Chapter 62: The Arrests Begin

After the members of the Spring Breeze Hall discovered a secret passage inside the dry well, they were all extremely excited. However, being inside the tunnel itself, everyone temporarily suppressed their excitement.

Following closely behind Brother Feng, they walked deeper into the tunnel.

Soon, the group reached the end of the passage, but there appeared to be a mechanism here, and moreover, the switch was on the outside.

Brother Feng tried pushing it a few times, but it wouldn't budge.

"Step back a bit!" Brother Feng waved his hand, signaling everyone to retreat.

After Gao Wu and the others had backed away to a safe distance, Brother Feng began to circulate his internal energy. Gathering all his strength into his palm, he struck fiercely toward the exit of the secret passage.

Although Cheng Qingfeng usually acted carefree and flippant, his strength was not weak; he was already an expert at the middle stage of the Innate Realm.

With a single palm strike, accompanied by a booming sound, the hidden door at the top of the passage was shattered into pieces.

Cheng Qingfeng leaped up, jumping out of the secret passage first, with Gao Wu following closely behind.

Looking around, they saw that the exit of the tunnel was located underneath a bed, and at this moment, both the passage entrance and the wooden bed had been blasted to splinters.

As they rushed out of the room, they saw quite a few members of the Demon Clan rushing over in a panic!

"What people are you? How dare you trespass into the Myriad Barbarians Mansion!"

Well, that settled it. Without even needing Gao Wu and the others to verify, this place was indeed the Myriad Barbarians Mansion.

Glancing around, they had searched this place before, only that they hadn't been able to conduct the search with absolute thoroughness.

As more and more agents from the Seven-Star Tower emerged from the secret passage, these demons realized that something was amiss—these men were not ordinary martial artists.

"Audacious demons, digging a secret passage inside the Myriad Barbarians Mansion, what is your intention?"

The leading demon envoy had a cold glint in his eyes and was about to give the order to wipe out all these intruders in one fell swoop!

However, he was immediately stopped by the deputy envoy. "My lord, no! These are people from the Seven-Star Tower. There is no way we can manage to kill them all without leaving a trace! Once we make a move, none of us will escape with our lives!"

Only then did the chief demon envoy loosen his fists. Yet, the deputy envoy turned around and roared at Cheng Qingfeng and the others who had rushed out, "Who on earth are you people, daring to dig a secret passage straight into our Demon Clan's embassy!"

This deputy envoy seemed to be the strategist of the demon delegation; he reacted swiftly and shifted the blame back onto them.

Cheng Qingfeng was so angry he almost laughed. These demons were truly utterly shameless!

However, the ball had indeed been kicked back to the side of the Seven-Star Tower!

"The Seven-Star Tower is handling a case, everyone stay put and behave! Also, whose room is this? Step forward."

Before any of the demons could step forward, Cheng Qingfeng said to Gao Wu beside him, "Go quickly and check who resides in this room."

Just as Gao Wu acknowledged the order and prepared to investigate, the person in charge of the Myriad Barbarians Mansion hurried over.

"I am Xu Wenruo. What instructions do you lords have?"

"Whose room is this?" Cheng Qingfeng asked, pronouncing each word clearly.

Xu Wenruo glanced at the room and replied, "This—no one has lived here recently. Previously, a man named Hei Ya stayed here for a period of time."

"Hei Ya? Where is he now?"

"A month ago, he already returned to the Demon Clan with the delegation."

Cheng Qingfeng frowned deeply, eyeing Xu Wenruo and the demon personnel in front of him. Matters involving the Demon Clan and diplomacy were always this troublesome.

If they were just ordinary members of a demonic cult, Cheng Qingfeng would have already drawn his blade and slaughtered all of them by now!

"Such a long secret passage—where did all the dirt dug out from it go?"

Gao Wu's voice was not loud, but it caused Cheng Qingfeng's brow to relax. That was right; the lead was not broken yet, and they could continue their investigation!

"A secret passage has been found within the Foreign Barbarians Mansion, involving the security of the capital. All personnel within the Myriad Barbarians Mansion are temporarily restricted from leaving!"

After saying this to Xu Wenruo, Cheng Qingfeng immediately ordered his subordinates to seal off the mansion.

