Mortal Prisoner

"That's... the Imperial Guards."

"Aren't they supposed to be sealing off the Black River and arresting the fiend? Why have they come to our Outer Courtyard? This clearly violates the rules. As for matters within the Star Gazing Manor, not even the imperial family has the right to interfere."

The East Courtyard erupted into chaos. Shouts of killing rolled from the source area, while five hundred Imperial Guards wielding all kinds of cold weapons trampled across the Outer Sect grounds, making the earth tremble.

"Kill!"

The army charged, waves of Killing Intent spilling everywhere. These five hundred battle-hardened elites had blood on both hands—more than enough to suppress any disturbance in the Star Gazing Manor!

The Star Officials of the Outer Gate Hall were aghast. Was the imperial family staging a rebellion?

Chen Fusheng pretended to look around in panic. What had to come had still come, but he could not figure it out. How had he been exposed?

There were even more than ten High-Ranking Star Officials behind the Imperial Guards. Sun Jingbo was among them, his eyes filled with astonishment. More absurdly, was Chen Fusheng actually the person they were looking for?

Yet Xuan Yuanchang had mobilized an army against the Star Gazing Manor. Without absolutely conclusive evidence, how could he dare do such a thing?

Five hundred Imperial Guards surrounded Chen Fusheng. Xuan Yuanchang wore gleaming Golden Battle Armor as he looked down at him from above.

He still looked utterly ordinary, but the more ordinary he appeared, the more Xuan Yuanchang believed that he was hiding something profound—something far too profound.

"Your Highness, what are you doing?"

Chen Fusheng asked in feigned alarm, "I only won a Gathering Star Pearl from you. There was no need to mobilize an army to suppress me, was there?"

"You answered that very well. If nothing is found later, then your attempt to bite back will indeed be rather embarrassing."

Xuan Yuanchang smiled. "But think carefully. If I didn't have conclusive evidence, would I have mobilized an army of this size to suppress you?"

"In truth, I'm not guarding against you, but against the remnants behind you!"

Xuan Yuanchang glanced at Chen Fusheng's dilapidated courtyard. "I'd like to see what kind of storm they can stir up."

"What remnants? Xuan Yuanchang, what exactly are you trying to do?"

Chen Fusheng said with a pale face, "I grew up in the Star Gazing Manor. I've never broken the law or disturbed public order. Now you're inexplicably pinning this huge accusation on me. Are you trying to abuse your authority for personal revenge?"

At that moment, a tall woman stepped out from behind Xuan Yuanchang.

When Chen Fusheng saw Huang Li, he froze for a moment, instantly thinking of all sorts of possibilities. The only explanation was that she had once seen his Furnace Contemplation Method scroll!

This was a disastrous oversight that Chen Fusheng had never anticipated. Even less had he imagined that Huang Li had searched through his room while he was away.

"Fusheng, if you've done wrong, you must admit it! For Grandpa's sake, you should confess of your own accord."

Huang Li said with extreme anguish, "If you tell them now, there's still room to maneuver. If you wait any longer... sob... can you bear to watch white-haired people send off the black-haired?"

"What exactly have I done wrong? I don't know what you're talking about. Why are you helping outsiders harm me?"

Chen Fusheng shouted with a flushed face. How could he possibly confess before the final moment? Even Old Han had failed to see that he practiced the Contemplation Method. Could anyone else see it?

"Fusheng!"

Huang Tiancheng came out anxiously and said, "If there's a problem, explain it clearly. The Star Gazing Manor will never wrong you. The Star Officials will certainly enforce the law impartially!"

Huang Li cast a sidelong glance at Huang Tiancheng. She instinctively turned around, truly not knowing how to face the old man who had raised her.

"I didn't do anything wrong. Chen Fusheng did. Even if he never practiced the Contemplation Method, couldn't I still report him? Once my life improves, I'll be able to treat Grandpa's illness."

Huang Li thought this to herself, and the guilt in her heart immediately vanished.

"Grandpa, I'll go with them. Don't worry. If I stand straight, I won't fear my shadow bending."

Chen Fusheng knew that this matter was not for Xuan Yuanchang to decide alone. If he wanted to claim the reward, he needed solid evidence!

"I like that stubborn mouth of yours. Men, arrest him and take him to the Star Palace. I have my own ways of making him talk!"

