Chapter 1677: Exposed
Zu An didn’t hold back and directly asked that very question.
Tang Tian’er shook her head and said, “I know who Golden Token Seven’s killer is, but please forgive me for not being able to tell you. I can only say that it was definitely not our Hub of Freedom.”
Zu An fell silent for a moment. He synthesized all of the information he had collected in his mind and seemed to realize something.
When she saw that, Tang Tian’er couldn't help but feel a bit worried. She asked, “Are you upset with me right now?”
Zu An shook his head and replied, “I’m already really grateful that you can tell me this much. Why would I be upset with you?”
“Really?” Tang Tian’er asked, feeling a bit suspicious. “You aren’t blaming me?”
“Of course. If it were someone else, they definitely wouldn’t have told me as much as you did. I don’t even have enough time to feel grateful, so why would I blame you?” Zu An replied with a smile. “You’re with the Hub of Freedom, so you definitely have your own misgivings. After you admitted those things frankly, if I still complained, I would just be ungrateful.”
“I’m happy that I was able to help you then,” Tang Tian’er said, the smile returning to face. “You finally came here for a visit, so why don’t you relax for a bit here? I’ll let you experience the true feeling of freedom!”
“I still have something to take care of, so I’ll have to take you up on that another day,” Zu An said, declining tactfully.
Tang Tian’er didn’t try to keep him and said, “I’ll definitely take good care of you once you finish dealing with this matter.”
Zu An nodded. After bidding her farewell, he returned to Yi City. He gathered Xiao Jianren, Zhang Zitong and the other Silver Token Envoys in the meeting room.
“Sir Eleven, did you find out any useful information?” Zhang Zitong asked out of concern. Her tall and slender figure really made her stand out among the other Silver Token Envoys. It made the normally stern and harsh meeting room seem a bit brighter.
“I did get some results,” Zu An replied.
Xiao Jianren had been admiring Zhang Zitong’s legs, but when he heard that, he exclaimed in surprise, “Please share it with us, Sir Eleven!” Even though Sir Eleven was the one who had been given the three-day deadline, as Sir Eleven’s direct subordinate, if something went wrong, he definitely wouldn’t get away.
The other Embroidered Envoys all looked at Zu An with wide eyes.
Zu An looked around him and slowly said, “We’ve been making a mistake this entire time. King Yan’s smuggling and formation of a private army are part of one case, while the murder of Golden Token Seven is another case entirely. We subconsciously mixed the cases together, and thus came to a misunderstanding.”
Zhang Zitong couldn't help but voice her dissent. “Sir Eleven, Sir Seven was investigating King Yan’s rebellion for a long time, so King Yan hated him bitterly. Could it be that after Zhao Huang’s cries of grievance and the trouble today… You believe them?”
Xiao Jianren quickly said seriously, “Miss Zhang, I believe you’ve misspoken. Our Sir Eleven has never been the type to act timidly. He definitely has a reason for saying what he said.”
Zu An nodded inwardly. Looks like this guy hasn’t been completely blinded by infatuation.
Zhang Zitong, however, still seemed a bit unconvinced. She insisted, “Either way, King Yan has the strongest motive and the most ability. Furthermore, we even have a testimony and material evidence. I don’t believe that there was any mistake.”
“Let’s not talk about the material evidence for now. The human evidence should be Sir Huo, right? However, has Sir Huo ever admitted to killing Golden Token Seven this whole time?” Zu An asked.
“Of course he wouldn’t admit to something like that. We often encounter those who clearly made mistakes, yet still feel as if they were wronged,” Zhang Zitong said, still unconvinced.
“I’ve already sent for someone to bring him here. We can just ask him,” Zu An said with a chuckle.
The Silver Token Envoys all had grave expressions. As individuals who had worked in this field for a long time, they could sense that something was off. However, they couldn't really pinpoint where the problem was exactly, either.
Suddenly, an Embroidered Envoy rushed over and reported in alarm, “Sir Eleven, Sir Huo is dead!”
“Dead?” The expressions of all the Silver Token Envoys changed.
“How did he die?” Zu An asked calmly, as if he had already anticipated the situation.
“He appears to have committed suicide,” the Embroidered Envoy replied. After working in this field for so long, Embroidered Envoys usually had some coroner abilities, so they had already roughly guessed the cause of death.
Xiao Jianren couldn't help but say with a frown, “Something isn’t right. That Sir Huo didn’t seem to be someone that cowardly…”
“He was probably silenced,” Zu An said slowly, leaving the others in shock.
“Silenced?” Zhang Zitong asked in confusion. “He was locked up in an Embroidered Envoy prison. Who would have the ability to silence someone like him?”
