Chapter 15 Impartial and Unyielding

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice; a white-bearded old man with an immortal air arrived riding on colorful clouds, accompanied by a delicate-looking female female Disciple.

"Xu Xin... and Elder Tie of the Punishment Hall?!"

Elder Tie, Tie Wuqing, was known by everyone in the Joyous Union Sect.

He was upright and hated evil; if any Disciple was caught committing a crime or violating Sect rules, the result was invariably a severe sentence.

Conversely, if you were truly innocent, even if you took the matter to the Sect Head, he would surely clear your name.

Due to this personality, Elder Tie had offended many within the Sect, yet he also received countless accolades.

It turned out that two halls managed the penal laws of the Joyous Union Sect: the Law Enforcement Hall was responsible for gathering evidence and making arrests.

The second was the Punishment Hall, responsible for interrogations and passing judgment to ensure fairness and justice.

Logically, even if the Law Enforcement Hall caught Ye Fan today, they should have sent him to the Punishment Hall for sentencing; otherwise, it would be a summary execution.

But looking at these two, it was clear they intended to finish Ye Fan off.

They could have simply framed him for resisting arrest or attacking Law Enforcement Hall Disciples and executed him on the spot; even the Punishment Hall wouldn't be able to blame them.

No one expected Elder Tie to appear suddenly. The two Law Enforcement Hall Disciples were stunned and hurriedly knelt to pay their respects.

Yan Jingyun was also dumbfounded this time; of all his calculations, he hadn't expected Elder Tie to show up.

With this "Iron-Faced Judge" present, it would be impossible to take down Ye Fan today.

"My dear Lin!"

Xu Xin threw herself into Lin Lei's arms while weeping, her eyes completely red.

It turned out that after Xu Xin saw Lin Lei being captured, she had desperately forced her way into the Punishment Hall.

Had Elder Tie not been there today, she would have certainly been charged with trespassing in the Punishment Hall.

"They're both Dao Companions, yet how can the difference be so great?" Ye Fan couldn't help but lament.

"Hmm?"

"Ahem, it's nothing."

"Hmph."

Tie Wuqing had likely heard the whole story on his way there, and he was greatly dissatisfied with the behavior of the Law Enforcement Hall Disciples.

Upon arriving and hearing them try to arrest someone without evidence, his anger flared even more.

"The Law Enforcement Hall has been getting more and more insolent lately. It seems I need to find time to have a word with your Hall Master."

The two Law Enforcement Hall Disciples were scared out of their wits upon hearing this and hurriedly kowtowed, begging for mercy.

If Tie Wuqing really brought this matter to the Law Enforcement Hall, they would lose at least half their lives, if not all.

Tie Wuqing snorted coldly, his gaze sweeping over everyone like a blade before quickly settling on Yan Jingyun.

The sensation of being stared down by a primordial beast made Yan Jingyun's breath hitch, and he could only steel himself to salute Tie Wuqing.

"Greetings, Elder Tie."

"Are you the informant?"

"I... no... no..."

"If not, then what business is it of yours? Jumping around here like a monkey!"

"You looked familiar just now; so you're that junior from the Yan Family."

"Go back and ask your father how it felt to be slapped eighty times by me back then. I see you want to follow in his footsteps, don't you?"

Yan Jingyun was scolded mercilessly, with even his family's past scandals being dragged out.

Overwhelmed by shame and rage, Yan Jingyun couldn't stop trembling, yet he didn't dare to utter a single word of rebuttal.

Tie Wuqing's eyes were incredibly sharp; he saw through the situation at a single glance.

"You must be Ye Fan."

"This junior, Ye Fan, greets Elder Tie."

Ye Fan's tone was neither subservient nor overbearing, showing no excitement or fear at Tie Wuqing's appearance.

"The Law Enforcement Hall Disciples accuse you of selling fake medicine. What is your defense?" Tie Wuqing said coldly.

"It's purely fabricated. That was merely a tonic I refined myself, beneficial and harmless to the body. It couldn't possibly be fake medicine," Ye Fan replied calmly.

"Elder Tie, don't listen to his nonsense! He's just a Utility Disciple who barely managed to enter the Outer Sect by being a parasite. How could he possibly know any Alchemy?"

Yan Jingyun tried to argue further, but Tie Wuqing wouldn't have any of it.

"Where is the Medicinal Pill? Bring it out for me to see."

Lin Lei looked at Ye Fan, and seeing him nod, he could only hand the item over.

To everyone's surprise, before Ye Fan could even explain the pill's effects, Elder Tie swallowed it in one gulp.

This audacious act left everyone present dumbfounded.

Ye Fan: "..."

Lin Lei: "..."

The Medicinal Pill melted instantly upon entering his mouth. Tie Wuqing felt a warm current spread through his limbs and bones before vanishing without a trace.

"Judging by its properties, it's just some Spirit Medicine for supplementing Qi and strengthening the body. How is this fake medicine?!"

With Tie Wuqing's personal testimony, Yan Jingyun could only swallow his grievances.

"What are you all staring at?! Get back to your Cultivation!"

A single shout from Tie Wuqing scared away the onlookers in the distance, and then he looked at the Law Enforcement Hall Disciples.

"The two of you, go back and report for punishment. Tell them I sent you."

"And as for that kid from the Yan Family, if you pull any more of these stunts, don't blame me for being merciless."

The two Law Enforcement Hall Disciples expressed their gratitude profusely and fled in a panic.

Yan Jingyun could only leave resentfully. As he left, his gaze toward Ye Fan was murderous, and his lips seemed to mouth some words.

"Useless parasite."

Ye Fan chose to ignore him directly and even moved closer to Murong Wan, looking as if to say, "What are you going to do about it?" This nearly made Yan Jingyun spit blood in anger.

Seeing that all the irrelevant people had gone, Tie Wuqing finally spoke to Ye Fan.

"And you, kid, settle down. You're the one selling those spring palace pictures lately, aren't you?"

Ye Fan gave an awkward smile, and seeing Murong Wan's face turn ashen, it was clear she had already heard about this.

"This... shouldn't be against the Sect rules, right?" Ye Fan said, scratching his head.

"Hmph, not violating the rules doesn't mean there are no taboos. Do you understand?!"

"Yes, I understand. Oh, by the way, I have a batch of limited edition items here. Keeping them might lead to mistakes, so why don't I hand them over to Elder Tie for destruction?"

With a pained expression, Ye Fan took out a deluxe edition he had poured his heart and soul into creating.

These were no ordinary spring palace pictures; they were a new product Ye Fan had recently developed.

As long as spiritual energy was injected, those lifelike drawings could actually move!

He had intended to keep them to hype up the price, but now it seemed there was a better use for them.

As expected, Elder Tie's expression darkened as he questioned if Ye Fan was trying to bribe him.

"Elder Tie, you wrong me! I can swear to the heavens that I have no intention of bribing you. These items are contraband, and I wouldn't dare keep them for myself."

Seeing Ye Fan's earnest manner, Elder Tie finally accepted the items, planning to destroy them once he returned.

"Hmph, be careful in the future. If you fall into my hands again, you'll see... Strange... why has the weather suddenly turned so hot?"

Elder Tie left on his clouds, talking to himself, but Ye Fan wore a worried expression and couldn't help but ask if Elder Tie had a Dao Companion.

"He... probably has one."

Recalling the ten miles of land in the back mountain that had been uprooted by wild boars, Lin Lei suddenly had a bad premonition.

Having barely survived this unexpected disaster, before Ye Fan could even breathe a sigh of relief, he felt a wave of icy chill coming from behind him.

"What's this about selling spring palace pictures?!"