321: Poor Xu Nian!

Inside the Tower Lord's Hall.

Zhu Yun Great Emperor and Chu Yun sat down one after another. Seeing Chu Yun's serious expression, Zhu Yun Great Emperor asked with a hint of nervousness, "May I ask, Chu Emperor, has my East Tower offended you in any way?"

"If there are any issues, Chu Emperor, please speak freely."

Chu Yun spoke indifferently, his face devoid of emotion, "This Emperor has a friend named Xu Nian, and currently, he is imprisoned in your East Tower's jail."

As soon as these words were uttered, Zhu Yun Great Emperor was startled.

As the number one figure of the East Tower, he held a high position and great power. Normally, Xu Nian would have no contact with him, and he didn't know who Xu Nian was.

But the weight of the words "Chu Emperor's friend" was enough.

"Chu Emperor, please wait a moment."

"I truly was unaware of this. If my East Tower has indeed captured Chu Emperor's friend, I will immediately have them released."

Zhu Yun Great Emperor said anxiously, then was about to send a message to his subordinates for inquiry.

Chu Yun interrupted him at this moment, "Tower Lord Zhu, Xu Nian is not only my friend; he is also a member of your Misty Rain Tower."

"A few days ago, he was thrown into jail by Cao Qingyang, a Disciple of your East Tower's Vice Tower Lord, under the pretense of colluding with outsiders and leaking internal information."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yun Great Emperor's expression changed in surprise.

He had not expected that Xu Nian would turn out to be one of his own people from the East Tower.

If he had known earlier that this Xu Nian was a friend of the Chu Emperor, Zhu Yun would have undoubtedly treated him like a treasure.

It was important to know that Chu Yun had Thatched Cottage backing him, and even their General Tower Tower Lord had personally given orders to their four Great Tower Lords that Chu Yun must be befriended, as he was a friend of their Misty Rain Tower.

This also indicated that the Chu Emperor and their General Tower Tower Lord had a decent relationship.

"Chu Emperor, I understand."

"Don't worry, I will have them come over immediately!"

"No matter what, I will personally give Chu Emperor an explanation today!"

Zhu Yun Great Emperor vowed, then immediately sent messages to two high-ranking officials below him: the East Tower Vice Tower Lord and the East Tower Great Steward.

Soon, two middle-aged men hurried up from below and entered the Tower Lord's Hall.

"Greetings, Tower Lord."

Upon entering the great hall, these two immediately bowed to Zhu Yun Great Emperor.

Chu Yun swept his gaze over them and saw through their cultivation levels. The one on the left was at the Peak of the Eternal Realm.

The one on the right possessed Emperor's Might and was a Quasi-Emperor.

Thus, their identities were also clear.

Situ Haowen, the Great Steward of the East Tower,

and Zhuge Jinguang, the Vice Tower Lord of the East Tower.

"Jinguang, I ask you."

"Did your Disciple Cao Qingyang capture a Disciple named Xu Nian and imprison him in my East Tower's jail?"

At this moment, Zhu Yun Great Emperor directly aimed his spearheadat Zhuge Jinguang, asking him outright.

Zhuge Jinguang was initially somewhat puzzled, then he thought carefully in his mind and replied, "Tower Lord, it seems there was indeed such a matter."

"A few days ago, I heard Qingyang mention that Xu Nian had leaked internal information and colluded with outsiders, so I handed the matter over to him for full handling."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yun Great Emperor slapped his hand down in anger, "Nonsense!!!"

"You are simply being absurd!!"

"Zhuge Jinguang, I order you, right now, have your Disciple bring Xu Nian to me here!"

"Give him the time it takes to drink a cup of tea to bring him over!"

"Otherwise, you will bear the consequences!!!"

Zhu Yun Great Emperor's sudden change in demeanor caused both Zhuge Jinguang and Situ Haowen's expressions to subtly shift.

