Why did you provoke me?

Guihong Pavilion.

On this day, they welcomed their master.

Everyone knelt on the ground, their heads bowed low. No one dared to utter a word, and even their breathing was extremely soft.

Xiang Mingde knelt at the front, not daring to say a word, his body trembling violently.

The young man in the seat asked in a flat tone, "You mean, the young master came, asked you a few questions, and then left on his own?"

Xiang Mingde responded softly, "Yes."

"Then why did you report this?"

Xiang Mingde's sweat had formed a considerable volume on the floor.

"Young Master's status is so noble, I was afraid something might happen, so I reported it." Xiang Mingde dared not tell the truth, because even ten heads wouldn't be enough to pay for it.

Do you know the young master's whereabouts now?

Xiang Mingde kowtowed to the ground again, "This humble servant dares not investigate the young master's whereabouts, please, sir, investigate thoroughly."

The young man sat in the chair. "He's dead."

Upon hearing this, Xiang Mingde collapsed to the ground.

"My lord, spare my life, please investigate clearly."

The high-ranking members of Guihong Pavilion kneeling behind them were so frightened that they wished they could hide their heads.

They were also complaining about Xiang Mingde, saying, "Master, you really kept this a secret! We didn't hear a word about it."

But now that the person is dead, are you going to drag everyone down with you?

"It's not difficult to spare you, as long as you tell the truth." The young man then looked at the people behind him. "If you provide any clues, I can let you off the hook."

No one moved; they were waiting for their leader to make a statement.

Xiang Mingde slightly raised his body, but he still did not look directly at the young man seated.

"When the young master came, he said that someone had given him a message saying that Guihong Pavilion had obtained a treasure. But that's not actually true." Xiang Mingde recounted the story of the young master coming to ask for the treasure, his voice trembling.

"The alien mother crystal core?" The young man seemed somewhat surprised. "They actually cultivated it in this world."

Xiang Mingde shook his head. "Sir, we have always been dutiful, but this is just a rumor; we haven't seen anything. I dare not deceive you."

"Where is the messenger?" The young man didn't press the alien mother crystal core for further questions.

Xiang Mingde forced a smile and replied, "Haven't found anything yet?"

"You couldn't find anything?" The young man was somewhat surprised. "Isn't Guihong Pavilion under your jurisdiction? It's your own people, and you're saying you couldn't find anything?"

Xiang Mingde said cautiously, "Sir, many people know about the alien mother crystal core, and it may not have been the Guihong Pavilion that sent the message."

"I didn't realize you were so protective of your own." It was hard to tell whether the young man's words were a compliment or sarcasm.

Just then, the other two people who had come with them walked in.

They handed the papers to the young man, saying, "Senior Brother, they're all here."

Xiang Mingde's heart sank. It's over, it's all over this time.

"Xiang Mingde, you're really bold! You were appraising a treasure and then being robbed, and you didn't say a word about it."

"Your Excellency is wise; those were all fake, merely bait to catch the thief."

"Where is that thief? Wasn't he caught by the young master? What were the results of the interrogation?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, that person, like the young master, has also gone missing."

Xiang Mingde's last shred of hope vanished. He was alone in that room back then, and now even such a secret was known. They must have used drastic measures.

"When did you realize the person was missing?" The young man decided to cut to the chase and asked directly.

"The next morning, I went to invite the young master to breakfast and that's when I found out." Xiang Mingde no longer hid it.

"When I established Guihong Pavilion in this realm, didn't I set some rules for you?" the young man said slowly.

"Yes, sir."

"So what did I say?"

"You said...you said that if there are people from the lower realms, they should be reported immediately."

"Then why did you report it so late? Were you trying to cover something up for him? Or were you trying to exonerate yourself?"

"My lord, no, I didn't. I really thought the young master had gone out to play." Xiang Mingde's voice was already incoherent. He knew that for this alone, his punishment would definitely not be light. To put it more seriously, failing to report in time was already a betrayal of his lord.

"Xiang Mingde, do you know how valuable the Alien Mother's Crystal Core is? He came to ask for it back; this is the most important news, and you dared to conceal it? Tell me, what should I do with your Guihong Pavilion?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a chorus of cries for mercy rang out from below.

"Please spare me, my lord!"

"These were all decisions made by the Pavilion Master and several managers. We were completely unaware of them."

"Wu Qing, you can ask me questions right here. I'm a reasonable person. If I really don't know anything about it, I won't pursue the matter further."

Without hesitation, Wu Qing pulled out a dozen truth talismans from his pocket. "Should you tell me directly, or should I ask?" Everyone collapsed to the ground.

In just a short while, the young man had sorted things out.

"Bring out the rest of your treasures."

Xiang Mingde pulled a small box out of his pocket. "The big pieces were stolen. I only have a few scraps left."

The young people were so angry they laughed. "You guys are really something."

The young man's expression changed as soon as the box was opened. He recognized the aura; it was indeed the residual aura of the alien mother crystal core, only it was extremely faint.

Yu Meng probably didn't expect that by simply using her own lines to inject energy into this fake crystal core, she would also acquire some of the aura of the real crystal core.

"Find out whose this is!"

He has now completely put the young master's matter aside. How could that matter be as important as investigating the real alien mother crystal core?

Xiang Mingde was stunned. He looked up in confusion. "Sir? Could this thing be real?"

The young man glanced at him sideways. "What do you have to say? Hurry up and say it."

"If that's the case, several forces robbed it back then. I do have a list here," Xiang Mingde thought to himself, secretly regretting his actions. If he had known it was true, he would never have shown it to anyone.

"Bring out the list. Wu Qing, Wen Hong. You two go check it out and bring it back to me." He said it as if it were his right.

After finishing that matter, the young man returned to the issue of the young master's disappearance.

"Lead me to the young master's room."

Xiang Mingde hurriedly got up and led the young man to the room that had been arranged for the young master.

No one knows what method the young man used, but he slowly recreated the scene of the young master and Jing San's battle on the walls of the room.

Xiang Mingde followed behind, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw all this.

The scene that followed was cut off, so they didn't see Jing Er bring people in and take Jing San and the young master away.

The young man frowned. "Xiang Mingde, is your Guihong Pavilion a sieve? Someone came in and took people away without you noticing at all."

Xiang Mingde didn't dare to argue. If the young man said he had been taken away, then he had been taken away. If he said that he had hidden the person, that would be the real problem.