Lu Shirong disdained arguing with He Zhan and watched the struggling killer coldly, sneering. “In this state, how do you expect him to talk?”
Chu Yi soon explained how to make an uncooperative person speak. He took out a sheet of talisman paper inscribed with a strange pattern and infused it with spiritual power onto the killer’s forehead. The killer’s struggles quickly subsided, and his eyes became dazed.
“Alright, ask away.” Chu Yi gestured to Li Sheng. “Whatever you ask now, he’ll tell you. Guaranteed to answer everything.”
Li Sheng was somewhat astonished. He had someone remove the muzzle and probed, “What is your name? Where are you from? What do you do?”
“Wang Liben… killer.”
Lu Shirong’s expression changed abruptly at this, looking at Chu Yi with shock and suspicion. “You’re a Xuan Arts Master. What did you do to him?”
Chu Yi said calmly, “Just a Truth-Seeking Talisman used with spiritual power. Though… the side effects are a bit troublesome.”
He looked slightly troubled.
“What side effects?” He Zhan promptly asked, as if on cue.
Chu Yi scratched his cheek. “After using this Truth-Seeking Talisman, he’ll echo whatever anyone asks him for a long time, no matter who asks.”
“Wow, so from his ancestors eighteen generations back to what color underwear he wore today, he’ll spill it all?” He Zhan’s tone was gleeful with schadenfreude, his little glances at Lu Shirong loaded with implication.
“Mm… pretty much, yeah.”
Li Sheng, who had been interrogating the killer while eavesdropping, brightened at this. One of his staffers couldn’t help laughing out loud.
Director Wu had repeatedly stressed to treat Master Chu carefully, and they hadn’t fully believed it. Fortunately, their boss Li was prudent and modest, or they wouldn’t have witnessed such a powerful technique!
Lu Shirong’s face turned ashen. “Enough!”
“I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. But I really didn’t send anyone after He Zhan. At most, when I learned Xiao Yongzhe had paid people to intimidate him, I just let it slide.”
“Uncle Lu?” Xiao Yongzhe, huddled nearby, looked up in disbelief at this sudden revelation.
He had really thought Uncle Lu was angry, but he had known all along?
Lu Shirong glanced at him and uncomfortably looked away. “I didn’t know before, but the person monitoring He Zhan reported back that He Zhan received a dead rat, so I guessed you might have designs on Changzhou…”
Otherwise, he would have kicked Xiao Yongzhe out long ago. He wasn’t even satisfied with He Zhan from an entertainment family background—how could he tolerate Xiao Yongzhe, whose birth father was unknown, eyeing his son?
“If not you, then who?” He Zhan didn’t buy it.
“You…” Believe it or not!
Lu Shirong had already lost face explaining so much and admitting he had turned a blind eye to Xiao Yongzhe’s actions. He nearly flew into a rage but, wary of Chu Yi who had come with He Zhan, didn’t dare push too hard.
“That’s all I know. The killer wasn’t hired by me. You can check all my recent financial transactions.”
By then, Li Sheng had finished questioning. The killer truly didn’t know Lu Shirong. But as a low-level executor, it wasn’t surprising he didn’t know the employer; his contact was someone else.
However, he revealed the method to contact his superior and gave Li Sheng the location of an organization meetup for underlings.
Li Sheng returned excited, rubbing his hands, eyes sparkling at Chu Yi. “Master…”
Chu Yi knew what he wanted. “Alright, I’ll give the Truth-Seeking Talisman to Wu He later. You can get it from him then.”
The side effects weren’t severe. As long as it wasn’t abused, for vicious types like Wang Liben who refused to confess, it was just a fitting punishment and saved the hardworking agents trouble.
“Sure, sure.” Li Sheng agreed happily and, at Chu Yi’s indication, had his men escort out the killer, Lu Shirong, Xiao Yongzhe, and the others.
“Hey…” He Zhan grew anxious. “Yi Ge, why let them go?”
Chu Yi glanced at him. “If I guessed right, Lu Shirong is too proud to stoop to hiring killers like some lowlife thug.”
He had been misled by He Zhan too. When Lu Shirong made those threats, he must have been furious at He Zhan and Lu Changzhou, resorting to intimidation—not unusual for someone of his status who wielded power to pressure others.
Besides, being face-conscious, he even wanted to hide his son’s same-sex preferences. How could he openly hire killers?
If not cornered, he certainly wouldn’t admit knowing about Xiao Yongzhe’s deeds…
He Zhan thought it over and agreed. “If Uncle Lu isn’t behind it, then who is?”
Chu Yi: “That you have to tell me. Who else have you offended?”
“No one. I’m in the film crew shooting year-round. Aside from occasionally snagging roles I like or bumping someone from a gig…” He Zhan tugged his lips awkwardly. “Stuff like that is common in the industry. No need to hate me enough to kill over it, right?”
Really…
Chu Yi: “Not necessarily. ‘Stealing one’s rice bowl is like killing one’s parents’—haven’t you heard that saying?”
He Zhan: “…” Then there were plenty who wanted revenge!
