Chapter 349: Chapter 212: The Young Master-in-law Straddles Two Boats (Part 2)
"Hmm, how are you two getting along?" Ji Hao asked.
"He still owes me some Spiritual Source." Ji Meng seemed to be hinting that she wanted the man before her to pay it for him.
Ji Hao paused for a moment, then said, "Then you should remember to ask him for it. Also, there’s something I need to make clear to you."
Ji Meng looked confused.
"There are rumors that Jiang Man already has a cultivation partner. I’ve investigated this, but I’ve never found any trace of her.
"Furthermore, I specifically checked his physical state. His vital essence is intact, so the talk of a cultivation partner is likely a fabrication.
"If you care about this, you can tell me beforehand.
"If you don’t, then it’s up to you how you communicate with him." Ji Hao informed her of the potential issue in advance.
After telling her all this, Ji Hao left.
He also sent a reply back to the clan.
The general gist was: Jiang Man is suspected of colluding with an Evil God. The matter is serious. A hasty decision before a conclusion is reached could harm the Direct Lineage, so the matter should be discussed later.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Qing Dai suddenly had a realization and looked at Ji Meng.
"My lady, did the young master recognize you?"
She knew he was her lady’s intended, so she subconsciously treated him as one of their own.
But her lady was using a false identity.
Did he know?
’If he doesn’t know...’
’Isn’t he two-timing her?’
————
At that moment, Jiang Man was sitting in his prison cell.
Observing his surroundings, he noted that the atmosphere in the jail today was a bit off.
Everyone was much more solemn, likely due to the arrival of people from the Immortal Sect.
Normally, he would have been able to leave today, but with the Immortal Sect’s arrival, he had to wait for another review.
The new round of reviews happened quickly.
It began that very afternoon.
They started with the Zhao Family members first.
Some people were taken away and quickly brought back.
Old Meng was paying close attention. He looked outside and said, "Look, most of them are fine."
"They’re fine because they didn’t do anything," Jiang Man said.
"The charge this time is colluding with an Evil God. We didn’t collude with any Evil God," Old Meng said to Jiang Man.
Jiang Man looked at him and said, "If the Zhao Family is innocent, why are they here?"
Old Meng froze for a moment.
’If we were innocent, we would have left already.’
’We wouldn’t have been locked up for several months.’
Soon, the sounds of a struggle could be heard.
"Let go of me! Did you make a mistake? How could I have Demon Qi on me? I didn’t collude with the Demon Race." The voice was filled with panic and confusion.
Jiang Man and the others saw two people from the Law Enforcement Hall dragging a middle-aged man past them.
"How could I have colluded with the Demon Race? It’s not true!" the man shouted.
"Third Master?" Old Meng immediately rushed to the front of the cell and yelled.
"Old Meng, quick, tell them I didn’t collude with the Demon Race! We just planted the Evil God’s aura on Jiang Man’s ox! We were only framing Jiang Man, how could we be mixed up with the Demon Race?" the Third Master shouted anxiously.
"Don’t worry, colluding with the Demon Race isn’t that serious," Jiang Man offered, feigning comfort.
The man was a bit surprised, then Jiang Man continued, "But colluding with the Demon Race to persecute the top disciple of the Outer Sect... now that’s quite serious."
Third Master: "..."
In the end, he was dragged away.
Old Meng was completely stunned.
He couldn’t understand how the Zhao Family had gotten mixed up with the Demon Race.
"We never colluded with the Demon Race," Old Meng said, looking at Jiang Man.
Hearing this, Jiang Man stared at Old Meng and nodded slightly. "I believe you."
’But the people from the Zhenyue Bureau won’t.’
’And I’m afraid Old Meng is about to become the very ’demon’ they’re looking for in this case.’
’Would the Zhenyue Bureau not know?’
’But with the aura present, who can say for sure he’s truly uninvolved?’
’He’s also holding onto the Evil God’s aura.’
’How could he possibly get out like this?’
Old Meng looked at Jiang Man, angry yet helpless. "Was this your doing?"
"No." Jiang Man shook his head. "It’s because the Zhao Family’s hands aren’t clean."
"But it’s impossible for Third Master to collude with an Evil God," Old Meng said.
Jiang Man just stared at Old Meng without speaking.
Old Meng met Jiang Man’s gaze, recalling his earlier words, and couldn’t help but stumble backward.
He didn’t stop until his back was against the wall, barely managing to stay on his feet.
Just then, the cell door opened. "Meng Feng, come with us."
At that moment, Old Meng was terrified and didn’t want to go out.
He looked at Jiang Man, as if seeking confirmation. "I’ve done so much for the Zhao Family. They’ll definitely save me, right?"
Jiang Man looked at him and said, "Just answer whatever they ask. Don’t hide anything."
"Do I still have a chance to get out?" Old Meng asked, looking back at Jiang Man as he was being led away.
"Getting out isn’t necessarily a good thing. Don’t overthink it, and don’t make things hard on yourself," Jiang Man said.
’Being carried out dead is still ’getting out’.’
