Legend of Zhan Zhao

Chapter 85 I've figured it all out
"Stop them!"

Black smoke billowed from the dungeon of the Six Doors headquarters, like a raging dragon, engulfing the prison corridor.

Wooden beams cracked, sparks flew, and the iron bars of the cell twisted and deformed under the high temperature.

In such harsh conditions, figures leaped out, gathering together to break through in one direction.

The first to arrive were the constables of Juefeng Hall who remained behind. They roared in unison, their iron chains flying like silver snakes as they twisted one villain after another to the ground.

The Four Unique Heart Locks unleash their power once again.

The chains are intertwined into a net, with interlocking locks. Once entangled, even the most skilled martial artist will find it difficult to break free.

Immediately, the elite troops of Zhenyue Hall arrived, blocking the road with their swords, their blades flashing fiercely, forcing back the fleeing criminals one by one.

"No need to hold back!"

"If these thieves are reckless and rush into the fire, it's alright to kill them!"

The head constable, Pang Wen, shouted, his words full of intimidation.

The Six Doors were undoubtedly meant to protect prisoners from death and ensure they were punished according to the law.

But if we were to say at this point that we wanted to capture them alive, it would be like giving the prisoner a get-out-of-jail-free card.

The constables below were now hesitant and didn't need to fight anymore.

With the constables and deputy hall master absent, Pang Wen acted decisively, his words filled with murderous intent, even threatening him with a sea of ​​fire.

As expected, the prisoners were terrified upon hearing this. Under the strong suppression of Zhenyue Hall, the three groups of experts who rushed out were all driven back. Seeing that the constables were about to kill them, the rest dared not resist any longer, covered their heads and squatted down, obediently being put in shackles.

"Report! The Five Lakes Gate has arrived outside. They are likely acting on Luo Shijun's orders to cause trouble!"

Just as Pang Wen breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the situation stabilize, another constable came to report, and his expression immediately changed: "They really dare to come?"

They actually came.

Accompanied by footsteps, a large group of people rushed toward the headquarters of the Six Doors.

Leading the way were indeed the patrol soldiers fighting the fire, carrying long poles, pumps, and water bags.

Behind them were menacing figures from the martial arts world.

The leader was none other than Sun Tao, the leader of the Five Lakes Sect, whom he had met not long ago at the Luo family's birthday banquet.

He changed from the brocade robes worn at the birthday banquet into martial arts attire, and shouted as he walked, "Six Doors, don't panic! I've come to help put out the fire! We absolutely cannot allow these imposters to escape and ruin the reputation of my Five Lakes Sect!"

"Stop!"

Pang Wen rushed out and blocked them at the door, saying in a deep voice, "My Six Doors are putting out the fire, so there's no need for you to worry about it. As for the prisoners in the jail, you know perfectly well whether any of them are from the Five Lakes Sect!"

"Haha! I certainly know, but I don't have it!"

Sun Tao laughed shamelessly, "Otherwise, wouldn't the mighty Six Doors have raided our little sect? It's precisely because we are innocent that your sect hasn't taken action!"

'You're nothing but a dog of the Luo family!'

Pang Wen was furious, but knowing that the other party was deliberately trying to provoke him, he remained expressionless and simply guarded the gate.

Sun Tao persisted, "Aren't you going to move aside? Fire and water are merciless. If this fire starts, it won't just burn down the prison. If it spreads to both sides, who can bear the consequences? We need to get the patrol soldiers inside to put out the fire quickly!"

Pang Wen refused to budge an inch.

In the darkness, they looked like patrolmen putting out a fire, but who knew if they were thieves in disguise?

Whether rushing in would put out the fire or make things worse, helping the prisoners escape, is anyone's guess. How could he possibly allow that?

Sun Tao's face darkened: "Fine! The Six Doors are the court's law enforcement agency, yet they disregard the fire and treat human life like dirt? Brothers, we can't just stand by and watch, we must rush in to put out the fire!"

Pang Wen shouted sternly, "Let's see who dares!"

Just as tensions were running high and a conflict seemed imminent, a crimson figure streaked across the street like a startled swan at the end of the long street.

The red robe billowed, cutting through the long wind.

"Qiang——!"

The longsword was drawn, its cold light as white as snow, and its sword energy swept across, causing the disciples of the Five Lakes Sect to fall like grass in its wake.

"Master Detective Zhan!"

Pang Wen was overjoyed at first, then startled, fearing that this man would strike directly and kill him.

But hearing groans from the ground, they breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that at least the fallen members of the Five Lakes Sect were still alive.

Zhan Zhao's sword strikes didn't involve his feet breaking through the air; instead, they landed on the shoulders of the Five Lakes disciples.

The final kick landed squarely on the shoulder of sect leader Sun Tao, before gracefully landing in front of him. His eyes flashed like lightning, and his voice was as cold as iron, uttering only one word: "Get lost!"

"Weren't these people supposed to be away from the main headquarters?"

Meeting those clear, divine eyes once more, Sun Tao felt a chill run down his spine and turned to leave without a word.

Get out!
What an air!
"Master Detective Zhan!"

Pang Wen breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this. He had just stepped forward when he saw that Zhan Zhao's face was paler than ever before, and he was shocked.

It was also noticed that Detective Zhan was carrying someone else.

"This is?"

“'Zhong Kui'”.

"Oh, 'Zhong Kui'...who is that??"

Pang Wen was dumbfounded.

But there was no time to explain. A short, dark figure suddenly darted out and charged towards Zhan Zhao.

Sword of Wrath...

"Pfft!"

