Inside Pope Palace, the lights blazed brightly.
Heavy footsteps echoed all the way in from outside the hall.
Spirit Hall Deacons carried in one sealed black iron chest after another.
The iron chests hit the ground.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
Each impact seemed to strike directly against everyone's hearts.
The chest lids were opened.
A stench of rust, coke, medicinal liquid, and Poison Powder immediately spread through the great hall.
Star Sand Cold Iron.
Red-Veined Steel Bars.
Half-finished Soul-Breaking Crossbows.
Poison Sac Seal Tubes.
Grey Pigeon Messages.
Iron Furnace Town Smelting Records.
Tie Wumen Confessions.
Tie Shankui Signed Ledgers.
And several Blood-Stained Iron Molds dug out from beneath the Dark Furnace.
The evidence was laid out piece by piece in the center of the hall.
No one spoke.
Those things were cold.
Yet everyone could feel a bone-piercing killing intent.
It was not the killing intent of one Soul Master toward another.
It was the pure, icy malice created when the Black Market, Hidden Weapons, smuggling, armaments, and poison sacs were all tangled together.
Bibi Dong sat upon the high seat, the Pope Scepter resting across the armrest beside her.
She did not speak immediately, merely gazing quietly at the evidence in the center of the hall.
Yue Guan stood to the left, still holding a Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum in his hand.
Only, his smile was far fainter today.
Gui Mei stood within the shadows, half merged with the darkness, his eyes fixed solely upon those Soul-Breaking Crossbow components.
Hu Liena stood at Di Yao's side.
Her face was still somewhat pale.
She had not emerged unscathed from the trip to Iron Furnace Town.
The all-night interrogations, sealing of the furnaces, escorting of the Account Ledgers, and forcefully intimidating Tie Shankui had drained a tremendous amount of her Soul Power.