Bao Xiren was enraged when he heard this.
But Gongsun Ce secretly pulled his sleeve from behind.
The chief official of the capital office was startled at first, but then he immediately came to his senses. He had already made a mistake and had hidden hostility and prejudice against Sun Lang. His previous words and actions were extremely inappropriate.
Gongsun Ce was right. Although the capital office was a high-ranking official of the imperial court, in terms of rank, he was far inferior to the Shentse General. Moreover, Sun Lang was a senior general of Tianyuan and had made great contributions. According to the imperial court's correct policy of giving preferential treatment to the meritorious officials of Tianyuan, Bao Xiren had to treat him with respect.
But he had just met him, and without greeting him, he had directly and aggressively questioned him. It was as if he had preemptively set the other party as a criminal. This kind of thing happened between the capital office and an ordinary citizen, not to mention between two important officials of the empire. It would be considered the behavior of a corrupt official even if it happened between the capital office and an ordinary citizen.
Bao Xiren had already realized where the problem was.
Now, his impression of Sun Lang was extremely complicated. This extremely tangled feeling would affect his judgment and behavior, causing his thoughts to no longer be calm and clear. He had to adjust.
Lord Bao quickly adjusted his state of mind. After reflecting on his mistake, he solemnly cupped his hands and bowed. "I am Bao Xiren of the capital office. Greetings to the Shentse General. Please forgive me for my lack of manners."
Lord Bao's companions saw this and bowed in unison. "Greetings to the Shentse General!"
Sun Lang glanced at the attendants behind Bao Xiren. His gaze paused for a moment on Zhan Zhao's cat ears, and then moved away without leaving a trace. He cupped his hands and returned the greeting. "Lord Bao Xiren, you don't have to be so courteous. It's just that something happened just now and I'm feeling a little down. Please don't take my words to heart."
Pangji, who had gone to deliver the message, failed. After Chi Lianyan and Sun Lang started arguing, Lord Bao, who had been paying close attention to the Copper Sparrow Pavilion, received the news.
He was the governor of the capital, the mayor of the capital. Of course, this matter was within his jurisdiction. This was a brawl between two Sword Saints on the streets. Moreover, he was familiar with Sun Lang's temperament and methods. If he beat up the Fire Sword Saint on the streets with a single punch, it would be disastrous.
Unfortunately, even though he had rushed over, he was still too late. After greeting Sun Lang, he saw the charred corpse lying on the ground and the Sacred Fire Sword floating beside Sun Lang. His heart sank.
The worst case scenario still happened.
He looked at Sun Lang, and there was some hostility in his tone. "May I ask, general, who is this?"
Sun Lang said calmly, "His name is Chi Lianyan. It is said that he is the newly promoted Fire Radiance Sword Saint."
Bao Xiren said through clenched teeth, "It is said?"
Sun Lang said indifferently with his hands behind his back, "This is the first time I've seen such a weak Seven Luminaries Sword Saint."
The Seven Luminaries Sword Saint was almost at the peak of the Empire's martial artists. As a peerless expert, he wielded a peerless weapon. He was a peak that all martial artists looked up to, a guardian revered by the Empire's citizens, and the most destructive killing machine on this planet. The word "weak" did not seem to be related to him at all.
However, these words coming from Sun Lang's mouth were so convincing that no one could refute them.
Bao Xiren said in a deep voice, "In other words, the victim was accidentally killed by the general?"
As soon as he said this, the generals behind Sun Lang unsheathed their swords and shouted in unison, "Impudent!"
Sun Lang waved his hand, "This is a murder case. Lord Bao has judged the case impartially, so it's not strange for him to ask such a question. Judging a case should be based on suspicion and evidence, not identity and status. He did the right thing."
The considerate general looked at Bao Xiren and said indifferently, "This matter has nothing to do with me. This newly promoted Sword Saint was instigated by someone to make things difficult for me. I rebuked him in the name of righteousness and convinced him with the truth. When he realized his mistake and was about to reveal the name of the mastermind, he was suddenly killed …"
Sun Lang pointed at the holy sword floating in the air, "If I'm not mistaken, he died from the backlash of the holy sword and the backlash of his true qi. In other words, the Fire Radiance Sword killed him."
Even with Bao Xiren's shrewdness, his expression changed when he heard this way of death.
He then looked at Sun Lang, his eyes flashing with suspicion. His lightning-like eyes stared fixedly at the general, as if trying to find a flaw in him.
Perhaps it was his preconceived prejudice, or perhaps it was his intuition from solving countless cases, but Bao Xiren felt that Sun Lang was lying through his teeth and that Chi Lianyan's death was very likely caused by this guy …
However, evidence was needed to solve a case, not to mention that he was accusing an important minister of Tianyuan. Making the same mistake once was enough. He couldn't make it too obvious.
"Please forgive this humble official for speaking bluntly, but the Imperial Army's backlash is unheard of. Moreover, it's the Seven Luminaries Sacred Sword, a national treasure. I'm afraid the general's explanation is somewhat … fantastical."
Sun Lang smiled, but his smile was very cold, "Sir, do you mean to say that I killed Chi Lianyan?"
