Chapter 379: Chapter 378 Continuously Investigate, Waiting for a Good Price

Li Jing’s words, were very calm.

Wo Lingzhu’s expressions kept changing.

Someone’s words clearly told her that the former was privately working for the Director of the Management Bureau.

What concept is the Director of the Management Bureau?

Perhaps for the disciples of the sect, Jiang Liao’s cultivation level is not high.

But people’s weight is different.

Jiang Liao, is a real big shot who can influence the direction of Longyu with a single sentence!

But none of these were the main point.

The point is.

Regarding the murder of Jiang Liao’s wife, Wo Lingzhu did actually know something.

Seeing Wo Lingzhu listening to his words, her face turning pale, it was very obvious that she did know some inside story. Li Jing narrowed his eyes.

"What do you know?"

"I..."

Wo Lingzhu raised her eyes.

She wanted to say that she didn’t know anything.

However, facing Li Jing’s captivated eyes beneath the mask, she didn’t dare to deny it.

After hesitating for a long time, she spoke in a low voice.

"I did know something about that incident. But it has nothing to do with me, and it’s not related to the Witch Gu Sect and other sect disciples."

Li Jing frowned at her words.

"What do you mean by this? The Etching Skill should come from your Witch Gu Sect, right?"

"This..."

Wo Lingzhu hesitated, then said.

"The Etching Skill is indeed a unique skill in the system of witchcraft, but this unique skill of witchcraft is not exclusive to our Witch Gu Sect. There are a full three thousand witch sects in the Miaojiang Secret Realm, and more than half of them have something to do with the Etching Skill."

Hearing her words, Li Jing tentatively nodded his head, then looked directly at her.

"You’re certain that it has nothing to do with the Witch Gu Sect. Could it be that you know exactly who is responsible?"

"No, I don’t know the exact person."

Wo Lingzhu shook her head quickly, saying.

"I didn’t participate in that incident that year, nor was I qualified to. The reason I know a little about it is because a friend of mine, who was doing quite well within the Sacred Association at the time, leaked some information to me."

Throughout Wo Lingzhu’s words, someone kept watching her.

Seeing that she didn’t appear to be lying, Li Jing asked.

"Who is your friend?"

"Shan Wen from the Mist Hidden Door."

Wo Lingzhu replied succinctly, then added.

"However, I’m afraid you won’t be able to find him. He’s already left Longyu and returned to the Mist Hidden Door after reaching the Seventh Realm over a decade ago."

Li Jing was silent.

It was hard enough to find a person who knew about it, but they had already left Longyu and returned to the Mist Hidden Door.

This, it was definitely impossible to find them.

But Shan Wen’s identity reminded him of the fourth person on the list of four people that Black Butterfly had investigated.

"Through investigating Condensation Heart, I learned that a disciple of the Mist Hidden Door named Shan Meng has a good relationship with her, and they usually address each other as sisters. Is there any connection between this Shan Wen you mentioned and this Shan Meng?"

"I don’t know who this Shan Meng you referred to is."

Wo Lingzhu shook her head, saying.

"Condensation Heart is not the same as me. Before she chose to reveal her identity and commit suicide, she was always a core member of the Sacred Association. The people she could get in touch with, I couldn’t. When I was still a core member of the Sacred Association, Shan Wen was the only disciple of the Mist Hidden Door that I had contact with."

Unable to confirm the connection between Shan Wen and Shan Meng, Li Jing’s face beneath the mask was not very good.

This Wo Lingzhu, it seems her value is not very high?

She was obviously a person in the know, but she only knew this much?

As if she could feel Li Jing’s displeasure behind the mask, Wo Lingzhu demonstrated an extremely strong will to survive, whispering quickly.

"There was not much information that Shan Wen revealed to me back then. The main point was that he complained about the elders of the Sacred Association being too reckless, threatening the steady development of the whole Sacred Association. Judging from his tone, the incident should have been caused by a few elders of the Sacred Association. They were very mysterious, even the core members didn’t know who they were."

With that, she continued.

