Free Web NovelChapter 72: Chapter 72: Already Brought to Justice
After much thought, Zong Ziqi decided to go see how his master had fared in the magical combat.
So, Jiang Xu and Zong Ziqi parted ways, agreeing to meet again at the Marketplace.
After they separated, Jiang Xu found a hidden place to restore his Magical Power, preparing to turn invisible and enter the mining area to investigate.
Once his Magical Power was fully restored, Jiang Xu activated the Invisibility Ability of his Concealing Breath Spell, supplemented it with the Spiritual Eye Technique, and stealthily infiltrated the mining area.
...
Even in the cold of winter, the mining area was in constant operation. freewēbnoveℓ.com
There were a few new faces among the overseers, likely sent over the past six months to replace the disciples who had disappeared. freёwebnovel.com
However, as Jiang Xu scanned his surroundings, he couldn’t see a single Cultivator at the Qi Cultivation Third Layer or higher.
After a moment of thought, he headed for the residence of Yang Shu, the Outer Sect Steward.
Empowered by the Light Body Spell, Jiang Xu’s speed was astonishing.
Before long, he arrived in front of the small palace.
But Jiang Xu still couldn’t sense any Cultivators inside the palace.
’Where is Yang Shu? Don’t tell me he’s already been captured and brought to justice?’
Suspicious, Jiang Xu returned to the mining area and emerged from the shadows.
One of the new Outer Disciple overseers happened to glance in Jiang Xu’s direction. Seeing an unfamiliar Cultivator suddenly appear in the mining area, he thought Jiang Xu was some kind of Tribulation Cultivator and, terrified, roared:
"Enemy attack!!!"
All the surrounding overseers and miners were startled and looked toward Jiang Xu. Many of them had already grabbed their tools, their postures tense and ready for a fight.
"A misunderstanding! It’s a misunderstanding!"
Among the overseers were two disciples who had been with Yang Shu last time and had seen Jiang Xu before. They quickly stepped forward to explain:
"Everyone, don’t misunderstand! Remember when the Sect sent a few senior brothers and sisters to investigate that cancer, Yang Shu? This is one of them! He’s our savior!"
"Savior?" Jiang Xu was dumbfounded.
The crowd put away their weapons.
"So it’s you, sir!"
"You’re the one who exposed Yang Shu’s vile deeds to the Sect, right?!"
"Thank you so, so much!"
Jiang Xu looked at the crowd, whose attitude had done a complete one-eighty, and didn’t quite understand what was happening.
"Wait, I’m a bit confused. Can someone explain to me what happened?"
One of the overseer disciples who had met Jiang Xu before stepped forward and began to explain:
"You might not know this, sir, but five months ago, Yang Shu was apprehended by an Inner Sect Disciple from the Law Enforcement Hall sent by the Sect. He was taken back to be dealt with according to Sect rules."
"Yeah, and at the time, Yang Shu even found a corpse somewhere and tried to pass it off as his own, hoping to escape by shedding his golden cicada shell."
"Luckily, that senior brother had sharp eyes. He saw through Yang Shu’s disguise in a flash, quickly captured the real Yang Shu, and brought him back."
As everyone chattered on, Jiang Xu finally understood the whole story.
The Outer Sect Steward, Yang Shu, had been secretly altering the daily tallies of Primordial Magnet Ore. He would covertly take and hide the ore with the highest concentration of Primordial Magnet Iron, then sell it for personal profit.
In the beginning, his scheme was seamless, but after seeing that no one had noticed, Yang Shu gradually grew complacent. Inadvertently, he exposed a flaw.
Then, a Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer disciple named Jiang Zhuo discovered this flaw. Following the vine to find the melon, he uncovered evidence of Yang Shu abusing his authority for personal gain.
Originally, if Jiang Zhuo had either kept quiet and pretended he saw nothing, or reported it directly to the Sect and let them handle it, the subsequent tragedy would never have happened.
But Jiang Zhuo, driven by greed, either failed to grasp the situation or simply had a death wish. He went straight to Yang Shu, laid his cards on the table, and threatened him, demanding a piece of the pie.
Jiang Zhuo did have some sense, though. He claimed to have told two of his friends about it, saying that if he didn’t return, they would notify the Sect.
Unless Yang Shu dared to kill all three of them at once, he had to obediently share the Spirit Stones.
So Yang Shu took his advice and killed all three of them.
He even went to the Celestial Blade Sect’s territory, found someone, and killed them to be a scapegoat.
Finally, when the disciple from the Law Enforcement Hall arrived, he found another disciple from the Celestial Blade Sect and tried to stage it as his own suicide out of guilt, but he failed.
Speaking of which, Jiang Zhuo’s two friends and those two disciples from the Celestial Blade Sect, all killed for no reason, had truly tragic fates.
They really hadn’t done anything to anyone.
"So, your mining area doesn’t have a new Steward yet?" Jiang Xu asked.
"Nope. Rumor is the Celestial Blade Sect demanded an explanation from our Profound Origin Sect. They said that for every Steward we send, they’ll kill one. Send two, they’ll kill two. One of our stewards to pay for one of their disciples.
"The Sect has a headache over it now, so they just haven’t sent a new Steward. The position’s been vacant ever since."
Jiang Xu was taken aback by the Celestial Blade Sect’s audacity.
"That’s good. Actually, I was sent by our Brother Ding to check if the mission was truly resolved. The fact that Yang Shu was caught so quickly is all thanks to Brother Ding Shiping. I’m just an errand boy."
"Oh! So it was Brother Ding!"
"Last time, I could tell Brother Ding had an extraordinary air about him! He’s destined to be a soaring dragon!"
"But... who was Brother Ding again...?"
...
Jiang Xu politely declined the disciples’ invitation to a banquet.
He departed and vanished into the distance under their watchful eyes.
However, Jiang Xu soon turned invisible and doubled back.
He made his way among the disciples in the mining area.
Some things are said one way to your face, and another way behind your back.
One couldn’t completely trust a one-sided story.
Jiang Xu stayed among the mining area disciples for half a day, only leaving after listening to their discussions.
During that time, Jiang Xu overheard some other news.
After capturing Yang Shu, the Inner Sect Disciple from the Law Enforcement Hall had lingered at his palace for a long time before leaving.
But he didn’t seem very happy when he left.
After hearing this, Jiang Xu raised an eyebrow. He looked thoughtfully toward Yang Shu’s palace.
’That Inner Sect Disciple lingered in Yang Shu’s palace... but why?’
Jiang Xu decided to go take a look for himself.
...
Entering the residence where Yang Shu used to live, Jiang Xu could see it had been abandoned for a long time. Having been uninhabited for four or five months, a fine layer of dust covered everything inside the palace.
With both the Light Body Spell and the Concealing Breath Spell active, Jiang Xu could walk across the dust without leaving footprints.
’It seems that after Yang Shu was captured, the mortal maids disappeared. No telling if they left or what happened to them.’
Jiang Xu walked inside and scanned the interior with his Spiritual Eye Technique, but found nothing.
He wasn’t discouraged. Instead, he continued to search Yang Shu’s residence.
Secret doors, hidden passages, mechanisms... there was nothing.
It seemed to be nothing more than a large house.
’Can’t even find it with the Spiritual Eye Technique? Looks like I’ll have to rely on the Seeking Technique!’
