Lu Ziming slowly turned around, looking at the cloaked figures. "Are you sure? Nothing's been missed?"
His tone was somewhat unfriendly.
"We used the highest level of investigative techniques, combined with the True Eye spell of the Green Vine Society. There's no mistake." The leading cloaked figure understood his dissatisfaction and replied calmly, "His soul state is stable, his level is clear (Level Two). The only exception is the Lady of the Night's grace, but this actually rules out the possibility of him colluding with the Mist Walker." "
I will report this to my superiors in official form. The target, Su Yu, is temporarily ruled out as a suspect."
Lu Ziming was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.
The cloaked figures vanished silently into the shadows of the office, as if they had never been there.
Inside the office, only Lu Ziming remained.
He walked to his desk, picked up the elite member registration form that Su Yu had just filled out, looked at the two words "Su Yu" on it, and let out an almost inaudible sigh.
At the same time the cloaked figures left, outside the office building...
Su Yu and Cheng Shenxing walked side by side on the snow-covered path, heading towards the academy.
"Su Yu, congratulations on becoming an elite member of the academy." Cheng Shenxing said with some satisfaction, "This is an honor that many people dream of."
Su Yu smiled, "I also want to thank Uncle Cheng for his recommendation and the academy's recognition."
He changed the subject, seemingly casually asking, "By the way, Uncle Cheng, Qiaoqiao... didn't she come back to the academy with you this time?"
Mentioning his daughter, Cheng Shenxing's face showed a smile, "Yes, Qiaoqiao... she's not coming back to the academy for the time being. Tranquil Forest really values her; she'll probably be back in a while."
"I see." Su Yu nodded, not asking any further questions.
"The elite member-only dormitory the academy has assigned you is still being prepared. You can go home for the night, or go to the academy's guesthouse," Cheng Shenxing said. "Tomorrow I'll take you to collect your stipend and voucher, and familiarize you with your permissions."
"No need to trouble Uncle Cheng," Su Yu shook his head. "I can collect the stipend and voucher myself; just tell me where. I want to go to the library first to look up some information."
"That's fine!" The two parted ways, and Su Yu's smile faded as he watched Cheng Shenxing leave.
Did Cheng Shenxing know about the investigation in the office?
Perhaps they were unaware.
Perhaps they were aware but prioritized the organization and the overall situation.
Su Yu didn't intend to dwell on it, only feeling even more certain that his judgment was entirely correct.
"Daily interactions are perfectly acceptable."
"When it comes to the organization and the overall situation, they cannot be trusted at all."
"That's all."
Blue Moon City
slowly awoke in the soft light of dawn.
Inside an inconspicuous yet heavily guarded stone building in the city's administrative center, the atmosphere was heavy, and people hurried about.
This was the temporary headquarters of the special task force responsible for the assassination of Earl Carlton and the investigation into the whereabouts of the evil god.
The air was filled with the scent of paper, ink, and some magical detection.
At one end of an oak table, a middle-aged man in a dark gray robe with a badge on his chest was reviewing a report that had just been delivered through encrypted magical communication channels with a slight frown.
He was the head of this special task force, the supervisor and leader from Congress—Sir Qin Chen.
The report contained the results of the soul test on the suspect, Su Yu.
"Soul test...no abnormalities."
It's a pity, this marriage isn't suitable." Qin Chen shook his head. Although
France
and Ying Kingdom are outwardly at peace, their underlying competition and wariness have never ceased.
Most importantly, Lin Pengpeng is the Duchess of Loire, and her "dowry" is the entire Duchy of Loire.
This involves significant changes to territory; let alone the Crown Prince of Ying, no nobleman or heir with a title would marry her.
Perhaps her second or third son could become her son-in-law.
Another possibility is that she becomes his mistress, but even the Crown Prince wouldn't allow the Duchess of Loire to become his mistress; this is already a consensus within Parliament.
Princess Lin Pengpeng is also completely out of the question; her actions are exceptionally clear.
"She clearly wants to marry Su Yu, which is why she's so eager to get him a title," Qin Chen discerned the deeper meaning.
A young man without a distinguished background, no matter how talented, will find it difficult to truly establish himself in a noble society that values lineage and heritage without a title, let alone be matched with a princess and become her future support and assistance.
Princess Lin Pengpeng is paving the way for Su Yu, using a baronial title to open the door to the noble class for him.
Or rather, fulfilling the most basic requirement of being chosen as a husband.
