The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 285 - 250, Inside Traitor Exposed

Creak... Creak...The leader only felt his body suddenly stiffen, his joints as if they were not his own.

His hand had a mind of its own, unexpectedly spreading its fingers and dropping his sidearm to the ground.

Then, his hands uncontrollably made a toasting gesture, slightly raised and brought to his mouth.

"What strange object..."

The spy leader turned pale with fright, being a martial artist, he lacked the means to deal with Magic.

All he could do was grit his teeth and stir the Qi Sea, attempting to redirect the Qi and disperse it through his meridians to regain control.

However, Gongshu Tianyuan did not give him the chance, taking advantage of the moment his opponent was controlled by the "toasting barbarian," the hefty priest stepped forward with his hands behind his back.

He lifted his hood, revealing a face full of bandit-like features.

The palm pressed a top-grade cinnabar talisman "smack" onto the forehead of the spy.

The leader felt dizzy, his eyes dimmed, and with a "thud," he fell straight into the bamboo forest.

"As easy as flipping one’s hand."

Gongshu Tianyuan smugly threw a hemp rope, which moved as if alive, wriggling to tie up the opponent.

At that moment, from a distance in the bamboo forest, two young priests floated over, bowing:

"Elder brother, the other two teams that scattered and fled have also been dealt with."

"Elder brother, the Jinyi from the Imperial Court arrived a step too late..."

"Very good."

Gongshu Tianyuan haughtily nodded and indifferently ordered:

"Take these people to the Divine Mechanism Camp."

"Yes!"

The two priests turned and went to collect the bodies from the ground.

Gongshu Tianyuan gestured, pulling up the spy leader, who was tied up like a rice dumpling, and soared toward the Capital:

"Hope Brother Zhao isn’t too anxious."

...

...

Inside the city, the banquet hall was brightly lit!

The entire courtyard was completely sealed off by the emergency-called government officers.

Inside, the atmosphere was heavy and oppressive, no one spoke, and everyone’s face was filled with solemnity.

"Master Zhao, it’s been so long, are we just going to keep waiting like this?"

Finally, Shi Meng could not hold back.

As the Commander of the Divine Mechanism Camp, he bore the greatest responsibility for tonight’s dereliction.

Since Zhao Douan drew his sword to block the door, nearly an hour had passed.

Everyone’s patience was nearly exhausted.

Zhao Douan was seated closest to the door, the Cold Frost Sword resting on his lap, his eyes closed in concentration.

At that moment, he opened his eyes, glanced at the sky, and said:

"Stay calm and don’t be agitated."

The commander of the Three Thousand Camp was also somewhat restless and bitterly said:

"It’s not that we are restless, but even if you, Master Zhao, have made arrangements, you should at least clarify them to settle our hearts. With Your Majesty and Minister Xue here, it’s impossible for any news to leave this hall."

The commander of the Five Army Camp chimed in:

"Moreover, as the night deepens, we may wait, but we also have to consider His Majesty’s health..."

"Yes, it’s been so long, I fear the criminals have already escaped the Capital’s boundary... and will be hard to pursue."

"Mr. Zhao, please say something."

For a time, a multitude of military officers, tormented by the deadly silence, spoke out one after another.

Standing beside the Empress, Mo Chou also couldn’t help but say:

"Mr. Zhao is waiting because His Majesty approved, but how much longer must we wait?"

Xu Zhenguan regained his taciturn "imperial" demeanor, remaining silent although his heart, though trusting him, was inevitably anxious.

But the next moment, the Empress suddenly looked into the distance, her brows relaxed.

Zhao Douan, as if facing a pot of boiling water, was about to speak when suddenly his ears twitched, he turned his head to look outside the hall, and smiled:

"They’ve arrived."

What’s arrived?

The generals inside the hall fell silent, all looking in the same direction, only to see in the tightly guarded courtyard center, the ground suddenly undulated with earthy yellow ripples.

The guards were startled, drawing their swords in alert.

