Chapter 22: Love the Profession You Choose

"Indeed!"

Hearing this, the crowd that had been skeptical suddenly came to a realization.

That's right; logically speaking, the effort and reward for this matter were completely disproportionate.

A Utility Disciple's monthly allowance is only two Spirit Stones; three thousand Spirit Stones is equivalent to exactly one hundred and fifty years' worth of allowance.

Someone carrying such a massive amount of Spirit Stones is unlikely to embezzle for a mere four or five stones.

Of course, one couldn't rule out someone being a psychologically twisted pervert who specifically enjoys thievery for the sake of a forbidden thrill.

But this Qi Da had only recently passed the Heart-Nature test upon entry and even received a 'Perfect Heart-Nature' evaluation. No matter how you looked at it, he didn't seem like a pervert… Seeing that Qi Yuan had basically cleared his suspicion, Lin Zhen, who was tied up on the ground, was overjoyed and hurriedly said:

"I said earlier that Brother Qi and I were framed. We never stole any green leaf grass. Hurry up and let me go."

As he spoke, he struggled to stand up.

"Stay still!"

The Law Enforcement Pavilion Disciples standing guard immediately pinned him back down.

The leading girl surnamed Nie glanced at him and said coldly:

"Regardless, the green leaf grass was found in your room. Even if Junior Brother Qi didn't do it, you are still involved."

"As a Utility Disciple, you have no way of entering the medicine garden to steal Spirit Medicine. I suggest you confess who your accomplice is sooner rather than later."

"Otherwise, we'll haul you off to the Law Enforcement Pavilion right now. Once there, we have plenty of ways to make you talk."

Hearing this, Lin Zhen laughed, his face full of mockery as he said:

"I see your Law Enforcement Pavilion is nothing special if you can't even see through such a simple frame-up."

"Impudent!"

The girl surnamed Nie was so angry her willow-leaf eyebrows shot up. She raised her hand to slap Lin Zhen, but before she could touch his face, her wrist was caught by a large hand, preventing her from striking.

She turned her head and saw that the one holding her wrist was actually Qi Yuan. A look of slight anger immediately appeared on her pretty face.

"Qi Da, what are you doing?"

As she spoke, she instinctively tried to pull away, only to find the hand on her wrist was like an iron vice, gripping tightly and remaining motionless no matter how she struggled.

Seeing this, the other Law Enforcement Pavilion Disciples were furious and surrounded them.

"You dare lay a hand on Senior Sister!"

"Release Senior Sister Cuilan at once!"

Qi Yuan glanced at Lin Zhen, then calmly said to the girl surnamed Nie:

"Whether my friend stole the green leaf grass isn't for you or me to decide. Why don't we let the facts speak for themselves and bring the truth of this case to light?"

Saying this, he smiled slightly and nonchalantly released the girl's wrist. He continued, "green leaf grass is an important material for refining Qi Gathering pills and is used in large quantities. My job in the medicine garden is to tend to a field of green leaf grass."

"If a mastermind wanted to frame us, then this bundle of green leaf grass was definitely picked from that spirit field."

"I start my shift every day at the Hour of Chen and return to my quarters to rest at the Hour of You. This means that out of the twelve hours in a day, I am away from the spirit field for six. Therefore, whoever picked this green leaf grass must have done so while I was away."

Nie Cuilan was both embarrassed and annoyed, glaring fiercely at Qi Yuan.

"What's the use of saying all this? You weren't at the scene, so how could you possibly know who did it?"

At this moment, Nie Cuilan was secretly shocked. She had a cultivation at Qi Refining Perfection, yet she had been completely unable to resist this man's grip just now!

Having suffered such a setback in front of everyone, she would have normally taught him a lesson, but for some reason, facing this Utility Disciple, she didn't even have the courage to fall out with him.

"Heh, who told you that one can't accuse a culprit without being at the scene?" Qi Yuan's lips curled slightly. "I have a strong sense of responsibility and always love the profession I choose. Since the Sect assigned me to look after the spirit field, I must naturally be diligent."

"To monitor the growth of the green leaf grass and prevent issues in the spirit field, I place a Low Grade shadow recording talisman on a large tree by the field every day after my shift."

"This way, even if I'm not at the spirit field, I can use the shadow recording talisman to monitor the growth of the green leaf grass at night. If someone sneaks in to pick the grass, they will definitely be captured by the talisman…"

As he spoke, he smilingly pulled a talisman shimmering with a faint white light from his robes.

