Chapter 171: General-in-Chief

Hearing the dentist's words, Li Changqing let out a heavy sigh of relief in his heart.

This single sentence was more than enough to prove Hu Xiong's innocence.

Zhuo Qingqiang was slightly stunned, standing in place for a moment before turning his gaze toward Zhang Guichuan.

Seeing the bureau chief give a slight nod, indicating that the dentist was trustworthy, Zhuo Qingqiang's eyes filled with a trace of remorse. He quickly stepped forward, ready to unlock the iron chains binding Hu Xiong.

"Team Leader Hu, I was just too anxious about Brother Xia's death." Realizing he had wronged Hu Xiong, Zhuo Qingqiang readily expressed his apology.

"Hold on." Hu Xiong raised a hand, signaling Zhuo Qingqiang not to rush the unbinding just yet.

Zhuo Qingqiang paused slightly, then said with stubborn sincerity, "Team Leader Hu, don't hold a grudge. Whatever anger you have, beat me up afterward, and if I, Zhuo Qingqiang, let out a single groan, I'm a bastard."

Coming from the rigorous background of the Investigation Bureau, he wasn't the type to refuse owning up to his own mistakes.

"Do you take me for someone that petty?" Hu Xiong narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "I'm just wondering what kind of person would secretly try to harm me, and what their purpose was in framing me."

Upon hearing this, Li Changqing immediately grasped Hu Xiong's intent. "You mean we should keep up the act? Draw the snake out of its hole?"

Hu Xiong nodded, his face solemn, and then looked at Zhuo Qingqiang, asking, "Did Miss Yanyan really tell you herself that she had never bitten me?"

"Team Leader Hu, are you saying that Zi Yanyan is suspicious?" Zhuo Qingqiang patted his chest. "I'll go drag her back here right now."

Though Hu Xiong desperately wanted to chalk this whole affair up to mere coincidence, his years of experience in the Investigation Bureau told him there were no such things as mere coincidences in this world.

Reluctant as he was to admit it, Zi Yanyan indeed appeared highly suspicious.

"Changqing, Old Bai, Minghao, go and invite Miss Yanyan back here," Zhang Guichuan said sharply, catching the conflict on Hu Xiong's face, and added a specific reminder: "As long as Miss Yanyan cooperates, treat her with courtesy."

"Understood," Bai Chuan agreed without a moment's hesitation.

Li Changqing and the other two turned and hurriedly left, making their way toward Zi Yanyan's residence.

"Chief, Old Zhuo, you two should go back and rest for a bit as well," Hu Xiong suggested from inside his cell.

Zhuo Qingqiang still wore a look of lingering guilt. "Team Leader Hu, once this matter is settled, I'll buy you a drink to apologize."

"One drink won't cut it, make it ten." In truth, Hu Xiong was quite displeased with Zhuo Qingqiang's previous actions, but it fell well within the realm of understanding.

After all, Xia Yi and Zhuo Qingqiang shared many years of deep friendship.

When all was said and done, they were still colleagues; how else could Hu Xiong handle it? Should he act like characters in a novel and fight to the death over a mortal feud?

Neither Zhuo Qingqiang nor Zhang Guichuan lingered long by the cells.

Not long after Li Changqing, Bai Chuan, and Li Minghao departed, Zi Yanyan, dressed in a flowing scarlet gown, slowly approached the gates of the Thirty-Sixth Bureau.

That vibrant, crimson dress looked hauntingly like a bridal robe.

"Supreme General, I have come."

With those words, Zi Yanyan no longer suppressed the corpse qi within her body.

A monstrous surge of corpse qi erupted like a violent gale, instantly enveloping the entire Thirty-Sixth Bureau.

Zhang Guichuan, who had just returned to his office to rest a moment earlier, was jolted to his feet in shock by this intense, overwhelming wave of corpse qi.

He stared out the window in sheer astonishment, his gaze sharp as a blade. "Where on earth is a Corpse King coming from?!"

