Chapter 45: Visitors from the Profound Array Department

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Visitors from the Profound Array Department

After Wang Deli lowered his bow, a wide grin spread across his face.

Behind him stood dozens of armored soldiers, clearly prepared for this encounter.

On the deck of the ship, Zeng Shilin stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing at the people on the shore of Shuiyun Island.

When his eyes met Zeng Anmin’s across the distance, his brows furrowed deeply.

"Hehe." Zeng Anmin felt a bit guilty.

Could the plotting between a father and son really be called scheming? He simply shifted his gaze to Qi Linxian, who was on the small boat by the shore, and shouted a reminder, "Don’t let him get away!"

Qi Linxian’s expression was exceedingly gloomy. Clearly, he had not expected Zeng Anmin to calculate everything to such an extent.

The atmosphere gradually grew heavy.

"Hmph!" In an instant, he had already seen through the current situation with utmost clarity. With a soft snort, Qi Linxian looked toward Wang Deli on the ship. "A brutish Martial Artist dares to think he can stop me?"

He gently waved the Feather Fan in his hand.

Ripples suddenly flickered across the small boat beneath him. In just a split second, a ring of green patterns enveloped Qi Linxian’s surroundings.

"Instant Movement Array!"

Seeing this, the Observation Department’s Commander, Wang Deli, roared in anger, "You foxes of the Profound Array Department! What else can you do besides run?! Fight me if you have the guts!"

As he spoke, he leaped up and raised the longbow in his hand.

SWISH!

The second arrow reached Qi Linxian’s body in the blink of an eye.

"Illusion!"

Qi Linxian waved his Feather Fan again. The green patterns flashed brightly, completely enveloping him.

FWOOSH.

The feathered arrow passed straight through Qi Linxian’s body without causing any harm.

"Young Master Zeng, until we meet again!"

Amidst Qi Linxian’s chuckles, his body began to flicker, and even his voice turned blurry. He was about to vanish in the very next moment.

Right at that moment, a cold snort rang out.

"It has been so long since I last fought that the world has forgotten the might of my Confucian Teachings. How pitiful."

Zeng Shilin’s gaze was indifferent, acting as if he didn’t even see the disappearing Qi Linxian. He stood on the deck with one hand resting behind his back.

The gentle river breeze blew, fluttering the hem of his robes to reveal a peerless elegance, accompanied by a boundless azure aura surging toward the heavens.

"The Saint said, ’Speak not of strange phenomena, physical violence, chaotic affairs, and dark spirits.’"

A vast, boundless voice echoed in everyone’s ears.

Zeng Anmin watched the myriad streams of azure aura shoot straight into the sky, as majestic as rolling clouds and as dense as mountain mist.

Amidst the curling azure aura, his father’s silhouette resembled a towering mountain, surrounded by the righteous energy of heaven and earth.

In the blink of an eye, it descended upon the eerie green light surrounding Qi Linxian.

The moment the green light touched the azure aura, it dissolved and dissipated in an instant, much like a drop of water exposed to the blazing sun.

THUD.

Qi Linxian’s figure reappeared, and he tumbled wretchedly back onto the small boat.

He frantically channeled the Spiritual Power within his body, but it was completely useless.

He abruptly looked up at Zeng Shilin, overwhelmed with horror. "Even the Spiritual Power of my Profound Array Department is..."

"Ignorant fool." Zeng Shilin merely smiled faintly, too lazy to waste words on him. He simply glanced at Wang Deli. "Take him down."

"Understood!"

Spreading his arms like a giant roc, Wang Deli leaped fiercely over the water, his toes lightly tapping the surface and kicking up ripples.

TAP TAP.

In just two strides, his agile figure arrived right in front of Qi Linxian.

Qi Linxian was merely a Seventh Grade array master. Having lost his Spiritual Power, how could he possibly be a match for the Observation Department Commander?

In a matter of moments, he was captured alive.

Ignoring Qi Linxian’s ashen face, Zeng Shilin looked toward Zeng Anmin on the shore.

