Free Web NovelChapter 719: Chapter 311: What’s the Dog Barking About
Just when everyone thought Ji Sheng was going to keep pressing the attack, he suddenly said, "But I do have some impression of this gemstone. I’ve seen my fair share of gems, yet this kind is indeed very rare. The business partner for this gemstone was the Potter Trading House. Of course, I’m not saying the Potter Family is involved in this matter; they didn’t particularly recommend it either. It’s just that the Royal Family routinely purchases some special gemstones for auction, to cover the Royal Family’s daily expenses. As everyone knows, there isn’t much left of the heirlooms from our ancestors." Ji Sheng said lightly, a trace of hard-to-hide desolation beneath his pride.
Power equals wealth. Once power is lost, the Royal Family’s wealth naturally shrinks considerably. Yet to maintain influence and connections, and to cover the enormous daily expenses, relying only on what little budget the Cabinet allocates is barely enough to feed beggars. So some of the Royal Family’s collections often go on auction, but collections are finite. Later it turned into purchasing some high-quality jewelry and having it change hands through the Royal Family; that way its value could rise significantly. And the Potter Family would never pass up such a business opportunity—both sides have had a long-term collaboration.
This speech put the Royal Family in a tragic and dignified position, stirring resonance throughout the hall and shifting the spearhead toward the Potter Family.
At this moment everyone’s eyes focused on Nalan Jingguo and the Potter Family’s side. The Potter Family... had quite a record, extremely adept at far‑reaching layouts, trapping people without them even noticing. And with Hong Yan dead, they had essentially helped Nalan Jingguo clear an obstacle. Although Ji Sheng clarified it wasn’t initiated by the Potters, some things are perfectly easy to arrange.
The Potter Family using the Royal Family’s channel to dispel the Hong Family’s suspicion... that was vicious enough.
"Ji Sheng isn’t lying." Marshall said, still expressionless.
Instantly the crowd’s emotions surged. If this weren’t the Council, shoes would already be flying at the Nalan Family and the Potter Family’s faces. As it was, it had turned into people cursing right to their faces. But the Liberal Faction wasn’t easy to push around either; they shot back immediately. They’d been through plenty of scenes like this; their skin and their rejoinders were naturally not weak.
"Gentlemen, gentlemen, order!" Ye Shidao banged the gavel heavily, then turned a gentler gaze toward Landry. "Duke Potter, what do you have to say?"
Landry Potter, current Head of the Potter Family, Cabinet member, one of the most powerful people in the Li Long United Kingdom, faced this situation with calm indifference. His eyes swept over the shouting crowd; without anger he still carried authority, and the Council gradually quieted down.
"First of all, we deeply regret the death of Councilor Hong Yan. This is a loss to the Li Long Kingdom and also to us. As for tracking down the killer, the Potter Family is willing to fully cooperate. This young Night Patrol officer is quite good—dutiful and responsible, able to discover new leads. The first question, which is also the core of the case, is whether this gemstone truly possesses that so‑called miraculous power of corruption." Duke Potter said coolly.
Everyone’s thoughts were dragged back. This was the key issue. It would be ridiculous if, after all this fuss, it turned out to be just a pretty gem.
At this point all eyes returned to Li Xin, and questions multiplied in an instant. With the blessing of the Wood of Life, what corrupting power could get through without raising alarms?
Even if Li Xin wasn’t lying, that didn’t mean what he said was necessarily accurate.
"Captain Li, how do you prove that this gemstone possesses a corrupting power? And how did you know this gemstone possesses a corrupting power?"
Lu Shuai was truly sweating for Li Xin. First time at the Upper Council and he had to withstand such massive pressure, going head‑to‑head with a bunch of old foxes.
"Proving it is simple. Find a death-row convict or an animal and let them carry it for a period of time; you’ll discover anomalies. Then ask a professional doctor to dissect the corpse, and you’ll find internal necrosis. There’s another method: perform an autopsy on Councilor Hong Yan’s body to verify certain points, and invite a Life Master to infer the correlations around his death." Li Xin said.
