Chapter 349: Big Problems Minimized, Small Problems Eliminated

Chen Tai was being interrogated by disciples of the Law Enforcement Hall at Huangsheng Palace. In fact, all disciples from the Deacon Hall had been summoned to the Law Enforcement Hall for questioning.

Qin Yaoyao and her group were ambushed and killed by unknown assailants while en route to the Spirit Herb Garden. Soon after, three of the Qin family's territories were also attacked, leading to heavy casualties among their members. It was clear to everyone that the Qin family was being targeted.

As the saying goes, "Even when you beat a dog, you must consider its owner." Given what had happened to the Qin family, Huangsheng Palace naturally wouldn't let the matter rest. Failing to act would surely discourage other affiliated families.

Huangsheng Palace dispatched multiple teams of law enforcement disciples to hunt down the culprits.

The law enforcement teams began by investigating the circumstances of Qin Yaoyao's death. Few individuals knew she was assigned to guard the Spirit Herb Garden. The fact that the attackers ambushed her on the outskirts of the Purple Bamboo Mountain Range strongly suggested they knew she was traveling there to assume her new role. Chen Tai was considered a prime suspect.

"Senior Brother Chen, tell us honestly, who did you inform about Junior Sister Qin's assignment to guard the Spirit Herb Garden?" a law enforcement disciple stated coldly. "Confess, and you'll be treated leniently; resist, and the consequences will be severe."

Chen Tai furrowed his brow. He knew that if law enforcement disciples were involved, the matter was far from ordinary. Qin Yaoyao had only just begun her new role, so it was highly improbable she would have been involved in embezzlement or theft of spirit herbs. Could she have been murdered? He affirmed his suspicion; if it were merely about corruption or theft, the law enforcement disciples wouldn't be questioning him in such a manner.

He thought carefully, his brow still furrowed. Indeed, quite a few people knew about this. There were five head deacons in the Deacon Hall, who, despite their competition, sometimes exchanged favors, such as arranging assignments for each other's contacts.

After a moment's hesitation, Chen Tai disclosed the names of everyone who knew about the assignment, including Wang Ruyue. He reasoned that if Qin Yaoyao had truly been murdered, the law enforcement disciples would conduct a rigorous investigation, and using lie detection tools would be perfectly reasonable.

"Junior Brother Li, was Junior Sister Qin murdered?" Chen Tai asked.

"No comment," replied the disciple. "You will remain in the Law Enforcement Hall until the matter has been thoroughly investigated."

Following Chen Tai's information, the law enforcement disciples summoned every disciple who knew about Qin Yaoyao's journey to the Spirit Herb Garden, interrogating them individually. Wang Ruyue, for her part, was forthright, explaining that she had learned about the assignment through Chen Tai's network while trying to secure a position for her cousin.

The near annihilation of the Qin family confirmed this was a revenge killing. The attacking force undoubtedly harbored a personal vendetta against the Qin family. Pursuing this lead, Huangsheng Palace identified several suspects, with the Sun family emerging as a prime candidate.

Just then, a significant piece of news surfaced: the Qin family had reportedly sent assassins to kill Sun Chengping. Many immediately suspected the Sun family, as the two clans had a known feud, providing the Sun family with a strong motive for the attack.

Following this lead, Huangsheng Palace investigated the long-standing feud between the Qin and Sun families. It was known that Qin family members had previously vowed revenge against the Sun family. If Sun Chengping had indeed died at the Qin family's hands, and the Qin family was subsequently almost wiped out, it lent credence to the possibility that the Sun family was responsible for the retaliation.

Disciples from Huangsheng Palace pursued the Sun family lead, uncovering that a family of a Deacon Hall disciple was related to the Sun family by marriage, which significantly intensified suspicions against the Sun family.

The Sun family vehemently denied any involvement, and the Huangsheng Palace law enforcement disciples were hesitant to use torture on cultivators from an affiliated family.

As the Sun family was an affiliated clan of the Spirit Control Sect, Huangsheng Palace couldn't simply arrest them. Following discussions between the two factions, the Spirit Control Sect dispatched individuals to question the Sun family. To clear their name, the Sun family disclosed that Sun Yong'an had been ambushed and robbed, sharing the truth they had discovered with the Spirit Control Sect disciples.