"And Her Majesty the Queen and His Highness the Prince, in order to cool down the Crown Prince, have both tacitly approved or even given the green light..."
This is the most crucial point.
Qin Chen knows that even if royal power is no longer absolute, the Queen's attitude is still a weathervane.
Since the Queen and the Prince have shown tacit approval or even encouragement, it would be unwise for him, as the special project leader sent by the Parliament, to forcibly obstruct without any evidence, and it might even backfire.
"Without solid suspicion, forcibly detaining or obstructing will only give others cause for criticism, and might even be interpreted as disrespect for the royal family."
Thinking of this, Qin Chen no longer hesitated.
He picked up a quill pen, dipped it in ink, found the name "Su Yu" on the suspect list, and decisively drew a thick horizontal line to cross it off the list.
"Alright." He put down the pen, his tone carrying a hint of relief, but also a subtle premonition of the future, and said to the members present, "We may very well soon have another colleague. A baron who is only fifteen years old... Gentlemen, this is truly unheard of, extremely rare."
At the other end of Blue Moon City, in the western district
, stands the headquarters of the Mechanical Guild, a complex of buildings exuding power and metallic texture.
Towering chimneys, massive gear sculptures, and ubiquitous mechanical components all highlight the organization's unique character.
This is the cradle of Ying Kingdom's mechanical technology, a spiritual sanctuary for countless engineers, craftsmen, and magicians.
However, at this moment, this sacred place is shrouded in a low-pressure atmosphere.
Just now, an investigation team from Congress finished their work and was preparing to leave.
Leading them was a Congressional administrator, Sir Zou Xiuyan, who also held a knighthood—he and Qin Chen belonged to different departments of Congress and had no direct subordinate relationship.
He was slightly overweight, and always wore a professional, somewhat formulaic smile.
Inside the Mechanical Guild headquarters' president's office, Zou Xiuyan was speaking to Lu Pingyi, who today wore a simple gray work robe and looked impatient.
"Your Excellency, Grand Mage," Zou Xiuyan's voice was calm and devoid of much emotion, "After our detailed investigation and evidence gathering, the accusation that the Mechanical Guild colluded with the evil god currently... lacks conclusive evidence."
Hearing the words "lacking conclusive evidence," Lu Pingyi's tense facial lines seemed to relax slightly, but he showed no joy; instead, the coldness in his eyes intensified.
Zou Xiuyan seemed oblivious, continuing with his prepared statement.
"However," he changed his tone, becoming serious, "our investigation has revealed that the Mechanical Guild's recent actions, and some of the ideologies it promotes, exhibit overly extreme and radical tendencies. This tendency is detrimental to the stability and harmony of the kingdom and needs to be corrected and guided. The Parliament will closely monitor this."
These words were earnest, yet also a warning.
While the accusation of "colluding with the evil god" had been temporarily removed, the label of "extreme ideology" remained firmly attached, and the future would likely be anything but peaceful.
Zou Xiuyan didn't think he had gone too far. Perhaps "colluding with evil gods" wasn't necessarily true, but the idea of "purifying the world" and "only our Mechanical Guild can save the world" was truly shocking.
What was this? This was establishing an independent kingdom above the kingdom itself?
If it weren't for the Mechanical Guild, and if Lu Pingyi weren't a Grand Mage, they would have already smashed down with their iron fists. How could it have been so easy?
"Keep a close watch" was already the bare minimum response.
It was impossible to let it go unchecked.
Lu Pingyi knew this too, his face so dark it could drip water.
As a highly influential archmage of the kingdom and leader of the Mechanical Guild, how could he have ever suffered such humiliation?
Being questioned by the parliamentary investigation team, although no charges were ultimately substantiated, the feeling of being suspected and scrutinized made him very unhappy.
More importantly, many things would be difficult to do discreetly in the future.
"Closely monitor?"
Lu Pingyi sneered, his voice low: "Then, what about those rumors about the Mechanical Guild colluding with the evil god? Sir Zou, has your parliamentary investigation team traced the source?" What
he cared about most, besides clearing his name, was finding the person who spread these rumors.
To be able to stir up such a huge wave in Blue Moon City, pointing the finger directly at him and the Mechanical Guild, there must be someone manipulating things behind the scenes!
Sir Zou Xiuyan replied expressionlessly: "The rumors have been investigated. The preliminary judgment is that they spread spontaneously among the people, lacking clear signs of organization and planning."