Before Pang Wen could react, the other person fell down.

"This person is 'Hidden Cloud' Li Kong, who wants to rescue his senior brother."

"He may not have started the fire in the dungeon. Keep him safe and make sure he's not silenced."

After capturing the man and giving him some instructions, Zhan Zhao put Gu Lin down.

Gu Lin looked thoughtful, showing no anxiety about being captured. Instead, he seemed to have thought of something, and his lips trembled slightly.

Zhan Zhao shook his head slightly. Gu Lin's heart skipped a beat, he glanced around, and shut his mouth.

Pang Wen was unaware of all this, but sensing that the man was injured, he said urgently, "Detective Zhan, hand the prisoner over to us, you should heal your wounds quickly!"

"Giddy up—giddy up—"

Just then, another fast horse arrived from the direction of the imperial city.

This time it was a member of the Imperial Guard. Before he even reached the Six Doors headquarters, a panicked voice came over: "Report! Thieves have stormed the Imperial Prison. The Imperial City Guard was caught off guard and the thieves have broken into the prison!"

"what!"

Pang Wen turned pale.

And they were horrified.

"Heavenly Prison?"

Zhan Zhao raised his eyebrows.

Pang Wen quickly offered an explanation.

Of course, the vast capital city had more than one prison.

The prison inside the Six Doors headquarters is called the dungeon because there is another large prison in the imperial city, which is guarded by the Imperial City Guard and top imperial guards and is commonly known as the Heavenly Prison.

The dungeon held ordinary prisoners. Even the most vicious members of the Golden Knife Sect were ordinary prisoners, and most of the villains executed every autumn were in there.

The Heavenly Prison is different.

Pang Wen said urgently, "During the war between the Song and Liao dynasties, many Liao experts were captured within the territory of our Song Dynasty. Later, when the two countries reached an alliance and negotiated the terms, several batches were released. However, several people are still imprisoned and are still alive!"

"Later, more serious criminals were brought in, not just Liao people's experts."

"If these criminals are allowed to escape, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

"The imperial court has a rule that if an accident occurs in the imperial prison, it proves that the enemy is coming on strong, and all departments and offices must do their best to provide support, without any shirking of responsibility!"

Pang Wen's urgent voice reached his ears, but Zhan Zhao's eyes went blank for a moment.

The case concerning the Zhong Kui painting is nearing its end.

"Zhong Kui" is the head of the seven clouds of Yunqi Mountain Villa, and "Qiyun" undoubtedly takes his place.

Gu Lin's motives and methods, as well as Pei Handeng's indignation that Gu Menglai's daughter suffered a disaster and that her son-in-law was actually the villain from back then, and that the father and daughter had been deceived for so many years, led them to resolutely decide to join forces with Gu Lin to bring the evil spirit of the past to justice.

This was something Zhan Zhao had already foreseen before Pei Handeng's death.

However, the reason he remained calm was not because of his relationship with Yunqi Villa, but because many details were not right.

It's like a complete scroll being shattered. It seems that most of the fragments have pieced together the main outline, but there are always a few pieces that don't match.

As a result, the truth of the case cannot be fully understood.

After Pei Handeng was murdered, Zhan Zhao couldn't help but feel remorse.

If one doesn't strive for perfection, one might prematurely reveal the true identity of "Zhong Kui".

That old constable who was initially difficult to approach, but who, once truly understood, was genuinely worthy of respect, should not have died.

Unfortunately, it's too late for regrets.

Only by boosting morale can we succeed.

Investigate the case thoroughly!
During the time following Pei Handeng's death, Zhan Zhao came to understand many more things.

Especially when he was chasing "Zhong Kui" and testing his sword energy, he discovered a strange boatman and instinctively stepped in to help him.

Such a person could not be the heartless murderer who killed Pei Handeng.

Based on this...

On the contrary, suspicion about a certain person grew stronger, to the point that he was almost certain that the other person had a serious problem.

But the full truth remains unclear.

Until then.

When Pang Wen mentioned something that seemed completely unrelated.

In that instant, Zhan Zhao understood everything.

Whereabouts of Su Wuqing!

The Six Doors Scandal!

Who is the last "ghost" that Zhong Kui is searching for?

He figured it all out.

Just then, several figures rushed towards this place.

The person in the lead, with her black hair flying and her veil fluttering, was none other than Madam Gu.

However, her exposed eyes now revealed an unprecedentedly chilling killing intent.

Jiewen strode after him, but the distance between them continued to widen, so he had to send a telepathic message first.

"Junior brother—watch out—!!"

Clearly, Madam Gu's ability to travel through the void was beyond everyone's expectations.

As a result, this person not only escaped Jiewen's entanglement, but also caught up with him one after the other, wanting to take his son back.

After Madam Gu and Jie Wen, Zhao Wujiu was the fastest, his movements as swift as lightning.

Zhou Wuxin, Xin Li, Leng Feng, and other experts were even further away, but they all rushed here desperately.

"Watch out, Detective Zhan—!"

Just as they were anxiously trying to stop the crazed Madam Gu, Zhan Zhao's loud voice rang out first: "There are priorities. The Imperial Prison has fallen. Quickly organize manpower to go to the prison to rescue her!"

"The Imperial City Prison?"

Everyone was shocked: "The imperial prison is heavily guarded, how could it have been breached?"

However, Zhan Zhao's next words were truly thunderous and earth-shattering:
"Be extremely careful on your journey. Do not trust anyone you meet. I now suspect that 'Ghost' is the previous head of the Six Doors, Lu Jiuyuan!!"

(End of this chapter)