Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

The leading officer of Gaoyang Village kneeled on the floor and kowtowed repeatedly, clueless as to what he should say.

Because he truly did not know anything.

An impatient expression appeared on the Prince of Zhongshan's face, and he waved his hand to dismiss the officer.

The hall once more fell into silence, with nobody speaking for a very long time.

No explicit decree had been issued from the palace, indicating that Daoist Master Shang Xingzhou had no favored candidate for the Divine General of the Mount Song Army. The factions of the court were free to fight over it.

The princes naturally wanted this position. It was said that even the Prince of Xiang, who had secluded himself for more than a year in preparation to break into the Divine Domain, had voiced his opinion.

The Tianhai clan's present situation was rather awkward. Although they had strenuously worked to use their relationship with the emperor to firm up their position, it was not convenient for them to act too excessively, as they did not want to stir the Daoist master's ire. They were gradually being pushed to the margins of the Imperial Court, so they could not let this chance go.

Everyone wanted this position, but nobody wanted to speak first.

Moreover, they were all unsettled by the fact that though the Tang Seventeenth Master had clearly died on that night, the Tang clan had not sent anybody. If the Tang clan truly wished to use this matter to gain the position of Divine General of the Mount Song Army, then given their relationship with the palace, the people present truly did not have the confidence to fight with them.

"There are a few matters that everyone here is well aware of, but we should still go through the process. After all, the Imperial Court still needs to be given some face."

The Prince of Zhongshan, appearing increasingly impatient, ignored everyone else and indicated that the official from the Grand Court of Revision should continue his summary of the investigation.

The official glanced at his file, then suddenly asked in surprise, "There were people that survived that night?"

The people in the hall were somewhat taken by surprise at this revelation, thinking, did the Demon Lord not kill them all?

The Prince of Zhongshan also appeared rather interested, asking, "Why was this not mentioned before?"

The official looked through the file again, confirming that he had not misunderstood. He whispered to the prince, "According to what these two people said, they were knocked unconscious by the ripples of the battle. They only woke up a few days later, after which they crossed the mountains to return, so no one knew that they were still alive."

The Prince of Zhongshan raised his brows and said, "Interesting; bring them in for questioning."

After a while, a girl dressed in the ceremonial robes of the Thirteen Divisions of Radiant Green and a middle-aged man dressed in military uniform entered the hall.

It was precisely An Hua and Chen Chou, who had returned from Sloping Cliff Horse Farm to the Mount Song Army headquarters a few days ago.

"State your identities."

"An Hua, Teacher of the Thirteen Divisions of Radiant Green."

"Chen Chou, Deputy General of the Mount Song Army headquarters."

The mood in the main hall palpably relaxed upon hearing the identities of these two.

To these powerful figures, a trifling deputy general was not even worth mentioning. Her relation to the Li Palace might make An Hua a bit more difficult to deal with, but it was still not a big deal. In short, this pair were not people that they had no means of controlling.

"Describe what you saw tonight. Speak earnestly. Not a single lie is permitted."

The Prince of Zhongshan expressionlessly looked at the pair and warned, "In the records, you two should be deceased. Now you have returned to life, but if there's a problem with your continued survival, then this prince will not mind having you die again."

As he felt the cold gazes of these important figures, Chen Chou felt that he had returned to that cold night, surrounded by demon wolf cavalry.

He was keenly aware that what he was about to say would offend these important figures, even offend the entire Imperial Court.

But since he had already promised, he had to do it, as he was a soldier of the Great Zhou.

He took a deep breath as he prepared himself to step forward.

But another person had moved faster.

An Hua stood by his side and gazed at the Prince of Zhongshan, Tianhai Chenwen, and all the other important figures as she reported, "In the autumn of the third year of the new era, I and General Chen Chou brought a dying young array master to Gaoyang Village. We had received information that the owner of the Cinnabar Pill might be there."

Her voice was very calm, clear, and at ease.

She recounted the story from Gaoyang to the siege of the lake, which was only the start of that night, but a conclusion could already be drawn.

"Zhu Ye, Ning Shiwei, and Tianhai Zhanyi died because they wanted to assassinate the owner of the Cinnabar Pill and seize it for themselves, but they did not expect that the Demon Lord was not dead. In order to cure his injuries, he had also come to the mountains to seek out the owner of the Cinnabar Pill. The two sides met, resulting in all their deaths."

All the important personages present were already aware that Zhu Ye and the others truly had died at the Demon Lord's hands.

They had come to make this on-site investigation primarily due to Bie Yanghong's judgment. However, they had been unable to form an accurate picture, as everyone involved had died.

They had their conjectures as to what Zhu Ye and the others had intended to do in that mountain range, but this was the first time they had it confirmed by a witness.

It truly was about the Cinnabar Pill.

The Prince of Zhongshan glanced at Divine General Cheng Tao.

Divine General Cheng Tao imperceptibly nodded.

The Prince of Zhongshan became slightly sterner. It truly was that matter they had discussed in their letters last time.

The powerful figures in the capital all knew of the Cinnabar Pill, had all attempted to make this wondrous medicine their own.

"Without discussing the veracity of your account, even if this is the case, you cannot cast aspersions on the dead. What assassination? And this vain attempt to seize the pill?"

A low and deep voice spoke, owned by Tianhai Chenwen.

Tianhai Zhanyi was his son, so he naturally could not permit his son to carry such a stigma after his death.

If they wanted to gain the position of Divine General of the Mount Song Army, they could not have a single aspect that could be easily criticized.

The other important personages very quickly came to understand that Tianhai Zhanyi, Zhu Ye, or Ning Shiwei could have died in a heroic battle or died by falling from the mountain path, but they absolutely could not die like this.

Divine General Jian Xi impassively added, "That's right, Divine General Ning Shiwei was carrying out a mission. He cannot be criticized for that."

The Prince of Zhongshan once more revealed a hint of impatience. Waving his hand, he said, "Let's get straight to the point: did you personally see them being killed by the Demon Lord?"

An Hua shook her head, answering, "We were still in the garden and were not able to personally witness it, but we did hear the Demon Lord personally admit to the deed."

Even though that legendary Demon Lord's death was already confirmed, none of the great personages present had the bravery to accuse him of lying.

The Prince of Zhongshan asked, "Based on your account, the master of the Cinnabar Pill was also present?"

An Hua calmly answered, "Yes."

The Prince of Zhongshan stared into her eyes and asked, "How did he die?"

A few people leaned slightly forward at this question, seeming especially focused.

In their view, since the Demon Lord had appeared, that person had assuredly died, but they wanted to know where the recipe to the Cinnabar Pill had ended up

An Hua replied, "He did not die."

The Prince of Zhongshan raised his brow. "What did you say?"

An Hua calmly met his gaze and said, "He did not die."

The Prince of Zhongshan harshly exclaimed, "Everyone died, but you two are still alive and that person is still alive? Do you take this prince for a fool!?"