Chapter 257: Detective Investigates the Case
Receiving Fei Si’s cry for help, Zhu Xuanji prioritized the bigger picture and immediately left Lava Immortal Palace.
When a cultivator entered Lava Immortal Palace, there would be a treasure light guiding them, but upon exiting, there was no such treatment.
However, Meng Kui couldn't just sit by and do nothing.
After he disrupted the formation of the demonic beasts, Zhu Xuanji managed to escape, soaring into the sky.
Moments later, he arrived at the Cloud City and met with Song Fuli and Fei Si.
Song Fuli cupped his hands, his face full of expectation and urgency: “Lord Zhu Xuanji, I have long admired your name!”
“The auction is imminent, yet all of our auction items have been stolen.”
“I’ve traveled a long way and didn’t expect to be robbed in Huoshi Immortal City. Now, I can only rely on your strength.”
Zhu Xuanji nodded, “No problem, I will do my best this time.”
Arriving at the scene, Zhu Xuanji didn’t hold back and immediately used one of his signature techniques.
**Trace Back Art!**
**Celestial Golden Eyes!**
In an instant, he saw the scene of Yang Chanyu and Sun Lingtong conspiring together, forging goods, and placing them on the shelves.
The truth was immediately revealed!
Zhu Xuanji sighed and withdrew his spell, giving Song Fuli a deep look.
Song Fuli’s face was full of urgency, “Lord Zhu, how is it?”
Fei Si was also standing to the side, staring intently at Zhu Xuanji.
Zhu Xuanji nodded slightly, “I found it… it was Yang Chanyu and Sun Lingtong who did it.”
“Even though the two of them concealed their tracks, they couldn’t escape my Golden Eyes. After some investigation, I discovered the truth.”
“No-Void Sect!” Fei Si gritted his teeth, speaking hatefully.
“No-Void Sect…” Song Fuli clenched his fists, showing an expression of anger.
He looked at Zhu Xuanji and Fei Si, “The key issue now is how to get my goods back from them.”
“Lord Fei Si, I remember when I first entered the city and saw the ruins of the Golden Core battle. How did you respond to me?”
“You said there was no problem, that Huoshi Immortal City was very safe, and that the City Lord’s Mansion had everything under control.”
“But now, look!”
“Demonic cultivators run rampant in Huoshi Immortal City, and my goods were stolen so easily.”
“What do you have to say about this? The City Lord’s Mansion must give me, the victim, an explanation, right?”
“We in the Cloud Commerce have come all this way, taking countless risks, to do a bit of hard business. Is that easy?”
“I didn’t expect to not be robbed on the road, but to have my goods stolen in the immortal city!”
Fei Si’s face was full of embarrassment, and he forced a smile, trying to console him as much as possible: “Brother Song, rest assured. We will definitely make every effort to track it down and recover your goods.”
Song Fuli spread his hands, “The auction is in two days. In such a short time, can you recover them?”
“And the news of the auction has already been released.”
“If the auction can’t be held, where will our Cloud Commerce’s reputation stand?”
“Ah!”
Song Fuli slapped his thigh in frustration, looking truly agitated.
Fei Si’s face was filled with seriousness. He knew that in such a short time, retrieving the goods from the true disciples of No-Void Sect was extremely difficult and the chances were slim.
But this matter had to be handled, and it had to be handled well and flawlessly!
He took a deep breath and immediately stated, “I will immediately go to see Lord Meng Kui, report this matter to him, and ask the City Lord to make a decision!”
Before leaving, Fei Si glanced at Zhu Xuanji, pleading for him to continue investigating.
Zhu Xuanji nodded and agreed, but at the same time, he also said that he could only do his best and couldn’t guarantee any results within two days.
Fei Si sighed, cupped his hands, and took his leave.
His body turned into a rainbow as he flew directly to the top of Mount Huoshi.
Zhu Xuanji remained behind, giving Song Fuli a light smile, “Brother Song, I have something interesting to tell you.”
“According to my recent investigation, when Yang Chanyu and Sun Lingtong stole the goods, they weren’t in this place but inside the Cloud Whale.”
