Otherworldly Affairs Office

Chapter 1285: The Interrogation Begins

"Go inside!" Mo Baiqi pushed the door open and gestured inside as he brought Liu Xuanji to the entrance of an underground secret chamber.Liu Xuanji had no more doubts at this point. After all, his senior brother had no reason to harm him. He stepped forward into the secret chamber first. Once inside, he found the chamber was quite spacious, divided into several compartments with screens. It seemed whoever arranged this room had no intention of making it too discreet, as the gaps in the screens allowed a clear view into each compartment. As Liu Xuanji walked past the first compartment, he peeked inside and saw Wentian and Wenda, the brothers from the Clear Wind Talisman Transformation Sect. Sect Leader Wentian sat solemnly, eyes fixed forward without moving a muscle, while his brother Wenda returned Liu Xuanji’s gaze with a nod, acknowledging his presence.

As they walked down, it was just as Pei Yan described. Besides the White Deer Institute, the sect leaders, elders, along with Commander-in-Chief of the Embroidered Robe Envoy Mao Xiang, and two most trusted Supreme Generals of the Left and Right Jinwu Guards, Wangchaizong and Zhao Mozhang, were gathered in this secret chamber. It could be said that the most powerful figures in the Daoist Plane were here, waiting for Pei Yan’s performance.

"Senior brother, I heard from Pei Yan that the Spirit Lord will be here tonight to watch the inquiry?" Liu Xuanji asked cautiously in a low voice after sitting down with Mo Baiqi in the innermost compartment.

Mo Baiqi made a silencing gesture and pointed upwards with a finger. Liu Xuanji immediately understood his brother’s meaning. The Spirit Lord wouldn’t watch alongside them; he must be observing secretly from a room on an upper floor. Thinking of this, Liu Xuanji couldn’t help but feel nervous, straightening up and looking forward, anticipating the interrogation to come.

Perhaps he was the last spectator to arrive. Shortly after Liu Xuanji was seated, the black curtain hanging in front of the compartment suddenly drew back. A gentle light shone into the compartment, and the secret room was filled with murmurs, as behind the curtain, outside a massive transparent crystal, was a long table. Lazily sitting behind that table was indeed the focal point of this incident, Pei Yan.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, a person entered from the other side of the room, whispered a few words to Pei Yan, and exited the room after Pei Yan nodded in consent. It wasn’t long before three individuals, heavily restricted, were shoved into the glass room.

Upon seeing the newcomers, everyone in the secret room immediately took interest. No need to guess; these three must be the ones released by the White Deer Institute. Judging by their reactions upon entering, it was evident they were also surprised by the odd layout of the room, and from their expressions, they seemed unaware that they were visible beyond the crystal.

"This is alchemy trickery from the Foundation Plane, set up by Pei Yan using his mystical abilities. We can see the other side, but they can’t see us," Mo Baiqi explained to his junior Liu Xuanji, conveying Mei Simiao’s earlier explanation. "During interrogations in their place, they isolate prisoners like this. The Spirit Lord personally set up an array on the mirror to block breath, so those in that room cannot sense even a hint of our presence."

"They’re quite thorough in this regard." Liu Xuanji nodded in admiration.

"Alright! You three report your names first!"

Just as Liu Xuanji finished speaking, Pei Yan’s familiar voice suddenly resounded in the secret room, transmitted via the Sound Transmission Array. Glancing towards the interrogation room, Pei Yan was seen lounging on a chair, legs propped on the long table, nonchalantly biting on melon seeds as he casually asked without even looking at the newcomers.

The three looked at each other, then glanced at the guards by the door—Xia Yu and Zheng Jia Ru—and the nonchalant man in front with unfathomable strength. Realizing they couldn’t harness any energy and were as good as disabled, they knew resistance was futile. One of them stepped forward and introduced himself in resignation: "I am Ding Zhiyi from the Fish-Dragon Nine Transformations Sect. As for my sect, there’s no need to bother. Though it was once glorious, it was a small sect when I inherited it, further diminished due to my actions, and ultimately destroyed by other sects. Now it’s just dust."

Ding Zhiyi pointed to his right, "He’s Mi Langcai." Then he gestured to his left, "He’s Xu Wendong. Like me, they are from declining sects."

"Do you know who I am?" Pei Yan spat out the melon seed shells and glanced dismissively at Ding Zhiyi.

"I know! Who in the entire Daoist Plane wouldn’t know you by now, Pei Yan! Peisan Monarch!" Ding Zhiyi seemed unfazed, replying with a carefree smirk.

Pei Yan nodded, putting his feet off the table and sitting up straight, continuing, "Good that you know who I am! Now, do you know why you’re here today?"

"Isn’t it to ask about our relationship with the White Deer Institute? Your people interrogated us during the day, and we answered truthfully! What’s left to ask? Just our bad luck! Why did we have to arrive at the Immortal Palace yesterday! Hahaha, so many sects couldn’t catch us, yet we got tangled in an unrelated mess and handed over by those jerks at the White Deer Institute to you." Ding Zhiyi snorted angrily, visibly indignant.

Pei Yan pushed the melon seeds aside, leaned his head on one hand supported by his elbow on the table, and listened interestedly to Ding Zhiyi’s rant. Once he finished, Pei Yan asked again, "You’re saying you were set up by the White Deer Institute to take the fall?"

"Take the fall? For what crime? Are you referring to the theft of ancestral relics from various sects? Yes, we did it! There’s no need to take the fall; ask any sect, they know. Since the White Deer Institute was unkind, I won’t hesitate to be disloyal. They handed us over to you because they couldn’t withstand it, and still expect me to cover up their collection of secrets from various sects! There’s no such easy deal in this world. Even if we are guilty beyond pardon and deserving of death, the White Deer Institute is the mastermind, and I want them ruined, losing their eligibility for succession into the Six Mansions of the Immortal Palace!"

Smack! Just as Ding Zhiyi finished his righteous outburst, a sudden clear sound echoed as Pei Yan unexpectedly slapped the table, startling the three into taking a few steps back.

"Good!" Pei Yan exclaimed and then, with admiration replacing disdain, gave Ding Zhiyi a thumbs-up in approval, "I like people like you! If I can’t have it good, neither can they! Well said! You’re just my kind of person! Since you’re so candid, I’ll fulfill your wish and give you a chance today!"