Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 239 - 239 0210 Cant You Even Distinguish Between

Chapter 239: Chapter 0210: Can’t You Even Distinguish Between Closeness and Estrangement?_2 Chapter 239: Chapter 0210: Can’t You Even Distinguish Between Closeness and Estrangement?_2 The investigation was arranged to be held in Sky Eagle Hall. It was unknown whether it was to boost Qi Tian’s courage or to demonstrate the Imperial Master Mansion’s determination to protect Qi Tian. The side of the Imperial Master Mansion indeed, put together a fairly luxurious lineup. Aside from Qi Tian, the Imperial Master Mansion sent a total of ten individuals at the Foundation Establishment Stage, which included Master of Heavenly Eagle Hall Luo Xia, and Golden Eagle Hall’s Master Wang Song. In addition, all of them were influential figures in the Imperial Master Mansion.

Regardless of the others, Wang Song’s standing alone was something no one could ignore. He was at the ninth level of the Foundation Establishment Stage. Although he was not at the peak of the ninth level, even if he were only in the early stage of the ninth level, it would be impossible for anyone to disregard him.

When Qi Tian arrived, Wang Song was sitting with Vice-Minister of Taichang Temple, Wang Xin, representing Imperial Master Mansion and they were sipping tea and exchanging pleasantries. The way they were conversing made it seem as if they were old friends who had not seen each other for many years.

Upon seeing Qi Tian’s arrival, Wang Song gently set down the teacup in his hand on the table, and said, “Sir Wang, I personally am willing to believe in the imperial laws. As you are here representing the royal family this time, you will certainly handle this matter with impartiality and will uphold the legitimate rights of the disciples of the Imperial Master Mansion.”

Before Wang Xin had a chance to speak, Zhang Xiankun said sarcastically, “So that means, only the disciples from the Imperial Master Mansion have legitimate rights, and the others are being unreasonable.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Song coldly looked at Zhang Xiankun and said, “Even your father didn’t dare to talk nonsense in front of me, boy, who do you think you are to speak in my presence?”

Zhang Xiankun was infuriated, so much so that one of his attendants had to hold him back tightly. “Senior, you should not take offense in his disrespectful words, he was merely overcome by anger. His heart and the Marquis possess the same reverence for all the powerful Foundation Establishment Stage people in the Imperial Master Mansion, including you.”

Wang Song scoffed, “Since you spoke decently, I won’t stoop to the level of Zhang Xiankun. Sir Wang, now that Qi Tian is here, you may begin your investigation.”

Wang Xin nodded, his facial expression showing no sign of anger. He first looked up and down at Qi Tian and then said, “So, the young man here is Qi Tian? He is really young. Qi Tian, may I ask you a few questions first, you may choose to answer or not.”

To the naked eye, Wang Xin seemed harmless, looking just like an ordinary person, but Qi Tian never solely relied on his eyes to assess a person, he would use the Heavenly Dao Engine’s sensory perception as well. Though the Heavenly Dao Engine had retreated from Qi Tian’s palm to his Qi Sea, its ability to sense the Spirit Qi of the world had not weakened at all, on the contrary, it remained strong.

Qi Tian could feel that the Heavenly Dao Engine harbored a desire to devour Wang Xin as fuel. Qi Tian didn’t know whether this desire stemmed from Wang Xin himself or something precious he was carrying, but either situation implied that Wang Xin wouldn’t be a simple character.

Qi Tian stood about three meters away from Wang Xin, cupped his hands in front of him and bowed slightly, saying, “Sir Wang, please ask.”

Wang Xin asked, “How old are you this year? When did you enter Imperial Master Mansion for cultivation? Who is your master?”

Qi Tian said, “I am over fifteen years old, I’ve been in the Imperial Master Mansion for several years. For several years, I did not make any significant improvement, my reputation did not shine. However, in recent years, for some unknown reason, I suddenly understood the essence and the original dilemmas of cultivation puzzling me were solved. Coupled with the recognition of everyone in the mansion and their meticulous guidance, I was able to stand out and achieve the status I have today.”