"What I can tell you is that there are nine elders in the Sacred Association in total, four of them are disciples from different sects, and the remaining five are people with strong roots in the capital city. Whether they are people of the system or common people, I can’t say. What is certain is that the nine elders of the Sacred Association have one thing in common, they are all from the Seventh Realm."

Li Jing listened to Wo Lingzhu’s words, his face still not looking good behind the mask.

Regarding individual cultivation.

Lu Qifei was even stronger than her husband Jiang Liao.

The one who killed her was at least a Seventh Realm cultivator, which Li Jing had anticipated.

What Wo Lingzhu said at the moment didn’t mean much to him.

It simply confirmed to him that the person he was looking for was not a run-of-the-mill member of the Sacred Association, but one of the nine elders.

Considering that the Etching Skill is a unique skill in the system of witchcraft, the range of suspects can be narrowed down to one of the four sect disciples.

However, Wo Lingzhu didn’t know who the nine elders of the Sacred Association were, she can’t even provide him with a name...

But there is a point worth noticing.

Whether they are from the present world or from the sect, when stepping into the Seventh Realm, they all "retire".

After the sect disciples "retire", they should return to their sect. Yet among the elders of the Sacred Association, four who were from the sect stayed in the present world.

This could provide a clue.

However, it’s not excluded that they, like him, have concealed their cultivation level from Longyu.

Exhaling lightly, Li Jing said,

"I need to go, I made quite a fuss earlier when I killed your Gu worm. People are already searching around outside and heading towards the villa. Clean up properly by yourself, don’t let them notice anything."

As he spoke, he turned around to leave, leaving behind one last sentence.

"Later, someone from the Administration Bureau will contact you. It might be the Director of Management Bureau himself or someone else, you’ll have to communicate with them. Just because the Sacred Association isn’t watching you, doesn’t mean your every move won’t be noticed. If you value your life, be cautious."

Seeing Li Jing leave so easily, Wo Lingzhu was taken aback.

It wasn’t until he had left the kitchen that she reacted.

This round, did she just gain the support of the Director of the Management Bureau!?

Wo Lingzhu was deeply shocked and her spirit was deflated.

However, realizing that she had gained the support of the Director of the Management Bureau, her spirit immediately brightened.

Her expression was now one of renewed hope...

Being a sacrificial offering placed in the limelight by the Sacred Association, Wo Lingzhu was unable to return to her sect and was forced to stay in the present world.

In this desperate situation, she saw hope.

Li Jing had already left and obviously wouldn’t know about Wo Lingzhu’s change.

Even if he did, he wouldn’t care.

Rekindling hope in dire straits.

He never experienced it, so he couldn’t empathize.

Having long held high connections, he had no intuitive feeling about knowing certain big shots.

...

After leaving Wo Lingzhu’s villa, Li Jing inconspicuously used the Wind King Mysterious Clothing to cloak himself and then successfully left the villa area using the Silent Shadow and Smoke Eye to cover his traces.

The commotion he made by exterminating the Gu worm attracted not only a large number of personnel from the Dong Ye City Inspection Bureau in the vicinity, but also several teams from the Management Bureau, who were now inspecting every street district one by one.

Finding Wo Lingzhu was just a matter of time.

No.

More precisely.

They are bound to find her.

After all, Wo Lingzhu, being a publicly confirmed member of the Sacred Association, was already being watched.

When any unusual movements happened in the nearby area, some insiders would definitely suspect her.

Even the Sacred Association might notice something and quietly investigate.

However, whether it’s the Inspection Bureau, the Management Bureau, or the Sacred Association, none of them would be foolish enough to confront Wo Lingzhu directly.

All three parties would put on a show.

This game of deception.

Li Jing wasn’t good at it.

But he wasn’t entirely clueless.

To avoid unexpected situations, Li Jing walked quite a distance along the street. Only when he was far enough from the villa area where Wo Lingzhu was did he lift his Smoke Eye and dispel the Silent Shadow.

At this point, it was close to seven in the evening.

Night, had already fallen.

The long-awaited night has come, and without delaying, Li Jing hailed a taxi at the side of the road and instructed the driver to head to the capital.

Sitting in the taxi, he sent Jiang Yini a message about Wo Lingzhu’s situation, asking her to communicate with Jiang Liao.

