402 The Final Move II

Mo Yu asked, "Why do you need Wofu Zhexiu to open his mouth?" Zhou Tong replied, "Because no one believes that Chen Changsheng would workwith the demons. Although the death of that Mount Li disciple could make peopleuncertain, it's not enough to shake their faith, unless Zhexiu admits that theyhad done something together." As the youngest Principal of the Orthodox Academy in history, in the view ofmany people, Chen Changsheng was highly likely to become the next master of theLi Palace, the next Pope—in this world, there was no more glorious future. Itwas simply impossible for the demons to provide anything better, so there wasnaturally no basis for him to betray humanity and collude with the demons. Mo Yu silently pondered this, then asked, "Do you believe it?" Putting aside what sort of opinion the entire continent had of Zhou Tong,putting aside how cruel and terrifying Zhou Tong's methods were, everyone hadto admit that in the field of interrogation, Zhou Tong was unrivaled. "To believe or not has never been important. The most important thing isevidence." Zhou Tong continued, "So I will give that wolf youth another monthof time. In truth, that month is also for me." Seeing his calm and serene eyes, Mo Yu asked, "Even if the army is veryinterested in this matter?" The corners of Zhou Tong's lips perked, which could be considered laughing forhim. "Do you think I care?" Mo Yu said a little mockingly, "I've always doubted whether, besides theEmpress, you would actually care about anything else." Zhou Tong did not respond to these rather rude words. Changing the subject, hesaid, "In fact, there are some very interesting people and concerns that I carequite a lot about. For example, that Mount Li disciple that died. If it weren'talready confirmed that he really has died, I really would have liked to makehim my successor." Mo Yu's expression was a little odd. "Why?" she asked. "It's very rare that I see someone so filled with self-loathing. If he hateshimself so much, then presumably he really has no love for this world. Andthis, is precisely a pre-requisite to be my successor." It was only natural that Zhou Tong had no love for this world, not even a hintof compassion. "Moreover, Liang Xiaoxiao's judgment of the big picture and hisinferences on the situation were exceptionally precise. He clearly understoodthat not even his own death was enough to drag Chen Changsheng and Zhexiu intothe abyss, hence the act he played outside the Garden of Zhou right before hisdeath. He clearly divided Mount Li and the capital into two lines. Hisentrapment of Chen Changsheng and Zhexiu was just something he could easily doon the way, but his true target was Mount Li, it was Su Li. Of course, it wasalso that little girl called Qi Jian." Hearing Zhou Tong's words, Mo Yu suddenly felt somewhat cold. It turned outthat Zhou Tong had known everything, understood everything. He knew Qi Jian wasSu Li's daughter, knew of the enmity in Liang Xiaoxiao's heart, and knew thatthis had all been a plot. “You've actually known all this the entire time..." She stared into ZhouTong's eyes. Zhou Tong paid her no attention and continued, "Many people require that ChenChangsheng is colluding with the demons. Liang Xiaoxiao used the final move ofthe Mount Li Sword Style to kill himself. This truly is amazing." Mo Yu asked, "Then what do you think? Didn't you say that you cared aboutevidence the most?" Zhou Tong silently thought for a few moment, then suddenly said, "ChenChangsheng's teacher is Daoist Ji. As for the relationship between Daoist Jiand Black Robe, no one knows, so why can't Chen Changsheng collude with thedemons? In addition, Chen Changsheng is still alive. Since the Garden of Zhouis already no more and no one saw him come out the front gate despite all thepeople there, just how did he leave the Garden of Zhou? Some other door? Don'tforget, only Black Robe knows where the Garden of Zhou's other door is." Mo Yu was silent for a very long time. Finally, she said, "Originally, youreally were suspecting him." Zhou Tong stood up and walked to the doorway of the main hall. Gazing out intothe vast sky of stars in the night, he said, "The accusation made with LiangXiaoxiao's death is very powerful. By lucky coincidence, many people in thecapital need Chen Changsheng to be colluding with the demons. By luckycoincidence, Chen Changsheng's ability to leave the Garden of Zhou indicatesthat he might be colluding with the demons. So it's only natural that I want tofind out if he's really colluding with the demons or not." Mo Yu walked behind and said with a hint of warning in her voice, "HisHoliness will trust him." Zhou Tong's expression suddenly became somewhat strange. "If the Pope willstill insist on trusting him in this sort of situation, then is the Popedeserving of trust anymore?" Mo Yu suddenly felt that the sinister Qi arising from below the courtyard infront of them had come to pervade the air around them. The atmosphere aroundtheir bodies became abnormally cold. In this sort of situation, she didn't knowwhat else there was to say. "You should first make clear just what the Empress thinks about this." "Then, what do you think?" Zhou Tong held his hands behind him as he looked up into the night. His voicewas like the air after rain, and his slim figure seemed somewhat melancholy inthe night. He really seemed like some grief-ridden poet. "Me? Think about what?" "What you think about Chen Changsheng." "Do you want to die?" Mo Yu angrily shouted. Zhou Tong's expression did not change at all. He flatly said, "On that daywhen the news that Chen Changsheng is alive was relayed to capital, it wasrumored that the flowers of the Orange Garden bloomed in the middle of thenight. It seems that your mood is not bad." The anger in Mo Yu's eyes became murderous. Zhou Tong did not turn around, almost like he didn't feel her stare. Mo Yu left, and Zhou Tong began to take a walk. The entire capital and even the entire continent knew that Zhou Tong did notlike much, besides walking and personally torturing someone. He was strict when treating others, and was even more so with himself. He hadnever indulged himself in sensual desires, much less abandoned all restraint,even in his youth. He lived a very disciplined and strict lifestyle, whichcould also be described as dry and monotonous. Of course, he also wrote poems,poems that expressed his grief and concern for the country. He also wrotememorials to the emperor, essays on how old ministers were plotting against thecountry. He lived his life like a great scholar. Before the Divine Empress, hewould absolutely not be one of those ministers that slandered others, butrather a minister that would frankly speak his mind. Moreover, he was the leastcorrupt official in the history of the Great Zhou Dynasty, because he was in noway lacking money and also because nobody dared to bribe him. In the Zhou Courtyard, Zhou Tong had raised fifteen black-colored Cerberuses.This sort of powerful monster which could only be found deep in the land ofdemons possessed a terrifyingly abnormal appearance and was also incrediblyskilled in scouting and fighting. The black saliva that flowed down from itsmouth could corrode even the firmest of metals. It was most likely forprecisely this reason that Lord Zhou Tong had never been corroded bymoney—those who wanted to bribe him could never approach his home. If theyattempted to sneak into his Zhou courtyard, they would become food for thoseblack Cerberuses. Many human bones lay in the fields and forests surroundinghis home. In the late hours, ten-odd Cerberuses stood in the night. The black skinshining under the light of the oil lamp, when also illuminated by thestarlight, gave off a very weird sensation. Under the claws of these blackdemon dogs was a prison. Zhexiu was jailed in this prison. Fifty-five extremely fine metal chainspassed through his body. His skin was covered in blood, dried and fresh. Inmany places, it was even possible to make out eerie white bone. After an unknown span of time had passed, he woke up. Feeling the outside airthat came through the air vent, he somewhat painfully lifted his head. Helooked over at that place and hurriedly took in a few breaths. It was possible to see a little bit of the night sky through that air vent,along with a few stars. He opened his eyes and looked at that place, as if hewas somewhat greedily taking in the sight. The truth of the matter was that heactually couldn't see a single thing. In the depths of his pupils was a smear of lemony yellow. That was the color resulting from the Peacock Plume poison mixing with hisblood.