Chapter 1671: Accidental Success

After issuing this command, the phantom image of the head in the sky gradually faded away. Officials inside and outside the city bowed respectfully, bidding, "Farewell, Your Majesty."

A potential rebellion, which was on the verge of breaking out, was averted due to Zhao Hao's appearance. Zhao Huang led his soldiers out of Yicheng's vicinity, and numerous officials on Yicheng's city walls visibly relaxed.

Zu'an flew onto the city tower. Zhang Jie bowed and said, "Today's situation was saved by your timely arrival, Lord Eleven. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable."

Noticing Zu'an's silence and troubled expression, he spoke. "The Emperor's recent assignment must be putting a lot of pressure on you, Lord Eleven. In recent days, I've also uncovered quite a bit of evidence and found many witnesses. I can hand them all over to you."

"Thank you, Lord Zhang," Zu'an said, sneering inwardly. Zhang Jie was an old schemer; on the surface, he was showing concern, but in reality, he was pushing Zu'an into a pit of fire.

The Emperor clearly didn't want to deal with the King of Yan. Yet, Zhang Jie was giving him evidence of the King of Yan's crimes. Was he trying to incite another mutiny?

After casually dismissing Zhang Jie with a few words, Xiao Jianren and Zhang Zitong approached. "Lord Eleven," they said, "if there's anything you need our help with, we won't hesitate!"

It was clear they were genuinely concerned that Zu'an would run into trouble due to the Emperor's three-day deadline.

Zu'an nodded slightly. "It's fine. Just continue your investigations according to the tasks assigned earlier. As for this case, I already have a plan to deal with it."

After giving his instructions, he quickly disappeared.

The two were filled with awe. They were still completely bewildered, yet Lord Eleven already had a solution. He was truly unfathomable.

After Zu'an left the city, Yun Jianyue quickly appeared to meet him. She looked at him and couldn't help but sigh, "You seem to be toying with the Emperor like a monkey, and he's no better towards you. I don't know whether to admire you or pity you."

"I'm used to it," Zu'an replied calmly. "He loves playing these extreme pressure games, enjoying the thrill of manipulating others' fates. If not for that, I might even have become his loyal subject."

Yun Jianyue scoffed. "You're not one to stay beneath others. Sometimes I even have the illusion that you're not from this world. Your way of thinking is too different from everyone else's."

Zu'an chuckled. "Then I'm not afraid to tell you: I actually transmigrated from another world."

"Hmph, if you're from another world," Yun Jianyue chuckled, "then I'm a fairy who descended from heaven." She clearly took his statement as a joke.

Soon, she sobered. "What do you plan to do next? You only have three days."

"I plan to visit Freecloud Tower. There are many things I need to confirm," Zu'an replied. As he spoke, everything he had experienced recently flashed through his mind, and he had already formed a rough guess.

"I'll go to the King of Yan's manor and communicate with them," Yun Jianyue said. "I'll tell them not to cause trouble during this time, and also see if there's a way to ease the tension between you. So I won't accompany you to Freecloud Tower." She certainly didn't want to run into other women there.

Zu'an nodded. Time was pressing, and neither of them said much more. They soon parted ways. Zu'an made his way to Freecloud Tower. Although the place was highly secretive to others, he had been there several times and was already very familiar with it.

He possessed a special token, so the Freecloud Tower guards didn't make things difficult for him. Soon, someone from inside led him to Tang Tian'er's residence.

Tang Tian'er was just coming out of her room, her face always adorned with that sweet smile.

It had to be said, to be the face of the auction house in a place like Freecloud Tower, a veritable den of luxury, her beauty, demeanor, and temperament were all impeccable.

Tang Tian'er was momentarily startled by his arrival. She waved her hand, signaling for the others to leave, and ushered him into the room. As she poured him tea, she smiled and said, "I was just about to come find you, and here you are knocking on my door. Is this what they call a meeting of minds?"

Zu'an remarked, "Sometimes it's hard to tell if that's your true thought or a facade."

Tang Tian'er immediately looked as if she was about to cry. "Your words wound my heart," she said.

Zu'an ignored her, and instead asked, "You were planning to find me?"

"Of course!" Tang Tian'er replied. "Such a major change happened in Yijun, and the Emperor gave you a three-day deadline. I was worried about your safety."

"Your information is quite timely." Zu'an was a little surprised. He had practically rushed from Yicheng without stopping, yet she already knew what had happened there.

"Don't forget what Freecloud Tower does." Tang Tian'er smiled, a hint of pride on her face.

"Then you must know why I've come to see you this time?" Zu'an stared directly into her eyes.

Tang Tian'er's eyes were clear, showing no trace of panic. "I suppose you're troubled by the Emperor's three-day deadline," she said. "But you don't need to worry too much. If you truly can't solve the case after three days, our Freecloud Tower can still offer you refuge and keep you safe."

