Three Departments Joint Trial

"It is just a little fox."

"A little fox?"

Ye Huijian drew out her words, then peered at Liu Chengfeng.

"Isn't it?"

Liu Chengfeng sounded a bit lacking in confidence.

Ye Huijian smiled. Her features were plain, but her smile was beautiful, leaving Liu Chengfeng momentarily dazed.

Ye Huijian extended a finger, and a burst of light bloomed. With a soft "pop," it surged into the fox's body before she tossed it back to Liu Chengfeng.

"What are you doing?"

Liu Chengfeng was startled, fearing that Ye Huijian was about to slaughter the fox, so he hurriedly tucked it into his robes.

The fox was terrified, but upon realizing what had happened, it was pleasantly surprised; Ye Huijian's casual touch had healed its internal injuries.

"Keep a good watch."

Ye Huijian said this to the fox, but a single glance from her was enough to scare the fox out of its wits, leaving it trembling in fear.

"Alright, stop scaring Little Li."

Liu Chengfeng tucked it deeper into his robes and complained.

The fox hid inside Liu Chengfeng's embrace, finally feeling safe.

What kind of existence was she, and what was her relationship with Liu Chengfeng?

The fox was inwardly horrified. Liu Chengfeng could joke and bicker with Ye Huijian, yet it was deathly afraid of her.

"I have some news for you."

Ye Huijian stopped paying attention to Little Li.

Liu Chengfeng hurriedly listened.

"That Zhao Tian from Zhao Family Village has been taken in by the Divine Dynasty and has received the recognition of the gods."

"Because of the Divine Descent?"

Liu Chengfeng felt suspicious. Zhao Jinnian's son was merely the child of a servant; for him to suddenly manifest such anomalies, there had to be a problem.

"It is hard to say, but he has already been seen by the gods."

"You killed his father. Once this news reaches his ears, he will want to offer you as a living sacrifice."

"Although he is in seclusion and cannot come to the Qiuchi Kingdom, he has already ordered the Guli Dynasty to apprehend you."

"Then let them come."

Liu Chengfeng had been mentally prepared for this day to arrive. Even if Zhao Tian had become a Son of God, he would still have killed Zhao Jinnian without hesitation.

"Cultivate well, and wait for the manifestation of your Treasure Mountain Divine Treasury."

Ye Huijian gave her instructions and then departed.

Watching Ye Huijian leave, Little Li finally let out a sigh of relief.

"What kind of fox are you?"

Liu Chengfeng curiously examined Little Li, but the fox remained silent.

Liu Chengfeng did not press the matter further and continued to circulate his cultivation technique, absorbing spiritual energy to nourish his Treasure Mountain Divine Treasury.

He was already at the third stage of the Treasure Mountain Divine Treasury and could now attempt to break through to the fourth stage.

The spiritual energy in the Imperial Capital was so abundant that even without stealing a deep breath, simply absorbing it slowly was far superior to his time at the Su Family in Tiger Mound or the Cloud Rising Sect.

While Liu Chengfeng was staying at the Demon Slaying Division, an unexpected guest arrived: Ye Yiqing.

"Do you want to leave the Demon Slaying Division?"

Ye Yiqing remained noble and arrogant, but her first sentence caught Liu Chengfeng by surprise.

"You want to let me out?"

"Why not?"

This made Liu Chengfeng even more surprised. He had destroyed Ye Yiqing's Giant Warship and killed the Princess of the Wu Clan; they were supposed to be enemies.

"What are the conditions?"

Liu Chengfeng understood that Ye Yiqing could not possibly be saving him out of the kindness of her heart.

"Join the Grandmaster Mansion, and when the Three Departments Joint Trial takes place, your crimes can be pardoned."

"Is this your intention, or someone else's?"

Liu Chengfeng couldn't help but be suspicious. Ye Yiqing likely didn't have the authority to pardon him; it was more probable that this came from the Grand Marshal of the Grandmaster Mansion.

"That is not for you to worry about. Do you agree or not?"

Ye Yiqing looked at Liu Chengfeng coldly and haughtily.

"No need."

Liu Chengfeng refused point-blank; he did not believe the Grand Marshal had good intentions. Was it really just to recruit him?

"That is you seeking your own death."

Ye Yiqing let out a cold snort, clearly displeased.

"Don't be in such a hurry to refuse. Whatever the matter is, we can discuss it properly, discuss it properly."

Su Youqian's voice drifted in from outside the door as he hurried over.

"Brother, it's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright. You had me worried sick."

Seeing that Liu Chengfeng was safe and sound, Su Youqian finally felt at ease.

"What are you doing here?"

Ye Yiqing did not care for Su Youqian; her father wanted to betroth her to him, but she looked down on such a dissolute playboy.