The hall buzzed with discussion. That was indeed a viable method. In fact, dissecting the body and inferring associations was the best approach.
"Ahem, the Church Court has already performed an inference on the correlations of his death. This amulet was indeed the primary cause of Councilor Hong Yan’s death." Bai Zhongdong’s emotionless voice rang out.
The councilors no longer had objections. "Li Xin, how did you know?" Duke Potter asked mildly.
"Duke Potter, councilors, during the autopsy I noticed that the skin on the deceased’s neck area differed from that of other places. That’s a phenomenon caused by long‑term wearing of some object, which is why I noticed this amulet. The reason I grew suspicious is because I’d seen records of similar ’evil objects from beyond the heavens’ in certain classics." Li Xin said.
"Oh? What place would hold knowledge we all don’t know?"
"Yeah, this kid’s fishy. How old is he? How could a Night Patrol have access to this kind of secret lore? There’s definitely something off. Even the Church Court didn’t know."
"Exactly. The early phase of the case was handled by the Church Court; if they didn’t know, how would he?"
"Is it possible he’s actually working with the killer?"
"Gentlemen, try using your brains when you talk. Li Xin is an elite of my Divine Revelation Canon Law School, the pride of us Beijing people. Don’t go slapping every damn chamber pot on his head at random!" Chen Rutang suddenly roared, his eyebrows bristling as he glared at the group of shouting councilors. "If you’ve got evidence, show the evidence. Whoever the hell tries to frame him for nothing, this old man will have a very good ’talk’ with you."
"Chen Rutang, what are you yelling for? For all we know you’re the one who put him up to it!"
The scene was noisy and chaotic. It was obvious someone wanted to muddy the waters and force a split within the Justice Faction.
Dong, dong, dong...
"Order. Li Xin, where did you obtain this knowledge?" Ye Shidao asked.
Everyone watched the young Night Patrol with mocking eyes, waiting for a joke, because no matter what he said, it would be questioned and attacked.
"Secret Castle."
Li Xin swept his gaze around and answered flatly, his eyes cold, as if saying that all of them were just barking dogs.
In an instant the whole Council fell silent. Some people knew Li Xin’s background, some were unclear; those who did know merely knew he had once been one of the participants in the Secret Castle. There were many such participants in the Secret Castle; only a few people knew Li Xin had been somewhat special in it.
Ye Shidao, Duke Potter, Nalan Jingguo, Ji Sheng, and Chen Rutang all showed changes in expression. The Secret Castle does not touch secular affairs—this is a consensus among all countries in the Sixth Epoch—but everyone also knew that Li Xin came from the Secret Castle and collected management fees in the Black Market. The big shots had never dug into it; after all, it was just charging management fees. If the Five Great Sanctuaries were willing to pay, they paid, and no one really cared.
Once someone accomplishes some unbelievable feat, people tend to feel that if they themselves wanted to, they could do it too, instead of thinking that Li Xin is particularly formidable.
At some point Bai Zhongdong had already put away his crystal ball.
Seeing no one pick up the thread, Li Xin continued, "Do we need to call in an Immortal to confirm it?"
The vast Council hall was extremely like a library; the people who had just been clamoring now all looked benevolent and detached, as if it had nothing to do with them. Stirring things up is fine, but offending the Secret Castle is insane—no one would take that gamble, not even on a tiny probability.
"The Night Patrol has its own way of handling cases, and that’s part of intimidating criminals. There’s no need to publicly disclose every detail here. Now that it’s been proven this Star Stone is the murder weapon, our job is to find the real killer and clear Duke Potter’s name." Chen Rutang said. This case was also his chance to establish authority, and in his current position he had no choice but to do so.
Everyone looked to Duke Potter again. Jokes and banter only work when order is in chaos; with Ye Shidao present and Church Court personnel here, the liberals had little chance of stirring up disorder.
