Chapter 616: One Question!
Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97
Like a hungry wolf that had fallen into a trap, Yan Chifeng had cold droplets of sweat the size of beans all over his face. Killing intent was blinking inside his eyes, as he couldn't wait to cut Li Yao into thousands of pieces.
However, the chief of the Giant Axe Tribe and the chief of the Feathered Snakes Tribe had stopped beside the Truth Cabinet. Their cold eyes were like an iron fence that blocked his route of attack.
Yan Chifeng gulped and noticed that there was nothing but dead silence around him.
Raising his head, he found that the qi-trainers of the other five tribes were all eyeing the Burning Sun Tribe coldly and that most of the qi-trainers of the Burning Sun Tribe were eyeing himself coldly and expressionlessly.
"Brother—"
Sitting next to Yan Xibei, Yan Chihuo was gloomy. Veins were bulging from his right hand as he clenched his saber hard. He gnashed his teeth and said with suspicion, "Brother, you said that you heard Sand Scorpion admitting that he was a space resident yourself, right?"
Even more cold sweat appeared on Yan Chifeng's face. He felt as if somebody had poured a bucket of cold water on his head. Looking at Li Yao and then at his brother and uncle, he roared like an animal, "Are you insane? You choose to believe an outsider instead of me?
"I—I—I know it now!
"You have all been fooled by him. Even I was fooled by him. Back in the tank, he pretended that he had not discovered me and said that lie on purpose to mislead me!
"Besides, even if he is not a space resident, he can still work as a spy for the space residents! Anyway, a lot of fully-armed Cultivators are indeed hiding inside the valley. You must trust me!
"Sand Scorpion! You were not speaking the whole truth, because it was only part of the story. If you are confident, I'll raise questions for you, and you will answer 'yes' or 'no'. That's the only precise way to determine the validity of your story!"
Upon hearing his words, the qi-trainers from the other five tribes all started booing him. Even his many companions in the Burning Sun Tribe were showing despise.
Credibility was highly valued on Iron Plateau. Sand Scorpion had proved his identity through the Truth Cabinet many times. Yet, Yan Chifeng was still harassing him. He had clearly crossed the line.
The chief of the Feathered Snakes Tribe's eyes shined coldly. She was about to speak when Li Yao interjected in advance and said while coughing, "Yan Chifeng, everything I said is true, and I am not scared of your questions. You can run tests however you want!
"However, I've passed the test many times in the Truth Cabinet. It's only reasonable that you have your turn now!
"You say that I'm a spy from space, but I say that you are an agent of the Temple of Immortals. I have done two rounds of tests now. Do you dare come here and have a go?
"As long as you can pass the test of the Truth Cabinet, I'll do one more round of tests for you!"
"Well—"
Yan Chifeng's face was pale, his sweat pouring down. He was shaking his eyes erratically.
The qi-trainers of the other five tribes, seeing his hesitation, all squinted and whispered to each other more and more loudly.
"Ah Feng!"
Gazing at Yan Chifeng, Yan Xibei sighed and said, "With everything coming this far, for the honor of the Burning Sun Tribe, to find out the truth of Zhengdong's murder, and for the future of the six tribes of Iron Plateau, just go to the Truth Cabinet and prove your innocence!"
"Uncle—"
Yan Chifeng's face twisted. He was about to argue, when he found that, not only were the experts of the other five tribes pointing their blades at him, even many people of the Burning Sun Tribe, including his own brother, Yan Chihuo, were more vigilant than before and seemed to consider him an enemy!
Yan Chifeng bit his lips hard, regretting that he couldn't mince the wretched Sand Scorpion into pieces. He calmed himself down and said loudly, "Alright. I've done nothing wrong. What harm is there to go to the Truth Cabinet?
"I am definitely not a member of the Temple of Immortals. The Truth Cabinet can test me however it wants about that!
"When the Truth Cabinet proves that I am speaking the truth, Sand Scorpion, I will ask you several questions that are going to rip apart your mask!"
Yan Chifeng sniffed and walked toward the Truth Cabinet with his head held high.
"Wait!"
Li Yao suddenly rose up. Wiping the blood on the corner of his lips, he said, "Chief of the Feathered Snakes Tribe, and everybody else, I know a lot more about the scheme than you do. Chief Xiong has also informed me of his suspicions, too. To ensure the accuracy of the test, can I propose a question and ask Yan Chifeng to answer it?"
The four chiefs, Yan Xibei, and the elder from the Furious Bears Tribe discussed for a while, before the chief of the Feathered Snakes Tribe replied, "Why don't you tell us what your question is first?"
