Chapter 86: The Sinners Have No Power Over the Blood-Cloaked Guards

Three days later, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse.

The carriage stopped beside the mountain stream.

A huge rock blocked the night wind, and the two sat opposite each other around a campfire with various game on the fire.

"That's all I brought with me, and it's already all gone on the third day..."

Xu Chong turned the roasted rabbit over and said with dissatisfaction: "And we haven't even stepped out of the territory of Zhanghua Mansion."

At this speed, when will we be able to reach Dingtianfu?

"I noticed early on that you were a little anxious, but I still couldn't figure it out."

Jiang Zhihong stared at the game intently, "If you want to practice, you can practice while walking, sitting or lying down. Why do you have to stay in Qianhu Suo?"

"I feel safer in Qianhusuo."

Xu Chong said unhappily.

"A sense of security? Even the entire Qianhu Division combined can't give me that..."

Before he finished speaking, Jiang Zhihong suddenly paused, his eyes dim, "You can even trust Lou Jian, whom you have never met, but you can't trust me, someone you have known for many days?"

“Is this a question of trust or not…?”

Xu Chong was somewhat speechless, and squinted at Jiang Zhihong: "You even want to compete with him on this?"

"It's not really a competition."

Jiang Zhihong shook his head. "I was just wondering, if I had switched places with him, would I have allowed him to live to this day?"

"If you were in his place, you wouldn't be able to get to the point where he is now."

Xu Chong shrugged, "Once the food runs out and you find that you can't get it, I'm afraid you will have to go to the capital to file a petition and beat the drum to report the incident."

"So...it seems possible."

Jiang Zhihong thought about it and laughed, "But if that happens, I will probably die before I can return to the capital."

"You're actually very smart, just a little stubborn... But I have to say, you're rare."

Xu Chong continued to turn the roasted rabbit with a puzzled look on his face.

"Rare?"

Jiang Zhihong raised his eyebrows and said with interest: "Tell me in detail."

"Except for a county school teacher , you are the first official I have seen who deserves the word 'good man'."

Xu Chong's tone was calm, with no sadness or joy, "Maybe it's because you haven't experienced any hardship, and the people you meet are all people who have no worries about food and clothing like you, and you don't need to fight for profit by any means, so you can maintain this."

"Ha, are you praising me?"

Jiang Zhihong seemed very happy, with his mouth grinning widely.

"as long as you are happy."

Xu Chong did not comment.

The word "good person" may be fine when applied to ordinary people, but in officialdom, it is usually associated with incompetence, paranoia, and cowardice.

It's really not a compliment.

"By the way, since you have nothing to do anyway, tell me about your past."

Jiang Zhihong suddenly suggested, "I'm curious about what you've experienced that gave you such insight."

"It's not an insight, it's just a habit of analysis."

Xu Chong shook his head and handed over the roasted rabbit to change the subject. "Let's eat. Let's rest here tonight and leave tomorrow morning."

Sure enough, Jiang Zhihong's attention was immediately drawn and he reached out to take it.

Now, he cherishes every bite of food.

And at this moment, both of them were slightly distracted!

--boom!

The bonfire exploded.

The two people's vision was instantly occupied by the fire.

The flames did not explode in all directions, but were pulled by a force and transformed into a tornado of fire that rushed several feet into the sky and covered the two of them fiercely.

All this happened within a moment.

Xu Chonglian's pupils were still shrinking, so it was almost impossible for him to avoid it!

This change, this power.

He had no doubt that he would die if he was covered by the fire dragon.

But although I was panicked, I had not yet reached the point of despair.

Because Jiang Zhihong is here.

"presumptuous!"

A shout came out of nowhere like thunder from the sky.

First, the wind.

The wind was blowing in all directions, with the two of them as the center.

Next comes the clouds.

Endless clouds rolled in, directly covering the bright moon.

The wind was rising and the clouds were surging, and it seemed that there was no ability to attack, but the fire dragon had already disintegrated bit by bit, revealing a figure inside.

