Chen Jiuyang did not know why these Japanese people were plotting against him.
Was it for the Pure Yang Qi Replenishing Pill? Or to avenge Juhe Jianba? Or did the clues about human trafficking and smuggling leak, requiring him to be silenced?
However, he would soon know the truth.
Yet, the Japanese people's elaborate calculations could not have predicted that Chen Jiuyang possessed the Pure Yang body, making him immune to all worldly poisons.
After being carried to the underground prison of the Ueda family, where each person was confined in a separate alloy-made cell, Chen Jiuyang waited until the Japanese left before immediately sitting up and using silver needles to awaken his teammates.
"Zero, how did the Ueda family uncover our identities?" asked One.
Chen Jiuyang sneered, "Clearly, those Japanese people in Suzhou and Hangzhou are up to no good."
Two said, "Zero, now that we are trapped here, should we send a message to the Legion to request their assistance?"
Chen Jiuyang replied, "Not yet."
As the group was communicating, a somewhat weak male voice suddenly echoed from within the prison, "Are you my fellow countrymen from Long Country?"
Chen Jiuyang responded, "Indeed, we are from Long Country. Are you also from Long Country?"
"Alas..." the man sighed, "It seems another colleague has fallen into the trap of the Japanese devils."
Chen Jiuyang frowned and asked, "Colleague? Who are you?"
"What year is it now?" the man inquired.
"It is currently 2021," Chen Jiuyang replied.
"It seems I am still in office," the man said. "I am Zhang Tianen, the Prefect of Suzhou and Hangzhou."
"!!!" Chen Jiuyang's face turned ashen with shock, and he exclaimed, "How is that possible? I saw you just a few days ago, Prefect Zhang. I am Chen Jiuyang!"
"Those Japanese people are so audacious as to imprison a Prefect of our Long Country!"
"Chen Jiuyang? I don't recognize you..." Zhang Tianen said with a bitter smile. "You must have seen a Japanese imposter disguised as me. I have been imprisoned here for over a year."
Chen Jiuyang's expression changed drastically, then flickered continuously, his heart churning like a stormy sea.
What exactly were these Japanese people trying to do in Suzhou and Hangzhou? A case of replacing the prince with a commoner, substituting the real with the fake?
Chen Jiuyang asked, "Prefect Zhang, why were you imprisoned here?"
Zhang Tianen sighed, "The Japanese have made many investments in Suzhou and Hangzhou. Over a year ago, I came to Japan for an investment inspection and was drugged before being imprisoned and confined here."
Chen Jiuyang's face shifted several times, his expression growing grim. "I never imagined that the Zhang Tianen I met in Suzhou and Hangzhou was a fake. These Japanese people imprisoned you here and had someone impersonate you. Why didn't they kill you?"
Zhang Tianen chuckled, "I am the Prefect of a province, appointed by the court of Long Country. I carry the destiny of the province. If the Japanese were to kill me, the national destiny would be shaken, and the court in Longjing would surely sense it. Tell me, how would they dare to kill me?"
What Zhang Tianen said next made Chen Jiuyang's face turn even more horrified.
"Not only was my current term as Prefect of Suzhou and Hangzhou imprisoned here, but the Prefects from the past seven or eight terms are also held here."
Chen Jiuyang's face turned ghastly pale. With so many Prefects of Suzhou and Hangzhou imprisoned here, had the Japanese scheme of replacing the prince been ongoing for twenty to thirty years?
This revelation solved a long-standing puzzle in Chen Jiuyang's heart. Why did Suzhou and Hangzhou feel so strange and eerie? Why were the Japanese so rampant there, the Six Doors so weak, and even the Chief Constable of the Six Doors was sidelined? It was no wonder that the human trafficking and smuggling by the Japanese in Suzhou and Hangzhou had gone unnoticed for decades. If the Prefects of Suzhou and Hangzhou had all been replaced, could Suzhou and Hangzhou still function normally?
The replacement of the Prefect of Suzhou and Hangzhou had gone undetected even by the Tianqi Legion stationed there.
The darkness in Suzhou and Hangzhou was truly terrifying, to the point where most people could not perceive it.
Chen Jiuyang's heart sank abruptly.
