Chapter 74: Becoming Increasingly Complicated

  "That being said, this matter should have nothing to do with the Golden Tripod Auction House, so why are they involved? Could it be that Ding Wei acted impulsively and ran into the Golden Tripod to catch someone?" Wu Ruo wasn't a fool either, after hearing Sun Kui's words, he knew that he must be hiding something.

  "Absolutely not, Ding Wei and I are old brothers, we've always been cautious in our dealings, he knows the rules of Jin Ding Auction House; besides, with so many masters guarding it, even the stupidest person would know that things there are untouchable, right?" Sun Kui actually already knew the reason behind the events, but he didn't explain.

  Wu Jue looked at Mu Yuhe and was somewhat indecisive. This matter was both an opportunity and a trouble for him. If he succeeded, he would be able to win over the hearts of Sun Kui and other newly joined external forces, but if he offended Jin Ding Auction House in the process, it would not be worth it. As a newcomer to Yangguang City, he wasn't very familiar with the people and things here, so he didn't dare to act rashly.

  Mu Yuhe knew that Wu Jue's glance meant he wanted him to come up with an idea. He had thought of laughing it off and passing it over, after all, this matter could be big or small, and if not handled properly, he might get himself into trouble. But then he thought again, Wu Jue was just starting out, and for his first time doing something, he must want to make a big success of it. If he helped him out at this moment and let him break through the situation, he would definitely be very grateful. In the future, if he had anything to ask of him, wouldn't it be more effective than saying ten or a hundred sentences himself?

  With this idea, Mu Yuhe burst out laughing and said: "Since this matter has nothing to do with the Jin Ding Auction House, I think it's probably a misunderstanding. Fortunately, I have some connections with them, if it's just a misunderstanding, I should be able to resolve it." Mu Yuhe didn't finish speaking, and promised Wu Ru that as long as it was a misunderstanding, he would be willing to help.

  Sun Kui saw this and hastily said: "It's all up to Mu brother and the recruitment officer, so we'll set off now. I'm afraid that if we're late, something unexpected will happen." In fact, the unexpected event had already occurred, and he knew it. It wasn't that he was worried about Ding Wei's safety, but rather that he feared the situation would continue to deteriorate and implicate the entire Dragon Slaying Society.

  "Lin Feng, don't think that just because you have a powerful background we'll be afraid of you. You killed the people from the Dragon Slaying Alliance, and you will definitely pay the price. If you know what's good for you, come back with us, otherwise you'll never see Liu Kai again." Ding Wei was seething with hatred towards Jin Luyu in his heart, but with five or six Foundation Establishment stage cultivators of the 7th or 8th layer standing behind her, their eyes gleaming with a fierce light, he didn't even dare to show a hint of anger. And when Zhao Chun spoke out the three words "Qing Yang Gate", he became even more fearful, secretly grateful that he hadn't made a move earlier. But after hiding in the cultivation world for so many years, Ding Wei understood the principle of squeezing a soft persimmon, and began to put pressure on Lin Feng.

  As soon as Lin Feng heard Ding Wei's words, he knew that they hadn't really investigated the truth about his killing of Qian Zhao and Er Ren. Since only he was involved in the murder, yet Ding Wei said "you all", it was clear that they hadn't investigated thoroughly before coming to arrest him. Obviously, they had found out that Lin Feng didn't have any backing, and with this thought, Lin Feng suddenly felt at ease.

  "What evidence do you have to prove that I killed people from your Dragon Slaying Association?"

  "Months ago, you and Liu Kai had a conflict with Qian Dele and Zhao You at Zuì Kè Xiāng, don't you remember?" said Ding Wei.

  "I haven't forgotten, but to be accurate, it was a quarrel, not a conflict. The reason for the whole thing was that my friend Liu Kai owed them some spirit stones, but when I returned the spirit stones to them at the time, the matter was settled. What's the point of you bringing this up with me now?" Lin Feng pretended to be confused.

  "Hum, but just recently, both of them died, if it wasn't you who did it, then who was it?" Ding Wei said angrily.

  "Dead? Haha, I knew they would die sooner or later!" Lin Feng pretended to have just heard the news of Qian and Zhao's death for the first time, with a schadenfreude expression.

  "You! You're looking for death, you killed our people. If that's the case, then there won't be a place for you to stay in Yangguang City." Ding Wei was furious, but the sword in his hand only pointed at them and didn't charge forward. Saying so much was also just to delay time, he knew that the leader would definitely bring the people from Tianxie Gate, and then it would be his turn to be arrogant.

  "Haha, I said they would die because of you guys, to be exact, it's because you're too arrogant in your actions. It's normal that you'd provoke someone you can't afford to mess with and get killed. But I didn't say I was the one who killed them! I just entered the sixth layer of Qi refining, which everyone can see for themselves. The Liu Kai you caught is only at the fourth layer, whereas when I met Qian Dele and his group a few months ago, they were already at the sixth and seventh layers respectively. Tell me, what could I have used to kill them? Even if I wanted to in my heart, as a poor lone cultivator, I don't have that kind of power." Lin Feng carefully analyzed to the surrounding cultivators.

  The monks around him did not echo, everyone was very clear that in the cultivation world, those with higher cultivation levels were generally stronger. However, there were also many other factors that could change this strong and weak relationship, such as talismans, magical tools, armor, formations, and spiritual beasts. Mastering any one of these things made it not difficult to kill someone of a higher level.