"Control the celestial phenomena?! You——"

The voice stopped abruptly.

A huge hand reached down from a thousand feet in the sky and grabbed him in its hand.

“…”

Xu Chong looked at this giant hand made entirely of clouds and mist, and his mind was a little confused for a moment.

Jiang Zhihong clearly did nothing, he just stood there and scolded... The storm was exaggerated enough, and capturing people with cloud hands?

Is this the power above Tongmai?

At this time, wisps of mist dispersed from the giant hand and penetrated into the assassin's eyes, ears, mouth and nose.

After a moment the giant hand dissipated and the assassin fell to the ground.

He had an ordinary face, a big build, and looked very unfamiliar.

"Tell me, who sent you?"

Jiang Zhihong frowned and spoke, his expression and tone seemed like he didn't think he had done anything remarkable.

The assassin lay on the ground, his face filled with fear, his lips tightly pursed, not saying a word.

"Interrogation is not such a simple matter."

Xu Chong looked at Jiang Zhihong, "What realm is he in? What's his current situation?"

"It's above Tongmai, but the strength and physique are suppressed. Now I'm just an ordinary person, and I can only watch and talk, but I can't move."

Jiang Zhihong explained, paused, and then said: "It will continue until dawn."

"Okay, the scene is a bit bloody, I'll avoid it."

Xu Chong snapped his fingers, walked forward boldly, picked up the assassin, and was about to walk behind the boulder.

"No! Using torture privately is against Qing law!"

The assassin's expression changed drastically, obviously knowing the interrogation methods of the Blood Robe Guards, "Jiang Zhihong! You are the leader of the righteous path, you cannot condone this kind of behavior!"

Xu Chong paused, turned around and looked at Jiang Zhihong.

"What are you looking at me for?"

Jiang Zhihong spread his hands and said, "I have already retired. Besides, I am a criminal now, so I cannot interfere with the Blood Robe Guards."

Xu Chong gave a thumbs up and walked behind the boulder with a sinister smile.

Click!

As soon as he put the assassin down, Xu Chong removed his jaw.

Although the assassin did not commit suicide by taking poison immediately, it is very likely that he did not prepare a poison sac, but he felt it would be safer to check it out.

Not minding the dirt, just reaching out, click, click, click...

Theoretically, all the teeth that could possibly contain poison were pulled out by Xu Chong.

"Really not poisonous?"

After Xu Chong finished the inspection, he helped the assassin put his jaw back together with a look of disdain on his face. "If the people behind you knew that you were so afraid of death, I'm afraid your fate would be even worse than falling into my hands."

“…”

The assassin stared at Xu Chong with resentment.

I thought that I was at the same level as Jiang Zhihong, so even if I couldn't beat him, I could still run away. Why would I need a poison sac?

Besides, I am a retainer, not a warrior...

"Don't talk, is that the end of it?"

Xu Chong chuckled, took the sword, and in front of the assassin, he disassembled the blade, handle and scabbard into sixteen torture instruments of different sizes and functions.

Knife, hook, sickle, saw, scissors, needle...

This dagger was part of the preparations for this trip. It can be said that the entire Qianhu Division could only produce a few of them.

This is to deal with the current situation.

"Are you still not reacting ? I'll extract your tooth, and it won't be painful at all."

Xu Chong arranged the torture instruments in a row, "Do you know why?"

"……Why?"

The assassin's eyes were still full of resentment, but his voice had begun to tremble.

"Because I have mastered the Wind-Bending Hand."

Xu Chong said calmly, "Although it's just the tip of the iceberg, it's enough to take my torture techniques to a new level. You won't feel any pain at all."

"Let me think about it... Although the strength and physique of Tongmai are suppressed, the vitality should still be very strong, right?"

"Tell me, if I use your skin and flesh to make another you without bones, can you still live?"

"Or, sew your hands to your buttocks and your legs to your shoulders... I wonder if it can heal?"

