Chapter 378: Chapter 377: Visit and Interrogation

Making Balegan forget everything through hints is something that Li Jing could not do.

Mainly because his hints were simple.

Unlike Yulian who would first charm, then follow up with a hint.

Too complex suggestions cannot be executed by Li Jing.

The most he can do is to make Balegan forget having seen him.

What they discuss will not be forgotten by the latter, at most his memory of Li Jing will be maximally diluted, to the point where he couldn’t remember who he was talking to.

But since Balegan has asked to be clear about everything, Li Jing doesn’t mind.

He had a full set of preparations in advance, allowing Balegan to remember him is harmless.

In comparison.

The information that Balegan gave him before leaving is very useful.

Originally through preliminary dialogue, Li Jing had no expectations of Balegan, but surprisingly, he gained new insights.

After leaving the apartment and the residential area, Li Jing found a private place, put away the Smoke Eye, took off the Wind King Mysterious Clothing, reactivated the Silent Shadow, and took out his mobile phone.

Wo Lingzhu.

Li Jing has no impression of this name.

She doesn’t seem to be in the list of in-world disciples from the Witch Gu Sect in the surrounding areas of the capital, given to him by Jiang Liao.

As expected.

After confirmation, Li Jing did not see Wo Lingzhu’s name on the list.

With his eyes slightly narrowed, Li Jing contemplated.

Balegan said Wo Lingzhu is likely a member of the Sacred Association.

However, in Li Jing’s view at the moment.

She is one hundred percent sure to be.

The reason is very simple.

There is no reason why the list of the in-world disciples of the Witch Gu Sect in the surrounding areas of the capital given by Jiang Liao would have omissions.

Unless there is someone he doesn’t want Li Jing to come into contact with.

After thinking about it this way.

Wo Lingzhu could only be a member of the Sacred Association, and is one of those who have been discovered and targeted as mentioned by Jiang Liao.

In order to avoid alarming the enemy, the Administration Bureau and Patrol headquarter must have kept her as an observation target.

Uncle.

This time, I may need to disappoint you.

Li Jing thought to himself, and then texted Xiao Ai.

"Xiao Ai, search for the keyword ’Wo Lingzhu’, I want her identity information."

For the Administration Bureau and Patrol headquarter’s secret defense against the Sacred Association, Li Jing should not touch Wo Lingzhu.

But for the case at hand, it’s necessary to meet Wo Lingzhu.

This time, do it cleanly.

If he wants to investigate the truth behind Lu Qifei’s death, it’s inevitable that he will collide with the Sacred Association.

Determined to avoid certain situations, it would only tie his hands and feet, let alone solve the problem.

The efficiency of Xiao Ai is as always high.

A few seconds after sending the message, she replied.

After receiving the reply, Li Jing opened it to view it.

Wo Lingzhu.

Place of household registration, Dong Ye City.

Current residence, Dong Ye City.

Former Deputy Chief of the Crimes Investigation Department of Dong Ye City Inspection Bureau.

She has served for sixteen years and resigned three years ago.

The reason is corruption and is currently unemployed.

At the sight of this information, Li Jing raised an eyebrow.

It’s not surprising that Wo Lingzhu was the Deputy Chief of the Crimes Investigation Department of the Dong Ye City Inspection Bureau.

Most of the sect’s disciples are within the system when they enter the world.

The reason why Longyu allows them to enter the world is to alleviate the pressure on the civil service personnel.

However, it was indeed surprising that Wo Lingzhu was unemployed due to corruption.

It must be said.

She has some skills.

Being kicked out of the system for corruption, it is almost impossible to be re-hired.

But even so.

She is still lingering in Dong Ye City.

Normally speaking.

Sect disciples who have left the system should be sent back to their sect. They can’t be left alone.

Not only is she lingering, but she has been lingering for three years.

It’s not something that the General Bureau or the Patrol headquarter can turn a blind eye to.

It seems that she has good connections.

The local administrator of Dong Ye City?

They probably don’t have the qualifications to ensure she can stay in the world for so long.

The only explanation for her legal status for the last three years without being sent back to the sect is that there are people from the capital behind her.

Looking at it from another perspective.

