Chapter 120 Control Methods:
"So what!" Madam Mei's angry shout interrupted Rong Xie and Shen Bing Si's private conversation. "What mimosa flowers, roses, isn't it all just your word? Do you have any evidence? Is there anyone else here who can vouch for what you said?"
Rong Xie sighed and looked at Madam Mei: "Yes, it is, but it's very difficult to get him to admit it."
Madam Mei narrowed her eyes, as if she understood something. She sneered, "So that means there isn't one. You can invite Elder Hong of the Hehuan Sect if you want. As long as you can prove that what you said isn't made up, we will naturally let you go."
"Now that things have come to this, does Madam Mei still think our demands are to get away unscathed?" Rong Xie shook his head. "Madam Mei is thinking too highly of yourself. Plundering innocent children from commoner families and turning them into furnaces to serve as stepping stones for your young master's advancement is a grave crime; children who die after failed transformations are left to be slaves and die tragically, while those who succeed in transformation are used as tools for control and die tragically as servants. These people's lives are easily wiped out in your hands like weeds—that's another grave crime. These two crimes are no less serious than those sensational cases adjudicated by the Mirror Palace. I think they should be sent to the adjudicator who specializes in judging major cases in the cultivation world for a fair trial."
“Not bad!” Shen Bingsi switched the Shengxie Sword to another hand. “There are no demons here, so I can’t interfere. But cases like this, where the power of the cultivation world is used to harm ordinary people, will definitely be dealt with by our other Nascent Soul stage adjudicator, as long as I give the word—”
The Mirror Palace has three admonitors, all of whom are called admonitors, but their duties are different, and they have different titles depending on their duties.
For example, Shen Bingsi was in charge of slaying demons and was called the "Demon Exterminator"; another person was responsible for recording the events shown in the Heavenly Mirror and supervising the process and results of the cases handled by his two colleagues; and the third person was responsible for adjudicating disputes within the cultivation world; and the fourth person was responsible for adjudicating disputes within the cultivation world.
These three are directly under the Mirror Palace and are driven and governed by the Heavenly Dao. Their positions are not distinguished by rank or status, but upon closer examination, one of them is still a level above the other two. The matters he is responsible for are the most difficult to handle. He must have sufficient strength and means to properly resolve the disputes between the major sects and cultivation families. He is the "true adjudicator".
This man's surname is Jiang. Shen Bingsi and the registrar both call him Brother Jiang. They know nothing else about him. It is said that Brother Jiang's cultivation level is at the Nascent Soul stage, but Shen Bingsi doesn't know the actual level. Among the cultivators of the three major sects, Shen Bingsi only respects two people: his master from the Supreme Immortal Mountain and Brother Jiang. If he had to choose one of the two to respect more, he would probably still be the latter.
“Shen Bingsi, you really don’t take me seriously.” Lu Yingqi interrupted Shen Bingsi. “No one is allowed to leave here or pass on any information until there is solid evidence. If you’re not convinced, you can try passing on one.”
"You!" Shen Bingsi lunged forward, only to be stopped by a pale hand and obediently pulled back.
Rong Xie stopped Shen Bingsi and said to Lu Yingqi, "Senior Brother Lu, don't be anxious. I will give you a reasonable explanation. I only hope that after you accept my explanation, you can treat this matter fairly."
Lu Yingqi remained silent for a moment, then nodded slightly.
Madam Mei was about to shout again when she saw this, but Lu Yingqi stopped her: "Let him finish speaking. I don't want to use the 'silence spell'."
"..." Madam Mei gritted her teeth in resentment, "Fine, let's see what he can make up. Anyway, it's all just baseless nonsense!"
Rong Xie looked down at the child, who was still unconscious: "When Madam Mei saw me bring the child up from below, what was the first thing she asked? Madam Mei herself probably doesn't remember, but I can help you recall. You asked: 'Impossible, it's impossible to find it so quickly.'"
