Chapter 182: Suspicion!

In the cavernous hall, the messenger lay prostrate on the cold floor, trembling with every breath.

Seated to one side, Mo Jinghong’s expression was equally grim.

Ever since the Shang Family had produced those specialized concoctions, his family had gradually become joined at the hip with them. He understood the value of those medicinal herbs better than anyone; without that supply, it would be nearly impossible to maintain the experiments at the Research Base.

Without the serums from that base, they wouldn’t be able to rapidly boost their strength—a realization that was as infuriating as it was alarming.

Li Ge, seated on the other side of Shang Zhantian, watched the two men fume. She quickly adjusted her expression, adopting a look of solemn gravity.

She had to blend in; otherwise, it would be too easy to draw suspicion.

Deep down, she knew that Ling Yin’s contacts were the ones who had pulled this off. In fact, she was a hundred percent certain. Ling Yin had already sent word back, so she had known the Spirit Herb Garden had been picked clean days ago.

However, she had maintained a perfect facade of ignorance. She had even secretly intercepted several people from the Research Base who had planned to go to the garden to exchange for herbs.

Only now, judging that the group had fled far enough, did she finally stop covering the matter up.

Despite Li Ge’s dedicated performance, suspicion still fell on her.

The reason was simple: the serums produced by the Research Base were used by both the Shang and Mo families. Only the Li Family had always disdained using these “shortcuts” built upon the sacrifice of innocent lives.

Not only did they refuse to use them, but they were also the most vocal opposition. If anyone on the island had a motive to sabotage the supply, it was undoubtedly the Li Family.

Meeting their suspicious glares, Li Ge felt a momentary flicker of panic, but her face immediately contorted into a mask of indignation.

“What? Are you two actually suspecting me?”

Mo Jinghong stared at her, his voice low and sinister. “Should the Li Matriarch not be a suspect?”

Li Ge snarled back, “Fine! Since you’re so keen on blaming me, let’s go to the Spirit Herb Garden together. We wouldn’t want your underlings to miss some crucial clue and fail to find the real culprit, only to pin the blame on my Li Family’s head.”

Mo Jinghong glared at her stubborn refusal to confess but remained silent.

Beside him, Shang Zhantian took a deep breath and spoke. “Then we shall go to the Spirit Herb Garden first. We’ll clear the Li Matriarch of suspicion before hunting down the true thief.”

His words seemed to favor Li Ge, but anyone with a shred of wit could hear that his suspicion ran even deeper than Mo Jinghong’s.

Li Ge let out a cold snort and led the way toward the garden.

Shang Zhantian and Mo Jinghong followed closely behind, their eyes fixed on her back. On this island, no one except the three of them had the power to strip the Spirit Herb Garden bare in just a few days.

Since the Shang and Mo families were the primary beneficiaries of the medicine, they obviously wouldn’t sabotage themselves. The only one left was the self-righteous Li Family.

The more they thought about it, the more murderous their gazes became. If they confirmed the Li Family was behind this, the clan would have to pay a bloody price. Perhaps shrinking the island’s Three Great Families down to two wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

Li Ge could feel the searing heat of their gazes on her back, but she wasn’t worried in the slightest.

She hadn’t technically ordered this. It was her subordinates who had taken the initiative to lead outsiders to the garden. Why should she feel guilty? It wasn’t as if they could find any evidence linking her clansmen to the crime.

To be safe, she had already scoured the garden inside and out. Not only had she erased every trace of the intruders, but she had also “dropped” a few items along the way.

They weren’t anything special—just a few identity tokens belonging to Mo Family disciples and several vials of serum that people from the Research Base had intended to trade for herbs recently.

The Research Base was mostly controlled by the Shang Family; only their core disciples could casually carry such serums. She was genuinely curious to see if these two old fossils would flip on each other once they saw those items.

The trio moved quickly, arriving at the Spirit Herb Garden in the time it took for a stick of incense to burn.

As they looked at the desolate wasteland that was once a lush garden—even the massive main gates had been hauled away—their faces turned ashen with rage.

Li Ge’s face turned ashen as well, though mostly from the effort of stifling her laughter.

When she had visited a few days ago, she hadn’t expected that group to be so “thorough” as to steal the front gates. This level of banditry… it really was to her liking.

Seeing the two men trembling with fury, Li Ge didn’t forget her role as a suspect and immediately began her act.

“Go on! Look, investigate! If it really was someone from my Li Family, I will personally hand them over to you!”

Hand them over? In your dreams, she thought. She didn’t even know where Ling Yin was hiding that group of “do-gooders” right now.

Seeing that Li Ge’s rage didn’t seem faked, Shang Zhantian and Mo Jinghong’s certainty began to waver. Could it really not be the Li Family?

Seeing her bluff working, Li Ge led them to inspect the wounds on the guards. She continued her righteous defense.

“Look at these wounds. Every guard was killed with a single, precise strike. My Li Family specializes in controlling beasts through music; we don’t have this kind of martial prowess. If you ask me, this looks more like your handiwork.”

Hearing her sophistry, Mo Jinghong instinctively argued back. “Our Mo Family specializes in puppets and mechanical traps. We aren’t suited for direct combat either. However, the Shang Family…”

By the time he finished, both their gazes had landed on Shang Zhantian.

When it came to raw combat ability, who on the island could surpass the Shang Family?

Finding the tables turned on him, Shang Zhantian nearly spat blood in frustration. He looked at them with disbelief. “You think I did this?”

“Oh, I’m not saying Patriarch Shang wanted to hoard all these precious herbs for himself,” Li Ge said, waving a hand in a mock gesture of denial before pivoting instantly. “But really, who else on this island has the sheer power to wipe out every guard before they could even send a distress signal?”

“Could it have been the outsiders who invaded the island?” Mo Jinghong suggested, trying to give the Shang Patriarch an out for the sake of the longevity-extending serums. However, a seed of doubt had already been planted.

The Li Matriarch had a point. Aside from the Great Families, who else was capable of this? Since Li Ge seemed cleared and he knew he hadn’t done it, the biggest suspect was the Shang Family.

Could Patriarch Shang be staging a play to monopolize the herbs and serums? The thought made Mo Jinghong’s expression darken significantly.

Shang Zhantian could tell Mo Jinghong was trying to provide an excuse, but he couldn’t miss the thick suspicion in their eyes. Though he knew he should just play along, his explosive temper got the better of him.

“The Spirit Herb Garden is so hidden! How could anyone find it if they weren’t from the island?”

He gestured wildly at the empty soil. “Even if they found it, how could they kill everyone without alerting a single guard?”

Mo Jinghong’s brow furrowed tighter. Exactly, he thought. Who else but the Shangs could manage such a feat so easily?

He thinks he’s analyzing the situation like a pro, Li Ge thought, watching Shang Zhantian inadvertently sabotage his own credibility. Meanwhile, his ally is already jumping ship. This is hilarious.

Li Ge cheered internally as she watched Mo Jinghong turn on the Shang Patriarch. She began plotting how to muddy the waters further to keep the heat off the real culprits.

Shang Zhantian, a man of simple thoughts and powerful limbs, let out a heavy sigh. “Search the garden. I don’t care if we have to dig three feet into the dirt—we find the thief!”

Li Ge rejoiced inwardly; he was playing right into her hands. Still, she kept her face solemn.

“Patriarch Shang is right!”

Seeing the other two agree, Mo Jinghong nodded. “Then let the search begin.”

And then, as expected, the “accidental” discovery was just around the corner.