"What do you want? Don’t ss around!" Ming Baiye’s face changed imdiately. "Even if you have the upper hand now, we must act according to the law. The law is the ultimate boundary for everyone!"
"Mr. Ming, what are you thinking? I’m a law-abiding citizen, you know. Duanmu Yi is so practiced in his thods; do you really think this is his first offense?"
"You want to dig sothing else out of Duanmu Yi? Forget it. We can’t even torture him; it would give him an excuse to apply for dical bail."
"There’s no need for torture. I’ve learned Spiritual Engraving, and I’m quite good at it. I’ll just dig directly from his mind."
"Don’t be reckless! Forcing a Spiritual Engraving on him will turn him into an imbecile. You weren’t responsible for anything before, but if you turn him into an imbecile, you might end up being blad."
"I’m quite confident in my Spiritual Engraving. Even Professor Zheng from the academy said it’s good. However... I need the help of an Illusion Master." With that, Wang Lan took out his phone and dialed a number.
"Wucheng, are you up?"
"Damn, Wang Lan, you’re incredible! Daring to poke the Duanmu Family’s hornet’s nest? I’m thoroughly impressed. Not only do you dare to ss with the Duanmu Family, but you even managed to strike with the Yu Family’s backing. Tell , how did you do it?"
"Never mind that for now. I need your help with sothing."
"What is it?"
"Cast an Illusion Technique on Duanmu Yi for , so I can successfully invade his mind. Can you do it?"
"Piece of cake! I’ll wait for you at the academy gate. Send soone to pick up."
"You agreed so readily? It seems you’re not afraid of the Duanmu Family either."
"Heh... The Duanmu Family is formidable, but my Mingyue Family isn’t necessarily afraid of them. Besides, it’s just a favor. The Duanmu Family isn’t likely to take it out on . With you and the Yu Family taking the heat, what do I have to fear?"
After hanging up, Wang Lan smiled at Ming Baiye and said, "I have a classmate, Mingyue Wucheng, from the Mingyue Family in Suzhou City. Could you please send soone to pick him up at the academy gate and bring him here?"
Ming Baiye gave Wang Lan a profound look and nodded silently. "Okay!"
Although his face showed no other emotion, he was inwardly astonished.
Ming Baiye had originally thought Wang Lan hadn’t begun to build his network yet, especially since his identity had only been public for two months. That was why he had tried to arrange for his son to share a dormitory with Wang Lan, hoping his son could beco Wang Lan’s right-hand man.
But he suddenly realized he had overlooked sothing. True gold doesn’t lose its luster just because it’s hidden in the sand. Even without the status of the Fla Emperor’s son, Wang Lan was still pure, shining gold—just perhaps a smaller nugget.
Since he was shining gold, how could he not be discovered? How could he not attract attention? And how could he not gather a group of exceptional individuals around him?
Jiang Xinyu, Xu Xiangwen, and others like them might have bonded with him due to growing up together, but the Mingyue Family was different. The Mingyue Family of Suzhou City was a top-tier Star Martial Art family in Jade Country, renowned for their Illusion Techniques and their formidable power that awed the world.
Mingyue Wucheng’s friendship with Wang Lan might have stemd from them being classmates. But was it really just that? Wang Lan had many classmates, and so did Mingyue Wucheng. Why did *they* beco friends?
The only explanation Ming Baiye could conceive of was two words: investnt!
Wang Lan didn’t have to wait long. In less than an hour, Mingyue Wucheng was brought to the Tianjian Bureau. The Tianjian Bureau was mysterious and powerful; typically, Star Martial Warriors felt a degree of constraint upon entering. Mingyue Wucheng, however, showed none, his posture and expression completely natural.
Inside the interrogation room, Duanmu Yi stared blankly at the two people trying to get a confession from him. "Don’t waste your breath. I won’t say a word until my family’s lawyer arrives."
"Do you think this is a police station? A lawyer? Confess honestly, and you’ll suffer less. We’ve been at this all night; aren’t you tired?"
