Chapter 174 Investigation

The Second Prince was well aware of the Sixth Prince's ruthlessness.

Even though the Sixth Prince would not dare to do anything to him at this time, if all of his guards were slaughtered,

it would not only greatly weaken his strength, but his prestige and Face would also be completely swept away.

Looking at the smile on the Sixth Prince's Face, the Second Prince knew that this younger brother of his was just itching for him to make a move right now.

Thinking of this, the Second Prince secretly gritted his teeth and forcefully suppressed the pent-up frustration in his chest.

At this moment, the Second Prince hated the Sixth Prince and Sun Xuan—who had secretly attacked him just moments before—to the extreme.

Yet in the end, reason still prevailed in the Second Prince's mind.

Making a move now would do him not a single bit of good.

Hearing the Second Prince let out a cold snort, he did not dare to look at Sun Xuan again.

"Sixth Brother, you really have found a good helper, hehe!"

Hearing the gnashing, gritting tone in the Second Prince's voice, the smile on the Sixth Prince's Face grew even wider.

Seeing the Second Prince's deflated and down-on-his-luck appearance today, the Sixth Prince felt greatly relieved, then spoke to the Second Prince full of joy:

"Then many thanks for Second Brother's praise, haha!"

Hearing the Sixth Prince's hearty laughter, the Second Prince's anger grew even more intense.

But feeling helpless at the moment, he finally waved his hand with a gloomy expression, then spoke in a low voice:

"What are you all standing around stunned for, let's go!"

After the words fell, the Second Prince took the lead and headed outside the Sixth Prince's estate.

Although Patriarch Gu Shentong was extremely unwilling at this moment, he knew that this revenge could not be avenged today.

Having no other choice, he had to follow the Second Prince and withdraw from the Sixth Prince's estate.

…

At the celebration banquet for Sun Xuan's promotion to a Rank 2 Martial Artist, the Sixth Prince's laughter had not stopped from beginning to end.

This showed just how joyful the Sixth Prince's heart was at this moment.

Regarding his previous decision to take Sun Xuan under his command, the Sixth Prince increasingly felt it was a wise choice.

If he hadn't taken Sun Xuan under his command back then, how could he have obtained such a great expert of the Rank 2 realm?

And how could he have seen the Second Prince's extremely ugly expression today?

With a joyful heart, the more the Sixth Prince looked at Sun Xuan, the more satisfied he felt.

He was even thinking in his heart at this moment that after ascending the throne as emperor, he would definitely give Sun Xuan a massive promotion and make him the person closest to his side.

With the Sixth Prince's current state of mind, if he could truly ascend the throne as emperor, Sun Xuan's merits of following the Dragon probably wouldn't escape him.

However, it was a pity that Sun Xuan's ambitions did not lie there. What he wanted was not to reach the pinnacle of officialdom, but to elevate his own strength to the greatest extent possible.

This banquet lasted very late and could be said to be a thoroughly enjoyable time for both host and guests.

In contrast, Patriarch Gu Shentong and the Second Prince parted on bad terms.

The Second Prince had lost Face at the Sixth Prince's estate, which had once plunged him into an awkward predicament.

And Patriarch Gu Shentong's goal of revenge had not been achieved either. Seeing his enemy right before his eyes yet unable to make a move, one could imagine what kind of mood Patriarch Gu Shentong was in at this moment.

Just like that, whether it was the Second Prince or Patriarch Gu Shentong, the Qi in their hearts was not very smooth at this moment.

After a few words, they parted ways on bad terms directly.

What happened today also made Patriarch Gu Shentong feel somewhat anxious inside.

If things went on like this, relying on the Second Prince, just when would he be able to exact revenge?

After returning to the Gu Family estate, Patriarch Gu Shentong tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

The pain of his only son being killed, his enemy being right before his eyes, and his inability to take revenge plunged Patriarch Gu Shentong as if into Hell, making it completely impossible for him to calm down.

And after thinking for a whole night, Patriarch Gu Shentong felt that his plan to rely on the Second Prince for revenge probably wouldn't work.

After all, since the Second Prince couldn't do anything to the Sixth Prince's subordinate today, I'm afraid in the days to come, he still wouldn't be able to do anything to the Sixth Prince.

As a result, his plan for revenge would probably be far off into the indefinite future.

"Sigh, in the end, the matter of revenge still has to rely on myself!"

Patriarch Gu Shentong let out a long sigh facing the heavens, then muttered to himself.

…

Three days later, an inner palace eunuch came to the Sixth Prince's estate to convey an imperial decree, conferring upon Sun Xuan the title of Town Demon Guard Xuanwu Commander, making Sun Xuan one of the four major commanders of the Town Demon Guard.

The four major commanders at the center of the Great Wei Dynasty were half a rank higher than the regional Town Demon Guard commanders of a province.

Above the four major commanders, there was only one supreme leader of the Town Demon Guard who commanded all Town Demon Guards—the Town Demon Guard Military Commissioner.