Father and son locked eyes.

"Where is the Black Cat Martial Artist?" Zeng Shilin asked, looking at his son with a half-smile.

"What Black Cat Martial Artist?" Zeng Anmin blinked, his face full of confusion.

Zeng Shilin’s expression froze slightly.

He couldn’t exactly say that he had used a heart-questioning technique on him, and that he had then pointed at the map claiming the Black Cat Martial Artist was right there, could he?

At this moment, the large ship beneath his feet had reached the shore. Zeng Shilin slowly disembarked and walked up to Zeng Anmin.

He first glanced down at Wang Daoyuan’s corpse on the ground, his face entirely expressionless. "Not fully purging him back then was merely a casual move on my part, just to see if Prince Jiang’s Mansion would take the bait.

"I never expected this casual move to become the trump card in your hand."

Zeng Anmin stared blankly, then looked at his father in disbelief. "I thought you spared his life because he was working for Your Majesty at the time... that you were taking Your Majesty’s face into consideration."

His father sneered. "Why would Your Majesty care about the life or death of such an ant?"

Zeng Anmin was taken aback for a moment. Then, looking at his father with eyes full of worship, he said with utmost respect, "If you hadn’t spared his life back then, I’m afraid we wouldn’t have been able to catch this big fish today. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"The Governor is truly infallible in strategy and possesses divine wisdom! This subordinate is in absolute awe! I bow in complete reverence!"

Zeng Shilin slowly nodded, a faint smile appearing on his face as his right hand unconsciously stroked his beard.

While the two were talking, Wang Deli arrived, striding across the river while carrying the securely tied Qi Linxian.

THUD.

He casually tossed Qi Linxian onto the ground and requested orders from Zeng Shilin. "Sir, this son of a bitch has been captured. How should we deal with him?"

"Take him back and interrogate him under severe torture." Zeng Shilin cast a faint glance at Qi Linxian’s old face, his voice devoid of any emotion.

Only then did he turn to look at Zeng Anmin. "On this Desolate Mountain lies the evidence of the rebellion by Prince Jiang’s Mansion."

Zeng Anmin’s expression turned serious as he bowed to Zeng Shilin. "Reporting to the Governor, the evidence is in the valley behind this hill. It’s just that there are some guards in the valley..."

"Mhm." Zeng Shilin nodded slowly, then turned to look at Wang Deli and the dozens of armored soldiers on the deck. "Move quickly."

Wang Deli received the order with a serious expression. "Yes, sir!"

After speaking, he looked at the dozens of guards on the deck and shouted loudly, "Form up! Up the mountain!"

SWISH!

A formation was arranged in the blink of an eye. The dozens of soldiers disembarked from the deck in an extremely orderly fashion, marching with unified steps as they followed Wang Deli.

***

That night, Wang Deli led his men to clear out all the personnel belonging to Prince Jiang’s Mansion on the island mountain.

Zeng Anmin followed Zeng Shilin as the group entered the valley.

Several hundred laborers knelt on the ground, trembling with fear. Beside them lay over a dozen armored corpses.

Wang Deli glared at them with piercing eyes.

Not a single one of the dozens of armored soldiers had been injured. The weapons in their hands gleamed with a cold light as they stood guard against everyone.

Zeng Shilin sat in a chair, watching it all unfold.

On the ground, rows of newly forged Firearms were arranged in neat lines.

"Prince Jiang’s Mansion truly has treasonous ambitions."

There had to be at least two to three hundred of those Firearms. This item alone was enough to confirm the crime of rebellion by Prince Jiang’s Mansion!

Zeng Shilin’s voice turned icy. "Tie them all up and take them back!"

"Yes, sir!"

However, right at this moment, an unfamiliar, gentle, yet somewhat hesitant voice suddenly rang out.

"Umm... I have to take Qi Linxian away with me!"

The voice appeared extremely abruptly, drawing everyone’s attention.

"Who’s there?!" Wang Deli’s face darkened as he looked toward the source of the voice.