"..." Madam Mei's expression changed, and she was about to deny it when Lu Yingqi raised his hand to signal him to shut up.
“Senior Brother Lu has better hearing than me, and he’s standing closer, so he must hear you more clearly than I do,” Rong Xie said. “As for me, my cultivation level isn’t high, but I have one strength: an exceptionally good memory. If I want to remember something, I can memorize every word you’ve said since we first met, Madam Mei.”
Shen Bingsi nodded vigorously beside him.
“I’ll answer your question now as to why you were able to find it so quickly,” Rong Xie continued. “Because before I even arrived here, I already guessed that your Lu family didn’t have any spiritual springs, but you had plenty of mimosa flowers.”
When Rong Xie said this, not only the Lu family members, but also the treasure hunting team were shocked. Zhao Dajiang and Linglong turned to look at Rong Xie in astonishment.
“However, without actual evidence, all speculation is meaningless, so I didn’t tell anyone…” Rong Xie smiled apologetically at Zhao Dajiang and Linglong, “Instead, I secretly investigated the matter of the mimosa flower and obtained more information so that I could use it immediately if things turned out as I suspected.”
"Sure enough, more and more signs indicate that I guessed right. Some children in the village still remember that the flower can eat people—actually, it doesn't eat people, but the mimosa flower can wrap up the child and transform him; and there's something illogical in Xiao Ya's story. Why did Xiao Ya and Lu Yinglin succeed in dual cultivation so easily? On the surface, it seems because they had already had relations, but dual cultivation is also a cultivation technique that must be practiced to succeed. If they had never practiced, could Lu Yinglin have absorbed all of Xiao Ya's spiritual power in one go just because they were familiar with it? I don't think so."
"Later, I learned from some sources that you have been training these servants to learn the art of dual cultivation since they were young. If they were just serving people, they wouldn't necessarily have to learn these things, would they? Or are the servants you created originally just tools to provide spiritual power for the young masters and ladies?"
“The most crucial evidence is that I’ve been misled about Xiao Ya’s death. I thought he died because you controlled him with drugs or something like Gu, but that’s not true,” Rong Xie paused, feeling Lu Yingqi’s gaze focus on him, “No drug can precisely control a person’s life or death from thousands of miles away, and you can’t even know immediately whether he betrayed you…”
Madam Mei was about to say something, but upon hearing this, her two bright red lips pressed tightly together.
But the old man behind him, his lips trembling and his face turning pale, stepped forward and grabbed Madam Mei's arm tightly: "You can't say anymore, you can't say any more." The old man mouthed the words silently.
“The servants died not because of your control, but because… the furnace cauldrons were not ordinary cultivators to begin with, and they were inherently prone to premature death.” Rong Xie sighed. “There’s no need to investigate this matter. It’s common knowledge in the cultivation world. I guessed that the so-called Spirit Spring Well did not exist and that you modified the furnace cauldrons with Albizia flowers. Once I figured it out, all the inconsistencies would suddenly make sense.”
It is common knowledge in the cultivation world that cultivation furnaces are prone to premature death. After all, cultivation furnaces are tools used for cultivation and are consumables. Rong Xie has already put it very tactfully.
Xiao Ya died because of excessive "exhaustion." In order to help Lu Yinglin pass the Foundation Establishment assessment, Xiao Ya did not resist Lu Yinglin's self-righteous prank, which allowed him to absorb all her spiritual power. The young and ignorant Xiao Ya and Lu Yinglin did not know what irreversible consequences this would have. An overused furnace will break down and can no longer absorb spiritual power. Since they were supported by pseudo-spiritual roots, it was as if they had no spiritual roots at all. The consequences of the backlash from the Heavenly Dao would act on them even more violently.
It wasn't until Xiao Ya realized something was wrong that he contacted the Lu family and told them about his situation and the cause and effect behind it. After learning this, the Lu family regretfully told him that because he hadn't kept an eye on Lu Yinglin, the family had "prevented" him from cultivating as punishment.
