Otherworldly Affairs Office-Chapter 670: Peculiar (Request for Subscription)

"Of course it's true. Is there a problem with that?" Pei Yan watched the series of emotions flash across the other person's face. Zhu Zijian's shock seemed to stem from the unknown—could it be that he truly wasn't aware, or was he acting? If it's an act, it's quite convincing. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Upon hearing Pei Yan's words, Zhu Zijian's expression grew even more serious. He promptly left his disciples and walked straight to Gu Shenghui. After the two spoke for a while, Gu Shenghui glanced at Pei Yan, then pulled Zhu Zijian aside to a secluded spot. They spoke in hushed tones for quite a while. Eventually, Zhu Zijian returned, his face darkened, and he paid no attention to Pei Yan's puzzled look. Addressing the disciples of the Celestial Sword Manor, he ordered, "I have urgent matters to report back to the sect. None of the disciples present today are allowed to leave Yirong Pavilion or contact the outside world. I have informed the Investigation Hall, and they will arrange accommodations for you. Follow Elder Gu's instructions, and do not disobey. Anyone daring to leave without permission will be captured by the Investigation Hall, and if they resist, they will be considered traitors. I have granted the Investigation Hall the right to execute them on the spot."

The sudden turn of events left Pei Yan dumbfounded and the Celestial Sword Manor disciples in a panic. Sword Stand Man, terrified, looked at his master in confusion and asked, "Master, why are we being treated this way? What did we do wrong?"

"Ah, Liren, you did nothing wrong. If there's a mistake, it's because you heard something you shouldn't have. Rest assured, Master will not abandon you. However, this matter is of great significance, and we mustn't let even the slightest bit of information leak before I report to the manor lord, so you must endure being here temporarily. Also, I advise you to bury what you heard today in your bellies and never speak of it to anyone, or not even I can save you!"

After delivering these stern words, Zhu Zijian instructed Yu Yiyun to take care of Sword Stand Man and the other junior disciples, then hastily soared away, leaving the bewildered disciples behind.

Watching Gu Shenghui direct Xia Yu and others to arrange accommodations for the Celestial Sword Manor people, with strict orders not to neglect them, Pei Yan couldn't resist approaching and asking curiously, "What on earth did you two talk about?"

Gu Shenghui glanced at Pei Yan and then looked around to ensure no one was paying attention before leaning in and whispering, "He said that Celestial Sword Manor never sent any elders here for revenge in the first place!"

"What did you say?" Pei Yan exclaimed.

"Why don't you shout it louder, so everyone knows?"

Upon hearing that, Pei Yan hurriedly lowered his voice and questioned, "How is that possible? Do you believe what he said?"

"Not really, but I can't see him faking it either," Gu Shenghui said, holding his head in frustration.

"Then if what he said is true, it means someone impersonated Celestial Sword Manor to seek revenge years ago. How did you guys come to the conclusion that the perpetrators were from Celestial Sword Manor? Surely it wasn't just a baseless assumption!"

Gu Shenghui took out a betel nut, put it in his mouth, and chewed as he replied, "How could it be? This is a significant matter, not something we would take lightly. The attackers of that year used the exact Cultivation Technique of Celestial Sword Manor, identical to Fan Ruyi! Moreover, from the items retrieved from their corpses, most crucially, the token and the remnants of the Cultivation Technique pointed directly to their identity."

Pei Yan nodded, taking out a cigar box from his storage ring, extracting a cigar, lighting it, and holding it in his mouth. After a moment, he shook his head, exhaling a puff of smoke and disputing, "No, when you killed them, didn't you notify Celestial Sword Manor? Didn't they send anyone to verify?"

"Ah, the problem lies there. Over the years, you've seen the attitude of the major planes toward us — high and aloof, condescending until today," Gu Shenghui said, also taking out a cigar from Pei Yan's box, sniffing it before letting Pei Yan light it for him and continuing, "After the incident, we naturally wanted to ask the involved party for clarification. But because of our unequal relationship with the Daoist Plane, we couldn't find the main sect of Celestial Sword Manor for direct questioning. We could only report the matter to the Immortal Palace Steward at the time, during the periodic extradition of border violators. Afterward, the Immortal Palace did send people to take the bodies away and informed us that they would severely reprimand Celestial Sword Manor. There was no further communication, and the matter was left unresolved."

After finishing, Gu Shenghui took another puff of the cigar lit by Pei Yan and exhaled a slow stream of smoke, looking at Pei Yan with a meaningful gaze, "And just now, that elder from Celestial Sword Manor told me that the Immortal Palace never informed Celestial Sword Manor that any elder was killed."

"Hehehe, interesting, very interesting!" Pei Yan, scratching his head with the hand holding the cigar, paced around, then looked at Gu Shenghui and asked, "So, what about our questioning of them this time? Didn't they ask us why? Wouldn't the truth come to light once they knew the reason?"

"They asked, but the Immortal Palace's response was evasive, simply saying our Investigation Hall had evidence of their collusion with the Bloodfiend, yet they deemed it too important to elaborate on."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk! Aiya!" Hearing this answer not only made Pei Yan but also Lin Junzhao within him excited. Pei Yan clicked his tongue in amazement, then lamented, "Oh my opportunistic sister from the Daoist Plane, this is truly a disaster in our own backyard! The Immortal Palace? Celestial Sword Manor? One of them is undoubtedly lying. If Celestial Sword Manor is lying, it's expected, as they've always been suspects. But if they're telling the truth, then it's intriguing! This blatantly indicates a mole inside the Immortal Palace. Are they suppressing Celestial Sword Manor just to maintain the status of the Six Mansions of the Immortal Palace, or is there more to it...?"

Listening to Pei Yan's enthusiastic conjectures with the cigar in his mouth, Gu Shenghui snorted coldly, "You seem quite relaxed. Do you know that if Celestial Sword Manor's words are true, our situation becomes even more perilous? No matter their intentions, people in the Immortal Palace should be aware that once we meet, this secret can't be hidden anymore. Yet, they still let us meet. Either they don't care, being confident that even if Celestial Sword Manor knows the truth, they can't do anything about it, or they've already prepared numerous follow-ups, ready to deal with us!"

"What can I do if I'm not relaxed? Can you pack up and head back?" Pei Yan said, patting Gu Shenghui's shoulder with an air of old wisdom, "Old Gu, you need to have a long-term perspective and a broad mindset. Since we're here, let's make the best of it! If we hadn't come, how could we have obtained such crucial information? If it's true and we remain unaware, then in the future, who could predict how we'd be harmed by the Immortal Palace without even knowing how we died?"

Finishing, he ignored Gu Shenghui's rolling eyes, staring at the plaque inscribed with the words "Yirong Pavilion" hanging over the courtyard gate, and remarked playfully, "Do you think the scenes that played out today for us are also a step in the game orchestrated by someone creating trouble within the Immortal Palace?"