Chapter 2354: All Dead (Patreon)

Chapter 2354: All Dead

While Shu Yu was speaking, one of Prefect Magistrate Cheng's concubines came over and poured her a glass of water. Despite the restrictions in the room, they still provided water.

Shu Yu glanced at the concubine who had brought her water, noticing that she didn't leave immediately. Shu Yu narrowed her eyes for a moment but continued talking to Prefect Magistrate Cheng as if nothing was amiss. "Our main purpose for coming to the Southwest was to find my master, but we also have some unresolved issues with the black market. Since we knew the black market was here, we couldn't just ignore it. Fortunately, after we entered Linzhang Prefecture, Lord Qi contacted us."

The concubine's grip tightened slightly, but Cheng Xian didn't notice. He eagerly asked, "Lord Qi contacted you? Have you met him?"

Shu Yu sighed, "Lord Qi told us to wait in Qingxuan County, so we went there under the pretext of looking for my master. We waited there for nearly half a month, hoping to chance upon him, but we never managed to meet with Lord Qi. We left some people at the inn, hoping for a chance encounter, but we had no luck."

Prefect Magistrate Cheng frowned, "How could this happen?"

"My husband and I suspected that Lord Qi might have encountered some trouble, either being discovered by the black market or facing other difficulties that prevented him from meeting us."

Prefect Magistrate Cheng couldn't help but rub his forehead. "It's my negligence as a Prefect Magistrate. I can't believe I didn't notice that such a big tumor was growing under my jurisdiction all these years."

Shu Yu didn't want to dwell on this topic, as Prefect Magistrate Cheng had indeed been negligent in his duties. "Before coming here, we suspected that you might be protecting the black market in some way. However, we never imagined that you would be captured by them as well."

Prefect Magistrate Cheng's expression turned grave. "I was seized by them over a month ago. Cheng Wu betrayed me, and the other guards around me, except for Cheng Xian, all... died."

Originally, Prefect Magistrate Cheng had six personal guards by his side. Cheng Dong had been dealt with by Shu Yu and Meng Yunzheng a few years ago.

Cheng Wu had been a traitor, and Cheng Wen, who had been close to him, was the first to suspect him. Cheng Wen had intended to inform Prefect Magistrate Cheng, but before he could do so, Cheng Wu had killed him.

Another guard had been shot dead while trying to protect Cheng Xian during the chaos in Cheng's residence on the day of the major incident.

Out of the six guards, only Cheng Xian and the last guard remained.

When Prefect Magistrate Cheng was captured, he and Cheng Xian had planned to escape and seek help. However, the other guard was killed in the route, and Cheng Xian was severely injured and thrown into this place.

Hearing Prefect Magistrate Cheng's account, Shu Yu felt a heavy heart. Although she was most familiar with Cheng Xian among his guards, she had also met and spoken with the others. She hadn't expected them all to meet such tragic ends.

"Why did they keep you here, and what do they intend to do?" Shu Yu inquired.

Prefect Magistrate Cheng speculated, "They probably want the two thousand soldiers stationed in the Southwest."

He continued, "The Southwest has a garrison of twenty thousand soldiers, with General Shen in command. However, the deputy commander is from the black market. It's likely that the black market wants to take control of these twenty thousand soldiers. They won't easily harm me until they succeed. Recently, General Shen sent someone to discuss matters with me, but it was Cheng Wu who received him. He allowed me to appear briefly. Unfortunately, with Cheng's residence under surveillance by the black market, I couldn't do anything."