Prior to this, the Lu family had not issued any warnings, as if they knew nothing—in fact, they really did know nothing.
The most terrifying and unpredictable "punishment" is one that even Madam Mei and the old master, who control the fate of the servants, don't know when it will come. They hold all the power of interpretation.
"So, my next focus is on studying how to use the mimosa flower," Rong Xie said. "Although it's not easy to recall so many details all at once, given enough time, I can always remember every little detail."
Rong Xie had no shortage of time. He no longer needed to cultivate, and Shen Bingsi didn't bother him all day. He would go to Lan Yuan Villa every few days, and the rest of the time was his own. After sorting through the information, Rong Xie wrote down a document about the Albizia flower and deduced from it that when the Albizia flower was used to transform a child, it would wrap the child in the heart of the flower. It would require injecting spiritual power into several points on the roots, stems, and calyxes to open the flower.
It was because Rong Xie had prepared a method to open the mimosa flower in advance that he was able to take out the child so quickly. The treasure hunting team hadn't expected that a child could be hidden in such a small flower. Rong Xie skillfully took the child out of it, just as he had seen others do it before, which startled everyone.
Until just now, Zhao Dajiang thought that Rong Xie had been inspired by the sleep-talking of the mentally challenged child he had brought back, which was why he knew that the child was hidden in the mimosa flower. He did not expect that Rong Xie had made preparations so early and even figured out how to open the mimosa flower.
“If…” Rong Xie raised his head and looked directly at Madam Mei, “If what I said was all a lie, how do you explain how I was able to take the child out of the mimosa flower so quickly? Just like you said, it’s impossible to find it so quickly.”
"..." Madam Mei's face turned ashen. The old man was still tugging at his sleeve, muttering something in his ear, when Madam Mei suddenly shoved him away, turned around, and said angrily, "What can I do? This is all the trouble caused by your young master Lu, and the people he brought back! What can I do?"
"It was you...it was you..." the old man said in a trembling voice, "It was you who brought back these flowers. You said they could help children cultivate, and that these children could help the Lu family's descendants improve their cultivation and attain the Great Dao! We, the Lu family, believed you, which is why we've committed such a disgraceful act. Our Lu family originally didn't have such things, and we had no idea what a mimosa flower or a furnace was—"
Madam Mei stared at the old man, who couldn't continue speaking. Madam Mei gave a strange laugh: "Lu Yuanzong, isn't it a bit too early for you to sever ties now? The initiative is still in my hands. Are you really willing to abandon this shortcut and the foundation that we have worked so hard to build for the Lu family over the years?"
The old man's eyes widened, his lips trembled for a moment, and then he closed them again.
“Young Master Qi, now that things have come to this, I won’t hide it from you anymore,” Madam Mei’s face showed no trace of panic, but instead she smiled and looked at Lu Yingqi. “What he said is all true. What do you plan to do? Are you going to expose us all? That’s a crime that will ruin your reputation. Do you think that old man Elder Bai, who only cares about his own reputation, will continue to provide resources and fully support your cultivation with such a sin? You will never be able to reach the ruthless path that you crave the most. Xiaozhi’s sacrifice as a furnace cauldron will also become meaningless, because you will never go that far. You will become mediocre, just like Elder Bai, pinning your hopes on cultivating the next generation of disciples and reminiscing about the furnace cauldron that was sacrificed because of your cowardice… Are you sure you want to do this?”
All eyes were on Lu Yingqi.
Lu Yingqi remained expressionless.
After a moment of silence, Shen Bingsi picked up the golden Shengxie Sword, crossed her arms, and said, "Hey, why are you asking him? Are you treating me like I'm invisible? Stop asking. He can't make the decision. I've decided to take over this case on behalf of the Mirror Palace. Now, you ugly thing that's neither male nor female, come back to the Mirror Palace with me!"
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