Spirit Control Sect disciples found it hard to believe that Qin family members would travel to Chu State to reserve wine gourds solely to set a trap to ambush Sun Yong'an, especially since this plot was so easily uncovered by the Sun family. In response, the Sun family implicated the Liu family, asserting that they had orchestrated the entire scheme.

As an affiliated clan of the Heavenly Star Sect, the Liu family naturally denied any involvement, accusing the Sun family of "crying 'Thief!' while being the thief themselves."

As they continued to slander their rivals, the conflict escalated, eventually drawing in over a dozen cultivation families.

Wang Changsheng and Wang Shuming had no idea the situation would escalate to such an extent.

In fact, the Wang and Wang families were also suspected. They possessed the capability but lacked clear motive, as there were no known disputes between the Qin family and either of the Wang families. Furthermore, since Wang Ruyue was Li Qingshan's granddaughter-in-law, the law enforcement disciples of Huangsheng Palace did not pursue this line of inquiry.

After Qin Yuntai and Qin Yunhu killed Wang Mingli and others, they issued a gag order to prevent any leaks, meaning few Qin family members were aware of the incident. Even if some who knew survived, the Wang family had not taken any retaliatory action. However, Sun Chengping's murder, coupled with the Sun family's strong motive, shifted the focus away from the Wang and Wang families, who remained unaffected by the escalating conflict for various reasons.

As the situation intensified, the Five Sects of Wei State grew concerned that it might be a conspiracy by demonic cultivators, specifically designed to incite internal strife among them. Under this external pressure, they chose to de-escalate the conflict, turning major issues into minor ones and minor ones into non-existent ones. The Five Sects then launched a sweeping investigation of foreign cultivators across Wei State, arresting several rogue cultivators who were subsequently used as scapegoats. Privately, all five sects significantly heightened their vigilance.

To appease the Qin family, three Qin family disciples were inducted into Huangsheng Palace. Under the palace's guidance, the surviving Qin family members returned to Qinyun Ridge. Huangsheng Palace stationed several Foundation Establishment cultivators there and established a small teleportation array, hoping to lure the perpetrators out into the open.

At Wang Family Fort, within the Wang Family Ancestral Hall, Wang Yaolong led Wang Changsheng and others in ancestor worship.

Few individuals truly knew about the destruction of the Qin family; only Wang Changsheng, Wang Ruyan, Wang Qingshan, and Wang Changhao were privy to the details. Given the critical nature of the matter, they dared not easily disclose the plundered wealth.

Wang Changyue and the others vaguely suspected something but refrained from asking too many questions.

After the ancestor worship, Wang Yaolong, as the family head, offered some encouraging words before dismissing the gathering. However, he asked Wang Changsheng, Wang Ruyan, Wang Changhao, and Wang Qingshan to remain.

"Changsheng," Wang Yaolong said earnestly, a hint of worry in his cloudy eyes, "for a family to truly grow and flourish, it's unrealistic to claim they've never done anything unscrupulous. However, a family that consistently engages in such acts will surely not last. As the saying goes, 'He who often walks by the river is bound to get his shoes wet.' Do you understand this principle?"

While such actions might be justifiable if taken to compete for cultivation resources, annihilating an opposing family's Foundation Establishment cultivators solely for family revenge was a different matter. If news of this leaked, the Wang family would face severe repercussions. Wang Yaolong wasn't against the act itself, but he worried that Wang Changsheng, having experienced the immense gains from raiding and wiping out a clan, might repeatedly target other cultivation families. It was a grave concern; they feared the worst, and even a single leak would spell catastrophe for the Wang family.

"Twenty-fifth Uncle Grandfather is absolutely right; your grandson shares the same view," Wang Changsheng promptly agreed. He understood Wang Yaolong's concerns, and frankly, he himself had been astonished by the extent of the Qin family's assets.

The wealth plundered by the Wang and Wang families amounted to over one hundred thousand spirit stones, including spirit herbs, artifact refining materials, talismans, spirit stones, and formation flags. The most valuable among these were two Foundation Establishment Pills, with one allotted to each of the Wang and Wang families.