Chapter 33: Lord of the Mansion
Inside the government office, Zhu Hanbin was preparing to personally meet the visitors from Bianliang.

He gave all officials half a day off, leaving only a few close confidants and staff members.

Even so, several of his trusted aides went out with his badges and never came back.

After doing all this, he finally calmed down. He then walked into the official residence, had people distribute tea to everyone in the official residence, and then sat in the main seat and pondered, "What is the purpose of Lord Cui's visit to Caozhou?"

The man called "Cui Fujun" was about forty years old, with long beard at the corners of his mouth and on his chin, a slightly round body and a fair face.

This person is different from other members of the Xuanming Sect. Judging from his appearance, he seems to be a good person.

On his left and right, there were two men in black robes sitting steadily. However, their faces were hidden under the shadow of their hoods, and no matter from which angle they were viewed, they were all black.

It's like having no face.

Zhu Hanbin's staff stood aside and just stared at them secretly, then felt uneasy.

The pale and slightly plump Cui Yu stroked his long beard, narrowed his eyes and said sinisterly:
"Meng Po heard that the five great Yama Kings had all died in Caozhou, so she ordered me and the two of us, Day and Night Wandering Star, to come here to investigate. The second year of Kaiping is approaching, and if Your Majesty heard about it, I'm afraid you would be unhappy."

Zhu Hanbin was stunned at first, then he smiled politely and said, "This is my job, and I am ashamed to have asked Lord Cui to come all the way here."

"Please don't be polite, Governor Zhu. Although we have brought many masters from the sect to Caozhou, we still need your cooperation to thoroughly investigate this matter."

Cui Yu's eyes were somewhat cold. He stared at Zhu Hanbin's face and said, "Five Yamas died in the governor's jurisdiction. The first two died during the encirclement and suppression, which is fine, but the last three died in unclear circumstances, and it was the governor who reported it. Governor Zhu is indeed somewhat to blame."

"What does Lord Cui mean by this? Are you suspecting me?" Zhu Hanbin's face darkened and he sneered, "I just have some disagreements with Jiang Yuanxin and the others, but there's no need to go to the trouble of killing them, right?"

"Besides, how can I have so many experts?"

Cui Yu said expressionlessly, "I am just reminding the governor. If you know anything, please report it to me before I find out. I can also lend a helping hand to the governor."

Finally, he knocked on the table and said indifferently: "This is also what the Ghost King meant."

"Ghost King?"

Zhu Hanbin's heart moved.

He suddenly had an idea. It was said that Cui Fujun, who was in charge of the Yinlu Division of Xuanming Sect, was a well-known martial artist. He also brought several experts with him. With the help of the martial artists he had recruited in recent days, he might be able to capture Xiao Yan and his group in one fell swoop...

By then, Xiao Yan will be dead, and who will care whether this Li Yu is real or fake, since they look the same anyway.

But I'm afraid I'll have to give up my son...

He had a gloomy face and kept weighing the pros and cons.

In fact, he already had an idea when he heard that the Xuanming Sect's headquarters was sending someone to investigate the death of Yan Jun.

He was not a fool, how could he really believe the lies of Xiao Yan? Although the fantasy he proposed was very tempting, it was just a fantasy after all. The power of the Hades Emperor was overwhelming. In Daliang, he was the most powerful person after the Emperor. How could he be defeated?
Besides, Xiao Yan was just using him for unknown purposes. How could he dare to put his life and property in his hands?
Although, if one could master a portion of the Xuanming Sect's power, it would indeed be somewhat tempting...

Zhu Hanbin's eyes flashed, and he had made up his mind.

The power over life and death must never be left in the hands of others!

We have to fight this time, even if it means getting the reputation of killing Li Yu, we have to get rid of that kid!
And there is also the Ghost King manipulating it...

"What is Governor Zhu thinking about?"

On the side, Cui Yu slowly stroked his long beard and narrowed his triangular eyes.

Zhu Hanbin suddenly realized what was going on and was about to speak.

But suddenly, what Xiao Yan said that day rang in his mind.

"If the Ghost King in the court is also a puppet of the Hades..."

Cold sweat suddenly broke out on his vest, which immediately extinguished the anger in his heart.

"What does this mean, Governor?"

