At this moment, the Taoist temple ahead slowly lit up with resplendent, multicolored ground lights, enveloping the entire temple in exquisite splendor.
"Enter and search, bind everyone inside the temple, and then return to the city with me."
Zhao Douan, who hadn't taken action the entire time, calmly instructed.
Hou Renmeng and the Jinyi crew charged towards the temple like wolves and tigers, and soon, the terrified pleas of women could be heard from within.
Feng City, Golden Fortune Inn.
Under the night sky, the entire inn was brightly lit, yet there wasn't a single normal guest in sight.
In the inn's main hall, Magistrate Luan Cheng had already consumed five pots of tea and visited the restroom ten times, yet he still refused to leave, and instead, every now and then, he would stand up, standing at the door, longing for the outside street.
Arrest officer Zhang Jian sat in a corner of the hall, silently wiping his two knives, one long and one short, with a cloth.
"Magistrate Luan, have something to eat. Should I call the kitchen to send some food?"
The Gold Shadow Guard Scholar came down from the upstairs, seeing this scene, and felt quite helpless.
He gestured again, giving an eye signal to his colleague Hong Ye, who was also in the hall holding a Longsword and wearing a half-face mask:
"You go to the kitchen..."
Hong Ye rolled her eyes and didn't move:
This troublesome magistrate wasn't her superior, Mr. Zhao, so she was unwilling to serve him.
As a Shadow Guard, she absolutely detested this magistrate who barged into the inn on the first day and ruined the stronghold that the Shadow Guards had painstakingly established.
She was itching to cut him down with a sword.
"No need," Luan Cheng shook his head wryly: "Mr. Zhao has not returned yet, his safety is unknown, how could I eat?"
Indeed, you can't eat, but you haven't drunk less tea... must've been a teapot in your previous life... Hong Ye pursed her lips, resting her long legs on the bench.
The Scholar coughed two times, slowly walked over, and smiled: "What kind of person is Junior Guardian Zhao? The Magistrate must have heard of his reputation, he wouldn't do anything without certainty."
Luan Cheng shook his head and said seriously:
"Our prefecture does not doubt Junior Guardian Zhao's abilities, but he might not understand the situation in Feng City.
That Lu Zhengchun is by no means an ordinary Daoist; not only his cultivation is strong, but he's a figure recognized as a Grandmaster in the Martial World, and he has a vast network across the Marine Road and surrounding regions.
Not to mention his identity conferred by the late Emperor; such a person cannot be merely labeled as a rebel and apprehended for questioning. The impact this may cause might be underestimated by you... "
The Scholar smiled: "Junior Guardian Zhao is merely going to ask questions."
Your family goes to ask questions with a large troop of soldiers? Luan Cheng took a deep breath, forcibly restraining the impulse to debate with the Shadow Guard.
He sat dejectedly on the bench, saying in frustration:
"Moreover, what I really worry about are those rebels led by Zhuang Xiaocheng.
The fact that I was misled by false information today indicates that the rebels might have already grasped Junior Guardian Zhao's movements and details, and how cunning is that Zhuang Xiaocheng?
If Lu Zhengchun has nothing to do with the rebels, then it would just be an offense, at worst I'll go to smooth things over; I'm sure Lu Zhengchun would spare some face for the Prefecture. But if there is indeed an issue at Zixiao Palace, then Junior Guardian Zhao going there might be like entering a Dragon Pond and Tiger Cave...
The Scholar and Hong Ye were somewhat startled by his words, feeling a bit uneasy:
"It can't be that serious."
At this moment, suddenly, the quiet street in the distance echoed with the sound of chaotic horse hooves, everyone simultaneously stood up, exchanged a glance, and walked out of the inn's door.
From afar, they saw a dark mass of cavalry holding torches slowly making their way.
The rider in the lead, seemingly there to report back ahead of the main force, galloped to the Golden Fortune Inn's entrance.
The messenger on horseback turned out to be a Jinyi Captain from Lihua Hall; he glanced at the Magistrate and said indifferently:
"Pass on the message from Junior Guardian Zhao, the entire Zixiao Palace has been found to be engaged in treason, colluding with rebels. The chief bandit Lu Zhengchun has been arrested, and over two hundred personnel in Zixiao Palace, whether dead, injured, or captured, have all been brought back.
Since Magistrate Luan is already here, there's no need to go to the government office to report, please wait here, the Junior Guardian will arrive shortly."