"The Luoshui Guards?" Tao Tingfeng’s eyes widened in shock; his uncle had told him about this organization, which was established by the dynasty to specifically deal with high-level cultivators.

He had just been enjoying the spectacle, never expecting they would come looking for him directly.

Yu Qian and the other two simultaneously took out their tokens, which were engraved with the words "Luoshui". Read exclusive content at freewebnovel

"Accuse me of concealing and harboring the proceeds of a crime? Me?" Tao Tingfeng had never paid much attention to criminal law, forgetting it as soon as he heard it; how could he have expected that he would be breaking the law just like that?

Yu Qian’s eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at Tao Tingfeng, "Tell me, how did you initially meet True Master Guanqi, and how did you manage to make Jin Chan recognize a new master?"

This was one of the secret methods used by the Luoshui Guards, which, if there was a significant difference in realm, could determine whether the other party was lying.

Shi Huagu also possessed a similar secret method, which had been employed in the past to test whether Lu Yang was from the Heavenly Court Sect; however, the effect of Shi Huagu’s secret method was not as good as that of the Luoshui Guards.

Tao Tingfeng, with a stiff resolve, recounted the situation at that time in full.

"At the time, the true master had said to me, ’This object is called Jin Chan. It was seized from a formidable opponent. Keep it safe...’"

"At the time, I thought the true master had died, so I tried to make Jin Chan recognize a new master through a blood pact..."

"Later on, the true master was still alive..."

After listening, Yu Qian’s brow furrowed slightly and he asked seriously, "So you knew that Jin Chan was stolen by him, but you still chose to keep it safe?"

"And after True Master Guanqi entered your spiritual space, you provided him with a place to recover?"

"How reckless! Do you not realize how dangerous that action was?"

"What do you think Jin Chan is? It’s an item that would entice even those at the Transcendance Tribulation Stage; True Master Guanqi was willing to risk his life just to steal it."

"After Jin Chan recognized you as its master, you actually dared to shelter him?"

"If he had regained his physical form, the first thing he would do is try to possess you!"

"Do you think he would be so kind as to teach you cultivation?"

Yu Qian took out a book, which documented various deeds of cultivators at the Body Integration Realm within Great Qian, and read, "True Master Guanqi, real name Du Guan, born in the year 82,281 of the Great Qian era, sacrificed his own village to advance to the Nascent Soul Stage.

In the Spirit Transformation Stage, he bonded with a fellow cultivator of the same realm and later killed his partner to prove the Way of Heartlessness. In the early Integration Stage, he is recorded to have committed robbery and murder three times; in mid-stage...

later, losing hope of breaking through to the Transcendance Tribulation Stage, he dedicated himself to the study of the Hundred Skills of Cultivation."

Yu Qian closed the book and stated emphatically, "You’re helping this kind of person, and cultivating under his guidance?"

"I, I... I just thought he was easy to talk to, and assumed he was a good person..."

Yu Qian cut off Tao Tingfeng’s protest, "The ’good person’ you’re talking about, is he the one who robbed Jin Chan?"

"Heh heh, cultivators of Great Xia, I had no idea you would investigate me so thoroughly," True Master Guanqi said with a sinister laugh.

"Du Guan, the crimes you committed in Great Qian are historical issues that Great Xia doesn’t concern itself with. But robbing a Great Yu cultivator within the borders of Great Xia constitutes the crime of robbery," Yu Qian stated.

"Not murder?" Guanqi knew that falling into the hands of Great Xia meant certain death, since the crimes he committed were far more than just robbery.

"Murder? Are you referring to killing a Great Yu cultivator? Unfortunately, the victim is not dead; we just haven’t found his whereabouts yet. As for the two companions you slew, you were acting in self-defense and have not committed a crime."

When True Master Guanqi and his two companions fought among themselves, the commotion they caused attracted the attention of the dynasty. When the authorities arrived, Guanqi had just fled, and his two companions were left dead and critically wounded.

