The First Lackey Under The Empress

"How can that be considered bewitchment?!"

Inside the private room, the water in the copper hot pot was boiling, and hot steam surged out, obscuring the face of the current de facto controller of the Kuangfu Society's branch.

Zhao Du'an narrowed his eyes and met the other party's gaze. At this moment, he involuntarily felt a sense of "conviction" arise in his heart.

"Knock, knock—"

Suddenly, the door of the private room was knocked, and the waiter's voice came from outside:

"Sir, would you like more water?"

This sudden sound broke the atmosphere in the room.

The bewilderment in Zhao Du'an's eyes suddenly cleared, and he said calmly, "No need."

Outside, the waiter, separated by a door, carrying an iron kettle with a long, pointed spout, responded and turned to leave.

"How does Your Excellency find it?"

The middle-aged man was slightly annoyed by the waiter's interruption, but still patiently asked.

Zhao Du'an quietly scrutinized him, then suddenly smiled, his tone sarcastic, uttering only two words:

"That's it?"

The middle-aged man was taken aback.

Zhao Du'an sneered, "This official thought, what brilliant words could the so-called National Preceptor have, but I didn't expect it was just a bunch of nonsense, wasting my precious time."

The middle-aged man wanted to speak.

Zhao Du'an interrupted:

"When the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked… what Buddha, what scheme, after going around in circles, it's nothing more than these six words from ancient times. Do you think you can move me with this hackneyed rhetoric? Scare me? Alienate me from His Majesty? Are you worthy?"

The middle-aged man's expression froze, and he remained silent.

Zhao Du'an leaned forward, propping his hands on the table, and stood up slightly, adopting a posture of oppression.

The two men's faces were close, and the coldness and baleful aura on his face were no longer concealed:

"I am very disappointed. Perhaps in your opinion, relying on the so-called bewitching power, supplemented by seemingly advanced but actually just 'common sense' conspiracy theories, you can intimidate this official…"

The middle-aged man blurted out, "But the possibility I mentioned exists, does Your Excellency deny it?"

Zhao Du'an chuckled, the two men's faces getting closer, and his voice lowered:

"I believe it. But… as long as you traitors are still around, how could I be abandoned?"

The second half of the sentence he didn't say was:

When the Kuangfu Society and the Eight Kings fall, he should have enough power to protect himself.

Well, this is just the worst-case scenario. If he marries the Empress… it will be a different world altogether.

In the logic of a simp, there is no such thing as losing.

"Is that what Your Excellency thinks?"

The middle-aged man's expression calmed down. He wanted to say something, but found that Zhao Du'an suddenly stood up, also putting distance between them.

His words were stuck in his throat, because he suddenly felt a slight coolness between his eyebrows, like a raindrop hitting him.

A delicate flying knife swept through the water mist of the copper hot pot and delivered itself into the palm of the handsome man in front of him.

A bloody hole appeared between the middle-aged shopkeeper's eyebrows.

At this moment, a stream of scarlet, viscous blood, like a thin, narrow waterfall, gushed out from between his eyebrows and poured into the boiling milky white bone broth in the hot pot.

The boiling bone broth gradually calmed down, and the tofu tumbling in the pot was stained red.

The light in the eyes of the branch's acting leader dimmed, and he lost his life, falling backward.

The corpse lay leaning against the high-backed chair, his eyes filled with incomprehension.

Zhao Du'an stood by the window, overlooking the bustling street outside, his left hand behind his back, his right hand slowly closing in front of him, clenching the Golden Crow Flying Knife, and said softly:

"Noisy."

At the moment the middle-aged shopkeeper died, Zhao Du'an clearly felt that his somewhat dusty mind was suddenly wiped clean and restored to clarity.

He was slightly stunned, and then realized that only at this moment did the power of bewitchment truly disappear?

And just now, even though he had guarded his outward appearance, his mind had been unconsciously "polluted".

"Gallop! Gallop, gallop!"

On the street, the sound of galloping horses came from afar, and Ma Yan and Haitang sped towards him.

The two were sharp-eyed, and saw each other from a hundred meters away.

Ma Yan did not hesitate, leading Haitang straight into the restaurant.

Amidst the astonished gazes of the guests and staff below, they rushed to the private room, pushed open the door, and saw the corpse lying next to the hot pot, and Zhao Du'an standing with his hands behind his back, facing away from them.

"Ah—" the female constable exclaimed, subconsciously gripping the hilt of her saber.

Ma Yan's expression changed slightly: "What's going on?"

Zhao Du'an turned around and calmly recounted everything that had just happened.

Haitang was stunned, staring at the corpse in disbelief, and said, "So, the agent of the Kuangfu Society in the capital took the initiative to come and seek death?"

Zhao Du'an shook his head, and said seriously, "He is not the agent."

"Who is he then?"

"He is that evil Taoist, the Great Yu National Preceptor," Zhao Du'an explained calmly.

This time, even Ma Yan showed a bewildered expression.

Zhao Du'an glanced at the two and patiently explained:

"When I spoke with him earlier, I deliberately probed him. When this person spoke of the Second Prince seizing the throne, and of the late Emperor, the tone and expression he used were not like those of a rebel leader, but more like that evil Taoist defending himself.

Just imagine, a traitor who could be entrusted by Zhuang Xiaocheng to be the leader in the crucial place of the capital must be loyal and reliable, so how could he so sarcastically comment on, and even faintly mock and despise, Jian Wen and the late Emperor?"

After a pause, Zhao Du'an continued:

"However, what really made me sure of this was that this person was already dead before he came to see me."

He pointed to the congealed bloodstains.

