Volume 5 Old Testament 145, She is the murderer

  Long Teng didn't go to disturb General Ah Mon's "elegance", but instead instructed the brothel owner: "Do you know who General John is entertaining today? It's none other than Imperial General Ah Mon! You all be careful and serve him well, when the general has had his fill of fun, let me know. Just say that Long Teng came by, took care of a small matter, and let the general have a good time, it's rare for him to come back to Meng Fei Si, don't spoil the mood."

  Long Teng caught a group of people but was still not satisfied, leaving the brothel and rushing to Xun Yi's mansion, kicking open three large gates in a row, and pulling Xun Yi from his bed while he was being treated for his injuries.

  Sheng Yi Zheng was waiting for news of his companion bringing John back, but instead, a large warrior named Long Teng burst in. Long Teng didn't touch Sheng Yi's right leg, which he had just fixed with a splint, but instead swung his hand and broke his left leg again. Sheng Yi fainted from the pain, and after Long Teng woke him up, he said: "Do you know what crime you've committed? You dared to commit armed assault in front of General Amun of the Empire!"

  Long Teng had originally wanted to take Sheng Yi into the military camp as well, but seeing that he had broken both legs and was difficult to deal with, bringing him back would require assigning someone to care for him. In the end, he simply didn't bring him along, figuring that he wouldn't be able to escape anyway.

  Why did Ryūtō do this? In fact, he also resented the group of people led by Shōeki. John and Ryūtō had fought side by side, earning honor through military merit, but were impeached by petty men and stripped of their positions and titles, which was a slap in the face to Arumon. Ryūtō had also been a corps commander under Arumon's command, and he harbored a burning resentment, believing that this was an insult to the honor of warriors.

  To talk about the "glorious deeds" of fighting and making trouble, Long Teng was no worse than John when he was young, and with his solid foundation in the military, he never feared anyone. Now that he has become the chief martial artist of the Isis Temple and the commander of the Imperial Army, he naturally handles things more steadily, but it's always been him provoking others, who has ever provoked him? Today is a good opportunity, he is taking revenge for Amun and John, as well as for the soldiers on the front line.

  Isn't it just breaking one leg? John dares, what doesn't he dare to do? Besides, this matter has a reason and is not groundless. Who can make him suffer because of this?

  That night, Meng Fei City was in an uproar! Long Teng suddenly took away so many young nobles, how could they not have relatives and friends? The whole city was about to explode. Many of the captured relatives and elders rushed to the City Lord's Mansion to demand their release, but the people were not in the City Prison. Deya City Lord found Long Teng again that night and ordered him to release them.

  He said it was an order, but in fact he begged Dragon Teng to release the people first and then investigate the matter clearly before dealing with it. What's the point of locking up these noble sons in a military camp? Dragon Teng reluctantly nodded and agreed to release the people, but deliberately said: "People can be released first, but things cannot be settled. These people attempted to attack General Amun at night with weapons, and must be investigated and handled clearly!"

  The next day, a group of people rushed to the city lord's mansion to report, naturally reporting that General Amun was condoning John's assassination and ordering Dragon Teng, the commander of the army, to arrest people in the middle of the night. These people suffered greatly and took advantage of the situation to put all the blame on Amun. The Lord of Daya sent someone to invite Amun to understand the situation, but Amun was nowhere to be found again. It is said that the general had taken a liking to a prostitute last night and today he brought the girl and his guards out of the city for a stroll.

  How could Ah Meng bring Temis out of the city for a stroll at this time? Last night, Long Teng made a big noise in his dream, Ah Meng didn't know about it beforehand, and he didn't expect that the army commander would intervene and make things so big, everything has to be said from the beginning.

  John burst into a rage, throwing Sheng Yi and his dog Pong Hu out of the brothel. He carried a large handful of stolen long swords back to the fragrance hall, threw them on the ground with a clatter, shouted at the servants to move away the broken screen, brought in a new one and placed it in front of the door. Only then did he jump over the pool and salute: "Sorry to disturb General's pleasure."

