"Aren't there enough people in this world who have suffered unexpected calamities?"
Baili Fengzhi's gaze was indifferent, and then she continued, "Do you really think Lin Yue has nothing to do with Xia Lie's disappearance?"
"My lord, what do you mean by that?"
Deputy Commander Chu asked in confusion, "Judging by Lin Yue's behavior, he clearly knows nothing. I also sensed his heartbeat and breathing, and there was no abnormality of lying."
"Just a bit of spiritual sense, that's all."
Baili Fengzhi narrowed her slightly long phoenix eyes, "Although he appears to be naive and somewhat foolishly clever, why is it that he alone gained the favor of Old Daoist Tu?"
...
Inside the room.
Lin Yue sat by the bed, holding a small bowl of medicine in his hand, using the other hand to support 'Su Ziqiu's' neck, slowly feeding the medicine into her mouth.
This medicine indeed could be used to clear heat and reduce fire, providing some relief for inflammation.
But primarily, he used it to disguise another type of medicinal powder.
This time, going to the prison to see Old Daoist Tu, he didn't know how long it would take to return. If Su Ziqiu woke up, it would be troublesome, so he had to feed her Bone-dissolving Powder and Soul-binding Water once more.
Both were miracle medicines found through Second Ring Level secrets, effective even on ordinary Martial Cultivators and high-ranking Cultivators of the Three Religions.
Bone-dissolving Powder wasn't very effective against Daoist cultivators who harness the power of heaven and earth but was most effective against Martial Cultivators who cultivated their bodies, melting steel-like muscles and bones, rendering them even more fragile than mortals.
And Soul-binding Water's effect was purely 'sleep'.
The key was that it was colorless and tasteless, disappearing upon ingestion, affecting only the mind. Not even a medical expert could detect the slightest trace.
While administering the medicine, Lin Yue continuously pondered his next move.
The act he just put on likely deceived Baili Fengzhi as expected.
The flaw of those in power was believing they could easily see through others.
It was also a form of human arrogance.
Just now, his display of shallow cleverness and exposed flaws would only make others think he was easy to manipulate, increasing his credibility.
He had also deliberately taken a 'Heart Control Pill' to prevent his heartbeat, breathing, and blood flow from exposing his lies.
This elixir was something he found during a First Ring Level secret, originally a pill to assist Martial Artists in their cultivation, allowing them to influence blood flow to some extent and prevent excessive heartbeats during breakthroughs, which could cause injury.
He hadn't practiced martial arts much, and after obtaining the Heart Control Pill, he had never used it. Just this time, it proved useful.
"Although I tricked Baili Fengzhi, the suspicions are still not entirely cleared."
As Lin Yue fed the medicine, he slightly narrowed his eyes, pondering continuously.
"Old drunkard favored only me without question, that's an undeniable fact. Now he's willingly surrendered and specifically asked to see me; he probably wants to clear my name..."
"Think carefully, what have I missed, what else can be exploited..."
After a while, the bowl of medicine was all fed.
Lin Yue carefully laid 'Su Ziqiu' back on the bed, pretending to tidy her hair and cheek, and in the process, he smeared some medicine residue inside her lips. He then folded the corner of the quilt as usual, only then standing up, walking toward the door, and locking it behind him.
"Commander, you've been waiting for a long time."
Lin Yue approached the courtyard gate, bowing his hands to Baili Fengzhi, saying, "This humble one has finished administering the medicine, thank you, my lord."
Baili Fengzhi glanced at him and suddenly said, "Your wife was stabbed with a sword, injuring her lung meridian and spine? Although body paralysis is hard to treat, the toxic heat should be easy for Old Daoist Tu to resolve if he's willing to help, shouldn't it?"
Lin Yue understood what she meant.
Body paralysis, otherwise known as modern paraplegia.
Toxic heat refers to inflammation of the wound, which ordinary anti-inflammatory herbs can only alleviate; unlike modern antibiotics, they cannot completely eradicate the inflammation.
But to Cultivators, toxic heat was not an unsolvable problem.
