Chapter 1 青银炮弹的火光

The firelight of the azure-silver cannon shell illuminated half the sky.

A flock of crows beat their wings furiously, rising into the sky, but they were only slightly disturbed by the air current, and were not seriously affected.

After a moment, the area returned to silence.

Song Ci carried the weakly struggling Tōse Takamasa back to the small courtyard, where the Hei Zaki-gumi's extraordinary individuals were all over the place. Chen Li was counting the number of people and cleaning up the "battlefield."

None of these people were killed; they were all stunned.

This was Gu Shen's intention, to keep them until after the interrogation, and then decide what to do with them.

"Bang!"

Tōse Takamasa was thrown heavily to the ground. This dignified patriarch was now covered in bruises, clearly having been beaten badly.

Song Ci's expression was gloomy as he brushed the dust off his shoulders. "There, I've brought the man."

"Thanks for your trouble."

Gu Shen smiled. "How was the taste of the azure-silver cannon shell?"

"I'm fine, just some superficial scratches. I'll be good in two days. This old bastard likes to play tricks. I'll clean him up properly after you finish interrogating him!"

Song Ci said irritably, waved his hand, and left to clean up the battlefield with Chen Li outside the small courtyard.

"Mr. Takamasa, I won't waste time with you."

Gu Shen crouched down, looked at the Tōse family patriarch, and said softly, "I'm here for the matter of 'Tōse Tsuki'."

As soon as the name Tōse Tsuki was mentioned.

Tōse Takamasa's eyes were extremely shocked. He looked at the "evil ghost" in front of him in disbelief.

Tōse Tsuki was the "invisible person" in the family.

In the past fifty years, the family had not seen such an excellent genius. In order to cultivate her, the family had spent countless resources, and had been avoiding the eyes of the council everywhere. Therefore, Tōse Tsuki had not even participated in the [Deep Water Zone Trial]...

They paid such a great price just to send Tōse Tsuki to the Source Tower.

Even if she couldn't become a divine envoy.

At least she could become a trusted "divine official."

The family's transfer had already begun... Tōse Tsuki was a very important chess piece, but he had heard that there were some flaws in the divine envoy trial at the Source Tower.

Tōse Tsuki hadn't sent a message to the family for a long time.

What exactly had happened?

He had no way of knowing.

"Father..."

Tōse Ii, who was tightly bound, looked at the family head. He had never heard the name Tōse Tsuki, but from his father's eyes, he could see some clues.

"Who are you, and what are you doing in Ying Hai?"

Tōse Takamasa shouted in a low voice, "I've never heard of 'Tōse Tsuki', and I don't know what you're talking about!"

Slap!

A crisp slap in the face caused Tōse Takamasa to spit out a mouthful of blood.

"I told you I don't have time to waste."

Gu Shen said coldly, "I'll give you two choices. One, I'll kill Tōse Ii in front of you, and then search your spiritual sea."

"I know you have a 'spiritual lock,' but guess what the odds are that I can forcibly complete the disassembly with my strength?"

"..."

Tōse Takamasa clenched his teeth tightly.

The evil ghost in front of him had unfathomable strength.

He had seen it before the battle started.

The two in front of the small courtyard were just thugs...

This guy was the real leader! Someone who could control a "titled one" and make these two top experts listen to him couldn't be an unknown person.

But in Dongzhou, who could achieve this kind of status?

Mrs. Nan Zhi of Da Du, or the five great families of Nagano?

"Two, I can give Tōse Ii a way out, but you have to identify the mastermind behind the scenes."

Gu Shen said calmly, "I've searched this guy's spiritual sea, and it has nothing to do with your family's plans... According to the law, he can live. But if you refuse to confess, he must die."

Tōse Takamasa was silent all of a sudden.

The energy that supported his toughness and rage was instantly drained by Gu Shen's words.

He no longer wasted his time trying to figure out Gu Shen's identity and origin.

It didn't matter anymore.

The Tōse family's plan had been discovered... He had known for a long time that one day it would be settled.

But he didn't expect it.

The reckoning would come in this way.

Looking at the family head who had suddenly become dejected, Tōse Ii asked anxiously, "Father... what is he talking about? Our family's plans, what does this mean?!"

"Mr. Takamasa, I'll give you three minutes to consider."

Gu Shen was not in a hurry. He gave the father and son the last moments alone, and he was not worried that Tōse Takamasa would commit suicide.

The moment he saw "Tōse Takamasa," he had everything under control.

Gu Shen slowly stood up.

This light rain showed no sign of stopping.

The distant mountains were shrouded in mist. Tonight, the darkness would not recede, and there would be several consecutive days of rain. It was said that this was due to abnormal weather in the East Sea.

This was a weather anomaly caused by a typhoon entering the mainland.

Three minutes later.

Tōse Takamasa seemed to have aged ten years. He raised his head and asked in a hoarse voice, "How should I address you?"

"It doesn't matter."

Gu Shen said indifferently, "I just need you to make a choice, one or two."

"Ii is innocent."

Tōse Takamasa looked at Gu Shen, trying to plead, but when he saw the latter put his hand on Tōse Ii's shoulder with a blank expression, he knew that this trick wouldn't work.

The other party looked like a fierce ghost, but his heart was as hard as iron.

So he begged in a trembling voice, "I'll confess... I'll confess everything. I only have one request, don't touch him."

……

……

Tōse Takamasa was taken to the basement.