"Well, I have a bolder idea. I want to exchange my tongue for my penis..."

Before he could finish his words, footsteps were heard from the other side of the boulder, and judging by the sound, they seemed to be going away.

At the same time, the words "insulting to the civilized world" were repeated over and over again.

The assassin had obviously heard the noise, and the last hope in his heart was shattered: "I'll tell you, I'll tell you! Give me a quick death!"

Xu Chong listened carefully to the movement on the other side of the boulder, then frowned and said, "How can you make such an excessive request?"

Too... too much?

The extremely dissatisfied tone made the assassin confused and began to doubt his life.

I just want to have some fun, is this... really too much?

At this time , Xu Chong continued: "After all, I haven't really put these ideas into action yet. If you make such a request, how can I practice?"

“…”

The assassin was stunned for a moment, then spoke without hesitation, at the fastest speed in his life, "My name is Zhong Dahe, and I am a retainer of the Shen . I received the mission to assassinate Jiang Zhihong two days ago, and I found you a day ago and just carried out the assassination."

Xu Chong waited for a moment and frowned: "Gone? Then don't blame me..."

"Just ask what you want to know!"

The assassin collapsed, his voice starting to cry: "As long as you dare to ask, I will definitely answer..."

"OK."

Xu Chong nodded. "First, even if you didn't know about Jiang Zhihong's breakthrough, if you wanted to assassinate him, you shouldn't have sent only this few people, right? Where are the other people?"

"No, I'm the only one."

The assassin calmed himself down and said honestly, "Even in the Shen family, there are only a few retainers above the Tongmai level. I am the only one who can be sent out... In addition, I am assassinating, not challenging, so being at the same level is enough."

"Okay... the second question is, Tongmai cannot be used without a noble family."

Xu Chong raised his eyebrows. "You are already a noble, so you must be no less than a lowly official in front of others. Why do you still serve as a retainer for others, and even fall to the level of being a killer?"

"How can I be a noble? I am not even an official..."

The assassin shook his head in self-mockery, "I can exert my strength above Tongmai because of Wei Wuxie, the Thousand-Faced Taoist. The Shen family has made a deal with him and sent me to Taiping Dao to participate in the unblocking... I'm called a retainer, but I'm just a higher-level martial slave."

“Unblock?!”

Xu Chong narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean?"

“It means lifting the household registration blockade.”

Seeing Xu Chong's interest, the assassin became more active in answering questions. "Take the sign given by Wei Wuxie, transform into a member of the Taiping Dao, and then gather at one place. Blindfold yourself, move back and forth many times, and finally jump into two pools of blood and soak for a day. That's it."

"Pond of blood?"

Xu Chong seemed to be thinking about something.

"Actually, if you have the same idea..."

The assassin used his imagination and said something shocking: "We can definitely find your Captain Ge."

Ge Wanshan?!

Xu Chong's eyes shone, and he asked coldly, "Are you trying to sow discord?"

"no no!"

The assassin quickly said, "Although I haven't seen it with my own eyes, when Wei Wuxie was trading with the patriarch, he mentioned several officials who had traded with him, including Ge Wanshan... He even used Ge Wanshan's secret weapon on the spot to prove it."

Wei Wuxie would also be greedy for light?

If that's the case, Ge Wanshan might have really done business with Wei Wuxie.

Xu Chong secretly took note of it and asked, "What did Wei Wuxie look like when you saw him?"

"He looks about 30 years old, a little short, nothing special about him."

The assassin replied, "There's no point in telling you this. It must have shrunk."

Indeed, this image is different from Wei Wuxie himself.

Xu Chong shook his head, "One last question, Shen family, why did you want to kill Mr. Jiang?"

"I really don't know. I just followed orders..."

As the assassin was speaking, he suddenly found that his voice began to get smaller and smaller until it was inaudible.

It was not until this moment that he felt a tingling sensation on his neck.

“It turns out it really doesn’t hurt…”

The last thought flashed through his mind, and his consciousness completely dimmed.