Slap in the Face!

Bai Cheng still wanted to laugh, but Li Sanshun stepped hard on his wound.

"Whether the confession is real or fake is not for you to worry about. You had better start thinking about how many rounds of interrogation you can withstand once we return to Law Enforcement Peak."

Bai Cheng gritted his teeth and shut his mouth.

Stone chips continued to fall from the mine ceiling.

The group did not delay any further. Gu Qinghe sealed the furnace material list, the mine furnace ledger, and the fifteenth embryo piece. Zhao Rui also arrived at the Ding-Character Furnace with his men and carried the three miners out.

Bai Cheng was fitted with the Spirit-Locking Chain and guarded by four North Mountain disciples.

Before leaving the old mine, Li Sanshun looked back at the Ding-Character Furnace one last time.

Fifteen imitation tokens.

Fourteen were still out there.

Xu Zhenchuan had spent six years hiding the old accounts, but now both the ledgers and the living witnesses had fallen into their hands.

That old bastard would certainly not be able to sit still.

The group did not take the main entrance of Law Enforcement Peak; instead, they bypassed the Reception Courtyard and entered the Deliberation Hall from the back of the main peak.

Gu Changyue had already arrived.

He was still wearing the gray robes from his house arrest, and the Hall Master Token was missing from his waist. A main peak disciple stood on either side of him.

A confession lay on the long table.

Xu Zhenchuan had not come; he had only sent someone to deliver this. It was claimed that he was currently auditing the imperial capital's tribute gifts and could not get away.

Qi Shouxuan gestured toward the long table.

"Gu Changyue, you first."

Gu Changyue picked up the confession and read only half a page.

"The handwriting is mine, and the seal is genuine."

Gu Qinghe gripped the edge of the table.

Li Sanshun took the paper.

The confession was written very clearly. Twenty-one years ago, Gu Changyue had privately relocated fifteen royal infants and used the Tai Xuan Sect disciple roster to change their identities. Six years ago, fearing the old case would be exposed, he ordered Zhou Huai to destroy the evidence.

At the very bottom was Gu Changyue's own signature.

Li Sanshun brought the confession close to his nose and took a sniff.

[Detected: Gu Changyue's law enforcement spiritual aura.]

[Detected: Residual aura of royal ink.]

[Writing time of the upper page: Within seven days.]

[Signature time of the bottom page: Over twenty-one years ago.]

The paper was real.

The handwriting and the seal were also real.

But the content of the confession had been written only recently.

Li Sanshun pressed the confession onto the table and pointed to an inconspicuous seam in the middle.

"The top is newly written, and the bottom is the old signature from twenty-one years ago. Someone spliced two sheets of paper into one."

Qi Shouxuan swept his spiritual power over the seam, and two layers of different ink luster emerged from the paper.

The upper page still held the scent of fresh ink, while the signature at the bottom had long since seeped into the paper fibers.

Gu Changyue picked up the bottom half and flipped it over.

"Twenty-one years ago, when investigating the Old Infant Case, I signed twelve blank sheets for sealing files. Since the case involved the royal family, the files required the true seal before being sent into the sealing array for transcription."

"One of them was lost?"

"Two were lost."

Gu Qinghe turned to look at him.

"You never mentioned that."

"After the Old Infant Case was sealed, Qi Shouxuan personally issued a gag order. Anyone who leaked it would have their cultivation crippled and be expelled from the sect."

Qi Shouxuan took out a Spirit-Reflecting Mirror and pressed it onto the confession.

The mirror surface soon displayed records of documents handled by Xu Zhenchuan.

Twenty-one years ago, Xu Zhenchuan was merely a disciple in the Archives Room, yet he had participated in the sealing of the Old Infant Case.

Six years ago, he had again requisitioned Gu Changyue's discarded private seal to forge mine documents.

Gu Qinghe placed the mine furnace ledger on the table.

"The three miners from the Ding-Character Furnace can all testify. Xu Zhenchuan used the old seal to withdraw fifty-eight catties of Blood-Vein Black Iron to cast fifteen imitation tokens. Zhou Huai was ordered by my father to audit the accounts and subsequently went missing."

Zhao Rui escorted Bai Cheng into the Deliberation Hall, and the Earth-Fire Control Token was also placed on the table.

The private seal at the base of the token matched the mine's outgoing shipment seal perfectly.

Qi Shouxuan verified it three times, but the result remained unchanged.

Bai Cheng still refused to speak.

However, Chen Jiumu recognized the control token.

"Six years ago, it was Xu Zhenchuan who used this to open the Ding-Character Furnace!"

Yuan Fu also pressed his blood-stained fingerprint onto the testimony.

