Chapter 167: I Have the Closest Relationship with Him.

"Here you go."

While in the room, Lin Bei suddenly took off his belt and handed it to Chu Liang as he said, "Here you go."

"Why?" Chu Liang was so confused by his actions during this moment of seriousness.

"Bind him up properly. With the candle lit, I just feel like something is missing if you don't have a whip," Lin Bei said as he handed over the belt.

"..." Chu Liang felt so speechless as he stared at the pervert standing before him.

On the other hand, Lin Bei stared at the pervert holding the candle with a humble expression, indicating his eagerness to learn.

"I'm not using regular candles..." Chu Liang had no choice but to explain. "This is a Mind-Reflecting Candle that can detect if he's lying."

With that said, he placed the black candle on the table, and the flickering candlelight cast a long shadow of the man against the wall.

The tanned man, in his thirties or forties and of average height, was currently bound to the ground, his expression filled with panic.

Upon hearing Chu Liang say that it was a Mind-Reflecting Candle instead of the other kind, the man first heaved a sigh of relief, but then immediately tensed up again, his expression growing nervous.

"Let me ask you now. Did you come here with the guy who is now dead on the ground? Why did you come here?" Chu Liang asked.

"I don't know..." The man replied immediately, shaking his head.

"You have the right to remain silent," Chu Liang said, "but once the officers arrive, I'll feed you to the Golden-Furred Hou."

"No, no, no!" The man panicked upon hearing the words and quickly exclaimed, "I was just... I was just passing by when I saw that spirit beast devouring people..."

Swoosh.

Even in the absence of any wind, the light from the Mind-Reflecting Candle suddenly flickered the moment those words were uttered. His shadow on the wall became ethereal and mysterious, lingering for a moment before settling down.

"I am sure you can tell that the shadows suggest you are lying, right?" responded Chu Liang with a stern expression.

"We..." The man gritted his teeth and then hesitantly admitted, "We actually came to steal the spirit beast. We saw its value and wanted to..."

Swoosh.

Once again, the light on the Mind-Reflecting Candle flickered wildly.

Lin Bei frowned and suggested, "Why not just feed this guy to the Golden-Furred Hou? It's been hungry all day, and that guy from earlier probably wasn't enough for it to eat."

"No, please!" The man instantly pleaded. "My family lineage spans nine generations, and I am the only one from my generation. You can't kill me because I haven't had the chance to father an heir yet!"

Swoosh.

The light from the Mind-Reflecting Candle flickered again.

"..." Lin Bei sighed and remarked, "Even when you are begging for mercy, you are lying."

"I didn't," The man felt embarrassed for a moment before admitting, "It's just that my neighbor has a son who is actually my child. I usually don't think about that child... I only have that one child who can't even take care of me when I am old..."

Swoosh.

The light from the Mind-Reflecting Candle flickered again.

"What?" The man was so shocked that he was momentarily speechless. Then, his face paled as he exclaimed, "Could it be that Widow Lin's child is also mine? I didn't expect that at all!"

Well, you really deserve to die...

Chu Liang cursed inwardly.

"

Haaa...

You truly are a role model for our generation," said Lin Bei with a sigh.

"I'll give you one more chance. Don't waste my Mind-Reflecting Candle," Chu Liang threatened. "If you give me one more lie, and I'll feed you to the Golden-Furred Hou without hesitation."

"I..." The man stammered for a moment before finally conceding, "Fine."

Only then did he begin to speak the truth.

It turned out that he and the guy who died were both ruffians and rogues in the Misty Waters City. They would often bully widows and dig up graves, attempting to use various means to make money.

Some time ago, a wealthy elderly man dressed in luxurious attire approached them, asking for their help to steal a spirit beast.

Though they were bold, they didn't dare take on such a job. However, the old man offered them a hefty sum of money, promising an additional half once the task was completed. He even presented a brocade box as an advance.

He said that as long as they unchained the Golden-Furred Hou and opened this box, the Golden-Furred Hou would follow them obediently.

Lured by the promise of money and deeming the task easy, they both agreed. They arrived discreetly at night, and when they unlocked the iron chain, the Golden-Furred Hou didn't show any hostility, as it detected none from the two guys.

However, as soon as the brocade box was opened, a sudden burst of white light, resembling the head of a beast, emerged. It swiftly bit down on his companion's head, leaving behind a gaping hole on the neck as the white light dissipated!

Only then did the Golden-Furred Hou let out a roar!

Naturally, he didn't dare to admit that he had come to steal the spirit beast after attracting a crowd. With the intention of extorting some money, he claimed that it was the Golden-Furred Hou that had bitten his companion to death.

The light on the Mind-Reflecting Candle remained still.

So that was what happened.

Upon hearing this, Chu Liang pondered.

Someone is obviously plotting against me. This person must have deduced that these ruffians are the type who would conveniently frame the Golden-Furred Hou if one of their companions died.

Chu Liang quickly blew out the candle. After burning for half a day, the candle had already shrunk to half its original size, which wasn't much to begin with.

Regardless of who it was that had plotted against him, he needed to deal with the government officials first. Even though sects in the Divine Nine and Terrestrial Ten were powerful, their influence wouldn't matter much because a spirit beast taking a human life was a serious issue.

But now that he knew the truth, he could finally set his mind at ease.

...

When he pushed the door open, he saw the sturdy back of the Golden-Furred Hou.