Sealing estates and confiscating properties was something the people of the Seven-Star Tower were extremely familiar with. Everyone immediately ran outside the Myriad Barbarians Mansion and surrounded it tightly. Naturally, guards were also left behind to watch over the entrance of the secret passage.

Soon, the Myriad Barbarians Mansion was completely sealed off, allowing entry but no exit!

"Lord Xu, why hasn't Lord Zhou arrived yet?"

The demon deputy envoy pulled Xu Wenruo aside and asked in a low voice.

"Ah, Lord Zhou happens to have the minor morning court session today; he probably hasn't received the news yet!"

Zhou Huairen, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, was the direct superior in charge of the Myriad Barbarians Mansion. With the mansion sealed off at this moment, it was tantamount to slapping Zhou Huairen right across the face.

Emerging from the minor morning court, Zhou Huairen was in a rather decent mood.

The northern front was tense, and the imperial court had a strong desire for peace talks. To conduct peace talks, one naturally could not bypass the Ministry of Rites, and even less could one bypass him, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites who oversaw the Myriad Barbarians Mansion!

However, the moment his steward informed him of what had happened at the Myriad Barbarians Mansion, his mood plummeted drastically!

"Those brats from the Seven-Star Tower, they are pushing people too far!"

Zhou Huairen hastily boarded his carriage, galloping all the way. By the time he reached the Myriad Barbarians Mansion, the bumpy ride had almost made him vomit.

Seeing several Seven-Star Tower guards standing at the entrance of the Myriad Barbarians Mansion, along with some foreign individuals lingering outside—evidently afraid that once they went in, they would never be able to come back out—he grew furious.

"Whose order is this? How can the Myriad Barbarians Mansion be sealed off at will? How is our Great Zhou supposed to negotiate with foreign tribes in the future!"

Zhou Huairen shouted as he charged into the Myriad Barbarians Mansion.

The guards at the gate did not stop Zhou Huairen from entering.

The order from their superiors was that entry was permitted but exit was forbidden. Getting in was easy, but wanting to get back out again—that would be difficult!

"Well, well, Li Yuchun, it's your Spring Breeze Hall people again! It seems I haven't impeached you fellows enough!"

Sister Chun had also arrived not long ago. She sneered coldly, the whip in her hand snapping through the air with crisp cracks. "Lord Zhou had better think carefully about how to explain the secret passage!"

If the demons could still deny that they weren't the ones who dug the secret passage, the Myriad Barbarians Mansion certainly had no way to shirk the blame. Regardless of whether outsiders had dug the tunnel, since the passage existed, neither the Myriad Barbarians Mansion nor even the Ministry of Rites could easily absolve themselves of responsibility!

This was the source of Sister Chun's confidence.

As long as this secret passage remained, Sister Chun was confident she could keep the Myriad Barbarians Mansion sealed down to the very end!

Inside the Myriad Barbarians Mansion, besides the demons, there were also members of the Monster Clan, the Barbarian Clan, the Sorcerer Clan, and others. However, these people were merely watching the demons make a fool of themselves and made no rash or violent moves.

"Li Yuchun, since this secret passage connects the outside world to the Myriad Barbarians Mansion, it is entirely possible that it was dug in from the outside! Perhaps there were thieves trying to steal treasures belonging to the foreign tribes!"

Even now, Zhou Huairen was still attempting to disassociate the Demon Clan from the secret passage. Li Yuchun looked at him with pity and said, "Lord Zhou, your stance is quite biased!"

At the other end of the secret passage, seeing that Cheng Qingfeng and his men had not emerged for a long time, Liang Xiaolong suddenly felt a sense of dread. Gritting his teeth and abandoning any thought of packing his belongings, he decided to run for his life.

Yet the moment he made his move and before he could even run out of the street, Song Chaoxian led a group of men to block his path squarely.

"Haha, I deserve this credit! After this is over, I must properly thank Brother Gao for giving me this opportunity to earn merit!"

Liang Xiaolong had no power to resist and was quickly bound up by Song Chaoxian's men.

Although Liang Xiaolong shouted incessantly that he had been wronged, Song Chaoxian had long since received instructions: on this street, whoever ran would be arrested!

This was precisely the strategy of startling the snake by beating the grass, meticulously laid out by Gao Wu and Cheng Qingfeng!

With Liang Xiaolong captured, Liang Dahai naturally wouldn't be left alone either, and was apprehended at almost the exact same time.