"Chief Steward Ji Sheng said it was purchased from our trading firm; that should be traceable, so let’s assume that for now. The Potter Family’s firm collects rare treasures across the Dao Yuan Continent and ships them back to Li Long, and indeed we have cooperation with the Royal Family. But to say this was done by the Potter Family is pure framing and slander—this is a conspiracy to divide Li Long." Duke Potter said calmly. "The Potter Family is willing to cooperate with the Church Court’s investigation; the murderer must not be let off. But no one may smear the Potter Family. Otherwise, the Potter Family will definitely make them pay the price."
The last sentence carried particular weight. As the strongest family in the Dragon Capital, they hold a crucial position in the city’s current power balance. Without direct evidence, trying to move against the Potter Family is sheer delusion.
In fact, at this point the case essentially had no room for further investigation. There would be no handle to seize in the trading firm, and as for Ji Sheng being a Slave Master, that would not even be mentioned in the investigative report. If it were, the one who’d be in trouble would be Li Xin.
The Hong Family were a bit dejected. Hong Ban had been present the whole time, but never had the right to speak. At the Divine Revelation Canon Law School he was a storm-maker, but in this center of power he was just a stray dog on the roadside. In truth, even the Hong Family itself was now in a very awkward position. One whole meeting later, they still had not shaken the Potter Family in the slightest.
From the Night Patrol’s perspective, Li Xin had already completed his task. He had uncovered the cause of Hong Yan’s death, enough to give some sort of explanation. At this stage, the higher-ups would certainly stop things here and would not ask him to keep digging. If they pushed it further, it would no longer be a criminal investigation but an open confrontation with the Potter Family—something the Church Court had absolutely no need for.
And of course, it was also because the murderer’s layout was extremely meticulous, leaving no kind of direct evidence.
The meeting ended. The crowd who had been on the verge of drawing swords in the hall suddenly turned into cheerful conversationalists, greeting each other like old friends. The two presiding judges from the Church Court had already left first; unless necessary, the Church Court would not appear at this sort of occasion.
Ecclesiastical affairs and state affairs must be completely separated; every national Church Court has to keep this in mind. Even the Earth Temple, which is deeply rooted in Hedan, does so, let alone the Moon God’s Court, an external newcomer.
Ye Shidao and Ji Sheng were accompanying Duke Potter. This man was Li Long’s God of Wealth, inheriting most of Governor Luthor’s fortune. Although he could not run for Grand Governor, his influence in the Li Long United Kingdom was pivotal.
"Duke Potter, sorry to have troubled you with this matter." Ji Sheng said with a smile.
"It’s all a misunderstanding; a little fuss, nothing more. Now the truth’s out, hasn’t it? External enemies never stop trying to divide our Li Long—sacrifices are inevitable. Under Governor Ye’s wise leadership, we won’t let them succeed." Duke Potter said with a smile. "By the way, what’s the background of that little Night Patrol? He seems to have deep ties to the Secret Castle?"
"Not entirely clear, but the Immortals give him a lot of face. From what I’ve observed, he’s probably being used as a gun by someone. It’s better for matters within the Church Court to be laid out openly anyway; that way misunderstandings can be cleared, and the Hong Family will finally stop making trouble." Ye Shidao said with a smile.
"The enemy’s desire to split our Li Long never dies." Duke Potter chuckled. "Good thing the Grand Governor sees everything clearly. If you need to investigate further, the Potter Family will definitely cooperate."
"Duke Potter, you jest. This is clearly an external enemy’s conspiracy. There have been many similar incidents over the years; today we were merely compelled by the Hong Family, but this should be the end of it. The subsequent election must proceed normally—we can’t lose sight of the greater picture over something small. I’ve borne the heavy duty of Governor for a long time; I can finally retire and enjoy life."
"Hahaha, no one will forget the contributions the Grand Governor has made to Li Long." Duke Potter laughed.
Though Nalan Jingguo was the representative of the liberal faction, at this moment it was not his place to speak; Duke Potter was the true leader of the liberals.
Nalan Jingguo damped down the ambition in his gaze and put on a kindly smile. Today’s commotion was, in fact, beneficial. To have it officially defined as a conspiracy by external forces was ideal. What others might think was unimportant; he was now getting closer and closer to the Grand Governor’s seat.
