Su Wan’er suddenly turned her head to look at Lai Li’an.
Her Master still stood with his hands behind his back, utterly motionless.
There was no surprise on that clean, handsome face. No anger. Not even a trace of unexpectedness.
Su Wan’er’s heart skipped a beat.
Why wasn’t Master surprised at all?
Unless… unless Master had known from the very beginning.
She opened her mouth, her voice hoarse.
“Master… you knew all along?”
Lai Li’an did not answer immediately.
In his mind, he cursed every vile word he could think of.
‘Qian Fu, you old bastard. I’ve been on the road for three years without a single slip-up, and today I fall into your trap.’
But Su Wan’er was right beside him, and Elder Sun was watching from above.
He couldn’t show weakness.
He tilted his head slightly, glanced at Su Wan’er, and said calmly,
“An old cultivator at Late Stage Qi Refining, able to escape unscathed from three Foundation Establishment Late stage cultivators and one Foundation Establishment Peak cultivator—that in itself is a rare thing. And to still be alive after three months under the Moon Eclipse Bone Curse is even rarer. If Venerable Self couldn’t see through such an obvious anomaly, I would have wasted all these years.”
Su Wan’er was stunned.
‘Master really did know all along. Then why didn’t Master expose him yesterday? And why did he go snatch the spirit fields?’
Elder Sun took in both their reactions, then turned his gaze back to Lai Li’an.
“Fellow Daoist Lai, since you had already seen through this man as a fraud, why did you still take on this matter?”
Lai Li’an was silent for a moment.
“To answer Elder Sun, yesterday when Qian Fu first spoke to me at the West Market Lane entrance, Venerable Self had already seen through him as no good sort. My plan at that time was to turn his plot against him—pretend to accept his commission, wait for him to lower his guard, and then find his weakness. So I left a tracking mark on him.”
He paused, his tone sinking slightly.
“However, Fellow Daoist Hong from the Hundred Herbs Hall filed a report first, and my plan was disrupted.”
Hong Wu let out a cold laugh, about to speak, but Lai Li’an’s voice overrode him.
“But precisely because I left that mark, even here in the Public Trial Hall, Venerable Self still knows exactly where Qian Fu is hiding.”
At these words, the entire hall fell silent.
Lai Li’an’s voice remained calm as he continued,
“This man Qian Fu has been committing crimes for three years, swindling no fewer than five groups of rogue cultivators, with victims scattered all across Yunze Market and beyond. I originally planned to follow the vine and perhaps pull up his accomplices, to seek justice for those deceived fellow daoists. But since Fellow Daoist Hong has reported this to the Enforcement Hall, this matter has become a trouble where I must first prove my own innocence.”
He finished speaking with a slight shake of his head.
Elder Sun looked at Lai Li’an, not speaking for a long time.
This man surnamed Lai, from the moment he was arrested last night until now, had remained calm and unflustered.
This person’s meticulousness far surpassed that of an ordinary rogue cultivator.
“Li Xiuyuan,”
Elder Sun finally spoke.
“Your subordinate is here.”
“Take a team of men. Let Fellow Daoist Lai guide the direction, and go arrest Qian Fu immediately.”
“Your subordinate obeys!”
“Hold on.”
Hong Wu suddenly stepped forward, his voice raised.
“Elder Sun, Qian Fu’s matter can wait. But this man Lai stealing spirit herbs is an indisputable fact! The land deed belongs to my Hundred Herbs Hall, the spirit fields belong to my Hundred Herbs Hall. He harvested a full five acres of spirit herbs from my Hundred Herbs Hall’s fields, tried to make a run with them, and when caught, starts talking about tracking Qian Fu and turning the plot against him—all of this is his one-sided story! I ask Elder Sun, even if what he says is true, that he planned to chase down Qian Fu, to catch a swindler—did he need to harvest all five acres of spirit herbs clean and stuff them into his own pocket?”
He grew more agitated as he spoke, spittle nearly flying onto the table.
“What’s the market price for a bundle of Green Water Vine? What’s the price for a bundle of Red Sun Flower? Those spirit herbs alone are worth no less than five hundred low-grade spirit stones! Even if he wasn’t intentionally stealing, at the very least he knew these weren’t his things and took them anyway! According to Yunze Market’s regulations, for theft of property, the penalty is ten times the value! Ten times means five thousand! Elder Sun, just because this man has a silver tongue, are we supposed to let it go?”
