Braised Dragon with Soy Sauce

Seeing this, Mo Yuming smiled slightly, then asked the weapon refiners sitting behind Li Qing, "As Sima Wu's fellow disciples, do you all have anything to say?"

"Confess and you'll be treated leniently. If anyone tries to lie to us at this point, don't blame us for being ruthless!"

Huo Chengde spoke loudly, his voice as resounding as a bell, making everyone's hearts tighten.

"My lord, we really didn't know that Sima Wu was colluding with the criminals! We just followed our master to Shangyuan City to launch our new magical artifacts!"

An older weapon refiner hurriedly spoke, his face full of anxiety.

"My lord, I was only accepted as a disciple by my master this year. I didn't know Sima Wu before!"

A young female weapon refiner said with a mournful face, tears welling up in her eyes, looking pitiful.

"My lord, I have never seen Sima Wu before!"

Another weapon refiner spoke, his tone firm, as if trying to prove his innocence.

……

"If you don't say anything, it's difficult for me to help you even if I want to!"

Huo Chengde pretended to be very troubled, his brows furrowed, as if he were really in a predicament.

"My lord, we truly had no idea that Sima Wu had any dealings with the criminals! We beg you to investigate thoroughly!"

Li Qing cried out, his voice hoarse, his eyes filled with despair.

"You have to give us a convincing reason! You know that letting go of people connected to the criminal race is a serious crime! I believe you understand this better than we do, right?"

Mo Yuming pretended to be helpless, shook his head slightly, and revealed a hint of regret in his eyes.

“Proof? We can all prove that we contacted Sima Wu after we arrived in Shangyuan City, because he has been running a shop in Shangyuan City for a long time, so we wanted to use his connections to open up sales channels for our teacher’s new products. But we didn’t expect him to be colluding with the Sin Clan.”

The level-three weapon refiner spoke earnestly, hoping to gain his trust.

"Nobody believes you when your own people vouch for you!"

Huo Chengde said, frowning slightly, seemingly dissatisfied with the reason.

"The president of the Zhongyuan City Refiners Association can testify that our teacher brought us to Shangyuan City with his permission. There are records of our arrival."

They seemed to have grasped at a straw, and a glimmer of hope ignited in their eyes.

"While that's a reason, it's not enough. Who can prove that you didn't contact him beforehand? It's very convenient for you weapon refiners to communicate with each other. For example, the mole we captured earlier contacted Wuci using a signal talisman."

Huo Chengde said, his tone tinged with doubt.

"I heard that the magical artifacts you're promoting this time are also used for communication, right?"

Mo Yuming added, his eyes fixed on Li Qing and the others.

"My new magical artifact cannot be used for communication; it can only be used for location tracking and simple distress calls."

Actually, this kind of magical artifact has existed for a long time; it's called a 'soul tablet.' I simply inscribed a few sets of runes on the 'soul tablet' to give it a notification function. But it can't transmit text messages.

Li Qing explained, looking nervous, as if afraid they wouldn't believe him.

"These are a pair of 'soul tablets' that I improved. If you don't believe me, I can reveal the runes engraved on them so that your weapon refiners can study them."

See if I'm lying. Besides, this set of runes is something I only recently developed, and this is the first time I'm using it. President Leng can attest to that.

Fearing that Mo Yuming and the others wouldn't believe him, Li Qing handed a pair of 'soul tablets' to Mo Yuming and took out a piece of animal skin paper with talismans engraved on it from his pocket.

Mo Yuming took them and examined them. They were a pair of ordinary "soul tokens" carved from soul jade.

The use of spirit tablets is very common. They are usually purchased by wealthy families for their children or people who travel frequently.

One jade pendant is worn on the user's body, and the other is kept at home. They don't usually serve any special purpose, except that if the user is harmed or seriously injured while traveling, the jade pendant kept at home will crack or shatter.

If the jade pendant is broken, it means the person is dead; if it is only cracked, it means the person is not dead, but has suffered a serious injury and is on the verge of death.

In addition to its original functions, the improved "soul tablet" by Li Qing also has the function of indicating the person's whereabouts and calling for help.

Normally, when a user wants their family to know their location, they only need to input spiritual power into the "soul tablet" they carry with them, and the "soul tablet" in the home will then show the location of that person.

Place this "soul tablet" flat in your hand, and a small bright spot will appear in the corresponding position. The dimmer the bright spot, the farther away it is; the brighter it is, the closer it is.

If the person holding the jade pendant needs to call for help, they can input intermittent spiritual energy into the pendant, and the light on the receiving end of the jade pendant will then flash to signal for help.

"I will take this to our weapon refiner for verification. If the situation is true, we will return this set of 'soul tokens' to you, and we can also guarantee that we will never use your skills to make the same soul tokens to steal your business!"

Mo Yuming put away the soul tablet and the animal hide rune blueprint.

"No need for that. A set of 'soul tokens' isn't worth much. As long as it proves our innocence, that's enough!"

"I can't help it," Li Qing said, his face full of bitterness.

"As you all know, on the very night you held your press conference at Fuyuan Restaurant, Inspector Wei of the Feather Palace was ambushed by Elder Pao of Wu Ji and almost died. Fortunately, we saved him and he survived."

Lord Wei was furious about this and demanded that we severely punish the accomplices of the criminal clan. Sima Wu was one of the accomplices, and you were his teacher and fellow students. You also happened to be in Shangyuan City that day to hold some kind of press conference.

After this series of events, no one would believe you had absolutely nothing to do with it. Therefore, we had no choice.

Mo Yuming spoke slowly, his tone tinged with helplessness.

However, the laws of our Great Xia Empire emphasize the principle of presumption of innocence, so from the perspective of our Great Xia Empire, we do not wish to punish you.

But this matter involves the Feather Emperor's Palace and the Sinner Clan, and their demands make things difficult for us!

Huo Chengde pretended to be in a difficult situation, his brows furrowed, as if he were caught in a dilemma.

"Please, Your Honor, have mercy and let us out! We are willing to serve you like cattle or horses to repay your kindness in sparing our lives!"

Li Qing and his group begged for mercy in unison, their voices filled with urgency and longing.

"How about this? Master Li, you go back to Zhongyuan City and expose Wu Ji's collusion with the criminals. Use your actions to prove that you have nothing to do with the criminals and are not in cahoots with Sima Wu. They can stay in our Great Xia Empire and work for us for three years. Of course, we will pay you according to normal working relations."

As long as the Feather Palace does not pursue this matter further, or if Master Li is able to convince the Feather Palace of your innocence, you are free to leave at any time.

Mo Yuming said, his eyes fixed on Li Qing, waiting for his response.

"Yes, we completely agree with what the adults say!"

Upon hearing this, Li Qing immediately nodded in agreement. As long as he could live, he wouldn't hesitate to become a dog even if it meant that. Besides, it wasn't him who was being held captive, but only his apprentice.

"Alright, since you've agreed, let's get on with the paperwork now, and you'll be free tomorrow."

Huo Chengde said.

"Thank you, Your Excellency!" everyone said in unison, a hint of joy appearing on their faces.