When Bubai heard the accusation, he sighed inwardly. At last, the main topic.

  Merlin above, he was almost bored to death from playing that word game!

  Of course, all that verbal fencing wasn’t just nonsense for wasting time.

  One side was testing the other. The other was setting the tone of the negotiation.

  The key words were: make amends.

  Everything before was just to whet the other’s appetite. Now, it was the real deal.

  The door opens, and one can see the mountains. Either lay down or take a hike.

  Bubai wanted to see the scenery above. How can he give up here?

  But can his performance fool these wily old gingers? Obviously not.

  Still, the act must go on.

  Even with those eyes boring into his soul, as if daring him to deny it, Bubai still bravely plastered on a surprised face followed by a portrait of righteousness.

  “What?! Who dares to do such a thing! Simply lawless!”

  Bubai thumped his own chest.

  “Elder Mo, just give the word! Junior is more than willing to help Elder lighten the burden and investigate until the water recedes, the rocks emerges! Even if junior must dig ten feet under, I will find the culprit!

  The lips of both old foxes twitched.

  This routine was so familiar that they found it a bit amusing. Only a bit though.

  Living hundreds of years, what wind and wave have they not seen?

  If it had been any another ant daring to play such word games, a slap would’ve turned him into meat paste.

  But since they were sitting here, there was naturally a reason.

  So, the next slap of Mo Badao landed not on the lad but the tea table. Thud!

  “Preposterous! Do I still need a wet-behind-the-ears greenhorn like you to investigate?!”

  “Bah! Those from the Law Enforcement Hall already made things clear, and that redhead next to you has confessed everything! Still acting innocent? Still not confessing?!”

  Bubai almost rolled his eyes. Admit his guilt? Hah! That’ll put him in a very passive situation!

  So, nope. He won’t admit it even if he’s beaten to death!

  Anyways, pretty sure he won’t get slapped to death since they reached this stage.

  Don’t look at the old geezer Ma on the side acting like he doesn’t care at all.

  Without that old geezer vouching for him, they might be in a torture chamber instead of sitting here!

  Thanks to his greasy little schemes during his last visit to the geezer, the keys were now all in place.

  All he gotta do was make use of this opportunity to deliver the performance of a lifetime!

  Arise, actor-leveling!

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  The right dose of shock hit Bubai’s ugly face. “E-Elder means—”

  Bubai shook his head like a rattle and cried out. “No, no, how can that be?! Elder, there must have been a mistake somewhere! Junior didn’t do it! Elder, I have been wronged! Truly wronged!”

  Mo Badao squinted shrewdly. “Oh? You’ve been wronged? Then... explain to this old man how my precious disciple was last seen entering your tower.”

  Feeling the pressure weighing down on him like a boulder, Bubai’s face went pale and he knocked his head against the ground while wailing.

  “Elder, Junior must have been framed! Junior really doesn’t know why!”

  “Everyone’s been pointing fingers at me, but Junior didn’t even know that Senior Brother was the one who broke into my tower until those constable tigresses tied me up for no reason!”

  “Junior is still in the dark about the entire matter! How can I know where Senior Brother was last seen?!”

  Mo Badao sneered. “Really don’t know? Or pretending to not know? Do you think I’ve lived this long and still can’t tell?”

  Bubai gritted his teeth, letting his wailing crack under the pressure.

  “Please believe me, Elder! Junior really had no hand in this!”

  “That day, Junior only remembers going home from Bai Hua Lou, but once inside my tower, somebody ambushed Junior and knocked me out.”

  “By the time Junior woke up, everything was over—my tower ransacked, my tower key gone, and I was trapped! It wasn’t until Miss Hong came along that I could get a replacement key and walk out alive!”

  “Oh?” Mo Badao’s sharp gaze cut over to the quiet rose. “Is there such a thing?”

  Miss Hong shivered a bit, but still respectfully answered. “Reporting to Elder Mo, it’s true. Xiao Hong indeed went to request a replacement key after searching the tower.”

  The shrewd fox nodded slowly. “Records like this indeed can’t be faked, but… that doesn’t mean the old key can’t be hidden away. Heh.”

  The pressure then shifted back to Bubai, almost making him prostrate flat against the floor.

  “A convenient story, am I right? Deceiving an elder… do you know the consequences?!”

  Bubai’s face was awash with panic and he shook head the best he can. “No! No! Junior doesn’t dare! Even if Elders gave me a hundred galls, junior doesn’t dare fool Elder Mo!”

  Mo Badao chuckled darkly. “Don’t dare? Even my precious disciple you dared to kill. What is there left that you dare not do?”

  Bubai banged his head repeatedly. “Elders, please think twice! It’s really not me! Junior is innocent!”

  The desperate kowtows that drew no blood only made Mo Badao sneer. “Oh, still claiming innocent? Then tell this old man—if not you, who else could it be?”

  The gun was placed in his hand, but Bubai didn’t dare look up. “E-Elder Mo, please forgive this incompetent junior for not knowing who Senior Brother has... offended.”

  Mo Badao quietly stared at the slippery lad and his shrewd mind turned. “Oh? Offended?”

  His knife-like gaze then zeroed in on the wilted rose. “You are also involved in this matter. Tell me—what reason do you have to bring my precious disciple over to that tower?”

  Miss Hong did a single kowtow, then demurely stared at the elders’ shoes.

  “Reporting to Elder Mo, Xiao Hong was only following orders to investigate the maids. Young Lord Batian approached me, saying he was acting under orders to assist with the investigation.”

  Mo Badao’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Orders? Whose orders?”

  Miss Hong hesitated, stealing a glance at Mo Badao and lowered her gaze once more.

  Catching this, Ma Pei looked over to his partner with amused eyes and this was enough to lit the fuse.

  Bam! Even the teacup flinched from the table slap.

  “That unruly boy! I issued no such orders!”

  But whether he did or not didn’t matter at this point.

  “Ba la! I won’t bother nitpicking about the little details. But this old skull of mine still hasn't rotted.”

  Mo Badao’s unhappy stare went back to the redhead.

  “How can a little servant like you take others through the backdoor for no reason? I’m afraid you have... other motives?”

  Miss Hong shivered and quickly prostrated herself. “Xiao Hong has always wholeheartedly served the elders and would never dare to harbor any other improper ideas!”

  “Oh really?” The Old Devil sneered.

  “A palace lady who’s fallen out of favor. It’s understandable if you’re not accustomed to the harsh winds outside. It’s hard to say whether you dare to feather your own nest at someone else’s expense.”

  Miss Hong’s face turned ashen. “T-This servant doesn’t dare! Besides, this servant is but a lowly cauldron with meager strength, utterly incomparable to those exalted geniuses!”

  “Oh? Meager strength?” The old fox’s eyes narrowed into slits.

  “True. Your little strength might not amount to much, but... add on that little sword dancer in that tower, and it’s more than enough to drag a foundation builder underwater, isn’t it?”

  Miss Hong opened her mouth to refute, but any words she had died in her throat when an oppressive pressure crushed her almost flat against the ground.

  The Overbearing Devil’s shrewd, playful eyes then slid over to other side, his smile as wicked as a fox sizing up a henhouse.

  “Yes, that sounds about right. Young lad, what do you think? Should this old man send these two culprits to the Public Commons?”

  There was zero pressure weighing down on Bubai, but he was already sweating bullets from the suffocating malice.

  Merlin’s beard... the threat just got real.