What do you mean by saying that the corpses I sew are all ominous creatures?

But that's not where my doubts lie.

I put the file back on the desktop and looked at Lu Yan, asking:

"Since the Qi family is a pawn, it's normal for them to be discarded as a sacrifice."

But what I don't quite understand is that organizations like the Guardians of the Cauldron have always preferred to hide in dark corners.

Knowing full well that the Qi family was likely to be completely exposed, why did they still let them stay in this mess and fight to the death?

I paused, gathered my thoughts, and continued:

Logically, their most correct course of action right now is...

Shouldn't they immediately sever all ties with the Qi family, then go into complete hiding and avoid the brunt of the state apparatus?

What's the point of leaving the Qi family here to hold out?

My words caused a slight silence to fall over the office.

Li Qing also realized what was happening, and slapped his thigh, saying:

"That's right! Old Chen is right."

Those bastards guarding the tripod are as cunning as ghosts; how could they possibly do such a losing business?

What exactly does Jiangcheng have that makes them so determined to keep the Qi family locked in a deadly battle here?

Moreover, they both forced the Qi family to transfer assets and prevented the Qi family members from leaving.

Isn't this just the left and right hemispheres fighting each other?

Hearing Li Qing's somewhat vulgar complaints, Lu Yan's face did not show any smile; instead, her eyes became even more profound.

She placed her hands on the desk, looked at us, and said calmly:

"It's very simple, because there's something that the guardian of the cauldron is determined to get inside the Jiangcheng branch."

The guardian of the cauldron also needs to use the Qi family as a pawn to divert attention and most of the police force.

This is a tactic they consistently prefer to use.

As she said this, Lu Yan's tone carried a hint of sarcasm.

Looking into her eyes, it was as if a lightning bolt struck my mind, instantly bringing to mind the earth-shattering event that had occurred a few months ago.

That time, it was also in Jiangcheng.

What a huge spectacle the people guarding the tripod made throughout the city to break the seal beneath the City God Temple!

They first destroyed the feng shui core of Jiangcheng, creating a terrifying "Three Killings Upside Down" formation.

Then he orchestrated the Shadow Sect to mobilize all its forces and set up a hundred ghosts sealing the gates in the Jinxiuyuan residential area, which even triggered a hundred ghosts parade throughout the city.

The sky was filled with black fog, the rain poured down, and there were high-level corpse demons and evil spirits that were causing the entire Jiangcheng branch of the Public Security Bureau a great deal of trouble.

There was also the earlier incident of the underground palace and the corpse domain, and their first attempt to refine pills with living people in the reservoir in order to attack the City God Temple.

What they excel at is using a seemingly massive disaster to cover up the core interests they truly want to seize.

The current situation is remarkably similar to those previous times.

The Qi family, a powerful clan that has been deeply entrenched in Jiangcheng for decades.

At this moment, in the eyes of the guardian of the cauldron, its role is no different from that of the evil spirits who were used as cannon fodder in the Brocade Garden.

"As for why the Qi family was allowed to transfer assets..."

Lu Yan stretched out a slender finger and gently tapped the thick stack of bank statements on the table.

"I think that was just a way for them to appease the Qi family."

Only in this way can they prevent the Qi family from completely collapsing when faced with official pressure.

Thus, they could squeeze every last bit of value out of Qi Jia.

As I listened to Lu Yan's analysis, I leaned back in my chair, my brows furrowing inwardly.

What a vicious scheme, what a cruel psychological warfare.

When people face a desperate situation and see no hope, they often choose to fight to the death.

If the guardian of the tripod directly tells the Qi family, "You have been abandoned, prepare to die."

Who knows, the Qi family might turn on the guardian of the tripod, or even surrender to the authorities in exchange for leniency.

However, the guardian of the tripod gave them false hope.

They tacitly approved, and may even have secretly helped the Qi family transfer huge sums of money to offshore accounts overseas.

This created a misconception throughout the Qi family:

As long as we can withstand this blow from the Folklore Bureau, as long as we can buy enough time.

Once this storm passes, we can go abroad, take that much money that we could never spend in several lifetimes, and continue living the life of the elite.

For the sake of this illusory future, the Qi family members will definitely be more motivated to work in the future.

Human nature.

And then, combined with the City God Temple incident that I just recalled...

The scattered clues in my mind were now connected by an invisible thread.

I pulled my wandering thoughts back and looked at Lu Yan, seeking confirmation:

"The only thing the guardian of the cauldron is looking for is the two keys I got from Qiu Feng a while ago, right?"

Could it be that the so-called treasure vault, which requires three keys to open, is related to the Nine Cauldrons?

Upon hearing this, Lu Yan slightly loosened her clasped hands.

She glanced at me with some surprise, a hint of undisguised admiration flashing in her eyes.

She sighed softly and exclaimed, "Chen Yang, you are really... too smart."

Sometimes I even think that putting you in a funeral home as an embalmer is a waste of your talents.

After saying that, Lu Yan stopped keeping everyone in suspense. She nodded firmly with a serious expression.

"That's right, according to the highest-level intelligence provided by the General Administration, which combines various secrets."

The treasure vault, which requires animal-head drumsticks, military tallies, and imperial seals to open, most likely contains fragments of the Nine Cauldrons.

I thought to myself, "Just as I expected!"

In this way, all the seemingly illogical parts become understandable.

No wonder the guardian of the cauldron was so ruthless this time, even going so far as to uproot the Qi family, which had been built up over so many years, and discard them as pawns.

Since it concerns the Nine Tripods of the Nine Provinces, it seems reasonable for the guardians of the tripods to resort to any means necessary.

Faced with the Nine Cauldrons, a supreme treasure involving the very foundations of heaven and earth, the survival of the Qi family was not a difficult question for the guardians of the cauldrons to weigh or decide.

"Fragments of the Nine Cauldrons..."

Upon hearing this, Li Qing repeated it to himself.

Lu Yan glanced at the two of us, then shrugged and said:

"So, now you two know, right?"

This incident will not only drive the Qi family, who are driven to the brink, to take drastic measures.

The guardian of the cauldron, hidden in the shadows, will certainly act without hesitation.

I sat in the chair and nodded slightly.

Having learned the cause and effect, and understood the enemy's true objective, I felt incredibly calm.

The feeling was like standing in the eye of a storm; though the wind and rain raged all around, my mind remained clear.

I didn't ask Lu Yan what level of expert the headquarters had sent to provide support, nor did I ask her how she planned to set up the defensive formation.

Those are things that superiors and commanders need to worry about.

I haven't forgotten why I left Tingyuxuan today and came here to find Lu Yan.