589: Be sensible

At this moment, the Cultivator stood there in a daze, as if waking from a nightmare.

It took him several seconds to fully regain consciousness, and his mind seemed to switch. His gaze first swept over Shen Bei in front of him, then turned to the surrounding environment, his eyes filled with extreme surprise:

"I… how did I get here? Wasn't I… Oh, right! I was attacked by an illusion!"

"What exactly happened? Did you save me?"

…

On the Imperial City's main street, night had fallen, dense smoke billowed, and sporadic flames crackled, accompanied by the pungent smell of blood and burning flesh.

Such a scene, as if a fierce battle had just taken place, undoubtedly filled the newly awakened Cultivator's heart with shock and questions, unable to comprehend what had occurred.

Faced with the Cultivator's questions, Shen Bei didn't have the leisure to explain the entire situation in detail. He spoke concisely and quickly:

"Right now, I only care about what you remember."

In Shen Bei's view, these Cultivators followed Yu Qi because Yu Qi's methods had deprived them of their minds.

Now, the means of control over the Cultivators had dissipated, and Yu Qi was as dead as could be.

The control effect naturally vanished.

This was why the Cultivator was completely unaware of what had happened.

At this moment, the Cultivator's head throbbed with pain, as if various memories that didn't belong to him, or rather, extremely unfamiliar memories, were flooding his mind.

"I… I remember I was escorting a batch of supplies, then I was attacked, and then my whole self became—"

Shen Bei raised a hand, directly interrupting the Cultivator's soliloquy: "I don't want to hear that."

Shen Bei didn't care how Yu Qi controlled the Cultivators; it was meaningless.

"Think, did Yu Qi accept Pan Fei's commission to kill me?"

Actually, Shen Bei already had some answers in his mind, but he wasn't certain.

After all, he had offended too many people in the Imperial City recently while trying to complete his daily settlement panel.

If anyone held a deep grudge against him, Pan Fei would undoubtedly be at the top of the list.

However, Pan Fei's status was too high, making him not as easy to deal with as the nobodies from before.

Shen Bei needed a clear reason and an answer to launch a fierce counterattack.

"What! It really was them!"

The Cultivator, who had also harbored suspicions, trembled in his eyes and suddenly stood up, scanning his surroundings as if facing a formidable enemy:

"These scoundrels have such audacity! How dare they control me! Where are they?"

Seeing the Cultivator's reaction, Shen Bei said calmly:

"No need to be nervous. The five Cultivators, including Yuan Zhishi, were discovered by me ahead of time for their malicious intentions, and I've already killed them."

All killed?

Shen Bei's understated words made the Cultivator's face twitch violently, and he subconsciously asked in disbelief:

"You, one person, they five, five of them, were all killed by you?"

High-level Cultivators are beings who have expanded their life force to the very limits of the human body. Each one is an army unto themselves, absolute powerhouses capable of leveling mountains and breaking peaks. Any single one could wipe out a fully armed elite unit in a short amount of time. And five high-level Cultivators, even in a place like the Imperial City, which is full of hidden talents, are an absolutely formidable force that cannot be ignored.

It was precisely because of this that the Cultivator found it unbelievable when he heard that five high-level Cultivators had all been killed by Shen Bei alone.

"Alright, these five people were arrogant and overconfident, thinking they had me cornered. Unfortunately, their skills were mediocre, which is why I defeated them one by one. I don't need to go into the specific details with you."

Everyone present who had witnessed his true strength had already become a departed soul. Shen Bei's expression remained unchanged as he glossed over it, then sneered:

"However, there's something more important to do next. You need to tell me, is Pan Fei involved in this?"

The Cultivator paused slightly, then subconsciously asked: "Pan Fei? Pan Fei, the third-rank high official?"

The Cultivator's face was extremely pale.

In his memory, he vaguely recalled Pan Fei and Yu Qi conspiring about something.

Admittedly, he wasn't in the room at the time and hadn't heard the specific content.

But past memories indicated that a few days after Yu Qi and Pan Fei met, he appeared here.

Although he miraculously survived, he seemed to have encountered even greater trouble.

Pan Fei!

That was one of the top figures in the Imperial City!

Even if the Cultivator had a hundred guts, he wouldn't dare to report anything about Pan Fei, or follow Shen Bei's lead to expose the true purpose of this life-and-death battle.

At the same time, it was clear that this guy named Shen Bei seemed intent on targeting Pan Fei.

And he himself would become the sole witness.

Was this a witness?

No.

This was a death wish!

Pan Fei was absolutely not someone to offend!

At this moment, Shen Bei slowly turned around, looking at the distant lights, a sinister smile on his face:

"These scoundrels dared to lay hands on me. Their conspiracy behind it must be extraordinary. The only living person I left alive just now preferred to commit suicide rather than reveal the truth! And then I tore him into a thousand pieces!"

"And you…"

Shen Bei slowly turned his head, looking at the Cultivator, a smirk on his lips: "If you can't provide me with some emotional value… your fate, well, it's really hard to say!"

The Cultivator shivered all over.

Shen Bei's words, both implied and explicit, carried a relentless threat of death that left the Cultivator breathless.

Reporting Pan Fei would lead to a bad end.

If Shen Bei didn't get an answer, he would die even faster!

What to do…

What to do…

The Cultivator's head buzzed.

After a moment of silence, the Cultivator finally gritted his teeth and said: "No, there's no Pan Fei."

The Cultivator felt that this was the only answer that could save his life.

After all, he was controlled; he didn't intend to harm Shen Bei, who was a Night Watcher.

It was all Yu Qi's doing.

The fault wasn't his.

Or not a capital offense.

Night Watchers should also follow procedures, right?

And Pan Fei could not be offended.

After much thought, only this answer was his way out.

"Trying to play dumb, are we? Do you think all Night Watchers follow the rules?"

Shen Bei's icy words were filled with an indescribable cruelty. Even the Cultivator, an experienced boundary-walker who had faced life and death countless times, felt a chill rise from his heart.

The next moment.

Shen Bei placed his hand on the Cultivator's head, enticing him like a devil: "Even a baseless accusation, to me, is worth sparing your dog's life. Otherwise… go to Hell, and continue being Yu Qi's Cultivator!"

Did Shen Bei need him to provide substantial evidence?

No!

Not at all!

He only needed someone to accuse Pan Fei, and he would then naturally eliminate Pan Fei!

As for what was true or false, Shen Bei simply didn't care.

At this moment, the Cultivator seemed to understand.

If he didn't give Shen Bei a satisfactory answer today, he certainly wouldn't live!

This was no longer a dilemma.

It was a question of whether to live a few more days or die immediately.

Of course, if this Night Watcher in front of him could eliminate Pan Fei, he still had a glimmer of hope for survival.

Thinking back to the bizarre illusion he had experienced earlier, and the fear and powerlessness of his consciousness sinking into an endless deep ocean, the Cultivator's resentment surged, and he whispered:

"Sir, I'll follow your arrangements. What should I do?"

Shen Bei smiled with satisfaction: "The Night Watcher's prison food isn't bad either."

"Good, good."

The Cultivator completely collapsed to the ground, no longer holding any hope, and could only willingly become a puppet for Shen Bei to manipulate.