Chapter 584: Yan Yi's Performance

Hun Tong looked at Tu Ji, his eyes filled with expectation. He hoped Tu Ji would uphold justice, not necessarily speak on his behalf, but simply maintain impartiality.

After all, this was a joint investigation; Tan Mo's judgment wasn't the only answer.

Yet Tu Ji's expressionless face made Hun Tong sense trouble.

Tu Ji looked at Hun Tong, his tone utterly calm: “As a member of the Blood Light Punishment Institution, I am solely responsible for matters concerning necromancers.”

“Lord Hun Tong, whether you colluded with the fishmen and committed the crime of treason is none of my concern.”

“Lord Tu Ji!” Hun Tong gasped, his heart sinking.

Seeing Tu Ji stand idly by, Tan Mo turned his gaze to Yan Yi, a quiet respect for this bronze level figure rising within him.

After Yan Yi and the Wealth Bishop joined forces to persuade Tan Mo, Tan Mo had stated that without neutralizing Tu Ji, framing Hun Tong would be nearly impossible.

Yan Yi countered: Though Tu Ji was impartial and refused bribes from both him and Tan Mo, he still had a weakness.

That weakness lay in his identity and mission.

As a member of the Blood Light Punishment Institution, his foremost duty was hunting down necromancers.

Now, a second necromancer had escaped the chaos of Two Eyes Island and vanished without a trace.

Tu Ji failed to find the second necromancer on Two Eyes Island, meaning his mission remains unfulfilled. He had to continue the pursuit.

To continue the pursuit, he needed reliable, accurate intelligence.

And coincidentally, Yan Yi held precisely such crucial intelligence.

“If I present this intelligence as leverage, Tu Ji will surely be tempted,” Yan Yi told Tan Mo. “At that moment, with Lord Tan Mo present, please subtly imply that you could assist Tu Ji in the hunt through covert agents.”

Tan Mo agreed with Yan Yi's assessment of Tu Ji, but he was more concerned with the intelligence itself.

“The second necromancer possesses a Wisteria secret order. He's undoubtedly a remnant of the Wisteria Merchant Alliance and likely holds clues to the Wisteria Cache.”

“If we sell out his intelligence, how will we explain it to the Seventh Prince?”

Yan Yi immediately assured him, “This intelligence has absolutely nothing to do with the second necromancer.”

“Lord, you've seen the battle footage from Two Eyes Island. The Wisteria elder fought alongside Hong Zhu against Ya Ma and Yue Ban, revealing undead techniques."

“During the final chaos, Hong Zhu evacuated Two Eyes Island and vanished without a trace.”

“My intelligence reveals Hong Zhu's current whereabouts!”

“As a treasure hunter, she is currently on the Magnet Archipelago.”

“I estimate that after Lord Tu Ji obtains this intelligence, he will board your vessel for a portion of the journey before parting ways with you.”

“Such an arrangement would also facilitate your subsequent investigative mission, would it not?”

Tan Mo's face lit up with delight. He patted Yan Yi's shoulder warmly and praised sincerely, "Your plan is both logical and ingenious. Were you not merely bronze level, I'd consider recruiting you to my side."

Subsequent events unfolded precisely as Yan Yi had foreseen.

Yan Yi and Tan Mo coordinated their efforts to persuade Tu Ji.

On one hand, Yan Yi presented him with an offer he couldn't refuse. On the other, this constituted legitimate competition among imperial nobles, entirely within the established rules of the game.

Had Yan Yi not succeeded in his bid, Tu Ji would have been compelled to report the matter.

Yan Yi didn't demand Tu Ji's active cooperation either, merely asking him to stand aside and observe the power transition.

This undoubtedly eased Tu Ji's resistance considerably.

Hun Tong realized Tu Ji could no longer be his ally, a chill running through him. Suddenly it clicked: “Of course! Tan Mo suddenly framed me and severed ties, he must have laid extensive groundwork beforehand.”

"Tu Ji has been won over by them. Damn it!"

“You damned imperial parasite, you greedy devil! Do you know the crime of framing a ruling lord?” Hun Tong growled, threatening Tan Mo.

“You will pay for this! I refuse to believe the Empire will take only your word for it!” Hun Tong shouted.

Tan Mo sneered coldly: “You colluded with bandits, nurturing enemies for personal gain. Such a ruling lord is a threat to the Empire.”

“What crime have I committed?”

“I've purged a menace for the Empire, securing future maritime supply routes. I deserve credit, not blame!”

The two argued fiercely, soon red-faced and neck strained.

Yan Yi watched for a moment, then, seeing the moment was ripe, hurriedly stepped between them.

His voice trembled, high-pitched, as if he'd mustered all his courage for this: “My Lords, please stop arguing!”

“Quarrelling won't resolve your differences.”

Yan Yi turned to Tan Mo: “Lord Tan Mo, might you grant me a private word with Lord Hun Tong?”

A silence fell over the room.

Yan Yi pressed on, pleading, “Lord Tan Mo, let me work my influence. You might just get what you desire!”

