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

Xiao Hongyun took a big bite of the skewer in his mouth, shoved it all the way to the bottom, and said firmly, "It's him! I'm getting more and more suspicious of Di Xinjian. I have a strong feeling that he's probably Li Xiangsi's accomplice. Maybe he's a spy sent by foreign forces to infiltrate Jianta for many years. Dig, we must dig deep. We must wipe out this group of foreign thieves and find out who the mastermind is."

Zhou Qingfeng picked up his wine glass, took a small sip, and agreed with Xiao Hongyun's assessment: "What do you plan to do?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hongyun remained silent, for in this situation, there were actually not many options.

If we could catch Di Xinjian and torture him severely to pry open a loophole, we could force him to reveal his accomplices and superiors.

This process will be quite arduous and may not be successful. Moreover, the worst-case scenario is that the information obtained through torture is a mixture of truth and falsehood, making it impossible to distinguish between them. In fact, the process of verifying the truth of the information is very likely to alert the enemy and scare away all their accomplices.

After all, those who can remain hidden for a long time are not ordinary people. They have excellent mental fortitude and have undergone rigorous training beforehand. If their activities are exposed and their identities are revealed, they will decisively choose to end their own lives without any hesitation.

Because the spies all know that falling into enemy hands would mean an even more miserable death, so they might as well do it themselves and be done with a quicker death.

Moreover, this is only one aspect.

On the other hand, there are those who can work as long-term undercover agents. Their families are basically in the hands of their own forces. If they are afraid of death and torture and betray information, then their families will die with them. Undercover agents are tough and not so easy to talk back to.

Finally, the consciousness and memories of the undercover agents are basically protected and countered by powerful means to prevent others from using methods such as soul searching to steal information. In fact, if some undercover agents want to reveal even a single word of their own information, they will be immediately erased by the restrictions in their consciousness.

There are many ways to control hidden agents in this world. Using methods such as curses, poisons, blood oaths, soul tablets, and restrictions to control hidden agents is the most basic, simplest, most brutal, and most effective option. However, every control method has a corresponding way to break it, so the hidden dangers are quite great.

A slightly more sophisticated method of control involves using family members as leverage. This method carries less risk, and the agents are loyal enough that they will willingly resist to the end, even at the cost of their families' safety and a stable life for the rest of their lives, and may even choose to die for their cause.

The next level up is comprehensive brainwashing. These agents have undergone long-term brainwashing, their minds and thoughts have been washed countless times, and they have developed extremely firm beliefs and wills, willingly dedicating everything to their respective forces and regarding death as nothing.

Xiao Hongyun thought for a moment and said, "I want to release him and keep him under close surveillance. Let's see if we can find out any other accomplices from Di Xinjian. Of course, at such a sensitive time, Di Xinjian will definitely not dare to contact his accomplices. But I want to take a gamble and bet that the two escaped remnants will find a way to contact Di Xinjian. If we lose the gamble, it doesn't matter. We can just capture Di Xinjian and torture him."

Zhou Qingfeng pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly: "It's feasible! The bandit leader Li Xiangsi is dead, and most of his accomplices are also dead. Only two small fry, Big Beard and Little Stick, remain. Now they are facing a city-wide manhunt. They are unfamiliar with the area and will be found sooner or later. In such a desperate situation, they must be living in constant fear. We urgently need to find someone to send them out of the city, otherwise, they will surely die."

Xiao Hongyun said, "That's right. I bet they'll go after Di Xinjian. The longer it drags on, the faster they'll die. Di Xinjian can stay calm and wait, but Xiao Bangchui and Da Huzi are in a hurry to escape. People panic when they're in a hurry, and they won't let go of the last straw. The problem is that these two know about the existence of other accomplices and might not necessarily go after Di Xinjian."

