The lobby of the Flying Fish Guards was already tense.

Wei Meng led a team of private guards, seventeen or eighteen people who were all experts at the level of the fifth-grade Ling Tai, and the middle-aged man beside him, wearing a cloak, gave people a feeling of unfathomableness.

With so many experts, if they were placed outside, they could easily become a major threat to the local government. It's no wonder they were able to break in.

But they were facing Ying Shisan, and they could only wait and do nothing.

Wei Meng snorted coldly, "Ying Shisan! Regardless of the truth, Ying Wuji is the killer of my Teng brother! I have no intention of using private punishment, and the Soul Capture Technique will not harm him. If you have nothing to hide, you should let Ying Wuji undergo the Soul Capture Technique. Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite!"

"Soul Capture Technique?"

Ying Shisan sat upright in his chair and sneered, "Young Master Wuji is the son of our Great Qian Sovereign. Even if I kill you bastards, it's for justice! If you want to search his soul, as long as you can reach him alive, as long as you can bear the anger of Great Qian, you can search however you want!"

"You!"

Wei Meng was furious, but in the face of a strong expert at the level of a soldier, he couldn't muster any thoughts of conflict.

Ying Shisan glanced at him coldly, "After all, you are young. If it were the elders of your Wei family, they would respectfully call me Thirteenth Lord. It's fortunate that I'm old and don't like fighting. If I were young, you should be kneeling and talking to me!"

Wei Meng's body stiffened for a moment, but he could only grunt and say no more.

"Heh..."

Ying Shisan sneered disdainfully and ignored him, sitting in his chair with his eyes closed.

Every man in our Great Qian is full of blood and masculinity.

Even if you're talking about nonsense that can be easily debunked, even if my young master is truly heinous, if you want to search his soul, you should at least have the ability to make the blood of our Great Qian flow.

Wu Shuangxu's expression turned cold, "Wei Meng! The Flying Fish Guards are the sharp blade in His Majesty's hands. No matter how many people you have or how justified your reasons are, without His Majesty's order, you cannot interfere with the decisions of the Flying Fish Guards."

"Hmph!"

Wei Meng snorted coldly and looked at Ying Shisan, "Then I'll give His Majesty some face and not argue with you!"

Ying Shisan sneered, showing his contempt for Wei Meng's attempt to save face.

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Although Wei Meng said so, he had no intention of leaving the Flying Fish Guards. He and his men stood quietly in the hall, as if waiting for something.

After a while, a young man walked in briskly.

The passing Flying Fish Guards all saluted respectfully.

Wei Meng also went up to greet him and bowed, "Lord Pingling!"

The person who came was none other than Lord Pingling, Zhao Qi.

Zhao Qi smiled warmly, held his arms, and whispered, "What's the result?"

Wei Meng glanced at Ying Shisan and said with a slightly gloomy expression, "Ying Shisan is here too. We can't break in!"

They also knew that the Flying Fish Guards were directly under the command of King Li. Even though the Wei family's strength was not inferior to the Zhao family's royal lineage, they should still show respect to King Li on the surface.

So he didn't plan to force his way in, but wanted to take this opportunity to let the expert who mastered the Soul Capture Technique secretly infiltrate and search Wuji's soul. But he didn't expect Ying Shisan to be here as well. With his keen perception, their attempt to get close to Wuji was simply wishful thinking.

Zhao Qi's expression changed, "Ying Shisan is here too!"

He had never seen Ying Shisan, but when he was young, he had heard some legends about Ying Shisan. This extraordinary person was a complete killing machine, breaking through to the level of a soldier at the age of thirty-six with a fourth-grade Ling Tai.

Later, he hid in the Qian Kingdom Embassy, only guarding the peace of the embassy area and the evacuation of personnel during the war, not caring about anything else. That's why his notorious reputation gradually faded away.

Even when Wuji died suddenly in the high-class brothel last time, he didn't show up.

