed, and he glared with wide eyes, roaring loudly, "Is there something wrong with your ears? Or do you think my words are just hot air? Huh?"

"Hmph!"

The woman dressed as a madam from the Maitreya Sect snorted coldly, her eyes full of disdain.

The other two were the same.

[Indeed! The seven upstairs knew nothing, these three are the big fish! And they have some backbone!]

Wu Fan tilted his head and said, "I told you, if I have to drag you out, I guarantee you'll die a very ugly death. I'll give you one more chance, tell me everything you know, and I'll give you a quick death!" He paused, then waved his hand, signaling the three not to speak: "Don't think I'm just scaring you. The last person I interrogated didn't last a quarter of an hour, crying and begging me to give him a chance to confess and to kill him quickly... and he was a tough guy! Much tougher than you!"

Turning his head, Wu Fan called out to the upper floor, "Commander Lin!"

Lin Xinshan hurried down and said, "Sir! What are your orders?"

Wu Fan sniffed and pointed upstairs, saying, "Take care of those seven! Bring these three up, separate them, I think I'll have to do it myself!"

Using the same old trick, but while using verbal deception, Wu Fan mercilessly wedged ten steel needles into each of the three big fish's hands... The unbearable physical pain, combined with the fear that someone else might speak up first, made it so that Wu Fan only needed the time of an incense stick to get all the information he needed, leaving him only to sit and listen.

Many things...

The identity of the Lan family woman, her real name being Lan Xiner. As Wu Fan had guessed, she was indeed the daughter of the Maitreya Sect leader Lan Zhqing, and had taken over the position of leader three months before the fall of the Southern Liang Kingdom, coming north to take control of everything.

The case of the missing grain tax ship from Ji Province was entirely orchestrated by Lan Xiner. The Maitreya Sect had been targeting the empire's grain tax ships for years. The people of the Perfumed Pavilion only served as eyes and ears, monitoring the Grand Canal and bribing local nobles and officials for years. They were kept in the dark and did not know the specific plan, only learning about it after the incident.

Zhou Ling, the former commander of the Yingyang Eagle Yang, was a fool who was manipulated by his lust for beauty.

Zhang Lingshan, who claimed to be from the Zhang family of Yingyang, did not actually exist. Only the fair-skinned man knew who he really was, but he was killed by Wu Fan.

In short.

In the end, the useful information Wu Fan obtained was not much, but it was enough.

He felt he had found the Maitreya Sect's weak point—finding the missing grain tax ship and cutting off their supply line would ruin Lan Xiner's entire plan!

When Wu Fan entered the Perfumed Pavilion, he brought thirty people, but when he left, he had to take forty-two, because there were twelve more bodies.

Standing outside the threshold, Wu Fan bowed slightly, as if being polite, and said with a smile, "I apologize for any inconvenience! Gentlemen, you are free now!"

Turning away, Wu Fan ignored the heart-wrenching, barely suppressed cries of relief from behind him.

"Sir! What should we do now?" Lin Xinshan, who was on the same boat as Wu Fan, asked, "What about these bodies, how should we handle them?"

Wu Fan tapped the scabbard of his Fourteen-Posture Saber, his brows furrowed. After a long pause, he said, "Send the bodies back to the Hundred-Household Office. What should we do now... what should we do?" Wu Fan swayed back and forth, and after a long time, asked, "Commander Lin, you are from Yingyang, right? I've heard that the large warships, the mengchong, are twenty-eight zhang long and seven zhang high. Is that true?"

Lin Xinshan nodded and said, "It's true! What you mentioned is just a medium-sized mengchong. The largest mengchong in the empire, just the width of the bow is twenty zhang, huge like a city! The Grand Canal is too narrow for them to enter! They all sail on the sea, used to strike the eastern barbarians! I think the empire only has three of those large ships... Am I getting off topic?"

Glancing at Lin Xinshan, Wu Fan smiled and pinched his chin, saying, "Twenty-eight zhang long, seven zhang high... such a massive thing! How could it... how could it, how could it, how could it mysteriously disappear? Especially since—there are no side channels on the Grand Canal, it's just a straight line!"

Lin Xinshan scratched his head and smiled honestly, saying, "How would I know that?"

Wu Fan lowered his head, turned to look at the canal water, and stared intently.

After a day and a night without sleep, and with excessive blood loss, Wu Fan fell into a deep sleep by the rippling Grand Canal, not even knowing how he got back to the Hundred-Household Office.

When Wu Fan woke up, it was already evening.

"Rumble..."

The sound of his stomach growling made Wu Fan realize he was very hungry.

Lin Xinshan had not left. Despite his rough manners, he was quite considerate and had already prepared food for Wu Fan. Seeing Wu Fan awake, he immediately brought it over.

Wu Fan didn't hesitate, eating voraciously with a blank look, his eating manner frightening.

Lin Xinshan stood to one side and said, "Sir, the county magistrate just sent a message, asking you to go there tomorrow."

"Uh-huh!"

Wu Fan didn't raise his head, just grunted in acknowledgment with his nose, indicating he knew.

Lin Xinshan hesitated, then lowered his voice and said, "There's also... a young lady? She came to see you, quite pretty, but dressed as a man..."

"Spit—!"

"Cough, cough, cough...!"

Wu Fan spat out the porridge he had just taken a sip of, coughing uncontrollably, his pale face turning red.

After a long time.

Wu Fan's eyes finally regained their liveliness. Wiping his mouth, he couldn't hide his smile and said, "Don't be silly! That's Eunuch Man from Chang'an, he's in charge of thoroughly investigating the missing grain tax ship from Ji Province. In the future, show him more respect and don't speak rashly! He... has a very peculiar temper!" Seeing Lin Xinshan's grimacing face, Wu Fan asked in surprise, "What's wrong with you? Toothache?"

"Am I... that peculiar?"

A faint sigh came from not far away, and who else could it be but the young eunuch Man Ning?

Wu Fan swallowed, turned his head, and saw the young eunuch Man Ning curled up in a chair, looking as lazy and elegant as a cat.

Lin Xinshan touched his nose and quietly added to his earlier statement, "He's been here waiting for you..."

Wu Fan mechanically turned his head and then continued eating woodenly.

After a long time.

Suddenly, as if he had discovered something incredible, Wu Fan jumped up, his face full of flattery, "Eunuch Man! What are you doing here?"

Young eunuch Man Ning: "... Could you be any faker?"

Lin Xinshan: "... What a great performance!"

...

PS1: Please follow, recommend, and like! Anything!

PS2: Thank you to the Night, One-Ying, Smuggling Aircraft Carrier, and Seventh Step of Happiness for the 100-point red envelopes. Thanks.

[Page Flip AD Start]

[Page Flip AD End]