Chapter 2159: Chapter 2159 Revealing Flaws
Ye Liuyun was merely telling Xu Mulin the story from other people’s points of view.
"According to those martial practitioners, No one has emerged, living or dead. It’s quite peculiar."
"Why the Divine soul oppressions of the Deliverance Hill disappeared, no one can say for sure. They didn’t have the power to get close enough to the mountain in the first place, so they didn’t know what exactly happened.
"And there could be a plethora of speculations, but there is no unified explanation."
"Oh? What kind of speculations are there?" Xu Mulin continued to probe with a relaxed grin.
"Some say that the Deliverance Hill devoured all the martial practitioners. Some believe that it was the fallout of a fight between two strong experts, and everyone else was just caught in the crossfire. Those two strong experts they mentioned referred to the Prince of God and a Yin-soul in the mountain."
"There are also whispers about treasures within the Deliverance Hill being looted away." Ye Liuyun continued.
These were the true speculations he gathered, not a fabricated story by him.
"Well then, which one does Mister Zhao think is the likely truth?" Xu Mulin counter-questioned Ye Liuyun.
"Well... Those are all speculations. It could be right or could be wrong. I dare not make hasty guesses," Ye Liuyun said feigning difficulty.
But Xu Mulin didn’t give up and continued to ask, "Do you believe that the treasure inside the Deliverance Hill might have been taken?"
Ye Liuyun smiled and shook his head. "It’s too difficult to even approach the mountain, let alone climb it! Stealing treasures from Deliverance Hill would be an even harder task!"
"How about the said battle between the Soul King and the Yin-Soul?" Xu Mulin continued to probe.
Ye Liuyun also shook his head. "The Soul King has been peaceful with that Yin-soul for many years. Why the sudden fight? I find that highly improbable!"
"So, the Deliverance Hill devoured those martial practitioners?" Xu Mulin asked with a smile, finding this notion rather outrageous.
Ye Liuyun chuckled as he said, "Deliverance Hill has been around for many years and such incidents have never happened. If it could swallow the martial practitioners as it did, none of the martial practitioners would have come back alive to tell the story!"
"Hahaha!" Xu Mulin also laughed. "We just have to investigate it slowly!"
"However..." Out of nowhere, Xu Mulin changed the subject and asked Ye Liuyun, "Hasn’t the city lord sent someone to look into this?"
"It is unnecessary to dispatch someone to the mountain itself to investigate the divine soul oppression of Deliverance Hill," Ye Liuyun clarified. "The oppression of the Divine Soul is palpably absent even at this distance."
"Deliverance Hill has always been a place dominated by soul cultivators. If an ordinary person was sent there, chances are they might not be able to return. They are most likely being robbed by the soul cultivators on the way."
"I am indeed curious about the changes in Deliverance Hill. But the sudden surge of soul cultivators in the city might cause chaos. So I dare not leave my post to investigate."
"Hmm, what you said does make some sense!" Xu Mulin nodded, agreeing with Ye Liuyun.
But Ye Liuyun couldn’t tell from his expression whether he truly believed him or not.
Just then, the beverages and food had been served. Ye Liuyun, Xu Mulin, and the rest carried on their conversation while they dined.
Xu Mulin continued to ask Ye Liuyun for details about the martial practitioners’ information and even frequently asked for his opinion.
Finally, he asked Ye Liuyun, "In your opinion, what exactly happened that caused this situation?"
Ye Liuyun could only shake his head helplessly. "I truly can’t guess it! It’s too unfathomable!"
Xu Mulin did not continue to inquire about Deliverance Hill. After chatting with Ye Liuyun about the situation in Soulspire City for a while, the meal was nearing its end.
Xu Mulin suddenly changed his mind and asked Ye Liuyun, "We might have to inconvenience you and stay here for a day or two to ask those soul cultivators. I wonder if your manor is convenient to accommodate us?"
"If it’s not, we can just find a place to reside."
"Rest assured. While you’re here, I’ll make sure everything is arranged for you!" Ye Liuyun agreed.
However, he pondered to himself, "Why is this old fellow suddenly wanted to stay? Did I say something that caused him to suspect? Unlikely..."
Ye Liuyun went over his previous statement once more and discovered no flaws. He was baffled by Xu Mulin’s insistence on staying.
"My Lord, how long will we remain here instead of going to investigate Deliverance Hill?" An expert brought by Xu Mulin asked through a sound transmission.
As a former army leader, he was very rigid about following commands.
"You go and report to King of God that the divine soul oppression on Deliverance Hill must have disappeared. Let him send soldiers to guard Deliverance Hill. As for other matters, we need time to investigate it thoroughly." Xu Mulin instructed the martial practitioners through a sound transmission.
"Do we need to go to Deliverance Hill and investigate now? Should I take more men to scout around first?" The martial practitioners asked again.
Xu Mulin told the martial practitioners. "That’s fine. You should bring some people to inspect first."
"I will stay and learn more about the situation. I find this city lord interesting. Maybe we can get more information from him. Observe his behaviour and attitude secretly. See if he acted like a city lord?"
The martial practitioners observed Ye Liuyun secretly for a while and noticed nothing odd. On the contrary, he had a good impression of Ye Liuyun.
"Did you notice something wrong?"
Xu Mulin explained, "His demeanour and conduct don’t appear typical of a city lord. Before I arrived, I had asked individuals about Zhao Rongde’s information. He ought to be the kind of person who is very good at bootlicking."
"However, this City Lord is smart, polite, and meticulous in analyzing issues, which contradicts the information I received."
"Perhaps I’m being overly sensitive. Anyhow, you should take the initiative and personally assess the situation."
"Yes, sir!" The martial practitioners received the order and left the city lord’s mansion with some of his nine-level martial practitioners and charged toward Deliverance Hill.
Xu Mulin settled comfortably in the City Lord’s Mansion, having a relaxing chat over tea with Ye Liuyun in the evenings.
Between the lines of Xu Mulin’s speeches, he was testing Ye Liuyun’s understanding of Soulspire City.
Ye Liuyun couldn’t have responded to some of the enquiries if he hadn’t seized control of every martial practitioner in the City Lord’s Mansion. He hadn’t done a deep soul search or learned the trivial matters when he got rid of Zhao Rongde back then.
He felt that Xu Mulin seemed to have discovered something and was deliberately testing him.
"The old geezer is smart! Just based on some idle talks, he could suspect something was wrong with me!"
Ye Liuyun secretly admired yet also worried about Xu Mulin, unsure of how long he intended to toy with him.
At the same time, he was urging Meng Changjun to have all the soul cultivators return at full speed. Instructing them to abandon any unfinished tasks and not waste any more time.
Once they arrived, he would have nothing to worry about even if he fell out with Xu Mulin.
If he left before they could return, they could potentially be caught by the Central Dynasty and forced to spill information about Ye Liuyun.