Zhou Qingfeng shook his head: "That's possible, but very low. After all, they're just two small fry who follow orders. They might not know too much core intelligence or key figures. They might not even know if Di Xinjian is an accomplice. However, it's still worth a try. Maybe by closely monitoring Di Xinjian, we can uncover some unexpected surprises. Go ahead and do it boldly. I believe in you."

Xiao Hongyun smiled slightly, raised his glass and said, "Old Zhou, this is a toast to you. Your trust is my greatest encouragement!"

"Pretentious!" Zhou Qingfeng laughed and scolded, then raised his glass to clink with Xiao Hongyun's, tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp: "I'll finish mine, you do your best."

"Bottoms up!" Xiao Hongyun tilted his head back and finished the wine in his glass. He was full of energy. He was not afraid of difficulties, doubts, insults, or failures. What he was afraid of was that Zhou Qingfeng would no longer trust him because he had let two rebels escape.

However, Zhou Qingfeng never pursued the matter or blamed him. Instead, he continued to let him go all out and do things boldly. This sense of trust warmed his heart and even made him think of dying for his confidant.

"Old Zhou, don't worry, I will definitely give you a satisfactory explanation for this matter and will never let you down."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng reached out and placed his hand on the back of Xiao Hongyun's hand, patting it lightly a few times: "Between brothers, there's no need for many words, it's all in the wine!"

Xiao Hongyun pursed his lips and nodded, then poured himself another glass of wine and drank it all in one gulp.

Zhou Qingfeng: "Alright, stop drinking and eat something. We have important business to attend to later. You'll be busy from now on."

"Eat, eat, eat..." Xiao Hongyun stopped his confession, picked up his bowl and chopsticks to fish out meat from the hot pot, but there was nothing left in the hot pot. All the freshly cut beef and mutton and kebabs on the table were gone. Ye Tingxiu was eating the last kebab and enjoying his rice.

Xiao Hongyun couldn't help but curse, pointing his chopsticks at Ye Tingxiu and saying, "Damn it, don't you know how to leave me some?"

Ye Tingxiu wiped his mouth: "I don't even have enough to eat for myself, how could I leave you any farts!"

The three of them had a hearty meal at the restaurant and chatted about official business during the meal. Zhou Qingfeng didn't stay up with them, so he went back to the Plum Blossom Division of the Fifth Bureau of the Censorate, washed up, and went to bed. He would wait for a breakthrough in this matter before making any further progress.

Xiao Hongyun, Ye Tingxiu, and Ren Wuji continued to work through the night.

The next day at dawn, with only seven days left until the Dragon Ascension Banquet, Xiao Hongyun's interrogation had yielded no results all night. This was not an act; he genuinely hadn't found a single problem. It was simply that Di Xinjian had cleared his name too cleanly, making it difficult to frame him.

Since that was the case, Xiao Hongyun went along with it and personally released Di Xinjian, even escorting him to the gate of the Censorate.

"Master Di, thank you for your cooperation in the investigation." Xiao Hongyun bowed with his folding fan in hand and said, "I am only doing my duty. If I have offended you in any way during the interrogation, I hope you will not take offense. I apologize on my behalf."

"Oh, oh, oh, I wouldn't dare..." Di Xinjian was just a merchant, even a big merchant, and he was nothing in front of officials. How could he accept Xiao Hongyun's apology? He quickly reached out and grabbed Xiao Hongyun's arm to stop him: "I understand Lord Xiao's difficulties and have no intention of blaming you. In fact, I should thank Lord Xiao for clearing my name. I will specially invite Lord Xiao to a banquet another day to thank you. I hope you will do me the honor."

Xiao Hongyun said with a smile, "I will definitely come, I will definitely come."

Di Xinjian bowed respectfully and said, "Lord Xiao, I shall take my leave."

"No need to see me off." Xiao Hongyun smiled and gestured, watching Di Xinjian ride away in the Di family carriage, surrounded by servants. But his smile gradually turned cold: "Heh, you lowly merchant, always so glib."