Chapter 400: It's Hard to Distinguish Friends from Foes
I was put under house arrest.
However, Zhao Yushu wanted to laugh because he actually had his own room again.
Zhu Xian brought a cultivator over. The terrifyingly strong spiritual power fluctuations of the other party reminded Zhao Yushu that this was a cultivator of at least the eighth level, and you, a mere sixth level cultivator, should not act rashly.
"This is Elder Jiang, the guardian of the Yuezhou branch of the Red Lotus Cult. Before the Cult Master returns, Elder Jiang will look after Mr. Liu to prevent any conflicts. Thousands of believers have gathered outside and asked me to hand over Mr. Liu. I hope Mr. Liu will not do anything impulsive."
Zhu Xian bowed and left, leaving the two behind.
Old Jiang was an old man with sparse hair, even running wildly towards Bujie. Fortunately, he still had a lot of beard. The other party stroked his beard with a smile and said, "It's better to meet in person than to hear about it. Mr. Liu's spiritual power fluctuations are thick and solid, far better than the average sixth-level heaven."
Zhao Yushu was stunned: "Old Jiang is the guardian of the Red Lotus Sect, shouldn't he hate me?"
Old Jiang laughed: "A master from the Tianji Pavilion of the Academy, do you need to be sneaky when you want to kill someone?"
Zhao Yushu suddenly felt a little embarrassed. He had secretly killed many people in Xiangzhou...
"Mr. Liu, don't worry. After the leader comes back, the murderer will definitely be nowhere to hide. Just stay here for a few days and play chess and drink tea with me. Of course, if you can get past me and get out on your own, that's your ability. I will never pester you."
Zhao Yushu immediately bowed and said, "You said so yourself, so I'll try my best."
Zhu Xian walked out of the government office and looked at the huge crowd outside. Even though he was a sixth-level cultivator, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
The most devout believers spontaneously, or thought they were spontaneously, gathered at the gate of the government office. Everyone wore red robes and huddled together in the cold morning wind, just as they had done when they were fighting against the government soldiers.
They did not hold weapons, nor did they shout; they just stood there quietly.
"Everyone!" Zhu Xian floated onto the roof so that everyone could see him clearly.
"Zhao Yushu has surrendered and is currently in the government office, being guarded by Guardian Jiang."
The crowd below stirred slightly.
"Master Zhu, although you are a new member of the sect, you are still considered an old member of the Red Lotus Sect. We would like to ask, how do you plan to deal with the murderer?"
A man stood out from the crowd, raised his head and asked.
"Whether it's the Red Lotus Doctrine or the Yuezhou Law, a life for a life!"
Zhu Xian did not hesitate.
There was silence below.
"I wonder when you plan to execute Zhao Yushu with the Holy Fire?"
Zhao Yushu sat opposite Jiang Lao in the courtyard, with a chessboard in front of them. Zhao Yushu's Go skills were extremely poor, and he had been defeated by Jiang Lao a long time ago.
He moved his ears, looking puzzled: "What is this Holy Fire Punishment?"
Although Mr. Jiang had all the advantages, he was not very happy. The gap in chess skills was too big, and it was meaningless to win.
"According to the rules of our Red Lotus Sect, if a criminal believes that he is innocent, he can request to be punished by the Holy Fire. This means that you step into the Holy Fire of the Red Lotus alone, and the Purifying Red Lotus will make the decision. If you are not guilty, you will walk out of the Red Lotus safely."
Zhao Yushu recalled the terrifying temperature of the Pure World Red Lotus: "What if there is a crime?"
"Of course, it was slowly purified by the red lotus. The scene was horrible to watch, and it was far less painful than beheading."
Zhao Yushu opened his mouth and said, "So, even if I am the murderer, I should be the one to make the choice. How come the people outside made the decision for me?"
Old Jiang chuckled and said, "Of course I hope Mr. Liu dies in an ugly way."
Zhu Xian listened to the question and pondered for a moment: "When did I say that Zhao Yushu was the murderer?"
With a loud bang, there was an uproar.
After Zhu Xianrang's people argued for a while, he spoke again slowly: "It's true that Zhao Yushu is a suspect, but it's not confirmed that he is the murderer yet. I will arrest him now, and the truth will be revealed when the leader comes back. And now he is guarded by Dharma Protector Jiang. Everyone, do you not believe the leader, or Dharma Protector Jiang?"
Zhao Yushu's eyebrows twitched as he listened inside. Zhu Xian was really good at talking. He could silence a group of people with just a few words.
"Everyone, go back, and be careful to see if there are any suspicious people around you, especially those who didn't come home last night. What if, even just a little, Zhao Yushu is not the murderer? If we relax now and let the real murderer go unpunished, wouldn't that make the old helmsman die with regrets?"
The believers nodded to each other, and some had already started to discuss whether there were any people they knew who had gone out and not returned last night.
The crowd gradually dispersed. Zhu Xian sighed, came down from the roof, returned to his study, wrote an urgent letter and sent it towards Qiantang.
"Mr. Liu, the way to play Gobang is quite interesting."
After losing two games of Go in a row, Mr. Jiang gradually became interested in the game.
"They're just kid stuff."
"Mr. Six looks very relaxed."
"First, I'm not the murderer, so I can feel relaxed. Second, even if I am the murderer, I have Master Zhu to help me. At least I can live until the leader comes back. There's no reason not to feel relaxed."
"Well, Zhu Xian is a good official. Mr. Liu, if you were the murderer behind the scene, what would you do?"
Zhao Yushu raised his head and looked at Jiang Lao: "Kill you."
"Oh?" Old Jiang became interested.
"Kill you, Jiang, and then kidnap me. Mr. Liu and the masters of the academy will work together to kill the high-ranking officials of the Red Lotus Sect. Whether the leader is willing or not, he must openly ask the academy for the person. Of course, the academy will not let him go. We can only tear our faces apart and start a war."
Jiang Lao stroked his beard again: "Who will benefit from this?"
"The academy is in Dongdu. The academy may not support Dongdu's new emperor Li Jian, but Li Jian will definitely support the academy with all his strength. Even if he is stupid, he has an extremely shrewd woman by his side. Dongdu and the Red Lotus Sect have now ceased fighting in the Qiantang area. If they are forced to resume the war, who do you think will benefit?"
Jiang Lao sighed: "Xijing."
"Both the former and new emperors of Xijing have close ties with the underworld. Their people have already arrived in Yuezhou, and are even among your high-ranking officials."
Old Jiang laughed: "Mr. Liu is hinting to me that there is something wrong with Mr. Zhu."
"He is the most suspicious."
"He tried his best to protect you."
"More likely, it's to paralyze me and make me wait obediently for the leader to come back. If I were to make the plan in ten days, I could kill the emperor."
Old Jiang couldn't laugh anymore.
"Then what are you going to do?"
Jiang Lao was worried.
"What can I do with you watching?"
Old Jiang looked at the smiling Zhao Yushu and felt a little nervous for no reason.
"Mr. Liu, you'd better not take any risks. Even if I believe you, you are still a suspect. If you try to force your way in, I will definitely not show mercy. I want to let Mr. Liu know that I am only one step away from the Ninth Heaven."
Zhao Yushu smiled: "I really can't beat the Ninth Heaven."
Old Jiang frowned. What does that mean?