BXBX NOVEL Chapter 7 - 7: Who is Yuan 5 Row?
“Sir, I have a major case to report.” Jiang Li placed Jiang Yixing on the ground, bowing to the City Lord. The Great Zhou was enlightened and did not require kneeling.
“Speak.”
“My name is Zhang Li, I am from Qingcheng, a Nascent Soul loose cultivator, and this is my companion Yuan Wuxing, a Golden Core loose cultivator. We heard about the frequent disappearances of babies in Qingcheng in recent years and the lack of manpower in the Qingcheng government, so we investigated this privately, and eventually we caught the ringleader.”
Jiang Li paused for a moment, pointing to Jiang Yixing on the ground.
“The ringleader is none other than the Jiang family’s ancestor, Jiang Yixing!”
Upon hearing Jiang Li’s words, the crowd outside the hall were instantly in an uproar.
More than a dozen parents who lost their children burst into tears upon hearing this. Without the guards holding them back, they would have stormed into the hall demanding Jiang Yixing pay with his life. They were told by Yuan Wuxing that their children had been sacrificed.
“Zhang Li, words cannot be spoken irresponsibly. The Jiang family has been reputable for generations, and has even produced the heroic Human Emperor. If your accusations are baseless and mere guesses, I will have to charge you with defamation,” said the City Lord, speaking mildly but with an underlying threat.
“There is naturally evidence. Why would the Jiang family frequently steal babies? Jiang Yixing is a mediocre cultivator, who struggled to even attain the Golden Core stage. Therefore, he resorted to demonic means, sacrificing babies’ blood to supplement his Nascent Soul, thereby extending his lifespan.”
Jiang Li ignored the City Lord’s threat and calmly analysed.
“Am I right, Jiang Yixing?” Jiang Li bent over and looked at Jiang Yixing, whose face was aged but rosy. This was a result of absorbing the babies’ blood and vitality.
“Who are you really!” Jiang Yixing lay on the ground, unable to move from his serious injuries, greatly shocked. Apart from those of his generation and those in Qingcheng, who would know that he had a mediocre cultivation, vested at the Foundation Establishment stage, and struggling to achieve the Golden Core stage!
Jiang Li transmitted the message: “Don’t you recognize me, cousin?”
Jiang Yixing widened his eyes, and through his pupils, he could faintly see the resemblance to the person who had left home years ago from Jiang Li’s changing appearance.
Enormous fear enveloped Jiang Yixing. If Jiang Li personally dealt with the Jiang family, then he would have no chance of survival. Not even the intervention of the Qingcheng City Lord, or even the emperor of the Great Zhou, would be of use!
He wanted to use all his strength to shout out Jiang Li’s name, but he was secretly knocked unconscious by a spell cast by Jiang Li, and didn’t know when he would wake up.
Upon hearing that Jiang Yixing had practiced demonic cultivation, the surrounding crowd began whispering among themselves, resulted in lively discussions. The ancestor of the Jiang family, the cousin of the Human Emperor, was actually practicing demonic cultivation. This was a major scandal. If news got out, it would likely be ridiculed by people from other empires, joking at their pride in the law yet unable to maintain strict governance, and the rampant demonic cultivation in the hometown of the Human Emperor.
The Clan Leader of the Jiangs, leaning on his walking stick, slowly approached. The crowd automatically parted a path for him. Seeing that the ancestor had fallen and was unconscious, he hurriedly checked and was relieved when he found out that the ancestor was only injured and unconscious, not fundamentally damaged. He then angrily said to Jiang Li.
“Are you suggesting that our ancestor practiced using infants and therefore definitely has infant resentment in him? Alright, feel free to check. But remember, if you cannot find any infant resentment, you will pay for defaming the Jiang family and Qingcheng!”
What the Clan Leader of Jiangs said was a common method of detecting demonic cultivation on the Nine Provinces continent. Demonic cultivation is harmful to others and beneficial to oneself, hence resentment often exists in the body. Moreover, for someone like Jiang Yixing who had practised with the sacrifice of hundreds of babies, the resentment in his body was likely to be sky-high.
Jiang Li chuckled softly: “The Clan Leader of the Jiangs is really confused. Aren’t you afraid that you’ve forgotten how you used the power of faith to vanquish the resentment in Jiang Yixing’s body?”
The Clan Leader of the Jiangs turned pale when his thoughts were exposed by Jiang Li.
Few people knew about this, and he didn’t understand how Jiang Li knew about it.
But thinking about this was of no use anymore. It was most important to settle this matter as soon as possible.
“Although resentment can be eradicated, the bones of the infants are still there. I stumbled upon a spatial node where piles of infant bones were found. The Lord may want to take people to have a look.”
“Sir, don’t listen to his nonsense. This man has only been in the city for one day, and had never been to Qingcheng before. How could anyone find a spatial node just by chance in one day, and insist that it belongs to our Jiang family. This man must have been hired by other families to defame our Jiang family. Please recognize the truth!”
The reason why the Clan Leader of the Jiangs was late was to send someone to investigate Jiang Li’s identities in secret and to ensure all pieces of evidence were dealt with properly. Unfortunately, it was too hasty, and they only found out that Jiang Li had just arrived in Qingcheng. The spatial node had not been thoroughly cleaned up.
“It’s late and this case is complicated. It’s hard to reach a conclusion. In order to find out the truth, the trial will be resumed at a later date,” the City Lord swept a glance at the unconscious Jiang Yixing and another at the troublesome Jiang Li. He paused, and continued, “Jiang Yixing is to be temporarily thrown into the dungeon.”
“Dismiss the middle!”
…
After dismissing the meeting, the City Lord no longer maintained his previous composure. He hurriedly met with the Clan Leader of the Jiangs in the secret chamber for an urgent discussion.
“I told you to stop, but you didn’t listen. Now, your secret has been exposed!” complained the City Lord.
“What can I do? The ancestor insisted on doing this. Who can stop him?” countered the Clan Leader of the Jiangs, but he lacked confidence.
“At first, you told me that the Human Emperor suggested this.”
“It’s the ancestor who insisted on doing this. The Human Emperor reluctantly agreed.” The Clan Leader of the Jiangs quickly filled in the gap in his words.
“Can’t the Human Emperor personally intervene and suppress the matter? If he is involved, even His Majesty will have to give some face.”
“It’s difficult. The Human Emperor always acts at his own discretion. He comes and goes as he pleases. The Jiang family doesn’t have a way to contact him.” The Clan Leader of the Jiangs really wanted to say where was the Human Emperor. If they could really contact the Human Emperor, would they have to deceive the City Lord round after round?
Of course, these words couldn’t be said out loud.
“So, what should we do now?”
“We need to be prepared. The ancestor has always been cautious in his actions. The only place that could be called evidence is the location where the babies were sacrificed. I have sent people to deal with it, but it’s hard to say what those two people can come up with. Yuan Wuxing is easy to deal with — he is timid and indecisive. However, that Zhang Li is not easy to handle. I had never heard of him before, yet his combat power is extremely high. Judging from his action of capturing the ancestor alive, he could even be called the top expert in Qingcheng.”
“It’s not advisable to resort to martial force. I will go and find him personally tonight to see if I can persuade them to leave. This matter involves the reputation of the Human Emperor. He should be mindful of the Emperor’s reputation and not insist on accusing the ancestor.”
“That’s a very good plan,” said the City Lord, stroking his beard and nodding his head. “But there’s one more question.”
“What?”
“Who is Yuan Wuxing?”