94: Chapter 94 Retribution

In a resting room within the Eastern Depot's prison.

Tan Tian saw Little Red Leaf. After a brief greeting, he went straight to the point: "Red Leaf, this governor asks you, do you know of the Liu Ren Divine Dice?"

Little Red Leaf pondered for a moment, then replied while fanning himself with a feather fan: "Of course I know of it. The Liu Ren Divine Dice is a legendary artifact. It is said to contain the supreme Mind-Cultivation Technique of Yihua Palace's Wedding Dress Divine Skill, the 'Transferring Flowers and Grafting Trees'. However, it was lost long ago, and its whereabouts remain unknown to this day."

Tan Tian slightly furrowed his brow and asked directly: "Then, do you know if the Liu Ren Divine Dice can be destroyed?"

Little Red Leaf was taken aback.

After a moment, he answered: "I'm not certain about that either. The Red Leaf Pavilion has only been established for a few decades, while the Liu Ren Divine Dice was lost a century ago. Regarding this legendary artifact, I have only heard of it, never seen it. I cannot determine whether it can be destroyed or not."

Tan Tian was somewhat dissatisfied with this answer, but he also knew it was the truth.

Thus, he changed his question: "Then, have you ever heard of someone losing their memory after suffering a Qi Deviation while practicing Martial Arts?"

Little Red Leaf shook his head: "I have never heard of such a thing."

"Has Jiang Biehe sought you out recently?" Tan Tian asked again.

Little Red Leaf felt a chill in his heart but answered without hesitation: "He did, not long ago when I went to preside over the Poison King Heroes Gathering."

"What did he want from you?"

"He... suffered a Qi Deviation while practicing Martial Arts." Little Red Leaf hesitated briefly before choosing to answer truthfully.

He then briefly recounted the incident.

After listening, Tan Tian closed his eyes and thought for a while, then waved his hand to dismiss Little Red Leaf.

Immediately after, he walked to another torture chamber. Inside were Jiang Dan, Jiang Biehe's trusted Disciple, and the other Disciples and servants of Jiang Manor.

"How is the situation?" Tan Tian asked the eunuchs responsible for interrogation and record-keeping.

Several eunuchs respectfully replied: "Reporting to the director, they have all confessed."

With that, they presented the confession statements.

Tan Tian took them and examined them carefully. He found that the situation largely matched what Jiang Biehe had said, but it was limited to the acquisition of the Liu Ren Divine Dice and the fact that he had indeed suffered a Qi Deviation from practicing Martial Arts not long ago. Regarding subsequent matters, such as whether Jiang Biehe had destroyed the dice or whether the Secret Manual of the divine skill inside still existed, there were no conclusive results.

Helplessly, Tan Tian had no choice but to return to the torture chamber where Jiang Biehe was being interrogated.

"Jiang Biehe, this governor gives you one last chance. Speak! Where have you hidden the Liu Ren Divine Dice?!"

Jiang Biehe replied weakly: "director Tan, I have already said, the Martial Arts inside had a problem. After my Qi Deviation, I was furious and destroyed it. This is the truth. Even if you ask a hundred more times, the answer will be the same."

"What about the content of the divine skill inside?"

"After my Qi Deviation, I lost my memory. I've forgotten it."

"Impossible! Suffering a Qi Deviation from practicing Martial Arts simply does not cause memory loss."

"That's for ordinary Martial Arts. The Martial Arts inside the Liu Ren Divine Dice are special. After I encountered problems while practicing, I forgot the contents."

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Though he shouted 'impossible,' Tan Tian inwardly lacked confidence.

This was because no one had ever practiced Transferring Flowers and Grafting Trees. Who knew if it could truly have such an effect? Moreover, he understood Jiang Biehe and knew the man was a coward. Having endured all the non-lethal tortures the Eastern Depot had to offer and still sticking to this story, it was most likely true.

But Tan Tian was unwilling to accept it!

Having finally seen a glimmer of hope, only for it to be extinguished immediately—how could he give up before reaching the Yellow River?

Just then, Say Earth, who was responsible for searching the manor, arrived.

"What's the situation?" Tan Tian asked as they walked outside.

Say Earth cupped his hands and replied: "Reporting to the director, we have dug three feet deep throughout the entire Jiang Manor. We found nothing."