  Amun smiled and said: "A mere petty thief, how can you disturb the interest of a great general like me? It's just a trivial matter, come on, let's continue drinking."

  The girls in the brothel had seen their fair share of brawls and disturbances, but they had never seen anything like this. John was too "brave" and this young man's tone was too arrogant! Lord Sheng Yi and his noble guests were just a group of petty thieves, not even worthy of disturbing this young man's drinking pleasure. What kind of background did he have?

  The girls on the scene have always been able to observe the situation, and just now they were all frightened pale, but at this moment they are smiling and laughing, and they are holding hands with John, raising their cups to toast Ammon. Themis held a full cup of wine and stood up, saying to John in the "flower crowd": "General, I would like to toast you for your bravery! What is your name, General John?"

  John hadn't even responded when the brothel owner, Dilland, ordered his men to bring over a brand new screen from another room, and also replaced the broken door with two new ones. Dilland stood on the other side of the pool, bowing deeply: "General Ammon, I didn't know you were coming, please forgive me! Earlier, Lord Longteng passed by and has already taken care of those who offended you, and asked me to pass on a message, asking you to enjoy yourself well, it's rare for you to return to Meng Fei Si, don't let anything spoil the mood!"

  Several girls let out cries of surprise and exclaimed: "Amon, General Amon of the Empire! Good heavens, is it really you?"

  Amun smiled slightly: "I am Amun, no need to be so surprised? This is my personal guard commander General John, who was also the former vanguard commander of the Isis Legion. He followed me through thick and thin in the midst of thousands of troops. But I didn't expect that here, a group of petty thieves would dare to commit murder in front of me."

  Dilan was so frightened that he hastily explained: "Misunderstanding, all is misunderstanding! Mr. Shengyi and the others didn't know it was you..."

  Amun's face sank: "Am I old?... Everyone get out, including the band in the back. I have something to discuss with this Themis girl alone."

  John thought Amun had set his sights on Temis cloth, and wanted to do that pleasant thing here, without anyone watching. He was about to speak, but turned around, waved his hand and shouted: "Did you hear? The general has ordered everyone to leave, no one is allowed to stay nearby!"

  The boss, the partners, the band and a dozen girls were all driven out. John walked outside the screen to take up his post himself when he heard Ammon call out: "John, I didn't tell you to go either, come on in."

  John turned around and went in again, not forgetting to close the newly replaced gate. He bypassed the screen and jumped over the pool, only to see Temis kneeling in front of Amun, saying: "So you are General Amun of the Empire, I'm really blind!"

  John smiled and asked: "I've been calling him General all along, didn't you realize that, miss?"

  Themis said with some embarrassment, "Here, guests who drink wine don't like to flatter each other? Even if it's just a small head of the city-state guard, they like to be called general in front of girls. Who would have thought that today is the real imperial general."

  John scratched the back of his head and asked Ah Mon, "General, you wanted to drink with Miss Temis alone, why did you call me in again?"

  Ammon pointed at the cup on the table: "Just now, Temis Qianjia was toasting you with this cup of wine, and it hasn't been drunk yet!"

  John burst out laughing: "So that's how it is, General. You always see things through to the end." He picked up his cup and drained it in one gulp, then turned to Themis and said: "Thanks for the compliment, I'll drink to that!" Themis also knelt down and picked up her wine cup, draining it in one gulp.

  After drinking the wine, John asked again: "General, is there anything else to order? If not... I'll just go outside and wait."

  "Of course there's something on your mind," Ah Mon said, pointing at the recliner across from him. "Sit down first and listen to me ask a few questions."

  John didn't know what Ammon was going to sing, and inexplicably sat down again. And Ammon and Yan Yuese asked Temi, who was kneeling in front of them: "Miss, how long have you been here? John is a regular here, why haven't we seen you before?"

  He didn't call her up, so Themis had to kneel down and answer: "Counting the days, it's been about half a year."

  "Are you a Gisnu?" Ah Mun asked again.

