Chapter 389 - 232: Reckoning

Chapter 389: Chapter 232: Reckoning

Wu Yiqi said solemnly.

He immediately tried to reason with him, showing no intention of resorting to violence.

’Are you kidding me? Never mind whether I can beat Su Mu, I’m definitely no match for that Cyan Eagle Demon.’

’I’m not an idiot. Is it really worth risking my life against Su Mu for a second brother I’m not even that close to?’

"Inspector Wu, it would be best if you didn’t get involved in this,"

Su Mu said slowly, looking up at Wu Yiqi. "The only reason I haven’t arrested you is out of respect for the time we fought side-by-side."

"Me?"

Wu Yiqi frowned. He hadn’t expected Su Mu to show so little regard for their past connection.

"Let me ask you, is Wu Qiuyuan a member of your Wu Family?"

Su Mu said in a heavy tone.

"He is—"

Wu Yiqi replied, confused as to why Wu Qiuyuan was suddenly being brought up.

Wu Qiuyuan was indeed a member of the Wu Family. He had even come with him to Wuling to assume a post at the Inspection Bureau.

Later, when Wu Qiuyuan had a falling out with the Wuling Taiping Bureau, he had recommended him for a post in Liang Province.

Liang Province—

A thought suddenly struck Wu Yiqi. Su Mu had just returned from Hujue Pass, and Hujue Pass was in Liang Province. ’Could Wu Qiuyuan have provoked Su Mu at the pass?’

’That shouldn’t be right. Wu Qiuyuan isn’t that stupid. Why would he deliberately provoke Su Mu?’

"Exactly."

Su Mu said coldly, "Wu Qiuyuan colluded with the Pure Land Sect, plotting to coordinate with the Demon Court from the inside to breach Hujue Pass."

"That’s impossible!"

The color drained from Wu Yiqi’s face as he cried out.

Even Wu Yifan’s pained screams died in his throat. His face was ashen, his forehead was covered in large beads of sweat, and his eyes were filled with terror and regret.

He, too, now realized the gravity of the situation.

The only reason he had dared to disregard the Taiping Bureau and show up at their Government Office to propose marriage was his confidence in the Wu Family’s power. He believed that even if the Taiping Bureau was displeased with them, they wouldn’t dare to make a move against the Wu Family.

After all, the Wu Family wasn’t some minor clan.

The Taiping Bureau could easily frame smaller families, but the imperial court would never allow them to do the same to the Wu Family.

Unless there was concrete evidence, the Taiping Bureau couldn’t touch the Wu Family.

But now—

Colluding with either the Pure Land Sect or the Demon Court was a capital offense.

"A misunderstanding... could this all be a misunderstanding—"

Wu Yifan said through gritted teeth, no longer caring about his pride.

This had to be cleared up. Otherwise, the consequences would be far more severe than a simple beating.

"Misunderstanding my ass!"

Su Mu remained silent, but Xu Chongyuan, who had just been showing off, started cursing.

"Wu Qiuyuan was passing information to the Demon Court, and we caught him red-handed."

Xu Chongyuan pointed at Wu Yifan. "Who knows how deeply the Pure Land Sect has infiltrated your Wu Family.

I suspect you’re one of them!"

"I’m not—"

Wu Yifan stammered, his head covered in a cold sweat.

"Su Mu, the Wu Family is willing to cooperate fully with the investigation! But I can guarantee you, we have absolutely not colluded with the Pure Land Sect or the Demon Court!"

Wu Yiqi quickly added.

"That’s not for you to decide."

Su Mu said coolly, "Lock him up.

The Taiping Bureau will neither frame an innocent person nor let a guilty one go free.

Lock him up, along with everyone he brought. Investigate them all."

"Yes, sir!"

The moment Su Mu finished speaking, the spectating Taiping Captains let out an excited roar and surged forward. In an instant, they had Wu Yifan and all his subordinates clapped in chains and shackles.

"Wu Yiqi, out of respect for the time we fought side-by-side, I will not arrest you."

Su Mu turned to Wu Yiqi and said slowly, "You may inform the Wu Family now.

Within ten days, have the head of your family come to Wuling to see me.

If he doesn’t come, I will pay him a visit after ten days. When that happens, it’ll be hard to say whether the Wu Family will still exist in Da Xuan."

A chill shot through Wu Yiqi, and a cold sweat broke out on his back.

Su Mu alone was not enough to make the Wu Family afraid, but behind him stood the Taiping Bureau.

The Taiping Bureau was known for being unreasonable; now that they had right on their side, the Wu Family was in grave danger.

They had colluded with the Pure Land Sect and the Demon Court, and someone had been caught red-handed.

