Chapter 1680: Revenge Plot
Zhang Zitong was stunned. She instinctively rolled to the side to avoid the lethal slash, but her body was restricted, so she couldn't use ki to counterattack. When she saw the blade slash at her again, she no longer had the strength to avoid it. She could only watch it descend in despair.
Suddenly, she felt a bit of relief. Either way, death was what she had been looking for. It didn’t make that much of a difference whether she died to poison or to this blade.
However, after the blade struck her, she likely wouldn’t look so pretty anymore, right? She really didn’t want Sir Eleven to return and see such an ugly scene.
Suddenly, a fist smashed toward the blade, knocking it away. An imposing figure appeared in front of Zhang Zitong, making her heart skip a beat. It was Sir Eleven!
Zu An looked at the black-clad individual across from him. Their clothes were wrapped firmly around their body and he couldn't detect any special characteristics. The assassin had clearly come prepared.
The black-clad individual was also stunned when they saw Zu An and bolted for the exit without a moment’s hesitation. Just then, however, several Soul Reaping Chains cut off their escape route, with Xiao Jianren and other Silver Token Envoys in the lead.
They were all Silver Token Envoys, and with their special coordinated skills and Soul Reaping Chains, even a powerful cultivator would give up after a short futile struggle. That wasn’t even considering the fact that there was a Golden Token Envoy watching over the scene menacingly.
The black-clad individual suddenly turned to look at Zu An, their eyes seemingly filled with anger from being deceived.
You have successfully trolled Zhang Jie for +444 +444 +444…
When he saw the name, Zu An thought, As expected. He said, “Sir Zhang, I didn’t expect you to come yourself.”
The others present were all shocked to hear those words. They had only assumed this person was an assassin who had come to kill Zhang Zitong. How could they have anticipated that it would actually be such an important figure?
Apart from Zhang Jie, was there anyone else more important who could be called Sir Zhang?
The black-clad individual was shocked, but he still replied in a hoarse voice, “What are you saying? I don’t understand.” He was clearly carrying out his final struggle and didn’t want to admit his identity.
Zu An didn’t bother exposing him further and continued, “You actually had me fooled all this time. King Yan used Golden Token Seven’s death to make me investigate the Hub of Freedom and discover your relationship with the Hub of Freedom. That way, you would fall from power.
“But there was another mysterious force that tried to lead me to investigate King Yan. At first, I did fall for it and thought that it was King Yan who had done the deed. After all, he had the motive and the ability.
“Along the way, though, there were so many aspects that I just couldn't understand or solve. Only after experiencing everything I’ve gone through over the past two days did things finally line up.
“The only thing left was to find out the identity of that mysterious force. Actually, many things might look complicated, but there is a simple principle one needs to follow to find the truth, which is to look at who has the most to gain from the situation. That party is the most suspicious.
“If King Yan really fell because of Golden Token Seven or a rebellion, who would be the biggest winner? Of course, that would be you, Yi Commandery’s governor. You’ve fought so bitterly with King Yan over the years. Even though you purposely put on that rather mediocre appearance in front of me, how could anyone who could clash with King Yan for so many years be so incompetent?”
After listening to the explanation, the black-clad individual knew that arguing any further was meaningless. He removed his mask. As expected, it was Yi Commandery’s Governor, Zhang Jie.
Xiao Jianren swallowed with difficulty. He felt as if everything he was seeing wasn’t real.
When a case involved someone as important as King Yan, if not for his trust in Sir Eleven, he would even have wondered whether everyone involved would be silenced after the fact.
Zhang Zitong looked at Zhang Jie. Her expression changed several times.
“I should have known that this was a trap as soon as you mentioned Zhang Zitong’s situation in front of me,” Zhang Jie spat, overwhelmed with hate. He had still been careless in the end. Most importantly, this kid really had gone all out in setting the trap. Master Yan’s reputation in the field of formations and talismans was too well-known, and he had heard of the Truth Talisman too. He had really been scared that Zhang Zitong would speak the truth.
“King Yan was just captured and King Yan’s heir publicly started a rebellion. Even though his majesty reached a compromise and quelled the situation, he definitely wouldn’t feel too happy about it inside. In the future, he’d deal with them sooner or later. This victory was far too thorough for you. Even the most cool-headed person would become muddled by victory,” Zu An said, then paused for a moment. “But I didn’t expect you to come personally.”
