Chapter 37: Hall of Punishment

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“He Qingge, you’ve been exposed. Come to the Hall of Punishment.”

While He Qingge was cultivating hard, a group of people suddenly came in front of him with a token in their hands.

He recognized it at a glance. It was indeed the token of the Hall of Punishment.

The purple clothes they wore were also different from the other disciples.

“What is it?” He Qingge was confused.

After returning to the sect, other than the initial dismissal of his position as the manager of the Spirit Beast Garden, which was a little disgusting, he had spent the rest of his time peacefully.

“A sect disciple has filed a complaint about you killing his spirit pet. Now, we need you to go back with us to cooperate with the investigation.”

Zheng Xiaoling from the Hall of Punishment had a cold and stern expression on her face. She looked rather valiant, and her purple clothes made her look very capable.

Her temperament was quite outstanding and cold, but her figure was ordinary.

“Who filed the complaint? What evidence do you have that I killed their spirit pet?”

When He Qingge heard this, he was not anxious at all.

The mission at that time had greatly improved his temperament. He was calm.

Zheng Xiaoling said, “He said that he found the bloody feathers of his spirit beast, the Tissot bird, at the entrance of the Spirit Beast Garden where you used to work.”

He Qingge chuckled. “What a joke. Whatever he says goes, huh? Should I go to his room and spit out a few mouthfuls of blood before filing a complaint against him for beating me up?”

Zheng Xiaoling frowned. Seeing He Qingge’s relaxed expression, she hesitated for a moment.

Could it be that the person who filed a complaint against him had lied?

However, she still tried to sound him out with a threatening tone. “Do you know that the sect’s array formation has a recording function? If you really don’t admit it, you’ll be guilty of even more crimes if you’re found out.”

He Qingge was not intimidated at all. Instead, he continued the conversation calmly. He was indeed a little surprised that the sect’s array had a recording function.

“I want to ask why his spirit pet, the Tissot bird, appeared outside the Spirit Beast Garden. As the owner of the spirit pet, shouldn’t he be with his spirit pet at that time?

“As the owner of a spirit pet, doesn’t he know that Tian Xuan Sect doesn’t allow us to raise spirit pets wantonly in case they hurt other disciples?

“I heard you say that he found blood-stained feathers outside the Spirit Beast Garden. That means that he wasn’t with his spirit pet at that time. Isn’t that a violation of the sect’s rules?”

Zheng Xiaoling did not know what was going on, but she suddenly felt like her intelligence had been reduced.

Why did she think of such a simple logic back then?

At the same time, she was surprised by He Qingge’s reaction.

Ordinary sect disciples, especially servant disciples, would usually be trembling in fear when someone from the Hall of Punishment came knocking on their door. They would obediently follow them to the Hall of Punishment.

There were also people like He Qingge who dared to refuse.

“How about this? You come with me first. The two of you will face each other in the hall,” Zheng Xiaoling said.

He Qingge nodded and followed behind her. He did not reject her again. She did not expect him to be so easy to talk to.

In the past, the members of the Hall of Punishment were basically high and mighty. It was rare to see such people.

Soon, they arrived at the Hall of Punishment and saw an old man in his 60s or 70s. His cheeks were still suffused with a faint red light, and he looked like he had taken good care of himself.

He looked like he was in his 60s or 70s, which meant that he was definitely much older than that. He might not be far from death.

“Now that the two of you are confronting each other, who is the one who lied?” Zheng Xiaoling sat in the main seat of the hall with a cold expression.

“Sir, I really didn’t lie,” Zhang Jiusui said immediately.

“Then tell him what happened again in front of him,” Zheng Xiaoling said.

Zhang Jiusui glanced at He Qingge and said unwillingly.

“I was raising a spirit pet, the Tissot bird. It had accompanied me for 60 to 70 years. It can be said that it had accompanied me for my entire life. I treated it better than my son. Now, it’s actually dead. It’s…”

“Don’t say so much nonsense. Say the main content.” Zheng Xiaoling coldly interrupted Zhang Jiusui’s emotional speech.

Zhang Jiusui nodded.

“The environment of the Imperial Beast Peak is quite suitable for the growth of spirit pets. I bring the Tissot bird to the Imperial Beast Peak every day.

“But that day, I accidentally brought the Tissot bird to the entrance of the Spirit Beast Garden. I suddenly had something urgent to attend to, so I left first. When I returned, the Tissot bird had already disappeared, leaving only a few feathers stained with blood on the ground.

“But there was only one person near the Spirit Beast Garden, and that person is you, He Qingge. Why are you still trying to deny it?”

Zhang Jiusui pointed at He Qingge with his withered hand, his face full of anger. He wished he could eat him up on the spot.

He Qingge laughed after hearing that.

“What’s wrong with what he said?” Zheng Xiaoling asked.

“First of all, you’re actually not from the Imperial Beast Peak!

“You go to the Imperial Beast Peak every day. You have to pay the toll, right? It looks like you’re quite wealthy and don’t care about this at all. You’re really rich!

“The second point is that unrelated people are prohibited from wandering around the Spirit Beast Garden. Why were you unimpeded?

“Third, you left your spirit pet alone. Weren’t you afraid that it would hurt the disciples of the sect? At the same time, that has violated the sect’s management rules.

“Fourth, what’s the strength of your spirit pet? It’s a flying bird. I can’t even fly now.”

He Qingge retorted bit by bit, but he never said that he did not kill the bird.

When he killed that stupid bird, he did not leave any traces behind.

He used Berating, which shocked the opponent’s mind. When it fell from the tree, he used the steel needle to poison him. There was not a trace of blood left behind, let alone blood-stained feathers.

He only pointed out the illogical nature of the other party’s words while still leaving himself a way out.

“This, this, this…” Zhang Jiusui was a little hesitant.

He really wanted to tear He Qingge apart. He was sure that his spirit pet had been killed by He Qingge.

However, what he had done was not honorable either. The Tissot bird had been monitoring He Qingge. If this was exposed, he would definitely be severely punished.

However, if he only brought up looking at the records of the day the Tissot bird died, it would not affect him much.

He also concealed the fact that he had released the Tissot bird.

“I want to request to look through the sect’s array records.” Zhang Jiusui could only be stubborn.

Zheng Xiaoling looked at Zhang Jiusui’s and He Qingge’s expressions and knew that there must be something dirty going on.

What did this have to do with her?

He Qingge asked first, “It’s true that you can apply for the sect’s array records, but before that, don’t we need to punish those who’ve violated the sect’s rules?

“Not guarding your spirit pet well is in itself a violation of the sect’s rules.”

Zheng Xiaoling nodded. “That’s true. Zhang Jiusui violated the sect’s spirit pet control rules, but it didn’t cause any serious impact. It didn’t endanger the safety of the disciples, so he can be given a lighter punishment.

“According to the sect’s rules, you’ll have to pay a fine of 300 spirit coins.”

As soon as Zheng Xiaoling finished speaking, Zhang Jiusui pulled a long face, and the wrinkles on his cheeks trembled.

His heart was bleeding!

300 spirit coins were enough for him to cultivate for a long time.

He had no choice. He was being forced now. Moreover, he did not want He Qingge to have an easy time. His spirit pet had died in He Qingge’s hands.

The spirit pet that he had spent so much effort on and which had accompanied him for half his life died just like that.