My Beasts Grind Proficiency For Me-Chapter 197 - 1101: Moth (Part 2)
A Cultivator from the Law Enforcement Team braced himself and stepped forward. He bent down to Iron Head’s level and asked cautiously.
"The Yu Family’s Foundation Establishment Ancestor, Yu Gongshi, sheltered his clansmen and sold people to the Four Demon Sects. The evidence is irrefutable, and we have already captured him. Go and summon the steward of this Marketplace. There are other criminals here, and we require your assistance to apprehend them all."
Yinjiao, afraid his senior brother Iron Head was too clumsy with words and would misspeak, stepped forward to answer in his stead.
The expressions of the Law Enforcement Team members present changed drastically. This was a truly heinous crime.
After exchanging looks of dismay, the same Cultivator who had stepped forward to ask questions turned and left to summon the steward.
Only then did Yinjiao release all the Yu Family members from his Five Clouds Pouch.
With a flick of his spear, Iron Head flung Yu Gongshi from its tip, tossing him into the pile of people.
Yu Gongshi’s spine had already been shattered. The fall struck the injury directly, and he began to scream incessantly.
The more discerning members of the Law Enforcement Team could tell at a glance that many of the Yu Family’s elite disciples were in the crowd. Nearly half of the Shuijing Yu Family’s combat power was here.
They looked at Iron Head and the other three, somewhat dumbfounded. ’These four look like mere children, so how can their Magical Power be so profound?’
Before long, a Cultivator in brocade robes came flying hurriedly over on a Spiritual Artifact. He was named Peng Menglin and had the appearance of a young man. He was a direct descendant of the Liao Kingdom’s Royal Family. Though not yet eighty years old, he already possessed a Fifth Layer Foundation Establishment Cultivation. The Liao Kingdom’s Royal Family regarded him as a Golden Core Seed.
In a weak, frontier nation like the Liao Kingdom, anyone who showed a chance of reaching the Golden Core realm would be treated as a Golden Core Seed and hold an extraordinary status within their clan.
By this point, the area inside and outside the Marketplace’s main gate was packed with spectating Independent Cultivators. Watching a great figure from the past fall and become a prisoner was their favorite kind of entertainment.
Peng Menglin was filled with displeasure. ’Even if Yu Gongshi committed a great crime, he is still the ancestor of a Foundation Establishment Clan. He should be afforded a shred of dignity. How can he be humiliated like this—spine broken, put on display like a monkey for everyone to gawk at?’
Furthermore, the Yu Family was under the jurisdiction of his Longwu Marketplace. With a case this big, his position as steward would likely be jeopardized.
Peng Menglin’s ability to advance to the Fifth Layer Foundation Establishment at such a young age was a testament to his outstanding aptitude, but the numerous "tributes" from the Foundation Establishment Clans under his jurisdiction as the Longwu Marketplace’s Steward were just as important.
There were plenty of his own kinsmen within the Royal Family eyeing his position.
Subconsciously, Peng Menglin wanted to turn this major incident into a minor one, and the minor one into nothing at all. At the very least, he had to suppress the matter and handle it internally within the Marketplace, preventing word from spreading.
"Judge Yang," he began, "you claim the Shuijing Yu Family has been selling people, but do you have any proof? Besides, having so many members of the Yu Family crowded here in disarray creates a terrible scene. Why don’t we first detain them in the Law Enforcement Team’s dungeons? We can interrogate them thoroughly, and once we’ve established concrete proof, we can then request the Demon Suppression Army to come and carry out the formal punishment."
Iron Head was getting dizzy from all the talk and subconsciously looked to his junior brother.
Yinjiao understood perfectly. ’If we really let this steward take over these Yu Family members, we’ll probably never be able to extract any useful evidence. Instead, it will just give the Yu Family enough time to cover their tracks, destroy evidence, and extricate themselves from the situation.’
"Apologies, but we are acting on our master’s orders. Until our master arrives, no one is to touch these criminals."
He bluntly rejected Peng Menglin’s request and showed no intention of producing the Jade Scroll that served as evidence. He didn’t even mention the Wei Family.
The moment he saw Peng Menglin, Yinjiao knew this steward was completely unreliable. Even if he were forced to mobilize the Law Enforcement Team with irrefutable evidence, he would only sabotage their efforts in secret.
Peng Menglin spread his hands.
"The Shuijing Yu Family was granted an Iron Certificate by the Six Sects to establish their lineage here in my Liao Kingdom. If you move against them and assault their clan lands without ironclad proof, I’m afraid that would violate the rules set down by the Six Sects. What’s more, it would make every other family in the Liao Kingdom feel insecure, shaking the very foundations of the nation. Wouldn’t that just give the Four Demon Sects the very opportunity they’re looking for?"
He spoke eloquently, his words flowing like a river.
