"Chief Judge, I think we should investigate ng Qi first," Xue Fei said helplessly. "There are quite a few suspicious things about him."
"What are your opinions?" Chong Jingtian’s gaze was icy. No one dared to look up as they responded in low voices, "It would be best to investigate further."
Bu Siqi looked astonished. ’I can’t believe Master’s threat was so effective. I had to force myself to say it.’
’Killing a Core Seed is no small matter. Threats have to be made at the right ti. If I’d made that threat when the case was a foregone conclusion, it might have sparked public outrage.’
’On the way here, I even secretly ssaged Su Chen asking what to do, and he told to just shout it out in front of everyone.’
’I didn’t expect it to be so miraculously effective. These people are such pushovers.’
"Every one of you... truly the pillars of my Judicial Court," Chong Jingtian said, shaking his head in disappointnt.
Everyone cursed inwardly. ’Ever since that Black Tuo Follower appeared, this case was no longer open-and-shut. Regardless of his motives, ng Qi is probably genuinely compromised.’
’Even if he was colluding with Teng Liang, we still have to investigate thoroughly before drawing any conclusions.’
’Our Chief Judge is clearly just using the situation to back down gracefully, while also saddling us with the bla for being "cowardly."’
"I will take charge of the follow-up investigation," Jiang Shu Mo interjected. "Take the body and Teng Liang away."
The matter was now settled. It had changed from "Teng Liang killed a Core Seed" to "Teng Liang killed a suspected Faceless Ghost Follower."
Su Chen breathed a sigh of relief. ’Getting it to this point is enough.’
’Teng Liang himself is clean, and ng Qi himself is dirty. The more thorough the investigation, the better.’
"Chief Judge!" Bu Siqi couldn’t help but call out as he saw Chong Jingtian about to leave.
"What is it now?" Chong Jingtian frowned.
"There’s an urgent report..." Bu Siqi explained. As he collected himself, a look of alarm appeared on his face. "A truly urgent report."
Chong Jingtian’s expression hardened slightly. "Co with ," he said in a low voice.
Chong Jingtian and two others left with Bu Siqi. The remaining people discussed in low voices for a while, many gazes crossing and converging on Su Chen, before they quickly dispersed.
"So ng Qi... was really a Faceless Ghost Follower in disguise," Ming Lin said, looking worried. "The Faceless Ghost can go that far?"
Su Chen shook his head. "Didn’t you hear what the Black Tuo Follower said? He was most likely a vessel for the Deceitful God, not just an ordinary Believer."
"Thinking back, ng Qi was a bit strange," Ming Lin speculated in hindsight. "There wasn’t the slightest stir when he took the Bloody Butcher profession, the amount of Potions he consud was off, and after the tournant, he even took Zhu Xuan out a few tis."
"And with his profession’s strength, even if his Tier Three was a Top-tier Profession, his Tier One and Tier Two would have held him back. How could he have defeated Feng Ze? What the Black Tuo Follower said was most likely true."
"I trust Senior Brother Teng," Su Chen said with a small smile.
’There’s no doubt ng Qi was compromised. It’s just that before anyone suspected his identity, others wouldn’t have made the connection.’
’All it took was planting a seed of doubt, and others would naturally discover more inconsistencies.’
"But this will be trouble from now on. Who can guarantee a second ng Qi won’t appear?" Ming Lin sighed.
"We have the body. We’ll definitely find sothing out of place," Su Chen said.
"True..." Ming Lin nodded. The two chatted for a while before Ming Lin left. Su Chen, however, waited for Bu Siqi to co out.
It was two or three hours later when Bu Siqi finally erged, looking dazed.
"Senior Brother." Su Chen darted out from the shadows, startling him.
"...A Black Tuo Follower actually popped up to identify ng Qi?" Bu Siqi looked at Su Chen. He had been badly frightened when Chong Jingtian told him the news.
Only then did he understand why his master’s threat had been so effective. With suspicion already cast, no one would dare risk offending Xia Hanshi.
"Old Teng... he couldn’t be involved with the Black Tuo Followers, could he?" Bu Siqi suddenly asked, a wild thought crossing his mind.
Su Chen was speechless. Bu Siqi knew he had said sothing foolish; the day’s events had simply been too much for him to process.
He followed Su Chen back to his residence, looking like he wanted to say sothing but was holding back. Finally, he couldn’t resist asking, "Su Chen, was it really Master who told Old Teng to keep an eye on ng Qi before he left?"
