Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

Chapter 165 It's impossible to clear my name.

Do you think Wu Ji can still come to your rescue now?

Su Yangyan asked with disdain, his eyes full of mockery.

"I really don't know where those escaped remnants of the criminal clan went. At the time, I was responsible for bringing them from Zhongyuan City to Shangyuan City and then finding an opportunity to frame Su Yangyan and the others."

As for the rest, Wu Ji didn't tell me. That night, when the remnants of the Sinners escaped, I genuinely believed that it was that kid surnamed Mo who rescued them.

"I speak," said the old man, his voice trembling and his body shaking slightly.

"You think that's all there is to it? You really are a loyal lackey, treated like trash by your master, yet you're still here speaking up for him!" Su Yangyan said bitterly, his tone filled with anger and disdain.

"Why did you kill me back then? Did you think that killing me would make everything alright?" Inspector Wei asked angrily, his eyes fixed on Eunuch Pao as if he were about to breathe fire.

“At the time, I felt that things had been exposed, and killing you might have salvaged the situation,” said the eunuch, now completely devoid of his previous arrogance.

"You can die now, and then go to hell to serve your master!" Inspector Wei said loudly, his voice filled with determination.

Su Yangyan gestured to the people around him, and they led Eunuch Pao out.

"Lord Su, thank you for saving my life. I have now basically recovered and want to return to the Feather Palace as soon as possible to report Wu Ji's crimes. We cannot let Wu Ji, this serious criminal, go unpunished!"

Inspector Wei spoke to Su Yangyan, his eyes revealing determination and resolve.

"The inspector has only just recovered and is not yet fit for long-distance travel. Shouldn't he rest for a few more days until he is fully recovered?"

Su Yangyan said with concern.

"It's alright. I am a cultivator of profound arts, these injuries are nothing to worry about." Inspector Wei waved his hand, his expression resolute.

"Very well, we'll prepare a carriage for Your Excellency. We'll hold a farewell banquet for you at Fuyuan Restaurant later!" Su Yangyan said respectfully.

After a hearty meal, Su Yangyan accompanied Inspector Wei to a luxurious and comfortable carriage and said, "Your Excellency, have a safe journey!"

"This is a small token of our Great Xia's appreciation, offered to the Inspector for his travel expenses." After Inspector Wei boarded the carriage, Su Yangyan casually handed a storage bag to the man surnamed Wei.

After a brief refusal, Inspector Wei smiled and put the storage bag containing ten thousand gold coins into his pocket, saying:

"Lord Su, you are too kind. If there is anything difficult to resolve in the future, please feel free to tell me. As long as it is within my power, I, Wei, will do my best, even if it means going through fire and water!"

"Thanks to your kind words, Inspector, Wu Ji's framing of me is unjust. I hope you will uphold justice and speak up for us!" Su Yangyan said sincerely.

"I will report this truthfully without Lord Su saying more. This treacherous villain not only wants to kill me, but also dares to use the Feather Palace to do his bidding. He is truly ignorant of his own limitations!"

"Just for daring to take advantage of the Feather Emperor Palace, he deserves to die a horrible death!" Inspector Wei said coldly, his eyes revealing a ruthless glint.

Meanwhile, Mo Yuming and Huo Chengde were interrogating Li Qing and his group. As the vice president of the Central Plains City Refiners Association, Li Qing was naturally very familiar with Central Plains City.

Of course, Mo Yuming had already eliminated Sima Wu, the instigator. Through interrogation, Mo Yuming also learned that Li Qing and the others knew nothing about the black iron mine, but it would be a waste of resources to let such a fat sheep go without slaughtering it.

"President, there have been a lot of unexpected events lately, and I haven't been able to keep up. I apologize for keeping you waiting!" Huo Chengde, the presiding judge, said first, his tone tinged with apology.

"Lord Huo, we are innocent! We really didn't know Sima Wu was colluding with the criminals!" Li Qing said with a mournful face. Being imprisoned in the dungeon for nearly a month without any reason and being ignored had completely broken Li Qing and the others, leaving them on the verge of madness.

As a high-ranking executive of the Refiners' Association, he had never suffered such humiliation. Especially since he didn't even know what crime he had committed.

