Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

When disaster strikes, everyone flies away. The Luo family gang is no longer a reliable support. Che Yuxuan has to find a new way out before the Luo family gang is completely destroyed, otherwise he will have to perish with the Luo family gang.

Fortunately, he had a good uncle, the current Deputy Commander of the Censorate, who was on par with Zhou Silang and even had more real power. As long as his uncle was willing to step in, Zhou Silang would most likely give him some face.

This is Che Yuxuan's last trump card; he doesn't plan to use it until the very last moment.

The most pressing issue now is catching the culprit, Ouyang. After all, he made a public pledge, and failing to complete the task within the deadline is no joke. Even if he reveals his trump card now, there's no way to save him.

Yan Wenjiu's sudden visit, saying he had a plan to capture Ouyang, was a timely help.

"Ah Jiu, stop keeping me in suspense, just tell me your plans."

"Give me a hand now and help me through this difficult time. I will remember this kindness for the rest of my life."

In the side hall of the Fifth Plum Blossom Division, Che Yuxuan pulled Yan Wenjiu to sit down and personally served him water and tea, without putting on any airs of a superior. However, Yan Wenjiu did not directly state his plan but instead began to discuss conditions.

“Brother Xuan, even brothers have to be clear about accounts. I can help you through your difficulties, but who will help me through mine? I’m in a tough situation right now, and Zhou Silang won’t let me off the hook.”

Upon hearing this, Che Yuxuan confidently assured him, "I understand. I can talk to my uncle, and after this matter, we'll be transferred to work under him, completely severing ties with the Luo family gang. Then my uncle will negotiate with Zhou Silang. I can't guarantee anything else, but at least I can ensure our safe landing."

Yan Wenjiu's face showed interest, but he was not convinced. It was too late to sever ties with the Luo family now. Whether Che Yuxuan could land safely depended on whether Zhou Silang was willing to show leniency. He was still thinking about changing places to continue his official career. He really trusted his uncle's power too much. But... it was also normal.

If I had such a good uncle, I probably would have taken a chance and wouldn't have chosen to run away decisively.

That being said, my situation is different from Che Yuxuan's. I assassinated Zhou Silang, and once Zhai Xingyuan and Luo Bingyi are caught, what I did will inevitably be exposed.

Even if Zhou Silang truly forgives me and is willing to give me a way out, I still won't survive, because rules are rules, and breaking the rules can kill me a hundred times over.

Assassinating the young master of the Sword Tower is considered treason, an unforgivable crime punishable by the extermination of one's entire clan.

Now the only option is to flee; otherwise, death is the only outcome.

However, he wasn't really there to negotiate, so when Che Yuxuan made a guarantee, he didn't hesitate to reveal his plan: "I have secretly found out where Ouyang is hiding in Sword Tower City."

Upon hearing this, Che Yuxuan looked surprised: "How did you find out?"

Sword Tower City is very large, with many locals and even more outsiders. Cultivators and mortals live together. If a Class A wanted criminal in the Poison Eating Realm really wants to hide, it's like finding a needle in a haystack. It's very difficult to find him in a short time.

Yan Wenjiu took a sip of tea and said calmly, "You have your backers, and I have my connections."

Che Yuxuan was speechless. Seeing that Yan Wenjiu did not intend to elaborate, he had no intention of digging deeper: "Alright, since you have already found out where Ouyang is hiding, just tell me and I will take people to arrest him immediately."

Yan Wenjiu shook his head and said, "I know you're anxious, but don't rush. Let me ask you, how much do you know about Ouyang? If you don't subdue him immediately and a fight breaks out in the city, can you control the local battlefield within a small area? If you can't control it, how many city residents will die? Who will bear the responsibility?"

Every citizen is the private property of the city lord. If a large number of citizens are killed or injured due to an accident while performing official duties, the clerk performing the duties and the official in charge of the operation will be held accountable.

Che Yuxuan frowned slightly. He was indeed anxious and hadn't thought too deeply for a moment: "You're right. The arrest operation does need to be carried out with utmost caution. Alright, I know you already have a plan in mind. Tell me about it."

Yan Wenjiu smiled slightly: "Actually, my plan is very simple. Evacuate the city's residents, secretly deploy people around the hiding place, and have me, you, Zhai Xingyuan, and Hao Duanhun cast a spell to set up a barrier to ensure that Ouyang cannot escape. Then, the four of us will unleash our killing move together to instantly kill him."

Che Yuxuan nodded repeatedly, seemingly unconcerned about killing the perpetrator.

Every Class A wanted criminal on the entire empire's borders is not subject to legal trial, given no opportunity for negotiation or surrender; once discovered, they are pursued relentlessly until they are annihilated.

