Chapter 945: A Huge Secret

“High Master, spare my life, please!” the black-clad man named Chitu immediately pleaded for mercy. In their line of work, the principle that strength was paramount was strictly adhered to.

Sang Qian, standing by, gaped, looking at Zu An as if he were a deity. Everything had happened so fast. One moment, the oppressive, mysterious black-clad man, their utterly desperate enemy, was defeated by Zu An with a single hand in the blink of an eye?

And that move just now, what was it, Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon? The way he spoke was so imposing and handsome…

She suddenly understood her sister-in-law a little. No wonder she fell uncontrollably in love with this man; he was indeed very charming at times.

Zu An had no idea his image in others' minds was beginning to reverse. He simply stared at Chitu and asked, "What is your name?"

“My name is Guili,” the black-robed man answered fawningly, forcing a smile that was uglier than a grimace. There was no trace of the powerful presence he had just moments ago.

"Hmm?" Zu An's expression turned cold. Immediately after, the other man screamed in agony, his arm already fractured. In an instant, Zu An had sealed all the major acupuncture points on his body, leaving him utterly unable to resist.

"Chitu, if you dare to play tricks on me again, it won't be your hand that breaks next time," Zu An said, looking at him indifferently.

Chitu was greatly alarmed, thinking, *Very few people know my true name; how did he know?*

He had already been somewhat afraid of the other's purification ability, and now that his true identity had been revealed, the figure of Zu An in his mind became even more unfathomable. How could he dare to hide anything? “High Master, forgive me, High Master, forgive me! I've used Guili as an alias for so long that I almost forgot my real name. I didn't mean to deceive you.”

Zu An neither confirmed nor denied it. "You still haven't answered my question."

Chitu hastily replied, "It's like this: some time ago, I received a commission from a silk merchant. He paid a hefty sum, asking me to deal with someone..."

"Ah!" Zheng Dan exclaimed, quickly asking, "Is that silk merchant's surname Hu?"

"I didn't ask his name, and he was being secretive, not wanting his identity known," Chitu said, noticing Zu An's expression was off. He quickly added, "But I have seen what he looks like..."

He then roughly described the man's appearance.

Zheng Dan's face turned ashen. "It really is him!"

"What's going on?" Zu An inquired.

Zheng Dan began to explain. Combining her account with Chitu's confession, it wasn't difficult to deduce the truth: Zheng Dan had recently expanded the Zheng family's business into the capital, which clearly harmed the interests of the local silk merchants there.

The other party used various commercial tactics to suppress and exclude Zheng's Trading Company, but Zheng Dan was incredibly experienced. Having previously managed the Zheng family's business in Brightmoon City while secretly controlling its largest gang, she had seen every kind of challenge.

She countered every move along the way, not only making the opponents' efforts futile but also seizing the opportunity to steadily expand her market share.

Relying on their status as local influential figures in the capital and their connections, they then used official channels to suppress and target Zheng Dan.

However, even in its decline, the Sang family still counted as high-ranking court officials. Furthermore, Sang Qian felt some guilt towards her sister-in-law, as she was still young yet had to be bound to widowhood. Thus, it was only natural for the Sang family to support the Zheng family in business.

When they saw that neither commercial nor official methods were working, their desperation turned to malice, and they sought out Chitu.

Chitu was already familiar with this kind of work, so they naturally hit it off immediately.

He was confident in his cultivation, and he conducted his affairs discreetly. Even if something went wrong, only the ghost puppets he controlled would be destroyed, without implicating his true body. He never expected to be tracked down so quickly.

"I've told you everything I know. I beg the hero to be lenient, seeing that this young lady suffered no substantial harm, and let me go. I will leave the city immediately and never harm anyone again," Chitu pleaded. He was very puzzled as to how the other party had managed to pinpoint his location so quickly.

Unfortunately, the shock from their recent confrontation was too great, and he dared not ask aloud.

As for "never harming anyone again," that was just talk. Those who practiced his type of cultivation invariably required blood and corpses; how could he possibly not harm people?

Zu An clearly knew this. He directly told Sang Qian, "Xiao Qian, take this person to the authorities. Can your Sang family handle the rest of the matter?"

He was about to leave the capital, and Zheng Dan was nominally a daughter-in-law of the Sang family, so it was better for them to handle it.

"Don't worry, the Sang family isn't one anyone can bully!" Sang Qian glared fiercely at Chitu, clearly still resentful about being frightened by him moments ago.

Zu An nodded. In previous years, many families had been ruined under Sang Hong's direction at the emperor's behest. They were certainly familiar with this kind of situation. Moreover, this time, with both confessions and physical evidence present, if they couldn't handle it, it would be a waste of Sang Hong and his daughter's considerable reputation.

He was about to take Zheng Dan away for a good rest and recuperation, as she had been mentally exhausted recently and should not overexert herself further.

