"Are there really so few people in this world who suffer unexpected calamities?"
Baili Fengzhi's eyes were indifferent as he continued, "Do you really believe that Lin Yue has nothing to do with Xia Lie's disappearance?"
"What do you mean by that, sir?"
Deputy Commander Chu asked in confusion, "From Lin Yue's behavior, he clearly knows nothing. I even sensed his heartbeat and breathing; there's no sign of deceit."
"It's just a little spiritual sense."
Baili Fengzhi squinted his slightly narrow phoenix eyes, "Though he appears to be somewhat shallow-minded and foolishly clever, why was he the only one to gain Old Daoist Tu's favor?"
...
Inside the room.
Lin Yue sat by the bed, holding a small bowl of medicine, using his other hand to support 'Su Ziqiu's' neck, slowly feeding the potion into her mouth.
This medicinal liquid indeed could clear heat and reduce inflammation, offering some relief.
But primarily, it served to disguise another medicinal powder.
He had gone to the prison to meet Old Daoist Tu, unsure of when he would return. If Su Ziqiu were to wake up, it would be troublesome, so he had to administer the bone-dissolving powder and soul-binding water again.
Both were miracle medicines discovered through a Second Ring Level secret, effective even on ordinary martial cultivators and high-level practitioners of the Three Religions.
The bone-dissolving powder didn't significantly affect Daoist cultivators who harnessed the power of heaven and earth, but was most effective on martial cultivators who refined their bodies, turning even steel-like bones into something more fragile than a mortal.
And the purpose of the soul-binding water was simply 'sleep.'
Crucially, it was colorless and tasteless, disappearing upon entering the body, only affecting the mind, with no trace even a master of medicine could find.
While administering the medicine, Lin Yue pondered his next steps.
The act he just put on probably succeeded in deceiving Baili Fengzhi.
An upper hand's flaw was the belief in their ability to grasp and see through others.
It was human arrogance.
His seemingly foolish and shallow act of exposing himself would only make him seem easily manipulated, adding credibility.
He had also specifically taken a 'Heart Control Pill' to avoid exposing his heartbeat, breathing, and blood flow when lying.
This elixir was discovered through a First Ring Level secret, meant to assist martial artists in avoiding excessive heartbeats when breaking through, thus preventing injury.
Though he hadn't trained much in martial arts, he had never used the Heart Control Pill since acquiring it, and it proved useful this time.
"Though I fooled Baili Fengzhi, the doubts are still not cleared."
Lin Yue, while administering the medicine, slightly squinted his eyes, pondering.
"The old drunkard only favors me; it's an undeniable fact. Now that he's surrendered and specifically asked to see me, he probably wants to clear me of suspicion..."
"Think carefully, what else have I overlooked, what else can be utilized..."
After a moment, he fed her all of the medicine.
Lin Yue cautiously laid 'Su Ziqiu' back on the bed, pretending to tidy her hair and cheeks, while secretly applying a bit of medicine residue to the inside of her lips, then folded the quilt corners as usual, stood up, and walked out of the room, locking the door behind him.
"Commander Baili, thank you for waiting."
Lin Yue arrived at the courtyard gate, bowed to Baili Fengzhi, and said, "The commoner has administered the medicine, thank you, sir."
Baili Fengzhi glanced at him and suddenly said, "Your wife was stabbed, injuring her lung meridian and spine, right? Though paraplegia is difficult to treat, the heat toxicity should not be hard for Old Daoist Tu to resolve if he's willing to help, correct?"
Lin Yue understood her meaning.
Paraplegia refers to modern-day paralysis.
Heat toxicity is wound inflammation, which can only be alleviated with ordinary anti-inflammatory herbs, incapable of fully eliminating inflammation like modern antibiotics.
But, for cultivators, heat toxicity wasn't an unsolvable problem.
Thus, Old Daoist Tu's reluctance to help resolve the heat toxicity posed an unavoidable suspicion.
Fortunately, he had already devised a plan.
"Not difficult to resolve?"
Lin Yue immediately showed a bewildered expression upon hearing this and murmured, "But Old Daoist Tu clearly told me that this heat toxicity is difficult even for him, urging me to give up early."
He couldn't help but ask, "Commander Baili, do you mean Old Daoist Tu can help relieve my wife's heat toxicity?"
Baili Fengzhi glanced at him, her tone calm, "He's a Daoist cultivator from the Shenxiao Sect, somewhat adept in alchemy techniques. Of course, he can do it. I heard you two have a good relationship; he favors you alone in the entire Daoist academy, why wouldn't he help you?"
"This..."
Lin Yue seemed to be at a loss hearing this.
After a long pause, he took a deep breath, saluted, and said, "Please, Commander Baili, take me to see Old Daoist Tu."
Baili Fengzhi slightly raised an eyebrow, asked no more questions, and simply said, "Let's go."
...
Soon, they arrived at the Qingdu Prison.
The prison was heavily guarded by a large force of armored soldiers, each one a martial artist whose vitality was nearly overflowing, likely Baili Fengzhi's personal guard, to have such elite military strength.
As they traversed the deep underground steps, the vigilance of the patrol in the prison increased as they ventured deeper.
With Baili Fengzhi personally overseeing, even ten or twenty martial cultivators couldn't manage a jailbreak.
Silently, they reached the door of the deepest cell of the prison.
The cell door was entirely made of cold, durable iron, with walls, ceilings, and floors cast from extremely thick steel.
In such an impenetrable place, even martial cultivators would find escape as hard as ascending to heaven.
With a clang, the heavy and solid cell door slowly opened.
Deputy Commander Chu stood guard outside, while Baili Fengzhi, with her long legs, led Lin Yue into the cell.
An eerie silence prevailed.
Lin Yue finally saw Old Daoist Tu again.
Old Daoist Tu sat quietly at a table, on which sat a cup of long-cold tea.
Unlike other prisoners, he wore no shackles; instead, peculiar dark golden thin wires coiled his body, seeming not to hinder him at all.
But Lin Yue could guess these wires were likely used to suppress mana.
"You're here."
Old Daoist Tu offered Lin Yue a faint smile.
Baili Fengzhi, seeming somewhat languid, crossed her arms and leaned against the closed cell door, saying indifferently, "Say what you want, but only in front of me."
Lin Yue suddenly stepped forward, eyes fixed on Old Daoist Tu, his face serious, "Old Daoist Tu, haven't I treated you well?"
"What's wrong?" Old Daoist Tu's eyes flickered, as if sensing something.
Lin Yue took a deep breath, saying, "Why didn't you save Ziqiu back then? You knew I was going to marry her; why did you lie to me, saying you couldn't resolve heat toxicity? Just because she wasn't respectful to you, you let her die?" His voice grew louder, more emotional.
Old Daoist Tu looked at him, a bit puzzled, and after a long silence, he sighed, "You found out?"
He glanced at Baili Fengzhi, frowning, "Commander Baili, I only asked you to bring Lin Yue to see me, not to tell him this, right?"
Baili Fengzhi stood quietly, her eyes calm beneath her silver mask, only saying, "I was just a bit curious myself."
Old Daoist Tu looked at Lin Yue, slowly speaking, "Yes, I had personal motives, but not because that girl disrespected me, but because I felt she wasn't right for you. You're too naive, and she's too scheming; couldn't you tell she only delivered meals to you because you could enter the Daoist academy?"
His voice turned cold, "Even Xia Lie saw through her, yet you could not?"
He did see through it.
He saw through Lin Yue's act.
Because...
He had personally tried to save Su Ziqiu, exerting all his efforts, but found it impossible to bring her back.
On that day, Su Ziqiu had already died.