  Themis nodded and said: "Yes."

  A debt slave, unlike ordinary slaves, is a person who has become a slave due to some contract, such as accepting punishment or repaying debts within a certain period of time or under certain conditions. Such people may forever lose their status as free citizens and become real slaves, but it is also possible for them to redeem themselves and regain their freedom. The most common are prisoners of war, who often become slaves of the enemy country after being captured, but they can also be exchanged or redeemed.

  Amun continued to ask slowly and calmly: "You are still a mid-tier warrior, aren't you?"

  Themis' head hung even lower: "Yes, this won't deceive the general's eyesight, I am a fourth-level warrior."

  Amun asked inexplicably: "You must have been to Thebes, the capital of Egypt?"

  Thamis muttered subconsciously: "Yes, I've been there before."

  At this time Amun revealed a smile: "You can get up now and go sit next to General John."

  John was even more puzzled and asked nervously, "General, what do you mean? Why don't you let Miss Themis join you for a drink?"

  "John, you've always wanted to know who killed Redros, haven't you? It was the same priest who impeached you and is a distant cousin of Sheng Yi. The murderer is right here, you've seen her!"

  "John Tong stood up: "What! Is she the one who killed Red Rose? General, you can't be joking?"

  Themis had just stood up and was about to walk over to John when she suddenly heard Amun's words, her face instantly turned deathly pale, and her body couldn't help but tremble. From her reaction, it was clear that what Amun said was true.

  Amun picked up his wine cup and took a light sip: "John, you don't have to be surprised... Miss, you don't have to be afraid either. Since I've let everyone else leave, it's precisely to give you an opportunity to explain clearly - why did you want to kill Reddros, and why did you attempt to assassinate Lord Sheng Yi today? Even if you could manage to kill Sheng Yi in this situation, you would undoubtedly die yourself; who gave you the courage to do such a thing, or was someone forcing you?"

  Themis knelt down again: "General, no one forced me, all of this is my own choice, and I am willing to bear any consequences, no matter how great the cost."

  John was stunned, Amun was simply too godly, strolling through the brothel and having a few drinks with Sheng Yi, how did he know that one of the girls in the brothel was the killer who killed Red Rose? The cause and effect are complicated and simple to say, because Amun can sense the true emotions in people's hearts.

  When Sheng Yi rushed in with his sword, Temis instinctively thought of reaching for her own sword. Amun keenly sensed the murderous intent rising in the girl's heart - she wanted to kill Sheng Yi! This situation was too unexpected. A young woman who had cultivated martial arts to become a mid-tier warrior, yet ended up performing sword dances in a brothel, suddenly harbored intense murderous intent towards a noble lord, an intent so strong it was almost irrepressible, clearly stemming from deep-seated hatred.

  George looked over the file on Redros' assassination and told Amun the results. Redros had died in his bedroom, lying on the bed with his undergarments half undone, a look of terror and confusion on his face. As a priest, he was not without means to defend himself, yet there had been no noise or disturbance that had reached outside, clearly indicating that he had been stabbed to death while completely off guard. At the time, he had been in the process of undressing, which made for an intriguing scene.

  Raderos is a Dreamflyer, and he often hangs out with his cousin Sheng Yi. Many bad things are done by the two of them together, and George has also told Amun about these situations. Today, it was discovered that Temis had thoughts of killing Sheng Yi, and when thinking back to this girl's strong dissatisfaction when she first entered, Amun understood that she originally wanted to take advantage of today's opportunity to make an assassination attempt. When thinking back to the scene of Raderos being stabbed, and asking Temis a few seemingly unrelated questions, Amun drew a conclusion in his heart.

  Kethril didn't know any of this, and Arin wasn't speaking in a tone of speculation - he was telling John that she was the one who had killed Redros, his voice firm and leaving no room for doubt. He was Imperial General Arin, and he spoke with such directness, Kethril looked like she'd been struck by lightning, unable to hide it anymore, nor did she try to deny it.