Zhao Qi thought that he wouldn't show up this time either, so he sent his own men, but he didn't expect Ying Shisan to actually appear and stay in the Flying Fish Guards.

Wu Shuangxu's gaze also shifted, "So that's why Wei Meng dared to break into the Flying Fish Guards. It turns out that Lord Pingling is backing him up! No wonder, only the trusted subordinates of Lord Pingling can master the Soul Capture Technique!"

Lord Pingling and Luo Yan each had three thousand subordinates.

Luo Yan's subordinates were mostly talented individuals in politics, while Lord Pingling's subordinates were mostly extraordinary individuals.

After joining the Flying Fish Guards, Wu Shuangxu had a lot of dealings with Lord Pingling's subordinates.

Zhao Qi smiled slightly, "Officer Wu! This lord is also concerned about the loss of Mr. Wei's son and the relationship between the Qian and Li Kingdoms. That's why I asked the expert to perform the Soul Capture Technique. I can guarantee that the expert will only search for memories related to the case and won't touch anything else!"

Wu Shuangxu remained expressionless, "So Lord Pingling is so confident. Does that mean this expert is Lord Pingling's trusted subordinate?"

Zhao Qi nodded, "At least I can trust him!"

Wu Shuangxu snorted coldly, "The situation has just started to stir up, and Lord Pingling can't wait to wade into this muddy water. Moreover, he sent his trusted subordinate. It seems that he's afraid he won't get involved in this muddy water himself. Or is it that Lord Pingling himself stirred up this muddy water?"

Zhao Qi choked for a moment, "Officer Wu, why do you say that?"

Wu Shuangxu's gaze was cold, "The Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends Technique itself has a deep connection with our Daoist tradition. Each one is an extremely difficult existence to cultivate and requires a lifetime of effort! Based on my limited experience, those who choose to cultivate the Soul Capture Technique are mostly unscrupulous individuals.

Lord Pingling dares to vouch for his subordinate, I'm afraid Lord Pingling also has ulterior motives. Also, let me correct you, I am now a Thousand Officer!"Zhao Qi: "......"

He was a bit frustrated. He didn't expect Wu Shuangxu, who usually didn't like to talk much, to be so sharp-tongued when provoked.

And she didn't give him any face at all.

Is this the confidence that the Flying Fish Guards gave her?

Zhao Qi looked up and glanced at the two statues of Xiezhi on both sides of the Flying Fish Guards Hall, vividly symbolizing the authority to discern right from wrong bestowed by the king.

The Flying Fish Guards only obeyed the king's orders, and now they were under the management of Zhao Ning.

He also had the qualifications to inherit, but under the suppression of the Great Li, he didn't even have the qualification to think about it.

Just as the hall was silent, a loud voice came from outside the door.

"The Crown Prince is here!"

"Greetings, Your Highness!"

Everyone bowed together, and even Pingling Jun could only respectfully salute. Even Ying Shisan, as a foreign minister, also performed a symbolic etiquette.

If Zhao Ning was just the Crown Prince, there was no need for everyone to be so formal. But she was the Crown Prince who held the power of the regency, and that made a big difference.

"No need for so many formalities, everyone!"

Zhao Ning walked forward with Li Caimei and made a gesture of empty-handed support to the crowd.

Then she looked at Pingling Jun and hinted, "So, Brother Wang is here too. I didn't expect that our Great Li would have someone who can use the Soul-capturing Technique!"

Pingling Jun looked at this younger brother who was much younger than him, feeling more and more uncomfortable in his heart, but he could only explain with a smile, "Sharing the worries for the country!"

Zhao Ning raised her chin slightly, "Then I thank Brother Wang for his kindness. However, this matter involves the legitimate son of the Wei family and is related to the Qian-Li diplomatic relations. Brother Wang has no experience in dealing with these matters, so there is no need to bother. I will handle this matter myself!"

Pingling Jun: "......"

