Chapter 697: Chapter 87 The Great Momentum! The Artifact Spirit "Came to Life"_2

"Young Master Ce."

Zuoqiu Deye and Zuoqiu Zhenghua immediately stepped forward and greeted politely.

"No need for such formality from you two~"

The white-robed young master didn’t put on any airs, rising to return the courtesy, then invited them into the pavilion.

This white-robed young master was, of course, the Lingyun Sacred Land’s Great Celestial Pride, Master Xuanmiao, Gongyang Ce, whom Zuoqiu Deye and Zuoqiu Zhenghua had discussed earlier.

After some polite exchanges, both parties took their seats.

Soon, the attendants from the manor brought a variety of fresh delicacies and aromatic wine, then silently withdrew once more.

With fine wine and food as a medium, after a few casual exchanges, the initially unfamiliar parties naturally became acquainted.

It was then time to address the main business.

Gongyang Ce signaled to a woman in a white dress beside him, and then said to the two Zuoqiu ancestors, "This lady by my side, you may not know her. But her name, you should have heard."

The woman in the white dress stepped forward knowingly, bowing respectfully to the two Zuoqiu ancestors, and introduced herself, "Honored ancestors, I am Cao Youqing from the Lingyun Sacred Land."

It turned out this was the very Saint Land Celestial Pride, Cao Youqing, who had once "taken the blame," punished by the white-robed lord to retreat and cultivate in the Land of Thunder Punishment.

The decade of secluded cultivation had evidently had a profound impact on her in every aspect.

Now, not only had her strength increased a notch to the Celestial Human Realm Eighth Layer, but her aura also became more composed and restrained. With another few decades of refinement, she could very likely reach the peak and begin preparing for the Purple Mansion Realm breakthrough.

Meanwhile, the arrogance and coldness that once surrounded her had diminished considerably, making her appear much more grounded and steady.

"Is it you?"

Zuoqiu Zhenghua raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.

Back then, the matter of Zuoqiu Qingyun caused quite a stir, bringing considerable disgrace to the Zuoqiu Family. Even now, when the clan members travel to other commanderies for business, they often encounter strange looks from other noble families.

Even though Zuoqiu Qingyun was not of the same branch, he had no real fondness for Cao Youqing.

Zuoqiu Deye, however, thought deeper.

He looked towards Gongyang Ce, his eyes showing a bit of seriousness, "Young Master Ce, what is your intention with this? Might you be seeking to mediate between the Zuoqiu Family and the Cao Family?"

Though rare, there have been instances of the Academy mediating noble family disputes.

"You two are mistaken." Gongyang Ce took a sip of his wine and said calmly, "I did not come for mediation, but to resolve misunderstandings."

Misunderstandings?

Zuoqiu Zhenghua glanced at his family’s Grandpa Zeng, hesitantly asking, "Young master’s meaning is..."

"The events of that year were not done by Youqing." Gongyang Ce explained indifferently, "I know that Youqing’s whereabouts were unknown at the time, making it difficult for her to prove her innocence. Over the years, I have had the matter thoroughly investigated and found that the truth may not be what the two families believe. Xiaoyue."

"Yes, master."

Xiaoyue, standing on the other side of Gongyang Ce, responded, and then stepped forward, handing over a stack of investigation documents to Zuoqiu Deye and Zuoqiu Zhenghua.

"According to our investigation, on the day of Zuoqiu Qingyun’s assassination, no one saw the assailant’s face clearly. The identification was based purely on a handkerchief left at the scene and a trace of thunder aura that the assailant accidentally revealed. There are many doubts in this matter."

"Moreover, the juniors present that day appeared too conveniently. Our deep investigation confirmed that they were at Pengyun Pavilion because of Wang Shihai, a young Celestial Pride from the Southern Desert Wang Family. Wang Shihai stirred them up out of indignation when he heard that Zuoqiu Qingyun was forcing Tianyan Fairy into a clandestine meeting."

"In the course of further investigation, we finally learned from a menial servant of the Southern Desert Wang Family that Wang Shihai visited the guest courtyard that day to meet with his clan’s Fourth Grandpa, Patriarch Wang Shouzhe of the Changning Wang Family."

"And it was after meeting Wang Shouzhe that Wang Shihai left with an angry face... We estimate that Wang Shihai most likely learned the information from Wang Shouzhe."

"Just before that, Tianyan Fairy had visited Wang Shouzhe in the Southern Desert Wang Family."

These matters, when viewed separately, may not reveal much, but connected together, they paint a clearer picture.

Xiaoyue meticulously explained each detail of the investigation and provided evidence and testimonies to the two Zuoqiu members, presenting a very complete logical chain, both reasonable and convincing.

Although there was no direct evidence linking the incident to Wang Shouzhe, considering Wang Shouzhe had arrived in the Southern Desert with Qiaan Xuehan, the Patriarch of the Longzuo Qian Family, and knowing that Cao Youqing had previously attempted to assassinate Qiaan Xuehan and targeted the Changning Wang Family, the truth seemed to be emerging. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"We believe that the death of Zuoqiu Qingyun is very likely linked to the Longzuo Qian and Changning Wang families." Xiaoyue finally summarized, "I can stake my life on the authenticity of these testimonies. If you don’t believe it, you may summon the relevant witnesses for questioning."

"That’s unnecessary. With Young Master’s status, there’s no need to deceive us over such a matter."

Zuoqiu Deye immediately refused.

He naturally wasn’t foolish enough to summon people for interrogation right away.

For one, the details provided by Xiaoyue were very exhaustive and meticulous, with a clear logic connecting all the details, making it highly credible.