Song Fuli immediately raised his eyebrows, “What do you mean by that?”
Zhu Xuanji crossed his hands behind his back and looked out the window at the Cloud Whale floating in the sky, “Your business group’s goods were stolen inside the Cloud Whale, and being stolen inside Huoshi Immortal City are two different things.”
“The responsibility for the former mainly lies with your side, but if we pursue the latter, the City Lord’s Mansion of Huoshi Immortal City would be the primary party responsible.”
“Don’t you think so?”
Song Fuli took a deep breath and laughed, “Lord Zhu, don’t speak carelessly. If you accuse my side of falsifying the incident, covering it up, and pretending that the theft occurred in Huoshi Immortal City, you’d better have solid evidence.”
“Even though you are a detective, you are a member of the Southern Dou Royal Family, and your camp is on the side of Huoshi Immortal City. Therefore, your testimony cannot be considered evidence.”
Zhu Xuanji snorted coldly, turning to stare at Song Fuli with a sharp gaze, “You know I’m part of the Royal Family. So what if I don’t have evidence? I can still deal with you, can’t I?”
Song Fuli stepped back slightly, as if avoiding Zhu Xuanji’s sharpness, and his tone softened but was firm, “Within the Southern Dou Country, you are the host, and we are the guests. It would indeed be easy for you to deal with us outsiders.”
“If you really wanted to take action against us, we would have no choice but to accept it.”
“But, Lord Zhu Xuanji, how could someone of your stature act in such a way?”
“The esteemed Detective Zhu, who has always upheld fairness, is the Golden Core emblem of the Southern Dou Royal Family. How could he take action against suspects without solid evidence?”
“I, Song Fuli, don’t believe it!”
By the time Song Fuli finished speaking, his expression was firm, and his tone was resolute.
At this moment, the confrontation between these two Golden Core experts was sharper than a battle of swords and blades!
Zhu Xuanji couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows.
He stared tightly at Song Fuli, and the sharp aura around him slowly retracted, his tone easing, “You’ve investigated me quite thoroughly. You even know about my usual preference for fairness.”
“In that case, your group must also be interested in getting a share of the Lava Immortal Palace, correct?”
Since the conversation had reached this point, there was no point in Song Fuli hiding anything anymore.
He simply admitted, “Yes, upon hearing the recruitment decree issued by your country’s king, we immediately set off to this place.”
“As the Cloud Commerce, we never rise early without profit.”
“We carefully studied the recruitment decree and thought it over. We also meet the qualifications, don’t we?”
Zhu Xuanji chuckled lightly and nodded, “Of course, you are qualified! As a member of the Southern Dou Royal Family, I welcome this and look forward to us working together.”
Seeing Zhu Xuanji smile, Song Fuli also laughed, greatly easing the atmosphere.
He said solemnly, “I have sensed Lord Zhu’s sincerity!”
Song Fuli was referring to the fact that Zhu Xuanji had discovered the truth—that Yang and Sun had stolen the goods inside the Cloud Whale—but he hadn’t said it, instead choosing to cover up for the Cloud Commerce.
As a member of the Royal Family, Zhu Xuanji had to consider the Zhu Family’s interests.
His intention to conceal this was clear—he wanted to win over Song Fuli’s group.
After all, in the struggle for control over Lava Immortal Palace, Zhu Xuanji would likely have to face Meng Kui in the end.
Zhu Xuanji was a Golden Core, while Meng Kui was at the Nascent Soul stage. The gap in their cultivation levels was immense.
Thus, Zhu Xuanji wanted to ally with Song Fuli’s group, who possessed the Cloud Whale, in an attempt to use its power to somewhat counter Meng Kui.
…
The development of the situation to this point was something Fei Si hadn’t anticipated.
He flew to the top of Mount Huoshi to meet with Meng Kui.
Meng Kui gazed at the Cloud Whale on the horizon, remaining silent for a long time before finally nodding slightly. He authorized Fei Si to negotiate with the Cloud Commerce and allowed him to cede a portion of their interests.