This criticism was indeed a bit hurtful!

Zhao Ning's gaze became cold. Before she left, she was also stopped by the Queen. If she hadn't been resolute in arguing based on reason, she might not have been able to leave the palace now.

She was already filled with anger, so she naturally wouldn't give these people a good face. Her gaze quickly shifted to Wei Meng, "Wei Captain, did you break into the Flying Fish Guards on the orders of the Imperial Historian Wei?"

Although Wei Meng was resentful in his heart, he could only bow and answer, "Reporting to Your Highness! No, it was my anger that got the better of me and broke the rules!"

Zhao Ning nodded slightly, "Since Captain Wei knows his mistake, then go to the military camp tomorrow to receive punishment. According to military law, you should be given forty lashes, but considering that Captain Wei did this to help his younger brother find justice, the punishment will be reduced by half!

But I hope Captain Wei will take this as a lesson. If it weren't for the Imperial Historian Wei's recent request for a public trial at the Chongli Palace, I would have thought that Captain Wei had the intention of taking private revenge!

The Flying Fish Guards belong to His Majesty. If a Captain Wei commands today, and a Pingling Jun commands tomorrow, then our Great Li will be in chaos!"

Wei Meng's face turned ugly, but he could only bow and admit his mistake, "I understand!"

Pingling Jun also had a wooden expression as he made a bow.

Zhao Ning coldly swept her gaze over everyone, and her resentment grew stronger. There had been many hidden struggles in the Li Kingdom before, but no one dared to go too far openly. Unexpectedly, after the "era of great contention" was declared, even the Flying Fish Guards dared to come and cause trouble.

The situation was really tricky now, with no clue about the case yet, but all sorts of people were popping up.

If this continued, there would probably be even more unexpected changes.

She looked at Wu Shuangxu, "Wu Qianhu, how is the progress of the case now?"

Wu Shuangxu looked a bit embarrassed, "Reporting to Your Highness! Wei Teng's corpse has been examined. He suffered 376 sword wounds before his death, and the fatal blow was the last sword that severed his throat! There is some demonic energy in his dantian, but other than that, there are no other abnormalities."

"Demonic energy?"

Zhao Ning frowned.

Wu Shuangxu nodded, "The hostage from the Flame Kingdom, Ji Su, said that he apologized to Wei Teng for the matter at the bookstore and specially bought a catwoman to give to him. This demonic energy should come from the catwoman."

Zhao Ning asked again, "What about the catwoman?"

Wu Shuangxu's face showed disgust, "She was killed by Wei Teng because they had problems in bed. Her body has just been examined. The dantian is full of blood energy, but the meridians are extremely weak. It seems that she hasn't cultivated, so it's difficult to use any evil techniques."

"This..."

Zhao Ning's face looked grim. The key issue now was to find out why Wei Teng suddenly wanted to forcibly take Hua Chao.

If there was a mastermind behind the scenes, then Ying Wuji could be partially exonerated.

If Wei Teng's death was also related to the mastermind behind the scenes, Ying Wuji could be mostly exonerated, and in the end, he might even be able to continue staying in the Li Kingdom.

So when she heard about the catwoman just now, she was somewhat delighted, but when the lead on the catwoman was cut off...

She asked again, "What about Ying Wuji? What does Ying Wuji say?"

Wu Shuangxu gritted her teeth, "Ying Wuji was hit by dozens of swords, and the sword wounds came from Wei Teng's guards. However, they were not in vital areas, so his life is temporarily safe. But because he has killed too many people, he has fallen into a state of demonic possession, and his mind is somewhat unclear. He speaks incoherently and only says that he killed those people!"

"Nonsense!"

Zhao Ning felt frustrated, "He hasn't even broken through the Embryonic Transformation Realm, how could he single-handedly kill so many experts in the Embryonic Transformation Realm!"

She wanted to use this as a point of argument, but now Ying Wuji's self-talk directly blocked this path.

