Chapter 98: The Truth
The two of them had to race against time to find evidence and stop Ning Feixuan.
Since Ning Feixuan knew what they wanted to do, Mingyan didn’t need to hide anymore. He directly told the Ning family that he wanted to investigate the events of that year. Perhaps because Huang Junyi was present, the Ning family was very cooperative and did not refuse.
That elder was indeed dead, but because he had been expelled from the Ning family, he was not buried in their cemetery.
Interestingly, to avoid suspicion back then, the people responsible for handling the elder’s affairs were all from Ning Yourong’s faction.
So, the person who led Mingyan to the elder’s grave was Ning Yourong.
This not only deepened Mingyan’s suspicion but also made his heart sink. Can I really find any evidence?
“Actually, the best way is to directly search her soul,” Huang Junyi sent a mental message to Mingyan. “Once we search her soul, we’ll have all the evidence.”
“Why do you trust my judgment so much, Sister?” Mingyan was somewhat moved to hear this. The Temptress Sister had been supporting him all along. If she hadn’t, it would probably be impossible for him to investigate now.
“Whether you’re right or wrong, I will support you. Our Huang Family always helps our own, not reason,” Huang Junyi winked at Mingyan. Although it was a bit unseemly, seeing Ning Feixuan slap Mingyan, Huang Junyi was both heartbroken and exhilarated.
She knew Mingyan had some affection for Ning Feixuan. That slap had wiped out all possibilities.
Hearing Huang Junyi’s mental message, Mingyan didn’t know what to say. It was a bit complicated. The Huang Family was indeed special… and they were good enough to him…
“Speaking of which, I just saw Feixuan leave. She seemed very angry…” Ning Yourong, who was leading the way, said strangely. “What’s wrong with her?”
“It’s nothing,” Mingyan shook his head. He didn’t want to tell Ning Yourong the details of their conflict. After all, in his heart, she was the most likely suspect.
“Is that so… I just find it strange why you suddenly want to investigate that matter from back then. The result is already in front of everyone… Could it be because of this that Feixuan got angry?” Ning Yourong walked in front, so he couldn’t see the expression on her face, but these words made both Mingyan and Huang Junyi frown.
“Does Miss Ning not want us to continue investigating?” Mingyan asked without showing any emotion.
“I just think it’s not necessary. But if you two want to investigate, I am naturally willing to help Senior and Brother Ming,” Ning Yourong turned her head, a smile on her face. That approachable and gentle smile was very friendly.
Mingyan was silent for a while, then sent a mental message to Huang Junyi. “If we can find other evidence to prove it, then it won’t be too late to search her soul…”
Soul searching was too damaging to a cultivator. Mingyan didn’t want to wrong a good person. But if there was some evidence, it would be different.
So Huang Junyi did not speak again.
Soon, Ning Yourong brought them to the elder’s grave. Mingyan asked about the elder’s cultivation level, then let Ning Yourong go back first. After she left, Huang Junyi directly broke open the grave. Inside was a wooden coffin. Mingyan did not hesitate and directly pushed open the lid.
Inside was a skeleton. Besides that, there was nothing.
“It’s just a skeleton. It seems we can’t find any evidence… of… anything…” Huang Junyi looked at Mingyan. Seeing his deep frown, her tone softened. She then turned to look at the skeleton in the coffin and suddenly remembered that he had asked Ning Yourong about the elder’s cultivation. Ning Yourong had said… “Tai Yi Realm.”
At that time, Mingyan’s expression hadn’t changed much, but now that she thought about it, how could a Tai Yi Realm cultivator not have discovered Ning Feixuan, who was only at the Gathering Stream Realm at the time?
And, since he was at the Tai Yi Realm, how could he have become a skeleton after only a dozen years?!
A cultivator’s physical body, with the advancement of their cultivation, would not easily decay even many years after death. For someone as strong as a Great Emperor, their body was directly immortal. Even after hundreds of thousands of years, a Great Emperor’s body would not become a skeleton.
A Tai Yi Realm’s physical body could be preserved for at least forty or fifty years, but that incident had only happened a little over ten years ago.
“Someone deliberately destroyed this elder’s physical body. I’m afraid there was some evidence left on him…” Mingyan frowned. “If it was the already convicted Ning Zetian, he had no reason to do this.”
“So, now we can basically be sure that there is something fishy about this, right? Let’s catch her and search her soul,” Huang Junyi said again, her hands behind her back.
This time, Mingyan did not object… If her suspicion was infinitely high, then he shouldn’t restrict himself, shouldn’t be bound by morality.
After all, being a purely good person was too tiring.
But before that…
Mingyan took out the # symbol again. At this time, Huang Junyi looked up, her brow furrowed slightly. “Someone is coming. Their cultivation is also at the Tai Yi Realm.”
Mingyan put away the # symbol. Not long after, he saw an old man slowly walking over. His face was old, and he was already in his twilight years. His eyes were a little cloudy.
“You two are investigating the matter of that year, right… Since you are investigating, you must have objections to the judgment of that year… I want to tell you two some things,” the old man’s tone was a little weak, and his speech was heavy with age. “Are you two willing to listen to me for a few words? This might be helpful to you.”
“Please speak,” Mingyan nodded.
“I was once Ning Zetian’s teacher. I watched him grow up… This child’s character was a bit crooked from a young age. Perhaps you two already know. He liked to torture and kill poultry and livestock when he was a child,” the old man’s tone was slow as he spoke.
