Chapter 301 - 117: Exposed (3)

Chapter 301: Chapter 117: Exposed (3)

He hesitated for a moment, then coldly ordered, "On them... Soul Searching! And those two subordinates of his, arrest them as well!"

Fang Rui had originally thought that with Zhen Daoji’s magnanimity, even if he discovered the Dragon Pearl was in his possession, he wouldn’t go so far as to implicate others or resort to extreme measures. At most, he expected a simple questioning.

And in theory, he was right. Had Zhen Daoji been calm, that would have been the most likely outcome.

But Fang Rui had overlooked one thing: Zhen Daoji was no Saint.

Everyone is prone to impulse. It’s just that for an ambitious man like Zhen Daoji, the threshold was relatively high. But no matter how high that threshold, it couldn’t hold against the sudden realization that he had been deceived and played for a fool. His emotions rebounded violently, the crest of the wave shattering his limits...

Whose fault was it? Was it Fang Rui’s, for being too good an actor? Fang Rui himself had something to say about that—he really hadn’t intended to deceive Zhen Daoji!

"Very well."

Zhen Yi sighed and turned to leave.

’Fang Rui... you and I are destined for a showdown—a fight to the death!’

Zhen Daoji paced to the window, clasping his hands behind his back as he gazed into the distance.

For him, this was no longer just about the Dragon Pearl.

This concealment, this deception, and the fact that he’d gone against his conscience time and again while searching for the Dragon Pearl—all of it needed to be settled!

...

「An elegant courtyard in the city.」

BOOM!

The main gate shattered.

"You’re Liu Pan’Er, right? Seize her!"

...

"You were a maid at the Fang Mansion? Take her whole family."

...

「Divine Capture Bureau.」

Niu Bajin and Xun Buhe were knocked to the ground, their official hats stripped from them.

"What are you doing? Do you know who I am? I’ve had drinks with the Lord Director!"

"Isn’t this all some kind of misunderstanding?"

"Heh. The one who ordered the arrest was the Lord Director himself. If you must blame someone, blame that wonderful former supervisor of yours. He ran off with a priceless treasure. Who else were we supposed to arrest?"

Perhaps out of jealousy, the man couldn’t resist adding a few more words.

Upon hearing this, Niu Bajin froze, then slumped down dejectedly.

In comparison, Xun Buhe was far calmer. He had once enjoyed the benefits of working under Fang Rui. ’Now, isn’t it only fair that I face the consequences of that association?’

"Tsk tsk, just the other day Niu Bajin was bragging so proudly. Look at him now, his luck’s run out."

"Old Gou keeps a low profile. It’s a shame he got implicated."

"Sigh... what can you even say? Back when they were following him, they dodged their fair share of trouble, too!"

...

However, compared to Liu Pan’Er and the other young maids, Niu Bajin and Xun Buhe, as members of the Divine Capture Bureau, were ultimately shown a sliver of mercy. They were only imprisoned and had not yet been subjected to Soul Searching.

...

Zhen Daoji’s sudden order to arrest those close to Fang Rui caused an uproar in the city.

"What’s going on? Just the other day, everyone was praising the relationship between the Lord Director and Fang Rui. How did they have such a sudden falling out?"

"I heard that Fang Rui absconded with a priceless treasure!"

"Someone who could write such exquisite poetry... he wouldn’t do something like that, would he? Perhaps there’s more to the story."

"Sigh, the situation in this city changes so fast, it makes your head spin. I can’t make heads or tails of it anymore!"

...

Just as the city was gripped by a state of panic and fear—

From all corners of the city, overt and covert spies released carrier pigeons to send messages, but they were instantly located and swiftly arrested.

...

’My Tribulation Points suddenly skyrocketed. Does this mean the Dragon Pearl incident in Huaiyin Prefecture has been exposed?!’

Fang Rui’s pupils shrank. ’No, I have to abandon all related contact channels and backup plans. Those methods might work against others, but against Zhen Daoji, they’re a joke. They’ll just increase the risk of exposure.’

’Even now, if my group and I hadn’t completely changed our appearances, we’d probably have been targeted and found by now, right? But even so, this will only buy us a little time.’

’Breaking through to First Grade is a matter of utmost urgency!’

Fang Rui closed his eyes, his consciousness flowing into the point of light in the upper left of his vision. A panel lit up in his mind like starlight.

...