The Path of the Martial Arts BOSS
Chapter 168 - 161 Xiao Tu

Chapter 168: Chapter 161 Xiao Tu

Just after stepping out of the dungeon’s gate, they heard Lin Tengyuan’s loud voice apologizing, "Lord Luo, Mr. Bu, I’m truly sorry that I couldn’t come to support you in time.

Due to these Japanese, who have connections everywhere, they even colluded with the local tyrants of Linchuan Prefecture, the Zheng Family. The Zheng Family Patriarch personally led people to intercept our support troops. It took me quite an effort to subdue them."

"Zheng Family?" Luo Yan raised an eyebrow, "Coincidentally, here at the dungeon, it was also led by the Young Master of the Zheng Family, Zheng Yihu. It seems the Zheng Family has indeed decided to betray the nation. However, after Zheng Yihu was captured, he died from poison. I wonder where the Zheng Family Patriarch might be?"

"Bring it up."

With a wave of his hand, Lin Tengyuan’s subordinates brought up a corpse. The sight of the corpse was simply too gruesome to behold—its arms were twisted unnaturally, bones exposed, the face sunken, and the flesh muddled. Even Qing Yu, who had seen a portrait of the Zheng Family Patriarch and possessed the superior eyesight of the Void Eye, would not dare admit to recognizing that this was the body of the Zheng Family Patriarch.

Lin Tengyuan pointed at the unrecognizable corpse, stating, "This is the body of the Zheng Family Patriarch. I don’t know what kind of drugs the Japanese fed him, but when they blocked our way, he fought to his death without retreating, risking his life to stop us. Given the situation, I couldn’t hold back, and thus failed to keep him alive."

Death without retreat? Ha ha...

The three of them, Qing Yu included, all let out a cold chuckle in their hearts. Just looking at how Zheng Yihu had been, they knew that the Zheng Family wouldn’t be die-hard loyalists to the Japanese; otherwise, they wouldn’t have given up without even trying to fight back and surrendered immediately.

With a son like that, it was clear what attitude the Patriarch of the Zheng Family, as the employer, had towards the Japanese. Loyalty was definitely impossible.

"If that’s the case, it looks like all the people from the Zheng Family are dead; not a single one left alive. The Japanese are indeed formidable, having even won over such a notable family in Linchuan Prefecture so completely—" Luo Yan’s voice trailed off strangely, seemingly commenting on the adeptness of the Japanese, but his gaze aimed at Lin Tengyuan carried an obvious implication.

Being in the Divine Origin Realm and exceeding the Innate Realm by an entire Realm level, it is said that they could annihilate the Innate with just a flip of a hand or a snap of fingers, which is an exaggeration, but to say, as Lin Tengyuan claimed, that he couldn’t hold back when forced to, is yet another exaggeration.

Even if the Zheng Family Patriarch refused to comply, Lin Tengyuan could have simply disabled his limbs and neutralized his martial arts, which for a master of the Divine Origin Realm should be quite effortless. Under no circumstances would he have turned someone into such a mangled mess that even Qing Yu, with her sharp vision, couldn’t recognize his original appearance.

The fact that the Zheng Family Patriarch ended up in such a state clearly showed that Lin Tengyuan had delivered a deathblow, intending to kill him outright.

Hearing Luo Yan’s strangely mocking words, Lin Tengyuan still maintained his unruffled expression, smiling lightly, "Of course, not every Zheng is dead. Not to mention far away, the Zheng Family Patriarch’s adopted son, the second young master of the Zheng Family, Zheng Tu, is right here."

"Zheng Tu, come out."

From behind Lin Tengyuan, a constable of the Six Gates division in Linchuan Prefecture stepped forward and bowed to Luo Yan and Bu Lengchuan, saying, "Lord Luo, Mr. Bu, my original name is Xiao Tu. Three years ago, I was adopted as the son by the Zheng Family Patriarch and renamed Zheng Tu. In reality, I am a constable under Mr. Lin Tengyuan, assigned to infiltrate the Zheng Family and gather intelligence on their betrayal and collusion with the Japanese."