If this couldn’t be explained away, the Wu Family would face certain annihilation. When that happened, even their allies in the imperial court wouldn’t dare to speak up for them.

’Dammit, Wu Qiuyuan, what in the world have you done?!’

Wu Yiqi cursed inwardly.

"I will inform the family at once."

Not daring to delay a second longer, Wu Yiqi turned and left.

"Yiqi, save me—!"

Wu Yifan shrieked, all traces of his earlier arrogance and pride gone.

Wu Yiqi didn’t even pause.

’A round trip in ten days... Time is tight as it is.’

He had no time to waste on Wu Yifan.

"Get a move on!"

Xu Chongyuan kicked Wu Yifan and began herding them toward the prison.

"Can you get me a physician? My hand—"

Wu Yifan pleaded.

"That depends on how quickly the head of the Wu Family gets here. If he’s fast enough, you might get a chance to see a physician."

Xu Chongyuan sneered.

Back then, they had nearly been killed because of Wu Qiuyuan, and Su Mu had even been forced to destroy the Array Plate for the Nine Dragon True Flame Array.

They hadn’t even settled that score with the Wu Family yet, and now the Wus had the audacity to show up on their doorstep and bully them.

It was no wonder he had no intention of being pleasant to Wu Yifan.

As they watched the members of the Wu Family being led away to the Taiping Bureau’s prison, Zhao Poni lowered his voice. "Su Mu, is the Wu Family really—"

"Lord Zhao, do you think I’m abusing my authority for personal reasons, to frame the Wu Family?"

Su Mu’s expression turned serious. "If you don’t believe me, do you also not believe all the soldiers stationed at Hujue Pass?

Commander-in-Chief Yang Changfeng of Hujue Pass, along with Zhang Wangyue and Qianyun Mountain, they all know that Wu Qiuyuan defected to the Pure Land Sect and colluded with the Demon Court.

As for whether the entire Wu Family has defected to the Pure Land Sect or if only a portion is involved, that still requires investigation."

"That’s not what I meant."

Zhao Poni gave an awkward smile. "I was just worried you’d get into trouble."

Su Mu smiled. He wouldn’t be the one in trouble.

The ones in trouble now were the Wu Family.

He intended to settle every last score with them.

"This isn’t the place to talk," Luo Yuxuan said. "You just got back, so you probably haven’t heard about your new appointment from the imperial court. Let’s go inside the Government Office and talk."

He was a bit unsure of how to address Su Mu now.

When Su Mu was away, he could get away with calling him ’son-in-law,’ but in truth, Su Mu and his daughter were neither married nor engaged.

It felt too presumptuous to address him so informally now.

After all, Su Mu was now a Governor, making them equals in rank.

But calling him Lord Su felt too distant.

So, he had simply omitted any form of address.

Su Mu nodded, gave Luo Anning and Xiang Xiaoyuan a smile, and then followed Luo Yuxuan and Zhao Poni into the Government Office.

As much as he wanted to catch up with the two of them after being apart for so long, official business came first.

Having traveled straight from Hujue Pass, he genuinely had no idea what new appointment the imperial court had for him.

Before he left Hujue Pass, Yang Changfeng had given him a heads-up, telling him he would likely be promoted to Governor, but that he might also have to leave Wuling.

After all, Wuling was just a small city; one Governor was enough to oversee it. It wasn’t a major Border Region stronghold like Hujue Pass, which was overseen by a Commander-in-Chief and multiple Governors.

Zhao Poni was doing a good job as the Governor of the Wuling Taiping Bureau, so it was unlikely he would be transferred.

It was more likely that Su Mu would be sent elsewhere.

The imperial court and the various Marquises would surely have their own plans for a Governor as young as Su Mu.

Su Mu was also curious to know where the Bureau would send him to stand guard.

"Before you returned, the imperial edict with your rewards was rushed to Wuling by express courier."

Once they were inside the Government Office and the three of them were alone, Zhao Poni spoke. "You’ve been promoted to Governor of the Taiping Bureau, and you’re being posted to Songjiang Prefecture in Xiangzhou."

"Xiangzhou? Songjiang Prefecture?"

Su Mu was somewhat surprised.

"The very same Xiangzhou where the Wenren Family is based. But you don’t need to worry. The Taiping Bureau put them in their place last time, so they won’t cause you any more trouble."

Luo Yuxuan added.

Su Mu shook his head. He wasn’t worried about the Wenren Family. It was Songjiang Prefecture in Xiangzhou... he knew of that place.

One of the conditions of Zhu Jiuyuan’s peace talks with the Demon Court was to build a branch of the Bailu Academy in Songjiang Prefecture, which would house the demons the Demon Court sent for advanced studies.