Sixty years of blacksmithing, a single hammer blow forging a celestial being.

"So, does anyone know where Zhang Meng went?"

Liu Jinhu's sharp eyes swept over everyone present.

Under his murderous gaze, everyone lowered their heads, remaining silent and afraid to speak, lest they be implicated in the matter.

This is the living Yama of the Deacon's Enforcement Hall!

If he invites you to the Hall of Enforcement, you'll be lucky to escape with your life.

"What? None of you know?"

Liu Jinhu was somewhat displeased, but seeing that a group of people had all lowered their heads out of fear of him, he felt a little smug.

"Go and investigate, find this Zhang Meng for me."

Liu Jinhu gave instructions to the two disciples of the Enforcement Hall on his left and right, and the two disciples immediately obeyed and left.

Then Liu Jinhu searched the abandoned hall again. It was clear that his methods were very professional, and he obviously handled similar cases frequently.

He also searched Zhang Meng's room, taking all the seemingly reliable evidence into his possession.

Li Ping'an sat quietly with the disciples of the abandoned hall, but he was constantly observing Liu Jinhu.

It is clear that Liu Jinhu is indeed a remarkable person. He appears rugged and fierce on the outside, but in reality, he is extremely meticulous and experienced in his methods.

If such a person becomes his enemy one day, that would be quite troublesome!

Since the abandoned hall was burned down, all the work for the day was wasted. A group of disciples from the abandoned hall could only stay quietly in place, waiting for the Enforcement Hall to finish its investigation.

However, Li Ping'an was too lazy to relax for a while. He had been cultivating day and night like a workaholic for the past few days, so he took a break and adjusted today.

I have now reached the ninth level of the Body Refinement stage, and I need to find an auspicious day and a time when I am in the best condition to take the Qi Refining Pill.

This will help him break through to the Qi Refining stage in one fell swoop, at which point he can cultivate the Taiyi Qi Guiding Technique and circulate the spiritual energy within his body.

Recalling the figure that attacked him last night, Li Ping'an couldn't help but feel a wave of fear again.

The man in black was cunning and skillful; if it weren't for the golden talisman, Li Ping'an would have been dead long ago.

I need to break through my current level as soon as possible. It would be best to find time to go down the mountain again and buy some defensive magic items and talismans to carry with me.

Judging from the current situation, both Manager Wang and Senior Brother Zhang are planning to completely break off relations and take my life, so I have to be on guard at all times.

As Li Ping'an was pondering this, he suddenly heard footsteps outside, and it sounded like there was more than one person.

Then, several disciples of the Enforcement Hall dressed in black escorted someone into the abandoned hall.

The man looked extremely disheveled, with bruises and swelling on his face, clearly having been severely beaten.

He was kicked to the ground by two disciples of the Enforcement Hall. He coughed a few times before struggling to get up. This person was none other than Zhang Meng, who had been missing for a long time.

"Senior Brother Liu, the person has been brought."

A disciple of the Enforcement Hall said respectfully.

Liu Jinhu nodded, his eyes filled with excitement as he looked at Zhang Meng on the ground with great interest.

"Your name is Zhang Meng, right?"

"Yes."

When Zhang Meng saw Liu Jinhu, he couldn't help but tremble and dared not meet Liu Jinhu's gaze.

"Then tell me, where have you been since last night?"

Zhang Meng paused, seemingly trying to recall, then said in a trembling voice,

"Reporting to Senior Brother, I had a housewarming party last night, so I drank a couple of drinks. I asked Manager He for leave and went back."

"Manager He, did he ask you for leave?"

Liu Jinhu turned to look at Steward He.

Manager He scratched his head, his eyes filled with confusion.

"A request for leave? Zhang Meng, when did you ask me for leave? I don't recall ever doing that."

Zhang Meng looked at Steward He, his eyes full of pleading.

"I did ask for leave, Manager He. Don't you remember? I toasted you last night and then asked for leave. Don't you really remember?"

He became more and more excited as he spoke, looking at Steward He with a pleading expression.

Seeing this, Manager He also realized what was happening.

This greatly surprised him!

Could it be that Zhang Meng really has a problem?

Judging from his behavior, he seems to want me to protect him!

However, Manager He wasn't stupid. Although he was old, he had been in this sect for many years. After hesitating for a long time, he solemnly shook his head.

"Deacon Liu, I did not receive any leave request from Zhang Meng last night."

"Oh, that's interesting. Zhang Meng, come on, rephrase your question and tell me what you did last night?"

Liu Jinhu smiled upon hearing this, and his smile deepened as he looked at Zhang Meng with a beaming grin.

A flicker of despair flashed in Zhang Meng's eyes, then he struggled to speak.

"Well... I misremembered. I was drunk, so I forgot to ask Manager He for leave and went home to rest on my own."

"Really? Is that really the case?"

Liu Jinhu's smile turned somewhat sinister.

Zhang Meng swallowed hard.

"Yes, it's true, absolutely true. You can ask my family if you don't believe me."

He suddenly screamed before he could finish speaking, startling everyone!

Suddenly, Liu Jinhu stomped on Zhang Meng's shin and began to grind it down hard. A cracking sound rang out, and Zhang Meng, sweating profusely, screamed in pain.

"My lord, spare my life! I'm telling the truth! Please, my lord, spare my life!"

"Heh, still being stubborn, huh?"

Liu Jinhu sneered.

"I like people like you who are stubborn."

,

He turned to several disciples of the Enforcement Hall and gave them instructions.

"Bring Zhang Meng's entire family to me, and gather them here in this abandoned hall, including his son."

"But, but his son has already become a disciple of Elder Yu De, an outer sect elder..."

"So what?"

Liu Jinhu sneered.

"Our Enforcement Hall is conducting an investigation. No matter who you are, you must cooperate. Otherwise, you are opposing our Enforcement Hall!"

Upon hearing this, everyone gasped in shock.

So this is the power of the Enforcement Hall? No wonder no one in the entire sect is afraid of the Enforcement Hall.

Whether they are from the inner sect or the outer sect, even the elders would turn pale at the mere mention of the Hall of Enforcement!

It's because they have too much power, and they are directly under the control of the sect leader, not subject to anyone's constraints, and can investigate whomever they want.

Seeing this, Li Ping'an couldn't help but shake his head. Zhang Meng was really finished this time!

But he can only blame himself; he was bewitched and most likely accepted the benefits from that steward, Wang.

I just don't know why he wanted to kill me, and why he also wanted to burn all the people in the abandoned hall to death.

"Sir, please don't! I really didn't lie. Everything I said is the truth."