Chapter 422 Incident
That night, at the Guarding Mansion in Beiwang City.
Within the great hall, the lights shone brightly as a procession of pretty maids, like clouds drifting smoothly by, brought forth platter after platter of steaming delectable dishes, soon filling the round table.
Seven days had elapsed since Guarding Envoy Ji Yongtai had last entertained Wang Chen and Zuo Xiaomo here.
He had clearly received news of Wang Chen coming out of seclusion and subsequently sent a messenger.
Wang Chen gladly accepted the invitation.
"Junior Brother Wang, failing to break through is common," the Guarding Envoy of Beiwang City personally poured a cup of Spiritual Wine for Wang Chen, saying with a smile, "At the Purple Mansion tier, there is always a higher mountain to climb. We cultivators should courageously strive to ascend, never admitting defeat!"
"I am enlightened," Wang Chen responded, bowing with clasped hands, then he lifted his cup and drank it all at once.
He felt a silent regret.
Ji Yongtai was a cultivator with a martial spirit; such a temperament was not something one could feign. As a disciple of the West Sea Sect who had come from being a Loose Cultivator, his life's journey must have been full of thorns and adversity.
Many people would give up or shrink back when faced with difficulties and setbacks.
But as Ji Yongtai himself said, he bravely climbed without speaking of defeat!
Unfortunately, the road to the summit has both righteous and evil paths, and if one takes the wrong road from the start, no matter how high one climbs, a shattering fall is inevitable.
"Junior Brother Zuo..."
As Wang Chen was contemplating, Ji Yongtai turned to Zuo Xiaomo and said, "You shouldn't lose heart either. In the past few days, I'll try to transfer some Battle Cultivators to assist you, which will be much stronger than Loose Cultivators."
He sighed and added, "Loose Cultivators are just like this, they are willing to undertake major tasks but value their own life too much, and they forget righteousness at the sight of small benefits. Expecting them to fight to the death is impossible, hence, such people cannot be relied upon."
Zuo Xiaomo subconsciously nodded.
During these past few days, what he learned from recruiting Loose Cultivators was that these fellows were indeed each more cunning and slippery than the last. Even if they managed to recruit enough hands, relying on them to eliminate the horse bandits was akin to daydreaming.
However, Zuo Xiaomo also faintly felt that Ji Yongtai seemed to be finding some amusement in their plight—even though his tone was sincere.
He exchanged a glance with Wang Chen.
"Come, come, come!"
Ji Yongtai lifted his cup and said, "Let's not discuss these disheartening matters any longer. Let us brothers drink merrily first!"
Boom!
No sooner had he spoken than a thunderous roar suddenly came from outside.
It was as though a meteor had crashed into the Guarding Mansion, causing the ground to shake violently and the buildings to tremble!
Trouble had struck!
Ji Yongtai's face dramatically changed.
The Guarding Mansion in Beiwang City was his stronghold, managed for many years. It was not only defended by a powerful Array but also protected by dozens of high-tier Qi Cultivation cultivators.
Together with Ji Yongtai, a Purple Mansion cultivator, even an attacking high-tier Purple Mansion would find it difficult to break through the defenses of the Guarding Mansion easily.
But Ji Yongtai distinctly sensed that, before the mansion's Array could be activated, it was forcefully destroyed!
Who possessed such ability?
As this enormous doubt just arose in the mind of the Guarding Envoy, a group of cultivators suddenly burst into the great hall.
Leading them was a lean, tall man with a fierce and gloomy look. His gaze swept across the room and a deep and overwhelming aura suddenly enveloped the entire hall.
All the maids and attendants present involuntarily fell to their knees, each trembling uncontrollably.
The man with a stern voice demanded, "I am Hall Master Li Feiyuan of the Third Hall of the Department of Punishment. Which one of you is Wang Chen?"
Without hesitation, Wang Chen stepped forward and saluted, "Disciple Wang Chen, I pay my respects to Hall Master Li."
Ji Yongtai suddenly turned his head to look at Wang Chen, his eyes expressing shock, his lips twitching slightly. Continue your saga on empire
Li Feiyuan nodded, "Bring the evidence."
Wang Chen immediately took out the jade box filled with letters from his Storage Bag and offered it with both hands to the other party.
At this moment, Wang Chen's heart was also full of amazement.
Because the Hall Master of the Department of Punishment had arrived incredibly fast!
One must know that Beiwang City was at the border of Central State, very far from the Western Sea Sect Mountain Gate. Although he had earlier used the Wanli Talisman Message issued by the sect to send the message, the rapid response and fierce action from above were beyond imagination.
Wang Chen had originally thought that someone from the sect would arrive at least by tomorrow.
Yet, they had come tonight!
Li Feiyuan's presence clearly indicated that he had reached the peak of Purple Mansion cultivation, and the two following him were also cultivators of Purple Mansion.
The three of them, one in front and two behind, formed a formation similar to the Three Talents Formation, pressing down on everyone in the hall with an overwhelming presence.
As soon as they appeared, it was with the force of thunder and lightning.
This made it evident how seriously the sect regarded this matter!
Li Feiyuan opened the jade box and without looking through any of the letters, he simply swept over them with his Divine Sense. His face darkened immediately as he gazed at Ji Yongtai, "Ji Yongtai, do you know your crimes?"
Beads of sweat formed on Ji Yongtai's forehead, and he could barely stand upright under the oppressive aura of Li Feiyuan.
But still, grinding his teeth, he answered, "Disciple, the disciple does not know what he did wrong!"
"Heh heh."
Li Feiyuan grabbed a few letters from the jade box, "These are the letters exchanged between you and the bandit leader Mysterious Intent Taoist, colluding with horse bandits to attack merchants and plunder pastoral tribes, with ironclad evidence like this, you still dare to quibble?"
Ji Yongtai lowered his head, "Disciple did not commit such acts, I am innocent, please Hall Master investigate clearly!"
"Innocent?"
Li Feiyuan snorted, "Do you know or not, Wang Chen has already slain Mysterious Intent Taoist, and these letters were found by him?"
To corroborate the Hall Master's words, Wang Chen silently took Mysterious Intent Taoist's corpse out of his Storage Bag.
Ji Yongtai's face instantly turned pale!
He had never imagined that Wang Chen would kill Mysterious Intent Taoist right under his nose.
Without this corpse, Ji Yongtai might have made desperate attempts to argue that the letters were forgeries, even going so far as to smear Wang Chen by accusing him of framing him deliberately.
But now, the sect would only trust Wang Chen, who had completed the mission.
And this Guarding Envoy, for the life of him, couldn't figure out how Wang Chen managed to do it.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
At that moment, crying and shouting could be heard from the direction of the back courtyard.
By now, the Guarding Mansion of Beiwang City had already been completely taken over by the people brought by Li Feiyuan.
The few resisters had turned into corpses on the ground!
"Ji Yongtai!"
Li Feiyuan shouted sternly, "Do you still have anything left to quibble about?"
Ji Yongtai, looking ashen, no longer held any illusions, and collapsed to his knees, "Disciple confesses, I only beg for mercy for my family and wife, they are innocent."
Ji Yongtai had already settled down in Beiwang City, taken multiple wives, and had several children.
He was very aware that he would not withstand the interrogation by the Department of Punishment, and the consequences, if he didn't confess now, would only be graver and might even affect his wives and children.
Li Feiyuan looked indifferently at Ji Yongtai kneeling on the ground, "You only have one chance."
Ji Yongtai pressed his forehead to the cold floor, "Yes."
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The second update is here.
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