Devouring Soul Emperor

"Tie Mingyuan, do you really think I wouldn’t dare to kill you?"

Under the moonlight, Chu Qingyun’s expression was cold.

To be framed for no reason, mistaken for a lecher by the entire town, and made a scapegoat for that damn Flower Thief Ma Zhiyong—he’d long been seething with pent-up rage.

And this Tie Mingyuan was acting like a fool, letting himself be used as a weapon to hunt him down.

"Kill me? You damn Flower Thief, you dare kill Government Officials? My only regret is that I’m not strong enough, or else I’d take you down with me even if it cost me my life!"

Tie Mingyuan was as stubborn and unpleasant as a stone in a latrine pit.

"Government Officials? If you obstruct the Great Xia Dragon Guard on official business, you will die—and I don’t just mean a mere Chief Constable like you. Even the town mayor would face the same fate!" Chu Qingyun said, annoyed.

This wasn’t an empty threat. Although he was on an assessment mission, it was still considered a mission of the Great Xia Dragon Guard.

Besides, the mission parameters authorized him to kill the fugitive, which was a significant level of authority.

"The Great Xia Dragon Guard? Hmph, you’re an impostor!" Tie Mingyuan struggled frantically.

SLAP!

Chu Qingyun viciously slapped him across the face, hard enough to make him bleed from the corner of his mouth and his nostrils.

"Take a good look! This is a Great Xia Martial Order, and this is the Assessment Scroll for a Great Xia Dragon Guard mission. Are these things you can just fake!?"

As he spoke, Chu Qingyun placed the two items in front of Tie Mingyuan.

The hillside fell silent, leaving only the whistling of the night wind.

The cold wind blew past, gradually clearing both their minds of frenzy and anxiety.

Chu Qingyun carefully went over the entire incident from beginning to end and realized the biggest point of suspicion still lay with Qu Yuanhang.

The uncharacteristically timed banquet, the disregard for his daughter’s disappearance, the collusion with people from the Martial Soul Hall... and just now, he was the first to enter the room, the first to "discover" someone on the bed! It was all him!

"Tie Mingyuan, let me ask you a question. When you entered my room, what was the first thing you looked at?" Chu Qingyun asked, staring at him.

Tie Mingyuan, much calmer now, thought back and said, "The first thing I saw was the candlelight on your table. Then, I saw you next to the table."

"Exactly. When I entered the room, the first thing I saw was the candle as well. It wasn’t until I was about to get into bed that I realized someone was on it!" Chu Qingyun said, his eyes lighting up.

Tie Mingyuan frowned. "What are you trying to say?"

"Have you forgotten? The moment Qu Yuanhang entered the room, he saw someone on the bed. Isn’t that strange? Human instinct is to be drawn to the light of the candle, not to a person in a dim bed. This proves he already knew someone was on my bed—because he was the one who put her there!"

Chu Qingyun’s words left Tie Mingyuan dumbfounded. He didn’t want to believe it from the bottom of his heart, but he had no way to refute it.

"On the way to my room, what did Qu Yuanhang say to you?" Chu Qingyun continued to ask.

Tie Mingyuan thought for a moment. "He said... he said he’s thought highly of me for a long time. He said that after he found his daughter, he would betroth Yan to me."

"Just as I thought... Tie Mingyuan, don’t you think that’s too much of a coincidence? He tells you that, and then you immediately ’happen’ to find Yan in my bed?"

Chu Qingyun’s eyes grew clearer. He felt like he was close, just one step away from the truth.

After listening to Chu Qingyun’s analysis and carefully recalling everything, Tie Mingyuan’s brow also slowly furrowed. The suspicious details were piling up.

"Tie Mingyuan, do you dare to cooperate with me? I’m 90% sure I can uncover the truth," Chu Qingyun said to Tie Mingyuan after some thought.

"Cooperate?"

Tie Mingyuan was still hesitant. He couldn’t bring himself to fully trust Chu Qingyun.

After all, according to Chu Qingyun’s analysis, the biggest suspect was now Qu Yuanhang. But Tie Mingyuan had known Qu Yuanhang for over a decade. And how could he possibly kidnap his own daughter?

"If I really were the Flower Thief Ma Zhiyong, you wouldn’t be able to kill me anyway. And Yan has already been rescued. Cooperating with me has no upside or downside for you."

"But if I’m *not* Ma Zhiyong, and someone else is the villain, that means Yan is still in danger. If you don’t cooperate with me, you’ll be the one harming Yan!"

Chu Qingyun could already see that Tie Mingyuan clearly had feelings for Yan. The reason he’d been so frantic was because of what happened to her. Therefore, using this as leverage was the easiest way to persuade him.

Sure enough, after a moment’s thought, Tie Mingyuan gritted his teeth and nodded. "Tell me. How do you want me to cooperate?"

Chu Qingyun released him, then tore off half of his own outer coat. He wrapped his Great Xia Martial Order and Assessment Scroll inside it and handed it to him, saying, "Take this to Qu Yuanhang. See if you can see Yan again."

"Fine, I’ll trust you this one time!" Tie Mingyuan said, turning to leave.

"Wait. You’d better stab yourself a couple of times and get some blood on it. It’ll look more convincing."

"Why my blood?"

"Use it or don’t, it’s up to you. It’s not like I’m the one in love with Yan."

"You..."

Gritting his teeth, Tie Mingyuan cut two bloody gashes on his arm and stomach, smearing some of the blood on the torn cloth. He then roughed himself up to look like he’d been in a major fight and headed toward town.

Meanwhile, Chu Qingyun activated his Hidden Qi Technique and used Stealth to follow quietly behind him.

’He actually did it. He really stabbed himself twice. Is it worth it, all for a woman?’ Chu Qingyun couldn’t help but wonder as he followed behind.

But just then, another figure suddenly appeared in his mind: You Yun.

’Strange, why am I thinking of her?’

’If I was going to think of a woman, shouldn’t it be Ning Xue? At least I’ve been intimate with Ning Xue. I’ve never even seen You Yun’s face...’

A gust of cold wind made Chu Qingyun shiver, and he silently cursed himself.

’What am I doing, thinking about this stuff at a time like this?’

’Later, no matter what happens, there’s definitely going to be a big fight.’

Those two from the Martial Soul Hall were clearly targeting him. They went straight for their ultimate moves, dead set on killing him. Between the two of them and him, only one side was destined to survive.

And caught in the middle was the mysterious Qu Yuanhang.

’But if I assume Qu Yuanhang is the Flower Thief, that doesn’t add up either. He’s been the town mayor here for over a decade. He can’t be the mayor here and a Flower Thief somewhere else at the same time, right?’

It was a mess. Still a total mess.

Even though his analysis pointed to Qu Yuanhang as the key figure, Chu Qingyun still couldn’t guess the whole truth. He could only follow Tie Mingyuan and watch how things unfolded.

The guards at the entrance of the Town Mayor’s Mansion obviously knew Tie Mingyuan, as he went straight in without being announced.

Chu Qingyun, in turn, vaulted over the wall and followed him.

There was no one in the front hall, and no one in the mayor’s courtyard. Tie Mingyuan searched for a while before he saw a light on in Chu Qingyun’s room. Inside, shadows seemed to be moving.