"He locked us in the stone chamber and said that Hall Master Gu had already confessed. He told us that once the Old Infant Case was reopened, all three of us would be considered accomplices of the Gu family."

The mine furnace ledger, the outgoing shipment documents, the control token, and two living witnesses all pointed to Xu Zhenchuan.

The black iron theft case from six years ago could finally be overturned.

Qi Shouxuan put away the Spirit-Reflecting Mirror.

"Effective today, Gu Changyue's house arrest is lifted."

Gu Qinghe's shoulders, which had been tense for so long, finally relaxed.

Gu Changyue, however, did not reach for the Hall Master Token on the table.

"The Old Infant Case has not been fully investigated. I did sign blank sealing papers, and I did lose two of them. I will leave the Hall Master Token at the main peak for now."

"You want to remain suspended?" Qi Shouxuan looked at him.

"Xu Zhenchuan still has fourteen imitation tokens. Catching him is easy, but recovering the imitation tokens is difficult."

Li Sanshun tapped the Spirit-Sealing Box.

"What's more troublesome is that he doesn't know we've found living witnesses."

Xu Zhenchuan dared to hand over the confession because he was certain Gu Changyue could not clear his name.

The West Mountain old mine had been sealed for over a decade, and the three miners had been on the missing persons list for six years. As long as Bai Cheng hadn't sent the news out, Xu Zhenchuan would still believe the secret of the Ding-Character Furnace remained unknown.

Qi Shouxuan understood their plan.

"You want to use your suspension to bait him?"

Gu Qinghe took out the Law Enforcement Hall personnel roster.

"We will only announce the lifting of the house arrest to the public; Xu Zhenchuan will continue to hold the authority of the Hall Master Token. The West Mountain evidence will not be entered into the archives for now, and the names of the three miners will not be added to the witness registry."

Gu Changyue took over.

"Seeing that I am still under suspicion, Xu Zhenchuan will surely continue to tie up loose ends."

"Who will he kill first?" Qi Shouxuan looked at Li Sanshun.

"Zhao Chong."

Zhao Chong was responsible for escorting the imperial capital's tribute gifts and was also someone who had seen the forged blood-authentication and the requisition orders.

After Bai Chongshan entered the Tai Xuan Sect, he had Yan Song throw him into the Cold Prison. If Xu Zhenchuan wanted to protect the fourteen imitation tokens, Zhao Chong had to die.

Li Sanshun walked over to Bai Cheng and tore the Message Talisman from his waist.

The talisman paper had not yet been used.

After Bai Cheng was wounded, he hadn't been able to send the message. Xu Zhenchuan only knew he had gone to the West Mountain; he did not know what had happened beneath the mine.

"Release the news that Zhao Chong is willing to confess tonight and can identify the person who provided the imitation tokens."

Qi Shouxuan took out a transfer order.

"Transfer Zhao Chong to the main peak's secret prison?"

"Xu Zhenchuan has his people at the main peak, too." Li Sanshun shook his head. "Send him to Zhen Yue Peak. That's Xiong Baichuan's territory; he can't reach in there."

Gu Qinghe looked at Gu Changyue for a moment.

"Six years ago, I suspected you."

Gu Changyue tidied up the mine furnace ledger.

"If you hadn't investigated just because I am your father, there would be no need for the Law Enforcement Hall to exist."

"After Zhou Huai's incident, I even confiscated his identity badge."

"You were right to do so."

The father and daughter did not mention the matter again.

Li Sanshun felt his teeth ache; he grabbed the Spirit-Sealing Box and walked out.

"You Gu family members are something else. Even apologizing is just like interrogating a case—three sentences and it's done."

Gu Qinghe followed him.

"What else did you want to hear?"

"At least buy me a meal."

"Wait until we catch Xu Zhenchuan."

"Still putting it on credit?"

"Put it on my tab."

After nightfall, Law Enforcement Peak posted a notice.

Gu Changyue's house arrest was lifted, but he remained suspended.

Xu Zhenchuan would temporarily hold the authority of the Hall Master Token and be responsible for the imperial capital tribute gift case.

The news quickly spread through every courtyard.

Rumors of Zhao Chong's confession were also leaked by the disciples on duty at the Cold Prison.

Li Sanshun went to the Cold Prison before the shift change and took away a sealed prisoner transport carriage through the back door. Xiong Baichuan had already sent men to meet them on the mountain path; the carriage did not pass by the Law Enforcement Peak guard station and was sent directly to Zhen Yue Peak.

Just past the hour of the Rat, Zhao Rui pushed open the door to the guard station.

"A report from the Cold Prison—someone is using Qi Shouxuan's official seal to demand the transfer of Zhao Chong in the middle of the night!"