At this moment, Hatoyama, which had already burned into a large coal ball, became lively again.
All the police officers in Jinmen, as well as the Imperial Guard and the Governor's standard troops, gathered and searched the area thoroughly for clues.
In order to make use of the police's expertise, Xiao Cha and her colleagues were assigned to search the ruins of the Jiu Shan Sect.
Returning to the scene of the crime and inviting trouble upon oneself is tantamount to repeating past mistakes.
Xiao Cha wandered around aimlessly, occasionally tumbling on the ground, pretending to work diligently, but her attention was actually focused on the several powerful figures at the mountaintop.
Beside the ruins of the "Spiritual Spring Hall," three groups of people stood clearly separated.
Group 1 consists of Governor Jiang and Qiu Yan;
The second group consisted of the dignified Prince Qing and Cultivator named "Ling Gui," who was his advisor.
The third group consists of familiar faces— Hua Ruoxi Nan Jinping.
Their faces beamed with undisguised joy, while the other four wore expressions of varying degrees.
Jiang Shixiang was the most composed, with a hint of schadenfreude on his face. He couldn't tolerate others sleeping soundly beside his bed; the Governor had long harbored resentment towards the Jiu Shan Sect, and now that things were easier and less troublesome, he was naturally in a good mood.
Qiu Yan's reaction of surprise and anger is quite normal.
Prince Qing and Ling Gui looked as if their fathers had died, which was rather inexplicable.
The advisor named Ling Gui, who looked quite young, was the first to challenge Jiang Shixiang:
"Governor Jiang has gone too far! The entire Jiu Shan Sect has been wiped out, and their Spiritual Vein have been forcibly destroyed! Do you really think the imperial court dares not retaliate?"
Soldiers against soldiers, generals against generals— Jiang Shixiang didn't respond; instead, Qiu Yan spoke up:
"Let's not beat around the bush. This was not done by Governor Jiang. You two will understand if you think about it carefully."
"Ah~ Fairy Qiu is right."
Ling Gui said with a forced smile:
"Your Five Peaks Immortal Sect are most fond of annihilating entire clans to seize treasures and extract spiritual energy. Perhaps an elder from your Huashan Sect has arrived?"
Upon hearing this, Qiu Yan coldly replied:
"I've long heard of Lord Ling's sharp tongue, and seeing it today, it truly lives up to its reputation. With such energy, why not go beyond the Great Wall and reclaim the entrance to your clan's [Changbai Secret Realm]?"
"You..." Ling Gui stammered for a moment.
The People of Izumo have occupied the area outside the pass and have even sent powerful warriors and heavy troops to block the entrance to the holy land. This is common knowledge within the circle.
Seeing the atmosphere growing increasingly tense, Jiang Shixiang waved his hand, and the standard-bearer commander who had been waiting in the distance immediately stepped forward.
The man clapped his hands on his sleeves, knelt on one knee, and reported:
"Report—Judging from the remaining traces at the scene, the Jiu Shan Sect was first attacked by a fierce barrage of firearms, and then its leader was defeated and killed. The bandits were ruthless; only a few remains were found."
"Remains! Where are they?!"
Upon hearing that there were remains, Prince Qing's vertical eye on his forehead suddenly opened and stared wide open.
The standard-bearer commander held a bundle of cloth bags above his head with both hands and said, "It was found on a tree branch twenty miles away..."
Prince Qing hurriedly opened the box and saw that inside was the corpse of a "demon infant," its small face calm, as if it were asleep.
"Not Fan Chengxun's true form..."
Prince Qing frowned, a look of disappointment on his face.
But it's better than nothing. Prince Qing's expression softened slightly as he called out to Jiang Shixiang:
"There's something fishy about this matter. It certainly wasn't done by Lord Jiang, but Lord Jiang was somewhat negligent in his investigation."
Taking advantage of the situation offered, Jiang Shixiang said in a refined and amiable manner, "I will apologize to His Your Majesty myself."
The two clearly didn't want to escalate the conflict, so they tacitly maintained the status quo.
They spoke without any restraint, and Xiao Cha focused her Internal Breath into her ears, listening to everything.