Given that she has been definitively classified as a member of the Sacred Association, the fact that the Administration Bureau and Patrol headquarter have reason to send her back but haven’t done so indicates a problem.

She acts as the role that the Sacred Association placed openly to test the bottom line of the Administration Bureau and Patrol headquarter.

Simply put.

Wo Lingzhu is a key point in the hidden game between both sides.

It makes sense.

The Administration Bureau and Patrol headquarter have long been aware of the existence of the Sacred Association and have tried to investigate and remove it altogether. The Sacred Association must have a certain degree of awareness of this.

If they were completely ignorant, it would be an insult to their initial scale of development.

At this time, it is necessary to have a sacrificial lamb like Wo Lingzhu.

On one hand, Wo Lingzhu is used to test the bottom line of the two bureaus.

On the other hand, it is to notify the two bureaus.

"We are now aware, don’t push too hard, we might shrink back."

It has to be said.

The Sacred Association knows how to play the game.

Their confrontation with the two Bureaus shows that they have the confidence.

After giving it some thought, Li Jing glanced at the time, put away his mobile phone, stopped a passing taxi on the street, and instructed the driver to head to Dong Ye City.

...

Dong Ye City and Xiyue City are neighboring the capital at an angle, so the distance between them is not too far.

It takes less than an hour to travel by expressway from Xiyue City to Dong Ye City.

Getting into the city, however, takes a little longer.

About two hours later, Li Jing arrived at Wo Lingzhu’s residence in Dong Ye City by taxi.

By then, it was almost five in the evening and it was getting dark.

Looking at the fading light in the sky from the car, Li Jing took the opportunity of paying the fare to send a message to Xia Ai, asking her to temporarily turn off the surveillance of the nearby streets and shopping malls.

In less than two seconds, Xia Ai replied that it was done.

With the information in hand, Li Jing smoothly got out of the car, casting a Spirit God whisper indiscriminately over a wide area, followed swiftly with a suggestion.

Without forgetting to supplement the taxi driver who hadn’t had time to drive away, he made him forget that he had ever driven him, to ensure that everything went smoothly.

Wo Lingzhu’s living conditions were much higher than Balegan’s.

He lived in a high-end villa.

Li Jing walked into the villa, reaching out to put on Smoke Eye and summoning the Wind King Mysterious Clothing onto his body.

In no time, he arrived at Wo Lingzhu’s front door.

Stopping in front of the courtyard gate, Li Jing found that Wo Lingzhu’s front door was wide open, with no one in the courtyard, they were probably in the downstairs of the villa.

Without a second thought, Li Jing began to activate the Heavenly Eye.

Under the gaze of the Heavenly Eye.

He saw a slender humanoid composed of gray-brown energy in the kitchen of the villa, which he could confirm was Wo Lingzhu himself.

Worth mentioning is-

Wo Lingzhu’s villa was filled with masses of energy bodies in the shape of beetles.

Not only that.

There were also many hidden in the courtyards of the neighboring villas.

Compared to the bugs in the Balegan’s house, the amount here was several times more.

Moreover, they were mostly hidden underground in the courtyard, they were not active on the ground or in the villa.

Quite obviously.

This person was very vigilant and ready to create chaos and escape at any time.

Li Jing’s eyes sparkled as he saw this arrangement.

He had no need to be polite with the Sacred Association.

At this moment, he was not restrained by his patrol identity.

With a silent wave of his hand, Li Jing took out Linglong.

"..."

Linglong.

Being used to being brought out daily, she was accustomed to it.

But Li Jing’s move was not simply about showing her off.

Looking pitifully at someone, Linglong curled up her body and held her breath.

Li Jing smiled at the sight, grabbed Linglong in one hand and threw her to the ground.

"Boom!"

The ground shook tremendously.

The phantom of Linglong Tower, as tall as two thousand battles, appeared on the ground with the tremor, and then vanished in an instant.

At this moment.

All the bugs in Wo Lingzhu’s courtyard and the surrounding villa courtyards were crushed to death under the suppression of Linglong Tower.

At the same time, a dialog box popped up in front of Li Jing’s eyes.

"Experience +3967824."

