Chapter 157: 157: A Variety of Reasons (Second Update)

Tian Yangni’s words were a clear denial of any suggestion that they had received instructions from the Official Government.

Powerful clans like these have the confidence to deny such things; it doesn’t matter whether the instruction came from the County Noble or not, as long as the County Noble didn’t explicitly say so, they won’t acknowledge it.

Is there a possibility of the Official Government acting in private? Yes, but that’s usually within the Imperial Court, the Provincial Prefecture, or the City Mansion, where the Imperial Court might want to handle some thorny issues without alarming others and might resort to underhanded tactics.

But at the county level, this possibility is really quite small; this is basically the lowest level of government officials appointed by the Imperial Court. What problem could there be that couldn’t be dealt with openly?

In any case, since the County Noble didn’t openly acknowledge the CheMa Trading Company’s actions, the Tian Family would have a reason to not admit it, while also giving the other side a label—If you continue to tarnish the name of the Official Government, we will have to resort to killing!

As for the truth of the matter, is it important? If you dare to say it, we dare to kill!

The captured man, upon hearing this, immediately closed his mouth; he understood this principle.

However, his fear inadvertently exposed his roots, and Lang Zhen sneered, “He doesn’t even dare to call out a second time, Lord Qi… This man must be falsely accusing the County Noble, it cannot be left uninvestigated.”

Upon hearing this, the man snorted coldly, “If I say it again, you’ll kill someone, and though my life may be worthless, I don’t want to die wrongfully. Is that wrong?”

“Haha,” Tian Yangni chuckled lightly and waved his hand, “Take him down for questioning, but remember, don’t let him say it a second time.”

In fact, he also suspected that the man was an impersonator; if he truly had the instruction of the County Noble, he would undoubtedly have the confidence to shout it out again.

This is river and lake experience: people with the backing of officialdom definitely react differently—could it be that he would really dare to kill?

Nine times out of ten, Tian Yangni would again ask, “Dare you say it again?” He would wait for the other party to repeat it before he kills.

But by doing so, he would be aware that he most likely had provoked the County Noble.

Regardless, there must be something wrong with the man, but Tian Yangni was a bit puzzled: why didn’t the Divine Doctor identify this man?

After the man was taken away, he turned his head to look at the Female Attendant from the Tian Family, waving his hand in disgust, “Take away this double-crossing creature, she awaits severe punishment!”

“Lord Qi, spare my life,” the woman immediately knelt down, not caring about the mud on the ground as she desperately pleaded, “If the maid has done something wrong, she is willing to accept the punishment, but now she only wishes for Lord Qi to clarify… exactly where did the maid go wrong?”

Tian Yangni was also a bit puzzled; what could his own Female Attendant have done wrong?

He subconsciously glanced at the door behind him, regretfully there was no sound coming from within the room.

Obviously, the Divine Doctor did not deign to explain, so he could only harden his heart—the one inside the room could not possibly be wrong!

He could not let the Divine Doctor see a joke, so he snorted coldly, “Still being stubborn? It seems I can only let you meet with an accident!”

In Donghua Country, slaves were rare, and servants were not something that a master could kill at will, but for powerful families like the Tian Family, there were ways to make their servants die accidentally, such as unintentionally falling into a well—it wasn’t a first or a second occurrence in a large family with many rules.

After such incidents, the worst they’d have to do is pay some money, and if the deceased had no family, it was even easier to deal with.

The Female Attendant’s body trembled uncontrollably, yet she still kept calling out her innocence.

A Martial Artist from the Tian Family snorted, “You have family, correct? And your brother is still young.”

The Female Attendant trembled even more violently.

Just then, a cold snort came from inside the room, “I am amazed, how can you be so foolish to this extent?”

Lang Zhen was also racking his brains analyzing the situation when he heard this remark; his eyes suddenly lit up, “Search her!”

Two robust women approached and began to search her thoroughly. They found nothing after a while, until one of the women grabbed the Female Attendant’s collar and started to tear it off, intending to strip off her upper garment.

At that moment, another woman shouted in surprise, “Haha, I found it!”

It turned out she had discovered a small Gold leaf inside the Female Attendant’s shoe, the kind worth one ‘qian’, equivalent to ten silver dollars.

This was worth ten silver dollars, a sum the little Female Attendant could not save even after ten years of work.

Need one ask? This Female Attendant must be up to something!

It was later revealed that the woman had been bribed by the middle-aged man with Gold, and when she was captured, the middle-aged man panicked and fled, only to ultimately surrender.

Out of the first hundred people, two were caught; out of the second hundred, again two were caught. Tian Yangni was getting frustrated, “Are there so many spies around?”

Then he spoke respectfully again, “Divine Doctor, in the next capture, could you please announce their crimes? To put people at ease?”

Of course, Feng Jun was not pleased with this, as in fact, apart from the information on his Mobile Phone, he didn’t have many ways to identify spies.

So he could only intimidate the Tian Family members into taking the initiative by showing off his supposed abilities.

Of course, showing off felt quite good, and it also served as a strong proof of his status as an Immortal.

So he snorted and asked discontentedly, “Do you need my help with the interrogation again?”

The thought involuntarily popped into Tian Yangni’s mind that this would be even better.