Then, from the ground that turned into ripples, slowly emerged a huge wooden hand.

It appeared like a limb of some gigantic puppet, with short, stout fingers and sharp edges.

The giant hand gripped the edge of the ripple and suddenly exerted force, and then, a huge phantom puppet emerged as if climbing from hell to the mortal world.

Only showing half of its torso, it was already as large as a house.

With one hand on the ground, the other large hand slowly opened, revealing a spinning earthy yellow "silkworm cocoon."

"Crack!"

The silkworm cocoon split open from inside out, and Gongshu Tianyuan stepped out with his hands behind his back, his presence imposing, holding the sealed spy leader in his hand.

"Lord... the rebel leader has been captured..."

The chubby man had intended to make a grand show, but mid-sentence, his grin abruptly stiffened.

His small mung bean eyes widened, clearly seeing the brightly lit main seat in the hall, that bright yellow dragon robe, and the breathtaking face that was smiling yet not smiling.

"Your... Your Majesty?"

Gongshu Tianyuan was startled, the mana-woven puppet phantom beneath his feet collapsed, and he almost knelt to the ground without paying attention!

He then pretended as if nothing had happened, cupping his hands in salute:

"Gongshu Tianyuan, at your service, Saint!"

The generals in the hall tactfully ignored the failed show of the hefty priest, their expressions astonished:

"Is he Heavenly Master Zhang’s Fifth Disciple?"

"Gongshu Priest?"

"The one Master Zhao was waiting for... is him?"

Xu Zhenguan lightly nodded, his snow-white chin gently dipping, "Mhm," he voiced, authoritative:

"No need for excessive formalities."

Gongshu Tianyuan, quick-witted, immediately said:

"Reporting to Your Majesty, Gongshu, commissioned by Lord Zhao, has captured the chief thief who broke into the Firearms Bureau. The rest of the criminals, whether killed or captured, have been sent to the Divine Mechanism Camp."

As he spoke, he kicked the leader, tied up like a wooden stake and with a Yellow Paper Talisman on his forehead, to the front of the hall.

There was a brief moment of silence in the hall, followed by an outburst of suppressed exclamations.

Despite many in the crowd having guessed that Zhao Douan had a contingency plan,

the actual unfolding of events still caught them by surprise.

Xu Zhenguan slightly lifted her jade hand with a sweep of her phoenix eyes, and instantly, the noise subsided.

She looked towards the confident Mr. Zhao with astonishment and asked curiously,

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"Mr. Zhao, could you possibly clarify the doubts of everyone in the hall?"

Zhao Douan silently exhaled, and only then did his heart finally settle.

He had won the bet!

The pretense of calmness he had worn now turned into a pure and sincere smile.

"Your Majesty, the matter is actually not complicated. Considering the previous theft of firearms, after today’s drill, I thought to make some preparations.

The method was quite simple, just invited the Gongshu Priest to place a Magic-tracing technique on the designs within the Firearms Bureau.

And to secretly protect them, originally just as a precaution. But unexpectedly, it played right into the hands of the thieves."

Gongshu Tianyuan also said with a chuckle,

"Indeed, when these thieves sneaked in, I and some fellow disciples were nearby, using some Illusion Skills secretly to make these people think they were successful.

Then, following Lord’s command, we followed the thieves, originally planning to dig out their den, but unfortunately, after these good-for-nothings succeeded, they immediately attempted to flee the Capital, so we had no choice but to capture them."

Beside them, Haitang looked confused.

She really wanted to say:

That’s not it… This damn thief had us pretend to steal…

But the words on the tip of her tongue turned into, "Then after that…"

Gongshu Tianyuan glanced at her and said lightly with an "Oh,"

"When you arrived, the Illusion Skill I left wasn’t removed yet. Yes, those bodies in the camp were just injured and unconscious."

Haitang opened her mouth, looking at Zhao Douan with complex eyes.

She understood!

Tonight, this guy clearly had two plans prepared.

If the enemy didn’t come, he would use deceit.

