107: frame

"You... why are you guys here?" the Great Xia Spirit Guard named Tao Lin said, his face pale as he looked at the two men walking out.

"Very good, keep that expression; that way I can get a clear shot of your face," Jiang Sheng said with a smile, a video camera in his hand.

Tao Lin immediately tried to cover his face, but it was already too late.

Jiang Sheng had already recorded everything that just happened.

He closed the camera and said with a malicious smile, "What am I doing? As a Great Xia Spirit Guard, you should know how strictly military-grade quenching thought beads are controlled. Reselling military-grade quenching thought beads privately is a felony serious enough to land you in a Military Court, isn't it?"

Tao Lin's face turned ashen as he argued, "I wasn't reselling them. This is the salary the captain gave me; I have the right to do with it as I please!"

He wasn't wrong. Although there was some control over the quenching thought beads already issued to the Great Xia Spirit Guards, it wasn't strict, and people usually turned a blind eye.

After all, it was normal for colleagues to gift or sell quenching thought beads to someone who found themselves ill-prepared when nearing a breakthrough and needed more.

Su Ze had also received quenching thought beads rewarded to him by Guo Linshan from the very beginning.

However, upon his return, Guo Linshan immediately wrote a detailed report explaining the whereabouts of the quenching thought beads, which was the most compliant way to handle it.

So, Tao Lin's matter could be seen as either big or small; theoretically, it wouldn't be particularly serious.

However, the situation would be very different if military-grade quenching thought beads were sold to someone from an enemy nation.

A middle-aged man who looked seventy to eighty percent similar to Jiang Sheng but appeared older walked up to Tao Lin; he was Jiang Sheng's older brother, Jiang Donglin.

The man in black who had been trading with Tao Lin hurried to his feet and helped Jiang Donglin lift a black figure dressed in identical clothes from the side, placing it onto the seat.

Then, they pulled back the black clothes covering the figure.

Underneath the black clothes was a young man bound to the seat, unable to move, his face bruised and covered in scars.

His breath was as thin as a thread, and he looked like he could die at any moment.

"Who is he?" Tao Lin asked in confusion, feeling extremely uneasy as he watched their series of actions.

He had originally thought Jiang Sheng had kidnapped someone important to him to threaten him, but now he realized he didn't recognize the person in front of him at all.

Jiang Sheng didn't speak, but his brother Jiang Donglin said, "Of course you wouldn't know him. This is someone I captured."

"As a Great Xia Spirit Guard, you shouldn't be unaware of the recent large-scale crackdown on Fusang Dark Guard undercover agents within the country, right?"

Hearing this, Tao Lin's expression changed several times before he finally said with difficulty, "You mean... he's a Fusang Dark Guard?"

"Exactly!" Jiang Donglin said with a smile.

Simply buying or selling quenching thought beads was indeed not a major crime; at most, it was a failure to follow regulations, resulting in a few months' pay cut at the absolute worst.

But now, the situation was different.

Selling quenching thought beads, which were vital military resources, to an enemy nation was considered treason.

This Fusang Dark Guard's previous hidden identity had been Jiang Donglin's adjutant. After his identity was exposed and he was captured...

Jiang Donglin hadn't chosen to report him. The anger from being deceived for all those years made him want to kill the man himself!

Just then, his father contacted him to assist his younger brother, Jiang Sheng, so Jiang Donglin temporarily set aside his own affairs.

After discussing with his brother, Jiang Donglin decided to make good use of this Fusang Dark Guard and let him die for a worthy cause.

"He served as my adjutant for so many years. Even though he's a Fusang Dark Guard, I have to admit he helped me a lot."

"I don't think he'll mind using his life to help me one last time at the final moment."

And now, their plan was very successful.

Tao Lin shook his head frantically. "No, that's not it!"

"The person I traded with wasn't him at all, and I didn't know his identity! You're framing me! This is a setup!"

Jiang Sheng shook his head. "You can't say that. I've already filmed everything."

"The evidence of your transaction with him!"

Jiang Sheng then shot a glance at Jiang Donglin.

Jiang Donglin immediately understood and, without hesitation, slammed a palm onto the head of the adjutant who had followed him for years. The man's eyes bulged, and he died instantly.

Now, dead men tell no tales.

"Very good! Now the story is that we discovered evidence of your treasonous transaction with the enemy, and during the arrest, we were forced to kill him because of his stubborn resistance."

"As for this person, we also have ample evidence to prove his identity as a Fusang Dark Guard," Jiang Sheng said triumphantly.

Tao Lin's expression was one of despair as he muttered, "I only did it because my daughter is sick and I wanted to get some money for her medical bills... Why... why are you forcing me like this?"

He knew he was just a small fry, not worth such elaborate scheming from the Jiang brothers.

So, clinging to a sliver of hope, he asked tentatively, "What... what do you actually want from me?"

"Simple! I want to know about that old thing Guo Linshan. Where exactly is he hiding? You former subordinates of his should know, right?" Jiang Sheng asked with a distorted face.

Su Ze was currently in the Imperial Capital participating in the Beast Taming Grand Competition, making it impossible to deal with him in public. It was better to find that Old fellow Guo Linshan first to vent some frustration.

He had been constantly sending people out these past few days to quietly gather information on Guo Linshan, but he had yielded no results.

He couldn't find him at his old home or any of his usual haunts.

Furthermore, Guo Linshan was a lifelong bachelor with no wife or children, so they couldn't even kidnap someone to threaten him into showing himself.

Their only option was to use this method to interrogate Guo Linshan's former subordinates.

But Tao Lin grit his teeth and said firmly, "You want to scheme against Captain Guo?! In your dreams! I won't tell you anything! So what if it's a Military Court? I'll go, I'm not afraid!"

Tao Lin's reaction was within Jiang Sheng's expectations; he wasn't surprised.

He simply said calmly, "You seem to be a single father, and your daughter has a congenital disease. Once you're in a Military Court and sent to prison, have you thought about what will happen to her?"

"She'll become an orphan, and no one will pay for her treatment anymore."

Then he smiled again. "But don't worry. I think you know that our Jiang Family is very happy to adopt orphans from all over the country."

"And your daughter is very cute. I have a granduncle who happens to like children like her."

"I'm sure he'd be delighted to adopt your daughter and let her live like a little princess. What do you think? Haha!"

"You bastard, don't you dare touch my daughter!" Tao Lin, filled with rage, tried to rush forward and tear Jiang Sheng apart, but he was tightly coiled by a large black snake and couldn't break free.

He could only grit his teeth, blood even seeping from the corners of his mouth from the sheer force of his clenching.

"Well? Are you willing to talk now?" Jiang Sheng leaned in and asked.

Tao Lin tried to bite off his ear but couldn't reach.

Finally, after a desperate, tearful scream of frustration, he conceded with a raspy voice, "I'll talk..."