Chapter 98: Lock Down the City
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
In the Divine Constable Bureau, Ma Fengzhang held a book in his hand and sat in front of the window. He used the candle on the table to read carefully.
Suddenly, his ears twitched. Without any movement, his figure had already arrived at the courtyard outside the window.
“Which expert is visiting?” Ma Fengzhang’s left hand, holding the book, was behind his back. He raised his right hand to form a sword finger. In the room, the sheathed longsword on the weapon rack trembled slightly, as if it was about to take off at any time.
!!
Before Ma Fengzhang could finish his sentence, a tall figure appeared on the roof of the house.
Just as he was about to speak, his pupils suddenly contracted.
In an instant, he seemed to see five mountain peaks towering into the clouds. Of the five mountain peaks, four were illusory. The one at the very front was slightly solid, and it bore a boundless pressure that caused his breathing to become slightly hurried.
The vital qi in Ma Fengzhang’s body surged as his third-rank Martial Dao cultivation erupted, contending against the towering force.
Suddenly, the towering presence disappeared, and a sharp saber intent soared into the sky.
It was as if Ma Fengzhang saw a heaven-shaking saber cleaving out from the mountain. This saber seemed to be able to split the heavens and earth apart. The mountain peak reaching into the clouds seemed to split apart.
Ma Fengzhang couldn’t help taking half a step back. He could no longer conceal his shock.
“It’s you?” Ma Fengzhang cried out.
The figure on the roof didn’t speak. He raised his hand, and a black object flew toward Ma Fengzhang.
Ma Fengzhang didn’t dare to be negligent. Just as he was about to receive the blow, the black object was already three feet in front of him. Then its speed suddenly slowed down, and it landed gently.
Ma Fengzhang quickly retracted his strength. He felt so uncomfortable that he almost vomited blood.
He caught the object. When he looked up again, the figure on the roof was gone.
Ma Fengzhang furrowed his brows and hesitated for a while. In the end, he didn’t chase after him.
Whether it was the towering mountain or the soaring saber intent, Ma Fengzhang didn’t have the confidence to win.
Furthermore, he had already recognized the saber intent.
The person who came was the mysterious expert who had left saber intent in the Saber Cave!
This mysterious expert had helped Great Xia get rid of traitors several times. From his actions, he had no enmity toward Great Xia.
In this situation, Ma Fengzhang felt that it was best not to do too many things to avoid angering the other party.
After all, it seemed that he had good intentions toward Great Xia.
This is? Ma Fengzhang retracted his gaze and looked at the thing he had just received. It seems to be a book?
Ma Fengzhang subconsciously flipped through it. The next moment, his pupils suddenly contracted.
Thump!
The book in Ma Fengzhang’s hand fell to the ground. It was a rare ancient book. But now, Ma Fengzhang had no intention of picking it up.
He held the book the mysterious expert just sent over with his left hand and quickly flipped through it with his right hand. Very soon, he finished flipping through the book.
The light in his eyes kept shrinking, and the expression on his face kept changing.
Ma Fengzhang was the great commander of the Divine Constable Bureau, a genuine third-rank Grandmaster!
What he understood was definitely not something that Zhou Shu could compare to.
The moment he saw the contents of the book, Ma Fengzhang completely understood.
He didn’t even need anyone to explain to him to guess who had written the contents of the book!
After all, heaven-grade weapons were extremely rare in Great Xia.
If even Ma Fengzhang couldn’t understand such an obvious matter, then he wouldn’t be fit to be the Divine Constable Bureau’s commander!
Ma Fengzhang sucked in a breath of cold air as his expression turned extremely grave.
He didn’t doubt the authenticity of the content recorded in the book.
Based on the strength displayed by that mysterious expert earlier, there was absolutely no need for him to make such a joke.
Besides, he could tell more from the book.
Many unsolved murder cases of the Divine Constable Bureau seemed to have been answered here.
Who would have thought that Zhu Chuanfeng was such a person! Ma Fengzhang thought. Since Zhou Shu had spotted the Cloud-Splitting Saber, Ma Fengzhang naturally saw it as well.
The Forging Division is about to change. Ma Fengzhang could already sense a bloodbath ahead.
Zhu Chuanfeng had done such a crazy thing, yet it hadn’t been exposed even after so many years. It was impossible that he had no accomplices.
Ma Fengzhang waved his hand, and the long sword on the weapon rack in the room flew up with a whoosh.
Ma Fengzhang raised his hand and used the long sword to support his back. Clouds rose under his feet, and he flew toward the palace.
He had hidden the book that recorded Zhu Chuanfeng’s evil deeds between his chest and his clothes.
Worried that an expert was colluding with Zhu Chuanfeng, Ma Fengzhang even brought his own weapon, a heaven-grade weapon!
…
Within the imperial study of the imperial palace of Great Xia…
Emperor Yuan Feng looked at Ma Fengzhang gravely.
“Is this true?” Emperor Yuan Feng asked with a deep voice.
He had no choice but to be cautious. If this matter was real, it would definitely be a heavy blow to Great Xia!
“Most likely!” Ma Fengzhang said in a low voice. He didn’t make a definite conclusion. “This book was sent by the mysterious expert who left behind the saber intent in the Saber Cave. There seems to be no need for him to make such a joke.”
“This isn’t a joke!” A rare look of anger flashed across Emperor Yuan Feng’s face.