Meng Kui, considering his own political achievements, chose the lesser of two evils and had no choice but to try to win over the Cloud Commerce.
“I didn’t expect that one day, I, Meng Kui, would be restrained by a spirit!”
Meng Kui’s gaze pierced through the layers of clouds and smoke as he looked down upon the entire Lava Immortal Palace, his expression containing traces of anger.
In his view, the bombardment of Mount Huoshi by the Five Elements Tower had been orchestrated by the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit. Even if some cultivators had assisted, as the palace spirit, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit could not
have been bypassed; it was at least a major accomplice!
“When the time comes, and my Meng Family controls the Immortal Palace, I will definitely discipline this Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit severely!”
“But for now, the urgent task is to secretly contact this palace spirit and deal with it carefully.”
During this time, Meng Kui had ordered his subordinates to make numerous attempts to contact the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, all of which had failed, yielding no progress.
“Zhu Xuanji likely knows some secrets. The Southern Dou Royal Family has deep ties with the Three Sect Lords, but testing him on this matter requires extreme caution.”
Meng Kui’s eyes deepened, “Zhu Xuanji is very perceptive. If he becomes aware that the palace spirit harbors ulterior motives, it will become much more troublesome.”
For the time being, Meng Kui concealed the secret of the palace spirit. In his view, Zhu Xuanji, who represented the Southern Dou Royal Family, had always been his primary competitor.
Meanwhile, Zhu Xuanji had secretly reached a verbal agreement with Song Fuli, aiming to unite the weak to resist the strong.
Song Fuli, taking advantage of the competition between the Royal Family and the local authorities, sought to recover the stolen goods, with a high chance of success.
The open and covert struggles among the three parties greatly consumed their energy and time, giving Ning Zhuo’s group some breathing room.
Lava Immortal Palace.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit suppressed its excitement and once again took the initiative to contact Ning Zhuo: “Little master… good news, Zhu Xuanji is gone. He left the Immortal Palace.”
“The time has come for us to act and eliminate Ning Xiaohui!”
Yang Chanyu also confirmed Zhu Xuanji’s movements.
Sun Lingtong infiltrated Ning Zhuo’s side and transmitted a message to him: “Brother, I’ve figured it out!”
“That Song Fuli is also cunning in business! He must have discovered that the goods were stolen long ago but kept quiet, moved the fake goods to the immortal city, and then staged a crime scene to demand compensation from the City Lord’s Mansion.”
“News about the stolen goods has already spread throughout the entire immortal city. This is most likely Song Fuli’s doing, secretly leaking it to clear himself while pressuring the City Lord’s Mansion.”
“Zhu Xuanji left the Immortal Palace this time to investigate this major theft.”
“Now that he’s not in the palace, it’s indeed a good time to act.”
“I’ll take action, and Yang Chanyu will guard in secret. We’ll eliminate Ning Xiaohui and remove this major threat!”
Sun Lingtong was eager to move.
But Ning Zhuo frowned deeply, pacing back and forth in the room multiple times.
“No, wait a little longer.” Ning Zhuo hesitated and struggled but ultimately decided to hold Sun Lingtong back for the time being.
Sun Lingtong was confused, but their ten years of mutual understanding made him realize that Ning Zhuo must have his reasons for making this decision.
“Fine, I’ll follow her closely and wait for your signal.”
“Use **Life Hanging by a Thread** to contact me!”
“Just say the word, and I’ll act immediately.”
Sun Lingtong and Ning Zhuo reached an agreement.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit waited anxiously but didn’t see Ning Zhuo or Sun Lingtong make a move.
It stomped its feet on its throne in frustration.
It kept growling, “Ning Zhuo, Ning Zhuo! What are you waiting for? Why are you still hesitating?!”
“Act, act quickly!!”
“Ning Xiaohui is about to secure her position! Ugh! Truly a fool who can’t be reasoned with!”
Roar, roar!
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was so anxious it raised its head and spewed a pillar of fire.
(End of the Chapter)