Invincible Soul Emperor

"Thank you! I truly can’t thank you enough, my lord! Without you, I... I wouldn’t have known what to do."

When Cui Lao departed, Zheng Ming finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Xue Feng walked back and said to Zheng Ming with an indifferent expression, "I told you there’s no need to thank me. If the matter weren’t still under investigation, we wouldn’t bother with these trivial affairs. Alright, Family Head Zheng, we’ll continue to repair the barrier. If you’re not up to it, just rest here."

At this point, Zheng Ming didn’t dare to put on a brave front any longer. He weakly nodded at Xue Feng. "Alright, you go on ahead. I’ll rest here for a while."

The people from the Xue Family spent the better part of the day repairing the barrier, finally finishing just before sunset.

Seeing the group finish their work, Zheng Ming hurriedly stepped forward. "My lords, you’ve all worked so hard. This way, please! We’ve prepared some restorative dishes at my residence to help you replenish your strength!"

Xue Feng wiped the sweat from his brow and nodded at Zheng Ming. The large group then made its way to the Zheng Residence.

This whole ordeal has only made my hatred for Ye Qingchen grow stronger.

"Um, Lord Xue, didn’t you suspect that our family was involved in this incident?" Zheng Ming cautiously asked as they walked.

Xue Feng looked at him askance. "Family Head Zheng, what are you trying to say?"

"Well, Lord Xue, I want to defend our family! This matter has nothing to do with us!"

Zheng Ming had barely finished speaking when Xue Feng raised a hand to interrupt him. "Family Head Zheng, until the investigation is complete, your family will remain under suspicion. It’s useless to try and plead your family’s case to me."

Zheng Ming hastily replied, "Ah, my lord, you misunderstand. I’m not trying to defend our family. I’ve found another suspect! His motives are far greater than ours!"

Hearing this, Xue Feng stopped in his tracks. "Then tell me, who is this person?"

Zheng Ming scratched his head, his expression serious. "My lord, you might not believe what I’m about to say, but I have compelling reasons for my suspicion! The suspect is Ye Qingchen!"

When he heard the name Ye Qingchen, Xue Feng’s brows furrowed.

"My lord, I know you may not believe me for suddenly accusing him. I’m also aware you knew Ye Qingchen before, but people can change. No matter how good he was in the past, he’s still a suspect in this affair! My lord, you must remain fair and impartial in your investigation and not just focus on our Zheng Family!"

Zheng Ming spoke with utter conviction. After a long moment, Xue Feng looked at his earnest expression and nodded. "Then explain. Why is he a suspect?"

Zheng Ming cleared his throat and called over Uncle Wang, who was standing to the side.

"My lord, you suspect our family, but this incident would bring us far more harm than good! In fact, our family stands to suffer greatly because of it. The person most likely to target us is Ye Qingchen! After all, I don’t even know how we might have offended him in the past, so it’s perfectly logical for him to want revenge against our family!

"Second, one of our servants personally witnessed people with Ye Qingchen controlling the Demon Beast King! These two reasons alone are enough to suggest that Ye Qingchen is closely connected to this matter!"

Xue Feng stood motionless, listening to Zheng Ming’s entire explanation. "Family Head Zheng, I strongly disagree with your claim that Ye Qingchen is the most likely person to target your family. For example, wasn’t that powerful expert from earlier targeting you as well?"

Hearing Xue Feng’s question, Zheng Ming’s heart tightened. He opened his mouth as if to say something, then snapped it shut.

I can’t let Xue Feng find out why Cui Lao was looking for me! If he knew it was to kill Ye Qingchen, I couldn’t clear my name even if I jumped into the Yellow River! Besides, in the entire outer city, there’s no one other than Cui Lao who would oppose me like this. Everyone else is practically falling over themselves to curry favor with the Zheng Family.

"Ahem, Lord Xue, you may not be aware, but that was just an exception," Zheng Ming could only offer vaguely.

Xue Feng snorted coldly. "And what about your second reason? You claim your servant saw it, but how can you prove you didn’t collude in advance?"

Zheng Ming’s eyes widened. "My lord, we would never dare deceive you! You see, before you arrived, it was Uncle Wang here who went to the front lines to help fight the Monster Beasts! At the time, he noticed something was amiss and told me, but I didn’t pay it any mind. It’s only now that I realize he was telling the truth!"

Standing beside him, Uncle Wang nodded vigorously. "My lord, I would never dare to deceive you about this matter."

Xue Feng then added indifferently, "Went to the front lines to help fight the Monster Beasts? If I remember correctly, there were a great many of them, and the situation was extremely chaotic. How can you be sure your eyes weren’t playing tricks on you?"

Xue Feng’s words left both of them speechless.

Xue Feng simply refuses to believe the two pieces of evidence I’ve presented! That damned Xue Feng, why does he trust Ye Qingchen so much? The key point is, this affair has nothing to do with our family anyway!

"This... My lord, but this matter..."

"Enough, Family Head Zheng. You don’t need to worry about this any longer. If the Zheng Family is truly uninvolved, you will be cleared once the investigation is complete."

Xue Feng was already suspicious of their family. Zheng Ming’s repeated attempts to explain himself only deepened that skepticism.

"This... Very well. I’ll listen to you, my lord. Let’s all head back for now," Zheng Ming said, forced to let the matter drop.

Still, that Ye Qingchen fellow can’t be doing much better right now! Even if he sent Cui Lao after me, the treasures he carries are bound to attract others! I refuse to believe he’ll get away unscathed!

Just as Zheng Ming was lost in thought, his personal guard hurried over.

"Family Head, Family Head! A word, please," the guard said with a grave expression.

Zheng Ming glanced slowly at Xue Feng. Seeing that he wasn’t paying attention, he followed his guard to one side.

"What’s so urgent?" Zheng Ming asked. He knew his personal guard well; the man would never approach him so suddenly unless it was something important.

The guard leaned in and whispered in Zheng Ming’s ear, "Family Head, there’s news about Ye Qingchen. Our men saw him with their own eyes. He was out on the streets today, full of life and completely unharmed!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Ming’s eyes widened in disbelief.

How is that possible? That kid is still up and about?

"What did you say? Are you joking with me?!" Zheng Ming demanded loudly. His outburst caused everyone to turn and look.