"Could it really have been destroyed? Damn it!"

Seeing this, Say Earth cautiously suggested: "director, is it possible he gave the Liu Ren Divine Dice to someone else?"

Tan Tian shook his head: "Impossible. How important is the Liu Ren Divine Dice? Jiang Biehe wiped out the entire Tu family to obtain it. Even if he encountered problems practicing later, with his selfish and self-serving nature, he would never give it to someone else."

"What if it was his daughter?"

Tan Tian laughed: "Daughter?"

"After his Qi Deviation, in order to transfer the poison, he first set a trap for his illegitimate younger daughter, Jiang Yuyan. After failing, he targeted his elder daughter, Jiang Yu Feng. Madam Jiang Liu was killed by him because of this. During this, he had a momentary pang of conscience, which is why he didn't kill Jiang Yu Feng."

"But later, Jiang Yu Feng ran away. To keep the secret, he resolutely tried to kill her."

"To such a man, his daughters are almost no different from ordinary people."

After his sarcastic remarks, Tan Tian changed his tone: "However, regarding the matter of the Liu Ren Divine Dice, it's better to kill by mistake than to let go."

"Immediately dispatch people to track down Jiang Yu Feng's whereabouts. Once found, capture her and bring her back."

Say Earth showed hesitation: "director, from what I know, that Jiang Yu Feng is a Disciple of the Divine Nun of the South Sea. Not only is the Divine Nun of the South Sea profoundly skilled in Martial Arts, even the former director Liu Xi was quite wary of her. Moreover, her other two Disciples are from the Murong Family. The eldest Disciple, Murong Shu, is the imperial consort of the current dynasty."

"If word of this gets out, it might be difficult to handle."

Tan Tian's expression froze.

The Divine Nun of the South Sea, the Murong Family, Consort Shu?

Among these, the identities of the Murong Family and the imperial consort were somewhat manageable. He controlled the Eastern Depot and had the backing of a prince, so he wasn't much inferior.

But Martial Arts prowess was a hard deficiency.

If the Divine Nun of the South Sea could make Liu Xi wary, he was naturally no match for her.

If he provoked her into appearing, he feared he might end up assassinated like Liu Xi.

Yet, precisely because of this, Tan Tian grew even more furious and desperate to obtain the divine skill.

Therefore, he said through gritted teeth: "What's difficult to handle? this governor will bear all consequences. You just carry out your orders."

"Yes," Say Earth acknowledged, then asked further: "What about his younger daughter, Jiang Yuyan?"

Tan Tian replied: "His younger daughter, Jiang Yuyan, is his illegitimate daughter who was living outside. She went to him to acknowledge kinship but failed. She likely knows nothing. Don't waste manpower."

There was another reason he didn't mention: Jiang Yuyan was Meng Li's concubine.

According to Jiang Biehe and the people of Jiang Manor, Meng Li had stood up for her, showing he valued her considerably.

And Meng Li was not only highly skilled in Martial Arts himself but was also the son-in-law of the Mad Lion Tie Ruyun. Unless absolutely necessary, Tan Tian didn't want to provoke him. This was because both men possessed high Martial Arts, and also because, to avoid repeating past mistakes, Tan Tian had repeatedly analyzed the incident of Liu Xi's assassination. He suspected the mysterious assassin might be related to the five yang experts.

The possibility of a connection with Tie Ruyun was greater than with Li Gao.

That mysterious assassin was someone who had even 'taken care of' Liu Xi—a true, martial law-breaking harbinger of doom.

He didn't want to provoke that person into appearing.

Hearing this, Say Earth cupped his hands to accept the order and prepared to carry out his tasks.

But Tan Tian stopped him: "Wait. Take Jiang Biehe with you. Hang him at Jiang Manor and see if we can lure Jiang Yu Feng out."

After saying this, remembering Jiang Biehe's concealment of the Liu Ren Divine Dice, anger and hatred surged in his heart. He added: "Also, have people spread the word about how he betrayed his master for glory back then, and how he killed his wife and tried to kill his daughter for the sake of practicing Martial Arts. A mere lackey dares to deceive his master? this governor wants him utterly disgraced and despised by all!"

...