Chapter 29: Follow-up

The cultivators who had truly come to watch the spectacle were in an uproar the moment Li Zhirui activated the recording stone. They had neither expected this to be a case of "the thief crying thief," nor had they imagined that the Li family had installed a recording stone in the main hall!

"Speak! Who sent you? If you are willing to talk, we will let you go," Li Zhirui asked with ulterior motives.

If the culprit was named in front of so many people, the reputation of whichever faction was involved would undoubtedly plummet to rock bottom, making it difficult for them to continue operating in the market.

"I took this mission on the black market. I don't even know who the mission issuer was," the cultivator, who had previously fallen into despair, hurriedly confessed everything he knew.

Li Zhirui thought to himself with regret; he hadn't expected the mastermind to be so cautious. It was likely that even a suspect couldn't be identified at this point.

"I've said everything I can. Can I leave now?" the cultivator asked cautiously.

Seeing Li Shiren nod, Li Zhirui then nodded to let him go.

"What about us? Can we leave as well?" the several bound cultivators asked with hope, seeing that the culprit was being allowed to leave.

"He provided useful information. What about you? If I remember correctly, your actions violated the market rules, and we have the right to dispose of you!" Li Zhirui was not giving up, hoping to squeeze some answers out of them.

"The person looking for us wore black clothes and was covered from head to toe; his appearance was impossible to see."

But suddenly, someone added, "I followed him. I saw him enter Yingxian Inn through the back door."

"Yingxian Inn?" Li Zhirui didn't react immediately, but among the onlookers, someone suddenly shouted, "Isn't that the restaurant owned by the Qin family?"

"The Qin family must be jealous of Yunshang Tower's good business. Since they couldn't beat them fairly, they resorted to such disgusting underhanded tactics!"

"Yingxian Inn is truly insidious. I'm never going there again!"

The cultivators, who had previously felt guilty for misunderstanding Yunshang Tower, now channeled that guilt into anger, venting it all upon Yingxian Inn.

Li Zhirui silently noted "Yingxian Inn" and "the Qin family," then announced loudly, "Due to the recent accident, we have disturbed your meal. Yunshang Tower will provide a bowl of spiritual rice shortly as an apology."

"We've told you everything we know. Can we go now?" the bound cultivators asked hurriedly.

"Get lost!" Li Shiren said, suppressing his fury.

Li Zhirui sighed inwardly and watched helplessly as they fled Yunshang Tower at high speed.

Although these people had broken the market rules, the Li family could not punish them personally; they would have to hand them over to the Yuanming Sect for disposal.

However, the Li family did not want the Yuanming Sect to intervene, because this matter involved the Qin family—a Foundation Establishment family closely connected to the Yuanming Sect!

The Qin family was one of the earliest vassal families of the Yuanming Sect, but what made the Li family wary was that the teacher of Jiang Tianming—the only Golden Core cultivator in the Yuanming Sect—had come from the Qin family!

Although his teacher had passed away, rumors said he had treated Jiang Tianming exceptionally well during his lifetime, and after his death, Jiang Tianming had continued to look after the Qin family.

Therefore, this matter absolutely could not be linked to the Qin family. If so, what was the point of disposing of these mercenaries?

Perhaps once they reached the Yuanming Sect, their testimonies would suddenly change, and then it would be the Li family that suffered the consequences.

After expressing his apologies to the guests once more, Li Zhirui followed his two elders into the backyard.

"Let this matter end here," said Li Shilian, who had been waiting for a long time. He was unwilling, but what choice did they have? The strong always prevail! As the weaker party, they could only swallow their grievances to avoid bringing disaster upon themselves.

"Yes!" the three responded in unison.

The three elders all had matters to attend to, and Li Zhirui also needed to find someone to sell his spiritual pills, so the four of them dispersed, agreeing to regroup at the Hour of the Rooster to return to the family together.

Li Zhirui had no trouble finding buyers for the pills he refined. Before long, he had sold all the spiritual pills in his possession for a price of 3,700 spirit stones.

On his way to a magic tool shop, Li Zhirui heard many cultivators discussing how Yunshang Tower had been framed, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

Although he couldn't strike at the Qin family directly, the current situation dealt a significant blow to their reputation.

And as the restaurant owned by the Qin family, Yingxian Inn's business would surely be even worse than it was now!

Carrying a good mood, Li Zhirui walked into a shop specializing in magic tools.

"What kind of magic tool does Fellow Daoist require?" a fair-looking female cultivator in a water-green dress asked with a smile.

Li Zhirui stated his needs bluntly. "Please introduce your shop's alchemy furnaces to me."

Although the family provided him with an alchemy furnace, Li Zhirui still wanted to buy one, and he needed one of a higher grade to prevent significant spiritual energy leakage during the refining process.

"Please follow me, Fellow Daoist." With that, she led Li Zhirui into a side room.

Once Li Zhirui was seated, the female cultivator began her introduction: "This shop has thirteen alchemy furnaces in total. Among them, five are low-grade First-Tier..."

"Just bring out the best ones," Li Zhirui interrupted her.

"Please wait a moment, Fellow Daoist." The female cultivator was not offended; instead, her smile grew even brighter as she walked away with graceful steps.

A moment later, she returned carrying a jade tray with three storage bags on it.

Placing the tray before Li Zhirui, she introduced with a smile, "These are the three best alchemy furnaces in our shop. I hope they meet your discerning eye."

She then took out a crimson alchemy furnace and introduced it: "This is the Crimson Fire Alchemy Furnace, a high-grade First-Tier magic tool crafted from crimson fire ore. It helps alchemists better control the temperature of their spiritual flames, reducing failures caused by temperature fluctuations. It is priced at 1,000 spirit stones."

Seeing that Li Zhirui remained silent, the female cultivator knew he was not interested in this one. She immediately brought out the second furnace, saying, "The Azure Jade Alchemy Furnace is also a high-grade First-Tier magic tool, refined from top-grade azure jade. It effectively prevents medicinal potency from leaking and locks in spiritual energy to improve the quality of the pills. It is priced at 1,300 spirit stones."

This azure jade furnace was about three feet tall and entirely green, with many cloud patterns carved into the body, through which one could faintly see divine dragons drifting.

"I'll take this one." Li Zhirui didn't want to listen anymore, and he was very satisfied with the Azure Jade Alchemy Furnace.

With that, Li Zhirui took out 1,300 spirit stones and placed them into the storage bag containing the furnace. Once she confirmed the amount, he packed the Azure Jade Alchemy Furnace away.

With the transaction complete, Li Zhirui immediately stood up and left.

...

Manager Qin, who had been waiting at Yingxian Inn for good news, ultimately received only the curses and ridicule of the cultivators. This sudden bolt from the blue caused him to collapse to the ground instantly, his face filled with terror and disbelief.

"How is this possible? How can this be!" Manager Qin repeated the words like a man who had lost his soul.

Finally, a shop assistant could no longer bear to watch. After closing the doors, he gave him a nudge and said, "Uncle, you should hurry back to the family and tell the Clan Leader so he can handle this."

"Right, you're right. I should go back to the family immediately and tell the Clan Leader." Manager Qin scrambled up from the ground and hurriedly left the market through the back door.