Chapter 179: The Advisor Is a Scoundrel

Mu Ruyan naturally missed the wind metaphor in Yan Jing's words.

She looked at Yan Jing, her eyes rippling with veiled affection, and spoke softly.

"Advisor, aren't you here to search Wanhua Fang? Someone needs to search my room, too. Come on in. You can search me however you like."

She leaned gently against him, enveloping him in the heavy scent of rouge and powder.

Yan Jing smiled faintly and took a step back, letting her fall against thin air.

Meeting her resentful gaze, he chuckled.

"I'm not fond of searching rooms that everyone else frequents."

"You—"

Her expression twisted. Hit right in a sore spot in front of everyone, her arms trembled with anger.

"Search the place!"

Yan Jing waved his arm. His azure sleeve snapped like a flag, and the men beside him immediately swarmed into the open rooms.

Even the closed doors were kicked in. The unlicensed prostitutes, along with their regular patrons and bodyguards, were dragged out one by one.

"Why is no one searching this room?"

Yan Jing looked at his two lieutenants and pointed at Mu Ruyan's room.

"..."

The two lieutenants exchanged a glance. One stepped forward and whispered in his ear, "Advisor, we saved this one for you."

"Didn't I say I wasn't going to search it?"

Yan Jing's voice boomed down the hall.

"Then..."

The two officers exchanged another look and asked hesitantly, "Should we do it, then?"

"Search it!"

Yan Jing didn't hesitate.

Joy flashed in their eyes. After a brief show of deferring to one another, one secretly promised the other a cut of the spoils and eagerly stepped up.

"After you, Miss Mu," the man said with a beaming smile.

A chill flashed through Mu Ruyan's eyes.

This bastard really thinks just anyone can lay a hand on me.

Once we're in that room and on that bed, I'll drain every ounce of cultivation you've built up over the years.

Yan Jing took all of this in. He smiled and said nothing.

The two of them entered the room and shut the door behind them.

But less than a few minutes later, Mu Ruyan shrieked from the inner room.

"What the hell is this?!" the lieutenant roared.

"No, no, no! Please don't tell anyone, sir..."

Mu Ruyan begged.

But Yan Jing had already kicked the door open with his men, finding the two of them with their clothes in disarray.

The lieutenant's eyes had held a trace of hesitation, but the moment he saw Yan Jing in the doorway, he scrambled off the bed without even pulling his pants up properly. He dropped to one knee and presented the object in his hand.

It was an Embroidery.

Black thread was stitched across the pure white fabric:

To Ruyan, From Mei Changfeng.

The men behind Yan Jing immediately paled at the sight.

This was indisputable proof!

"Well, well!"

Yan Jing's voice boomed.

"No, no, no! It's not what you think, advisor! Listen to me!"

Mu Ruyan scrambled off the bed in a panic and pleaded with him.

"There's nothing to explain!"

Yan Jing radiated killing intent.

"Confess! What is your relationship with Mei Changfeng? Why do you have this Embroidery? Where is he hiding?!"

He hammered her with three consecutive questions, his voice growing louder with each one as all the color drained from Mu Ruyan's face.

"I—I don't know! It was last night! I received this Embroidery last night, but at the time it—"

"Then why didn't you report it to Commander Wei immediately?!"

Yan Jing cut her off.

"No, no, no! It didn't have these words back then! I thought it was just a normal Embroidery! It didn't say this—"

"Are you trying to tell me this Embroidery changed on its own?"

Yan Jing interrupted her again.

"Yes! Yes, exactly! It changed on its own! I didn't—"

"Then tell me, how exactly did it change?"

Yan Jing cut her off for a third time.

"I... I..."

Mu Ruyan was completely panicked, utterly unable to come up with an explanation. In just a few short seconds, she was dripping with sweat. Her hair was a mess, and her lips were completely bloodless from sheer terror.

"Arrest her!"

Yan Jing waved a hand, then turned his glare on the lieutenant.

"Arrest him, too!"

"What? No, advisor, it has nothing to do with me! I just got here, advisor, I'm innocent!"