  "Are you sure he's the killer just because they had a fight a few months ago? How can you be certain that they didn't have any other conflicts with others during these months? Everyone knows that in the Cultivation Realm, not only do people argue, but physical fights are also common. Are you saying that if someone dies after a few years, all those who had conflicts before will be considered murderers? In short, if you don't have evidence, then don't think about arresting anyone."

  "Right, if you can't produce evidence, don't think about getting off easy today. Also, unless you return my Shifu's friend, Qingyang Gate won't let you off the hook." Zhao Chun was most concerned about Lin Feng, seeing Jin Luyu speaking sensibly, he hastily stood up to agree with her, while constantly winking at Jin Luyu, with a 'we're in this together' expression.

  Jin Luyu hummed and turned her face away, not looking at him. Zhao Xiaopang scratched his head in confusion, "Huh? What's wrong? Aren't we on the same team?" He didn't know that Jin Luyu had been trained since childhood to discern authenticity and read people's expressions at the auction house, dealing with cunning individuals from the cultivation world, handling things more thoroughly than many adults, and wouldn't be taken in by Zhao Chun's childish antics.

  "Evidence will naturally come out, as long as Lin Feng returns to the Tulong Association with us. The evidence will naturally be presented." Ding Wei couldn't produce any evidence, but he had no other good options at the moment, so he could only say this for now, and try to stall for time. However, it was clear that this wasn't a long-term solution, and his heart was anxiously awaiting Sun Kui's appearance.

  "Hmph, who doesn't know that your Dragon Slaying Association isn't anything good? Once someone enters your association, can they still come back?" Jin Luyu's words pierced through Ding Wei's lies, but the argument seemed to have entered a dead end.

  The monks in the crowd also started discussing:

  "Yes, arresting people without evidence and being unreasonable wherever you go." This is about speaking reasonably.

  "It seems that the Dragon Slaying Convention is trending towards demonic cultivation, and they're becoming more and more arrogant." Just by listening, it's clear that this person is likely a Taoist cultivator.

  "If you want to fight, then fight. Stop all this idle chatter and gossiping around here, it's all so pointless!" This sounds like someone who is gloating and enjoying the commotion...

  Lin Feng was extremely anxious and uneasy, from Ding Wei's words, he knew that Liu Kai had probably been caught by them. At this time, he himself did not have a safety problem, but Liu Kai might not be so lucky. However, to get the other party to return someone, it would be necessary for a powerful figure to appear in person. Xue Bingxin and their backers had sufficient power, but they themselves were not strong enough, and it was clear that they could not force the other party to return someone at present. As for Jin Ding Auction House, although they had sufficient power, his relationship with them seemed not to be so close, and saving himself was already giving them face, letting them put pressure on the Dragon Slaying Society to release people, but they might not necessarily take action.

  What to do? Lin Feng's eyes scanned around and suddenly found several monks wearing law enforcement uniforms standing outside the crowd. Lin Feng's eyes lit up, considering whether to let them take charge of justice, but saw that the leading monk glanced back at his own back and quickly walked away with his men.

  Lin Feng tilted his head to look in the direction that the monk was staring, and coincidentally met Jin Ming's calm and composed gaze. After a brief moment of thought, he understood the reason behind it.

  Yao Guang City is a Taoist bazaar established by the three evil sects for the circulation and collection of Taoist resources. Although it is managed jointly by the three parties, due to the deep-seated hatred between the demonic paths, the actual handling of the bazaar's affairs is mainly done by the major Taoist families who are primarily engaged in business. The Jin Ding Auction House is one of the top merchants in Yao Guang City and has considerable influence there. Several members of the family have served as chairman of the Council of Elders, and their power in Yao Guang City is also very great.

  Those law enforcement officers appeared to represent everyone's interests on the surface, but in reality they had to rely on the support of Jin Ding Auction House, a powerful figure. So when they saw Jin Ding Auction House involved in the dispute, they didn't rush forward immediately, but instead looked at Jin Ming from afar with inquiring eyes, and after getting Jin Ming's eye signal that he didn't need to intervene, they quickly left.

  Lin Feng felt relieved upon seeing this. If the Jin Ding auction house was unwilling to intervene, they would have definitely let the law enforcement team take over and extricate themselves from the situation. But now that they had let the law enforcement people leave and were not stopping Jin Luyu's actions, it meant they were willing to intervene in the matter. Although he didn't know why they were taking action for a small, unknown cultivator like himself, as long as they were willing to take action, Lin Feng would have a way to rescue Liu Kai.

  With the Golden Tripod Auction House as his backing, Lin Feng now had a strong foundation. He was about to put more pressure on Ding Wei when he saw a group of cultivators approaching from the opposite side. This group of around ten or so cultivators ranged from Qi Refining stage to Foundation Establishment high-stage, and at their lead was a young cultivator in the first or second layer of the Foundation Establishment stage, followed by several high-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. As soon as they arrived, they pushed away the surrounding cultivators who were watching, then quickly stood beside Ding Wei's group of three.

  Lin Feng's eyes suddenly narrowed, he knew that this must be Ding Wei's reinforcements. Although he didn't know the identity of the opponent, judging from their strength, they were probably not much weaker than the Golden Tripod Auction House. Lin Feng knew that things were getting more and more complicated.

  Indeed, Ding Wei and the three others, upon seeing this group of people, hastily paid their respects, saying: "Greetings, young master, greetings, Mu Qianbei, greetings, leader." Apparently, this group of people was precisely Wu Ju, Mu Yuhe, and Sun Kui. Then there was a flurry of whispers, occasionally pointing and gesturing in the direction of Lin Feng and the others, apparently explaining what had happened.