Hearing this, Yuan Tao’s brow furrowed even tighter. He stared coldly at the attendant and asked, “Since the surveillance stone hasn’t failed, why conceal it? Catch the murderer, and nothing will happen afterward.”
The attendant raised his head, opened his mouth, but said nothing.
Seeing his hesitant expression, Yuan Tao roared, “I command you, tell me the truth immediately!”
The attendant was startled, his body shaking visibly.
Then he spoke, “The two cultivators were killed by… the leader and deputy leader of the First Star Twelve Group, a top-tier three-star cultivator group.”
The Xianchen cultivator group held a very high reputation in their ninth base camp.
It is not just a single monastic order, but a small alliance composed of twenty-two monastic orders!
Of the twenty-two monastic groups, besides the four newly formed ones that are still at the four-star level, the other eighteen are all above three stars!
And the Xian Chen First Cultivator Group among them has even reached the level of a Super Two-Star Cultivator Group.
A Super Two-Star Cultivator Group, no matter where it’s placed, would be considered an upper echelon.
But under its control, there are also twenty-one cultivator groups.
Such power is undeniable.
For this very reason, the Xián Chén cultivator group was renowned throughout the Ninth Main Camp, known to all.
“Before they made their move, they specifically sought me out, asking me to turn a blind eye…” the Deacon said in a low voice. “I thought that those two were just ordinary four-star squadron commanders and deputies, so if they died, they died…so…”
“So you listened to them?” Yuantou asked in a cold tone.
The attendant dared not meet Yuan Tao’s gaze and replied, “Yes.”
Hearing this answer, Yuantou narrowed his eyes and looked at the officiator with anger in his gaze, asking, “How much did they bribe you?”
“No, no! Sir, I haven’t accepted any favors from them!” The attendant raised his head and quickly denied. “I’m not afraid of the Xianchen cultivators themselves, it’s just… I heard that the leader of the first Xianchen cultivator group has a close relationship with a certain official in our Ninth Department, so… I thought it was better to avoid trouble, although those two are only the leaders and deputy leader of the Xianchen Twelve Groups, but if I refuse, they might hold a grudge…”
“Damn it!” Yuan Tao roared, saying, “We follow the rules. Why should we be afraid of a cultivators’ group?”
“We didn’t directly participate in this, we just pretended not to see it…” the steward nervously explained.
“You’ve been helping to cover up a crime!” Yuantou interrupted the officiant’s explanation, his voice cold. “If this gets out, it will be devastating to Lingjing Pavilion’s reputation! You need to know that the Ninth Main Camp isn’t just our Lingjing Pavilion!”
The attendant raised his head to look at Yuan Tao, gathering his courage and asking, “My Lord, therefore I think we should just do it all at once. We should simply ask the Great General to take action and kill that damned Fang Yu! That way, everything will be settled, and there will be no more worries. I truly don’t understand why you…”
“Are you asking me to intervene? You want this to blow up even more?!” Yuan Tao’s face was ice-cold as he roared, “Do you think I decided to let sleeping dogs lie?”
“Anyone can be robbed, but it must never happen within the trading district, let alone inside Lingjing Pavilion! Don’t you understand this basic principle?! How can you possibly serve as an elder?!”
“If we report this to the higher-ups, yes, they might get rid of Fang Yu. But what about us? We’d face punishment too! If even the Spirit Crystal Pavilion can’t guarantee safety, who would dare come here to exchange for spirit crystals in the future?!”
Yuan Tao’s anger grew, his eyes turned bloodshot and he began to breathe heavily.
He rarely gets so angry.
But this time, I really can’t take it anymore.
His most trusted subordinate made such a low-level error, he almost caused a major disaster!
This left him feeling deeply unsettled.
There are fifteen trading districts within the Ninth Base Camp.
The Spirit Crystal Pavilion he controlled was just one of them.
As the institution responsible for distributing Spirit Crystals, Lingjing Pavilion’s most important characteristic is its stability.
For any Lingjing Pavilion, an incident like this would be a major scandal.
If this really escalates, Yuan Tao’s position is on the line!
This was also the reason why he decided to let sleeping dogs lie.
This matter cannot be allowed to fester any longer; it must be confined within the trading zone!
And the steward, at this point, was trembling with fear.
At first, he didn’t think it was a big deal. The leader and deputy leader of the Xi Chen XII group also said they would clean up the body thoroughly.
As a result, the body was not cleaned up properly and a small piece was left behind.
The smell of burning mingled with the stench of blood in the backyard, quickly catching anyone’s attention.
Even if we get to this point, it’s not a big deal.
There are many reasons that can be used to explain.
However… he ran into Fang Yu!
Even the steward never dreamed that the leader and deputy of those two ordinary four-star cultivator groups would have such a powerful companion as Fang Yu!
But he should have guessed it earlier… How could an ordinary four-star cultivator earn so many merit points to exchange for spirit crystals?
In retrospect, it was all wrong.
One wrong step, and all steps go wrong!
And now, hearing Yuantou’s words filled with anger… there was only regret in his heart.
He knew that even if this incident could be handled properly, he would inevitably be severely punished in the end!
“Master, Master… What should we do now?” The steward’s face was pale as he looked at Yuantou, asking.
Yuan Tao took a deep breath, pondered for a moment, and said, “Use some means to bring out the real culprit.”
“Hand over the leader and deputy leader of the Xianchen Twelfth Squad, and perhaps…” The deacon’s face changed as he spoke.
“The dead can’t speak, and given Fang Yu’s temperament, he would definitely kill them.” Yuan Tao said in a deep voice, “In that case, it would be a feud between the Xianchen cultivator group and Fang Yu, and we have nothing to do with it.”
“Understood,” the attendant replied, bowing his head.
……
Fang Yu inspected the remains on the first floor and then released his divine sense to observe every corner of the Lingjing Pavilion.
According to what the steward had said before, there should be surveillance magic stones inside the Lingjing Pavilion.
But now, no such surveillance stones have been found, seeming to have been dismantled.
Fang Yu slowly walked back to the third floor of the Lingjing Pavilion.
In this process, he was still shrouding the entire trading district with his divine sense.
Troubleshooting is still ongoing.
According to the investigation, the situation is not ideal and no clues have been found yet.
Fang Yu returned to the third floor and sat down on a sofa.
Less than a few minutes remain of the hour-long deadline.
But Fang Yu knew that Lingjing Pavilion must have a way to find the culprit.
But if the deadline truly arrives and the murderer is still not found… He’ll tear down this Spirit Crystal Pavilion, as a way to avenge Yun Ning and his deputy.
Time passed slowly.
A time limit of one hour is approaching.
Tap tap tap…
At that moment, a squad of guards ran quickly back to the Spirit Crystal Pavilion and rushed upstairs.