"Level up, 113. Spiritual Power Intensity +226, Skill Points +2."

Seeing the two prompts, Li Jing raised an eyebrow.

The Witch Gu Sect does indeed have a lot to offer.

A courtyard full of bugs, outright nearly four million experience!

This was much more exciting than using Forbidden Skills to cut wheat in the Secret Realm.

As he marveled, Li Jing acted on a thought and launched another broad sweep of Spirit God whispers. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The residents of the villa district who were about to leave their homes due to the violent ground shaking suddenly forgot about the shaking and returned to their lives influenced by Li Jing’s suggestion.

Wo Lingzhu was the exception.

Li Jing didn’t use any suggestions on her.

With the sudden mass death of the bugs closely linked to her, it’s not something that could be dealt with by simple suggestion.

It is also meaningless to affect Wo Lingzhu at this point.

In the villa’s kitchen.

Under the gaze of Li Jing’s Heavenly Eye, Wo Lingzhu fell to the ground, her Witchcraft Power reduced by more than half.

Obviously.

The group extermination of the bugs had a significant impact on her.

Staring blankly at Linglong, who had fallen on her butt and was wincing in pain, Li Jing walked into the villa courtyard.

As his Second Origin, Linglong was completely one with the Linglong Tower in her original form.

Just a simple fall wouldn’t hurt her, right?

Not to mention, this little one held one third of his Spiritual Power, making her equivalent to a seventh realm high prison master.

This little thing was an absolute drama queen!

True enough.

No sooner had Li Jing walked away than Linglong chuckled and quickly got up, turning into a golden light and retreating back into his body.

Entering the villa.

Li Jing went straight to the kitchen to find Wo Lingzhu, who had fallen on the floor.

Wo Lingzhu was conscious at this point.

It’s just that the sudden annihilation of the bugs connected to her had caused her to lose much of her power and her mind to suffer a certain degree of damage without any warning.

Seeing Li Jing, garbed in a green robe and wearing a ghost mask, entering the room, Wo Lingzhu, who was lying on the ground and couldn’t stand up, contracted her pupils.

The visitor clearly meant harm. This much was obvious.

As soon as he appeared, he exterminated all her Gu worms set up outside. He certainly wasn’t here for casual conversation.

It was broad daylight.

Li Jing exposed his true nature and exterminated all her Gu worms with his ghost mask on, revealing that he was specifically after her.

Although she didn’t know how he managed to avoid alerting neighbors and outsiders, given the current situation, Wo Lingzhu recognized she was in danger.

Observing that there wasn’t a whiff of aura emanating from Li Jing as if he didn’t exist at all, Wo Lingzhu broke out in a cold sweat.

Facing a Seventh Realm practitioner was not enough to daunt her, a disciple of the sect.

If she couldn’t win, she could at least escape.

However, she couldn’t even sense the most basic signs of life from Li Jing, which left her panic-stricken.

What was that saying again?

The unknown is always the most terrifying.

Trying to keep a straight face, Wo Lingzhu coldly spoke up.

"Senior, do we have a grudge?"

"I suppose you know why I’m here."

Ignoring her question, Li Jing halted before Wo Lingzhu, looking down at her.

"Or do I need to remind you?"

Confronted with his words, Wo Lingzhu’s complexion slightly changed.

It took only a moment for her to connect the dots.

Only, she hadn’t thought in that direction because Li Jing’s sudden and mysterious arrival caught her off guard.

Still lying on the ground, Wo Lingzhu looked up at Li Jing in surprise and whispered,

"Senior, I know nothing."

Of course, Li Jing didn’t care about her words.

Without uttering a word, he snapped his fingers and shot out a black arc of electricity.

Water Thunder.

"Crack!"

The electric arc landed on Wo Lingzhu, instantly freezing her into an ice sculpture.

Immediately after, a prompt popped up before Li Jing’s eyes.

"Experience +5566."

Upon receiving the experience notification, Li Jing’s lips curled up in satisfaction.

Learn from past mistakes.

Having had the experience with Lian Ningxin, he wasn’t going to give Wo Lingzhu the chance for an easy death.

As it turned out, his decision was the right one.

