The situation became messier than before. The patriarch turned to Yan Qiao and Yan Liren and asked, "Elder Qiao and Elder Liren, what is this about?"
The trader was a very reliable member of the family, and he must have had ledgers and records of all the trades, so there was no reason to lie. Besides, things had escalated out of hand, and he knew the patriarch would take serious action if he lied.
Elder Qiao answered, "Patriarch, what the trader said is true. He did give me Hushroot Blossom, but that powder disappeared from my treasury. Please help me find the culprit."
The patriarch had no choice. He said, "We will go to the Ancestor's Hall, and the Heavenly Treasure will give us the truth."
In general, most issues within the family were resolved during clan meetings, where members could discuss and debate various matters openly. When Yan Qiao decided to poison Han Cai, he knew that a clan meeting would be convened to address the issue. However, rarely did the clan resort to using their ancestral hall's Heaven-grade treasure to find out the truth. Such a powerful artifact was meant to be used only in dire situations, and invoking its power was not a decision to be taken lightly.
The situation had become complicated due to the involvement of Trader Shi, an outsider who was a respected trader. This added a layer of complexity that made it difficult for the patriarch to resolve the issue through the usual clan meetings. With the stakes higher than ever, the patriarch had no choice but to use the Heaven-grade treasure to resolve the matter.
Using the family treasure in this way was a last resort, and it was considered disrespectful to the treasure spirit. However, they had no other option. All the elders nodded in agreement, understanding the gravity of the situation. Elder Qiao and Elder Liren, both Earth Immortals, sweated nervously as they knew heaven-grade family treasure would see through their lies. They were well aware of the gap between their cultivation levels and the power of the Heaven-grade treasure, which added to their apprehension.
Soon, all the elders reached the Ancestor's Hall. Yan Rui brought Han Cai, while Yan Liren brought Yan Yue. In the Ancestor's Hall, the Heaven-grade treasure could not only find the talents of the younger generation but also read through the truth and lies of cultivators.
They all stood in the hall, waiting for who would go first. Before the patriarch could speak, Yan Rui said, "I will go first."
Elder Yan Jing, who managed the Ancestor's Hall, nodded and welcomed Yan Rui to the platform.
Yan Rui placed his hand on a crystal, and the crystal glowed.
Elder Yan Jing asked, "Yan Rui, did you try poisoning Yan Fei?"
Yan Rui, keeping his hand on the treasure, spoke solemnly, "No."
A voice came from the treasure, just like before when it announced the talents of the young seeds. The voice spoke, "Truth."
Yan Jing asked again, "Do you know who poisoned Yan Fei?"
Yan Rui responded, "No."
The voice of the treasure spirit spoke again, "Truth."
Yan Jing asked once more, "Were you in any other way aware of this poisoning affair?"
Hearing the third question, Yan Liren and Yan Qiao both sweated profusely.
Yan Rui responded, "No."
The voice echoed through the hall, solemn and powerful. "Truth."
Yan Jing nodded at Yan Rui, and Yan Rui stepped down from the platform. With this, Yan Rui was absolved of all the poison-related accusations that Qiao had leveled against him.
Yan Jing glanced at Yan Qiao and Yan Liren, his gaze silently inquiring which of them would go first. However, neither Yan Qiao nor Yan Liren showed any willingness to move.
Finally, the Patriarch spoke up, addressing the two elders. "Elder Qiao, Elder Liren..."
His intentions were clear – he was asking one of them to step onto the platform.
Elder Qiao was the first to respond. "Patriarch, I have no reason to poison my own great-grandson. Elder Liren should go first."
The Patriarch nodded and turned to Elder Liren. But before he could ask Elder Liren to proceed, Elder Liren spoke up. "Patriarch, what if Elder Qiao took Hushroot Blossom powder intending to poison someone else but accidentally ended up poisoning his own great-grandchild instead? Elder Qiao should go on the platform first."
Both Elder Qiao and Elder Liren understood that whoever went first would bear the brunt of the consequences because the treasure would reveal their lie. The other one would use this lie to blame everything on their counterpart and try to avoid the test of truth by the treasure.
Hearing the excuses these two were making, it became apparent that neither of them was ready to go on the platform, but bickering in the ancestry hall was disrespectful to their ancestry hall and their family treasure.
The Patriarch had enough, He announced. "Since Qiao's grandson is the victim, Elder Liren will go first."
With no choice left, as the Patriarch had asked him directly, Yan Liren went onto the platform and stood in front of the treasure. Placing his hand on the treasure, it glowed again.
Elder Yan Jing asked the crucial question. "Yan Liren, did you try poisoning Yan Fei?"
Yan Liren replied firmly, "No."
Once again, the voice of the treasure spirit resonated throughout the hall. "Truth."
Yan Jing asked again, "Do you know who poisoned Yan Fei?"
Yan Liren, sweating profusely, responded, "No."
But the treasure spirit spoke again, "Truth."
Yan Jing asked the third question, "Were you in any other way aware of this poison affair?"
Yan Liren stayed silent for a while. Yan Jing asked the question again, "Were you in any other way aware of this poison affair?"
Yan Liren sighed and spoke, "Yes."
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Gifts are always appreciated, but golden tickets and power stones matter a lot too.
If we reach 2000 power stones, I will release two supplementary chapters.
If we reach 1000 golden tickets, I will release five supplementary chapters.
Thank You