"It seems that the Chairman hasn't thought it through yet! Very well, let me show you these first, so we can see if we've framed you." Mo Yuming had someone bring over a few items.

Then, pointing to the four black iron steel swords, he said, "These are weapons seized from our accomplices in the Sin Clan. The hilts are engraved with the character '武' (Wu). This is a common practice among weapon refiners to engrave their own names on high-end items for sale."

After comparison, we found that the character "武" (wu) was exactly the same as the character "武" that Sima Wu left on the weapons he forged. Later, Sima Wu himself admitted that he had provided the four swords.

Of course, a few knives alone aren't enough to convict him, because a weapon-forging shop would obviously want to sell as many tools as possible. These knives at most prove that the accomplices of the criminal clan purchased weapons from Sima Wu's shop. That's perfectly normal. But these other things are a different story.

Mo Yuming then pointed to several spirit stones in a small dish and said:

"This was obtained from Elder Wu Ji, who is a Heaven-rank expert. It would be difficult to get him to tell the truth through ordinary means. So we searched his soul, and a memory like this appeared in his mind: Sima Wu helped him purchase seven Spirit Shadow Stones from the Refiner Association and installed them at seven major transportation routes according to his instructions."

“This is a record from one of the Spirit Shadow Stones. I want to bring out the scene it recorded and show it to everyone,” Mo Yuming said solemnly.

Sima Wu was imprisoned in a dark dungeon. After a while, someone opened the cell door and pushed a person in.

After the guards left, the man stood up, went to Sima Wu's side, and sat down next to him. Then he said:

"Sima Wu, how come you've been arrested too? It seems we've been really badly harmed by that bastard Wu Ci this time! If we hadn't listened to his slander, I would still be the founding meritorious Grand Commandant of the Great Xia Empire!"

Sima Wu, you're just a level two weapon refiner, you shouldn't have any real value, right? How come Wu Ci is also…”

"Woo..."

"What's wrong with you? Your mouth?..." Zhang Sibo looked up at Sima Wu, who seemed a bit off.

"Your throat is hoarse? Was it Wutz? Why would he make you hoarse? Oh, maybe you have some important secret that he's afraid you'll reveal!"

Zhang Sibo assumed that Sima Wu was imprisoned because of the criminal clan, and since he was associated with the criminal clan, he would naturally have many unspeakable secrets. Therefore, it was understandable that he would mute those who knew the truth.

But he never imagined that wasn't the case at all. And what Mo Yuming needed was precisely this kind of misunderstanding from Zhang Sibo.

After examining the first Spirit Shadow Stone, Mo Yuming picked up another Spirit Shadow Stone and said, "To convince you, I'll show you another Spirit Shadow Stone."

Mo Yuming once again brought up the image of the ambush on the Wu Ji inner clan elder in the Monster Mountain Range for them to see. When Li Qing and the others saw that the Wu Ji inner clan elder was indeed leading five remnants of the Sin Clan, they felt a chill run down their spines.

Although they were not involved in this matter, the Feather Palace was very clear about the methods used against the Sin Clan: relatives of the Sin Clan by marriage were punished along with nine generations of their families; those who had business dealings with the Sin Clan were exterminated along with three generations of their families; and those who helped the Sin Clan escape were killed without mercy!

Judging from the footage, Sima Wu is very likely to have ties with the criminal clan, and his entire family is to be exterminated. Although I am not a relative of Sima Wu, I am his teacher, and coincidentally, I came to Shangyuan City during this critical period, and even made a public appearance with Sima Wu at a trade fair.

Li Qing was now filled with regret. Why did he have to come to Shangyuan City at this time? And why did he have Sima Wu so ostentatiously solicit clients for him?

Thinking about this, Li Qing felt he was in a hopeless situation, unable to clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River. He never expected to be so unlucky. He felt like he was going crazy with frustration, wanting to shout that he knew nothing and that he was being framed, but what good would that do?

Li Qing sat there dejectedly, muttering to himself in despair:

"I know nothing, I haven't made any dealings with the Sinners, I don't know them!..."

His voice was filled with helplessness and despair, like that of a pitiful man toyed with by fate, unable to find a way out of his predicament. His desperate words echoed in the air, but could not change his current situation; he could only let fear and unease spread in his heart.