The critically injured person was beyond help, so the Luoshui Guards conducted an emergency soul search and learned the full details of the incident.

The identity of the robbed Great Yu cultivator remained unclear, only known to have just awakened and still in the recovery period. Guanqi, having somehow heard about it, joined forces with his two companions to rob the Great Yu cultivator.

After Guanqi fled, the seriously wounded companion, seeing that the Great Yu cultivator was also gravely injured but still had some strength left, chose to start over after disbanding his cultivation and quickly fled, leading to the following series of events.

They were also searching for that Great Yu cultivator, as the victim needed to be found.

The Great Yu cultivator had fled northward, while True Master Guanqi had fled southward; the Luoshui Guards split into two groups.

Yu Qian did not expect that he would find True Master Guanqi before locating the victim.

Yu Qian said to Tao Tingfeng with a stern expression, "Whether you have committed the crime of concealment and abetment still requires further investigation, but you are suspected of covering up and hiding the proceeds of a crime, and you need to come with us."

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou sighed inwardly, as they had seen Tao Tingfeng recognize the Jin Chan as its master through blood, they knew this kid had gotten into trouble. They had been observing him ever since, to see if the kid realized there was an issue.

At this juncture, there was no need for observation anymore.

"Let’s go; the matter is not yet settled."

...

Panting heavily—

The grimy youngster who had once appeared in the barbecue restaurant was now frantically running towards the outskirts of the city.

For the past half a month, he had been working in the city to save money. He’d gotten himself a clean set of clothes, and in another half a month, he would have enough money to take a flying boat to his destination.

"I don’t know if those three Great Xia cultivators were here to catch me, but to be on the safe side, I’d better run."

The young man felt extremely unlucky; he hadn’t bothered anyone, waking up from his slumber in Great Yu to this present time, and shortly after his awakening, three Great Qian cultivators came knocking on his door to snatch the Jin Chan.

This was his reliance during the strife of the Great Era; how could he just hand it over willingly!

After the battle, not only did he lose the Jin Chan, but in order to save his life, he was also forced to start over after disbanding his cultivation.

"Damn my luck!"

Suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Kid, you run quite fast."

Two figures appeared like a wall, blocking the young man’s path.

It was Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou.

Back at the barbecue restaurant, the two had noticed something different about the young man— his walking posture, his breathing, both unlike an ordinary person’s— he definitely had a foundation of cultivation.

At that time, they suspected that the young man was starting over after disbanding his cultivation, but they had no proof.

Now that the Luoshui Guards were involved, and the kid ran, he definitely was starting over after disbanding his cultivation!

This performance delivered right to their doorstep, let’s see if Elder Brother Dai would still say that these two only caused trouble when they went out!

"What are you going to do?!" The young man knew at a glance that these two were cultivators, and now that he was merely a mortal, he certainly couldn’t beat them.

"What are we going to do." Meng Jingzhou sneered, warming up his arms and legs as he pulled the youngster to an abandoned courtyard, "Speak, are you an ancient cultivator who has started over after disbanding your cultivation!"

"No, no!" the young man insisted bravely.

"Oh, still not admitting it, huh? Hang him up!" Lu Yang pulled out a whip from his identity jade, giving it a couple of tugs to make sure it was sturdy.

This was an interrogation method Lu Yang had learned from his Eldest Senior Sister.

Meng Jingzhou thoughtfully found some rope, tied the young man up, and hung him from a tree.

Whipping through the air with a crackling sound, the young man’s scalp tingled as he watched the two men’s ferocious appearance. If he didn’t confess, his life might be in danger.

"Don’t hit me, don’t hit me; I’ll confess."

"Speak, what era of cultivator are you, and what is your name!"

"I am a cultivator from the era of Great Yu, with the Daoist name Xiantian."

(For Alliance Hierarch Many Elephants, an additional chapter)