Chapter 271 - 233: Pinning the Blame, Setting Up Lin Shi

Chapter 271: Chapter 233: Pinning the Blame, Setting Up Lin Shi

If his identity was discovered while he was still in Ganshan City, he’d truly be hunted by all.

The Huang Family would be the first to come after him.

But for that person to have remained at large for so long, could Zhao Zhe have been his only accomplice?

Tang Wen didn’t believe it, and neither did anyone else in the room.

"Old hatreds and new grudges! Excellent, just excellent!" The air temperature rose sharply. As a Fifth-Grade Powerhouse who cultivated the Fire Division Technique, Shi Lei could barely hold back his fire.

Shui Qianjun waved a hand, suppressing the temperature. "Let’s use the Heart Stone."

At this point, the situation had spiraled out of control. But fortunately, since Zhao Zhe was colluding with the Huang Family, the damage to the Black Water Gang wasn’t too severe.

"Ah?" Zhao Zhe trembled all over. "Everything I’ve said is the absolute truth! The absolute truth!"

Shi Lei reined in his fiery temper. "You’re fair, Old Shui! Bring the Heart Stone!"

Tang Wen was familiar with the Heart Stone.

It was a Curiosity that could determine whether a person was lying.

However, the conditions for its use were extremely strict. The subject had to be in a near-unconscious state while holding the stone and answering questions.

If the stone changed color, they were telling the truth. If it didn’t, they were lying.

The difficulty lay in how to render the person unconscious.

Getting him drunk to the point of complete unconsciousness was not an option for a Veteran Extraordinary like Zhao Zhe.

With his Extraordinary constitution, he could drink two vats of wine and not even get tipsy.

He had to lose most of his consciousness, yet still be able to answer questions.

This required brutally subjecting him to a Spiritual Attack!

His mind had to be brought to the brink of collapse, reducing him to a near-idiotic state. Only then would he be force-fed strong liquor and narcotics to make him forget the pain, achieving a state of complete befuddlement.

Only then would the Heart Stone be effective on an Extraordinary Powerhouse.

This method would naturally ensure that Zhao Zhe told the truth.

The price, however, was—

In a mild case, he would suffer from splitting headaches for half a year, unable to move or even lift a finger.

He would be bedridden, needing rare, spirit-type Curiosities to nourish and repair his mind.

Without any Curiosities that could repair the spirit, he would have to rely on his own agonizing Meditation to recover.

And that was a mild case. If it was severe, Zhao Zhe would develop inner demons, suffer from a lifetime of headaches, and his Martial Arts would never advance another step. He would be a cripple for the rest of his life.

Furthermore, people who had been subjected to the Heart Stone had been known to suffer a variety of aftereffects, such as facial paralysis, blindness, deafness, impotence, and incontinence.

In short, after it was used on you, there was no going back to how you were.

You were guaranteed to be left with some kind of chronic, lifelong ailment.

Therefore, when Shi Lei heard Shui Qianjun suggest using the Heart Stone, he knew the man was abandoning Zhao Zhe.

As long as Zhao Zhe wasn’t killed and the truth could be uncovered, any method was on the table.

Zhao Zhe swore up and down, making desperate oaths.

But no one was willing to believe him.

"You two, take Lin Shi away from here. Go with the people from Giant Rock and question her," Shui Qianjun assigned a new task to Tang Wen and Shui Yun.

Tang Wen’s interest was instantly piqued.

Lin Shi walked ahead of them, like a docile little lamb.

Shui Yun was like a proud, aloof tigress.

And Tang Wen was the wolf, drooling at the thought of devouring the lamb.

Shui Yun sent him a mental message. ’You’ve taken a fancy to her?’

’A few days ago, someone was staking out my other courtyard. The investigation later revealed that Zhao Zhe planned to abduct the mother and daughter living there.’ Tang Wen’s admission was direct; he knew Shui Yun wouldn’t have been certain of his interest otherwise.

’That Zhao Zhe, always up to some shady business.’

Tang Wen continued his transmission. ’I hadn’t even figured out how to get back at him, and then this whole mess happened.’

’Then just take Lin Shi for yourself.’

’Senior Sister, you’re the best.’

’She’s just a plaything,’ Shui Yun replied, not giving it a second thought.

’Senior Sister, you’re so fierce!’

The corners of Shui Yun’s mouth curled up, a playful mood taking her. ’In a bit, I’ll play the bad cop, and you can be her savior.’

’Sounds like fun. What’s the plan?’

’You want to "do it" today?’ Shui Yun was an old hand at this game.

’...Senior Sister, about my reward... Shouldn’t I be getting it today?’

Hall Master Shui’s pretty face went pale. She quickened her pace, pretending not to have heard him.

Tang Wen watched from behind, admiring her swaying figure. His eyes were drawn to her taut training uniform, which clung to the full, moon-like curve of her perky backside.

As he watched, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret, blaming himself for being too impatient last time. He had insisted on "plucking the backyard flower" when it was an inconvenient time for her.

That forceful "deflowering" had clearly left his Senior Sister with some trauma.

She didn’t even bring up that topic anymore.

’No, this is a matter of my future happiness. I have to find a way to make it up to her.’

He quickened his pace to catch up, falling into step beside his Senior Sister.

Once outside, the Female Extraordinary from the Giant Rock Martial Arts Hall glanced first at Tang Wen, then said:

"Madam Zhao, there are people everywhere. Let’s find a quiet place."

Lin Shi’s gaze darted away as she wrapped her arms around herself, squishing her pair of honey peaches out of shape.

Shui Yun’s voice was cold. "What are you afraid of? Or could it be that you were also involved?"

"No! No! I’m just a Martial Artist, I don’t know anything!"

"Heh. And yet the secret tunnel was right under your bedroom." Shui Yun’s voice was utterly devoid of warmth.

The people from the Giant Rock Martial Arts Hall understood her harsh attitude. Zhao Zhe had single-handedly dragged the entire Black Water Gang into this mess.

He was, without a doubt, a traitor.

As the next in line to lead, even if Shui Yun decided to string Lin Shi up and flog her, they wouldn’t have any objections.

The fact that she was merely speaking to her coldly could be considered quite graceful.

Lin Shi knew she was embroiled in serious trouble. She inwardly regretted being so determined to marry up by wedding Zhao Zhe.

But if she hadn’t married up, how would her parents and brothers be living their current comfortable lives?

Fortune and misfortune were two sides of the same coin. It was as simple as that.

The group prepared to find a quiet side room for the interrogation.

Suddenly, someone rushed in to report:

"Third Young Master, Seventh Young Master, we’ve just found a secret room! We recovered some gold and a painting."

The color drained from Lin Shi’s face. "The painting is mine! It has nothing to do with this!"

Shui Yun shot her a glare, her eyes filled with killing intent.

A wave of Mental Suppression washed over her. Lin Shi felt as if a basin of ice-cold water had been dumped on her head, and she shivered, too terrified to move.

She could only watch helplessly as Shui Yun and Tang Wen passed her family portrait back and forth between them.

"Well? Care to explain?"

Lin Shi gritted her teeth and remained silent.

Shui Yun snorted. "Someone, make ten copies of this painting. Send the Extraordinary, Liu Bing, to investigate it. If he can’t find anything, execute his entire family!"

Lin Shi’s pretty face turned deathly pale, completely drained of color.

Tang Wen knew his chance to play the good cop had come. "Lin Shi, what is going on with this painting? You’d better confess quickly. If it’s truly unrelated to this matter, there might still be a chance for leniency."