The girl was somewhat disappointed that the blame couldn't be pinned on the Governor.
But seeing Prince Qing personally holding the cloth bag containing the demon infant, her heart began to pound with apprehension...
What would a prince need this disgusting thing for? It can't be anything good!
Nan Jinping shared this view.
It was Prince Qing who gave the "Taotie Swallowing Heaven Method" to Fan Chengxun, which gave birth to a Demon Beast... There must be something fishy about this!
Old Master Nan stared intently at the cloth bag in Prince Qing's hand, about to say something.
Hua Ruoxi reacted quickly, grabbing his wrist and compressing her voice into her mind, transmitting it telepathically:
[You old bastard, don't be so reckless! This is a prince at the Manifestation! He'll swallow you whole!]
He was terrified that this stubborn old mule would bring about his death, but fortunately, Prince Qing was also in a hurry to leave.
"I must return to the capital immediately to report. You are to investigate thoroughly and find the true culprit as soon as possible, and punish him severely."
As he spoke, a giant vulture, as big as a fighter jet, emerged from the void behind him!
Prince Qing and Jiang Shixiang exchanged a fist salute, then carefully protected the cloth bag and lightly jumped onto the vulture's back.
The vulture took flight, disappearing into the horizon amidst a flurry of sand and stones.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The prince left in such a hurry that it was obvious to everyone that it was related to the demon infant's corpse in his hands.
Nan Jinping felt a sense of powerlessness.
With the formidable threat of Izumo outside and the incompetent behavior of the royal family within, every step they take is fraught with difficulty and truly exhausting.
But the most exhausting part was yet to come.
Ling Gui hadn't left; he was staring at Nan Jinping when he suddenly realized something was wrong:
"May I ask, President Nan, when did your Killing for Benevolence Society change its principles? First there was Xuanzang Temple, now there's the Jiu Shan Sect, destroying mountains and wiping out entire clans at the drop of a hat—how arrogant!"
Nan Jinping knew that Lu Li was behind all of this, and with a stern expression, she asked, "What do you intend to do?"
Ling Gui, with a forced smile and official tone, said:
"The evil forces are persecuting the loyal and virtuous. As the registrar of the [Divine Heart General Association], I cannot stand idly by. Who are the culprits? Where are they? President Nan, confess immediately!"
Upon hearing this, even Qiu Yan stared intently at Old Master Nan, wanting to know who had taken away the spiritual energy.
It's highly likely that the [Four Spirits] did this, and even Jiang Shixiang is somewhat curious.
Facing the gazes of the crowd, Nan Jinping remained expressionless and uttered only four words: "No comment."
Seeing that this old fellow was unyielding, Ling Gui simply smiled coldly, firmly sticking to his moral high ground:
"Li Yuanzhong is currently preoccupied with his own problems. President Nan is mistaken if he thinks he can break the law. He'll be thrown into jail soon."
He lowered his eyelids, concealing the calculating glint in his narrow eyes, and turned away.
This person clearly had some backup plan. Hua Ruoxi bowed to Jiang Shixiang and hurriedly pulled Nan Jinping away.
Only Jiang Shixiang and Qiu Yan remained standing there, casually chatting:
"The Prince Qing faction all have experience studying in Izumo and have even met the Emperor of Izumo. This time, they're probably taking advantage of Li Yuanzhong's predicament to deal with the members of the Killing for Benevolence Society and plot against the [Four Spirits]."
"It's laughable that Li Yuanzhong risked his life on the front lines only to be stabbed in the back."
Qiu Yan gritted her teeth and said, "Perfect! I want to see who stole my inspiration!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly sensed a gaze upon her. Turning her head, she saw, unsurprisingly, that it came from the police officers.
Many people were glancing in their direction, but Qiu Yan didn't pay them any attention; in her eyes, they were just insignificant ants.
Xiao Cha secretly rejoiced, and at the same time couldn't wait to tell Lu Li what she had heard.
At this moment, Lu Li, far away in Jinmen, suddenly became serious.
He sensed that... the Kunlun Mirror had stopped opening up his Sea of Consciousness.
This indicates that your Sea of Consciousness has reached its current limit; it's time to break through!