Chapter 2773 - 64: Heavenly Will—Deep Sea Hits the Reef (Part 2)

Yuan Laoxi had originally thought that being summoned here to stand trial was still about Chai Asi sneaking into the Land of Shenxiao. That matter truly had nothing to do with him; no matter how they interrogated, he would remain clean. He figured these Heavenly Venerates would not falsely accuse a Nameless petty official like him.

He simply had not expected that pulling on one radish would bring up all the mud. With one glance, the Heavenly Demon saw right through him and asked about his deepest secret.

He immediately knelt and prostrated on the ground, using a posture of utmost respect to hide his own mind. Then he truthfully narrated his evil deeds, making himself appear to have no concealment at all: "This decrepit old man was at the time harassed by a Demon. It was bloodthirsty and cruel, and had to be supplied with blood offerings at fixed intervals. If, in one cycle, the blood offering was insufficient, it would suck my vital essence. I lost my mind, and by taking advantage of my identity as incense host of the Fruit and Flower Club, I secretly gathered blood food for it, month after month, year after year. This is truly a deed of great evil; I indeed deserve to die a thousand deaths. But I beg the Heavenly Venerates to see clearly: my young daughter Yuan Xiaoqing is simple and innocent, uninvolved in any evil..."

Perhaps the love of a daughter is the same under heaven. Hearing this, Zhu Xuan added on the side: "The Public Security Office does indeed have corresponding records, and the dates match up. However, those blood-offering activities later ceased, so the Office’s desire to investigate was not very strong; it was shelved there for a newly appointed constable to investigate slowly. According to the laws of Mo Yun City, Yuan Laoxi cannot escape the death penalty, but this crime does not implicate his family..."

If Jiang Wangruo could have been present to hear this, he would certainly have been on pins and needles.

Because this was yet another dangerous Cause and Effect line; even though he had already made so many efforts in the Monster Realm, painstakingly prepared so much, there were still hidden seeds of disaster everywhere.

Even if he had not come to the old Chai family estate tonight, even if he had had the foresight to erase those dozens of five-zhu Emperor coins, at Yuan Laoxi’s end there was still the possibility of being traced back along the vine.

And under the targeting of Heavenly Will—any dangerous possibility would inevitably come to pass.

He was steering a broken boat, patching it as he went, battling wind and waves in the Ku Hai, forging ahead with courage, never giving up for a single instant, risking his life to try to go home...

Yet in the deep sea of Heavenly Will, there were far too many reefs waiting to be struck!

At the moment the Heavenly Demon was holding the field, weapons and armor encircled them. Yuan Xiaoqing at the side had already been frightened silly: one moment her lover was in trouble, the next her old father was suffering disaster, shocking her heart into tatters. Beads of tears rolled down her cheeks like a string, yet she did not know what she could do. At this moment she thought of Chai Asi, but Chai Asi could not respond to her, nor could he save her father.

Tiger Taisui was still sitting there grandly, sitting on the broken wall whose rubble and shattered bricks had not even been brushed clean, silently staring at Yuan Laoxi.

Feeling the weight of that gaze, Yuan Laoxi’s prostrate body grew stiff, and in that stiffness he said: "As for the Deity this decrepit old man worships, I am in truth not very familiar with Him either. I only know that He is the Faceless Deity, who practices goodly deeds. He advocates acting with One Heart, fearing no slander. His image is left for All Beings to paint as they will. At that time He struck and annihilated the Demon that possessed me and saved me from water and fire, so I came to believe in Him and worship Him. From that time on, I have committed no further evil, saving myself and saving others..."

Tiger Taisui was still silent; the silence indicated it was still not enough.

But Yuan Laoxi, prostrated on the ground, could only sob and say: "The Faceless Deity is mysterious and unfathomable. This broken, decrepit body of mine truly does not know more!"

For the moment, this Faceless Sect indeed counted as a benevolent religion. Yu Xin had earlier described it in the True Secrets of Shenxiao, known throughout the city.

And what did this have to do with Chai Asi?

Yuan Laoxi had never entered the Land of Shenxiao!

After all, he was a Demon clan resident of Mo Yun City; Zhu Xuan opened his mouth, about to say something.

Tiger Taisui had already turned his gaze, looking sternly at Quan Shouzeng: "Earlier you said you suspected that this Chai Asi was the murderer who killed your son Quan Xizai and destroyed his corpse and traces. Have you extracted any further evidence under interrogation?"

Quan Shouzeng said: "At the time, the Spider Family’s Zhu Lanruo issued a bounty mission on the God Enthronement Platform to collect poisons. My son Quan Xizai, admiring a good match, took the mission and went into the mountains... At that time, Chai Asi also took the same mission. And it was precisely after descending the mountain from that trip that Chai Asi began to no longer hide himself."

"Is there any possibility that this Chai Asi is no longer Chai Asi?" came Ji Xingkong’s voice from the darkness.

Lu Ximing said: "Impossible. Although we were blocked by the Land of Shenxiao and cannot truly see through him, this Chai Asi’s words, deeds, and Divine Will all match his Flesh Body, with no disharmony. How long has it even been since he returned from the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains? Even a True Monster proficient in body-snatching would find it hard to achieve such a level in so short a time."

If a True Monster could not do it, a True Man naturally could not either.

Zhu Yi had originally wanted to mention that this period just happened to coincide with the South Heaven war, and so he dropped it.

"Is that so." Tiger Taisui’s tone was very light. He asked Quan Shouzeng again: "All the Demons connected to Chai Asi are here. You haven’t gotten anything useful out of them?"

"No, their mouths are very hard." Quan Shouzeng shook his head and said: "Because I considered that the great Ancestors would still need to question them, I did not dare use too heavy a hand."

Tiger Taisui slowly turned his gaze to Yuan Xiaoqing; in his amber eyes, their depth could not be seen, their might could not be gauged.

"They are not holding their tongues; absolutely not holding their tongues! Whatever you wish to know, I will speak!" Yuan Laoxi, kneeling and prostrating on the ground, lifted his head with difficulty, his expression tense: "Whatever I know, I will say!"

Tiger Taisui spoke in a tone of regret: "You have already said it all..."

He still kept his gaze on Yuan Xiaoqing: "Now you tell us what you know."

"I...I..." Yuan Xiaoqing was unbearably nervous, stammering as she said: "Little Brother Chai and I are of one heart. Little Brother Chai... is Chai Asi. He... trains very hard, he’s very kind; all the money he receives, he shares with his subordinates..."