Hun Tong snorted coldly behind him, but offered no rebuttal.

Tan Mo pondered for a moment before saying, "Very well. You two may discuss matters in the adjacent room. But you have only five minutes."

Yan Yi and Hun Tong then entered the adjoining private chamber.

Only the two of them remained in the room.

Yan Yi pleaded earnestly with Hun Tong: “My Lord, at this point, surely you must see Tan Mo's true colors clearly?”

“Bite your tongue and the storm will pass; step back and the sky opens wide.”

Hun Tong paced along the wall in the cramped room, growling repeatedly: "This is outrageous! Absolutely outrageous! On my own turf, he dares to humiliate me like this!"

“His appetite is too big, his audacity too great.”

“I couldn't produce gold coins meeting his standards, so he outright framed me?”

“I have my limits too! If pushed far enough, I'll strike down this wretched trash!”

Hun Tong's eyes blazed with murderous intent.

Yet Yan Yi sneered inwardly, unconcerned.

In his view: Hun Tong had truly grown old; his eyes dimmed by age. He still failed to grasp his true predicament, mistakenly believing Tan Mo was orchestrating everything.

The truth was Hun Tong had been dragged into a higher-level, larger-scale political struggle.

Yan Yi certainly didn't believe Hun Tong would resort to violence when cornered. If he intended to fight, why hadn't he done so earlier?

Yan Yi understood Hun Tong's current state and emotions perfectly, utterly enraged and humiliated after being provoked, consumed by extreme hatred toward Tan Mo, and so on.

After waiting two minutes and seeing no sign of Hun Tong calming down, Yan Yi deliberately remarked, "Lord Hun Tong, you cannot lay a hand on the Empire's investigators. If you do this, regardless of the truth, you will certainly not fare well. Do you wish to betray your country like Fei Hong?"

Fei Hong, a saint level powerhouse, had openly rebelled against the Sheng Ming Empire after protesting its tax increases. Within a day, he was captured and publicly beheaded.

The Sheng Ming Empire possessed overwhelming might; even a saint level traitor could be swiftly suppressed and executed.

At the word “treason,” Hun Tong shook his head vehemently. “How could I possibly betray my country?”

"What nonsense are you talking about? You know the truth better than anyone, I was framed!"

“Colluding with enemies? Betraying my nation? I never did any of that.”

"At most, you and your men contacted the Vinegar Jar Pirates. What does that have to do with me?"

At this point, Hun Tong paused, realizing his previous remark had been too far.

Yan Yi was now his sole ally; he didn't want to push this last remaining ally away with careless words, yet apologizing was something he simply couldn't bring himself to do.

After all, he was a mighty gold level, while Yan Yi was merely a lowly bronze level.

In the end, Hun Tong didn't apologize. Instead, he sighed deeply, his face darkening as his voice grew desolate: “I truly never imagined Tan Mo would strike so ruthlessly!”

“Nor did I expect to be bullied to this extent by outsiders on my own turf!”

Yan Yi sighed in sympathy: “Lord Hun Tong, from what I know of you, you're not the type to be stingy with money.”

“Remember when you personally subsidized merchants out of your own pocket to organize that clearance sale?”

"After the fishmen's island assault ended, you never made any major investments again. To this day, the Golden Flash and the light cannon tower remain incompletely repaired."

“You've publicly claimed to have salvaged countless treasures from the ocean depths, but in truth, that's not the case, is it?”

Hun Tong fell silent, then let out a bitter laugh. “Since you've already guessed, I might as well be frank.”

“It's true. I haven't obtained any treasures at all.”

“When I thought I'd reap a rich harvest, all I ended up with was a few copper coins.”

"Can you imagine? A few copper coins!"

By this point, Hun Tong's voice had grown sharp and intense, as if venting pent-up frustration.

He had indeed been bottling it up for far too long.

Such matters couldn't be spoken of openly. He had to put on a brave face, projecting an image of “financial strength” to maintain stability.

Only when merchants knew he had the means to compensate them would they continue negotiations. Had they known he was powerless, they would have long since pursued other avenues for compensation.

Yan Yi stepped forward, clasping Hun Tong's hand. “Lord, you have endured so much these past days.”

“Only now do I truly grasp your predicament, the weight of pressure and hardship you bear.”

“You've been through so much!”

Hun Tong instinctively tried to pull his hand back, but Yan Yi held it tightly.

He cleared his throat. “I know... you blame me deep down...”

Yan Yi cut him off. "Lord, I am deeply ashamed. You're right, I did think you should have some awareness, pay a price, and send the Imperial investigation team away."

"With your wealth, why covet the operational funds of my organization? You know, if this were discovered, I'd bear responsibility too."

“Now I see you were driven to desperation, with no other choice.”

"I only just learned Tan Mo intended to do this to you! That's why I rushed here immediately."

"To be honest, on my way here, I still harbored resentment, resenting you for not letting go, forcing Tan Mo to make such a bold move. It could easily end up dragging me into trouble too."

"If that happened, I'd be utterly wronged. After all, I emptied my entire fortune to present gifts to Lord Tan Mo."