At these words, the Enforcement Hall disciples in the Public Trial Hall all changed expressions.
Five thousand low-grade spirit stones—forget rogue cultivators, even they, Enforcement disciples who drew a salary, couldn’t save up that much in decades.
Su Wan’er’s face turned pale.
She wanted to argue, opened her mouth, but found that she couldn’t refute a single word Hong Wu had said.
They had harvested the spirit herbs and even given them away.
Regardless of the original intention, the result was the result.
Elder Sun was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.
“What Hong Wu says is not without reason. Fellow Daoist Lai, your intention to track Qian Fu, This Seat can understand. But the land deed is indeed under the name of the Hundred Herbs Hall, and the spirit herbs were not ownerless. You harvested and took them without the landowner’s consent. According to the market regulations, this is indeed improper.”
He paused, his voice growing heavy.
“According to Yunze Market’s regulations, theft of property carries a penalty of ten times the value for minor cases, and for serious cases, cultivation is abolished and the offender is expelled from the market. Considering that your original intention was not deliberate theft, and that you are willing to cooperate with the Enforcement Hall in capturing Qian Fu, This Seat can show leniency—”
“Ten times the penalty: five thousand low-grade spirit stones, to be paid in full within three days. If payment is overdue, the full force of the market regulations will apply.”
Su Wan’er’s legs went weak.
She instinctively looked up at her Master, but found his profile still calm as still water.
Elder Sun said in a deep voice,
“Fellow Daoist Lai, do you accept this punishment?”
Lai Li’an was silent for a moment.
Five thousand spirit stones—even if he and Su Wan’er sold everything, they couldn’t scrape that together.
He slowly raised his eyes, about to speak.
Su Wan’er suddenly stepped forward, cutting in before him.
“Elder Sun! From beginning to end, this was all Qian Fu’s scheme! My Master was tricked into going, he’s also a victim—”
“Wan’er.”
Lai Li’an pressed a hand on her shoulder.
Su Wan’er turned back, her eyes red-rimmed.
“But Master, it’s obviously Qian Fu who deceived us—”
“Venerable Self knows.”
Lai Li’an’s hand on her shoulder applied slight pressure, pulling her back behind him.
“Be obedient.”
Su Wan’er bit her lip hard, forcibly swallowing all the words that followed.
Lai Li’an turned to Elder Sun, meeting his gaze calmly.
His mind was racing, searching for any room to negotiate.
He knew better than anyone that the worst thing at a time like this was to show weakness.
The moment he showed weakness, the other side would latch on and never let go, and all his groundwork would be wasted.
Just as he opened his mouth—
“Hold!”
Someone walked in from outside.
The newcomer was a young man in his early twenties, dressed in a moon-white robe with cyan edges, a dark green silk sash at his waist.
It was Meng Qiuran.
He stopped in the center of the Public Trial Hall and clasped his hands toward Elder Sun on the dais, his posture neither humble nor arrogant, a composed smile hanging at the corner of his lips.
“Who goes there?”
Elder Sun asked with some anger.
Someone had actually dared to barge into a public trial.
Meng Qiuran clasped his hands in greeting.
“This humble one, Meng Qiuran, a disciple of the Branch Sect of Alchemy. Before arriving, I had already heard about the cause of this matter. However, I believe that Senior Lai must have had his reasons for seizing the spirit fields.”
“You are correct. Fellow Daoist Lai claimed he was trying to bring those swindlers to justice, and thus devised this plan.”
“Ah?”
Meng Qiuran let out an unintentional sound, drawing confused looks from others.
Then he realized his mistake.
“That’s right, that’s exactly what I meant. Senior Lai is certainly not that kind of person. So this case can be closed, right?”
“This matter has been concluded. Now it’s a question of compensation. Fellow Daoist Lai harvested all the spirit herbs, resulting in damages requiring five thousand low-grade spirit stones.”
Lai Li’an let out a bitter laugh inside.
‘You’ve got to be kidding me. Where did this miraculous little treasure come from? He’s trying to cash in a big favor by showing off. Now the whole room is watching him embarrass himself.’
“This humble one is willing to pay the compensation on behalf of Senior Lai.”
Meng Qiuran’s expression returned to normal, and he spoke slowly.
The entire hall fell silent.
Lai Li’an’s pupils slightly dilated.
‘Holy crap! My savior! I’m the real miraculous treasure here!’