Old Meng was taken away.
All of his previous arrogance was gone.
He hoped Old Meng would tell the truth, mainly because he was afraid the man would start guessing wildly.
And land a lucky hit.
After that, Old Meng never returned to his cell.
Where he went was unknown.
In the evening, the cell door was pushed open again.
Ren Qian appeared in the doorway. "Junior Brother, it’s your turn."
Jiang Man nodded. "Senior Brother, please lead the way."
The two of them didn’t speak on the way. With the Immortal Sect here, any word could be a mistake.
Jiang Man didn’t want to make things difficult for Senior Brother Ren Qian, so he just cooperated quietly.
A short while later.
In the interrogation room, Jiang Man saw a young man.
He showed no trace of any aura, but he emanated a natural sense of pressure.
It was as if once you entered this room, it was impossible to escape his grasp.
"Jiang Man, the top disciple of the Outer Sect?" Chong Guang spoke with a smile. "My name is Chong Guang. I’m the one from the Immortal Sect sent to determine whether you’ve colluded with an Evil God.
"I hope you’ll cooperate fully with me.
"That way, an innocent man like you can leave this place more easily."
Jiang Man nodded. The moment the man spoke, he felt the surrounding Spiritual Qi thrum.
It was as if everything had become the man’s eyes and ears.
No aura could hide.
"Then let me start with a simple question. Did you know your Old Yellow Ox can talk?" Chong Guang asked.
Hearing this, Jiang Man was stunned. "It talked?"
He was genuinely shocked.
’Old Huang has been exposed?’
’I’m screwed.’
’Does this mean I have to wait for him to come break me out?’
’Of all the things I planned for, I never expected to end up in a worse spot than Old Meng.’
"It talked," Chong Guang nodded.
Jiang Man was quite curious. "What did it say?"
"What do you think?" Chong Guang asked.
Jiang Man thought for a moment, then said, "That it was framed?"
"Why would you think that?"
"Why else would it talk?"
Chong Guang smiled. "Neither. Alright, I’m now going to begin my investigation to see if you have any ties to the Evil God."
The moment his voice fell, the surrounding Spiritual Qi instantly changed, transforming into countless gazes.
They stared at Jiang Man.
Being watched like this made Jiang Man feel extremely uncomfortable.
These gazes seemed to want to pry into all his secrets.
Searching for the aura of an Evil God, or any other aura.
Jiang Man didn’t react in the slightest.
He let the man inspect him freely. ’I don’t believe he can see my Unparalleled Celestial Pride Fate Chart, much less the Celestial Mirror Hundred Books.’
After a moment.
The man retracted his gazes and said, "I’m done. You can go rest."
Jiang Man was puzzled, but he left obediently.
Once the man was gone, Chong Guang’s brow furrowed. ’He has the Evil God’s aura from the Ancient Well Sixth Secret Realm, and he broke through the Heart Locking... This person... is worth cultivating vigorously.’
「The next day.」
Chong Guang arrived at the Zhenyue Hall.
He bowed his head to the man seated at the head of the hall and said respectfully, "Elder."
"Finished your investigation?" True Master Tai Hua asked softly.
At this time, the other three leaders stood to the side, not daring to speak.
"Yes, it’s more or less complete," Chong Guang said.
After a pause, he continued, "Jiang Man’s ox spoke. It gained sentience after being enlightened by the aura of the Demon Race.
"The Zhao Family’s Meng Feng is the source of the Demon Qi, and Zhao San is his accomplice.
"Currently, there is no information related to the New Evil God.
"They obtained the Evil God’s aura by chance, but it can be replicated.
"It’s worth keeping an eye on."
"And?" True Master Tai Hua asked.
Chong Guang wasn’t surprised by the question and continued, "We can speculate that an unknown member of the Demon Race is hiding somewhere, and these people are just a smokescreen they’ve created.
"They are desperate to leave.
"Because while they might evade my senses, they certainly won’t evade the next investigator’s.
"Furthermore, the Old Yellow Ox is indeed suspicious, but this whole mess has made things more complicated.
"It’s now extremely difficult to see the problem."
"What about that Jiang Man?" True Master Tai Hua asked.
Chong Guang was silent for a moment before saying, "This young man is worth cultivating."
"He’s not a problem?" True Master Tai Hua asked.
Chong Guang replied thoughtfully, "I couldn’t detect anything, but I can confirm that the new Visualization Skill truly is centered around him."
True Master Tai Hua asked no more questions, instead turning to Red Eagle and the other two. "Since Chong Guang has investigated, you should all discuss how to handle it."
Red Eagle was taken aback. ’We handle it?’
’With you here, it shouldn’t be up to us.’
But the man’s gaze told him that this was indeed something the local authorities needed to handle themselves.
Steeling himself, Red Eagle said, "Shall we hold a meeting, then?"
Meanwhile, Jiang Man, who was still studying Array Patterns, suddenly felt his Token vibrate.
An invitation to a meeting.
’They’re about to decide whether I can get out.’
’But if I take out the Token here, won’t I be easily exposed?’
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