Chapter 161 - Arrival of the Spiritual Practitioner Alliance

Chapter 161: Arrival of the Spiritual Practitioner Alliance
When Wan Ziyang’s letter arrived, Ye Jiuge was inspecting the purple imprint on her wrist.
Zi Shang had been sleeping ever since he’d swallowed the Transformation Pearl. So far, there has been no sign of him, and she was unsure when he would come out again.
It was quite lonely without a Snake Demon dishing out barbs and ridicule beside her!
Ye Jiuge sighed and caressed the imprint’s smooth surface. Then, she turned her attention to Wan Ziyang’s letter.
Just as she was reading the part about Wan Ziyang heading out of the city to find footprints in red mud, a booming voice resounded from outside the door, “Come out, Ye Jiuge!”
Shocked, the letter in Ye Jiuge’s hand slipped to the ground.
The Nine Pills Hall was Dongfang Yao’s private area, and trespassing was forbidden. Even the servant who delivered her meals was mute. How could there be someone here with such a loud voice?
Ye Jiuge listened intently. After the person finished shouting, she realized that it was two people.
Li Zijun’s placating voice and the Crown Prince’s dissension rang out at the same time.
“Brother Honglei, please calm down. Before the investigations are completed, we cannot accuse Ye Jiuge of being the culprit.”
“Brother Honglei, you’ve seen the note that the Third Miss Gong left behind. There isn’t anyone else besides Ye Jiuge.”
“Come out now, Ye Jiuge!” The person’s voice sounded even more uncontrollable, and it was getting closer to Ye Jiuge’s room.
Ye Jiuge stashed Wan Ziyang’s letter carefully. Then, she fixed her appearance. Finally, she opened the door.
A group of people clustered at the end of the path.
At the forefront was a youth with a ferocious expression on his face. He carried a sword on his back and was rushing toward Ye Jiuge aggressively.
The Crown Prince followed behind him on the left. His expression was like the cat that got the canary.
Li Zijun followed the youth on the right. He was repeatedly trying to placate the youth, “Please calm down, Brother Honglei!”
Like a gust of wind, the young man stopped in front of Ye Jiuge. His large, bell-shaped eyes ran over Ye Jiuge. He questioned her fiercely, “You are the one who murdered Hongyu?”
“Senior Li, who is he? After forcing his way in, why does he spit out slander?” Ye Jiuge turned to Li Zijun after sending the youth a sidelong glance.
“This is the Envoy from the Spiritual Practitioner Alliance, Gong Honglei. He is also the Third Miss Gong’s elder brother.” Li Zijun sighed and gave Ye Jiuge a worried look.
Teacher’s name might be able to restrain the Crown Prince, but not the Alliance’s Envoy, who sought revenge for his sister.
“Humph!” Ye Jiuge scoffed coldly. Her beautiful eyes turned sharp as she looked Gong Honglei up and down. She commented with disdain, “The Envoy from the Spiritual Practitioner Alliance doesn’t look like much.”
“What do you mean by that?” Gong Honglei glared. He looked ready to draw his sword and cut someone down.
“The Alliance sent you here to investigate the murders committed by the Sorcerers. Yet here you are, abusing your power and trying to torture me into a confession. Is that how the Spiritual Practitioner Alliance conducts their work?” Ye Jiuge’s voice was not loud, but it exerted so much pressure on Gong Honglei that he could not speak.
Seeing the situation turn in Ye Jiuge’s favor, the Crown Prince immediately chimed in, “Ye Jiuge, you murdered someone’s sister. Yet, you still have the guts to say such things. It’s too much!”
The Crown Prince looked toward Gong Honglei. “Brother Honglei, this Ye Jiuge is just a deranged Sorcerer. You better kill her quickly to take revenge for your sister!”
“Dongfang Jianming, you accuse me of murdering Gong Hongyu. Did you witness me killing her? Did you witness me practicing blood-sucking sorcery?”
Before the Crown Prince could say anything, Ye Jiuge went on boldly, “And don’t revisit the topics of the note that was left behind and Hua Die! The note could have been faked, and Hua Die could have been bribed. Unless you have any other evidence, you can shut up now.”
“Ye Jiuge, this evidence is enough. It’s useless, even if you deny it. Besides, there is no one else except you,” the Crown Prince insisted.
“Ever since I came to Medicine Refinery City from the Capital, I’ve never gone out. Now, tell me, when would I have had the time to kidnap and kill a person?” Laying the facts out and making sense of the situation, Ye Jiuge was not afraid of him.
“You might not have the time, but your buddies did. Bai Songling was lurking around the outskirts of Medicine Refinery City, and Wan Ziyang has left the city. Who knows? Perhaps he left to prepare for your escape because the plan was exposed.”
A vicious chill flashed in the Crown Prince’s eyes. He wanted to take this chance to get rid of Wan Ziyang and Bai Songling at the same time.
“So, based on your theory, Great Master Dongfang and Senior Li are also Sorcerers because they placed me here?”
Ye Jiuge raised an eyebrow then turned to Gong Honglei. “The Crown Prince is possessed. Besides him, everyone is a Sorcerer. Perhaps you might like to contact the Alliance to send more people here? Just so that you can catch everyone.”
“You are ridiculous!” the Crown Prince hollered.
Before Ye Jiuge could reply, Gong Honglei burst out, “Shut up, all of you!”
He was overwhelmed by the squabbling. His original intention to rush in and kill Ye Jiuge and revenge his sister had mysteriously vanished.
As an appointed Envoy of the Alliance, Gong Honglei was not incompetent.
However, his emotions were unstable after seeing his sister’s tragic end. As a result, he’d rashly rushed here at the Crown Prince’s provocation.
After calming down, he solemnly turned to Li Zijun and said, “No matter what, Ye Jiuge is a suspect. Normally, she should have been placed in jail. Holding her here isn’t quite keeping with the rules.”
“Although Ye Jiuge is a suspect, she is also a participant in our tournament. Without concrete evidence, it’s not good to lock her up. She is a frail lady, after all!”
Li Zijun could not bear to send the delicate-looking Ye Jiuge into the cold, damp jail.
“She’s a lady, so what? All suspects should be locked in jail,” Gong Honglei insisted.
He could spare Ye Jiuge’s life, for now, but that didn’t mean that suspects should comfortably enjoy living in an annexed building.
“Ye Jiuge is a frail lady? Are you blind, Zijun?” After experiencing foul play from Ye Jiuge so many times, he had never seen a more formidable woman than her.
“The Envoy is right. In that case, send me to jail!” Ye Jiuge was apathetic.
Where she was locked up didn’t matter to her. There was no need to cause Li Zijun trouble over such a small issue.
“Alright!” Li Zijun gave Ye Jiuge an apologetic glance. Under Gong Honglei and the Crown Prince’s watch, Ye Jiuge was brought to Medicine Refinery City’s jail.
The jail did not house many prisoners. Most of the convicts were thieves who’d stolen herbs, so the jail didn’t feel too sinister.
Li Zijun had already given instructions for people to clean up a single-person cell before their arrival. Not only was the bedding made of silk, but there was also even a bright-pink Chinese violet placed in the corner.
Gong Honglei and the Crown Prince weren’t too happy with the cell’s furnishings, but they did not make too much fuss.
Giving an excuse of being suspicious of the jail’s security—and to prevent Ye Jiuge from escaping—they insisted on sending their own people to guard her.
Li Zijun couldn’t argue. In the end, he could only agree to them sending their own people.