Chapter 86: Manufacturing Evidence

Chu Tianxing, the fourth young master of the Chu family in Jiangshui City, is at the Star Sea Peak.

The Qingyun Demon Hunting Squad is a team raised by the Chu family, usually hunting Star Demons in the wild.

The Chu family has immense influence. In Jianghai Province, many city garrisons have Chu family members in significant positions.

Zhao Qianjun was placed in Jiangcheng by the Chu family.

As for why Chu Tianxing didn’t recognize the ring in his hand at first glance…

“So, the soldier Lu Wuhai bribed earlier was Zhao Qianjun?” Jiang Changkong asked.

“It wasn’t a bribe at all. Zhao Qianjun acted under the Chu family’s orders. Without their approval, he wouldn’t have protected Lu Wuhai.”

The long-haired middle-aged man explained.

Jiang Changkong understood: “I see. Then what’s the situation with this Special Star Demon?”

“This one was captured by Zhao Qianjun to be presented to the Chu family…”

Zhao Qianjun couldn’t capture the Special Star Demon himself, so he planned to transport it to Jiangshui City and hand it over to the Chu family.

However, a Star Demon at the Star Sea Peak emerged from the depths, breaking the Alloy Iron Cage holding the Special Star Demon.

In the chaos, the Special Star Demon escaped and fled to the vicinity of Jiangcheng.

It happened to be spotted by Li Qiuchuan, who reported it to him.

Zhao Qianjun didn’t dare to leak the news about the Special Star Demon but couldn’t deal with the Star Sea Peak Star Demon either.

He could only notify the Chu family to send someone, which is why Chu Tianxing came.

Before Chu Tianxing arrived, Zhao Qianjun had already taken action, hoping to capture the Special Star Demon himself.

Unable to handle the Star Sea Peak Star Demon while also trying to capture the Special Star Demon, he could only send soldiers like Xiao Hu to delay the Star Sea Star Demon.

As for their lives?

Zhao Qianjun didn’t care at all. Apart from his personal guards, no one else knew about the Star Sea Peak Star Demon.

That’s exactly what he did. Afterward, he would claim ignorance and attribute the casualties to that.

The Special Star Demon had been fitted with an outdated military Tracking Device by Zhao Qianjun.

For non-outdated devices, the military conducts daily inspections, requiring reports on their use and approval from a commander of ten thousand. Zhao Qianjun couldn’t use them privately.

He could only use the outdated ones, which could only lock onto a general area and couldn’t track accurately.

Jiang Changkong nodded and withdrew his Star Power: “You may leave.”

“Thank you, thank you.” The long-haired middle-aged man’s face lit up with joy as he repeatedly expressed his gratitude.

He also glanced at the person beside him. Keep it a secret? To hell with that—he wasn’t the Chu family’s loyal dog.

“Mmph, mmph.”

The short-haired middle-aged man trembled excitedly, but unfortunately, his mouth was blocked by Star Power, preventing him from uttering a single word.

Jiang Changkong waved a hand, dissipating the Star Power: “Impatient to die?”

The short-haired middle-aged man gasped for breath and quickly spoke up: “I… I want to add something. He… he didn’t finish.”

Since it was already said and he could survive, he couldn’t just die like this.

“Go on,” Jiang Changkong said with a smile, handing the two severed hands back to the long-haired young man: “Hurry up, and they might heal.”

“Thank you.” The long-haired middle-aged man expressed his gratitude and turned to leave.

“The Qingyun Demon Hunting Squad has a total of eighteen members. They have no overt connection to the Chu family. Although raised by the Chu family, they aren’t blindly loyal.

Usually, the captain gives the orders and liaises with the Chu family.”

Seeing his companion leave, the short-haired middle-aged man felt completely at ease: “The captain is at the Star Gate Initial Stage and possesses extraordinary strength.”

This was also why Chu Tianxing didn’t recognize the ring in his hand.

The third brother he killed had no contact with Chu Tianxing, nor did he know the third brother had a Hidden Star Ring.

“Not die-hard loyalists? The Chu family really raised you all for nothing.” Jiang Changkong sneered with a hint of mockery.

The short-haired middle-aged man awkwardly forced a smile but dared not say anything.

Jiang Changkong’s expression turned cold. “If that’s all you have, you won’t survive. Who are the members of the Qingyun team?”

“We are all Martial Artists from Jiangshui City, ordinary Martial Artists. We were deceived by the Chu family and ended up working for them,” the short-haired middle-aged man hurriedly explained.