"Freecloud Tower talks big, doesn't it?" Zu'an snorted. "You know I didn't come here for that."

"Then what is it for?" Tang Tian'er asked with an innocent expression, looking at him with a puzzled face.

"Regarding the case of Golden Token Number Seven last time," Zu'an cut straight to the chase, "you were the one who dumped the body in Blackwater Pond, weren't you?"

Tang Tian'er's expression changed. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said. "Wasn't all this done by the King of Yan? As far as I know, there was a traitor among your Embroidered Uniform Guard who was bribed by the King of Yan to deliberately frame me."

Zu'an looked at her, his eyes filled with disappointment. Without a word, he stood up and walked towards the exit.

Seeing the look in his eyes, Tang Tian'er's heart trembled. She quickly stood up and called out, "Wait!"

Zu'an stood at the doorway, but he didn't turn back.

Tang Tian'er bit her lip. "Are you here today as Golden Token Number Eleven, or as Ah Zu?"

"Is there a difference?" Zu'an asked indifferently.

"If you're here as a Golden Token Embroidered Uniform Guard, then what I just said is my answer," Tang Tian'er paused, then added, "But if you're here as Ah Zu, I have another answer. I wonder if he'd be interested in hearing it?"

Zu'an turned his head, looking at her with some surprise.

To be honest, he hadn't held much hope for this visit, as he had previously discovered that she seemed to be deliberately misleading him.

Seeing him turn around, Tang Tian'er's sweet smile returned to her face. She went over, took his arm, and gently pulled him back to his seat. "Friends rarely get to meet; why are you in such a hurry to leave?" she said.

"Do you really consider me a friend?" Zu'an sighed.

Tang Tian'er looked wronged. "If I didn't genuinely consider you a friend, would I have gone to such lengths?" she asked.

Zu'an's heart skipped a beat. He remembered how she had helped him hide in the bathtub earlier. He had to admit, if she had truly intended to deceive him, there would have been no need to make such a significant sacrifice then.

At this point, Tang Tian'er slowly began to speak. "It was indeed I who brought Golden Token Number Seven to Blackwater Pond that night."

Zu'an's heart jumped. "Golden Token Number Seven was killed by your Freecloud Tower?"

Tang Tian'er shook her head slightly. "Golden Token Number Seven was already dead by then. I merely brought his body there to dispose of it."

"Why would you do that?" Zu'an asked, puzzled.

"I knew there was that turtle spirit beneath Blackwater Pond," Tang Tian'er said, pouting slightly. "I wanted to use its eyes to give the authorities a piece of information: that Golden Token Number Seven was already dead when he entered the water, and yet his cause of death was drowning. You would naturally become suspicious. I just didn't expect the one from the court investigating the case to be you."

Zu'an's heart stirred. "So it was to make us suspect that a master proficient in mental arts had attacked him, and the most famous expert in that field in all of Yijun is Master Huo from the King of Yan's manor."

"Precisely. Last time, the King of Yan tried to seize a share of the Zhenyuan Trading Company in Yunzhong Commandery. And in recent years in Yijun, he has been heavily oppressing Freecloud Tower. Naturally, I wanted to retaliate," Tang Tian'er stated, quite righteously.

Zu'an frowned slightly. Her motive was indeed quite sufficient, but he couldn't shake the feeling that she was saying this on purpose, as if something else was hidden behind it.

However, he didn't press further. Instead, he raised another question: "According to the turtle, you seemed to be muttering to yourself back then, wanting his body to be discovered sooner. Weren't you worried that your own actions would also be exposed by the turtle spirit?"

"I deliberately let it see me," Tang Tian'er said with a mischievous smile. "For years, according to Freecloud Tower's intelligence, the King of Yan has had a very important partner who is a mysterious woman. But we've never been able to uncover her identity. So, I wanted to use the turtle spirit's mouth to hint to you that there's a mysterious woman in the King of Yan's manor, hoping you would investigate her identity. Who knew you wouldn't follow that lead, but instead investigated me? That's what I can't understand."

Zu'an's expression became strange. The mysterious woman she spoke of must be Yun Jianyue. The secret alliance between the King of Yan and the Demonic Sect was likely unknown even to many high-ranking members of the King of Yan's manor or the Demonic Sect. Only Golden Token Number Seven, with his vast experience, had caught a whiff of something unusual.

Even more coincidentally, the King of Yan also wanted to shift the blame to Freecloud Tower. So he instructed Jiang Zhong to deliberately link the woman's appearance to Tang Tian'er's. What was originally meant to be a false accusation ended up hitting the mark unexpectedly.

So the question was, who was the real killer of Golden Token Number Seven?