Interrogation Record

"Name?"

"One zhang of red."

"Be honest, I'm asking for your real name!"

"Zhang Xiaohong."

Inside the interrogation room, the dim oil lamp flickered, creating a cold and dark atmosphere. Fang Qingyun stood with his arms crossed, sneering at the newly arrested suspect. Constable Wei stared into Wei's bloodshot eyes and bombarded him with questions. Meanwhile, a junior constable was scribbling down notes at a nearby table.

"Gender?"

"Male."

"Cultivation level?"

"Peak of the Foundation Establishment Late Stage."

Officer Wei snorted coldly, "Make a note of it. Foundation Establishment Late Stage. Don't bother with anything beyond that. Zhang Xiaohong, let me tell you now, if you believe that our handling of this case affects a fair trial, you can apply for recusal, which means having someone else handle it. Do you want to apply for recusal?"

"I am applying..."

Officer Wei grunted in response, drawing out the sound and raising the pitch at the end.

Zhang Xiaohong quickly said, "No, no, no, I won't apply for recusal."

"Tell me, why did you come in?"

"You're eating grilled skewers and not paying?"

Fang Qingyun said impatiently, "Stop the interrogation, just execute him on the spot. Say that he resisted fiercely during the arrest, preferred death to surrender, and died by poison."

This was absolutely something Fang Qingyun would do. Wearing chains, Yi Zhang Hong quickly said, "I'll tell you, I'll tell you. About ten days ago, I woke up at the foot of a cliff. I must have slipped and fallen while passing the mountain west of Yanjiang County. When I woke up, I found a cave, which should be the residence of some cultivator. No one had been to the cave for a long time. I carefully went inside, and apart from a book, I didn't find anything of value."

"You took that book during the body search."

"It records some less common talismans and their corresponding formations, such as the Reverse Lifespan Talisman and the Reverse Lifespan Formation. According to the book, the Reverse Lifespan Talisman can convert lifespan into my cultivation level. I'm currently at a bottleneck and want to break through to the Golden Core stage in one fell swoop, living a carefree life. Moreover, this breakthrough method can also increase lifespan, which is too tempting."

Fang Qingyun angrily said, "I consulted the prefect, and according to the scale of your setup, it's more than enough to allow someone to break through from the Foundation Establishment Realm to the Golden Core stage, let alone from the Golden Core stage to the Nascent Soul Realm!"

Yi Zhang Hongxin said, "I know this is wasteful, but I just don't know any other methods."

Of course, such words couldn't be spoken. Yi Zhang Hong pretended not to hear Fang Qingyun's scolding and continued, "I am a talisman cultivator myself, and I quickly learned the Reverse Lifespan Talisman. Setting up a Reverse Lifespan Array isn't difficult; just arrange the Reverse Lifespan Talismans into the shape of an array."

"The effects of the Reversal Lifespan Talisman are imperceptible to cultivators, and its effect on mortals is merely drowsiness, which is easily overlooked. Moreover, once the formation is set up, it doesn't even have the effect of causing drowsiness."

"However, the Reverse Lifespan Formation requires too many talismans to be affixed, and one person cannot complete it in a short time. I happened to run into two companions, the other two you captured."

"Strangely enough, those two weren't from Yanjiang County, yet they happened to appear here, and they couldn't remember what they came to Yanjiang County for."

"We hit it off immediately and decided to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm together."

"We are meticulous and leave no trace. We stopped our operations while you were searching for the Life-Reversing Talisman. We felt this place was becoming increasingly unsafe and wanted to leave Yanjiang County. Before we left, we heard there was a famous barbecue restaurant here, so we wanted to try it. The skewers weren't even ready when you arrived."

Yi Zhang Hong was completely puzzled, unable to figure out where things had gone wrong. Of course, Constable Wei wouldn't say it was the kind shop owner who had reported it.

After the interrogation, Chief Constable Wei had him sign and fingerprint the document. "Write your name at the bottom of each page, and on the last page, write that you have read the above record and that it matches what I said."

"Press your fingerprint wherever you sign."

The next day, as usual, Constable Wei delivered a banner.

He's considering setting up an office at the barbecue restaurant and living there; wouldn't that be more efficient at arresting people than patrolling all day?

If things continue like this, becoming the chief constable will be just around the corner.

"Mr. Lu, your barbecue restaurant has excellent feng shui; it's a place blessed with outstanding people and resources."

Lu Yang smiled ingratiatingly, "Whether the land is auspicious or not is secondary; the main thing is that it has outstanding people."

"The government offices have been too busy lately. I'll apply to the higher-ups when things calm down and see if we can award your shop an 'Outstanding Shop' plaque."

"That's great! The water's just been boiled; drink it while it's hot."

Lu Yang poured a glass of hot water for him warmly. "You've already caught them, why are you still so busy?"

"Hey, we've caught the guy and found the place he gave us—an abandoned cave. It's probably where some wanted demonic criminal was hiding. Once we tear off the Life-Reversing Talisman at the location they gave us, this case will be closed."

"The problem is that the Spring Festival is approaching, and judging from the current situation, there will be 20% more people coming than last year. I wanted to take a holiday, but the chief constable wouldn't approve it, telling me to patrol more during the Spring Festival."

"If you get tired from patrolling, you can come here to rest. Our store will be open as usual during the Spring Festival."

After seeing off Constable Wei, Meng Jingzhou breathed a sigh of relief, "It's finally over. The past few days have been so tense, searching for the Life-Reversing Talisman every day. Maybe this Zhang Hong saw how hard we were working and came here to walk right into our trap."

Man Gu hesitated for a moment, thinking that Yi Zhang Hong probably didn't think that way.

Lu Yang noticed that Lan Ting was gesturing something and asked curiously, "What are you doing?"

Without looking up, Lan Ting said, "I'm trying to research an automatic skewering formation that automatically strings together meat pieces with bamboo skewers."

Lu Yang picked up a bamboo skewer, pinched it between two fingers, and lifted it thoughtfully.

Suddenly, he tossed out a few pieces of meat, then used two fingers to fling the bamboo skewers away.

Unfortunately, the bamboo skewer brushed against the meat pieces but didn't skewer them.

Man Gu didn't understand what Lu Yang was doing, thinking that Brother Lu was playing a very new game. Meng Jingzhou's eyes lit up as he realized what was going on.

"You want to practice your concealed weapon techniques by skewering meat with bamboo sticks?"

Lu Yang smiled without saying a word, which was taken as tacit agreement.

Soon, Meng Jingzhou also joined the practice team, studying how to exert force precisely to ensnare the moving flesh particles in the air.

Man Gu hesitated, "This... shouldn't be something the righteous path would do, right?"

Lu Yang said in a serious tone, "That's not right. Haven't you heard the saying, 'Clinging firmly to the green hills, its roots firmly planted in the broken rocks. A thousand blows and ten thousand strikes cannot break its strength, it stands firm against the winds from all directions'?"

"Bamboo is resilient, elegant, and serene, representing a gentleman. How could bamboo be used as a weapon, a concealed weapon?"

"This is a weapon only a gentleman would use."

Man Gu suddenly understood, feeling as if a latrine had been cleared up. "So that's how it is, then I'll try it too."

Lanting was engrossed in studying the formation. Several bamboo sticks were suspended in the air when, with a whoosh, they stuck straight into the wall, their ends still humming and vibrating.

If the target were a person, they would be dead already.

"The power is a bit too strong." Lan Ting scratched her head in distress, trying her best to reduce the power.

"Instead of using an automatic array-breaking mechanism, let's just set the power to maximum."

The two demonic accomplices trembled as they watched the chaotic scene of demons dancing in disarray.