"I know the Tianjian Bureau’s procedures. Lawyers can’t enter, but family representatives can. I won’t say a word until I see soone from the Duanmu Family."
"So you’re just spouting nonsense then," Wang Lan’s voice interjected as he pushed open the door and walked into the interrogation room, followed by Mingyue Wucheng.
Upon seeing Wang Lan, fear and apprehension flickered in Duanmu Yi’s eyes—a stark contrast to his arrogance the previous night.
The fact that his family hadn’t managed to get him out after an entire night spoke volus. Moreover, Duanmu Fanghua’s words from the previous night made Duanmu Yi start to reassess Wang Lan.
He was far from the simple individual the initial investigation suggested. Otherwise, how could a commoner with a little money but no significant background dare to challenge the Duanmu Family?
Even his status with the Tianjian Bureau wouldn’t be enough.
"Wucheng, begin!"
Instantly, Mingyue Wucheng fixed his gaze on Duanmu Yi.
THUMP—
A heavy heartbeat resounded, and Duanmu Yi’s eyes instantly glazed over. The Illusion Technique had clearly taken effect.
Ming Baiye’s expression changed as he watched. Truly an elite disciple of the Mingyue Family, he marveled inwardly. He launched the Illusion Technique without any warning, not even a trace of Star Energy Fluctuation! He’s only at the Star Cloud Stage, yet I, a Star Sea Stage practitioner, couldn’t detect a thing.
Impressive. Incredibly impressive!
Wang Lan approached Duanmu Yi and placed his palm on his head. Spiritual power surged, and Wang Lan’s consciousness swiftly invaded Duanmu Yi’s mind.
At that mont, Duanmu Yi was trapped in endless terror. The Illusion Technique Mingyue Wucheng had cast was called ’Death Gaze.’ Those struck by it would be haunted by the vengeful spirits of those they had killed or wronged.
Even if they hadn’t killed anyone, they would be tornted by their past misdeeds and immoral acts, experiencing the agony of their souls being scorched in penance.
This attack occurred on a spiritual level, so the physical body would remain completely unhard.
While Duanmu Yi was trapped in the illusion, his spiritual power was manipulated by Mingyue Wucheng. This allowed Wang Lan to easily connect with Duanmu Yi’s spiritual power. Once the connection was established, invading his mind beca a straightforward matter.
"Duanmu Yi... I won’t let you go even as a ghost... Give back my life..."
"It wasn’t ... She clearly died by suicide... Don’t look for ... There are so many n in the world... Why did you have to fixate on ?"
"Duanmu Yi, I died so tragically..."
"You... You brought this on yourself... Your sister died by suicide, suicide! What does that have to do with ? You still wanted to appeal? The case was closed, why appeal? Weren’t two million enough for you? Why did you have to keep pestering ..."
"Duanmu Yi, co down with ... be my son-in-law..."
"I was afraid you people would keep pestering ... I just wanted to eliminate the problem for good! Don’t co any closer! I’m not going, I’m not going..."
"Duanmu Yi, and what about ?"
"You... You knew too much about my affairs... So I slept with your girlfriend, so what? She’s just a mundane; anyone can have a go. Why turn against over her? You knew so many of my secrets. If you didn’t die, how could I sleep soundly?"
One by one, vengeful spirits and fierce ghosts surrounded Duanmu Yi.
anwhile, Wang Lan had successfully extracted Duanmu Yi’s mories, holding a Soul Bead in his hand. A pulse of cyan Star Energy Fluctuation occurred, and the mory images transford into a wisp of smoke, slowly drifting into the Soul Bead.
The mory Imprint was completed in ten minutes.
"Alright, release the Illusion Technique."
Mingyue Wucheng snapped his fingers softly. Instantly, Duanmu Yi, drenched in sweat, shot up as if waking from a nightmare. However, because his wrists were handcuffed, he stumbled back into the chair.
"What happened... W-what did you do to ?" Duanmu Yi stared in horror at Mingyue Wucheng, who was still wiping sweat from his brow.
