I play the role of Jiajing in Zongwu: What crime have I committed?

Zhu Houcong, who had been controlling Zhu Shou as a puppet, had been tracking him all the way, and now the truth was finally revealed.

Lin Chen was slightly taken aback, then coughed up blood and laughed, "So you came for the Dragon Seeking Technique. Alright, I agree."

"If you save me from this ordeal, I will tell you the secret of my martial arts."

"No, Pavilion Master Lin."

Zhu Shou shook his head, pointed behind him, and said, "Your life is hanging by a thread. You have no right to negotiate with me. You must hand over the Dragon-Seeking Manual now before I will save your life. Otherwise, you will surely die."

"I don't trust you. What if you get the technique and then turn your back on me?"

"You have no choice but to trust me. Now, make your decision."

"To die here, or to take a gamble?"

"Xiaomeng will be here soon."

Lin Chen stared at Zhu Shou and sneered, "Since you're after the Dragon Seeking Technique, I don't believe you'll watch me die. Once I'm dead, you'll never get the technique again."

"Sigh, there's no basic trust between people."

Zhu Shou shook his head and sighed, a helpless expression on his face.

"Alright, then I'll save you first!"

As he spoke, he walked towards Lin Chen, squatted down, and made a gesture as if he was going to carry someone on his back.

"I'll carry you on my back, and we'll leave before the pursuers arrive."

"good."

Lin Chen nodded weakly; at this moment, he had no other choice.

Just as Lin Chen lowered his guard, a cold glint flashed in Zhu Shou's eyes.

His hand, which was about to help, suddenly turned from a palm into a claw, and he used all his strength to strike Lin Chen's dantian.

boom!

The palm strike landed squarely on Lin Chen's Qihai acupoint, and the violent true energy surged into his meridians like a flood.

"you…"

Lin Chen's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief.

He was already seriously injured and had no way to resist this sudden sneak attack.

He could only watch helplessly as his life's work crumbled like a burst dam.

The dantian is shattered, and the meridians are severed.

"puff!"

A mouthful of blood spurted from Lin Chen's mouth. He stared intently at Zhu Shou, his eyes filled with shock and resentment.

His body swayed, and finally he collapsed to the ground, completely unconscious.

Zhu Shou sneered, reached out to check Lin Chen's pulse, and after confirming that he had lost all his martial arts skills, he tossed him onto his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"If you won't talk, I have ways to make you open your mouth."

He whispered something to the unconscious Lin Chen, then hoisted him onto his shoulder and vanished in a flash.

When Xiaomeng arrived, she saw a pool of dark red bloodstains amidst the withered branches and fallen leaves.

There was not a single person in sight beside the bloodstains.

"A step too late..."

She lightly touched the bloodstains with her slender fingers, then her gaze followed the messy footprints.

Two sets of footprints were found on the ground.

One pair was unsteady and staggering, the other was steady and powerful.

Is someone here to meet Lin Chen?

A cold glint flashed in Xiaomeng's eyes, and the Qiuli sword was drawn three inches from its sheath with a clang.

They continued chasing after it.

As soon as Zhu Houcong returned to the Wanshou Palace, he immediately issued an imperial edict.

The Langya Pavilion Master, Lin Chen, massacred over ten thousand soldiers of our Great Liang. His cruelty was unprecedented, and his crimes are heinous, arousing the wrath of both gods and men.

From this day forward, Langya Pavilion is hereby declared a demonic cult, to be eradicated by all under heaven. All disciples of Langya Pavilion shall be killed without exception, and those who harbor or conceal them shall be punished as accomplices.

The imperial edict caused a sensation throughout the land.

Lin Chen's portrait was soon plastered in front of the government offices of various prefectures and cities, and the news spread to every corner of Daliang.

Chapter 181 Lin Chen, the Human Pig

Xiaomeng followed the clues all day, only to find that the person who rescued Lin Chen was acting strangely, wandering around outside the city before quietly sneaking back to the capital.

Ultimately, it vanished without a trace, like a clay ox sinking into the sea.

Left with no other choice, she had to return to the palace to report back.

Xiaomeng walked into Wanshou Palace with a solemn expression, and bowed to Zhu Houcong through the layers of curtains.

"Your Majesty, I have failed in my duty. The thief has fled back to the capital with Lin Chen, and there has been no trace of him."

"I suggest that the patrol battalion be dispatched immediately to search every house and find this devil."

Behind the curtain, Zhu Houcong spoke calmly, "Xiaomeng, calm down."

"His Majesty!"

Xiaomeng stepped forward, her tone unusually anxious.

"Although Lin Chen is seriously injured, if he recovers his strength, the consequences will be unimaginable. At that time, even I may not be able to stop him."

"That's enough."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houcong slowly stood up and walked to Xiaomeng.

"Come with me."

Xiaomeng was startled, but then she saw Zhu Houcong walking out of the Wanshou Palace, so she quickly followed.