"Aren't you all trying to recruit my brother? We can discuss this matter."

"Discuss what?"

Liu Chengfeng was also puzzled.

"The Three Departments Joint Trial. Brother, if they say you're guilty, you're guilty; if they say you're innocent, you're innocent. As it happens, I am one of the three departments presiding over your trial."

"You saw the Emperor?"

Ye Yiqing cast a cold glance at him.

"Heh, it's a coincidence. I petitioned the Emperor and was appointed as the representative in charge of this matter."

The Three Departments Joint Trial involved the Imperial Court, the Grandmaster Mansion, and the Demon Slaying Division.

As one of the heirs to the throne, Su Youqian had gone to the Emperor of Qiuchi to request and obtain the authority for the joint trial.

Liu Chengfeng understood that Su Youqian had spent a great deal of effort to save him.

"Princess, you want to save my brother too, right? I want to save him as well. If you and I put our heads together and face the Demon Slaying Division, there won't be any problem with my brother's case."

"Unless he joins the Grandmaster Mansion, otherwise, it's out of the question."

Even though Su Youqian represented the Imperial Court, Ye Yiqing still held him in contempt.

"It doesn't necessarily have to be that way. I know the Princess is deeply cherished by the Grand Marshal. We can deliberate on this matter further, deliberate further."

"Out of the question."

Ye Yiqing, arrogant as ever, turned to leave.

"Don't you want to cancel the engagement between us?"

Just as Ye Yiqing was about to leave, her body stiffened. She turned back and stared at Su Youqian.

"You mean—"

"You don't want to marry me, and I don't want to marry you. We can negotiate this matter and get the Grand Marshal to drop the idea."

Ye Yiqing let out a cold snort; that was an impossible task.

Although she and Su Youqian did not yet have a formal engagement, her father's decisions were notoriously difficult to change.

"What kind of plan do you have?"

Finally, Ye Yiqing's haughty attitude softened significantly.

"The Grand Marshal has been studying the Thunder Fire Divine Tablet lately, but he can't make heads or tails of it. What if we could figure it out?"

"You?"

Ye Yiqing was dismissive. Was she not well aware of Su Youqian's talent?

"Heh, I can't do it, but my brother can."

Su Youqian patted Liu Chengfeng on the shoulder, full of confidence.

"Thunder Fire Divine Tablet?"

Liu Chengfeng was curious about what this object was.

"It is the key to activating our Ancestral Hall. When the time comes, I will need to borrow your unique talent, brother."

"Ancestral Hall—"

Liu Chengfeng became interested; the Stone Lion had mentioned this place before.

"Princess, we can unlock the Thunder Fire Divine Tablet, but I have two conditions: first, the Grandmaster Mansion must drop all charges against my brother; second, I want to practice the Ye Clan's Fierce Beast Heart Method."

Su Youqian began to negotiate with Ye Yiqing.

"Impossible—"

Ye Yiqing refused immediately.

"Princess, this concerns your lifelong happiness. Don't be in such a rush to refuse. We can discuss it; I can even trade other heart methods with your Ye Clan."

"You haven't even reached the Induction stage yet?"

Ye Yiqing looked Su Youqian up and down, her expression full of suspicion.

Su Youqian is one of the heirs to the throne. The royal family's cultivation method is water-attributed, while the Ye Clan's method is fire-attributed.

"Sigh, isn't it because His Majesty is too strict? If I stay in the royal family, my little life will be finished sooner or later. If I cultivate the Ye Clan's method, His Majesty won't be able to control me."

"Besides, Princess, if I cultivate the Ye Clan's method, even if you and I don't marry, it would still be like adding family to family. The Ye Clan and the royal family have been ironclad allies for generations."

Su Youqian wanted to persuade Ye Yiqing.

"That is an impossible matter."

Ye Yiqing knew clearly that pardoning Liu Chengfeng was not difficult, but letting Su Youqian cultivate the Ye Clan's method was a different story.

"Princess, the Grand Marshal dotes on you; you can definitely persuade him. Besides, does the Princess really want to marry me?"

Ye Yiqing's expression turned cold; this engagement was the thing she wanted least of all.

Under the persuasion of Su Youqian's silver tongue, Ye Yiqing finally agreed to try and convince her father.

"What is this for?"

Liu Chengfeng felt it wasn't that simple. Su Youqian was perfectly fine not cultivating the royal method, yet he went off to cultivate the Ye Clan's method.

"Sigh, isn't this His Majesty's intention? What can I do? If I don't do it, I won't be able to keep my little life."

Su Youqian couldn't help but pull a bitter face. As a second-generation heir, he had Lady Chen doting on him, so no one could do anything to him, but he feared the Emperor of Qiuchi like a mouse seeing a cat.

