Chapter 156: Chapter 156: 156: Divine Eye (First update to celebrate Popsicle 5/5)

Lang Zhen was somewhat surprised by Feng Jun’s instructions, while Tian Yangni was first stunned and then his face showed ecstasy, “Divine Doctor, are you planning to… personally interrogate them?”

He was so excited that he could finally witness it, the legendary methods of an Immortal~

Feng Jun gave him an indifferent glance, “I am going to cultivate in my room. After you bring them in, remember to keep quiet.”

Tian Yangni was taken aback: No way, you’re not going to look them over yourself?

Lang Zhen’s thoughts, however, were quite simple, “So these hundred people will just stand in the courtyard? Can they use umbrellas?”

The rain had been falling for a day and a night, and the temperature had dropped considerably, as it was already deep autumn.

Feng Jun looked at him and nodded slightly, “They must stand upright, no umbrellas are allowed, and if they are men, it would be better to… be shirtless… That way, it would take less time.”

In fact, for him, whether they used umbrellas or not made no difference, and being shirtless was an unnecessary requirement, resembling a prank.

However, this was not Feng Jun’s wicked sense of humor at work; he had his reasons for such instructions.

After finishing speaking, he returned to his room and left the door slightly ajar.

Lang Zhen and Tian Yangni exchanged glances, then left the courtyard to get busy. It didn’t take long to bring one hundred people into the yard.

The ones who came were all called over from nearby; the Tian Family members were not many, mostly artisans, along with some local residents.

There was no other choice. Although there were many Tian Family members around, they had all been dispersed to search—after these hundred were done, immediately another hundred would come, so they must be ready at the courtyard entrance, right?

Among the first hundred people, ninety percent were men, with only eleven women.

None of them used umbrellas. Of course, the women did not take off their tops, and for the men… it depended on the situation.

Some men were willing to remove their shirts, like most of the Tian Family clan members, but others did not want to take them off, asking the person in charge of recording, Deng Tianxiang, “Do we have to take them off?”

Deng Lao Da was very rigid and naturally told them it would be best to take them off, but if you really did not want to, then let it be.

Out of the eighty-nine men, not all were Martial Artists; the weather was cold, and it was raining, so many decided not to take their shirts off.

After standing in the rain for roughly ten minutes, Feng Jun’s voice came from inside the house, “Lin Erwa and Zhang Tieniu stay behind, the rest can leave.”

Lin Erwa was a local resident, while Zhang Tieniu was a stone mason recruited by the Tian Family members; neither man had taken off their clothes.

Hearing this, Lin Erwa had no reaction, but Zhang Tieniu’s face changed, and he threw a punch at a Tian Family Disciple next to him while propelling himself backward, trying to rush out over the courtyard wall.

The Tian Family Disciple had not anticipated this move at all and was hit solidly by that punch, stumbling seven or eight steps backward, “Damn it, have you gone mad? Pfft… you’re actually a martial master?”

He could never have dreamed that the seemingly honest and simple Intermediate Level Martial Cultivator, mason Zhang Tieniu, was actually a martial master with a concealed identity.

However, despite being an Intermediate Level martial master, once his identity was exposed, even with his swift reaction, he couldn’t escape the Tian Family’s net.

Tian Yangni reacted extremely quickly, throwing two boomerangs with his hands; they were boomerangs without sharp edges, and unless they hit a vital spot, they would not kill. He intended to capture Zhang Tieniu alive.

At the same time, a roar came from outside the courtyard as two martial masters confronted Zhang Tieniu head-on, “Seeking death~”

In the blink of an eye, Zhang Tieniu was captured and had sustained serious injuries.

He struggled continuously, shouting loudly, “I don’t accept this! What have I done to be apprehended by you?”

The Tian martial cultivator, who had taken a punch from him, stepped forward and delivered more than a dozen slaps front and back, “Damn it, you don’t accept this? I don’t accept this either! Did I provoke you, to receive such a punch from you?”

He had reason to be angry; being only an Intermediate Level martial artist, he never mistreated these artisans, yet was punched in the chest by this martial master, causing him to spit blood.

It was lucky that Zhang Tieniu struck in haste, for if he had exerted a bit more force, whether or not he could have survived was another matter.

Zhang Tieniu coldly snorted, “If I hadn’t hurt you, you would inevitably have hurt me. Although I shouldn’t have attacked you, I do not regret it. Who made you stand next to me?”

This logic was a bit strange, but not unusual in this world—an individual aiming to flee by injuring an innocent person highlighted their dangerousness and determination to escape, making others think twice before intervening.

Moreover, the injured was not entirely innocent; being one of the Tian Family members was reason enough. On the other side of Zhang Tieniu, who was also an artisan but not surnamed Tian, was not attacked.

“Since you are being so unreasonable, capturing you cannot be considered wrongful,” Tian Yangni sneered and then gestured with his hand, “Take him away for thorough interrogation. If he doesn’t cooperate, directly cripple his cultivation!”

“I don’t accept this!” Zhang Tieniu shouted again, “I haven’t done anything to wrong the Tian Family nor have I harmed the Divine Doctor. Why are you treating me like this?”