However, this Town Demon Guard Military Commissioner usually lived in seclusion, and his figure could generally not be seen at all.

It was only known that his Martial Artist cultivation was extremely high, having already reached the Rank 1 realm.

He was one of the figures most favored and trusted by the current emperor.

With the Town Demon Guard Military Commissioner managing nothing, the four people with the greatest power within the Town Demon Guard were the four major Town Demon Guard commanders at the center.

And now, Sun Xuan had become one of the four people with the greatest power within the Town Demon Guard.

Furthermore, among these four people, the White Tiger Commander and the Vermilion Bird Commander were neutral and had not leaned towards any prince.

However, the Azure Dragon Commander had long since pledged allegiance to the Sixth Prince's command. Coupled with Sun Xuan serving as the Xuanwu Commander, it could be said that half of the Town Demon Guard at this time had already been secretly controlled by the Sixth Prince.

And this was only a portion of the power in the Sixth Prince's hands.

From this, one could see just how formidable the Sixth Prince's methods truly were.

And just as Sun Xuan had just assumed the post of Town Demon Guard Xuanwu Commander and was holding a banquet to celebrate with the Sixth Prince and the Azure Dragon Commander,

one of the Sixth Prince's subordinates suddenly walked onto the banquet with a solemn expression, then knelt down on the ground facing the Sixth Prince with a grave expression and said:

"Reporting to Your Highness, Minister of Revenue Han Zhili was exterminated by someone last night."

"Lord Han's entire household, young and old alike, were all killed without a single chicken or dog left alive!"

The Sixth Prince, who originally wore a smile and was drinking with Sun Xuan and Cao Shiyin, upon hearing his subordinate's report, saw the smile on his Face instantly vanish.

"Bastard, preposterous!"

The Sixth Prince fiercely smashed the wine cup in his hand onto the table, then let out an angry roar.

Seeing this, a light flashed in Sun Xuan's eyes, and he looked towards the Azure Dragon Guard Commander Cao Shiyin beside him.

Seeing the inquiring look in Sun Xuan's eyes, Cao Shiyin spoke to Sun Xuan in a low voice with a somewhat unsightly expression:

"Minister of Revenue Han Zhili is a man of Your Highness the Sixth Prince!"

After hearing Cao Shiyin's words, Sun Xuan instantly understood why the Sixth Prince was so furious.

Moreover, Sun Xuan couldn't help feeling somewhat surprised at the person who had secretly made a move against Han Zhili at this moment.

You must know that this was the Minister of Revenue of the Great Wei Dynasty, yet he was exterminated like this right within the Xuanjing Holy Capital.

This not only harmed the Sixth Prince—the person behind this Minister of Revenue—but was also a huge provocation to the entire bureaucratic system of the Great Wei Dynasty.

No matter who did this matter, it had already become something that touched the bottom line of the Great Wei Dynasty.

Next, it would inevitably usher in a ferocious counterattack from the bureaucratic system of the Great Wei Dynasty.

After all, these powerful nobles certainly didn't want to be muddleheadedly exterminated by someone one of these days.

And everyone knew that Minister of Revenue Han Zhili was the Sixth Prince's man. The Sixth Prince would definitely spend a huge price to investigate this matter.

As long as the Sixth Prince truly investigated something or even avenged Han Zhili,

taking advantage of this matter, the Sixth Prince might even gain the support of the entire bureaucratic system of the Great Wei Dynasty.

Therefore, thinking about this matter in reverse, for the Sixth Prince, it might not necessarily be a bad thing.

It was just that the Sixth Prince had just heard the news and didn't react for a moment, or perhaps he had already figured out the crux of the matter and was merely acting right now.

Of course, regardless of whether the Sixth Prince's angry appearance right now was an act or if he hadn't figured out the crux of the matter,

putting great effort into investigating this matter next was an absolute certainty.

Moreover, this matter probably wasn't done by the various princes, because every single one of these princes was a cunning expert.

They would definitely never do such a taboo thing.

As a result, it was a bit difficult to determine the person who made a move behind the scenes.

At this moment, the Sixth Prince was even secretly guessing whether this matter was done by the Baihuo Cult.

Putting everything else aside, similar things like this weren't something the Baihuo Cult hadn't done before.

After all, they were a group of rebels, and naturally had a hostile relationship with the bureaucratic system of the Great Wei Dynasty.

Therefore, it was completely normal for them to make a move and exterminate the entire household of a Minister of Revenue.

But right now, they couldn't make a decision so early; the truth of the matter still had to be determined after investigation.

Therefore, the Sixth Prince directly issued an order to Sun Xuan beside him:

"Lord Sun, since this matter has happened during the banquet, it seems it cannot continue."

"Now that Lord Sun has taken over the position of Xuanwu Commander, how about treating this matter as Lord Sun's first task upon taking office?"

Hearing this, Sun Xuan directly stood up, cupped his fists, and said to the Sixth Prince:

"This subordinate obeys the order!"

