Light Fortress

"Brother Nanfeng."

Yao Jin sat in his wheelchair, looked up, and said with a bright smile, "Nice to meet you, please take care of me..."

"Don’t call me that."

Gu Nanfeng frowned and replied, "Are we that familiar?"

With these words, many Holy Judges’ expressions turned unpleasant.

But Yao Jin’s demeanor remained unchanged, still smiling, "True, Lord Nanfeng. As I’ve clearly stated before... if the Gu Family Envoy insists on blocking, it’s deliberately shielding a criminal."

The hardest people to deal with in this world aren’t those who wear their emotions on their sleeves, the fierce ones that get angry at the slightest offense.

It’s people like Yao Jin.

Even after being slapped, he still retains his smile.

"Let them in."

Gu Nanfeng turned around and ordered the Night Watchman beyond the line of vigilance, so the Gu Family Envoy no longer blocked them...

Yao Jin, leading the Holy Judges, slowly crossed the line of vigilance.

Yao Jin wheeled himself to Gu Nanfeng’s side, and with a calm demeanor, he introduced, "Lord Nanfeng, you may not have heard of my name, my surname is Yao..."

"Yao Jin."

Gu Nanfeng glanced at the man in the wheelchair and said calmly, "I know your name."

"Oh?" Yao Jin feigned surprise.

"The Secret Dungeon Master of Light City, though you’re hidden in the shadows, there are traces to be found."

Gu Nanfeng said, "Light City has cultivated many who can’t see the light of day... you’re the most outstanding apart from ’Su Ye’."

"Lord Nanfeng falsely praises me."

Yao Jin smiled and said, "You seem very interested in the ’Secret Dungeon’, enough to proactively discover my identity, and that’s no easy task."

The secrets within Light City are never shared externally.

By saying this, Gu Nanfeng was essentially telling Yao Jin that the Gu Family had ears in the West Continent as well.

But this is quite normal.

Now that the Five Continents are linked by [Deep Sea], in terms of infiltration, no one can completely avoid it.

Gu Nanfeng knew what Yao Jin wanted to say, trying to shift the topic from the Secret Dungeon to Meng Xizhou.

He responded indifferently, "So the ’serious offender’ you’re investigating this time is also someone imprisoned in the Secret Dungeon?"

"Not quite yet."

Yao Jin softly laughed and said, "But after capturing and taking them back this time, they will be imprisoned in the Secret Dungeon. This person attempted to assassinate a core temple member, which is extremely malicious and unforgivable. According to the law of light, after being imprisoned in the Secret Dungeon, there are many punishments waiting for them..."

At this moment, Luo Yu spoke up.

"Lord Yao, are you certain the ’criminal’ you want to capture is among the Gu Family Envoy?"

Fatty Luo sneered, "Don’t tell us in the end that it’s just a misunderstanding. The envoy just arrived at the port, and you come with the Holy Judges to put on a show. Are you not considering the Gu Family’s face here?"

"..."

Yao Jin squinted his eyes at this troublesome guy.

He originally didn’t want to escalate the situation, but now that Luo Yu had stirred up the conflict, he couldn’t avoid responding.

"As I said before, the Holy Judges never make erroneous investigations."

Yao Jin said coolly, "If I’m wrong, I’ll personally apologize to the Young Master Gu. But if I’m not?"

"Since the Gu Family Envoy docked, it’s been under strict watch with no outsiders entering, much less a criminal."

Luo Yu said, "For you to enter here under the temple’s name shows the Young Master’s great compassion. Where’s the evidence for capturing the criminal?"

"Look at... this artifact."

Yao Jin laughed softly upon hearing that. He raised his hand and brought out a thick woven bamboo scroll.

"Upper City has the [Cloud Mirror], and the temple has a similar means called the [Light Mirror]."

Gu Nanfeng glanced at it and replied faintly, "[Light Mirror] can track specific auras. It seems Lord Yao... marked the criminal in advance?"

As Yao Jin released his hand,

the bamboo scroll floated in the air.

"Correct."

He smiled and said, "Young Master Gu, as the rumors say, you’re well-acquainted with the affairs of Light City. I’m sure the news about the [Light Mirror] was also told to you by Lady Divine, right?"

"..."

Gu Nanfeng’s gaze turned much colder.

The reason he knew Yao Jin was because Meng Xizhou had been missing for years. He sent people to investigate several times but hit a wall each time, getting no news.

The so-called service of the Divine Throne was simply a lie!

He could only think of one possibility... Meng Xizhou was imprisoned in the Secret Dungeon by the Light Temple!

"Alright, back to the current case."

Yao Jin’s fingertip lightly touched the bamboo scroll, emitting a pleasant, crisp sound, like a mountain spring, as he leisurely said, "Last night, I tracked the criminal for thousands of miles, using the [Light Mirror] to identify the aura. This aura fled south from Light City, eventually entering Gent, and then the Gu Family Envoy, where it gradually stopped."

Luo Yu coldly commented, "So you suspect the envoy is hiding someone?"

"Sorry, I never said that..."