"Three and a half years ago, Mr. Lin suspected that the Zheng Family was secretly transporting goods to Japan through their commercial activities with the East Sea. Thus, he dispatched me to covertly infiltrate the Zheng Family. After significant efforts, I was adopted by the Zheng Family Patriarch, successfully infiltrated the family, and started my undercover investigation.

"For three years, my subordinates had investigated extensively and confirmed that the Zheng Family not only engaged in smuggling transactions with the Japanese but also manufactured military arms in secret and sold them to Northern Zhou, an egregious crime indeed.

Tonight, the Patriarch of the Zheng Family, faced with the revelation of his crimes and finding himself cornered, had wanted to perish together with my subordinate, which is why he acted so frenziedly. Mr. Lin, concerned about the safety of his subordinate, failed to hold back in time and accidentally killed the Zheng Family Patriarch. This incident is solely my fault and has nothing to do with Mr. Lin."

Following that, Zheng Tu, who now should be called Xiao Tu, meticulously detailed all the illegal activities carried out by the Zheng Family, clearly having definitive evidence. After finishing, he deeply thanked Lin Tengyuan for taking the blame for the death of the Zheng Family Patriarch to protect him.

Xiao Tu’s statements completely dissociated Lin Tengyuan from any involvement and even earned him a reputation for caring for his subordinates.

At this point, the matter should have been concluded, but Qing Yu felt that Lin Tengyuan’s actions would not stop there. A single Xiao Tu would not easily dispel the suspicions Luo Yan and Bu Lengchuan held against him.

This fact was known both to Luo Yan and Lin Tengyuan. After all, Xiao Tu’s existence was merely their word against others; who knows whether Xiao Tu was truly an undercover agent sent by the Six Gates Sect or someone Lin Tengyuan had recruited and then had pretend to be one.

Indeed, Lin Tengyuan began his maneuvers next. He cheerfully said, "With the Zheng Family, who colluded with the Japanese, now thoroughly eradicated, there should be no one left within Linchuan Prefecture to engage with the Japanese. Thus, let us recall the brothers who have been monitoring the East Sea Commerce. These past few days, our brothers have worked day and night and suffered much; they deserve a good rest now."

By discontinuing the surveillance, the suspicion towards East Sea Commerce was eliminated, and with the fall of the Zheng Family, it was only natural for East Sea Commerce to enter Linchuan Prefecture and potentially take over the Zheng Family’s holdings.

Luo Yan opened his mouth to object but ultimately closed it helplessly.

This was Linchuan Prefecture, Lin Tengyuan’s territory, and Luo Yan’s words did not carry as much weight as Lin Tengyuan’s. Moreover, in terms of position, Lin Tengyuan was his equal and far more experienced. The previous submission was merely a gesture, not meaning that Luo Yan could freely criticize Lin Tengyuan here in Linchuan Prefecture.

Luo Yan took a deep breath, also showing a smile, seemingly as pleased as Lin Tengyuan, and said, "If that’s the case, then let’s withdraw the surveillance on the East Sea Commerce.

However, we still need to use this dungeon for a few more days. Although the attackers tonight were cunning, they failed to break out of prison successfully and only injured a Japanese prisoner.

I need to conduct further interrogations to try to extract useful information from him soon, to prevent any fish that escaped the net within Linchuan Prefecture from stirring up trouble again after the fall of the Zheng Family."

"In that case, may Lord Luo’s wishes come true. We will take our leave and rest now."

Even at this moment, Lin Tengyuan still showed no obvious flaws, and any existing doubts were just that—doubts without concrete evidence.

Qing Yu stood behind Luo Yan, watching as Lin Tengyuan and his followers departed.

The undercurrents in Linchuan Prefecture remained unsettled, and the night’s events had only made them more turbulent.