Chapter 160

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Chapter 160: The Astonishing Truth

At midnight, a cool breeze began to blow, rustling the leaves of the two jujube trees in the courtyard.

Two jujube trees stood side by side, with the one on the left slightly taller. It was planted by Fang Yuan’s father when he was alive, at the same time as Fang Yuan and his sister Fang Fang.

Its meaning was that a single tree cannot make a forest, and it symbolized the support between the two siblings, just like these two trees complementing each other.

Standing in the darkness of the night, listening to Qiao Mu’s words about Fang Fang and Wan Ronghua, Fang Yuan felt lost and a mysterious coldness.

After discussing the matter of Qiao Shuanglin, Qiao Mu also shared what he had learnt from the young woman about Fang Fang.

Qiao Mu didn’t say much, this was his family matter.

Actually, if you think about it carefully, it is.

Before Fang Yuan just returned to this old family mansion, he mentioned his childhood memories, saying his father planted two date trees and his mother had a small vegetable garden in the courtyard.

Memories of the past are vivid, but there is only no memory of his little sister Fang Fang. The only thing related to her is the two trees his father planted.

Perhaps, he was determined to redeem the old mansion, but in his heart, he wasn’t thinking of finding his lost sister Fang Fang. He just wanted to find the reunion of their family’s life in their youth.

It’s just difficult to mend a broken mirror, and the changes that Fang Fang has gone through over the years are probably greater than Heavenly Prison Gaoler Fang Yuan, who diligently practices martial arts…

Qiao Mu picked up the cat and quickly walked inside, leaving Fang Yuan standing alone in the cold wind.

………..

On the second day, very early in the morning.

Inside a private room at the Natural Residence of the Imperial Capital Tea House, Storyteller Jiang Chen and Clairaudience were having a heated argument.

Where there are troublemakers, there will always be the Tide Listening Building. How could a matter of great importance in the Imperial Capital be without the assistance of the Tide Listening Building?

However, before they could assist, there was one matter on which they had not reached a consensus.

This time, should they tell tales of wonders, or reveal the truth?

The tragedy at the market square in the Imperial Capital resulted in over a hundred deaths and thousands of affected people. It was because someone had tried to resist the wind and snow with their own flesh and blood.

Such an event was not insignificant, especially since the affected people mostly kept quiet about it, afraid to speak out.

However, their silence and the blockades by the officials only aroused more curiosity among others, adding a touch of mystery to it.

Since the market square tragedy, there had been various rumors circulating, and within a day, three or four different versions had already emerged… and among them, the name Qiao Shuanglin often held a significant position in the rumors.

The most famous story is about an old man named Qiao Shuanglin. He flirted with a woman on the street and got angry when she refused him, so he killed someone right there. The disciples of the Great Dao Sect came and killed him… This is considered a strange event.

But Jiang Chen had a different opinion.

"There is something strange about this." Jiang Chen said.

Since those who practice martial arts can’t defeat Immortal Dao Zhen from the Great Dao Sect, it’s natural for him to easily kill Qiao Shuanglin.

"Since that’s the case, why would the fight between them cause so much damage? Half of the marketplace was destroyed, even the teahouse on the street collapsed."

Clairaudience just shook his head.

"This matter is very complex, involving the Immortal Gate and the Great Dao Sect. The truth doesn’t really matter anymore. It’s enough for me, from Tide Listening Building, to tell stories and strange events."

His words implied that he also knew something was not right, but it wasn’t important.

However, Jiang Chen seemed to take it seriously. He clapped his hands and after a while, a strong man opened the door. It was Hu Han, one of the survivors from yesterday, known as "Dragon Claw."

"This whole thing started because of two disciples from the Great Dao Sect, including me, Qiao Shuanglin, we were just innocent bystanders…" Hu Han explained.

This made Clairaudience look at Jiang Chen with new respect.

This person was clearly a newcomer that he had recruited, but after joining the building, he quickly grew and now he had started to stand out. He even managed to find one of the people involved, Hu Han, without him knowing.

In fact, this was the result of their mutual efforts.

Jiang Chen wanted to uncover the truth of this case, and Dragon Claw Hu Han, who had a reputation, naturally didn’t want to see Qiao Shuanglin taking the blame and being falsely accused after his death. So he took the initiative to find someone from Tide Listening Building.

The two of them quickly found common ground.

"You managed to find Hu Han, you’ve really made some progress." Clairaudience praised.

Hu Han was not just an ordinary martial artist of the 4th rank. What made him extraordinary was the fact that he had a famous master.

His master, Lu Yanbei, was a renowned figure in the martial arts world. He was ranked 30th on the Tide Listening Building Skill List. Even at the age of over 80, with declining vitality, he effortlessly defeated a young 2nd rank martial artist from the imperial court with just a wooden sword.

"But since the truth is like this, we should be even more cautious." Clairaudience said calmly.

"In my experience, the Great Yan Imperial Court will also cooperate with the Immortal Gate to conceal this matter…"

"They need someone to blame, but the deceased can’t come forward to refute."

Such things have happened many times in the past forty years.

At first, people were filled with righteous indignation, but then they realized it was just futile anger, and eventually they let it go.

The reputation of Emperor Yonghe being weak and incompetent is not without reason.

When the king acts this way, the people in the court and the commoners naturally follow suit.

When even the higher authorities have softened their stance, it’s a bit unrealistic to expect the people to resist spontaneously with love power.

"Even the imperial court is most likely preparing to cover up this matter, so do you still want to be the sacrificial lamb?" Clairaudience said.

This made Jiang Chen and Hu Han remain silent.

Clairaudience can always perform "the Ten Mysteries of the Imperial Capital" without fear of making enemies… but when it comes to something related to Immortal Gate, he cannot talk nonsense.

"The bird that sticks its head out is always the first to die, just like Qiao Shuanglin." Clairaudience said calmly.

"The world has always been like this. Most likely, this matter will end up like the previous cases involving Immortal Gate, unresolved."

Jiang Chen felt his heart sink, as if a dark cloud was suffocating his breath.

At that moment.

A young storyteller rushed in through the door, looking at the debating group of Clairaudience in this private room.

"Something big has happened." There was excitement in the young storyteller’s eyes, as if they had just tasted fresh fruit.

"There are urgent people going to the officials to confess their crimes, and one of them is the young woman from the market. She confessed that she framed the old man named Qiao Shuanglin at the market yesterday…"

"I heard that the recently released Minister of Rites, Hai Wuya, wrote a document consisting of thousands of words, to inform the current Emperor Yonghe about this matter."

Now, at this point in time, this matter is no longer just about Qiao Shuanglin’s reputation, but rather the conflict that has been lingering between the immortals and mortals in Jiu Province for the past forty years.