Just then, Chitu cried out, "Don't send me to the authorities! I... I have a huge secret I can give you."

He knew that the imperial court was severely cracking down on dark magic; discovery would result in the harshest penalties.

If he were handed over to the authorities, death would ironically be the best outcome.

"A huge secret?" Zu An scoffed, clearly not taking it seriously. What kind of huge secret could a shady character like him possibly have?

Seeing his disbelief, Chitu hastily shouted, "It's related to the Duke of Yunzhong!"

Zu An, who was about to leave, suddenly stopped. If it had been anyone else, he wouldn't have cared much, but his current mission was to investigate the disappearance of the Duke of Yunzhong, so he couldn't possibly let any clue slip away.

"Oh, tell me then. What about the Duke of Yunzhong?" Zu An turned back and asked.

"Promise to let me go first." Seeing Zu An turn back, Chitu immediately understood that his bargaining chip was of interest to the other party.

Zu An didn't relent, sneering, "What kind of person is the Duke of Yunzhong? How could a sinister cultivator like you, who can't even walk openly on the street, have any connection with him? Xiao Qian, just hand him over to the authorities."

Sang Qian immediately understood. "All right."

With that, she made a move to grab him and lead him out.

Chitu panicked. "I really know! Earlier, on my way to the capital, I encountered a severely wounded, dying man. From him, I learned that he was a close confidant of the Duke of Yunzhong. He was coming to the capital to appeal to the emperor, but unexpectedly, he was ambushed and killed halfway."

Hearing his words, Zu An was already seven or eight tenths convinced. "Where is that guard now?"

"He was too severely injured; he died," Chitu replied, his expression a little unnatural.

"You probably refined his soul, didn't you?" Zu An sneered.

Chitu quickly defended himself: "Those who practice our lineage do indeed require the souls of living people. That guard, in any case, had sustained fatal injuries and couldn't be saved. I merely helped him find an early release, and by doing so, I happened to learn a huge secret from his soul."

Both Sang Qian and Zheng Dan felt a chill in their hearts, thinking that to die at the hands of such people meant even their souls would be enslaved—truly a fate worse than death.

"Tell me, what exactly is this secret? If it's significant enough, I'll spare your life," Zu An said calmly.

"No, not unless you swear an oath. Otherwise, if I tell you and you go back on your word afterward, I'll have no recourse at all." Since his life was at stake, Chitu had to stand firm.

Zu An fell silent. Sang Qian and Zheng Dan, standing nearby, hastily urged him not to swear an oath, as such things were no laughing matter.

However, Zu An had his own plan. "Very well, I, Zhao Zhi, hereby swear that if the secret you reveal is indeed valuable, I will let you live. Otherwise, may Zhao Zhi be struck down by heaven and earth."

Sang Qian and Zheng Dan were about to try persuading him again, but their eyes widened instantly upon hearing his oath.

Zheng Dan suppressed a smile, while Sang Qian secretly scoffed, *He really is a scoundrel.*

Chitu, however, was startled. "So you are the Heir Apparent to the Prince of Qi!"

The Prince of Qi's name was renowned throughout the land, so the name of his heir apparent was naturally no secret.

"What, is someone daring to impersonate this heir apparent?" Zu An said coldly.

"No, no, that's not what I meant," Chitu quickly replied with a fawning smile, thinking, *No wonder he's so powerful at such a young age. He was raised with the immense resources of the Prince of Qi's manor, completely unlike a rogue cultivator like me.*

And to have two such beautiful women willingly attend him—what other man, besides the Heir Apparent to the Prince of Qi, could possess such charm?

Seeing that Zu An had sworn such a potent oath, Chitu no longer doubted him. He spoke in a low voice, "That guard came to the capital to deliver a message, saying that the Duke of Yunzhong didn't disappear back then, but was murdered."

"By whom?" Zu An quickly asked.

Chitu hesitated for a moment, then replied, "By his own younger brother, Jian Taiding."

Zu An was startled. Although everyone suspected foul play in the Duke of Yunzhong's disappearance, no one expected such a bloody case of fratricide.

If this matter were to spread, it would undoubtedly cause a huge stir. He didn't dare to be careless. "Is there any evidence?"

"That guard seemed to be carrying some evidence, but it was taken by the assassins," Chitu replied.

Zu An inquired about some more details, but unfortunately, because Chitu had refined the guard's soul, the latter's memory was incomplete, and much of the information was fragmentary, with nothing more useful.

"Can I leave now?" Chitu looked at him, full of hope.

Zu An completely ignored him and instead said to Sang Qian, "Take him back to the Sang manor and lock him up. Don't send him to the authorities for now."

Chitu's face instantly blanched. "Zhao Zhi, you're going back on your word! Aren't you afraid of divine retribution?"

Zu An smiled and said, "What does an oath sworn by Zhao Zhi have to do with me?"