Xuan Yuanchang said coldly, "No one is to approach Chen Fusheng. Anyone who disobeys will have their entire lineage exterminated!"

The various Star Officials wore gloomy expressions. Xuan Yuanchang had not used any of the Star Gazing Manor's forces. Was he guarding against them?

Sun Jingbo's expression shifted between light and dark. If Chen Fusheng were found to have practiced the Forbidden Path, would they be implicated?

If a disciple committed a capital crime, they would likely find it impossible to escape responsibility.

The various Star Officials were terrified, while the ones who had sided with Xuan Yuanchang at the time wore broad smiles. Xu Changfeng and the others who supported him had fallen, and they were the ones benefiting.

"Something terrible is about to happen!"

Wang Lie was frantic with worry. Xuan Yuanchang had come with such overwhelming force—there was probably truly bloody evidence.

Watching Chen Fusheng being shackled and taken away, Liu Bai said in horror, "Could Xuan Yuanchang be trying to secretly harm Chen Fusheng?"

"Use your head. If he really wanted to harm him in secret, would he need to make such a grand display? Xuan Yuanchang must have conclusive evidence!"

Wang Lie said, "If Fusheng really is the person they're looking for, you and I might..."

Wang Lie did not dare say the rest. However, Huang Tiancheng suddenly sent him a mental transmission, telling him a location and asking him to invite someone to the Star Palace.

Wang Lie slipped out of the Star Gazing Manor through the rear mountain amid the chaos. The commotion in the Inner Courtyard was even greater at present, and the sight of five hundred Imperial Guards escorting a prisoner was all the more shocking.

"The fiend is one of our Star Gazing Manor's Outer Sect Disciples? And they mobilized five hundred Imperial Guards to arrest him?"

Some people found it laughable. The lofty Star Lord had come, and even the king had followed, yet in the end they had arrested an Outer Sect Disciple?

"Queen! My queen! Something's happened—something terrible!"

Liu Bai ran to the courtyard where Xu Guifen lived and shouted, "The sky is about to fall! Xuan Yuanchang says Chen Fusheng is the fiend. Is that really true?"

Liu Bai had spent only a limited amount of time with Chen Fusheng, but he understood what kind of person he was. He absolutely refused to believe that Chen Fusheng had done anything disgraceful.

Xu Guifen irritably walked out of the hall. "Chen Fusheng went to the Star Palace. After the Imperial Guards took over security, there hasn't been any news."

Xu Guifen looked as though she had been struck by five thunderbolts. "What's more, Xuan Yuanchang obtained the Star Lord's order and suppressed and brought back Xu Changfeng!"

"What? The Manor Lord too?" Liu Bai cried out in terror. "How could this happen? How could this happen? Could it be that the Manor Lord..."

"How could anything happen to the Manor Lord? Xuan Yuanchang is using this as an excuse, claiming that Xu Changfeng shielded and protected Chen Fusheng, so he must share the same punishment."

Xu Guifen was furious. "If we want to withdraw unscathed now, Chen Fusheng must not be the person they're looking for. Otherwise, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

"I don't believe Fusheng is a devil. I don't believe it!" Liu Bai growled. "Don't panic. We'll definitely get through this trial."

"Boom!"

In an instant, dozens of Imperial Guards charged in, led by A'Da, who kicked the courtyard gate apart.

Xu Guifen turned around furiously. "Are you trying to stage a rebellion?"

"Xu Guifen, you privately took the fiend out of the Black River, violating the highest directive!"

A'Da gave a sinister smile. "Once we interrogate Chen Fusheng and uncover all his crimes, both you and Chen Fusheng will be beaten to death!"

"Bastards! You haven't even confirmed whether Chen Fusheng is the person you're looking for, yet you dare treat us like this? Aren't you afraid that Xuan Yuanchang has eyes but no judgment, and that you'll be punished for arresting the wrong people?"

Xu Guifen had never suffered such disgrace. Liu Bai roared even louder, "This isn't the imperial family academy of Tian Yuan Kingdom! This is the private residence of a Second Order Star Official of the Tian Yuan Star Palace! All of you, get out!"

"What a ridiculous fool. Lock him up first!" A'Da waved his hand. They were acting under the Star Lord's orders with ruthless efficiency. Who dared resist?

"Queen, don't be afraid. We'll deal with them later!" Liu Bai's lungs nearly burst with rage as they forcibly shackled him.

