Tea House in the Imperial Capital, Nature Residence.
Inside the attic room, Jiang Chen, Clairaudience, Hu Han, and others were sitting quietly, waiting for news.
They were waiting, waiting for news from the palace.
Tide Listening Building had many people coming and going, including nosy people like Clairaudience.
Even if they sat still in this room, there were people who could constantly gather information from inside and outside the city.
"News from the palace has come. Hai Wuya did indeed raise a proposal."
"Emperor Yonghe is having a conversation with Hai Wuya in the Golden Chambers. It must be about the market at Tsuimen."
"…Hai Wuya has left the palace. He looks normal and unhurt, so it seems that Emperor Yonghe is not angered."
"The people from Six Gates moved and went to the Great Dao Sect temple in the north of the city? But how can the laws of Great Yan constrain the immortal leader of Immortal Gate?"
"Dao Xu, a disciple of the Great Dao Sect, has been taken back to the sect by Taoist Qingyi and will spend ten years in self-reflection on the mountainside, following the sect’s rules."
"… The latest news has arrived. The incident in the vegetable market has been resolved. The government has posted a notice: it is said that this incident was caused by a dispute among disciples of the Great Dao Sect, resulting in accidental injury. The involved cultivators have been punished by the Immortal Gate and will be imprisoned for ten years in self-reflection."
"Qiao Shuanglin, a righteous man who sacrificed himself to save others, will be rewarded with a thousand taels of silver. If no one from the Qiao family claims the body, the government will provide a decent burial…"
From early morning until dusk, one piece of news after another kept coming.
The two storytellers looked at each other in surprise. They had not expected the situation to end .
The Great Dao Sect would never simply hand over the cultivators who accidentally killed innocent people in the dispute to the authorities of Great Yan.
Everyone, including the storytellers and the Great Yan Imperial Court, surely understood this point very well.
So, according to the rules of the sect, it seems that both the Immortal Gate and the Great Yan Imperial Court have reached a compromise.
On the surface, this incident still caused some loss of face for the court. But compared to what Clairaudience previously estimated, the fact that Qiao Shuanglin took the blame and the Immortal Gate cultivators became heroes for hunting down the culprit, was actually better.
"The Great Yan Imperial Court didn’t try to hide their actions as they usually do, and even the Great Dao Sect took the blame for this matter…" Clairaudience frowned and pondered, feeling greatly puzzled.
It is unknown how many hidden conflicts and games were played during all this.
However, without realizing it, the current situation seemed slightly different from what the Great Yan had expected in the past.
"What exactly has changed?" Clairaudience was bewildered. "This is not Emperor Yonghe’s style, right?"
Meanwhile, Jiang Chen suddenly burst into laughter, which surprised Clairaudience.
"Do you still remember Hu Han from earlier, Clairaudience? He wasn’t someone I invited, he came to find me." Jiang Chen chuckled.
"What’s wrong with that?"
"There are also Minister of Rites Hai Wuya, who gives advice to the court, and the woman who confessed to the authorities…Clairaudience, what do you think, why did they have the idea to try to clear Qiao Shuanglin’s name and make the Great Dao Sect take responsibility?"
Clairaudience felt curious and doubtful, and asked:
"Are you suggesting that there is some force behind all this, causing them to change their minds and mobilize people from the court to the common folk to speak up for this case?"
Jiang Chen laughed silently and shook his head, saying:
"There aren’t so many conspiracies, mysterious forces."
Jiang Chen reached out and placed his hand on his own chest, feeling the heartbeat in his chest, once again recalling the past events in Yan City.
"The death of every righteous person will not be in vain, after all, people have warm hearts. How can those who hold the firewood for others be in vain? How can they be in vain?"
He was saved by Qiao’s family, so he started on the path of being a storyteller.
And in his view, Hu Han coming to his door was clearly for similar reasons.
Hai Wuya, as well as the poisoner who turned herself in, may also have had others working behind the scenes, changing their desires.
Is there a mysterious force manipulating it all? Although this conspiracy theory is not impossible, Jiang Chen believes more in people’s hearts.
Because he has experienced similar things too, and he has also changed his thoughts because of Qiao’s family’s actions.
The spark from Qiao’s family may not be enough to start a wildfire, illuminating this long night, but as a campfire warming the people, it is more than enough.
Clairaudience stretched and yawned, left the tea house private room, and unexpectedly saw Hu Han waiting quietly in the lobby.
When the latter saw him, he nodded and walked towards him.
"Master Hu, is there more than just informing us about Qiao Shuanglin that brought you here?" Clairaudience asked.
Hu Han is stubbornly staying here, clearly having other matters to attend to.
"Mr. Hu has good insight. In fact, I have another matter that I want Tide Listening Building’s help in investigating," Hu Han sighed.
"My mentor, ‘Wooden Sword Walker’ Lu Yanbei, has gone missing recently. I, as his disciple, cannot find any trace of him. He seemed to have appeared around this Imperial Capital before disappearing, so I came to seek information from you at Tide Listening Building."
Clairaudience paused.
The so-called Wooden Sword Walker is a martial arts legend who, even in his 80s, can defeat a young 2nd rank martial artist one-on-one. Would someone of such skill really go missing?
If the Martial Saint were still alive, it wouldn’t be too uncommon for martial arts legends to mysteriously disappear.
Many of them may have already become feed for the Martial Saint.
But now that the Martial Saint is dead, it’s strange for someone like Lu Yanbei, a martial arts legend, to go missing without a trace.
Clairaudience furrowed his brow and said, "Since Martial Saint’s death, this Imperial Capital has not been peaceful."
"The rumors of martial artists entering the Dao are getting more and more intense, becoming the new hope… even with an organization called ‘Martial Arts League,’ where the higher-ups claim to be those who enter the Dao through martial arts…"
"Um… what does this have to do with my master?" Hu Han asked.
"Those who enter the Dao through martial arts naturally need to have strength surpassing ordinary martial artists. Otherwise, how dare they call themselves Dao practitioners?" Clairaudience said.
"The principles of martial artists are demonstrated through their fists."
"These Dao practitioners want to make a name for themselves in the Imperial Capital, so they naturally have to step on the heads of former experts to rise. Only then can they establish the banner of entering the Dao through martial arts."
"The 1st ranked martial artist of the imperial court, Wei En, the Blackwing Bat King, was said to have fallen at the hands of the Dao practitioners. Even though he had unparalleled lightness skills, he almost couldn’t escape and suffered serious injuries."
The meaning between the lines was quite obvious.
The first-ranked martial artist, Wei En, and the skilled Qiao Shuanglin, both seemed to have fallen into the hands of the Martial Arts League.
The more famous a martial artist is, the more likely they become the league’s prey.
Lu Yanbei, a renowned figure in the martial arts world, has a widespread reputation. It is evident that Clairaudience’s words imply that Lu Yanbei’ disappearance may be connected to the Martial Arts League.