Haitang, who had rich criminal investigation experience, understood in a second:

"The bloodstains of a newly killed person are fresh and thin, while this person's blood is too viscous… this is a characteristic of a dead person!"

She raised her face, adorned with a beauty mark, and said in shock:

"Are you saying that the evil Taoist may have killed this traitor first, and then used some kind of evil magic to possess the corpse and meet with you?"

Zhao Du'an sighed:

"Only in this way can it be explained why an ordinary traitor would have the power to bewitch people in his words. Hmph, I felt something was wrong from the moment this person came in.

However, perhaps it was precisely because it was just possession, rather than the evil Taoist's personal presence, that I was not successfully bewitched…

Well, in fact, I am not completely sure whether I am still in a state of being bewitched."

Ma Yan looked at him for a while, and said firmly:

"You are fine. With your cultivation, it is difficult to be controlled. Most importantly, any spell will be released as long as the caster is killed directly. This has been verified long ago. If you are not at ease, you can visualize the 《Six Chapters Scripture》 later to investigate yourself."

Is that so… I've learned something…

Zhao Du'an's heart relaxed. He had too little experience with evil Taoist sorcerers, and he dared not take this kind of weird magic lightly.

Ma Yan stepped forward, carefully examined the corpse, and said with an ugly expression:

"It seems that the situation is worse than we expected. That evil Taoist can actually move by possessing the dead and cast bewitchment. In this way, it will be even more difficult to capture the main body."

Haitang frowned and said:

"If this evil Taoist is not lying, then he has obviously begun to control the Kuangfu Society in the capital. However, why did he kill this agent? Just to obtain a puppet that can be possessed?"

A chill ran down her spine for no reason. She felt an instinctive fear and disgust for this kind of evil Taoist who killed and manipulated people at every turn.

Ma Yan exhaled and sneered:

"The reason why evil Taoist sorcerers are not tolerated by the orthodox sects is because they worship evil gods and their minds become distorted and fickle. Their actions are often based on their mood, and they never care about any reason for killing people. They often kill whenever they want."

His tone was not surprised by the bewitching National Preceptor's killing and borrowing of a corpse.

This is like a group of lunatics, and it is difficult to deduce their actions with the logic of normal people.

At this time, the Embroidered Uniform Guards who followed behind also rushed to the scene, surrounding the restaurant, causing an uproar downstairs, and the guests were terrified.

Ma Yan took a deep breath and said:

"I will handle the follow-up of this matter. Later, I will also report the evil Taoist's new ability to His Majesty. You go back first."

Zhao Du'an nodded, took two steps, and suddenly said:

"I think that doing things should not be passively beaten. Taking the initiative to attack may have miraculous effects. Since this evil Taoist has already contacted the Kuangfu Society, then conversely, starting from the rebels, we may be able to trace the source."

After dropping this sentence, Zhao Du'an stepped down the stairs and left straight away.

Leaving the two to frown and think, but with no clue at all.

……

Pear Blossom Hall.

"Lord!"

Inside the hall, the troublemakers were playing cards during their lunch break.

Seeing Zhao Du'an return, they were startled and stood up one after another, hiding the cards in their hands behind their backs or throwing them under the table, playing the part of well-behaved subordinates.

Although the yamen issued an order to investigate the National Preceptor, Pear Blossom Hall, as a strange flower among the nine halls, has always listened to orders but not followed them.

Without Zhao Du'an's orders, they were too lazy to move, just wanting to slack off.

"Stop slacking off, how is the matter I ordered you to do progressing?"

Zhao Du'an pretended not to see it, and sat in the main seat with a commanding presence.

Qian K柔 said seriously, "The target has already been watched, and now, according to your order, we have not closed the net, preparing to catch a big fish."

Hou Renmeng also said, "Thousand-Faced Divine Lord is also very cooperative. You are amazing, Lord. With one move, you subdued this rebel so obediently."

During this period, Zhao Du'an has been preparing to clear the rebels in the capital.

Originally, it was to rush for the year-end KPI, moving a step further towards capturing Zhuang Xiaocheng.

But unexpectedly, the sudden return of the bewitching National Preceptor broke the original plan.

"Don't wait any longer, close the net ahead of time tonight,"

Zhao Du'an said coldly, "This official will do it himself, you all arrange it immediately."

Waiting any longer… he was afraid that the fish he had finally been watching would be swallowed by that crazy evil Taoist.

Even the agent was killed if he said so… This kind of madman must not be speculated on with logic.

Everyone was stunned, and then their spirits were shaken, and their faces flushed with excitement:

"Yes! Your subordinates obey! Immediately deploy!"

They finally had work to do. They had been suffocating for a long time and wanted to kill someone.

Zhao Du'an stroked the hilt of his sword, looked at the withering pear tree in the courtyard, and a fierce light appeared in his eyes:

"National Preceptor? Vengeful? Hehe, this official wants to see how much you weigh."

The entire capital was defending, but he insisted on taking the initiative to attack and accomplish everything in one battle.

"Come, follow this official to the Imperial Prison," Zhao Du'an rose, pressing his sword hilt, stirring up a gust of cold wind, and a smile appeared on his face:

"It's time to pull her out for a walk after raising her for so long."

……

Inside the Imperial Prison, in a dark cell.

Yun Xi, who was curled up in bed and immersed in her dreams, shivered for no reason:

"Ah-choo!"

The girl, a disciple of Zhuang Xiaocheng, opened her eyes, her expression blank: "Who is talking about me?"

……

Misspelled words will be corrected later.

Thanks to 渔中舟 for the 2000 point coin reward, and to 水星的蒙面超人 for the hundred reward support!