He had a bad feeling, a very ominous feeling.
"You couldn’t rember what you’d done, so we helped you recall." Mingyue Wucheng’s smile was as bright and warm as sunshine, but in Duanmu Yi’s eyes, it was as terrifying as a demon’s.
Wang Lan slowly opened his eyes, a smile playing on his lips. "This is the mory Imprint of Duanmu Yi’s past sins. Hmph, the things he’s done are enough for him to die seven or eight tis over."
"You... you... you imprinted my mories? Impossible... How could I not know? It’s fake! It must be fake..."
"Ma Chuchu died because of you. To eliminate any future trouble, you even orchestrated the murder of her younger brother, who was a college freshman, and disguised it as a car accident that killed his entire family.
What’s even more despicable is that over the years, you’ve drugged and secretly fild your assaults on more than a dozen girls, eight of whom were minors?"
Wang Lan then turned to Ming Baiye and said, "Behind an oil painting in his villa bedroom, there’s a hidden compartnt. It contains the videos he’s recorded over these years."
"Understood. I’ll send soone to retrieve them imdiately."
"Now that we have conclusive evidence, what’s the next step?"
"Naturally, we’ll convene an internal review eting."
"Internal review eting?" Wang Lan asked, puzzled.
"It’s for major cases that cannot be handed over to the courts for judgnt, and which the Tianjian Bureau cannot adjudicate independently. Such cases are transferred to the provincial-level Tianjian Bureau. Then, the provincial Tianjian Bureau initiates a process, and the Provincial Standing Committee deliberates and passes judgnt.
Conveniently, Modu City is a directly administered municipality, so they can deliberate and issue a judgnt directly."
"The Duanmu Family won’t have any opportunity to exploit this, will they?"
"What are you worried about? The City Standing Committee isn’t sothing the Duanmu Family can sway."
anwhile, outside, the news dia relentlessly bombarded the public, and the entire incident quickly shot to the top of trending headlines.
The Duanmu Family scrambled to do damage control, but how could their efforts keep pace with the speed at which new fires erupted? They would extinguish one blaze, only for ten more to ignite elsewhere.
Half a day passed. Not only was the Duanmu Family pushed into the eye of the storm, but Modu City itself was also caught in the crosshairs.
"Chief Cheng, this is Cai Xin. What exactly is going on with that incident? Is there still no resolution? I’m still completely in the dark."
"What kind of trouble has the Duanmu Family stirred up this ti for so many people to be fanning the flas? There are reactions from the public, the military, official circles, and even from the Pioneer Space?"
"What? It requires a deliberative judgnt? Wasn’t the attempt unsuccessful? The young woman wasn’t actually hard, was she? Can’t this matter be settled privately?"
"Alright, I’ll notify the Standing Committee imdiately! We’ll convene for the deliberative judgnt today at 1:00 PM!"
This fire burned fiercely! With relentless dia bombardnt and various influential parties sparing no effort to fuel it, the entire country soon knew about the Duanmu Family in Modu City, and that this family had an arrogant, hedonistic scion who acted with impunity.
Yet, no one seed to notice that apart from the main figure, Duanmu Yi, no other individuals involved were nad. Not even the victims’ nas had surfaced.
At 1:00 PM, the deliberative judgnt was held in the municipal governnt office’s conference room. All five mbers of the Modu City Standing Committee were present.
Once everyone had arrived, Cai Xin cleared his throat. "Chief Cheng, please brief us on the situation."
"Comrades! This incident began when Duanmu Yi administered Star Martial Toxins to a first-year university student, Miss Jiang, intending to control her with the toxins and assault her. However, his plot failed and was exposed, leading to Duanmu Yi’s arrest by the Tianjian Bureau.
Following an investigation by the Tianjian Bureau, it beca clear this was not Duanmu Yi’s first offense. He had committed similar cris on seventeen prior occasions. Many victims, pressured by Duanmu Yi’s family influence and his threats, have been forced to endure this in silence..."
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