He had previously instructed this Big Head to keep an eye on the door, and indeed, it diligently stood guard here. It was indeed a reliable guardian.

As for the government officials, it turned out that they had arrived long ago.

The incident of a beast devouring a person was significant, prompting a squad of officials with martial arts skills to swiftly respond to the scene. These officials were likely the soldiers stationed at the city gate, explaining their prompt arrival.

Upon seeing the Golden-Furred Hou at the fifth realm, the group of people surrounding it felt intimidated and were scared to approach.

In a large city like the Misty Waters City, there were likely numerous experts keeping watch, poised to intervene as the situation unfolded.

At this moment, Chu Liang stepped forward with a smile and addressed the crowd, "Everyone, the situation has been clarified. These two individuals were manipulated by criminals to frame our spirit beast. This has nothing to do with us and we are innocent."

Even after he said that, not a single person showed any sign of relief.

They had witnessed Chu Liang tying up the victim and bringing him into the room. Then, a candle and a whip were used on him for almost half a day. Afterwards, the victim emerged with a changed statement. From the looks of it, it seemed like coercion.

A soldier, likely the squad leader, stepped forward and shouted sternly, "Don't act hastily. Wait for the chief officer and the city supervisor. They will make the judgment on this matter!"

Despite the Yu Dynasty's efforts to train numerous cultivators, there remained an insufficient distribution of them in each city. Because of this shortage, the imperial court consistently applied the same approach to cases involving cultivators and eerie supernatural elements.

They could only deal with such cases afterward.

Faced with the realities of the world, the best the court could do was to deploy the main force to handle the aftermath of the incident and conduct a thorough investigation with utmost rigor.

While they may not be able to save lives, they would exert every effort to seek justice for the deceased. Only by doing so could they deter those malicious devils and evil spirits.

The chief officer was a military officer stationed in Misty Waters City, while the city supervisor was a civil officer, typically someone with a scholarly background from major academies.

Almost as soon as he finished talking, a distant howling wind echoed through the sky.

The two officials, one from the military and the other from the civil service, arrived together.

"Which wicked creature dares to cause trouble outside Misty Waters City!" With a loud boom, a burly man with sharp eyebrows and piercing eyes landed heavily. Clad in armor, he exuded an unmistakably martial presence.

"A Golden-Furred Hou?" the other person questioned, his expression immediately turning serious as he recognized the creature. He was a middle-aged man with a slender figure, dressed in scholarly attire, fair-faced, with a slight beard.

The chief officer and the city supervisor were both powerful cultivators: the former a martial cultivator at the fifth realm, and the latter a Confucian cultivator at the fifth realm. They were expected to be the strongest personnel in Misty Waters City. If cultivators of higher levels were required, they would have to come from another major city or the capital of Yu.

Even with the combined strength of the two, capturing a fleeing fifth-realm spirit beast would still be challenging.

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"Gentlemen! Please, hear me out!" Chu Liang spoke loudly to calm them down before reiterating the statements he made earlier.

"Is that so?" the chief officer said to the city supervisor as he furrowed his brows. He then asked, "Official Du, what are your thoughts about this?"

The city supervisor surveyed the surroundings and said, "It's not difficult to verify whether what he said is true or not. The lingering resentment of the deceased hasn't dispersed completely; we can check if any lingering grievance has attached itself to this spirit beast."

"In that case, we'll have to trouble you to cast the spell, as this rough man doesn't understand these things," the chief officer chuckled.

"Leave it to me. Martial arts and Confucianism each have their strengths," the city supervisor surnamed Du said. He then proceeded to praise Chief Officer Li, saying, "Chief Officer Li is renowned for his martial prowess and strategic acumen in the military. He's not just any rough man."

"No, no, no," Chief Officer Li shook his head and said, "I am quite rough."

"..." City Supervisor Du pursed his lips, appearing to be a bit speechless. He turned back and began to form hand seals, then lightly pressed them against the ground.

Bang—

A gust of wind, like ripples, swept in and quickly enveloped the entire inn. Threads of soul auras gradually gathered from all directions.

Chu Liang could see that City Supervisor Du was gathering the scattered souls of the deceased. This technique seemed vaguely similar to the summoning technique used by Shang Shuwen, but it was uniquely designed for soul auras.

As the resentful soul of the deceased gradually formed, there was not a trace of it attaching to the Golden-Furred Hou. The expression on City Supervisor Du's face gradually relaxed.

The young man who could afford to keep the Golden-Furred Hou was likely either a disciple of an immortal sect or a scion of a prominent family. Regardless of his background, if it turned out that the Golden-Furred Hou was indeed responsible for the killings, holding the owner of the Golden-Furred Hou accountable would undoubtedly be challenging and could potentially lead to trouble.

Now that the Golden-Furred Hou's innocence was proven, they could finally relax.

With this thought in mind, he turned to Chu Liang and Lin Bei and asked, "Which immortal sect do you two belong to?"

"We are disciples of Mount Shu," Chu Liang replied. "We have always considered it our duty to eliminate evil entities and uphold justice."

"Mount Shu?" City Supervisor Du suddenly spoke, "The master of Mount Shu's Cloud Horizon Peak, Shang Shuwen, was once a fellow classmate of mine. Do you know him?"

"

Oh,

" Chu Liang's face lit up with joy. "So, you are Senior Uncle Shang's fellow classmate... I have the closest relationship with him!"