If he were to mention it himself, Jiang Liao might not object but would definitely be unhappy.

It’s more appropriate to let Jiang Yini, who is adept at channeling, do it.

Jiang Liao is a smart man.

Li Jing believes that through Jiang Yini’s communication, he should understand the "kind intentions" of Li Jing’s decision not to talk to him directly.

...

In the blink of an eye, two more hours passed.

Just after nine in the evening.

Li Jing returned to the capital by taxi and arrived at the office of Shan Meng’s street administration.

Shan Meng, the fourth individual, was originally the one he planned to approach last.

But since Wo Lingzhu mentioned the key informant, Shan Wen, Shan Meng had moved up the priority list.

Finding Shan Meng was easy.

According to the information provided by Black Butterfly.

This director of the street office was very dedicated, working overtime until eleven o’clock every night.

Without any accidents, she should be working overtime in her office right now.

After getting off the car, Li Jing looked ahead, indeed, there was a light on in the street office by this time.

It’s said that familiarity comes with repetition.

After two similar operations, Li Jing was experienced to the point of proficiency.

He casually pulled out his phone to have Xiao Ai take out all the CCTV cameras in the nearby area, with a mental move and a whisper of Spirit God was sent out to give an illusion to the nearby civilians. He took off the Silent Shadow, put on the Smoke Eye, put on the Wind King Mysterious Clothing and headed straight into the street office.

The street office in the middle of the night.

There were no ordinary citizens processing business, only a few diligent local administrators were working overtime to deal with unfinished business.

Li Jing went directly to the second floor of the street office to knock on the director’s office door.

"Knock, knock."

Soon a clear, beautiful female voice sounded from inside the office.

"Come in".

Receiving a reply, Li Jing pushed the door open.

In the office, Shan Meng herself was reviewing a document.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, she instinctively looked up, and then frowned.

This was because of Li Jing’s illusion.

Even though someone pushed the door open and walked in, she didn’t see anyone come in.

Such a strange occurrence made Shan Meng realize that something was wrong.

She didn’t pay attention just now.

But now, she noticed that within her perception of the Sixth Realm, there was no one else on the second floor of the street office except herself.

Shan Meng was shocked, and she stood up.

"Who is it?"

Before she finished speaking, Li Jing removed the illusion in front of her.

Unexpectedly seeing the ghost-faced man suddenly appeared close at hand, Shan Meng’s complexion changed again and again. Instinctively wanting to pull back but finding no way out because she was against the wall.

"Sit down, don’t do anything stupid."

Li Jing said indifferently.

Upon hearing his words, Shan Meng’s face changed and she obediently sat down.

Li Jing’s sudden appearance in front of her gave her quite a shock.

If he wanted to kill her, she might not even have a chance to resist...

Settled in her seat, Shan Meng squinted slightly, took the teapot from the side, poured a cup and handed it to Li Jing, giving him a charming smile.

"Are you the inspector surnamed Li?"

Li Jing was about to speak.

Who would have thought the other party would take the initiative to start, and in a self-destructive way?

Directly mentioning him made it clear that she was part of the Sacred Association.

Confronting Shan Meng’s words, Li Jing didn’t lose his composure, he calmly replied.

"Sorry, I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you."

Receiving a negative response, Shan Meng gazed at Li Jing for a moment, her mouth turned into a flowery smile.

"I should have known. Your cultivation level is high, I’m indeed no match for you. If you were that Li, he might not be that far behind."

Saying this, she crossed her legs.

"The same is true for you, I’m afraid I must disappoint you too. I won’t say anything, feel free to do what you want." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Before Li Jing could say anything, she sneered.

"Our Mist Hidden Door’s intelligence abilities are second to none, I was aware of the Sinister Gate’s investigation last night. They haven’t changed at all, still acting as ugly as ever."

"..."

Li Jing was silent.

Not because he didn’t want to speak.

But because this person had said everything there was to say, leaving him momentarily at a loss for words.

She was quite strategic.

Not only did she associate him through Lian Ningxin’s connection, but she also detected the investigation by the Sinister Gate.

That was not all.

Knowing that she was going to be sought after, she made no arrangements, simply waited for them to find her.