So, Old Daoist Tu's failure to resolve the toxic heat was an unavoidable point of suspicion.
Fortunately, he had already thought of a plan.
"Easy to resolve?"
Lin Yue heard this and immediately looked confused, mumbling, "But Daoist Tu clearly told me that this heat toxin was difficult even for him to cure and told me to give up as soon as possible."
He couldn't help but ask, "Commander, do you mean that Daoist Tu can help my wife remove the heat toxin, is that right?"
Baili Fengzhi glanced at him and said flatly, "He is a Daoist practitioner of the Shenxiao Sect, somewhat accomplished in the art of alchemy, so of course he can do it. I heard he has a good relationship with you. You're the only one he favors in the entire Daoist Institute. Why wouldn't he help you?"
"This..."
Lin Yue seemed dumbfounded upon hearing this.
After a moment, he took a deep breath, bowed, and said, "I ask Commander to take me to see Old Daoist Tu."
Baili Fengzhi raised an eyebrow slightly, did not ask more, just said casually, "Let's go."
...
Before long, they arrived at the Qingdu Prison.
Nowadays, the prison was heavily sealed off by a large number of armored soldiers, each one was a Martial Artist with vigorous energy and blood, probably the Personal Guard of Baili Fengzhi, thus there were so many elite soldiers.
Passing through the deep underground staircase, as they delved deeper into the prison, the patrolling Personal Guard became even stricter.
With Baili Fengzhi himself stationed there, not even ten or twenty Martial Cultivators could break into the prison.
They walked in silence all the way to the cell door at the deepest part of the prison.
This cell door was entirely made of cold, strong cold iron, and the surrounding walls, ceiling, and floor were all cast from extremely thick steel.
In such a desperate place, even a Martial Cultivator would find it as hard as reaching the sky to escape prison.
With a clang, the heavy, solid cell door slowly opened.
Deputy Commander Chu was standing guard outside the door, and Baili Fengzhi walked in with Lin Yue, striding his long legs.
A cold silence.
Lin Yue finally saw Daoist Tu again.
Daoist Tu was sitting quietly at a table, with a cup of long-cold tea on it.
He wasn't wearing shackles like other prisoners were, only his body was wrapped with circles of strange dark gold fine lines, which seemed to have no effect.
But Lin Yue could guess that these lines were probably used to suppress his mana.
"You're here."
Daoist Tu showed a hint of a smile to Lin Yue.
Baili Fengzhi stood leaning against the closed cell door with his arms crossed, looking slightly lazy, saying, "Say what you want, but only in front of me."
However, Lin Yue suddenly stepped forward, staring at Daoist Tu with his face stern, and said, "Daoist Tu, was I not good to you usually?"
"What?" Daoist Tu's gaze shifted slightly, as if he had sensed something.
Lin Yue took a deep breath and said, "Why didn't you save Ziqiu back then? You knew well that I was going to marry Ziqiu. Why did you lie to me, saying you couldn't resolve the heat toxin? Was it just because she wasn't very respectful to you that you didn't bother to save her? Do you know how much she suffered these two months?"
His voice grew louder and more agitated.
Daoist Tu looked at him with slight bewilderment, remained silent for a while, then sighed, "You already know?"
He glanced at Baili Fengzhi, frowning, "Commander Baili, I only asked you to bring Lin Yue to see me, didn't tell you to inform him of these, right?"
Baili Fengzhi stood silently, the eyes beneath the silver mask calm and emotionless, merely saying, "I was also a bit curious, that's all."
Daoist Tu looked at Lin Yue and said slowly, "Yes, I had my selfish reasons, but it wasn't because the girl disrespected me. It was because I felt she wasn't right for you. You're too naive, and she's too scheming. Couldn't you see she only brought you food because you could go to the Daoist Institute?"
He said in a slightly cold voice, "Even Xia Lie saw through her, but you couldn't?"
He saw it.
Saw that Lin Yue was acting.
Because...
He had personally tried to save Su Ziqiu, even giving it his all, but failed to bring her back.
On that day, Su Ziqiu was already dead.