Seeing that Zhu Hanbin didn't reply for a long time, Cui Yu's face darkened and he said unhappily, "I came here this time in compliance with the imperial decree of His Majesty. How dare the governor ignore me?"

He is in charge of the Yinlu Division in the Xuanming Sect, and is responsible for keeping a book of life and death, replacing the position of the Imperial City Division. Over the years, he has helped Zhu Wen eliminate dissidents and supervised the execution of many high-ranking officials from the Li Tang and other forces. There is a murderous aura in his eyes, which makes the staff standing next to Zhu Hanbin tremble.

"I have no such intention."

Zhu Hanbin finally suppressed that thought and said in a deep voice: "There was a riot outside the city at that time, and many of them were from Jin and Qi. You can start your investigation from here."

Cui Yu sneered and said, "This matter has already been known to me. If it is them, I will investigate it carefully. If they are caught, they will be killed or alive!" Zhu Hanbin frowned, feeling that he was hinting at something.

But the three people in front of him had already stood up and were about to leave.

Although Zhu Hanbin hated them very much, he had to pretend to send them off.

But Cui Yu suddenly said, "The memorial that Governor Zhu sent to the Ghost King has been presented to Your Majesty. Your Majesty was very happy to hear that the Governor wanted to return to Bianliang to see you after the New Year."

"Does His Majesty agree?"

"Of course I agree."

Cui Yu's triangular eyes kept scanning Zhu Hanbin, and he sneered in a low voice: "Your Majesty also intends to let the governor and the Prince of Jiyin go to Bianliang together."

The latter was stunned for a moment.

He only mentioned it vaguely in the letter, and had originally planned to consult Zhu Wen privately about the matter after arriving in Bianliang. How come Cui Yu also knew about it?

And now the meaning is to let him kill the king in Bianliang?

No, it was the assassination of the emperor.

Zhu Hanbin's face froze for a moment, and he asked, "Does Lord Cui know what happened?"

Cui Yu came close to him and smiled softly, "I have to ask you, the governor. Don't you know what you wrote to the Ghost King?"

The former frowned secretly, feeling that the man's eyes kept darting around, as if he could see right through his inner thoughts.

"what for?"

"I have already told the governor that I am the Ghost King's man." Cui Yu looked directly into Zhu Hanbin's eyes and whispered, "We all know that the governor wants to make further progress, and the Ghost King does not have many supporters in the court. If he performs better this time, the Ghost King will speak well of the governor in front of His Majesty."

Finally, he added: "The opportunity is fleeting, the governor must think carefully."

Although he knew that this person was deceiving him, he had done quite a few bad things in recent days. Although Zhu Hanbin's eyes were not afraid, his mind was already active.

Cui Yu stared at him closely, stroking his beard with his fingers.

Ri Ye You Xing, who was standing by, said nothing, but he knew that this was Cui Yu's favorite action when interrogating prisoners.

The sect wanted to take action against Zhu Hanbin, but he managed to cover it up last time. Although Meng Po wanted to win over Zhu Hanbin, they came to Caozhou this time to look for a second opportunity.

Unexpectedly, Cui Yu had already started to take action after only the first meeting.

Zhu Hanbin's mind was constantly turning, and the thought that he had just suppressed began to hesitate again.

The thorn Xiao Yan was stuck in his throat, and in just a few days it made him feel extremely nauseous and frightened.

Even if the Ghost King is fake, doesn't it prove that the Hades Emperor is really powerful?

If he committed himself to the army now, he might be able to save his life and property.

His mind was active, and he cleared his throat.

But at this moment, a loud voice suddenly sounded from outside.

"Your Excellency suddenly came to Caozhou, why didn't you send someone to inform the branch office in advance? I should have prepared in advance to welcome you, right?"

Cui Yu's brows suddenly raised up, and when he looked back, he saw two figures entering the lobby of the government office.

Both of them were dressed like members of the Xuanming Sect, but one of them had better clothes and armor, and his body was also stronger.

As soon as he came in, he bowed and said, "Liu Cheng, the captain of Huizhou, greets Lord Cui."

As for the other person following behind him, who was wearing a mask at this time, he glanced at Zhu Hanbin first.

The latter was startled for a moment.

He didn't need to look at the face to know it was Xiao Yan.

But this gaze was extremely cold, as if it knew what he had just thought.

(End of this chapter)