The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 393 - 330, Pluck Them Out One by One (5000 words)

Outside the grand gates of the Imperial Prison, in an alley paved with grey-black bricks.

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The setting sun streamed through the eaves of the buildings, casting a divine-like glow on Zhao Douan's face.

However, the two women clad in prison attire felt nothing but coldness, and Qing Niao's eyes brimmed with deep fear.

She knew the Thousand Faces God well; thus, she was all too aware of the terrifying capabilities of one who could make him bow so low.

Zhao Douan shared this sentiment. Since the capture and imprisonment of the Thousand Faces God, he had withstood all manners of torture without yielding.

Do not misunderstand, this was not a sign of steadfast faith, but rather, pure cold-blooded defiance.

At first, Zhao Douan didn't bother with him, not until he recently plotted to eradicate the Kuangfu Society in one fell swoop; only then did he remember this defeated subordinate.

Even with flames that could burn the soul, it took him several days to force the Thousand Faces God to kneel.

Regrettably, after his capture, the Kuangfu Society had severed many of the communication methods he controlled, preventing the extraction of further valuable information.

This time, to prevent accidents, Master Zhou, in charge of the Imperial Prison, went so far as to deeply embed a power-suppressing copper nail into the Thousand Faces God's dantian.

Only then did he dare to entrust this malevolent wolf to Zhao Douan's command.

...

Yun Xi slowly lowered her hand, her face swelling where it had been struck, but the young girl, with her proud chest thrust forward, sneered contemptuously:

"You can make him submit, but you can't defeat me!"

She was prepared to die a heroic death.

Heh, let's burn you a little then you'll know pain... Zhao Douan mused, but he was well aware, punishment was not omnipotent.

Moreover, he had other plans for Yun Xi.

He needed the girl to truly serve him, not like the Thousand Faces God, who might turn around and bite at any moment.

Therefore, mere physical suppression was meaningless.

He needed to break her spirit.

However, for tonight's major sweep, he had no expectation that this stubborn girl would contribute. In fact, bringing them out was just a convenient byproduct, or rather, a case of "killing two birds with one stone."

"I have no interest in forcing you to surrender; bringing you out is merely to open your eyes to the truth," Zhao Douan mocked:

"Don't you fervently believe that Your Majesty murdered his brother and father, that the Xuan Sect's coup was instigated by Your Majesty, and that the Second Prince Jian Wen is the one being persecuted, that your Kuangfu Society aims to support the just cause of the world?"

Yun Xi looked up defiantly, unflinchingly locking gazes with him, and retorted sharply:

"Is it not so? You, minion of the Fake Emperor, still wish to fabricate the truth, constructing lies to deceive the world?"

Qing Niao turned her head away, unable to bear watching Yun Xi's deep-seated conviction and well-indoctrinated passion be shattered.

Zhao Douan looked at the Thousand Faces God with a smile, "Do you believe it?"

The Thousand Faces God sneered, "Zhuang Xiaocheng, that Old Dog's ability to deceive people is indeed formidable, especially the young and easily convinced."

"Shut up!" Yun Xi exploded, "You traitor dare to insult the Grand Tutor!"

In her eyes, since Thousand Faces had betrayed the cause, his words were utterly untrustworthy.

Zhao Douan smiled and no longer paid attention to Yun Xi. He took out a confiscated disguise mask from his bosom and tossed it to the Thousand Faces God, saying:

"Bringing you out is for you to atone through merit, you know what to do, right?"

The Thousand Faces God grasping the "Nine Changes" mask, wore a cruel and cold smile:

"Rest assured, milord, I will do my utmost."

After a pause, he expressed his concern: "But the fools from the Kuangfu Society are tight-lipped, even if captured, I fear it would be hard to make them speak."

Zhao Douan responded indifferently, "That's why we're still missing someone for tonight's arrests."

Who?

The crowd was puzzled when suddenly a whooshing sound came from above.

They saw a black silhouette rapidly advancing over the rooftops of the Capital's contiguous buildings against the backdrop of the setting sun, which had partly sunk below the horizon.

The silhouette moved swiftly, each step growing larger.

Before long, a portly young man wearing a wrinkled gold-embroidered priest robe and carrying a large bamboo canister tied with hemp rope on his back, floated gently to the ground.

His cloth shoes touched the stone pavement, stirring up a ring of fine dust.

"Ha-ha, Brother Zhao, sorry for being late, forgive me."

Gongshu Tianyuan, his face fat with warmth, said with a smile, "It's been days since I've seen you last; had you not sent word, I would not have known you've returned to the Capital."

Proud of your information delay... Those in the know understand you're holed up at the Heavenly Master Mansion engrossed in your inventions; those who don't think you're cut off from the world... Zhao Douan sighed and smiled brightly:

"I'm thankful for Brother Gongshu's assistance in battle tonight; I can't repay you enough."

Gongshu Tianyuan squeezed his plump body into the carriage, immediately filling it up, and cheerfully said:

"Between you and me, those words are too formal."

His eyes glancing at the two well-shaped female prisoners in their prison garb, he remarked with surprise, "Some hide beauties in golden houses, but Brother Zhao hides them in prison cells, impressive, I admire!"

The two women silently turned their heads away, keeping their distance from this reclusive fat otaku.

"Cough cough, it's getting late, let's go. We have many to kill tonight; we can't delay such an auspicious time."

Zhao Douan smiled as he ordered, unfolding a document in his hand. It was a member of the Kuangfu Society, a rebel identified by the Lihua Hall recently.

A low-ranking member, on the outer periphery of the entire intelligence system.

By now, Qian Kerou and others should have set off for the covert control.

Zhao Douan still remembered when he scheduled the net closing operation, the astonishment of his subordinates: "Milord, we've only caught this one small fry, how can we pull out the entire sub-branch?"

His answer at that time was only four words: Follow the vine to get the melon.

The rebels hidden among a million people were like needles in the sea, pricking the court's flesh, causing a faint pain.