Wang Xin furrowed his brows slightly, feeling that Qi Tian’s words were insincere and could possibly contain no truth at all. However, he cannot find a logical explanation as to why Qi Tian would lie to him at this point. Frankly, when Zhang Xiankun first mentioned that Qi Tian was very young, he found it somewhat unbelievable. Now that he met Qi Tian in person, he found that Qi Tian was indeed young. Even if he’s truly fifteen or sixteen years old, reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage at such a young age was terrifying enough.

Wang Xin didn’t delve deeper into whether Qi Tian’s answer was true or false, as it had no bearing on the overall investigation. He called for an attendant to bring a chair and asked Qi Tian sit first, then continued, “Qi Tian, I suppose you should know why I asked you to come here, right? Simply put, it’s regarding the incident when you unreasonably killed four priests from Marquis Jingguo Manor at the King Zhangbei Manor a few days ago. Qi Tian, everything I say and every question I ask from now on is crucial. Listen closely and answer honestly, do not harbour any illusion.”

Qi Tian nodded, he had already made sufficient mental preparation.

“Can you recount the events that happened in King Zhangbei Manor from beginning to end?” Vice Chief Wang Xin asked directly.

Qi Tian succinctly recounted his encounter in King Zhangbei Manor, without omitting any details.

Before Qi Tian could finish, young Marquis Zhang Xiankun interrupted, pointed at Qi Tian, and accused, “Qi Tian, you’re lying. It’s clear that you were neglectful of your mount, which ate the beast tamer Yang Dong from the prince’s mansion. When the second prince and I discovered this, you feared attracting attention and intended to kill us all to cover it up.”

Qi Tian responded, “I reiterate, my mount, Hu Niu, does not eat humans.”

“Doesn’t eat people? Then why did we personally witness your mount eating a person? You claim it doesn’t eat people? Good, prove it to us.” Zhang Xiankun retorted vehemently, hoping to provoke Qi Tian into doing something drastic to Hu Niu, like disemboweling it, to prove that there were no human remains inside its stomach.

However, Zhang Xiankun’s attempt to provoke him was too simplistic and Qi Tian was not falling for it. He replied coldly, “When I say Hu Niu doesn’t eat humans, it doesn’t. If you don’t believe it, you can ask the princess of King Zhangbei Manor, Zhao Qian, to come and testify. We fought alongside each other for a while, and since this incident occurred in King Zhangbei Manor, she has every reason to testify.”

Before Wang Xin had a chance to reply, the Master of Golden Eagle Hall, Wang Song, interjected, “If there’s a witness, why not bring her here quickly?”

Wang Xin had not planned to call the witness so soon as he had many more questions for Qi Tian, but since Wang Song had spoken, he couldn’t refute him, given Wang Song’s status. Although Wang Song was not the Mansion Master of the Imperial Master Mansion, he was still a powerful figure there. He was currently representing the Imperial Master Mansion, and unless Wang Xin wanted to fall out with him, he couldn’t really disregard Wang Song.

“In that case, call for the Princess.”

A moment later, Zhao Qian entered, accompanied by Wu Junlin, the old housekeeper of King Zhangbei Manor.

As Zhao Qian walked in, Wang Xin rose to his feet. Seeing Wu Junlin enter, he hurriedly stood and bowed, saying, “Greetings to Elder Wu.”

Wu Junlin nodded nonchalantly and said, “Sir Wang, I can testify that the incident that occurred in our King Zhangbei Manor had nothing to do with Qi Tian. He was merely retaliating in self-defense. Granted, he went overboard but it’s understandable.”

“So, according to you, Elder Wu, all the fault lies with young Marquis Zhang Xiankun.” Wang Xin asked.

Wu Junlin shook his head, “This isn’t solely the young marquis’ fault. If anyone is to be blamed, it should be those Foundation Establishment stage cultivators he brought. Their impulsive desire for getting merit without understanding the situation caused them to mistakenly target Qi Tian, leading to this misunderstanding. Back then, if both parties could have explained things clearly, today’s events wouldn’t have occurred. Young Marquis, isn’t that true?”

Although Zhang Xiankun knew that Wu Junlin was standing on Qi Tian’s side, he couldn’t possibly accept this reality and swallow the bitterness of defeat. He said, “Elder Wu, you’re the housekeeper for King Zhangbei Manor. I suffered losses trying to support your manor. You really can’t differentiate between friends and foes?”