Wo Lingzhu’s body concealed Gu worms.

Li Jing didn’t know how many, but under his Water Thunder assault, they wouldn’t survive.

He casually picked up a wok spatula lying nearby and a red arc of electricity sprang up from his palm, the spatula dissolved and instantly reshaped into several flying knives.

Taking a flying knife in hand, Li Jing examined it.

His luck seemed to be spent in the wrong place.

Before being melted and reshaped, the spatula was a Second-level Common Instrument.

The flying knife obtained through melting and reshaping had leveled up, becoming a Third-level Common Instrument.

Shaking his head, Li Jing casually threw out a flying knife.

"Crack!"

The flying knife grazed Wo Lingzhu’s cheek, fully embedded itself into the floor leaving a black hole, and incidentally shattered the ice covering her face.

As a disciple of the Witch Gu Sect, Wo Lingzhu had a Sixth Realm cultivation level.

Despite being caught off guard, a Water Thunder of no particular power couldn’t possibly kill her.

However, her Gu worms weren’t as lucky.

Without the support of their host, the Gu worms were quite fragile.

When the ice covering her face was shattered, Wo Lingzhu was overwhelmed with fear.

In her body at this moment, the freezing power of the Water Thunder was still wreaking havoc.

Already weakened and unable to gather her internal power, she was powerless to resist the cold power of Water Thunder and was merely toughing it out with her Sixth Realm physique.

Her hands and feet were ice cold at this point.

Her body was covered in ice, and she was in a real ice cellar.

Yet it didn’t prevent her from breaking out in a cold sweat.

Li Jing’s flying knife had no technique to speak of.

Pure brute force...

With a casual throw, he easily pierced the floor without leaving so much as a knife handle, who knew how deep it went into the ground.

If that flying knife had landed on her head just now, she probably would have died already.

But that’s not all.

She saw with her own eyes how Li Jing took hold of the spatula, and instantly melted, shaped and reforged it.

A refining process with absolutely no steps to speak of!

And it seems that the quality even improved by a level!

Who on earth...

Who was this man?

"I’m running out of patience, and I won’t kill you outright. If you don’t want to suffer, you better answer my questions honestly. Do you understand?"

In a flat tone of voice.

Combined with the ghost mask, to Wo Lingzhu’s eyes, he was no different from a demon.

Gazing in horror at Li Jing, she forced a nod to signify her understanding.

Seeing this, Li Jing’s lips curled up in a smile behind his mask.

As for anything else, he wasn’t concerned.

His only worry was that she would be like Lian Ningxin, bereft of even a basic will to live.

If that were the case, he would be in a predicament.

The will to survive in Wo Lingzhu was quite strong at the moment, which was convenient for him to some extent.

"What do you know about the Sacred Association?"

Li Jing spoke.

Looking at the straightforward yet expected inquiry, Wo Lingzhu didn’t hesitate much and murmured a response.

"In the past, I was a core member, but due to a careless exposure 20 years ago, I was placed under surveillance and became a peripheral member. I am not clear about the current situation of the Sacred Association. For now, I am just a sacrificial pawn on display by the Sacred Association."

While speaking, she gritted her teeth slightly and added.

"If given a choice, I would choose to leave the Sacred Association, but I don’t have that opportunity."

Upon hearing Wo Lingzhu’s confession, Li Jing merely raised his eyebrows and ignored her subsequent comments.

As the saying goes.

Where there is a pitiable person, there is also a detestable side.

Wo Lingzhu’s pitiful act was completely meaningless.

Being treated as a sacrificial pawn by the Sacred Association, who wouldn’t want to leave?

If she hadn’t been exposed, what would she have done?

In the end,

This was not a question of whether she had choices.

Putting these aside.

Wo Lingzhu only became a peripheral member after being exposed 20 years ago, which proves that she was quite familiar with the state of the Sacred Association at the time.

And then, her current predicament results in her having very little sense of belonging to the Sacred Association, she had to comply out of helplessness, with a low level of loyalty.

After mulling for a while, Li Jing asked a question.

"Did the death of Lian Ningxin come from the instigation of others in the Sacred Association who told you to inform Balegan, in an attempt to use the latter as a scapegoat?"