As soon as his voice fell, Sun Xuan directly walked down from the banquet hall, came to the Town Demon Guard headquarters, and began dispatching personnel.

After Sun Xuan took over as the Xuanwu Commander, his subordinates didn't pull any underhanded tricks of outwardly complying while secretly defying him.

Because these people all knew that, firstly, Sun Xuan was the Sixth Prince's man, and daring to pull that set of outwardly complying while secretly defying on Sun Xuan was definitely courting death.

Secondly, the news of Sun Xuan breaking through to become a Rank 2 Martial Artist had long since reached the ears of these Town Demon Guard personnel.

Facing such a top-tier expert, if they still dared to stir up trouble, I'm afraid this Rank 2 Martial Artist would let them experience what the dignity of an expert was.

"Where is Xuanwu Guard Left Envoy Shangguan?"

After entering the Town Demon Guard headquarters garrison, Sun Xuan directly spoke to an ordinary Town Demon Guard member nearby.

That Town Demon Guard member immediately and respectfully replied:

"Replying to Commander Lord's words, Lord Shangguan is currently in the discussion grand hall discussing important matters with the other Right Envoy lords."

Hearing this, Sun Xuan immediately raised his foot and headed towards the direction of the discussion grand hall.

Sure enough, Town Demon Left Envoy Shangguan Qingyun, along with five other Town Demon Left Envoys and a large number of Town Demon Right Envoys, were all gathered in this discussion grand hall at this moment discussing something.

Standing outside the door and listening for a moment, Sun Xuan knew that these people were discussing the matter of the Minister of Revenue being exterminated.

Seeing Sun Xuan arrive at this moment, everyone immediately stood up respectfully, and then bowed in unison to greet Sun Xuan:

"Greetings, Commander Lord!"

Seeing this, Sun Xuan waved his hand to signal that they didn't need to stand on ceremony, then directly spoke:

"Left Envoy Shangguan, bring your men and come with me to Minister of Revenue Lord Han's estate!"

As soon as Sun Xuan's voice fell, everyone understood that the task of investigating the extermination case of Minister of Revenue Han Zhili had fallen upon their immediate superior, Lord Sun.

Hearing this, Shangguan Qingyun immediately cupped his fists in assent, then went down to call people over.

Sun Xuan waited in this discussion grand hall for a short while. Not long after, Shangguan Qingyun brought a crowd of Town Demon Guard under his command outside the discussion grand hall.

"Lord Sun, the personnel have already been assembled!"

Seeing this, Sun Xuan glanced over these Town Demon Guards and directly said:

"Set out!"

After the words fell, he turned over and mounted a fine horse led over by his subordinates, then led this team of Town Demon Guards towards the direction of Minister of Revenue Han Zhili's estate at full speed.

The sound of horse hooves trotted in arrays, stepping on the bluestone-paved streets, heading into the distance like a torrent of steel.

And a pair of eyes not far from the Town Demon Guard headquarters garrison watched this entire scene unfold.

After Sun Xuan led this group of Town Demon Guards far away, this person quietly left the place, then rapidly headed into the distance.

Minister of Revenue Han Zhili's estate was quite a distance away from prosperous areas such as the Town Demon Guard headquarters and the Sixth Prince's estate.

Because Minister of Revenue Han Zhili was a person who was very fond of affecting refinement.

He believed that living in such a bustling and lively area was too vulgar and did not fit his style of conduct.

Therefore, he had built his estate in a remote place within the capital city.

That place was originally a desolate mountain with almost no people. Due to the harsh environment around it, there were not even a few ordinary households.

Yet Han Zhili was extremely satisfied with this desolate mountainous and wilderness place, believing that it fit his hermit style very well.

Afterwards, the Han Family estate was built here by the eccentric Han Zhili.

This situation led to the Han Family finding it inconvenient to do anything, and even when their entire family was exterminated,

it was only because a servant who came to collect nightsoil arrived at the Han residence, noticed that something was amiss with the commotion, and boldly entered the Han residence before discovering it.

The sound of horse hooves came in waves. More than half an hour later, Sun Xuan and the others finally arrived at the Han residence located within this desolate wilderness.

Looking at this mansion built in the desolate mountains, Sun Xuan couldn't help feeling somewhat speechless inside.

Setting up one's home in such a place and being chosen by villains to be exterminated really was not without reason.

After arriving outside the gates of the Han residence, Sun Xuan dismounted and handed the horse reins to the subordinates who stepped forward.

Then he leisurely walked towards the direction of the Han residence gates.

Just as he walked to a position not far from the Han residence gates, an extremely thick smell of blood diffused out.

Smelling this pungent smell of blood, Sun Xuan couldn't help furrowing his brows slightly.

This was not because Sun Xuan couldn't bear the smell of blood, but because Sun Xuan discovered that surrounding them—the Town Demon Guards—were a large number of Martial Artists gathering towards them.