Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 47 - Investigation Team

As dawn broke, a fierce storm swept over Azure Billow City. The four major clans had ordered their disciples not to leave, as the Investigation Team was due to visit them that day to conduct their investigation.

Liu Wuxie exhaled, feeling his true essence strengthened after a night of cultivation. However, he knew he still had a long way to go to reach the fourth level of the Xiantian Realm.

“Patriarch, the Investigation Team is in the Song Clan, and they will start their investigation there,” reported the scouts, returning with the news. Xu Yilin waved his hand as he sat in the main hall.

In the courtyard, Liu Wuxie practiced his blade technique. His father-in-law had instructed him not to leave the Xu Clan for the next two days unless absolutely necessary.

Two hours later, the Investigation Team left the Song Clan, escorted out by Song Tianhao himself. The members of the Song Clan breathed a sigh of relief. The Investigation Team represented the Great Yan Imperial Family and was led by an old man.

“Old Kong, please forgive our poor hospitality. When the investigation is over, I will make sure to properly host you. I won’t take up any more of your time, and I hope the investigation goes well.” Song Tianhao bowed to an old man in his sixties. The old man’s name was Kong Yi, an influential mentor in the Great Yan Dynasty. Although he had no official authority, he was highly regarded and also held another identity as the mentor of the current crown prince.

The other four in the Investigation Team were from the military and royal family. Even the Imperial Academy had sent a representative because some of the soldiers involved were students there.

If they had died on the battlefield, it would not have caused such a commotion. But this time was different, as the Terrabreak Army had left their camp without permission and had embezzled 10 million gold coins meant for military expenses.

This matter had to be investigated thoroughly to uncover what had gone wrong in the Terrabreak Army. The team was determined to find them, dead or alive.

If the Terrabreak Army took the military expenses and defected to an enemy dynasty, it would be a great humiliation to the Great Yan Dynasty. This was the crux of the matter.

“Patriarch Song, you can leave us here. I apologize for any disruption we may have caused,” said Kong Yi, bowing to Song Tianhao. Despite being a renowned mentor in the Great Yan Dynasty, Kong Yi was humble and approachable, which earned him respect.

Song Tianhao heaved a sigh of relief, looking at the Investigation Team leaving. Everyone on the Investigation Team was well-experienced, and they could detect even the slightest detail. If Song Tianhao made a mistake, he would fall into their traps. But fortunately, none of the Song Clan’s disciples had left Azure Billow City recently. This was also the reason why the investigation ended so quickly.

“Patriarch, their next destination should be the Wan Clan,” whispered Song Clan’s Grand Elder. The Song Clan managed to shake themselves clean from this matter, putting the three other clans in pins and needles.

“I heard that the Xu Clan’s brat has returned?” asked Song Tianhao. The Spiritual Array Hall might have been stabilized but not fully repaired. The Song Clan had gathered all the materials Liu Wuxie required, and they were waiting for him to fix their spiritual arrays. It was no exaggeration to say that the fate of the Song Clan was now tied to Liu Wuxie.

“Yeah, he came back yesterday,” replied the Grand Elder, a flicker of fear crossing his eyes at the mention of Liu Wuxie. He still vividly remembered Liu Wuxie’s blade from that day.

“Inform the Xu Clan about the questions asked during the investigation, but make sure no one else finds out about it,” said Song Tianhao, suddenly deciding to let the Xu Clan know about the investigation process so they could prepare in advance. However, if the Investigation Team found out about this, the Song Clan would be in deep trouble.

“Patriarch, isn’t this inappropriate?” asked the Grand Elder hesitantly, knowing that this went against the rules. The Song Clan was ranked first among the four big clans, while the Xu Clan was ranked last. The investigation procedure followed the ranking of the clans, which was why the Song Clan had been investigated first.

“Our Song Clan needs a batch of weapons recently. So send someone to purchase it from the weaponry workshop.” Song Tianhao waved his hand and returned to the clan. The Grand Elder knew what Song Tianhao was planning and immediately sent someone to handle this matter. Visiting the Xu Clan at this moment would reveal their intentions, so Song Tianhao wanted to use the excuse of buying weapons.

An hour later, Xu Yilin was surprised by the news from the Song Clan that was presented to him.

“The Song Clan leaked the investigation procedure to us on purpose? What are they planning?” Xu Yilin shook his hands and reduced the report to ashes, having already memorized its contents.

“Either way, it’s not a bad thing. We already know the investigation procedure in advance, and we can make preparations for it!” said Deacon Lan, who had his suspicions but did not jump to conclusions as he was not yet certain.

An hour later, when the Investigation Team left the Wan Clan, they were personally sent out by Wan Rongzhe and Wan Clan’s elders. Judging from their expressions, the Wan Clan made it through the investigation and had nothing on them.

The Tian Clan was next. The Investigation Team came out from the Tian Clan four hours later, and it was already noon. But the Investigation Team still found nothing. The three big clans revealed their recent activities and had nothing to do with the Terrabreak Army.

Before they arrived at the Xu Clan, Xu Yilin was already waiting outside.

“Junior Xu Yilin pays his respect to Mister Kong...” Xu Yilin bowed and cupped his fists together at those following Kong Yi as a greeting.

“Patriarch Xu, you’re too polite. We’re here following orders, and I apologize in advance if you feel offended by our investigation.” Kong Yi responded with a bow before Xu Yilin led the Investigation Team into the Xu Clan. The other deacons of the Xu Clan also rushed back to prepare for the investigation.