"This is the recording from last night. I was called over by you all right after finishing my shift, so I haven't had time to watch it yet."

As his voice fell, everyone's expressions turned strange, staring blankly at the shadow recording talisman in Qi Yuan's hand.

"Holy crap!"

"A shadow recording talisman can actually be used like this?"

As the name suggests, a shadow recording talisman can record and save images over a certain distance and time. Although there's no sound, the visuals are clear and realistic, making them widely used in the Cultivation World.

Besides being used for messaging and matchmaking, many extra functions have been developed for shadow recording talismans.

For example, recording a Dao discussion or a battle for study. Some even use them to film stimulating private scenes and sell copies at high prices, once even stealing the publishing business from the Hehuan Sect… But no one had ever been bored enough to use a shadow recording talisman to constantly film a field, and then call it 'monitoring the growth of green leaf grass at night.'

Even though a Low Grade shadow recording talisman is very cheap in the Cultivation World, it still costs at least three Spirit Stones. At this rate, it would cost ninety Spirit Stones a month.

Since a Utility Disciple's monthly income is two Spirit Stones, it means this guy works hard in the medicine garden for a month only to lose eighty-eight Spirit Stones… Thinking of the massive three-thousand Spirit Stone reward Qi Yuan just received, everyone suddenly felt that this wasn't entirely unacceptable.

After a strange silence, Outer Sect Elder Mo Zhengyang was the first to react. He beckoned to Qi Yuan and said in a heavy voice:

"In that case, bring it here for me to see."

"Yes."

Qi Yuan responded and respectfully handed over the shadow recording talisman.

The moment Mo Zhengyang took the talisman, a Utility Disciple in the crowd suddenly turned pale and began to tremble violently.

"Junior Brother Wentao, what are you doing?"

A nearby Disciple noticed his strange expression and quickly stepped forward to support him.

However, that Disciple seemed oblivious, muttering to himself:

"Oh no, how could this happen…"

"So it was you!"

Qi Yuan suddenly strode over, grabbed the man from the crowd, and threw him in front of Mo Zhengyang.

"Elder Mo, there's no need to check the shadow recording talisman. He's the one who picked the green leaf grass."

At this moment, the Utility Disciple's composure completely collapsed, and he knelt on the ground trembling.

"Elder Mo, have mercy! It really wasn't my fault. Wang Luchuan saw me on duty in the medicine garden and gave me ten Spirit Stones to steal green leaf grass. I was momentarily blinded by greed…"

Hearing this, the crowd burst into an uproar. Those around Wang Luchuan instinctively distanced themselves from him.

And Wang Luchuan's face turned ashen as he glared fiercely at the Utility Disciple.

"You, Wen! Don't go biting people randomly. I've never even met you. Do you have evidence that I ordered you to do it?"

Wentao said with a long face:

"Wang Luchuan, you can't deny it. You were the one who sent someone to give me ten Spirit Stones…"

"Enough!"

Mo Zhengyang shouted in anger, coldly surveying the surroundings.

"A bunch of bastards! Haven't you lost enough face already?"

Everyone was as silent as cicadas in winter, their mouths tightly shut.

After a moment of silence, Mo Zhengyang looked at Nie Cuilan and ordered:

"Martial Niece Nie, take Wentao to the Law Enforcement Pavilion for a thorough interrogation. We must uncover the truth and strictly punish those who violate the Sect rules."

Then, he turned his gaze to the bound Lin Zhen and said:

"As for Lin Zhen, given that the facts are currently unclear and the evidence is inconclusive, release him for now. A decision will be made once the investigation is complete."

"This Disciple respectfully obeys Senior Martial Uncle Mo's decree."

Nie Cuilan glanced at Wang Luchuan with a look of pure disgust, then waved her hand. Several Law Enforcement Pavilion Disciples skillfully took control of Wentao.

At this time, Mo Zhengyang threw the shadow recording talisman back to Qi Yuan and said, caught between laughter and tears:

"You brat, you even dared to bluff me. What's the meaning of giving me a blank shadow recording talisman? If Wentao hadn't shown a weakness in the end, let's see how you would have handled it!"

Qi Yuan chuckled. "How could I? You are impartial and have eyes like a hawk. The moment they saw you pick up the shadow recording talisman, those nefarious characters were scared to death. How could they not show a weakness?"

"A blank one?"

In an instant, the expressions of everyone present froze, their eyes staring blankly.