"Hard work, brother."

Liu Chengfeng had no interest in the power struggles of the royal court, but Su Youqian was truly running around for his sake.

"Brother, it is I who am working hard for you. Heh, whether I can dissolve this engagement depends on you. When the time comes, you must unlock the Divine Tablet."

"I have patted my chest and guaranteed before His Majesty that you, brother, have talent that is peerless through the ages, unique since the dawn of time."

Liu Chengfeng glanced at him. Su Youqian chuckled, not minding his own bragging at all, and he didn't even feel like he was bragging.

Before the Three Departments Joint Trial, Ye Yiqing sent word to Su Youqian that the Grand Marshal had agreed.

The fact that the Grand Marshal agreed to this matter so quickly surprised Liu Chengfeng.

"Heh, you don't know, the Ancestral Hall has been sealed for a long time. That is the root of the Grandmaster Mansion. If it can be opened, the Grandmaster Mansion has picked up a huge bargain, so how could they not agree?"

Su Youqian whispered to Liu Chengfeng, not surprised in the slightest.

"The Three Departments Joint Trial is just a formality to give an explanation to the Demon Slaying Division. You can rest easy, brother."

Representing the royal family, Su Youqian told Liu Chengfeng to put his heart at ease.

The Three Departments Joint Trial was held at the Demon Slaying Division, presided over by the Division Head Han Qi, with representatives from the royal family and the Grandmaster Mansion in attendance.

The royal representative was Su Youqian, and the Grandmaster Mansion representative was Ye Yitian.

Ye Yitian finally showed his face, his aura extraordinary. A surge of flame energy made the scene feel as if it were being baked by a furnace.

Ye Yitian wore a yellow brocade robe, standing as straight as a peak, his eyes carrying the glow of flames.

He sat high in the hall, forming a contrast with the cold and stern Han Qi, with Ye Yiqing accompanying him by his side.

Liu Chengfeng walked into the hall, accompanied by Nangong Renshe.

Around the hall, experts from the Demon Slaying Division stood guard, their aura cold and grim.

"Cloud Rising Sect guest, Liu Chengfeng, you bear three major crimes and should be sentenced to heavy punishment."

Han Qi's voice was cold, possessing an iron-blooded, ruthless quality.

"Division Head Han, no need to rush the sentencing. What are these three major crimes?"

The royal representative, Su Youqian, immediately intervened.

"The first crime: destroying the Grandmaster Mansion's Giant Warship, damaging the assets of the Qiuchi Kingdom."

"This crime does not lie with brother Liu, for two reasons."

"First, the Giant Warship was not destroyed by brother Liu; the Old Matriarch can testify to this. It was destroyed by the Demonic Tree."

"And the second?"

"Secondly, the Grandmaster Mansion has also abandoned the pursuit of the matter regarding the destruction of the Giant Warship."

"Do you have any objections?"

Han Qi looked toward Ye Yitian.

Ye Yitian's eyes narrowed, flames flickering as he stared at Liu Chengfeng, his aura oppressive.

Ye Yitian did not speak, and Ye Yiqing, beside him, grew anxious and hurriedly tugged on his sleeve.

"No objections."

In the end, Ye Yitian had no choice but to answer sullenly. He wanted to pin a major crime on Liu Chengfeng, but the deal had already been made.

"The second crime: acting as a mole, colluding with exotic beasts to attack Great Meng City."

"Division Head Han, this statement is incorrect. If brother Liu were colluding with exotic beasts, would he have borrowed the power of the Demonic Tree and joined forces with my ancestor to force back the Lynx Emperor?"

"The crisis of Great Meng City was resolved by brother Liu, and the Su Family is willing to vouch for him. Furthermore, the so-called collusion is merely that Liu Chengfeng has a friendship with the Master of Little Meng Mountain."

"Sect Master Nangong knows of this matter, and Young Master Ye witnessed it with his own eyes at Little Meng Mountain."

"Therefore, the charge of colluding with exotic beasts to attack Great Meng City does not hold."

Han Qi immediately shot a glare at Su Youqian.

"Hey, Chief Han, the Demon Slaying Division has always upheld the law; we cannot wrongly accuse a good man. The hundreds of thousands of lives in Great Mongolia were all saved by Brother Liu."

"Do you have any objections?"

Han Qi let out a cold snort, looking at Ye Yitian.

"No objections."

Ye Yitian muttered sullenly.

This Three Departments Joint Trial had already been decided beforehand; the Grandmaster Mansion and the Imperial Family intended to protect Liu Chengfeng and stand together against the Demon Slaying Division.

Being treated like a puppet, Ye Yitian was naturally unhappy.