His last wish was to be interrogated alone. He didn't want anyone to see this scene.

Gu Shen agreed to this request.

"Before I confess... I have a letter in my arms." Tōse Takamasa took a deep breath and smiled, "You can take this letter out first to verify the 'truth'."

Gu Shen snapped his fingers.

Tōse Takamasa's haori was torn open, and a neatly folded letter flew out, landing on the table.

He didn't open it immediately, but gently tapped the table and said, "Alright, you can speak now."

"Hoo..."

Tōse Takamasa took a deep breath, then mocked himself, "This matter is too big, too complicated. I don't know where to start."

"Speak slowly, speak carefully."

Gu Shen said calmly, "I have patience."

"Okay..."

Tōse Takamasa slowly said, "The Tōse family is one of the three great families in Ying Hai, alongside the Ishizuka and Kamiya. The three great families of Ying Hai rose from the Ido Islands, cooperating with each other to gradually dominate Ying Hai... The five council seats, apart from one assigned by the Da Du district, the other four are firmly occupied by the three great families. Thirty years ago, the person in power in the Tōse family was not me, but my father, Tōse Shōzō."

Tōse Shōzō was the titled one of the Tōse family!

He was an old man of the same era as Gu Qilin. The title that the Dongzhou Federation initially bestowed on Tōse Shōzō was [Sea Serpent]. As a titled powerhouse who had made great achievements, Tōse Shōzō did not stay in Nagano, but returned to the remote land of Ying Hai, saying that he wanted to return to his hometown. The Dongzhou Council could not reject this request.

So Tōse Shōzō returned to Ying Hai and pushed his family to the highest point.

In this remote place, having a titled one supporting them was like having a pathway to the heavens.

Gu Shen listened patiently, without urging him.

"Tōse Shōzō's retirement to his hometown from Nagano was not just because he missed his hometown..."

Tōse Takamasa said calmly, "He hopes that 'Ying Hai' can break away from Dongzhou and take power independently."

"Oh?"

Gu Shen raised his eyebrows. He had heard a lot of such rumors. Ying Hai's attitude towards the mainland had always been ambiguous, and many people looked down on the mainland.

However, after Da Du grew rapidly, the situation in Ying Hai had changed.

As Tōse Takamasa said, the three great families occupied four of the five council seats.

That was actually a thing of the past.

If any of the five councilors in the Ying Hai district were unwilling to obey the political views of Lu Nan Zhi and Chen San, they would be immediately kicked out.

The current three great families, the Tōse family, were not as strong as they were thirty years ago.

The most powerful "Kamiya family," holding two council seats, also listened to Da Du's orders at any time.

After Lu Nan Zhi took office as a councilor, the struggle in the Jiangnan region began silently and ended silently. Without bloodshed, it was settled.

Whether it was the Kamiya, Ishizuka, or Tōse, after meeting with Da Du, they realized the fragility of their power.

The resources that Hua Zhi could mobilize in conjunction with the five great families of Nagano far exceeded their imagination.

So they only had one choice.

Surrender.

The "unification" of the Jiangnan region was also the premise for the North-South autonomy of Da Du and Nagano.

To fight against external threats, one must first pacify the internal troubles.

If the internal strife in Dongzhou was not settled, it would not be possible to continue cooperating with Central City.

"I didn't even hear a single whisper of such news."

Gu Shen's low sigh caused Tōse Takamasa to laugh.

The family head smiled with lowered eyes, "You must be a big shot, whether from Nagano or Da Du... Big shots stand too high, and they often overlook things. There are many things you don't know."

Gu Shen paused for a moment: "... Continue."

"After the three great families landed in the Ying Hai district, the Ido Islands were gradually abandoned. Many islands that had been exploited to exhaustion had lost their value, but the Tōse family continued to purchase them." Tōse Takamasa asked with a smile, "Guess why?"

It wasn't hard to guess.

Gu Shen said, "Cultivating assassins."

"Not bad..." Tōse Takamasa smiled even more happily, "Tōse Shōzō cultivated his own assassins, and the number is extremely large... Half of the Ido Islands are now Tōse family bases."

Gu Shen scrutinized the Tōse family head.

From the beginning, he had noticed that Tōse Takamasa did not show respect for his father in his words.

The Ying Hai district was very particular about etiquette and hierarchy. The "etiquette" of this place had become somewhat pathological and deformed.

The appearance of this phenomenon indicated a problem.

He said somewhat sadly, "So... you are just a puppet of the Tōse family."

Tōse Takamasa, the family head who seemed so glamorous, actually had no real power.

Whether it was his status as a councilor or the authority of the family head, it was all fake.

The word puppet was both appropriate and inappropriate.

Tōse Takamasa already possessed a certain amount of power.

This so-called Hei Zaki-gumi was the "affiliated force" that he had organized, but the power that belonged to him, the family head, was far from comparable to the senile Tōse Shōzō.

The reason why he had his current position was.

It was only because the elderly Tōse Shōzō wanted to retreat behind the scenes, so he pushed him to the front.

As for the "Hei Zaki-gumi" and other actions...

Presumably, Tōse Shōzō had seen them all.

The titled one didn't care about these methods, and was too lazy to pay attention to them.

From beginning to end.

Tōse Takamasa's resistance was a joke.

"I'm not interested in the history of the Tōse family."

Gu Shen shook his head and said, "I want to know who is standing behind Tōse Shōzō."