  John stepped forward and asked, "Why? Why did you want to kill him?"

  Themis slowly raised his head, with tears streaming down his face: "Great General, you return in glory, your name renowned throughout the continent, revered by all. But what of those soldiers who fell on the battlefield? They gave their lives in silence, their families suffering grief and hardship. My brother's name was Jules, he served under your command, and died on the battlefield."

  "What! You're Jules' sister? I remember him, he was a squad leader in the An-Lan legion, fought very bravely, died in the raid that covered General's infiltration into Hatti defense line, one of the earliest heroes to fall in the An-Lan legion."

  "Roul? I recall the name, it was on the list of condolences and rewards submitted to the Imperial Military Department. Miss, please sit up and talk. John, pour her a glass of wine...I just don't understand what this has to do with your assassination of Lord Redros."

  Thamiris's body was still trembling slightly, and John helped her sit down on the chaise longue and handed her a glass of wine. The young woman began to tell a sad and miserable story - Thamiris was not of noble birth, but her family was quite well-off. They owned an estate in the suburbs of Dreamflight, where there were many farmers and servants. Her father, Old Jorrell, was a warrior who had taught his son martial arts since childhood, and Thamiris also loved martial arts and secretly asked her brother to teach her. Jorrell was very fond of this beautiful and lively younger sister, and her martial arts skills were all taught by her brother.

  The Roni River splits into many fan-shaped branches at its mouth, forming a large delta that is seasonally flooded land that can be cultivated when the floodwaters recede. The Rousseau farm was located on the east bank of the Roni River, with a small branch flowing through it. To prevent the land from being flooded during floods, they organized farmers to work hard to build a dam and canal, which took several decades to complete over two generations. The fields here can be irrigated and cultivated all year round, with yields twice as high as those of neighboring farms.

  Downstream from this tributary was the family estate owned by Sheng Yi, who had his eye on Old Jules' farm and sent someone to try to buy it at a very low price. The land could be irrigated in all four seasons, but Old Jules flatly refused. Later he sent someone again to make trouble, saying that the dam built upstream was polluting the water source downstream. This was obviously nonsense, and Old Jules didn't bother with him.

  Sheng Yi organized a group of thugs to frequently cause trouble at the farm, trying to disrupt the farmers' work and force Old Ruo to sell his land at a low price. At that time, Ruo was at home with a group of young men who were training in martial arts with him, and they severely taught the thugs a lesson. Sheng Yi was furious but could do nothing about it for the time being.

  Later, Jules and his cousin, Reddros, were both summoned to serve in the An-Lar army. Jules became a squad leader, and many of the young men from their village served under him. Reddros was wounded by John during the march and returned home to recover, living on the estate.

  One day, Redros was walking along the riverbank and saw a beautiful woman working in the fields from afar. He was immediately smitten. After asking around, he found out that the woman was Jules' wife, whose husband was not someone to be trifled with.

  Before long, the news of disaster came, and Ruler died on the battlefield. The whole family fell into boundless grief. But for Sheng Yi and Leiduos, it was good news! Sheng Yi had long wanted to get rid of Ruler's family, and Leiduos was also instigating him to come up with a sinister plan.

  They hired another group of idle rascals to cause trouble at the farm, and whenever someone tried to drive them away, they would run off, only to return again. The last time, this gang attempted to destroy the dam, which would have ruined years of hard work by the Jules family in an instant. Old Jules was also a warrior, so he immediately took up arms with dozens of farmers and servants and rushed over; the nature of the problem had already gone beyond mere troublemaking.

  This gang of rascals ran away again, and the thoroughly enraged Old Jule led his men in a relentless pursuit. Unbeknownst to them, they had entered the territory of the Shengyi family, where they coincidentally collided with Shengyi and Reddros's carriage. It was unclear who took advantage of the situation to stab Shengyi's horse, resulting in an inexplicable melee. Immediately afterwards, a large number of armored guards rushed over, taking down Old Jule and his men without hesitation, sending them all to the city-state prison.