A'Da punched Liu Bai in the chest. His face went pale as he knelt on the ground, blood spilling from his mouth and nose while his body trembled in agony.

"You bastards!" Xu Guifen shouted furiously with reddened eyes. Yet the gazes A'Da and the others cast at her made her body turn cold, and she involuntarily stepped back.

These men were like savage beasts, as if they could not wait to tear her clothes apart.

"What the hell are you looking at?" Liu Bai raised his head and screamed until his voice broke, only to receive another slap across the face.

A'Da gave an evil grin. "Keep acting tough, boy. Once the interrogation of Chen Fusheng is complete, I'll play with her to death right in front of you. Do you believe me?"

"I'll curse your ancestors!"

Liu Bai lunged forward like a madman, but A'Da kicked him flying. With a muffled thud, he fainted.

A group of Imperial Guards lecherously sized up the alluring Xu Guifen. "I've never had a female Star Official before. Who's going first?"

"Let's draw lots. Brothers shouldn't hurt their relationship."

"Hahaha, if you ask me, let's do it together."

"Hahahaha..."

A'Da and the others laughed savagely. The great storm had caused an uproar, while within the Star Palace hanging high in the vault of heaven, the king of Tian Yuan Kingdom watched a bronze mirror in the hall. It displayed scene after scene of Chen Fusheng's arrest.

"Star Lord Qin, what do you think of this?" The king of Tian Yuan Kingdom looked toward a young man in white.

The young man had an elegant, scholarly face. As he teased a little tiger, he remained calm and amiable. "Tell me your understanding of it."

"Judging from Chen Fusheng's reactions and emotional changes, everything seems reasonable," the king of Tian Yuan Kingdom said. Huang Tiancheng's emotions in particular seemed even more natural.

"Is his acting simply too good, or does he think we can't analyze it?"

Qin Fan smiled faintly. "A mortal who once had no mental power value advanced to this level in just a few short months. There's something wrong with him. I thought he would fight desperately and seize the only chance to escape, but instead, he came along so cooperatively."

"Over the years, you must have dealt with quite a few Successors of the Forbidden Path, haven't you? I hear the Heavenly Sun Star Palace possesses special tools that can detect them."

The king of Tian Yuan Kingdom asked, "Or perhaps search the soul?"

"He's a minor character. There's no need to trouble the Star Gazing Master."

Qin Fan remained completely calm. "I'm merely disappointed. It seems there aren't any big fish, which doesn't match my expectations."

"This... how could our Xuan Yuan Family compare with the breadth of your vision, Star Lord?" The king of Tian Yuan Kingdom offered a flattering remark. Qin Fan was a newly promoted Star Lord from headquarters, and their statuses were not far apart.

Yet Qin Fan had a colossal power behind him—a top Beast Taming Family with profound influence in the Heavenly Sun Star Palace. He truly stood at the core of power!

"I came here this time hoping to dig up a whole nest."

Qin Fan looked very amiable. This investigative authority had also been secured for him by the upper echelons of his clan. Once Chen Fusheng's fate was decided, he would have the final say in how the various positions in the Tian Yuan Star Gazing Manor were assigned!

Although he looked down on such a small place, his clan also needed to develop peripheral forces.

If one asked which path to advancement in this world was the fastest, it was naturally arresting Successors of the Forbidden Path. As for the top candidates who triggered strange phenomena, headquarters was watching the progress closely!

"My lord..."

All of a sudden, a group of Imperial Guard captains hurried in, carrying a crude table. They placed it in the middle of the hall, where the remaining top-grade dishes still shimmered with dazzling radiance.

Qin Fan glanced at it, fell silent, then laughed in anger. "What kind of standards are these?"

He walked over and stared at the rare ingredients remaining on the table. His expression darkened, and he let out a mocking laugh. "We maintain the starry sky and cultivate all kinds of rare resources. Tell me, why are they using my money to enjoy themselves?"

The king of Tian Yuan Kingdom was also dumbfounded. He had never even eaten Phoenix Blood Chicken and the like, yet the prisoner had been eating it?

"These mortals... They drink my blood, yet their standards are actually higher than mine!"

Qin Fan was exceptionally furious. He had never lost his temper so badly, because he was usually calm and amiable despite his lofty position.

Yet at a banquet of this level, he could only stand at the entrance and take a look. He did not even qualify to enter!

"I'm a little angry."