“This, this, all of this was given to us by the Tongxin League!”
The owner dared not delay and quickly said, “The Tongxin League provided many scripts, including these targeting the Duke. We, we were only following orders. Duke, we are truly innocent.”
Zhang Shi sneered, “And yet you seemed all too happy to sing these plays, didn’t you?”
“No, no…”
The owner tried to defend himself again but was cut off by Ren Tianye’s cold snort. The interrogation continued for some time, but the owner’s answers remained the same.
The materials came from the Tongxin League.
Wherever the Tongxin League had obtained these scripts was unclear, but it was suspected that the Grand Palace Master had written them herself.
With further questioning, the owner had nothing more to reveal. Zhang Shi dragged him aside to continue the interrogation.
Half an hour later, Zhang Shi reported to Ren Tianye.
“Duke, I believe the Xiangsi Pavilion has confessed enough. Even the matter of Xu Shang has been fully disclosed. He can say nothing more—likely everything has been laid out.”
Ren Tianye nodded, thinking the same, but still gave Zhang Shi an order.
“Continue the interrogation.”
“Spare no detail. Make him reveal as much as possible. If there’s any clue, we must find it.”
As Zhang Shi carried out the order, Ren Tianye’s brow remained furrowed.
His mind was restless, with no solution in sight.
What kind of person was Liu Ruyan?
Or rather, what means did she possess?
How could she know about his past life—the ups and downs with his three girlfriends? It was as if she had investigated him thoroughly.
“Could Liu Ruyan be one of my ex-girlfriends?”
But that didn’t fit. His three relationships had gaps of at least three months, and the ex-girlfriends likely didn’t know each other.
Besides, Liu Ruyan seemed about twenty years older than him—that just didn’t add up.
“Could Liu Ruyan have transmigrated from a book?”
Still wrong.
If she had transmigrated from a book, she would have focused on his exploits in the Great Yu Empire, not his previous life.
“She must have some system.”
“A system that allows her to spy on others, to better control and exploit them. That’s how she created the feverish romance craze across the Great Yu Dynasty.”
But that didn’t fit either.
He had dealt with many from the Tongxin League.
The deceased Three Hall Master of the Tongxin League.
Left Protector Bai Zixuan.
Right Protector Ye Hu.
The newly promoted Three Hall Master Bai Li.
He had questioned them all thoroughly, but none of their words revealed any trace of Liu Ruyan having a system.
The only certainty was that Liu Ruyan was definitely a time traveler, with a phone at her disposal.
Ren Tianye’s head ached from thinking.
He had no choice but to put it aside for now.
For the moment, the only way to learn the truth was to break through Cloud Capital and capture Liu Ruyan alive.
With that thought, his gaze sharpened.
The next target was Pukou City.
Pukou City was on the north bank of the Yangtze River, across from Cloud Capital.
Taking Pukou meant breaching Cloud Capital itself.
With abundant troops and a large batch of sweet potatoes and other crops soon to arrive, now was the perfect time to strike.
As he considered battle plans, Su Jin hurried over.
“Duke, the interrogation of Wan Qing has turned up something unusual.”
Su Jin’s face shone with barely contained joy. Behind her followed Wu Xingzhou, who was originally assigned to outer defense for the main army’s supply lines. He too wore an excited expression, as if eager for action.
“What is it?” Ren Tianye asked.
“Wan Qing also faked her death once!”
“And it was very successful!”
“Even now, those who knew her before still believe she is dead.”
Ren Tianye was puzzled. “Oh?”
Su Jin quickly explained, “Wan Qing was married. But her husband was always busy with city defense and neglected her. She grew dissatisfied and began to think of escape.”
“Instead of pursuing a proper divorce, she sought the Xiangsi Pavilion. They devised a plan for her to fake her own death.”
“She said she wanted to die before her husband’s eyes, so he would regret it for the rest of his life, while she went off in search of happiness.”
Ren Tianye understood.
“So Wan Qing came to Hu Shaoyou?”
“Yes,” said Su Jin. “Hu Shaoyou and Wan Qing knew each other since childhood—childhood sweethearts. But they were separated early on and went their own ways.”
“This time, Wan Qing came to Source City and rekindled her old flame with Hu Shaoyou. To spend the rest of their lives together in secret, they went back to the Xiangsi Pavilion for help. The Pavilion designed Hu Shaoyou’s fake death plan too.”
“If we hadn’t caught on, that adulterous pair would have succeeded.”