The other Silver Token Envoys also voiced their agreement. “Exactly! Could it be that since he knew he couldn’t escape, he decided to just end it all?”
“We were a bit harsh on him in an attempt to obtain a confession. Spirit element cultivators like him have weak bodies, so it’s expected for him to have been unable to hold on.”
…
After listening to the others talk over one another, Zu An said calmly, “The premise for your assumptions is that he was indeed the killer of Golden Token Seven. But what if he wasn’t? As someone who had cultivated to his level, who would be willing to just die like that?”
When they heard his response, the others’ expressions changed. If Sir Huo really had been silenced, there could be something wrong with the Embroidered Envoy’s internal system. They all looked at each other nervously.
Zu An said, “The reason why we believed so strongly that King Yan and Sir Huo were the killers of Golden Token Seven was because someone was secretly guiding us to those conclusions.”
Xiao Jianren was stunned. He replied, “But that’s not right. No one guided us to that conclusion. We investigated those things ourselves…”
However, midway through his sentence, he was suddenly stunned. Then, his expression changed several times, and he looked at Zhang Zitong.
The other Silver Token Envoys also looked at her. Anyone who could become a Silver Token Envoy was competent in dealing with situations; apart from cultivation, they weren’t all that different from Golden Token Envoys. They were all intelligent. Thus, although they hadn’t realized it before, Zu An’s reminder made them quickly realize that the one who had first mentioned Sir Huo seemed to be Zhang Zitong.
Zhang Zitong had an expression of shock. She stared furiously at Zu An and exclaimed, “You’re suspecting me?”
You have successfully trolled Zhang Zitong for +111 +111 +111…
Xiao Jianren couldn't help but ask, “Sir Eleven, is there some kind of misunderstanding? Sir Seven treated Miss Zhang with great importance. Why would she do something like that?”
The Silver Token Envoys nearby all nodded.
Zu An didn’t explain and only looked straight at Zhang Zitong. He said, “At first, intentionally or otherwise, you mentioned King Yan Manor or Sir Huo as possibilities. Later, you deliberately rushed into King Yan Manor, forcing us to go against King Yan Manor.
“Afterward, whenever we hit a dead end or went somewhere else, you always redirected us back to King Yan.”
The other Silver Token Envoys shivered. When they recalled everything that had happened, Zhang Zitong had indeed done such things. It was just that at the time, they had felt that she was enraged by Golden Token Seven’s death and was in a rush to get revenge, so they hadn’t suspected her.
Zhang Zitong took a deep breath before saying, “Sir Eleven, I actually felt respect for you before, but you’ve really disappointed me this time. We Embroidered Envoys need proof when we do things. Isn’t this a bit too forced, to charge me with a crime with just this?”
“Of course there is proof,” Zu An said with a sigh. “You’ve hid it quite well all this time, but unfortunately, you were in too much of a rush when you were trying to accuse King Yan. You actually knew King Yan Manor’s secret study’s details perfectly. You even knew the exact weight of that account book. In order to make it so that the replacement wouldn’t trigger the alarm at all, you had to have held that account book before.”
Zhang Zitong’s expression changed. She said, “I already said that as long as people are involved, there will always be some clues. I merely looked into the artisan who participated in the creation of the secret room to find out that information.”
“Ah, I also looked into that artisan you talked about. They worked on the construction of King Yan Manor, but they only worked on the outside of the study. They didn’t know a thing about the interior. How could you have obtained this information from them then?” Zu An asked, looking at her coldly.
“I…” Zhang Zitong finally revealed a bit of alarm. “There are a few other craftsmen I didn’t give the names of, to ensure their safety. This was something I promised them.”
“Then you can tell us their information now. We’ll look into it ourselves,” Zu An said, pointing at the others. “Even the lowest among us are Silver Token Envoys. I believe none of us would leak this information.”
“Right, Miss Zhang, hurry and tell us. We will definitely ensure their safety!” Xiao Jianren said as he looked at Zhang Zitong nervously. There was even a pleading look in his eyes.
“Sure. They’re at…” Zhang Zitong said, gradually becoming quieter. Xiao Jianren couldn't help but move closer to her to listen.
Suddenly, Zhang Zitong twisted his arm, revealing a dagger from her sleeves and pressing it against his neck.
Xiao Jianren had constantly been trying to find ways to get closer to her, and yet she had always maintained some distance from him. He hadn’t expected their first close interaction to be in this kind of situation! His face fell, turning ashen.
The other Silver Token Envoys’ bodies went completely taut in preparation for a battle. With her reaction, how could they still not know what was happening?
Zu An looked at her calmly and asked, “Do you think you can still get away?”
Zhang Zitong’s face paled. A hint of stubbornness and unwillingness appeared on her face. She asked, “When did you begin to suspect me?”
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