The Journey of Immortal Cultivation

Chapter 1040 - 568: Allies (Part 2)

She covered her mouth with her sleeve, yawned, and ignored others, slowly walking back to her room to enjoy a beautiful sleep.

Early the next morning, she first drank a bowl of hot soy milk, and only then, feeling refreshed, did she finish reading the two reports Qingluan brought back. A smile slowly curved on her lips as she said, "Interesting!"

...

That afternoon, she received a guest.

The man was of average height, and his appearance had been altered with divine skills, making him look like a blurred image in others’ eyes, unable to be remembered. He entered the room, set up a barrier, and then removed the magic to reveal his true face.

"Steward Wu." She personally brewed a cup of tea for him.

"I don’t deserve it." Steward Wu forced a smile. A man so adept at handling situations, yet today his expression was grim. Even with divine skills, he appeared pale and withered. "What business does Elder Ning have with me? According to Heavenly Residence’s regulations, no private contact between subordinates and guests is allowed two days before the auction."

When Ning Xiaoxian sent someone to fetch him, he didn’t want to come. With such a major incident yesterday and the punishment from Heavenly Residence yet to be decided, committing another offense might lead to consequences even the gods couldn’t save him from. However, the message Ning Xiaoxian passed on had a few words that moved him: "Suffering in vain, do you resign to it?"

Of course, he wasn’t resigned. How could he be? Just when he had a chance for promotion, it was taken away, and he had to start all over again!

"The hidden warehouse at Li Mansion under Heavenly Residence’s jurisdiction, isn’t that under your management?" The first report Qingluan brought from the secretary was about Li Mansion. The warehouse had been built for decades, and only in the last two years assigned along with two others for Steward Wu to manage. With his rank, he originally didn’t have this authority, but someone above helped him to secure it. Managing them efficiently led to his rapid promotion from third-class steward to first-class, just two more steps would make him equal to Juan Niang.

Steward Wu looked up at her, said nothing. Ning Xiaoxian, sending someone to ask him such questions, meant she had some understanding of his background.

He thus tacitly admitted.

"Last night was a difficult one, wasn’t it?" Ning Xiaoxian looked at him sympathetically, "I was at the scene, participating in the fire rescue."

Steward Wu could only force a bitter smile, opened his mouth but ended with a long sigh. He spent all night at the Supervision Bureau checking the testimonies, naturally seeing Ning Xiaoxian’s. However, the Supervision Bureau couldn’t find any useful clues at the scene.

The hidden warehouse under his charge caught fire, with losses exceeding millions of Spirit Stones. It even contained several auction items from Bai Yujing! The Heavenly Residence’s higher-ups were already alarmed by this, and the punishment for him wouldn’t be light. Whether he could keep his life was another matter.

Ning Xiaoxian carefully watched him, not missing a single expression, then slowly said, "The one setting fire and killing last night at Li Mansion was Juan Niang’s subordinate."

Steward Wu abruptly lifted his head, eyes bursting with two sparks, urgently asked, "What did you say?!"

"I said, the one trying to ruin your future and life is precisely Juan Niang." Then she carefully recounted what happened to her last night, including the theft of Spiritual Tea, the visit to Li Mansion, and the fire rescue.

Steward Wu’s expressions continuously changed as he listened, sometimes confused, sometimes fierce. But when she took out the Ning’s Token that Mr. Li had held onto before his death, his expression surprisingly returned to calm.

Steward Wu had already believed most of what she said. This woman, if she didn’t want to help, she only needed to do nothing, and he would naturally suffer severe punishment from Heavenly Residence; if she wanted to kick him while he’s down, what’s the need? After considering it all, it seemed most likely she wanted to form some mutual agreement, something mutually beneficial.

Strictly speaking, Juan Niang and Steward Wu had no personal grudges. But after Steward Wu’s promotion, he took over a trusted position Juan Niang wanted. Furthermore, in the elders’ council, Juan Niang and Steward Wu’s respective bosses were arch-enemies, inevitably leading subordinates to clash. Steward Wu was reliable, pleasing his superiors. Therefore, in organizational evaluations, he was considered worthy of heavy responsibilities, marked for cultivation. Seeing the rival’s subordinate favored for great use, Juan Niang naturally had to lessen the burden on her boss, trying to make things difficult for Steward Wu, often putting him in embarrassing situations.

But setting fire to his hidden warehouse? That was going too far!

This was a major matter. Even if Steward Wu believed her in his heart, he still had to ask: "Is there concrete evidence?"

Ning Xiaoxian snapped her fingers, and a Hidden Guard dragged someone out from another room.

The person had been trembling, and upon seeing Ning Xiaoxian and Steward Wu, he just curled up into a ball, losing all the dignity of a cultivator. The Hidden Guards she brought this time included two experts from the Thorny Hall, skilled in interrogation; those they tortured would be free from physical scars but near mental collapse.

She pointed at the man, "This man was in Li Family’s chamber last night, the first to rush over to inspect Mr. Li’s body. Hmm, go ahead, tell me whose orders you followed, and what you were told to say?"

The man whispered, "It was First-class Steward Juan Niang who instructed me to stay near Li Mansion. After the fire was put out, I was to go quickly to Mr. Li’s corpse, discover the token in his hand and the message on the ground, then announce it loudly to everyone."

Ning Xiaoxian smiled sweetly, "What if Mr. Li didn’t have a token in his hand?"

He lowered his head even more, "Then, then in the chaos, I was to slip one into his hand." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to give recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)