Yinjiao simply hugged his sword, closed his eyes, and turned a deaf ear. As a member of the Royal Family and a steward of many years, Peng Menglin was a master of prevarication and evasion. They were no match for him in a war of words, so it was best to simply ignore him.
This time, they had already captured the Yu Family’s ancestor, exceeding their master’s orders. All they had to do was guard the prisoners until their master arrived; he would take care of everything else.
Iron Head followed his lead, taking the Big Spear out of his Storage Bag once more and leaning on it as he stood guard over the Yu Family members.
Seeing this, Peng Menglin’s face twitched violently.
"Judge Yang, this is the main gate to my Longwu Marketplace. By blocking it like this, you are impeding foot traffic. You had best move somewhere else," he said in a cold voice.
With Demon Cultivators currently running rampant, hardly anyone was entering or leaving the Marketplace. His words were a clear sign that he was preparing to use other means against Iron Head and his companions.
Yinjiao opened his eyes and looked directly at Peng Menglin.
"Steward Peng, do you really insist on doing this? This was originally just a matter of dereliction of duty. Are you determined to make it a confirmed case of collusion with the Four Demon Sects?"
Peng Menglin flew into a rage, but mixed within his fury was a trace of fear and apprehension.
He was enraged that these Qi Cultivation disciples from a Major Sect showed him no respect whatsoever, and terrified that they had pinpointed his deepest fear.
Yinjiao saw straight through his fierce-on-the-outside, timid-on-the-inside facade and went back to resting with his eyes closed.
Peng Menglin’s face flushed beet-red. He was quite handsome and normally fancied himself a noble, wealthy young master. He never imagined that today, in both looks and bearing, he would be completely outshone by a small child who appeared to be no older than nine.
Jealousy gnawed at his heart like a venomous snake.
Just as Peng Menglin was about to spout more harsh words, THWACK! Something hit him on the head, and a foul, viscous fluid splattered onto his clothes.
He turned to look and saw it was a human head. The substance on his clothes was foul-smelling, congealed blood. His face went white with fury!
"Who is it! Who dares to humiliate me so!"
Just as Peng Menglin was about to fly up to find the person who had thrown the head, the Marketplace’s Wenshu grabbed him desperately. He pointed at the head, trembling so hard he couldn’t form a complete sentence.
"Have you lost your mind?"
Peng Menglin was about to slap the Wenshu to his senses when the head suddenly drew his gaze like a magnet, holding it fast.
He stared for a long time before saying with some hesitation,
"This... this looks like the head of Xin Jingang from the Illusion Demon Sect."
Only then did the Wenshu nod emphatically. This Xin Jingang had also been a Demon Sect True Disciple active in the Liao Kingdom. He had once abducted and tortured seven local Female Cultivators to death; his victims included both Independent Cultivators and disciples from various clans.
Before his words had even faded, another head smashed down on Peng Menglin.
"Chi Huawen of the Dark Spring Demon Sect!"
This Demon Cultivator had ambushed and killed the Foundation Establishment Ancestor of the Shangbang Cai Family, draining all of his Essence Blood. He had even kept the ancestor barely alive to avoid detection by the Cai Family. Afterward, he flayed the man’s skin, wore it like a cloak, and used it to trick his way into the Shangbang Cai Family’s estate. If the Demon Suppression Army had not arrived in time, the Shangbang Cai Family would have been annihilated.
The final head landed on Peng Menglin, rendering him completely speechless.
Because it was the head of Yan Gao from the Profound Sun Demon Sect, the one whose evil reputation had been most prominent recently, the one who had even killed a Yu Hou of the Demon Suppression Army.
Peng Menglin’s entire body began to tremble violently. He had already guessed who had thrown these heads.
Though the man was rumored to possess tyrannical Power of Magical Combat, Peng Menglin had never imagined he could be this powerful.
Even the spectating Cultivators burst into an uproar. They never expected that the Great Demon Cultivators—whose very names made others turn pale—had died so unceremoniously.
Peng Menglin’s waist buckled, and he suddenly fell to his knees, kowtowing forcefully on the ground.
"Demon Patrol Envoy! My Lord Demon Patrol Envoy! I was just possessed, momentarily confused! I absolutely did not collude with the Four Demon Sects!"
He could feel countless mocking and derisive gazes upon him, filling him with shame and rage, but he did not slow the pace of his kowtows in the slightest.
Yang Jing slowly materialized in mid-air. He looked down coldly at Peng Menglin’s pathetic state and let out a cold snort.
"Arrogant before, obsequious now. The thought is laughable."
He glanced at the apprehensive members of the Law Enforcement Team.
"The Steward of Longwu Marketplace has deliberately obstructed a Demon Patrol Envoy in the act of Subduing Demons. He is under heavy suspicion of colluding with the Four Demon Sects. Are you not going to apprehend him?"