To this end, the Python Sparrow Empire even has a special wanted list that circulates throughout the entire territory.

Only Class A wanted criminals are eligible for this list, and they are ranked according to their crimes.

The higher the bounty, the higher the ranking, the stronger the individual, and the more crimes they have committed.

Che Yuxuan thought the plan was very thorough and said, "Okay, then let's proceed according to your plan."

Yan Wenjiu nodded and slowly revealed Ouyang's hiding place.

This hiding place was actually arranged by Yan Wenjiu. Meanwhile, Ouyang had been causing trouble in the city all this time, spending money to patronize prostitutes, robbing them, and then torturing and killing them.

Ouyang, a Class A wanted criminal who has been on the run in the wilderness for many years, is lawless and unrestrained. His nature is ingrained in his bones. He never considers the consequences of his actions and only cares about his own pleasure.

This caused Ouyang to be unable to stay in any place for long and to have to flee soon.

Ultimately, a leopard can't change its spots.

To prevent Ouyang from being captured and implicating him, Yan Wenjiu was forced to clean up his messes. During this time, Yan Wenjiu considered sending Ouyang away from the Sword Tower, but Ouyang refused to leave and continued to do as he pleased. Yan Wenjiu was so angry that he gritted his teeth but had no choice but to clean up his messes time and time again.

Now that Ouyang's hiding place has been revealed, the three Poison Realm experts, Che Yuxuan, Zhai Xingyuan, and Hao Duanhun, are more than capable of killing him. As soon as the capture operation begins, everyone's attention will be drawn to him.

Yan Wenjiu would then decisively leave the battlefield and secretly escape to foreign countries.

This was an escape plan that Yan Wenjiu had thought about for a long time. After all, as one of the core members of the Luo family gang, Zhou Silang would definitely not let him slip away under his nose. Once he showed any signs of running away, he would probably be stopped immediately.

He only had one chance to escape. If he couldn't get away, he would just have to wait for Zhou Qingfeng to wipe out the Luo family gang and kill him along with them.

Yan Wenjiu said a few words to Che Yuxuan and then took his leave. Che Yuxuan did not try to stop him and immediately began to dispatch people and contact Zhai Xingyuan and Hao Duanhun to help. Yan Wenjiu walked out of the side hall alone, paused for a moment, and thought of the teacher-student relationship of many years. He still felt it was necessary to see his teacher.

So Yan Wenjiu changed direction and headed towards the side hall where Luo Bingyi was working.

"Little Yan is here, please have a seat." Luo Bingyi smiled slightly and naturally invited Yan Wenjiu to sit down, just as everything was the same as before. This calm and composed demeanor even made Yan Wenjiu admire his teacher's composure.

After Yan Wenjiu sat down, he asked with lingering concern, "Teacher, now that the outcome is decided, our side is doomed. Zhou Silang will soon wipe us out. Do you have any good strategies?"

Luo Bingyi slowly took a sip of tea, shook his head slightly, and said, "At this point, what good strategy is there? If we lose the big picture, it's all over. Any further tricks will only be a death throes and make us a laughing stock."

All they could do now was to bow down and admit defeat to Zhou Silang, begging him not to go so far as to kill them all.

However, Luo Bingyi could not bear this humiliation and abandoned his dignity and composure to bow down to Zhou Silang.

If he could live for several hundred more years, no, even fifty more, he might choose to swallow this humiliation and submit to a junior. But he is already a dying man.

Maybe I can live for another two or three years, or maybe just two or three months.

With his degeneration imminent and life and death indifferent, Luo Bingyi was no longer afraid and didn't want to care about so many things or worry so much. He just wanted to quietly enjoy the rest of his time and completely give up.

"Let's not talk about these meaningless things. I've spent my whole life scheming and plotting, and I'm really tired of it." Luo Bingyi waved his hand, put down his teacup with a kind expression, and said with a smile, "Little Yan, what I regret most is not seeing you get married and have children. When do you plan to settle down? Do you need your teacher to play matchmaker for you?"

Yan Wenjiu pursed his lips, lifted his robe and kowtowed: "This important matter of marriage is entirely up to you, teacher."

Luo Bingyi stroked his beard and smiled: "Good, good, good, I will definitely find you a good wife."

Yan Wenjiu respectfully rose, bowed his head, clasped his hands, and retreated until he was outside the hall. Only then did he slowly raise his slightly red and moist eyes. He knew that in the final moments of his life, his teacher was no longer concerned with power and struggle, but rather hoped that he could live a happy and peaceful life.

