There is a god in the sky

Chapter 334 Revenge 3

"It's me, Shen from the Shen family. Are you surprised?"

"It was you! You killed my son, and you also killed Tong Juntao! You evil spirit, you hid in the Criminal Investigation Department just to seek revenge?"

Shen Lan remained silent.

Liu Engui roared, "The massacre of the Wu family, the death of Yu Heng, and the complete annihilation of the Yu family were all your doing! I should have known! The deaths of all those involved back then were actually the orphans of Guli Town coming to claim our lives, hahaha..."

"I am certain to die today, but how long can you continue your schemes?"

Suddenly, Liu Engui mustered his courage and lunged at Shen Lan, clutching a piece of broken tile in his hand.

Shen Lan didn't even try to avoid him; she simply kicked him away.

As Shen Zhiyuan approached the cellar entrance, he suddenly whispered, "Someone's coming."

Liu Engui's eyes lit up, and he cried out, "Help... ugh..."

Shen Lan stuffed a handkerchief into his mouth and tied him up tightly.

"Why don't you just kill him?" Shen Zhiyuan, afraid of dirtying Shen Lan's hands, took the small knife from her hand: "I'll do it."

"No need, spare his life for now."

"Why?"

“His crimes must be proclaimed to the world, and used to implicate the Tong family and the Crown Prince. Without him, everything would be just something we made up.”

"is it possible?"

Although everyone had been working hard to bring down the Crown Prince and the Empress's family, the disparity in strength was too great. He was prepared to fight to the death, but he dared not imagine that Guli Town would one day be vindicated.

"Where there's a will, there's a way... Shh, put out the oil lamp first."

Shen Lan also heard footsteps, wondering if it was government officials who had found their way here.

She concealed the entrance to the cellar; it shouldn't be easy to find.

Above the cellar, a group of Imperial Guards looked around, holding torches.

"Captain, it's not here either."

Zhang Xinghui glanced at it casually, waved his hand, and was about to leave with his men when he saw Xiao Ji barging in with the officers of the Criminal Investigation Department.

"Hey, Inspector Xiao, you're out investigating a case in the middle of the night?"

Xiao Ji was dressed in official robes, his expression cold and stern. He ignored Zhang Xinghui and instead ordered the officers to search the area thoroughly.

Zhang Xinghui didn't get angry even after being rebuffed.

He had finally been reinstated, but Xiao Ji was already the head of the Judicial Commission, so he should have properly bowed to him when he met him.

After the officials had finished their inspection, Xiao Ji finally looked at the Imperial Guards.

"Why is Captain Zhang here too?"

Seeing that Zhang Xinghui remained silent, the subordinate stepped forward and answered, "Lord Liu, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, has gone missing. According to the Jingzhao Prefecture, he was likely kidnapped by thieves, so the Imperial Guards have been deployed to search for him in the vicinity."

"did you find it?"

"We don't have any news here, and we don't know if the other brothers have any."

Zhang Xinghui raised his chin and snorted coldly, "Why bother telling Lord Xiao so much? This matter has nothing to do with the Ministry of Justice."

"I am here to apprehend a fugitive. I previously captured a man who appeared to be a remnant of a cult, but he escaped. He was wearing a black shirt, gray pants, and a straw hat. If you encounter him, please capture him."

"Why?"

"Because my official rank is higher than yours."

Xiao Ji walked up to Zhang Xinghui. The two were about the same height, and when their eyes met, sparks immediately flew.

The subordinates around him fell silent.

Xiao Ji laughed, "With Zhang's temperament, who knows when he might lose his post again. It's fine if he suffers the consequences himself, but we shouldn't let it implicate his loyal subordinates."

"You cursed me?"

The Imperial Guards quickly pulled the captain aside, fearing that he might impulsively beat up this popular civil official.

Insubordination can be a capital offense.

Of course, given the Zhang family's power, Zhang Xinghui wouldn't die even if he beat Xiao Ji, but he would definitely lose his official position.

Perhaps that's exactly what they're planning.

Zhang Xinghui also realized this, took a few steps back, pointed at Xiao Ji and cursed: "Civil officials are all cunning, and you, a petty person, only know how to be good with words!"

Xiao Ji raised an eyebrow, not refuting, but his expression clearly showed that he didn't take Zhang Xinghui seriously.

Zhang Xinghui waved his hand and said, "Let's go, we won't associate with such scoundrels."

The Imperial Guards all left in a flash.

Seeing that Lord Xiao's expression was not quite right, Officer Xing asked, "Sir, shall we continue searching?"

They were called out in the middle of the night, supposedly to find a fugitive, but they didn't even know what the fugitive looked like.

"It's not here. Let's go and keep looking."

"The Imperial Guards are searching for someone in this area tonight. We keep running into them; won't that interfere with each other? Should we try searching somewhere else?"

Xiao Ji glanced at him, and Constable Xing instantly realized that he had misjudged his superiors' intentions this time.

"Let's go, let's go look around the neighborhood again." Constable Xing immediately led his officers out.

Xiao Ji closed the door when he left. The house seemed to have been uninhabited for some time, but the items left behind did not seem to be used by ordinary people.

Jinwuwei entered first, but he couldn't see any other traces and wasn't sure if Shen Lan had brought the person here.

Upon hearing that Liu Engui had disappeared near the City God Temple and that Shen Lan was not at home, he immediately guessed that she had gone out to do something big again.

He was really worried, so he made up an excuse to bring people out.

As long as Shen Lan isn't caught by the Jingzhao Prefecture or the Jinwu Guard, everything will be fine.

As for whether Liu Engui was alive or dead, he didn't care anymore.

Once things quieted down upstairs, Shen Zhiyuan secretly went up to take a look and only returned after confirming that everyone had left.

"You entrust him to me, and I will keep a close eye on him," Shen Zhiyuan said to Shen Lan.

"You want to take him back? He's missing, and the capital will definitely launch another large-scale search. It won't be safe for you either."

"No, I have a safer place, you don't need to worry."

Shen Lan knew he wasn't alone; the organization behind them must have many secure outposts.

She pulled the handkerchief out of Liu Engui's mouth and stuffed a pill into it.

"This is poison. You must take an antidote every ten days, otherwise your internal organs will gradually rot and you will die."

Don't even think about taking your own life. If you harm yourself even once, I'll kill a member of the Liu family. And if you die, I'll send your whole family to the underworld to reunite."

Liu Engui had completely given up hope of survival.

The other party harbored a deep-seated hatred towards him.

As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn. If he is saved, then it will be the other side that dies.

“I just heard Xiao Ji’s voice,” Liu Engui said, leaning close to Shen Lan.

Shen Lan was startled and glanced at him expressionlessly.

"Hehe, don't worry, I won't tell."

"I don't understand what you mean." Shen Lan turned her back.

Shen Zhiyuan silenced Liu Engui again and said to Shen Lan, "There are soldiers and officers outside. I'll take him here to hide for the night and leave tomorrow. You're good at martial arts, so go back first to avoid making Lord Xiao suspicious."

Shen Lan and he exchanged a glance, and she immediately understood what he meant.

"Alright, I'll make an excuse to go out on business. It's really not appropriate for me to stay out all night. Lord Xiao is probably busy apprehending fugitives and doesn't have time to attend to me for the time being."

After Shen Lan left, Shen Zhiyuan gave Liu Engui a sinister look.