"Spontaneously among the people?" Lu Pingyi's lips curled into a cold smile, full of disdain and sarcasm. He didn't believe
a word of this explanation ! He knew it was a rumor spread from Myron Island, and he even knew about the conflict between Kong Han and Su Yu, but could Su Yu really spread such a targeted rumor? He truly didn't believe it! Without a mastermind, without a promoter, without interested parties fanning the flames behind the scenes, how could such a rumor, enough to shake the foundations of the union, arise out of thin air and spread so quickly and widely? But he also knew that since the other party said this, they didn't intend to investigate further. He suppressed his anger and coldly changed the subject: "I heard that Earl Carlton was assassinated in the square? There seem to be traces of an evil god at the scene?" Zou Xiuyan nodded: "That's true. Sir Qin Chen's task force is investigating with all their might." "Oh?" Lu Pingyi's eyes flickered: "What about the murderer? Have you found any clues?" He didn't care about Earl Carlton's life or death; he was just a nobleman. But he was somewhat interested in the murderer and the so-called "traces of an evil god." Zou Xiuyan seemed prepared. He took a document from his briefcase and handed it over: "I've investigated. There were over thirty suspects, but according to the latest developments, several have been cleared of suspicion." Lu Pingyi took the document and quickly flipped through it. His fingers traced the paper, his gaze lingering on several crossed-out names. When he saw the name "Su Yu" and the red mark indicating "suspicion cleared," he scoffed. This young man was the one Kong Han had gone to discuss dealing with with Earl Carlton. They were all dead. Now the report says he's innocent? That seems too absurd. However, when his gaze swept over the explanation for clearing suspicion, his expression changed from mockery to hesitation. "Soul imprint detection... curse mark detection..." he muttered, his brow furrowed.
Lu Pingyi might act impulsively, but his expertise was profound.
Soul imprinting was a high-level, costly magical detection method in the kingdom, capable of deeply probing the essence of the soul, identifying whether it had been corrupted by an evil god, or whether there was any disguise or possession.
Bloodline curse marks, on the other hand, rose to the level of evil gods and deities.
Essentially, each bloodline had its own deity, and each bloodline possessed divine power; therefore, the curse of kinslaying was essentially a backlash from divine power.
The reason different families didn't have this curse was because they defended against each other.
However, the same family had no such defense.
Both could be considered divine-level methods.
Even as a grand mage, he couldn't change that. The fact
that the task force had used such a high-level detection method to investigate Su Yu clearly indicated they weren't just going through the motions.
"Could it be… really not him?" For the first time, Lu Pingyi's judgment wavered.
He had initially thought Su Yu was inextricably linked to Earl Carlton's death, perhaps even directly assassinated him, but now it seemed that wasn't the case.
"Distance can be overcome, with teleportation."
"Alibis can be created by altering memories and illusions."
"But without the curse of patricide, without the mark of an evil god, this..."
Using soul-detecting marks and curse imprints failed to uncover anything. Either Su Yu is truly innocent, or he's hiding too deeply, so deeply that even this level of detection could fool him—but is that possible?
Even he himself, if truly involved with an evil god, might not be able to hide it under soul detection.
Zou Xiuyan had been silently observing Lu Pingyi's expression. Seeing his unusual expression, he seized the opportunity to ask, "Grand Mage, what are your thoughts on the evil god that appeared at the scene of Earl Carlton's assassination?"
This question, seemingly a request for advice, was actually an attempt to drag Lu Pingyi into this mess.
Lu Pingyi abruptly raised his head, a cold glint in his eyes. His previous hesitation vanished, replaced by indifference and anger.
He slammed the document back to Zou Xiuyan, his tone laced with undisguised sarcasm: "Heh heh, Number 31... The Mist Walker... I wouldn't dare to get involved with someone of that level, nor do I want to."
Such a clear stance caused Zou Xiuyan's expression to change slightly.
Lu Pingyi sneered.
"Investigating my Mechanical Guild, leaving you utterly defeated and without any evidence, and now you want to probe my opinion on the evil god? Do you want my help to deal with the Mist Walker? You're really underestimating me, the Grand Mage!"
He, Lu Pingyi, was the president of the Mechanical Guild, the Kingdom's Grand Mage, not a servant casually ordered around by the Parliament.
Even the Parliament, representing the Kingdom's will, wouldn't dare to order him around like that.