They immediately realized that something was wrong. They glanced at Chu Yun and his group next to them, all of whom remained expressionless, with Qin Fengling even sporting a hint of a playful smile on his face.

They immediately felt that this matter might be related to these people.

Zhuge Jinguang could only respond under pressure, "Yes, Tower Lord, I will immediately have him bring the person over."

The next moment, Zhuge Jinguang immediately sent an urgent message to his Disciple, Cao Qingyang, instructing him to go to the jail at once and bring the person.

Situ Haowen was carefully recalling things in his mind at this moment, feeling that Chu Yun's face looked somewhat familiar.

Finally, a flash of insight struck him, and he remembered.

Chu Yun's face was exactly the same as that of the rumored Chu Emperor.

Compared to Zhuge Jinguang, who was still confused, Situ Haowen had already recognized the person.

At the same time, he also had a guess in his mind: normally, the Tower Lord would not have such an attitude regarding Xu Nian's matter.

Looking at it this way, it was very likely that Xu Nian had some kind of relationship with the Chu Emperor.

His seemingly clever little eyes darted around, and at this moment, he actually spoke up on his own initiative, "Tower Lord, as far as I know, this Xu Nian should be Xu Hui's nephew."

"This time, Cao Qingyang arrested Xu Nian on the charge of being an internal spy. Xu Hui came to me, wanting me to persuade the Vice Tower Lord to ask Cao Qingyang... not to be too ruthless."

"But unfortunately, I did mention it to the Vice Tower Lord, but it seems he didn't take it to heart."

Zhu Yun Great Emperor still had some impression of the name Xu Hui; he was the Deputy Steward of his East Tower.

Zhuge Jinguang recalled carefully in his mind and also remembered that Situ Haowen had indeed mentioned it to him.

But that was at a drinking table, and he had only casually agreed, not taking it to heart at all, and naturally forgot about it afterward.

After all, in the eyes of him, the Vice Tower Lord, he could easily replace a Deputy Steward if he found him displeasing.

Therefore, with no benefits whatsoever, wanting to use backdoors through him, how could a mere Deputy Steward be qualified?

"Is that true?" Zhu Yun Great Emperor couldn't help but look at Zhuge Jinguang again.

Zhuge Jinguang frowned tightly and said with a stiff upper lip, "It seems so, but because there have been too many matters in the Tower recently, I haven't had the chance."

"Hmph!!!"

Zhu Yun Great Emperor naturally knew that this was just his excuse, so he snorted coldly and said no more.

.........

East Tower Heavenly Prison.

Xu Nian, dressed in white, was now stained red with blood. He was submerged in a pool of blood, his limbs tied to the edges, all his Meridians severed, his body covered in lacerations with no intact areas, and in some wounds, even white bones were visible.

Furthermore, in the wounds on his chest and back, there were even insect nests, with tens of thousands of maggots residing on them, slowly devouring the decaying flesh from Xu Nian's wounds.

Each bite felt like the torture of a thousand cuts.

This was pure torment. Xu Nian had already lost consciousness countless times, only to be awakened by the pain, truly experiencing a fate worse than death.

"Quick! Open the door!"

"Bring him up!!"

At this moment, Xu Nian, who was on the verge of falling unconscious again, heard the voice he utterly despised, along with a rush of hurried footsteps.

He saw a tall, thin man in green robes, accompanied by four attendants, open the prison door, unlock the shackles on Xu Nian's body, lift him, and carry him out of the prison.

"Cao Qingyang... your death... is coming soon."

As Xu Nian was carried past the man in green robes, he used all his strength to utter these words.

Slap!!

"Hmph!"

"You lowly wretch, you've fallen to such a state, yet you're still dreaming?"

"Take him up!!"

The man in green robes was precisely Cao Qingyang, the culprit behind Xu Nian's torment.

He viciously slapped Xu Nian across the face, then led his men, escorting Xu Nian towards the Tower Lord's Hall on the top floor.