Jiang Changkong’s gaze darkened. “Do you think I’m easy to fool? Or do you believe I can’t uncover the truth about the Qingyun team?”

The short-haired man trembled and fell silent for a moment before saying, “The Qingyun team is a group of desperadoes, secretly threatened and controlled by the Chu family through their vulnerabilities. That’s why we worked for them.”

“Desperadoes, huh.”

Jiang Changkong murmured softly. A flash of blade light followed, and a head flew through the air.

Catching the head and wrapping it in cloth, Jiang Changkong swiftly dashed into the overgrown weeds.

The long-haired middle-aged man hadn’t gone far. Through his heightened senses, Jiang Changkong could detect the panicked footsteps of someone running in haste.

Fire sprang from his feet as he treaded fire to travel. In no time, he had caught up with the man.

“J-Jiang Changkong, w-what do you want?”

The long-haired man’s face paled with fear as he involuntarily took a few steps back.

“To kill you.”

Jiang Changkong raised his long blade once more, and a gleam of light arced through the air.

“You said you’d let me go…”

The head flew upward, blood spurting into the sky.

“I never keep promises with enemies, just as I never drink toasts with foes.”

Jiang Changkong muttered quietly to himself. Even Cao Ye understood this principle—why couldn’t they?

“Without their heads, their Essence is diminished.”

Jiang Changkong extracted 350 points of Essence from each of them, bringing his total Essence to over 30,000 points.

Carrying the two heads, Jiang Changkong set off for the meeting place he had arranged with Liu Feng and the other man.

Upon arriving at the designated spot, the two had not yet arrived. Jiang Changkong was in no hurry and waited patiently.

About half an hour later, Liu Feng and the other man cautiously approached.

Jiang Changkong stood up and looked at them. “Over here.”

“Changkong.”

The two relaxed slightly and said, “We’ve placed the phones, but we can’t guarantee they’ll record anything useful.”

“Earlier, I was ambushed by Chu Tianxing’s men…”

Jiang Changkong recounted the events, including the matter of the Qingyun Demon-Hunting Team.

“Zhao Qianjun—that scourge from the military?”

Both of their expressions changed simultaneously.

Jiang Changkong lowered his voice. “Yes, that’s what I found out. If you need evidence, I don’t have any.”

“Without evidence, we can’t bring down Zhao Qianjun,” Liu Feng and the other man said with grim expressions.

“I can fabricate evidence, but I’ll need your help. This will involve significant risks,” Jiang Changkong said solemnly.

The two were taken aback and asked, “How can we fabricate evidence?”

“Back in the Martial Market, I acquired a batch of explosives. I still don’t know what to do with them,” Jiang Changkong said calmly.

The two exchanged glances, a flicker of understanding crossing their faces.

“As long as the explosives appear in their tents and we insist on it, even if it’s just mud in their pants, they won’t be able to wash it off.”

Jiang Changkong nodded. That was the idea, but the challenge was how to plant the explosives. Moreover, they needed to ensure the other soldiers would side with them.

Liu Feng sneered. “We’ll need your help with this. We’ll leave here early tomorrow morning. Tomorrow, you lead a group of Star Demons to block the path and then strike from the shadows. As long as Zhao Qianjun senses danger, he’ll abandon everyone, including his own troops.”

“Please also trouble you to obtain some first and second-order stellar stones to win them over. This way, our group can still claim some credit.”

Zhang Mo pondered and said, “However, both Zhao Qianjun and Chu Tianxing are very strong. How do we eliminate them?”

“After the deed is done, you all stay away. I will prepare bombs in advance to severely injure them, then step in to finish them off,” Jiang Changkong said.

“It seems Changkong has quite a few bombs on hand.” The two of them smiled in relief.

“It’s settled then. I want the Star Demon tracker on Zhao Qianjun,” Jiang Changkong said.

“We guarantee that no one will leak information about this Star Demon. Right now, the brothers are all worried that they might be the next to die,” Liu Feng said with a laugh.

Being able to survive is already good enough, and they can even earn some credit. Why would they leak information about the Special Star Demon?

As for the Chu family causing trouble afterward?

They wouldn’t come after small soldiers like them. Besides, if something like this happens and the Federation doesn’t hold the Chu family accountable, it would only mean the commander of Jiangcheng is incompetent.

Jiang Changkong touched the ring on his left hand. He had never known what to do with this batch of bombs, but now they would come in handy.

Now, it was time to deliver a big gift to Chu Tianxing. These two heads were just right for the occasion.