Tian Yangni looked at him coldly, “Setting aside anything else, just the fact that you, an Intermediate Level martial master, pretended to be an Intermediate Level Martial Artist is enough for us to deal with you.”

Zhang Tieniu’s neck stiffened as he spoke defiantly, “I have my own difficulties; what’s so serious about concealing my cultivation level?”

“Just by standing next to you, a member of our Tian Family took your punch for no reason,” Tian Yangni spoke without expression, and then gave a cold laugh, “If you can be unreasonable, then of course my Tian Family can too!”

Zhang Tieniu was rendered speechless and was taken away.

Lin Erwa still stood there without moving. When he saw the Tian Family members coming forward to take him, he began to panic and ask, “What, what, what… what did I do wrong?”

“You know in your heart whether you’ve done wrong,” Tian Yangni spoke coldly.

Seeing the Divine Doctor miraculously single out a suspect, his confidence surged with countless certainties, “You’d better confess honestly to save yourself the pain… Bring this scoundrel down!”

“I’m still not convinced,” Lin Erwa took it seriously, raising his voice in protest, “Every day I sell fruits and vegetables, have I ever passed off the inferior as good, or short-weighted the scale? Is this how you treat us locals?”

As he spoke, his voice grew louder, until finally, he shouted outright, “The Dongmu Tian Family might be formidable, but here in Zhige County, to bully the locals so brazenly, do you really think Zhige has no one?”

This was an attempt to incite regional conflict. The tactic was somewhat clumsy, but many times it was indeed effective.

Tian Yangni wasn’t afraid of such labels. Raising an eyebrow, just as he was about to deal with the other party, he heard a soft sigh, “Sigh~”

It was Feng Jun speaking from inside the house, “Lin Erwa, are you really a local?”

In an instant, Lin Erwa’s face turned ashen. He paused, trying to speak in his own defense, “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

He indeed wasn’t a local. After a manslaughter charge in his hometown, he had fled here and registered as a resident. So many years had passed that he had nearly forgotten about it himself if it hadn’t been brought up.

“Ha ha,” Tian Yangni laughed heartily to the sky. At this juncture, how could he not see that there was something amiss with this man?

He was very curious about how the Divine Doctor knew all this. An Immortal discerning Zhang Tieniu’s hidden cultivation level wasn’t too extraordinary, but determining whether someone was a local or not, how could that be discerned?

Regardless, there was no way this man was wronged. He gestured with his hand, “Take him down. If he dares to run, kill without mercy!”

Soon, Lin Erwa too was taken away. Lang Zhen waited a moment, and seeing that Feng Jun had nothing more to say, he instructed, “Everyone can leave now… and don’t discuss anything you’ve seen or heard after leaving.”

The remaining ninety-eight people heaved a collective sigh of relief and quickly departed.

Everyone was filled with curiosity about how the Divine Doctor could identify the spies hidden among them, but they all heard Lang Zhen’s final warning, and most dared not disobey.

In this remote and backward place, the Tian Family’s overbearing might was enough for them to act unreasonably as they pleased, not to mention the even more terrifying Divine Doctor.

Yet, a few people who shared the Tian surname were gathered together, whispering privately, wondering what methods the Divine Doctor had used.

Once the crowd had dispersed, Tian Yangni approached the house and greeted with a bow, speaking with utmost respect, “Divine Doctor, may the second batch of people come in now?”

“Hmm,” Feng Jun hummed from inside the house, “Continue.”

“I have another humble request,” Tian Yangni spoke respectfully, “The situation earlier was unexpected, and we almost let someone get away. If you notice someone else who’s not quite right, could you please inform me privately… or Lone Wolf?”

The request was reasonable and unproblematic.

Another hundred people were gathered, and after about ten minutes, Tian Yangni was summoned into the house by Feng Jun. One minute later, he came out, walked slowly with his hands behind his back in front of everyone.

When he stopped in front of a female, he suddenly struck out with a palm to her chest, simultaneously dislocating both of the woman’s arms.

“Ah,” the woman screamed, “Seventh Master… Seventh Master, what do you mean by this?”

She was a Female Attendant of the Tian Family, serving for seven or eight years with considerable diligence and honesty.

Tian Yangni really wanted to say, I don’t know what’s wrong with you either, but… the Divine Doctor said you were problematic.

However, before the Female Attendant could finish speaking, a bare-chested middle-aged man stomped his foot and charged toward the courtyard gate.

The Tian Family Disciples guarding the surroundings had experienced something similar before and would not make the same mistake. A martial master stepped up to meet him, followed by six Tian Family Disciples, forming two Three Talents Formations on each side to assist.

Barehanded, the man managed only one move against the martial master before a large net was thrown over him, trapping him instantly.

He struggled incessantly inside the net, shouting, “Stop! I’m sent by the county governor; does the Tian Family intend to rebel?”

Hearing this, the Tian Family Disciples couldn’t help but pause: had the Zhige Official Government become involved too?

“Nonsense,” Tian Yangni sneered, “How could such sneaky behavior come from the county governor? Listen up, Tian Family Disciples… if this man dares to tarnish the governor’s reputation again, kill him on the spot!”

(First update, the five bonus chapters requested by Silver Meng Candy Pop have been completed, calling out loudly for monthly tickets)