“Where is Zhu Chuanfeng?” he asked in a deep voice.
“I don’t know.” Ma Fengzhang shook his head. “After I received this book, I came immediately to you, Your Majesty.
“I don’t know how that expert obtained this book. If Zhu Chuanfeng already knows, then even if I act immediately, I may not be able to capture him. If Zhu Chuanfeng doesn’t know, then I’m afraid I’ll alert the enemy.”
“I don’t care if Zhu Chuanfeng knows about this. Bring him to me immediately!” Emperor Yuan Feng said angrily.
If the contents of the book were true, it meant that at least ten Grand Craftsmen of Great Xia had been killed!
To Great Xia, this was an unbearable loss!
“I would like to request a decree to lock down the entire city!” Ma Fengzhang asked in a low voice.
“Permission granted!” Emperor Yuan Feng said.
“I would also like to request a decree to seal off the city gates for another reason,” Ma Fengzhang continued. “This case may have many implications. To avoid alerting the enemy, it is best to keep the matter regarding Zhu Chuanfeng a secret.”
“Alright.” Emperor Yuan Feng hesitated for a moment, then said, “I will send a squad from the Fiend Eradication Army to listen to your orders. I only have one request—Zhu Chuanfeng must be captured and brought to justice. We cannot let anyone involved in this case go!”
Emperor Yuan Feng was extremely furious. A Grand Craftsman was an important weapon of the nation, and any one of them was the foundation of the Great Xia Imperial Court.
Zhu Chuanfeng had plotted against Great Xia’s Grand Craftsmen. This was destroying Great Xia’s foundation. How could Emperor Yuan Feng endure this?
“Yes!” Ma Fengzhang said with a heavy heart.
He felt helpless. Why did the mysterious expert send this book to him?
Couldn’t he send it to the Fiend Eradication Army or the Demon Executing Army?
Now that he had seen it, he couldn’t get out of it.
But was this matter so easy to handle?
Not to mention how many people had colluded with Zhu Chuanfeng, just Zhu Chuanfeng alone was not easy to deal with.
It wasn’t to say that Zhu Chuanfeng’s cultivation in the Martial Dao was high. But rather, he had been a Grand Craftsman for over twenty years and had all sorts of complicated relationships.
Countless martial artists had taken his weapons.
Although these martial artists might not all help him, as long as a portion of them turned a blind eye to his evil deeds, it would increase the difficulty of the case.
Moreover, the fact that Zhu Chuanfeng had committed such a grave crime, how could his subordinates be weak?
Thinking of this, Ma Fengzhang felt a headache coming on.
But could he refuse?
He couldn’t.
He knew all too well what this meant to Emperor Yuan Feng.
Previously, when a Grand Craftsman was a.s.sa.s.sinated, Emperor Yuan Feng had flown into a rage. But now, more than one Grand Craftsman had been killed?
No matter how great of a price he had to pay, Emperor Yuan Feng would investigate this matter to the end. He would let the world know that the Grand Craftsmen of Great Xia couldn’t be killed!
“Commander Ma!”
Ma Fengzhang was about to leave when he suddenly heard Emperor Yuan Feng speak.
“Exactly what is the intention of that mysterious expert?” Emperor Yuan Feng frowned.
“I don’t know.” Ma Fengzhang shook his head. “He has helped us three times, including this time, all to help Great Xia. I saw him with my own eyes today. His cultivation is unfathomable. I don’t have the confidence to win.”
“Does this mean his cultivation is at least above the third rank?” Emperor Yuan Feng asked in a deep voice.
“Yes.” Ma Fengzhang nodded. “I think he has good intentions toward Great Xia. The reason why he has never shown his face might be because he has something he can’t say…”
“I understand.” Emperor Yuan nodded. “You may go. You are fully responsible for this case. No matter how much manpower you mobilize, I do not wish to see any accidents occur!
“If possible, you can ask that expert to help. I can promise not to investigate his true ident.i.ty.”
Ma Fengzhang didn’t expect Emperor Yuan Feng to say such words. Great Xia didn’t lack experts. There were even some experts whose cultivations were above the third rank.
Although the cultivation of this mysterious expert was high, he was not indispensable to Great Xia.
Although the emperor said that he wouldn’t investigate his true ident.i.ty, he was still suspicious and wanted to take the opportunity to find out more.
But it was no wonder the emperor was curious. The Imperial Court was not aware that such an expert was in the capital. This was something that Emperor Yuan Feng couldn’t accept.
Moreover, strictly speaking, this was the Divine Constable Bureau’s negligence. It was just that Emperor Yuan Feng’s character was magnanimous, so he didn’t pursue this matter.
“I’ll try my best to get in touch with that expert,” Ma Fengzhang said in a low voice. “But I can’t guarantee…”
“It’s fine. Go ahead.” Emperor Yuan Feng waved his hand.
Ma Fengzhang bowed and left.
An hour later, the four gates of Chang’an closed almost simultaneously.
In the Divine Constable Bureau, divine constables woke up from their dreams and came out armed.
Outside the Zhu residence, a group of elite warriors dressed in embroidered clothes appeared silently. They spread out and surrounded the entire Zhu residence without missing any blind spots.. Ma Fengzhang appeared at the entrance of the Zhu residence, pushed the door open with a palm, and then strode in.