Yao Jin chuckled, "I’m merely worried this person poses a threat to the envoy. Lord Luo, you don’t want the Gu Family to be attacked by a criminal, do you?"

Luo Yu was momentarily speechless.

He could only glare at the guy in the wheelchair.

Seconds later, Gu Nanfeng spoke to break the silence, "So, where’s the criminal."

After throwing out such a simple sentence.

The smile on Yao Jin’s face slowly faded.

He looked incredulously at the [Light Mirror] in front of him... just now, the bamboo scroll clearly had guidance, but at this moment, the guidance sense from the [Light Mirror] suddenly disappeared!

The spiritual radiance on the bamboo slip no longer shines, it has dimmed!

Generally, when this happens, there are only two possibilities.

Either, the identifier has died.

Or, the identifier has been erased.

"Huh? Why isn’t the Light Mirror shining anymore?"

The previously silent Luo Yu came up at this moment, circled around the wheelchair, and remarked: "There was a light spot just now, how did it suddenly disappear? Lord Yao, is this the legendary temple technique that rivals the Cloud Mirror?"

"???"

Veins appeared on Yao Jin’s forehead.

How could such an absurd thing happen at such a critical moment!

He raised his hand to summon the bamboo slip back in front of him, tapping his fingers gently as a test.

Two crisp sounds were heard. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

The bamboo slip remained silent, the light spot did not appear.

"Maybe... there’s some malfunction."

Yao Jin’s expression was extremely ugly.

He calculated every possible reaction of the Gu family, but did not expect such a bizarre incident... the Light Mirror just didn’t respond!

"Lord Yao, what were you saying just now?"

Luo Yu’s expression changed, he suppressed his smile and asked very seriously: "You said there was a malfunction with the temple’s Light Mirror... Can such a device used in criminal investigation malfunction? Was it malfunctioning today, or has it been malfunctioning for a while? It couldn’t have just malfunctioned right after boarding the Gu Family’s ship, could it?"

Yao Jin was suddenly speechless.

Luo Yu said softly: "Or are you just toying with the Gu Family Envoy?"

"Absolutely no such intention."

Yao Jin took a deep breath and said: "Young Master Gu, my people have already boarded the ship, and I hope I can conduct a thorough search today... The killer must be hiding on this ship."

Luo Yu said angrily: "What do you mean, do you really think the Gu family is hiding people?"

"..."

There was anger in Yao Jin’s chest too, but he had nowhere to vent it.

Although he was the host, being ordered to hunt someone down has already crossed the line at this point.

He must take action now.

"I can let you search."

Gu Nanfeng spoke softly, "But what if you find nothing?"

"As promised, I will personally apologize to you!"

Yao Jin raised his head, but his words were interrupted halfway through.

"What... do you think you are?"

Gu Nanfeng looked at the young man in front of him expressionlessly, and while Yao Jin was investigating the East Continent, he was also investigating Yao Jin.

Because he had seen too many files.

So Gu Nanfeng knew what kind of hypocritical face was hidden beneath the smiling face of the man in front of him.

The one in charge of the Secret Dungeon, detaining Meng Xizhou!

Just for this... this person cannot be easily forgiven!

Every word by Gu Nanfeng was light, but each word pierced the heart: "Does the temple hierarchy even have a place for you? Su Ye is at least a Saint Heir, but what are you, at best a dog guarding the Secret Dungeon, if you bite me, is the way to handle it to bite you back?"

Yao Jin, already pale, grew even paler.

He could not refute these words.

Because Gu Nanfeng... was completely correct.

"From start to finish, you don’t even deserve a second glance from me."

"Letting you into this place is in honor of the temple."

"Today I allow you to thoroughly search this great ship, if you find the criminal, even if the Gu family is accused of inciting chaos in the West Continent... we will have no objections."

"But if you find nothing, I want the Temple Grand Elder to apologize to me in person."

Gu Nanfeng looked at Yao Jin, speaking slowly and deliberately: "When a dog makes a mistake, naturally the master should be punished. Yao Jin, am I clear enough?"

As these words landed.

The entire great ship fell silent, the Gu Family Night Watchmen had never seen Young Master so angry.

Even the Holy Judges were silent.

Although they believed in the Light, Gu Nanfeng’s power quelled the entire great ship, they knew very well that this was a search without evidence.

If they act rashly, it is very likely to bring trouble to the temple.

"...Should I take the gamble?"

Yao Jin clutched the Light Mirror tightly, with a voice echoing in his heart.

After deep breaths.

Yao Jin’s chaotic mind gradually calmed down.

At this moment.

He chose to believe in his judgment.

The assassin from last night had been shot by the Red Phoenix Crossbow and fled in panic all night, now must be extremely weak!

Even if the Light Mirror malfunctioned and the marker disappeared, from this starting point, he could still find the "target"!

Even if the Gu family was ruthless, choosing to deal with the one marked by the Light Mirror... but if he arrived timely and started a search now, traces of the body could definitely be found!

"Sorry, I must search the Gu Family Envoy today..."

Yao Jin’s eyes turned cold, and his voice gradually changed from trembling to calm: "I am willing to take responsibility for my actions, please let me pass, Young Master Gu!"