Ren Tianye felt a flash of understanding.
So the Xiangsi Pavilion’s “love business” included such “matchmaking” services—using faked deaths to resolve problems and achieve happiness.
The thought made him furious. He ordered Zhang Shi, “Tell them to turn up the pressure on the Xiangsi Pavilion’s owner.”
“Yes!” Zhang Shi acknowledged but lingered, adding, “Duke, from the interrogation of the Xiangsi Pavilion’s owner, it’s clear that all the Pavilion’s business involves shady dealings.”
“They even claim to promote love!”
“That Xu Shang—he was the one protected by the Xiangsi Pavilion. Hu Shaoyou had to cover for Xu Shang just to keep the Pavilion’s favor.”
Ren Tianye then remembered Xu Shang. But he had never paid him much mind, as Huai’an City was already under his control, and Xu Shang, as its former acting governor, was irrelevant now.
Hearing Zhang Shi bring him up, Ren Tianye asked offhandedly, “And Xu Shang?”
“Did the Xiangsi Pavilion people confess?”
“Did you catch him?”
Zhang Shi shook his head. “They confessed, but we didn’t catch him. And I don’t plan to bother anymore.”
“Oh?” Ren Tianye was surprised.
Wasn’t Xu Shang Zhang Shi’s personal grudge? Hadn’t he launched this attack on Source City with Xu Shang as his primary target? Even if Ren Tianye didn’t care, Zhang Shi should have.
Zhang Shi explained, “Xu Shang was sold by the Xiangsi Pavilion to some wealthy official in Cloud Capital who was chasing love.”
“The Pavilion said that this official had long admired Xu Shang and was lusting after him. Now that he’s finally won Xu Shang’s love, he’s thrilled.”
He paused and added, “That wealthy official is a man.”
Ren Tianye was speechless.
So were Su Jin and Wu Xingzhou.
Ren Tianye rubbed his forehead.
No wonder Zhang Shi—despite his vengeful nature—had let Xu Shang go. Xu Shang had been sold off to someone paying for love!
Brilliant!
The Xiangsi Pavilion’s business model was truly eye-opening.
“Duke, it seems the Xiangsi Pavilion plays rough,” Su Jin’s voice broke in.
She paused, then asked, “Do you know who Wan Qing’s original husband was?”
“Who?”
“Zhou Xiong.”
"Zhou Xiong?" Ren Tianye's face instantly lit up with delight.
Zhou Xiong—wasn't that the name of the garrison commander of Pukou City?!
...
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
iaobai: "Councilor Dad, front me some funds. I want to hire ten thousand professional miners for a project!" [Five-Star Mission Issued: Capture the leader of the Blood Heaven Pirate Gang, who is on the run in the Radiant Star Sector. It is said the gang has over a hundred members. Proceed with caution.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, lend me the family's hundred-thousand-strong Lu Army!" [Seven-Star Mission Issued: Subdue a juvenile Void Dragon Beast.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, I'm taking your tamed Void Dragon Beast King out for a family reunion!" I said, System, don't you have any slightly more challenging missions? You're just not up to par! [Nine-Star Mission Issued: Become the Human Councilor.] Lu Xiaobai: "Dad, there's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you..."
] This is a dark fantasy-themed dating simulation game. The main gameplay involves containing various monster girls and investigating the truth of a world shrouded in mist alongside your companions. However, due to his love for the dark and bizarre atmosphere, Luo Wei ended up turning a dating game into a detective mystery game. Women? Women only slow down his quickdraw! To Luo Wei, the female leads in the game are more like tools to perfectly clear levels and squeeze out rewards. For Luo Wei, flirting with every girl he meets and then discarding them is standard procedure. Worried about characters losing affection points? No need. With his maxed-out charm stat, Luo Wei is practically a "human incubus." A little psychological manipulation and those points come right back. It's a bit scummy, but the paper cutout heroines in the game won't actually come at him with real cleavers. However... Luo Wei has transmigrated. He's accidentally entered the second playthrough of this game. His past actions have caused all the girls to transform into terrifying yanderes. Due to the game's setting, most of the heroines he once contained are "troubled girls." Obsessive, twisted, mentally unstable, all aggressive yanderes... The type who will kill you if they can't have you... Luo Wei wants to cry but has no tears left. "I really just want to survive..." In short, this is a story of battling wits and engaging in a love-hate relationship with yanderes.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