Looking at Shan Meng, who was waiting for his reply, Li Jing remained silent for a moment, then suddenly, like lightning, reached out and grabbed her neck, lifting her off her feet.

"You want to die? As you wish."

Rendered helpless in an instant, Shan Meng’s composure evaporated.

More importantly.

Li Jing didn’t play by the rules.

When she said she was ready to accept whatever he decided to do, she was actually testing Li Jing’s attitude.

Who would have thought that he would actually take her words literally and attempt to kill her?

Even at her worst, she was still part of the system.

No matter where he came from, without a proper reason, who would dare to casually kill her?

Yet, Li Jing did it...

By the time Shan Meng had thought of resisting, it was already too late.

The hand around her neck exerted an incomparable, terrifying force.

She felt suffocated the instant she was lifted off the ground.

Just squeezing one’s neck can make a Six Realm cultivator suffocate. How terrifying is that?

But that’s not all.

Under the terrifying brute force, she felt her neck about to snap, unable to muster up any of her Six Realm cultivation level, completely defenseless.

I’m going to die...

Shan Meng’s face lost its color, forcing herself to speak.

"Spare..."

She only managed to utter one word before her consciousness began to dissolve, not even having the time to finish saying ’me’.

She, a Six Realm cultivator, was on the verge of suffocating to death...

What was even more humiliating was-

On the brink of death, a warm trickle uncontrollably seeped down her long legs.

Forget about it...

She is going to die anyway...

Shan Meng closed her eyes in despair.

"Bang."

Shan Meng fell back into her seat.

In the shock of it all, she gasped greedily for air.

Struggling to regain her composure after a few breaths, she wordlessly looked up.

She saw Li Jing’s ferocious ghost mask and a trace of fear flashed in her eyes.

Li Jing had spared her in the end, but not before she had a near-death experience.

In fact-

Her neck had large fractures on it, already on the brink of shattering.

If Li Jing had let go of her just a second later, she under his terrifying brute force and unable to bring forth her own cultivation power, would have died.

And it would have been an extremely frustrating death.

Not to mention the accident.

A Six Realm cultivator being strangled to death, wouldn’t that be a laughing stock?

Of course, Li Jing had no intention of killing Shan Meng just like that.

He is not acting under his inspector’s identity right now.

Taking a life would be a crime.

Even if he were on duty as an inspector-

He wouldn’t kill unless the other party was resisting fiercely or inciting large-scale damage with suspected anti-social behavior.

"Your resolution does not seem as great as you claim," a flat voice sounded, causing Shan Meng’s face, who was slumped at the desk, to turn extremely ugly.

Facing Li Jing’s gaze, she silently pulled out a blanket to cover her wet legs under the desk.

"Despite unveiling my identity in order to consolidate my heart, as a member of the Sacred Association, I am also exposed and know that it was foreseeable that I was to become a pawn that could be restrained. But I don’t want to die just like this. I can tell you everything I know, but I want to know what I can get from you?"

Upon hearing her words, Li Jing’s expression behind the mask turned strange.

In terms of situation awareness, Shan Meng is much clearer than Wo Lingzhu.

Just from looking at her, it’s obvious she’s prepared to sell information ever since she noticed that she was being investigated by Sinister Gate, planning for her own safety.

Without thinking too much, Li Jing responded.

"That depends on what you can tell me."

Before he could finish, Shan Meng pulled out a USB.

"Here is all the information I know about the Sacred Association."

Seeing this, Li Jing was a little stunned.

On Shan Meng’s part, his preparedness, to be honest, took him by surprise.

An informant who’s had this planned all along, it was understandable.

But her preparation to this extent was a little preposterous.

A professional undercover?

He took the USB.

Just as Li Jing wanted to inspect it, Shan Meng pulled out a laptop, placed it on the table, and pushed it toward him, indicating that he could use the laptop to examine the contents.

Seeing her so active, Li Jing plugged in the USB to the laptop without refusing.

Once the USB was read, a large amount of information appeared.

Before he had the chance to examine it carefully, Shan Meng asked.

"Your strength is extraordinary, not like normal human cultivators. Could you be of non-human origin?"