Master of Strange Dao

Shan Daoyu was engaged in a battle with a figure clad in dark green attire, his face hidden behind a mask.

Yu Ziqing walked unhurriedly, observing the three from the Shadow Department.

"No need to thank me, I just didn't want you to die out there. Soon, Shan Daoyu will escort you back to the Capital City.

By the way, how long has it been since the Shadow Department changed its cipher?"

One of them paused before responding.

"The cipher was last changed ten years ago."

The severely injured Seventh Tier struggled to bow in gratitude.

"Thank you, sir, for your intervention."

They knew well that someone like Shan Daoyu, venturing out for the first time, wouldn't anticipate an ambush.

They had tried their best to remain concealed along the way, yet they had still been intercepted.

Their pursuer seemed extremely familiar with their route and methods of concealment.

Meanwhile, Shan Daoyu and his companion were merely heading straight for the Capital City, only attentive to the fluctuations of the battle, completely unaware that they had already been led astray twice.

Yu Ziqing did not focus on the battle; his gaze was fixed in the direction of the Dali Imperial City, his brows slightly furrowed.

He suspected that the incident might not have been the chief director's doing after all; it wasn't the chief director who had captured Song's son, either.

Because it was always a step behind.

...

Inside the secret chamber, the chief director was surrounded by dozens of documents floating in front of him.

Each document related to a child, all of whom had been kidnapped.

Meanwhile, the chief director held another document whose content had already been organized.

One of his spies, nearing the end of his life, cultivated an Evil Skill to extend his lifespan, buying children from Human Traffickers.

Among the children captured by the Human Traffickers, three had disappeared before the chief director unexpectedly discovered something unusual about Song Chengyue; the rest had all been saved by a person with a crooked mouth and hideous features.

The document in his hands made it clear: among the three missing children, two lacked fathers.

One of them had a father who was a local and had died early, and his mother was also a local.

The other was a little girl named Shi Sisi, whose mother had come from Kuihou Country and died accidentally; her father's name was that of a Kuihou Country citizen, but he had disappeared.

Song Chengyue had inexplicably appeared near the city where Shi Sisi was located.

Moreover, even though Song Chengyue patched up his oversight immediately afterwards, he had used his planted spy to learn that Song Chengyue acted first and then made up an excuse.

The chief director looked at the document and laughed joyfully.

"Song Chengyue, oh Song Chengyue, you have deceived everyone under heaven.

I once thought you truly were a typical South Qian man.

Latterly, I thought it was a flaw you intentionally created, a pretext fabricated out of anger to commit murder.

Only later did I realize, you had actually displayed the truth openly, to confuse everyone.

Your mixture of truths and lies truly makes it uncertain whether you are genuinely from South Qian, or just pretending."

The chief director browsed through the detailed documents.

Upon reading the letter delivered to him, Song Chengyue was actually infuriated to the point of laughter.

Then he had the messenger imprisoned in the Prison, and this matter was not concealed from the public.

Since then, to outsiders, it appeared as though it was one of Song Chengyue's enemies, too frightened to seek revenge, playing petty tricks to humiliate Song Chengyue and expose his faults.

But the chief director was certain Song Chengyue was genuine because he knew Song Chengyue had children, all of whom had unfortunately passed away.

Previously, someone had indeed forced Song Chengyue by employing this tactic, and it had been effective.

However, looking at Song Chengyue's response now, it seemed he was confident that his child would be safe.

Just as trouble arose, a master of unknown origin immediately came forth to rescue his child.

Yet, he couldn't find any information on who this person might be; they had never appeared before.

At this very moment, one of his spies met their end due to natural causes, devoid of any marks from secret techniques, but the surroundings had been cleaned by someone, making tracking impossible.

Clearly, this was not the first time the perpetrator had committed such acts.

Unexpectedly, Song Chengyue still had other forces hidden up his sleeve.

He looked at the dozens of documents in front of him.

All of them were children who had been kidnapped within those three days, all between the ages of six and twelve.

He knew the people of South Qian too well, all thanks to Song Chengyue.

When Song Chengyue had just come to power, he was the first to delve deeply into the people of South Qian.

Valuing males over females was a must; even if Song Chengyue hid it deeply, that ingrained obsession would inadvertently reveal itself.

Before he came to power, many things were obtainable, especially during Song Chengyue's youth, many matters couldn't be concealed.

He felt that there must be more than what meets the eye to make Song Chengyue lose composure and reveal flaws.

This guy must have quite a number of children hidden away.

With so many previously deceased, the importance of those who are still alive increases.

Then, he used his own channels to obtain this intelligence.

Dozens of children who had been kidnapped in those three days.

He looked through the information, eliminating them one by one.

In the end, he was left with three, all of them boys.

Among them, there surely must be Song Chengyue's son, perhaps even all of them.

Just a daughter would never cause Song Chengyue to lose his composure to such an extent.

With Song Chengyue's status, and the deeds he has done, there are plenty who want to oppose him, and many enemies as well.

This time, it's unknown who found out about all this.

But the chief director felt that it no longer mattered who among Song Chengyue's enemies had done this.

No matter who did it, now it was he who had done it; he wanted to make sure Song Chengyue knew it was his doing.

Moreover, he planned to snatch all these kidnapped children as well.

How could he ignore such a splendid opportunity?

After much deliberation, he pulled out all the documents of those who could not be entirely ruled out as suspects.

In total, seventeen boys and six girls.

All within the borders of Dali.

And at the very least, all from wealthy families among mortals.

Some of them were even members of major families.

He listed those twenty-three documents, compiled them into a list, and burned it in a copper basin.

Tendrils of light smoke rose and then dissipated.

He wanted all twenty-three children.

As long as he could control Song Chengyue, his previous losses could be significantly recouped from another angle.

As long as it was confirmed that they were not Song Chengyue's children, they would be released, considered as lifesaving, without exposing the spies he had planted.

Doing such a good deed, nobody would suspect.

No matter who wanted to oppose Song Chengyue, it didn't matter anymore, after the fact all would have to be silenced; consider it unfortunate for them, but it would be assisting Song Chengyue in eliminating an enemy.

After all, anyone capable of using such tactics against Song Chengyue was surely not a formidable opponent.