The lieutenant panicked as well.

He hadn't expected to be dragged into this.

The two of them were quickly restrained, though they continued screaming their innocence.

"I'm innocent, advisor! I swear I'm innocent..."

"Advisor, I just walked in! It couldn't possibly be me..."

Yan Jing chuckled.

Of course he knew they were innocent.

He was the one framing them, after all.

Only the person framing you knows exactly how innocent you really are.

"Fine, since you both claim to be innocent!"

Yan Jing took a deep breath.

"I'll give you one chance."

"..."

Hearing this, a spark of hope returned to their faces. They looked at Yan Jing eagerly.

"Thank you, advisor! Thank you!"

But Yan Jing's next words scared the souls right out of their bodies.

"I'll go report this to Commander Wei and let him decide what to do with you."

The two of them nearly fainted on the spot.

If Yan Jing was the only one who knew about this, there was still room to maneuver. Once he investigated it properly, the matter might just blow over.

But if Wei Nantian found out...

The lieutenant trembled violently, a dark stain spreading across the crotch of his pants.

He had literally pissed himself in terror.

Whether he or Mu Ruyan was more of a coward was up for debate, but he definitely understood Wei Nantian's ruthlessness far better than she did.

Just the thought of Wei Nantian's methods and temper was enough to make his eyes roll back in his head. He passed out completely.

Standing nearby, the other lieutenant broke out in a cold sweat.

He silently thanked his lucky stars that he wasn't the one who had gone into that room.

This new advisor was clearly unhappy about his colleague taking liberties during a raid, which was why he had struck such a ruthless blow.

Little did he know, Yan Jing didn't care about the room at all.

He was only after one thing.

Selling the performance.

He was currently playing the role of a devoted player advisor who would do anything to see Wei Nantian take the county head seat. Therefore, everything he did had to appear to be for Wei Nantian's sake.

If anyone's actions threatened to poke a hole in that logic, they had to die.

It was just like he had told Wei Nantian yesterday.

You can't control people just by using other people.

In a place like Bianliu County, all you had to do was look at Big Landlord Lin and Boss Bai to realize that controlling people's hearts was the only real solution.

And as for how to control people's hearts...

The simplest way was a massacre!

Only, Yan Jing didn't actually want Wei Nantian to win their hearts.

He needed Mei Changfeng to do it.

Wei Nantian could do the killing, but the people couldn't be allowed to fear Wei Nantian. Yan Jing was merely borrowing his momentum.

They were in Bianliu County now. If he tried to play the same games he had used in Old Sin City, no one would buy it.

The only way to carve out a territory here was to become even more ruthless and fanatical than the locals.

A short while later, he arrived at the gates of the courtyard where the Wei Faction was stationed. Just as they had agreed, he bowed outside the gates and shouted, "Commander Wei! We have a situation!"

"What is it?"

Wei Nantian opened the gates and strode out of the courtyard.

"There's a situation at Wanhua Fang! We found the bastard's trail!"

Yan Jing shouted at the top of his lungs, making sure his voice carried to everyone around them.

"Oh?!"

Wei Nantian's voice filled with rage. "Take me there!"

He stormed over to Yan Jing's side and whispered, "You planted the evidence, right, advisor? Like I said, if we're going to kill the chicken to scare the monkey, we need a righteous pretext."

"I haven't planted anything yet, Commander Wei."

Wei Nantian's face fell.

"What do you mean?"

"We genuinely found something belonging to Mei Changfeng at Wanhua Fang."

Yan Jing quickly explained the situation.

Violent killing intent instantly erupted from Wei Nantian. Standing within the halo of its influence, Yan Jing watched as the blood-red aura surged, growing so thick it practically materialized into a towering giant behind Wei Nantian's back.

"If Wanhua Fang is really involved with him, I'll slaughter every last one of them!"

Wei Nantian roared, his eyes bloodshot.

He wasn't acting anymore. His heart was genuinely boiling with murderous rage.

"You mustn't, Commander Wei! You mustn't!"

Yan Jing reached out to hold him back, purely putting on a show.