Pingling Jun chimed in, "Your Highness, your words are mistaken! Ying Wuji used to present himself as weak, but he quietly broke through to the Triple Essence, Eleventh Layer. With the foundation of the Qian Kingdom, he must have mastered many powerful techniques. Although it is surprising that he killed twenty-seven people alone, it is not impossible!"

"Hmm!"

Zhao Ning responded lightly and stopped entangling on this issue. "What about Hua Chao? What does she say?"Wu Shuangxu's face turned serious: "Hua Chao is in the guest room. What she said is consistent with what everyone else said. She doesn't know why Wei Teng would plot against her. When Ying Wuji went to save her, he was surrounded by a dozen guards and could only defend himself for nearly half an hour, narrowly escaping death."

"In the end, I don't know why, but suddenly he was able to easily kill all the guards, including Wei Teng."

Zhao Ning quickly asked, "Why could Wuji only defend himself at first, but then suddenly be able to kill everyone?"

Wu Shuangxu sighed lightly, "Hua Chao doesn't understand cultivation and can't explain why. I wanted to continue asking, but Luo Xiang used the excuse of worrying about his daughter's mental state to take her away."

"This..."

Zhao Ning's headache grew worse. Everything seemed to be developing in a bad direction.

Although he could continue questioning Hua Chao to gather more information, based on the current situation, she was completely ignorant about the true state of the battle and couldn't provide any valuable insights.

He rubbed his temples and asked, "Are there any suspicious objects at the scene?"

Wu Shuangxu shook her head, "Nothing has been found yet! All the objects at the scene have been collected. Would Your Highness like to take a look?"

"Let's take a look!"

Zhao Ning nodded.

At this moment, Wei Meng suddenly said, "Your Highness! My younger brother's death is suspicious. Please allow me to accompany you!"

After hesitating for a moment, Zhao Ning nodded, "Follow me!"

In the current situation, she could worry about this matter in front of everyone, but she must not show any favoritism towards Ying Wuji. It would be best for her to not refuse any reasonable requests.

So, a few people followed Wu Shuangxu and arrived at the evidence storage room. The items at the scene had been neatly arranged.

Zhao Ning checked them one by one and indeed found nothing suspicious.

Wei Meng also searched with a serious expression, afraid of missing any opportunity to avenge his brother.

Suddenly, he picked up a candied hawthorn and looked at Wu Shuangxu, asking, "Wu Qianhu, where did this candied hawthorn come from?"

Ah...

Li Caimei, who hadn't spoken since earlier, suddenly contracted her pupils and looked at the candied hawthorn with a slightly dazed expression.

Wu Shuangxu pursed her lips, "It was found on Ying Wuji!"

Wei Meng snorted, "This candied hawthorn is made with low-grade fruits and can only be bought in the south of the city. Ying Wuji must have gone to the south of the city today. You should investigate whether he met with any bad people there!"

Wu Shuangxu's gaze turned indifferent, "This is something that Captain Wei can think of, and naturally, I can think of it too. Ying Wuji is dressed extravagantly and easy to inquire about. He only went to the south of the city to buy a string of candied hawthorns and then returned to Shangmo Bookstore."

Wei Meng felt somewhat unwilling, but he still put the candied hawthorn back. He couldn't say that the mastermind behind the scenes was someone who loved eating candied hawthorns.

Li Caimei: "..."

She slightly pursed her lips, a hint of a smile unconsciously appearing, but her eyes became more worried.

Just then, a voice came from outside the door.

"Your Highness, Your Highness! Wei Yushi is here to see you!"

"Hmm!"

Zhao Ning nodded with a serious expression and went to the entrance of the Flying Fish Guards.

Seeing the graying hair of Wei Huan, she could only put on a pained expression and greeted him, "Wei Qing! Didn't I say that the trial would be made public within three days? I will give Wei Family justice at that time. You should take care of your health!"

"You've been worried, Your Highness!"