Zou Xiuyan, having been rebuffed, couldn't say anything more.
He knew that his purpose for today had been largely achieved—he had demonstrated the Parliament's stance and tested Lu Pingyi's attitude. As for more, it couldn't be obtained in a simple conversation.
"In that case, we won't bother you any longer." Zou Xiuyan put away his documents, straightened his robes, and bowed slightly: "Grand Mage, we take our leave."
As the members of the Parliament's investigation team filed out, the office returned to silence.
Lu Pingyi leaned against the railing, gazing into the distance at a procession of carriages and horses gradually disappearing into the distance.
The special investigation team from Congress spent three whole weeks at the union headquarters, scrutinizing everything from workshop production records to the private notes of high-ranking magicians.
Lu Pingyi's lips curled into a cold smile, a mixture of mockery and helplessness.
The investigation team left, and on the surface, they found no substantial evidence. The union's accounts were clear, and the workshop's operations complied with the kingdom's laws.
But Lu Pingyi knew that once the seeds of suspicion were sown, they would take root and sprout.
This investigation was only the beginning.
"Chairman," a deep voice sounded.
Lu Pingyi didn't turn around; he knew the person was Chen Qingke, a council member and one of his most trusted assistants.
Chen Qingke was an experienced magician, his face always bearing a hint of weariness, the dark circles under his eyes a testament to his recent overwork.
"They're gone," Lu Pingyi said calmly.
"Yes, Chairman." Chen Qingke walked to his side, following his gaze. "On the surface, they maintained their courtesy, but I could sense that some of them had distrust in their eyes. This investigation has severely damaged our reputation."
Lu Pingyi slowly turned around, his gaze sweeping over Chen Qingke's slightly anxious face. "Just how significant is the impact?"
"It's bad, Chairman." Chen Qingke's voice deepened. "Several important business cooperation projects have been abruptly halted by investors, citing the need to wait for the situation to clarify."
"The quota for magical materials for the next quarter has also been suspended. In the workshops, some research and development involving core technologies has been halted due to the investigation. More importantly, morale... some young magic craftsmen have started gossiping about those rumors, and their morale has been affected."
Lu Pingyi was silent for a moment, a sharp glint flashing in his deep eyes. "Rumors are like a malignant tumor. But we cannot stop because of them. Chen Qingke, tell the heads of all departments that all core projects must resume normal progress within a week. As for those cowards who withdrew their investments and those hesitant politicians..."
He paused. "They will regret it. When the Ates Project succeeds, the whole world will tremble."
"Yes, Chairman!" Chen Qingke felt the determination in the chairman's tone, his unease lessened slightly, and he straightened his back in response.
Just then, a faint beeping sound came from a magical communicator.
Chen Qingke took out a small, brass device from his pocket, inlaid with a shimmering green crystal.
He listened intently for a moment, his expression changing slightly, before respectfully saying to Lu Pingyi, "President, news has arrived that Princess
Lin Pengpeng, Duchess of Loiret of France, has departed from Ibrahim Palace and is expected to arrive at the union headquarters within an hour."
"Lin Pengpeng?" Lu Pingyi raised an eyebrow, a flicker of surprise in his eyes before returning to calm. "...They're well-informed; their timing is perfect."
Chen Qingke was somewhat puzzled. "President, although we invited her, isn't this too much of a coincidence? The parliamentary investigation team just left, and the French princess is here. What is her purpose...?"
"In diplomatic terms, it might be to promote exchanges in magic and mechanical technology between the two countries," Lu Pingyi smiled faintly, a hint of understanding in his smile. "But their real purpose, I'm afraid, is the same as those who just left—to probe our capabilities. Fae and our country appear amicable on the surface, but the competition behind the scenes has never ceased. They're more interested in any new technologies than anyone else."
He paused, then added, "However, this coincidence also gives us an opportunity. An opportunity to show the outside world that everything is normal."
Chen Qingke immediately understood the guild leader's meaning: "You mean, let her tour the core magic puppet?"
"Exactly, the magic puppet is going to be unveiled anyway." Lu Pingyi nodded. "Since she represents the eyes of Fae, let's show her something worthwhile. Prepare a welcoming ceremony; it doesn't need to be too extravagant, just follow standard diplomatic protocol. Remember, we are the Mechanical Guild, not sycophantic courtiers."
"Understood!" Chen Qingke bowed again to accept the order, then turned and quickly left to make the arrangements.