“If I hadn’t personally taken care of it and ended up like her, things would only have become even more annoying,” Zhang Jie said as he glared at Zhang Zitong. If not for her, his plans would have been completely flawless.
Zhang Zitong lowered her head apologetically, However, when she thought about how he had been about to kill her, there was also a hint of unwillingness and despair in her expression.
“I have one question. Even though your official rank is high, strictly speaking, you’re only an official appointed by the court. Would you really have the power to achieve all of this yourself?” Zu An wondered, feeling confused.
That was precisely why he hadn’t suspected Zhang Jie at first. Put nicely, Zhang Jie was an important regional governor, but in more direct terms, he was just a pawn for someone else. He would still be a government employee anywhere else, and would have had no reason to go so far in trying to get rid of King Yan. If every single subordinate of Zhao Han were this capable, just the thought of that alone would be quite terrifying.
“Hmph, what do you understand? In the past, Zhang Zhiquan saved my life. How can I not play my part in his revenge?” Zhang Jie spat hatefully.
Zu An was surprised by the answer. He looked at Zhang Zitong and said, “You’re both named Zhang. Are you actually relatives?”
Before Zhang Zitong could say anything, Zhang Jie quickly said, “The relationship couldn’t be more distant. You probably couldn’t even find any records of us having family history. Otherwise, after Zhang Zhiquan’s criminal affair, I wouldn’t have been able to sit in my current position.”
“Then, what you said about Zhang Zhiquan saving your life, the court doesn’t know about it either?” Zu An asked, finding it a bit strange. After all, upon reaching such a high position, a strict political background check should have been carried out.
“He saved me from a terrible situation when I was young. I was only able to walk the path of cultivation because of his assistance. Brother Zhiquan was a man of noble character and wouldn’t boast about something like this. I didn’t tell anyone else about it either and just stored it in my heart, so of course no one knew about it,” Zhang Jie replied.
“I didn’t expect you to be the emotionally righteous type,” Zu An said with a chuckle. “And yet today, you were about to kill the sole remaining survivor of your benefactor’s lineage. Isn’t talking about these things quite laughable now?”
“All of this was merely for the sake of the ultimate revenge! I believe she’s willing as well,” Zhang Jie said with a sneer.
“That’s right!” Zhang Zitong also said, but inwardly, she couldn't help but feel a ripple of doubt. She was willing to give up her life for this matter, and that was why she had firmly chosen to end her own life. Still, being killed by someone else suddenly felt really different from ending her own life.
“Just what did that Zhang Zhiquan do that resulted in his entire family being executed?” Zu An asked curiously. “And what is the ultimate revenge you’re talking about?”
Zhagn Jie sneered. “Even if I had the courage to tell you, you wouldn’t necessarily have the guts to stomach it.”
Zu An chuckled and said, “I might not have other skills, but I’ve always been quite brave. I’m all ears.”
Zhang Jie gave Xiao Jianren and the others a look, saying, “If they hear about this, they won’t be able to live after.”
Xiao Jianren and the others’ expressions changed. After being Embroidered Envoys for so long, they’d had their fair share of contact with darkness. They naturally knew that what he was saying might not have been spoken just to scare them. There was indeed a chance that hearing the truth would mean that they would undoubtedly die.
Zu An waved his hand and said, “All of you, wait outside for me. You’re not allowed to get close to this place.”
Xiao Jianren immediately panicked. “Sir Eleven, be careful not to be fooled! He might be using this as a chance to send us away!”
Zu An thought to himself, This guy at least has some loyalty. He definitely didn’t want them to take the risk now. He replied, “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”
Xiao Jianren and the others could only leave helplessly.
…
Zhang Jie was a bit surprised when he saw them leave. He remarked, “You are quite bold, aren’t you? Are you not scared of me attacking you now?” He was a master rank cultivator, after all, and Golden Token Envoys usually didn’t reach that level.
Zu An remained quite calm as he said, “I’ve already cleared the room for you. You can say what you want to say.”
Zhang Jie slowly said, “The case of the Zhang clan’s eradication involves the previous dynasty’s imperial descendant…”
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