The truth had come to light.
The man who had extorted the land god in the Mortal Realm was Ma Muzhi, but this was clearly a frame-up.
Chen Wei knew it too. He quickly waved a hand, cutting off Ma Muzhi's impassioned oaths. "I know it wasn't you."
"My lord, you believe me? The face on this Recording Stone..." Ma Muzhi froze, then hurried two steps closer. "A face can be faked, an aura can be disguised, but a brain can't be counterfeited."
Chen Wei picked up his now-lukewarm immortal tea and skimmed off the floating foam. "I know exactly how you operate, Old Ma. There's no faking that."
How did Old Ma operate?
He ordinarily borrowed the Government Office's authority to cadge a few meals and gifts in the Mortal Realm. That was petty graft.
It all fell within the rules the Heavenly Court tacitly permitted. Nothing worth making a fuss over.
But extorting a land god in the Mortal Realm, demanding Merit Gold Bricks worth three hundred thousand years right off the bat?
He would never do that.
First, he didn't have the nerve to invite such deadly karma.
Second, the fellow had been holed up in the Heavenly Court's Government Office. He hadn't even gone through the South Heaven Gate. How could he have extorted anyone?
Just then, Xiao Yan and the other Immortal Officials all caught on.
Exactly.
However heaven-reaching the abilities of the Immortal behind this setup, however perfectly he had disguised the face and aura, he had overlooked one fatal flaw in basic common sense.
Where would a minor land god in the Mortal Realm get three hundred thousand years' worth of merit to be extorted out of?
Pang Long's eyes flashed. He cupped his hands. "My lord, since they dared deliver this Recording