Previously, when he visited the Prefect's mansion in Suzhou and Hangzhou, the fake Zhang Tianen's wife was Japanese. A terrifying thought suddenly flashed through Chen Jiuyang's mind, and he quickly said, "One, immediately send a message to the Legion and have them investigate the officials in Suzhou and Hangzhou. Find out which officials have visited Japan, and which officials have Japanese wives."
"Yes, Zero," One replied. He then took off his shoe, unscrewed the sole, and took out a small military computer.
Zhang Tianen suddenly became agitated. "The Legion? You are soldiers? Can you contact the outside world?"
Chen Jiuyang replied, "Indeed, we are soldiers."
No matter how much the Japanese plotted against Chen Jiuyang, they could not have anticipated that he had joined the Tianqi Legion and brought several of its elite soldiers with him, nor could they have imagined they could contact the outside world.
Zhang Tianen shouted excitedly, "Brother Li, Brother Liu, Brother Zhao, wake up quickly! We are saved! We have a chance to return to Long Country!"
Chen Jiuyang unleashed his divine sense and discovered that there were indeed nine people imprisoned in this underground prison. Chen Jiuyang's eyelids twitched violently, a feeling of impending doom washing over him.
Chen Jiuyang said sternly, "Prefect Zhang, please do not get excited yet. We must avoid alerting the Japanese. Since we are here, we will definitely bring you back to Long Country safely and allow you to return to your homeland."
"Good, good, good," Zhang Tianen said excitedly.
Chen Jiuyang pondered in his heart whether the Chief Constable of the Six Doors in Suzhou and Hangzhou, Tang Anmin, was aware of the replacement of the Prefect of Suzhou and Hangzhou.
He probably did not know, otherwise, Tang Anmin would have reported it to Longjing for a thorough investigation and purge of Suzhou and Hangzhou.
Suzhou and Hangzhou had been Long Country's territory since ancient times. How could they tolerate the Japanese devils acting in such a manner!
Kill them! All these Japanese people deserved to be killed!
Chen Jiuyang suddenly heard some sounds and quickly said, "Silence and lie down! The Japanese are coming!"
With that, Chen Jiuyang immediately lay down and feigned unconsciousness. Although he had heard the sounds, he was unsure if the Japanese were armed with firearms or other weapons. With his strength, escaping from here would be easy, but he was not alone. Prefect Zhang of Suzhou and Hangzhou and his teammates were also here. He could not act impulsively and endanger their lives.
Two to three minutes later, Ueda Ichi arrived at Chen Jiuyang's cell with a group of Japanese people. He opened the alloy door, and a servant administered an antidote to the anesthetic to Chen Jiuyang. A moment later, Chen Jiuyang feigned waking up, shakily sitting up and observing the Japanese people before him.
This group of Japanese people held firearms, but fortunately, their numbers were not large.
Ueda Ichi said with a chuckle, "Mr. Chen Jiuyang, why did you conceal your identity and come to my Japan, to my Ueda..."
Before he could finish speaking, Chen Jiuyang, who had been swaying moments before, suddenly shot out dozens of silver needles, incapacitating everyone around him.
Ueda Ichi's face was filled with horror. "How is this possible..."
Chen Jiuyang's powerful divine sense enveloped him, and he said with a grim expression, "Why did the Japanese imprison the Prefect of our Long Country's Suzhou and Hangzhou?"
Ueda Ichi's face became blank, his eyes vacant, and he honestly replied, "This is the plan of the Imperial Princess. I do not know the specifics."
Chen Jiuyang frowned and asked, "Then where do you transport the people your Ueda family trafficked and smuggled from Suzhou and Hangzhou? Who are the buyers?"
"The trafficked people are transported to Suzhou and Hangzhou and handled by Her Highness the Princess. We are the buyers, and the sellers are criminal organizations from Southeast Asia, Vietnam, Thailand, and other regions."
Chen Jiuyang's brow furrowed, and he said coldly, "Are you saying that the Princess of Japan is in Suzhou and Hangzhou?"
"Yes, Her Highness the Princess has been stationed in Suzhou and Hangzhou, organizing the Imperial family's grand plan," Ueda Ichi replied truthfully.
Chen Jiuyang felt an inexplicable chill in his heart. What exactly were these Japanese people trying to achieve?