"Yes."

Wo Lingzhu gave a firm response, she looked firmly at Li Jing and said,

"They expected that the one who caused Lian Ningxin’s death would find Balegan through her contact, hoping to incite a conflict between the two."

"Hmm."

Li Jing nodded, looking at her with interest.

"You’re looking at me as if you think I’m the one?"

"..."

Wo Lingzhu,

Had some suspicions,

But frankly, she was not sure.

Though the one is strong, their cultivation level is only at the sixth realm.

She didn’t know what cultivation level Li Jing was at.

But Wo Lingzhu dared to affirm,

Li Jing was at least a Seventh Realm cultivator.

If not,

Even if she was unguarded, she wouldn’t have been subdued so easily.

Killing all the bugs she had arranged in one breath was not easy.

What’s more difficult is,

To annihilate all bugs in a wave of the hand before her bugs warned her.

At present,

It didn’t matter who Li Jing was.

Even if he was not the one who forced Lian Ningxin to commit suicide, there must be a connection.

After a brief silence, Wo Lingzhu spoke.

"Senior, you are probably not an official. The person who forced Lian Ningxin to commit suicide was also not investigating the Sacred Association in an official capacity. Can you tell me why you are confronting the Sacred Association? So, I can help answer your questions."

Wo Lingzhu’s words successfully caught Li Jing’s attention.

This one,

She was smart, very savvy.

Could she be used?

A glimmer of light flashed through his eyes, Li Jing turned his head and looked outside the villa.

In his Primordial Spirit’s perception, there were several sky controllers passing overhead.

His spirit god’s whispering range was very large, completely covering the entire villa area.

But he couldn’t affect the further distance.

Linglong was not the main body of the pagoda just now, but the movement caused by her was not small.

There were sky controllers passing by, presumably someone reported because of the abnormal vibrations, and the Inspection Bureau or the Management Bureau were dispatched to investigate the cause.

Withdrawing his gaze, Li Jing fixed his eyes on Wo Lingzhu.

"As long as you don’t tell, no one will know I’ve been here. Now you’re just a peripheral member of the Sacred Association, but you still have value. The Administration Bureau and the Patrol headquarters have been covertly investigating the Sacred Association for many years, you should be aware of this. I can create a connection for you, allowing you to become an insider for the Administration Bureau. This is dangerous, but it could be a chance for you to break free from the Sacred Association control and make amends for your crimes."

Hearing his words, Wo Lingzhu paused, her expression changing.

The power of the Sacred Association was not to be underestimated.

Because of this,

Lian Ningxin would rather commit suicide than fall into the hands of the authorities.

Maybe there could be a turn of fortunes with enough cooperation, but most likely the outcome would be worse.

However, from Wo Lingzhu’s perspective,

This choice seems somewhat feasible.

The Sacred Association did not specifically assign personnel to monitor her, only requiring her to maintain regular contact.

Under the guise of,

Ensuring her safety and wellbeing,

Originally, the main development of the Sacred Association was in Longyu, the core power of the capital, and there were not many members outside, as they were occupied with their own affairs.

As long as no one knew that Li Jing had been here, the Sacred Association would not know that she had been turned against.

After quickly weighing the pros and cons, Wo Lingzhu murmured,

"Being able to get rid of the Sacred Association and make amends is my greatest desire, I am willing to take the risk."

"Very good."

Li Jing responded, flicking a red spark with his finger. He used a drastically weakened fire thunder to unravel her ice seal and dispel the water thunder force in her body which had begun to dissipate gradually.

Without the eroding force of the water thunder, Wo Lingzhu exhaled, and shakily got up from the ground.

"Senior..."

Li Jing raised his hand, stopping her speech.

"My time is limited, now I’ll answer your previous question. I’m conflicting with the Sacred Association because I’m investigating the truth behind the death of the wife of the Director of the Administration Bureau 26 years ago on private commission. There is reliable evidence that she died from the Etching Skill, the suspicion of the Sacred Association is not small, and the people of your Witch Gu Sect are under greater suspicion. You should have been a core member of the Sacred Association 26 years ago, so you should know something about it?"