Chapter 657: Remove Your Mask
The question was met with silence as the group of men exchanged looks with one another. Messed Yuan Gravel… We did pa.s.s by an area that had Messed Yuan Gravel while we were at Nan Jiang, but we didn’t stop there. Therefore, how could we possibly bring it back? Besides, that stuff is highly poisonous and hard to handle. Why would we go and touch it when it could threaten our lives?
When Jiang Yucheng received no response, he slowly said, “I recently heard that it appeared in Xi Ling City, but that stuff… only exists in Nan Jiang. If this were someone else’s doing, I can’t be bothered to care. However, all of you here followed me to Nan Jiang back then. If this is any of your doing, you’d better confess now. Otherwise, once I find out who the culprit is… I won’t let you off the hook so easily!”
Still, n.o.body answered him, for they couldn’t confess to something they didn’t do.
“It looks like I have to interrogate you people one by one,” said Jiang Yucheng solemnly. After a short and futile wait, he pointed to the man standing right in front of him. “Let’s start with you!”
It was none other than the scar-faced man from earlier. He was bewildered and slightly stricken to be called out. W-what does the Eldest Young Master want?
In his daze, Jiang Yucheng had already turned around and entered the room.
Sun Qi lifted his chin at him. “What are you still standing there for? Get moving!”
Only then did the scar-faced man snap to his senses and hurriedly follow Jiang Yucheng into the room.
Sun Qi closed the door before turning around to look at the others. “Someone among you has caused our Eldest Young Master a lot of trouble. You know who you are. Now that the Eldest Young Master is looking into this matter, you’d better confess now, or you won’t have a chance to do so later!”
He then stood by the doorway and respectfully waited there.
Meanwhile, many of the men were exchanging covert glances of varying expressions with each other.
“I didn’t expect it to be this matter…” Qi Dahe whispered softly to Xia Mu such that only the latter could hear him clearly. “It looks pretty serious, or else the Eldest Young Master wouldn’t have summoned us over… It’s strange though. We didn’t stay at the place for long. With most of us injured, n.o.body could possibly take the Messed Yuan Gravel with us. On top of that, that stuff is useless to our cultivation. We can only use it as poison at most… But why would we use that out of all the poisons available in this world? If we aren’t careful, we might even lose our lives while handling it. The cons far outweigh the pros.”
When he received no response from Xia Mu, he nudged the other man with his elbow. “Don’t you agree with me?”
Xia Mu nodded.
“It’s useless talking to you about this!” grumbled Qi Dahe.
Ever since Xia Mu lost his ability to talk, he had become rather dazed. However, this wasn’t his fault. He used to be pretty talented and capable and had even saved Qi Dahe’s life back in Nan Jiang. It was unfortunate that he ended up like this, but it was also because of this that Qi Dahe helped take care of him over the past year.
“Forget it; we didn’t do it anyway. The Eldest Young Master can interrogate us all he wants!”
Xia Mu, however, only looked at the tightly shut door, his eyes moving slightly under the iron mask.
…
The scar-faced man soon exited the room, and it got everyone’s attention. They quickly looked over and subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that he looked the same as usual.
Jiang Yucheng was a resolute and scheming person. Those who fell into his hands tended to meet a bad end.
Sun Qi lifted his hand. “Go wait over there.”
The scar-faced man walked over to the other side as told.
“You’re next.” Sun Qi pointed to another man, who then quickly entered the room.
The remaining men looked between the second man and the scar-faced man. Unfortunately, the latter showed no emotions on his face and only stood straight at the side. Unable to detect anything from his expression, they could only continue waiting anxiously.
Time seemed to pa.s.s extraordinarily slowly, and the snow was getting heavier. Although a lot of snow had acc.u.mulated on them, n.o.body dared to move and shake it off. All of them just stood in their positions and silently waited for their turns.
It didn’t take long before the second person emerged from the room. He, too, followed Sun Qi’s instruction and went to stand next to the scar-faced man.
Then, it was the next person’s turn.
…
Before long, more than half of the group of men had been interrogated.
Qi Dahe couldn’t help but feel nervous when the person in front of him was called out. It will either be Xia Mu’s or my turn next. Although we haven’t done anything, the thought of facing Jiang Yucheng still strikes fear in me.
He subconsciously glanced at Xia Mu, only to see the latter standing motionlessly. His friend didn’t seem nervous at all.
The next person soon came out of the room. So far, nothing seemed unusual about the 30 men that had been interrogated.
“Next, Qi Dahe!” shouted Sun Qi.
Qi Dahe inhaled deeply before making his way over.
After a while, someone murmured, “Nothing seems wrong at all.”
But as soon as that person said this, Qi Dahe exited the room looking ashen with beads of sweat all over his forehead as if he had suffered a huge blow.
Everyone was surprised to see him in this state.
Jiang Yucheng’s cold voice floated out of the room. “That person will be tried later!”
“Yes!” answered Sun Qi immediately before ordering Qi Dahe to stand alone at one side and dispatching two guards to watch over him.
Qi Dahe is the culprit? Everyone else was baffled and nervous to see this situation, especially when they saw Qi Dahe standing at the side and trembling while repeatedly muttering, “It wasn’t me… It really wasn’t me…”
I did no such thing at all, but why did the Eldest Young Master find me suspicious? He looked at his wounded arm, which had stopped bleeding. From the look of it, it wouldn’t take long to recover. Why did he suddenly flare up when he saw my arm? What’s going on?
Whispers broke out among the crowd.
The people standing next to Xia Mu turned to look at him in unison, whispering, “Xia Mu, is Qi Dahe really involved in this matter?”
“You know him best. Surely you know whether he did it or not?”
“I think he’s doomed this time. You’re on such close terms with him. Be careful lest you get implicated!”
With a grave expression, Sun Qi continued calling out names. “Next, Xia Mu!”
Xia Mu nodded to the men around him before walking toward the innermost room. When he was about to reach the doorway, Qi Dahe suddenly shouted, “Xia Mu! Xia Mu, you have to help me prove my innocence!”
Sun Qi immediately shot a warning glare in Qi Dahe’s direction, which made the latter flinch and shut up.
Xia Mu paused slightly before entering the room.
When Jiang Yucheng—who was seated at the end—saw Xia Mu entering, he said, “Remove your mask.”