The main hall returned to silence, and in the empty and desolate side hall, only a lonely and helpless hunchbacked old man remained.

"I'm old." Luo Bingyi held a back scratcher, looked up at the magnificent dome above him with a faint smile, accepted everything with a detached attitude, and quietly awaited the judgment of fate.

Meanwhile, in the main hall not far away.

Zhou Qingfeng noticed Bi Muge's unusual behavior and raised an eyebrow: "You know nothing about profit sharing from phantom stock?"

Upon hearing this, Bi Muge felt somewhat embarrassed and clasped his hands in response: "This humble official truly did not know. Commander, you are also aware that this humble official has been subjected to exclusion and suppression by Che Yuxuan..."

Zhou Qingfeng understood immediately and raised his hand to indicate, "Alright, no need to explain. Come with me to the City Lord's Mansion."

This confession alone is not enough to arrest Zhai Xingyuan. We still need to solidify the evidence to ensure that there is irrefutable proof, leaving Zhai Xingyuan no chance to make excuses, and kill him on the spot.

However, arresting so many people at once would require a severe shortage of manpower, and the people at the bottom carrying out the arrests would not know which of them were the Luo family gang's secret agents. If the arrests were carried out in batches, it would be easy for the news to leak out.

Zhou Qingfeng's goal was to wipe out the Luo family gang in one fell swoop, eliminating all the big and small fish without leaving any future troubles. Therefore, he did not want to let the big fish escape the net because of his haste.

It is necessary to request manpower support from the city lord's mansion.

"Zhiqi, you stay in the Fifth Division and keep an eye on things. Report any new developments to me immediately."

"Yes, Commander."

Zhou Qingfeng quickly led Bi Muge out of the Censorate, and they arrived at the gate of the City Lord's Mansion in a carriage. He then asked Bi Muge to wait at the gate, and took out his pass token and waved it in front of the red-armored axemen.

Red-armored axeman: "..." I didn't see it clearly at all, but never mind.

Zhou Qingfeng put away the token, strode into the city lord's mansion, found Qiu Chengde, explained his purpose, and handed him the confession written by Zhuang Zheng. Qiu Chengde sat calmly behind the desk and read through the contents of the confession one by one.

Qiu Chengde pondered for a moment and said, "Manpower is not a problem. I can dispatch troops to arrest all the people listed in the confession at the same time. What else do you need?"

Zhou Qingfeng clasped his hands in response: "Master, I need the Plum Blossom Secret Agents to keep a close watch on Luo Bingyi, Zhai Xingyuan, Yan Wenjiu, Che Yuxuan, and Hao Duanhun in the dark to prevent them from noticing the danger in advance and fleeing abroad. If anyone attempts to escape, even without evidence, please order them to be temporarily detained."

Qiu Chengde smiled and said, "Secret surveillance is no problem, but detaining a high-ranking official without evidence is risky. What if he takes the opportunity to retaliate?"

Zhou Qingfeng clasped his hands in a fist and said, "I'd rather be bitten back than watch the big fish get away."

Qiu Chengde shook his head and chuckled, rolled up the scattered confession, stood up, and tapped Zhou Qingfeng's forehead with the confession: "You still need to practice. You can catch another big fish if it gets away, but if you slip and fall into the river and drown, you won't have another chance to catch the big fish that got away."

Zhou Qingfeng touched his forehead, chuckled, and flattered, "Master is wise and powerful, shrewd and far-sighted. Your disciple admires you greatly. So, in your opinion, Master, what should your disciple do?"

Qiu Chengde put his hands behind his back and said calmly, "Keep a close watch on them secretly, and find a legitimate reason to keep them all in the city. No one can leave without permission."

"Aren't you investigating an internal traitor? Just use the ready-made reason. Anyone who leaves Sword Tower City without your permission is disobeying orders."

"This one clause alone is enough to justify arresting someone, and no one can accuse you of it."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng clasped his hands in a salute and continued to flatter him: "Old ginger is spicier, disciple is completely convinced."

"Hmm." Qiu Chengde couldn't help but puff out his chest proudly, feeling that his disciple's flattery was simply wonderful!

Seeing that he had provided enough emotional value, Zhou Qingfeng immediately clasped his hands in farewell and said, "Master, your disciple awaits your news. Once you begin the arrest operation, I will immediately arrange for people to arrest Zhai Xingyuan."

Qiu Chengde nodded calmly and watched his disciple leave.

In the shadows of the study, a figure wearing a plum blossom mask suddenly appeared, silent and unnoticed, as if he didn't exist.

"Commander Qiu." Hao Duanhun's voice came from beneath the plum blossom mask.