"Yes. When Master told , I found it strange too. ng Qi was so timid, what kind of problem could he have?" Su Chen also sighed emotionally. "I never expected it."
’When I asked Bu Siqi to contact Old Xia, I had him imply that Old Xia should take responsibility for targeting ng Qi.’
’Old Xia was as reliable as ever and shouldered it without question.’
"Master didn’t tell again." A sour feeling welled up in Bu Siqi’s heart. "Am I that unreliable?"
"This kind of thing had to be handled by Senior Brother Teng. Master was just looking out for you," Su Chen comforted him.
Bu Siqi nodded repeatedly. "You’re right. Look at Old Teng, he’s probably going to be stuck in the Judgnt Departnt for a long ti now."
"It should have been a ritorious deed, but who knew ng Qi would commit suicide so decisively," Su Chen sighed, changing the subject. "What was the urgent news about Master?"
Bu Siqi’s thoughts were a tangled ss. Su Chen’s words snapped him back to reality. He slapped his thigh. "I almost forgot! Sothing huge has happened."
"In the southern cities like White Crane, Zixiao, and Biyue, traces of large-scale activity by Deceitful God’s Followers were discovered. Master killed three City Lords in a row, along with a large number of high-level officials, totaling several thousand people."
"And even with all that, those bastards still found a loophole. One city was nearly successfully blood-sacrificed."
Su Chen showed a shocked expression, but inwardly, he wasn’t surprised.
"And you know what the most ridiculous part is? Master actually notified the four Chief Judges accompanying him in advance and headed straight for several cities, as if he’d long known those places had problems."
Bu Siqi exclaid emotionally, "Master is getting more and more uncanny. What kind of nose does he have? He can sll the stench of those Deceitful Gods all the way from Ying Feng."
The Judicial Court has a total of nine Chief Judges. After Chong Jingtian beca the Chief Judge, he no longer left Ying Feng, while the other eight were frequently away.
This ti, based on information uncovered from the fall of the Pang Family, the Judicial Court dispatched several Chief Judges to the suspected regions.
"Unfortunately..." His tone shifted, and Bu Siqi added coldly, "That damn Wei Yinsuo actually didn’t take Master’s words to heart, which led to two cities being blood-sacrificed. He himself is now missing."
"Hm?" Su Chen’s expression flickered. ’Wei Yinsuo is missing... A truly unpredictable world.’
Bu Siqi nodded. "That’s today’s urgent report. As for the earlier matter, the Chief Judge was the one who told ."
"Also, Master discovered traces of activity from the Yuan Capital People."
"Yuan Capital?" Su Chen showed a probing look. This was sothing he didn’t know about.
"That’s right," Bu Siqi added. "Besides the Deceitful God’s Followers, those cities also had traces of activity from Yuan Capital’s ’Church Court.’"
Ying Feng, Yuan Capital, Lieyang, and Celestial Joy—these four cities ruled Red Thunder Star. This was information Su Chen had learned on his way to Ying Feng.
Each of the four cities had its own characteristics. Yuan Capital’s Church Court was one of them. In short, they too worshiped a Divine Spirit, but theirs was a so-called "righteous" one.
"Those old charlatans, who knows what devilish sches they’re cooking up," Bu Siqi sneered. "It’s only been peaceful for ten years, and now they’re stirring up trouble again. They don’t know what’s good for them."
Su Chen sensed the coldness in Bu Siqi’s words and couldn’t help but ask, "The relationship between the four cities... aren’t they allied rulers?"
"Allied?" Bu Siqi scoffed. "That’s all a lie. The four cities might as well be mortal enemies."
"Ying Feng wasn’t the first city on this continent. After developing to a certain point, years of war, slaughter, and rgers began, which is how the current situation was ford."
"It’s probably because the four cities discovered they could no longer completely destroy one another that they suddenly eased tensions, began trade and communication, and gradually erased the records of their past wars."
Su Chen listened intently. This information wasn’t recorded in any docunts; this was the first ti he was hearing it.
He asked for more details, but Bu Siqi didn’t know much more either, only that the relationship between the four cities had started to ease ten years ago.
"And the easing of relations was very strange too." Bu Siqi grew animated as he spoke. "I was about your age at the ti. One day I was following the battle between Ying Feng and Yuan Capital, filled with righteous indignation."
"Then, the very next day, they announced a truce. It was just so weird, you know?"
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