After the man in blue entered, he decided he had nothing left to lose. Summoning his courage, he asked, “You weren’t the ones who killed these people, were you? I remember it was a different group that rented out the teahouse and drove everyone away earlier. Are you with them?”
By instinct, he knew the two children before him were no ordinary people. But he wanted answers to the questions in his heart. Since he had already come inside, he was prepared to accept whatever happened next.
Xi Qingyue shook her head lightly. “We killed them, but the people we killed were all in the rear courtyard. If you want to see the bodies, go look for yourself. Also, tell us about the situation in Xin’an City—especially the county magistrate and the major clans.”
At those words, the man in blue swallowed hard. He was even more shocked now. What ordinary child would ask about such things?
The gray-clothed man beside him also paled. He was a member of the Song Clan, one of Xin’an City’s prominent families.
Seeing their reactions, Xi Qingyue immediately guessed their identities. She spoke indifferently, “It seems the two of you are members of influential clans. If you don’t want to talk, forget it. You may leave.”
With that, she picked up her teacup and took a sip.
Since they belonged to prominent clans, they might be no different from the county magistrate. Sooner or later, she would have to cut them down anyway. Doing it a few days later would make no difference.
Just then, Mu Jin returned to the teahouse with her people. Her clothes were splattered with blood.
She walked up to Xi Qingyue with a smile. “Commandery Princess, the people from Inviting Moon Tower and Yuanlai Inn have been dealt with. They’ve done this sort of thing more than once. The madam of Inviting Moon Tower often forces women into prostitution, while the people at Yuanlai Inn drug victims and send young women to them. As for the children, they send them here to Shifang Teahouse, where they are handed over to the people from Guangling Pavilion. We captured the madam of Inviting Moon Tower and the owner of Yuanlai Inn.”
As she spoke, she pointed behind her at a flamboyantly dressed woman and a heavily built, obese man whose hands were bound.
Xi Qingyue turned to look at them. Both had their mouths gagged and were shaking their heads desperately. Clearly, they had been terrified by the ruthless efficiency with which Mu Jin and the others had killed their people.
The man in blue and the man in gray were even more frightened. Their legs gave out, and they collapsed to the floor. They wished they could slap themselves. Why had they come back after leaving?
The two hurriedly knelt and kowtowed to Xi Qingyue. “This commoner did not know the Commandery Princess had arrived. We beg Your Highness to forgive us.”
Xi Qingyue glanced at the trembling pair and waved dismissively. “Leave. I don’t need you to answer my questions anymore.”
She looked impatient. She had only asked them about the city’s situation because she was bored. Now that she knew they were members of prominent clans, anything they said could not be trusted.
Besides, her own people had returned, so they had surely found out something about the city as well.
By now, the backs of the two men’s clothes were soaked through, and their foreheads were covered in sweat.
Hearing that they could leave, they hurriedly thanked her and ran out.
Mu Jin watched them go and asked in puzzlement, “Commandery Princess, do you think there’s something wrong with those two? Should we send someone to follow them?”
Xi Qingyue smiled faintly. “No need. They’re probably from prominent clans. Let them go home and report what happened to the old men in their families. We can also see how they react. We aren’t indiscriminate killers. Before killing anyone, we should investigate first.”
Although she believed that not one of those clans was innocent, she still had to find out the truth. What if there really was a good person among them?
She had not come here merely as a Commandery Princess. She was also here on Lu Qianning’s behalf to take control of Xin’an City.
This matter was of great importance. If there were people who did not want her to take over, they would certainly scheme against her from the shadows. When that happened, she would show them no mercy.
Suddenly, she looked at Mu Jin. “By the way, didn’t you encounter anyone from the authorities?”
Mu Jin nodded. “Yes, we did. They tried to help the people from Inviting Moon Tower deal with us, so we dealt with them too.”
Xi Qingyue let out a soft laugh. “We only arrived today, yet we’ve already wiped out an inn, a teahouse, and a brothel. The county magistrate of Xin’an City must be furious enough to vomit blood.”
She pointed at the few survivors lying on the ground and the two bound captives. “Mu Jin, interrogate them, record their statements, and have them sign and seal them. Then send everything to the county office together and see how the magistrate reacts.”
“Yes, Commandery Princess.” Mu Jin acknowledged the order and walked toward the unconscious men, instructing someone to slap them awake.
Xi Qingyue glanced at the clutter of tables and chairs in the teahouse. She moved both hands back and forth in front of her a few times, and every table and chair in the main hall instantly began flying through the air.
In the blink of an eye, all the furniture except the table where Xi Qingyue sat had been moved into a corner. The corpses on the floor were stacked together in another corner, while the bloodstains evaporated in an instant. The entire floor became spotless.
Mu Jin and the others stared wide-eyed, their faces filled with shock and admiration.
If they had cleaned it themselves, it would have taken at least half an hour to wash away all the blood. Yet now, not even the smell of blood remained in the hall. It was impossibly clean.
Everyone was utterly awed by Xi Qingyue. They were more than willing to follow such a powerful master.
Even if Lu Qianning ordered them to follow Xi Qingyue for the rest of their lives, they would gladly do so. They simply did not know whether Xi Qingyue would be willing to keep them.
At that thought, Mu Jin shook her head. She had better focus on doing her job.
The madam of Inviting Moon Tower and the owner of Yuanlai Inn stared at the scene, so terrified that their eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. The few teahouse workers who had just been slapped awake were equally pale with fear.
Such methods were beyond the abilities of ordinary people. Even someone with extraordinary martial prowess could not have done this.
Mu Jin swept her cold gaze over them. “You’ve seen the Commandery Princess’s abilities. When we question you later, answer everything truthfully. If you refuse to cooperate, you can find out for yourselves what it means to wish for death. I doubt you’ll enjoy the experience.”
The madam dropped to her knees with a thud, while the owner of Yuanlai Inn also broke into a cold sweat and knelt beside her. Their hands were bound and their mouths gagged, so they could not speak. They could only shake their heads frantically and kowtow.
Mu Jin ordered someone to remove the cloths from their mouths, then spoke slowly. “We’ll question you one at a time. Start by telling us about Luoxia Valley. Since you were able to obtain such a powerful sedative, someone in Luoxia Valley must be skilled in medicine, correct?”
As she spoke, she stared fixedly at the fat innkeeper. Sweat dripped from his forehead onto the floor.
“Commandery Princess, Luoxia Valley used to be called Medicine King Valley. Back then, the old valley master was discovered capturing people to use in his alchemy experiments. He happened to seize the young master of a martial sect and tried to refine medicine with him. The sect took revenge, and the entire valley was wiped out. However, his son escaped and later rebuilt Luoxia Valley in another location. Yuanlai Inn is one of Luoxia Valley’s properties. Commandery Princess, we were only carrying out orders!”
Xi Qingyue sneered when she heard this. “Does doing someone else’s bidding make you innocent? You sent children to Guangling Pavilion, women to Inviting Moon Tower, and men to Qingfeng Hall. Whether they agreed to it or not, everything you did deserves death.”