Wei Huan looked ashamed, "But now the Wei Family is in turmoil. Even at home, there is no peace! And there are unruly and useless descendants causing trouble. Wei Meng! Come here!"

Wei Meng quickly walked over and lowered his head, "Father!"

"Slap!"

This slap was powerful, not holding back any of his cultivation at the Martial Realm.

Wei Meng flew out like a sandbag, crashing into the door of the Flying Fish Guards headquarters. His eyes were unfocused, almost fainting, his cheeks swollen high, and blood oozing from the corners of his mouth.

Wei Huan sternly said, "The Flying Fish Guards belong to His Majesty. When can you act recklessly? This time, Your Highness didn't hold you accountable because of her kindness. If you offend again, there's no need for Your Highness to take action. I will personally cut off your dog head!"

As he spoke, he subtly glanced at Pingling Jun.

Zhao Ning's expression slightly chilled. She knew that Wei Huan was reprimanding his son, and Wei Meng's visit probably had nothing to do with him.

After scolding Wei Meng, Wei Huan's expression returned to the grief-stricken look from earlier, "Your Highness, you've seen it too! Now, everyone in the Wei Family is waiting for the truth. The current situation is confusing, and it should be publicly tried as soon as possible! Three days, this old minister's body probably can't wait any longer!"

Indeed, he came for the trial.

The Wei Family truly feared her interference.

With the situation reaching this point, she probably couldn't help Ying Wuji even if she wanted to.

Zhao Ning took a deep breath, "Spread the word! Tomorrow at the hour of Chen, the trial will be held in the internal hall of the Flying Fish Guards. The witnesses from the Lu Family, Wei Family, and Luo Xiang and his daughter must all be present."

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

Wei Huan's grieving expression finally eased a bit, and he bowed to Zhao Ning.

Zhao Ning looked at Wu Shuangxu, "Strictly guard the Flying Fish Guards tonight. Anyone who attempts to harm the witnesses and Ying Wuji can be killed on the spot without reporting! Also, give him a refreshing medicine to help Ying Wuji recover consciousness as soon as possible!"

"Yes!"

"Your Highness!"

Li Caimei suddenly spoke up, "This humble servant has a medicine to gather the spirit, which can help the prisoner dispel the demonic thoughts and treat hysteria!"

"Approved!"

Zhao Ning nodded and looked at Li Caimei, whispering, "Thank you, beloved consort!"

...

Embassy of the Flame Kingdom.

Ji Su was extremely anxious, "An early trial? Did they find something?"Han Xie, cloaked in a black robe, reassured, "Don't worry, Young Master Su! The cat woman who was killed has already been replaced. Not only will you avoid any trouble, but it can even help clear your suspicion. However, about your side..."

Ji Su subconsciously clenched his fist, "Rest assured! I've already killed that woman, not even a piece of her body can be found."

The woman he referred to was naturally the wet girl he asked Wei Teng to let go.

The reason for letting her go was not because he was attracted to her, but because she was the only one who heard him advising Wei Teng to marry Hua Chao.

Of course, Wei Teng let slip in public today.

But among those present, except for Hua Chao, all were dead.

Even Hua Chao only heard one sentence, "I just advised you to marry her, I didn't ask you to do this!"

He tentatively said, "So, am I safe?"

Han Xie nodded, jokingly said, "Definitely safe! Unless someone can prove that Ying Wuji killed twenty-seven people not because of his strength, but because you helped him. Young Master Su, you didn't really poison those people, did you?"

Hearing this, Ji Su found it absurd and almost laughed.

"Brother Han, you really have a sense of humor!"

"I actually do think that these twenty-seven people were poisoned, they couldn't even beat a single Ying Wuji."

"But even if someone did poison them, it couldn't possibly be me. Did I get kicked in the head by a donkey?"

The two looked at each other and burst into laughter.

"Hahaha..."

"Hahaha..."

(End of the chapter)