"Brother Hu Xiong! I've come to save you!" Zi Yanyan shouted loudly. Then, locking onto Hu Xiong's exact location with her formidable corpse qi, she shot directly toward the direction of the cells like a streak of light.

The personnel of the Thirty-Sixth Bureau had just rushed out from their respective rooms when Zi Yanyan had already arrived outside Hu Xiong's cell.

"Miss Yanyan?"

Hu Xiong was utterly stunned by the terrifying aura of corpse qi. Seeing the woman standing outside his cell radiating such violent energy—and realizing it was indeed Zi Yanyan—hit him like a bolt from the blue.

For an instant, he felt as though he had been struck by five bolts of lightning, dizziness washing over him.

The feeling was utterly indescribable.

So the problem really did lie with her.

But why?

What could possibly be her reason for doing this?

Why frame him, only to turn around and rescue him now?

And given her immense strength, had she truly wished him dead, he would have found it difficult to resist.

Could any of this possibly make sense?

"Who... exactly are you?"

With a wave of her hand, Zi Yanyan instantly shattered the iron chains and the cell door.

The heavy chains and iron gate dissolved into fine powder and cascaded to the ground.

"Supreme General." Zi Yanyan walked lightly into the room, her delicate hand taking hold of Hu Xiong's as a flicker of anxious worry surfaced in her eyes. "Have you truly forgotten me?"

Confusion washed over Hu Xiong's face; he could make neither head nor tail of her words.

"You will remember. You always will," Zi Yanyan said with a gentle, blooming smile. "Come, let us leave this place."

At that moment, Zhuo Qingqiang arrived at the scene. Harboring deep guilt toward Hu Xiong, he had rushed over immediately upon sensing the terrifying Corpse King breach the perimeter and head straight for Hu Xiong's cell.

"Was it you who killed Brother Xia Yi?!" Zhuo Qingqiang's eyes blazed with hatred as he drew an exquisite long sword.

Zi Yanyan offered a faint smile. "It was not."

How could she possibly confess to such a deed? After all, the people she had slain were all Hu Xiong's colleagues.

"Then it is still connected to you!" Blinded by grief over Xia Yi's death, Zhuo Qingqiang had completely forgotten that he was facing a formidable Corpse King.

Seeing Zhuo Qingqiang charge toward her, a smirk touched the corner of Zi Yanyan's lips as she prepared to strike.

"Stop!" Hu Xiong shouted in panic.

Hearing that single word, Zi Yanyan's hand paused mid-motion.

*Shatter.*

The long sword pierced deep into her chest.

Fresh blood sprayed into the air.

As he watched the blood erupt from Zi Yanyan's chest, Hu Xiong felt as though his brain had been struck by an invisible force.

A splitting headache slammed into him instantly.

"Ah!" Hu Xiong clutched his head tightly in agony.

Deep within his mind, a stanza echoed repeatedly:
*How much more fragrance turns the hair all white, yet red cicadas grow more dense and bright.*
*Leisurely thoughts arise in idle talk of old, who holds such heights within your lofty hold?*

In the next second, Hu Xiong collapsed into unconsciousness.

"Supreme General! Supreme General!"

Zi Yanyan pulled the sword from her wound and with a casual sweep of her palm, batted Zhuo Qingqiang away without taking his life.

She scooped up the unconscious Hu Xiong, noticing that even in sleep, his face remained contorted in pain.

"General, my General." Zi Yanyan gritted her teeth slightly, cradling him in her arms as she charged out of the Thirty-Sixth Bureau. No one could halt her path.

Li Changqing, Bai Chuan, and Li Minghao, who had not yet traveled far, felt the terrifying explosion of corpse qi from the bureau and rushed back immediately.

As their car pulled up to the front gates, they caught sight of Zi Yanyan carrying Hu Xiong away at breakneck speed.

"Old Hu!" The three of them tried to give chase, but Zi Yanyan's speed was simply too terrifying for them to keep up.