If they did come, the priest would cover.

There might even be many other tactics that hadn’t been revealed.

But for now, whether it be deceit or any other tactic, none were needed.

"Your Majesty, since this thief is the leader of the rebels, perhaps we can uncover the identity of the insider," Zhao Douan said with clasped hands, speaking loudly.

At this moment, the officers in the hall gradually came back to their senses, their expressions changing.

Especially Ma Yan, who felt particularly complex—clearly on the way here, he had felt sorry for Zhao Douan, thinking that failing to ferret out the mole was not perfect.

Now, upon closer thought… Where hadn’t Zhao Douan looked?

He was clearly fishing every step of the way.

Xu Zhenguan, expressionless, looked down at the spy on the ground and suddenly said:

"Since it was the Gongshu Priest who captured him, you may interrogate him."

Zhao Douan was slightly stunned, sensing from Zhenbao’s words that this chubby kid seemed to have some special interrogation methods.

"Hehe, as you command," Gongshu Tianyuan chuckled, waved his hand, and pulled back the Yellow Paper Talisman.

On the ground.

The spy leader, whose senses were sealed, suddenly woke up, instinctively struggling, but found it hard to move.

As his eyes adjusted to the light and saw the surrounding Great Yu generals, saw Zhao Douan, saw the Empress, his pupils dramatically enlarged.

As if plunging into an abyss!

"Lord Zhao, you may do the questioning," said Gongshu Tianyuan with a smile.

Zhao Douan blinked and was about to nod when the spy on the ground suddenly spoke, his voice eerily calm:

"No need to ask, I know what you want to know, and I won’t tell."

The next second, his teeth ground together, attempting to bite the poison hidden within his teeth but failed.

"Don’t bother trying. I’ve already removed it. Don’t think about biting your tongue either. You know that won’t work."

Gongshu Tianyuan spoke ominously, "Seems like he is a dead zealot."

Zhao Douan wasn’t surprised and probed,

"In the Imperial Prison, I actually have experts skilled in dealing with dead zealots."

Gongshu Tianyuan said, "No need for trouble."

He suddenly turned his hand and removed the large bamboo tube from his back.

With a "thud" on the ground, he explained,

"I’ve raised a Wild God called ’fox fairy,’ which can make a person honestly answer any question you want. The cost is once the questioning is over, this person’s Divine Soul will be swallowed, turning them into a living dead."

On the ground, the spy’s face, which had been resolute, suddenly turned pale, and his eyes widened,

"You..."

The next second, Gongshu Tianyuan forcefully struck the bamboo tube.

A wispy white smoke arose, and the smoke slowly coalesced into a fox half-buried in the bamboo tube, revealing only part of its snow-white fur and eerie deep blue eyes.

"Wild God..."

Many people in the room frowned slightly, but there was no fear in their expression.

Wild God?

What kind of odd thing is this… what weird tools do you have… Zhao Douan secretly questioned.

At this time, the fox with blue eyes and white fur, looking somewhat ethereal and weird, slowly turned its head, gazing at the spy, and its mouth corners slowly widened, as if smiling.

At the same time, the spy leader’s face suddenly became expressionless as if bewitched.

His eyes met with the fox’s, as if falling into a nightmare.

"Brother Zhao, you can ask now," Gongshu Tianyuan said cheerfully.

Zhao Douan grinned, shifting his gaze away from the fox fairy, looked down at the spy, and asked in a deep voice.

"In this place, who else has colluded with you, who has worked for you?"

The banquet hall fell silent for a moment.

The spy caught in the nightmare showed a struggling expression, as though resisting the "Wild God." Veins prominently showed on his forehead, his eyes bloodshot.

But ultimately, in a hoarse voice, he uttered a name:

"Chief of the Privy Council, Wang Heng."

In an instant, numerous incredibly astounded gazes simultaneously turned towards the crowd where a skinny man in his fifties, Mr. Wang, sat. The latter wore an expressionless face and sighed deeply.