Chapter 85: Interrogation Record

"Name?"

"Yizhanghong."

"Be honest. I'm asking for your real name!"

"Zhang Xiaohong."

Inside the interrogation room, the dim oil lamp flickered, casting cold, dark shadows. Fang Qingyun, arms crossed, sneered at the newly apprehended suspect. Head Constable Wei stared into Yizhanghong's eyes, peppering him with questions, while a junior constable at a nearby table scribbled furiously, recording the interrogation.

"Gender?"

"Male."

"Cultivation level?"

"At the peak of the Great Perfection stage of Foundation Establishment."

Head Constable Wei snorted coldly, "Note it down as 'Foundation Establishment, late stage.' Disregard the rest. Zhang Xiaohong, I'm telling you now: if you believe our handling of this case might affect a fair trial, you can request recusal, which means having someone else take over. Do you wish to request recusal?"

"I request..."

Head Constable Wei hummed, drawing out the sound with an upward inflection at the end.

Zhang Xiaohong quickly said, "No, no, no, I won't request recusal."

"Tell us, why are you here?"

"Eating grilled skewers without paying?"

Fang Qingyun said impatiently, "Stop the interrogation. Execute him on the spot. Just say he resisted arrest fiercely, preferred death to surrender, and took poison."

Knowing Fang Qingyun was fully capable of such an act, Yizhanghong, still chained, quickly said, "I'll talk, I'll talk. About ten days ago, I woke up at the bottom of a cliff. I must have accidentally slipped when passing by the mountain west of Yanjiang Prefecture. When I regained consciousness, I found a cave, which seemed to be a cultivator's dwelling. The cave hadn't been visited for a long time. I cautiously entered, and aside from a book, found nothing valuable."

"That book was taken by you during the body search."

"It described some obscure talismans and their corresponding formations, such as the Life Reversal Talisman and the Life Reversal Formation. According to the book, the Life Reversal Talisman could convert lifespan into cultivation. I was at a bottleneck, so I thought I could break through in one go, reach the Golden Core stage, and live freely. Moreover, this method of breakthrough could also extend my lifespan, which was too tempting."

Fang Qingyun angrily retorted, "I consulted with the Prefect. Based on the scale of the formation you set up, it would be more than enough to break through from the Foundation Establishment stage to the Golden Core stage, or even from the Golden Core stage to the Nascent Soul stage!"

Yizhanghong thought to himself, *I know it's wasteful, but I didn't know any other way.*

Of course, he couldn't say that aloud, so Yizhanghong pretended not to hear Fang Qingyun's scolding and continued, "I'm a talisman cultivator myself, so I quickly learned the Life Reversal Talisman. Setting up the Life Reversal Formation wasn't difficult; you just arrange the talismans into the shape of the formation."

"Cultivators can't detect the effect of the Life Reversal Talisman. For mortals, it only causes drowsiness, which is easily overlooked. Furthermore, once the formation is complete, even the drowsiness effect disappears."

"However, the Life Reversal Formation requires too many talismans to be posted, which one person couldn't complete in a short time. I happened to meet two companions, the other two you arrested."

"Strangely, those two weren't from Yanjiang Prefecture. They just happened to be here, and they couldn't even remember why they came to Yanjiang Prefecture."

"We hit it off immediately and decided to break through the Foundation Establishment stage together."

"We were meticulous in our work, leaving no traces. When you started extensively searching for the Life Reversal Talismans, we stopped our activities. We felt this place was becoming increasingly unsafe and wanted to leave Yanjiang Prefecture. Before departing, we heard there was a famous barbecue shop here, so we decided to try it. The skewers weren't even fully grilled when you arrived."

Yizhanghong's face was filled with confusion; he couldn't figure out where they had gone wrong. Head Constable Wei, of course, wouldn't mention that the enthusiastic shop owner had reported them.

After the interrogation, Head Constable Wei told him to sign and fingerprint: "Write your name at the bottom of each page, and on the last page, write, 'I have read the above statement, and it is consistent with what I said.'"

"Press your fingerprint at all signature locations."

The next day, Head Constable Wei, as usual, delivered a commendation banner.

He was considering whether to just set up an office at the barbecue shop and live there, thinking, *Isn't the efficiency of apprehending criminals here much higher than patrolling all day?*

At this rate, becoming the Chief Constable was just a matter of time.

"Shopkeeper Lu, your barbecue shop has excellent feng shui. It's truly a place where outstanding talents emerge."

Lu Yang chuckled, "Whether the land is auspicious is secondary; the main thing is the outstanding talents."

"The yamen has been very busy lately. Once things calm down, I'll apply to my superiors to see if we can award your shop a 'Model Establishment' plaque."

"That would be wonderful! Here's some freshly boiled water; drink it while it's hot."

Lu Yang enthusiastically poured a cup of boiled water. "Are you still this busy even after catching them?"

"Well, yes, they've been caught, and we've found the location he described — an abandoned cave, probably where some demonic fugitive hid. Once we tear down the Life Reversal Talismans from the locations they specified, this case will be closed."

"The problem is the Spring Gathering Festival is approaching. Looking at the turnout this year, there might be twenty percent more people than last year. I wanted to take a holiday, but the Chief Constable wouldn't approve it, saying I need to patrol more during the festival."

"If you get tired patrolling, you can come here to rest. Our shop will be open as usual during the Spring Gathering Festival."

After seeing Head Constable Wei off, Meng Jingzhou let out a long breath. "Finally, it's over. The past few days were so tense, constantly searching for Life Reversal Talismans. Perhaps Yizhanghong saw how hard we were working and came here to walk into our trap."

Mangu hesitated for a moment, thinking Yizhanghong probably didn't intend that.

Lu Yang noticed Lan Ting constantly gesticulating and asked curiously, "What are you doing?"

Without looking up, Lan Ting replied, "I'm trying to research an automatic skewering formation, where bamboo skewers automatically thread the meat pieces."

Lu Yang picked up a bamboo skewer, held it between two fingers, weighed it thoughtfully.

Suddenly, he tossed a few pieces of meat into the air, then used two fingers to flick the skewer.

Unfortunately, the skewer only grazed the meat and didn't pierce it.

Mangu didn't understand what Lu Yang was doing, thinking Brother Lu was playing some new kind of game. Meng Jingzhou's eyes lit up as he realized.

"Are you trying to practice using hidden weapons by skewering meat with bamboo skewers?"

Lu Yang smiled but said nothing, implicitly confirming it.

Soon, Meng Jingzhou also joined the practice, studying how to apply precise force to skewer the meat pieces moving in the air.

Mangu hesitated, "This... this shouldn't be what a righteous cultivator would do, right?"

Lu Yang said solemnly, "That's incorrect. Haven't you heard the lines: 'Clinging to the green mountains, never letting go, rooted in the broken rocks. Though thousands of trials and tribulations may strike, it remains strong and resolute, enduring winds from all directions'?"

"Bamboo is tenacious, elegant, and serene, embodying the qualities of a humble gentleman. How could a weapon made of bamboo be considered a hidden weapon?"

"This is a weapon used by gentlemen."

Mangu, suddenly enlightened, felt a sense of breakthrough. "So that's how it is! I'll join too."

Lan Ting focused on her formation research. Several bamboo skewers floated in the air. With a whoosh, a skewer shot straight into the wall, its end still vibrating.

If the target had been a person, they would have been long dead.

"The power is a bit too high," Lan Ting said, scratching her head in distress. She had tried her best to minimize the power.

"Instead of an automatic skewering formation, maybe I should just set the power to maximum."

The two familiar spirits shivered, watching the chaotic scene.