“I heard he even killed someone when he was young?” Mingyan asked.
“He did indeed kill someone. This is also the reason why he was directly seen as the murderer back then. But that incident was strange from the beginning. He did like to torture and kill poultry and livestock, but with my and his parents’ guidance, he had corrected himself a lot. Later, he was found with a commoner girl outside the city. The girl’s death was tragic, and some evidence proved he was the murderer. At that time, even I did not doubt that he had an innocent person’s life on his hands…” the old man’s tone was guilty. “Later, he insisted that he had never killed anyone and even asked me to search his soul to prove his innocence. But in the end, I was afraid of damaging his foundation and did not do it.”
“After that, Ning Feixuan’s parents were killed, and he was accused of murdering his relatives. He even repeatedly stated that his soul could be searched to prove his innocence. But the evidence was ironclad, and he could not refute it,” the old man sighed softly. “I have no evidence for what I’m saying. You two can just listen. As for the real murderer, perhaps you two already have a suspect. If you can clear Ning Zetian’s name…”
The old man knelt down gently and kowtowed to Mingyan. Mingyan quickly went forward to help him up. “Senior, there is no need for this. I have my own reasons for investigating this matter. You don’t need to perform such a great ceremony to me.”
The old man in his twilight years sighed softly. “Please, you two, investigate this matter clearly. If it’s not him, then I can rest in peace. If it’s really him… I will also give up this hope.”
Mingyan nodded. “Please go back first, Senior. I will get the result soon.”
The old man nodded, stood up, and then turned and slowly left.
Mingyan looked at his back, took a deep breath, and was even more determined to search her soul, but before that…
Returning to the coffin, Mingyan took out the # symbol again. He directly touched the skeleton in the coffin with the symbol. He didn’t know if this would be useful. If not, he could only search Ning Yourong’s soul.
Huang Junyi was a little strange when she saw Mingyan suddenly place his hand on the skeleton. She couldn’t see the # symbol, but she didn’t ask much.
After the # symbol was placed on the skeleton, in an instant, Mingyan felt a wave of dizziness. Then, his vision brightened, and countless images appeared in his mind.
These were all… the memories of this elder before his death… the last memory before his death. He was killed…
And before that, the scene before that…
It really works? If I can find evidence this way, I won’t have to face the psychological pressure of searching her soul.
Huang Junyi waited on the side for a moment. Just as she was about to ask about Mingyan’s discovery, she saw him open his eyes.
Mingyan looked at Huang Junyi, took a deep breath, and withdrew his hand. “Sister, let’s catch Ning Yourong. It can be confirmed that the murderer of that incident back then was Ning Yourong.”
“I’ve been waiting for you to say that~” Huang Junyi chuckled lightly upon hearing this, and in an instant, she disappeared from Mingyan’s sight. When she reappeared, Ning Yourong had already been brought over by her.
Ning Yourong was still a little dazed. It wasn’t until she saw Mingyan and Huang Junyi clearly that she came back to her senses. She acted very normal, a little surprised, and looked at Huang Junyi. “Senior? If you wanted me to come over, you could have just called…”
“Sister,” Mingyan looked at Huang Junyi. To prevent Ning Yourong from fighting to the death, it was best to let Huang Junyi search her soul.
Huang Junyi reached out and flicked Ning Yourong’s forehead. Ning Yourong instantly fainted. Huang Junyi then did not hold back and directly placed her palm on Ning Yourong’s forehead and began to search her soul!
Not long after, Huang Junyi lowered her hand and looked at Mingyan, her expression a little strange.
Mingyan’s heart skipped a beat. This expression? Could it be that Ning Yourong isn’t the murderer?
“Little brother…” seeing Mingyan’s expression change slightly, Huang Junyi stopped teasing him and nodded lightly. “I saw the scenes from back then. It was indeed her who acted. She used a disguise formation to look like Ning Zetian. There was a Divine Seal Realm cultivator behind her who helped her cover up and handle the details. And, there are other gains. The matter the old man mentioned just now was also her framing Ning Zetian. That Divine Seal Realm cultivator behind her had been planning for her for a long time, with the intention of getting rid of both Ning Feixuan and Ning Zetian to monopolize the Ning family’s cultivation resources. She didn’t kill Ning Feixuan back then because she could use her to convict Ning Zetian and kick him out of the family. If it weren’t for my arrival, there would have been a follow-up of ‘Ning Feixuan and Ning Zetian dying together for revenge’… This person’s methods are so cruel, it’s truly outrageous.”
Only then did Mingyan let out a breath, the stuffiness in his heart finally swept away. “We must find Ning Feixuan first and let her search her soul with her own hands. By then, she will know the truth.”
Huang Junyi nodded. She was silent for a while, then asked, “What about after that? After she has resolved her misunderstanding with you, you… and her?”
“Then the life-saving grace will be repaid. There will be no more debt between us,” Mingyan smiled slightly. “Repaying her was the reason for my cultivation, but after that, perhaps it’s time to change the reason… After all, there are so many people around me who are worthy of my attention. I can’t let them down either. Among these people, there is also you, Sister.”
“So I’m just one of them?” Huang Junyi was both amused and exasperated to hear this. She shook her head, and her heart also settled down. “Wait a moment. I need to explain to the Ning family. Wait for me. After that, we will immediately go after Ning Feixuan.”
Mingyan nodded.