But immediately after, he cast the unrealistic idea aside, simply offering an awkward smile, “I should not trouble the Divine Doctor with such matters. I only fear that the ignorant will spread rumors and disrupt the peace of this place, which would be far from ideal.”

Having interacted with the Divine Doctor for quite some time, Tian Yangni had gleaned some details. Indeed, he had his own agenda in wanting to prevent others from discovering the Divine Doctor’s identity, but it seemed the Divine Doctor himself preferred not to be bothered by others, right?

Feng Jun wasn’t pleased to hear this, “So I help your family identify spies, and now I’m to blame?”

When Tian Yangni heard this, he didn’t dare continue the conversation, but in his heart, he grumbled: Please, these spies came for you!

However, he would only dare to think such thoughts, never daring to say them out loud to death.

Seeing the situation, Lang Zhen took the initiative to speak up, “Lord Seventh, you should be more than grateful that the Divine Doctor is willing to lend a hand. There are some things that even if the Divine Doctor wishes to explain them to you, you wouldn’t understand.”

“That’s true,” Tian Yangni nodded, understanding the hint and swiftly taking the opportunity to withdraw smoothly.

Then, smiling, he said, “I only hope that when we face inscrutable challenges, the Divine Doctor would kindly offer some guidance to us, the obtuse.”

Feng Jun didn’t bite, and the room fell silent again.

Yet Tian Yangni felt not worry, but delight—though the Divine Doctor hadn’t agreed, he had also not objected.

So by the time the third group of a hundred came forward, Feng Jun singled out two more people, and Tian Laoqi directly took them away for questioning, without giving them any chance to explain.

One of them was a stableman from Lord Beiyuan Mansion, who desperately proclaimed his innocence, saying, “The Tian Family has no right to deal with me.”

But Tian Yangni coldly dropped a sentence, “You have half an hour to confess truthfully, or else you will be killed. Let’s see if Lord Beiyuan would turn against my Tian Family for the likes of a petty henchman like you.”

This was unconditional trust in the Divine Doctor.

However, by the fourth group of a hundred, Tian Yangni couldn’t help himself anymore.

This time, Feng Jun singled out two more people, and as Tian Laoqi took them away, he wondered if the Divine Doctor could only identify two spies at a time. Then he heard the Divine Doctor call Lang Zhen back into the room.

Lone Wolf went in and quickly came back out, pacing in front of the crowd with a rather strange expression on his face.

All of a sudden, Lang Zhen made his move, and with a large net, he ensnared one person.

The Tian Clan members were first stunned, then couldn’t help but make a clamor, “Let him go!” “What are you doing?”

The one caught in the net was none other than a primary martial master from the Tian Family named Tian Leqian.

The Tian Family members knew the Divine Doctor was identifying spies. But surely… a martial master from their own family couldn’t be a spy, right?

Of course, it’s not unusual for a large clan to have a few rebellious members, but this was a martial master, not just any martial artist!

Seeing this, Tian Yangni was first startled, then he quieted down his clansmen, turning his head to offer a deep bow toward the room where Feng Jun was, without saying much more, his demeanor clear: Divine Doctor, no matter what, you owe me an explanation this time.

The room was silent, and Feng Jun remained quiet.

As the Tian Family members grew noisy again, and Tian Laoqi found himself struggling to keep control, Lang Zhen walked over and whispered something.

“What?” Tian Yangni suddenly froze, his face alternating between shades of green and white, speechless for a long while.

“Uncle Seven, you owe everyone an explanation,” Tian Lewen spoke up solemnly. As the second-highest in cultivation level within the family there, he had been arranging who should receive invitations and had not been present earlier. He couldn’t believe the scene he found upon his return.

He knew the Divine Doctor was a rare and venerable figure, but some things had to be said, “Leqian is Lao San’s only son, steady and skilled in his practice; even if he is at fault, we have to consider the face of his deceased father… May I ask where his fault lies?”

The “Lao San” he mentioned was not from the Long Branch but the third son of the fifth branch, who perished thirty years ago during a calamity that befell the Tian Family. Two martial masters died in battle, and more than twenty martial artists were killed with countless injured, but they managed to weather the storm.

One of the deceased martial masters was the third son of the fifth branch. At that time, Lao San had no children, but his wife was pregnant. She later gave birth to Tian Leqian, a posthumous child.

Within the clan, there was no notion of martyrdom, but without a doubt, the third son of the fifth branch had made a grand contribution to the survival of the clan. How could his only son be so easily disrespected?

Faced with Tian Lewen’s stern questioning, Tian Yangni’s mouth twitched, his face cycling through emotions until it settled into a deep sigh, “Ah~”

“Uncle Seven, don’t trouble yourself,” Tian Leqian yelled out, his face also looking unpleasant within the confined net, but his eyes burning with intensity, “Where have I erred, just say it. As long as it’s my fault… I’ll definitely admit it! I’m willing to accept punishment!”

His eyes blazed with anger: If it’s not my fault, hmph, an explanation is due!

Tian Yangni’s mouth twitched again, and he stamped his foot hard, “Do you really want to know?”

Before Tian Leqian could reply, the other Tian Family members started clamoring, “Not just him; we all want to know!”

Tian Yangni clenched his teeth, forcing out a few words through gritted teeth, “You shouldn’t bear the name ‘Tian’; you’re not of the Tian Family’s bloodline!”