As everyone took their seats, the deacons of the Xu Clan stood on either side, waiting to be questioned and not daring to make a sound. Even though Xu Yilin had received the investigation report from the Song Clan and had prepared responses to the questions, they couldn’t help feeling nervous.

“Patriarch Xu, may I ask if anyone from your clan entered the Sunset Mountain Range ten days ago?” asked a middle-aged man, stepping forward before Kong Yi could speak. According to the report from the Song Clan, this man was from the military, and his name was Bai Qiu. He was the 10,000-Man Commander in the Terrabreak Army’s Heaven Battalion. The deceased Zhou Hu and his men were under his command, so it was normal for him to ask questions.

“General Bai, our Xu Clan sent three transportation teams into the Sunset Mountain Range to transport ores, and this is their information.” Deacon Lan took out a name list and handed it to Bai Qiu, which recorded the details of every person, such as their family and strength.

Bai Qiu glanced at the name list before handing it to Kong Yi. According to the name list, Deacon Qi was the strongest who entered the Sunset Mountain Range, but his cultivation was only in the seventh level of the Xiantian Realm, meaning he couldn\'t deal with the Terrabreak Army.

As they didn’t possess the ability to slaughter the Terrabreak Army, they could be ruled out for now. However, there were always exceptions, and they couldn’t draw conclusions based on a list of names.

After looking at the name list, Kong Yi said nothing and handed it to the others in the Investigation Team. When it reached a middle-aged man with a hooked nose, he scrutinized it more carefully than anyone else.

Seeing this, a bead of cold sweat rolled down Xu Yilin’s forehead. This was the only person he was concerned about. His name was Xue Chunyu, an official in the Imperial Court and a member of the Xue Clan, the same clan as Xue Yu. He was the reason why the Wan and Tian Clans had passed the investigation unscathed.

“Patriarch Xu, this name list is wrong!” Xue Chunyu looked at Xu Yilin with a playful smile and slammed it on the table. His reply stunned Kong Yi, as even the other three big clans wouldn’t dare to provide a fake name list. The Xu Clan had no background nor a connection with a major clan in the Imperial City, yet they dared to give a fake name list during the investigation. This was a serious crime, no different from deceiving the imperial authority.

Xu Yilin bit the bullet and asked, “What’s wrong with it?”

“As far as I know, your son-in-law entered the Sunset Mountain Range eight days ago and only returned yesterday. Am I right about that?” Xue Chunyu asked with a sneer.

“Official Xue, the Investigation Team wanted the list of those who entered the Sunset Mountain Range ten days ago. But as you mentioned, my son-in-law entered the Sunset Mountain Range eight days ago, so his name isn’t on the list,” Xu Yilin quickly explained. He knew it was impossible to conceal Liu Wuxie entering the Sunset Mountain Range, so he admitted to it openly.

The Terrabreak Army’s last appearance in Azure Billow City was half a month ago. Since then, there had been no news about them. Liu Wuxie had entered the Sunset Mountain Range eight days ago, and there was a huge gap in time.

Qi Enshi naturally wouldn’t admit that he sent the Terrabreak Army over half a month ago to seize Xu Clan’s Iris Gold Mine. No one dared to mention it, including the Tian and Wan Clans.

The Terrabreak Army had disappeared after entering the Sunset Mountain Range, and at that time, Liu Wuxie had still been cultivating in Azure Billow City. This was common knowledge, and there was no known connection between Liu Wuxie and the Terrabreak Army.

“Who told you that we’re only investigating those who entered the Sunset Mountain Range ten days ago? You deliberately concealed your son-in-law. Are you trying to hide something? Or did your Xu Clan deliberately cover him up because he has a connection with Terrabreak Army’s disappearance?” Xue Chunyu blatantly accused the Xu Clan.

This surprised Bai Qiu because Liu Wuxie had not been considered a suspect since he had entered the Sunset Mountain Range eight days ago. Qi Enshi had provided them with a detailed report on the four big clans when they arrived, and Liu Wuxie’s name had naturally appeared on it.

“Official Xue, what do you mean by that? My Xu Clan has been fair and law-abiding. We’ve never committed crimes or harmed the Great Yan Dynasty. So please respect the Xu Clan!” Xu Yilin raised his head and looked at Xue Chunyu firmly. He still had no idea why Xue Chunyu wanted to target the Xu Clan, but he couldn’t let the Xu Clan be connected with Terrabreak Army’s disappearance.

“What I mean is simple. Bring your son-in-law out to face our interrogation about what he did and who he met in the Sunset Mountain Range over the past eight days. He must have a witness present to prove his innocence,” said Xue Chunyu.

Xue Chunyu was making baseless accusations against the Xu Clan. They needed to conclude the investigation and provide an explanation to His Majesty. Xu Yilin quickly realized that the Investigation Team needed a scapegoat.

After all, the disappearance of the Terrabreak Army was a great humiliation to the Great Yan Dynasty, and they needed someone to bear the responsibility. Since the Terrabreak Army disappeared in Azure Billow City, someone there had to be held accountable.

The Tian and Wan Clans were connected to the Xue Clan, so no one would touch them. The Song Clan was close to Imperial City’s Li Clan, and it was likely that the Li Clan sent a message to the Investigation Team before they set off for Azure Billow City. Additionally, no one from the Song Clan had been in the Sunset Mountain Range for the past ten days. So this was why Song Clan’s investigation only took less than an hour.

Everyone in the main hall fell into silence. The Xu Clan’s deacons could naturally tell that Xue Chunyu was trying to find a scapegoat, and their hearts sank when they heard what he said.