Bao Xiren replied fearlessly, "This humble official does not dare to make presumptions due to insufficient evidence. However, according to the general's words, you were the last person who interacted with the deceased before he died, and also the one who interacted with him the most. Moreover, with your powerful martial arts, you do indeed have the ability to kill the deceased. As such, you are indeed suspicious."
The Tianyuan soldiers on Sun Lang's side had already begun to curse. The onlookers also became restless when they heard this, and the impatient ones were already loudly calling out the general's innocence.
Faced with the hostile, disdainful, dissatisfied, and suspicious gazes from all sides, Bao Xiren's expression remained resolute. As long as the truth was out, he would have a clear conscience.
The capital governor tidied up his official robes and bowed solemnly, "This is a matter of great importance. Please, general, allow me to investigate in detail."
The soldiers couldn't hold back any longer and immediately cursed, "Bullsh * t!
You still want to detain Commander Of War? Do you believe that I won't flatten your capital governor's office! "
Lord Bao raised his voice, "This is a matter of life and death. Why can't I act according to the law?
As the saying goes, if a prince commits a crime, he will be punished the same as a commoner. Even if you are the Shentse general, if you are suspected, you will have to cooperate with the investigation according to the law! "
Sun Lang said with a faint smile, "Do you really think so?"
Bao Xiren's eyes widened in anger, and his voice was sonorous, "Of course!"
Sun Lang nodded, "Good. I have heard that Lord Bao is impartial and impartial. You are famous in the capital for your strength. You are not afraid of officials, and you rebuke nobles. You are a good official praised by the people. I believe that your character is trustworthy. Since that is the case, how about you assist me in investigating this case?"
Lord Bao was stunned. I want to f * cking investigate you, and you want me to help you?
What do you mean?
He frowned and said, "What does general mean?
I am stupid. Please tell me more. "
Sun Lang pointed at the dried corpse on the ground and said calmly, "The great Fire Sword Saint was instigated and threatened. Just as he was about to reveal the truth, he was suddenly killed. This is shocking. Our dynasty has been established for hundreds of years, and this has never happened before. In my opinion, this must be related to a great conspiracy …"
He looked at Bao Xiren and said in a serious tone, "I suspect that this matter is related to my raid on the Copper Sparrow Terrace and the massacre of the Sky Demon remnants yesterday. This is very likely a counterattack by the Sky Demon remnants hidden in the imperial court. They are so crazy. This matter must be investigated thoroughly."
Hearing this, Lord Bao was so angry that he almost laughed.
You f * cking dare to mention this in front of me?
He felt more and more that Sun Lang was behind Chi Lianyan's death. He must find a way to kill him.
Bao Xiren said, "Forgive me for speaking bluntly, but it is better to clarify the truth of Chi Lianyan's death and clear the general's suspicion. Otherwise, even if you want to investigate the truth, I am afraid it will be difficult to convince the public …"
Sun Lang pointed at the people present and said, "Everyone here saw the cause and effect of this matter clearly. If you don't trust me, you can ask my subordinates. If you don't trust them, you can ask the people around. If you don't trust the people, you can ask the dozens of intelligence personnel from various government agencies and high sects. Under the eyes of everyone, this matter cannot be faked. Right or wrong, the people will know."
Bao Xiren thought for a moment. Indeed, he could not be too hasty, so he nodded and said, "Of course."
He turned his head and whispered a few orders. Gongsun Ce and a few other capable scholars spread out and asked the people, intelligence personnel, and Tianyuan soldiers. Then he looked at Sun Lang and said, "General, please tell us …"
Before he could finish, Sun Lang turned around and gave him the back of his head. "I'm sorry, Lord Bao. I still have to think about this matter and have no time to play games with you. Anyway, with your prejudice against me, no matter what I say, you'll be suspicious."
Lord Bao did not give up and wanted to ask more questions. Sun Lang skillfully took out his official status and said, "With your rank, you are not qualified to ask me questions. You can ask the emperor for an imperial edict."
After being rebuffed, Lord Bao left in a huff.
With the investigation of the people of the capital government, the cause and effect of the matter gradually emerged.
Chi Lianyan provoked him on the street. Sun Lang showed up and scolded him. Step by step, he forced the arrogant Chi Lianyan into a desperate situation. His scheme was so vicious that Bao Xiren and Gongsun Ce could not help but be speechless. No wonder he was a famous general of Tianyuan. He could be so insidious.
Bao Xiren, in particular, broke out in a cold sweat when he heard that Sun Lang had almost dragged Chi Lianyan straight to the golden palace to summon the emperors and courtiers for a confrontation. He repeatedly said, "That was a close call. If this brat had really caused such a farce, the imperial family would have lost all face."
Eh … wait …
It seemed that Sun Lang's suspicions were not high …
He clearly had victory in his hands. Why did he have to kill Chi Lianyan?
Under such circumstances, bringing Chi Lianyan to the golden palace to confront the emperor was the best choice. Because talking about the secret of the Great Wilderness Mountain in front of the officials was the same as forcing the emperor to abdicate. The emperor had no other choice but to compromise. In this way, Sun Lang's fabricated story was approved by the imperial family. It could be said that he had won a great victory.
There was no need to kill Chi Lianyan.
Because after the matter … the emperor would do it for him.
Under such circumstances, the only person who had the motive to kill Chi Lianyan was …
Thinking of this, Bao Xiren's heart became hazy.
He felt a little disgusted.