Xiaomeng knew Zhu Houcong's strength as a Grandmaster, so Zhu Houcong did not hide it from her.

The two transformed into two afterimages, passing through numerous palaces, and finally arrived at a secluded hall.

Zhu Houcong waved his sleeve, and the heavy palace doors opened silently.

At that moment, a strong smell of blood wafted over.

In the dim candlelight, Zhu Shou stood with his hands hanging down.

Before him stood Lin Chen, nailed firmly to a cross made of black iron.

Five iron chains bound his limbs and neck respectively.

Two dark iron rings pierced through his collarbone, suspending him in mid-air.

Blood dripped down the iron chain, pooling on the ground in a dark red stain.

Xiaomeng's pupils contracted sharply when she saw the figure.

"This is... Lin Chen?"

Zhu Houcong stood with his hands behind his back, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"I told you, there's no need to rush, because he has never escaped my grasp."

Having played his part completely, Zhu Shou immediately knelt respectfully on the ground: "Your Majesty, I am fortunate to have fulfilled my mission."

Xiaomeng stared at all this in shock, then suddenly understood.

It turns out that all of this was part of the emperor's plan.

Zhu Houcong strolled into the hall with his hands behind his back and continued, "Having mobilized thousands of troops to encircle and suppress them, how could I possibly let him escape?"

"Why doesn't Your Majesty execute him directly?"

"Of course, it's because of the secret he carries."

Zhu Houcong stopped in front of Lin Chen and flicked the iron ring that pierced through his collarbone with his fingertip.

"Xiaomeng, have you ever heard of the Four Great Divine Skills?"

"Four great magical powers?"

Xiaomeng frowned upon hearing this.

"Unheard of."

"The so-called Four Great Divine Skills refer to your Taoist Free and Easy Wandering, the Dragon Seeking Technique that Lin Chen learned, the Yangzhou Slow and the Overbearing True Qi of the Cloud Mist Mountain of the Great Stream Dynasty."

"Lin Chen's strength is so great because he learned the Dragon Seeking Technique."

"A carefree journey?"

Xiaomeng gasped in shock.

She was very familiar with this technique; it was the ultimate martial art of the Taoist school.

Even though it was divided into three, it created three top-tier forces: the Heavenly Sect, the Human Sect, and the Yin-Yang School.

One of the ancestral precepts of the Taoist Tianzong sect is that each successive sect leader must take it upon themselves to collect the complete version of the Xiaoyao You (逍遥游) cultivation method.

"good."

Zhu Houcong pointed to the dying Lin Chen.

"The Dragon-Seeking Technique he cultivates is on par with the Free and Unfettered Journey Technique. Otherwise, how could he move freely among thousands of troops?"

"Looking across the world, although the great masters of Qin and figures like Ye Liuyun of Qing have broken through to the Grandmaster realm through their own talent, they are ultimately inferior to those who cultivate divine-level techniques."

He turned and stared at Xiaomeng.

"Since you have cultivated one-third of the Heavenly Sect's 'Free and Easy Wandering,' you must have a deep understanding of it."

"That's true."

Xiaomeng nodded slightly. When she fought with an ordinary Grandmaster before, the opponent could not even last ten moves against her, and was no different from a ninth-rank martial artist.

"That's why I want to capture him alive. How can such a divine skill as the 'Dragon Seeking Technique' be left to the world?"

With a glance from Zhu Houcong, Zhu Shou picked up a bucket of icy water and poured it mercilessly at Lin Chen.

The icy water made Lin Chen shudder and slowly open his eyes.

It must be said that the Grandmaster's vitality is truly remarkable; even after suffering such a severe injury, he is still alive.

"Ha... So it was you, you dog emperor."

After seeing the person in front of him clearly, Lin Chen forced a bitter smile.

Zhu Houcong stood with his hands behind his back and said calmly, "Lin Chen, I told you you couldn't escape. Hand over the Dragon-Seeking Technique, and I might grant you a complete corpse."

"Pah, wishful thinking."

"Even if I die, I will never tell you a single word."

"Is that so? You don't care about your own life, but what about Mei Changsu's?"

Zhu Houcong spoke calmly, a cruel smile playing on his lips.

"Sect Leader Mei of the Jiangzuo Alliance, your close friend, right?"

"I can kill him at any time."

"Mei Changsu?"

Lin Chen suddenly threw his head back and burst into laughter, his laughter tinged with sarcasm.

"You dog emperor, you actually thought I cared about that sickly fellow? Let me tell you the truth, Mei Changsu is nothing more than a pawn in my control of the fourteen prefectures of Jiangzuo."

Zhu Houcong frowned slightly upon hearing this.

"You're lying to me. You've been plotting for him for years, helping him take revenge, and even risking your life to ambush the four Grandmasters. How could you possibly treat him merely as a pawn?"