Yan Chifeng shrieked, "He is definitely going to set up a trap in his question!"
Li Yao sneered, "Rest assured. The question that I propose will be heard by everybody. They will be able to tell whether or not there are traps in it!
"Yan Chifeng, you said that you are not a member of the Temple of Immortals. I definitely believe that!
"Since you knew about the existence of such a tool as marvelous as the 'Truth Cabinet' from the beginning, you must've made thorough plans to cope with it.
"It's possible that you indeed did not join the Temple of Immortals. You merely contacted each other and made clandestine deals. For example, you would provide cannon fodder for the Temple of Immortals, and the Temple of Immortals would make you king of Iron Plateau, or give you certain Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that could help you break into a higher level.
"It's also possible that you'd never heard the name of the Temple of Immortals before and you address each other using pseudonyms. For example, 'Organization A' or 'Temple of the Undying'. If you are in fact a member of the Temple of the Undying, it is of course true that you are not a member of the Temple of Immortals!
"Let's say the Truth Cabinet detects that you've heard of the Temple of Immortals before. You can always argue that certain spies from the Temple of Immortals that infiltrated the Burning Sun Tribe mentioned it to you before. You'd completely forgotten it, but the memory had been etched to your soul. It's perfectly reasonable!"
Yan Chifeng couldn't help but sneer, "You are indeed considerate. It appears that, even if the Truth Cabinet proves that I don't belong to the Temple of Immortals, it won't help anything?"
"No, it won't," Li Yao admitted. "To prove your innocence, we must get to the bottom of everything, which is the death of your father, Yan Zhengdong!"
Yan Chifeng burst into fury. "What? Are you insinuating that I murdered my own father? That's unreasonable! Too unreasonable! Come on. Let's go to the Truth Cabinet and find out!"
"Why are you so excited?" Li Yao replied coldly. "At first, I suspected Yan Xibei and Yan Chihuo. But on second thought, one of them is old and disabled, and the other is too young and lacks the capability. It wouldn't have been safe to entrust the murder to them.
"However, you would be different. You were both strong and Yan Zhengdong's trusted son. You were most suitable for the assassination.
"However, there are many ways to kill someone. For example, you could've beaten Yan Zhengdong until he was heavily wounded and then asked someone else to finish him off. It wouldn't have been false if you claimed that you did not kill anybody."
Yan Chifeng was so outraged that he was laughing. Tears were flowing out, as he bellowed, "Then I will prove through the Truth Cabinet that I did not fight against my father that night!"
"Wait!"
Li Yao coughed slightly. He rubbed his temples slowly, as if he hadn't recovered from the suffering of his soul being torn apart, before he continued calmly. "Such questions are too broad and fuzzy. Maybe there were other experts from the Temple of Immortals, and you did not do it in person. That's also possible."
Yan Chifeng was angry. "This won't do, and that won't do. What exactly do you want?"
Seeing that Yan Chifeng was so firm, many people in the Burning Sun Tribe were somewhat convinced. They whispered to each other, "Yan Chifeng does not seem to be lying. He is not a member of the Temple of Immortals, nor did he kill Chief Yan!"
Li Yao continued unhurriedly. "That day in Furious Bears City, I heard the whole case. It was said that you were training in a quiet place by yourself at dawn and did not know your father was dead until your brother Yan Chihuo asked somebody to inform you when he found your father's body. Isn't that right?"
Yan Chifeng laughed aloud. "Everybody in the six tribes know that I am a training maniac. I practice in seclusion every night. You are accusing me just based on that?"
"No. You're wrong." Li Yao shook his head and said softly, "The point is, if you were speaking the truth, your brother Yan Chihuo learned of your father's death earlier than you did, right?"
Yan Chifeng's eyes shook as he suddenly shuddered, and yet, he failed to come up with any response.
Li Yao smiled and gestured toward him. "Yan Chifeng, please go to the Truth Cabinet and state: 'Five days ago, in Furious Bears City, I did not know that Yan Zhengdong was dead until Yan Chihuo's envoy found me.' That will be enough.
"If you were not lying, this should be a positive statement, shouldn't it?
"But if a 'False' pops up on the Truth Cabinet after you make the statement, then it will be kind of weird. If you were training in seclusion all night, how come you knew of your father's death before your brother told you?
"This is the question I want to ask. You can analyze carefully if there's any trap in it.
"Is there a possible scenario where Yan Chifeng is innocent and he could learn of his father's death earlier than his brother Yan Chihuo?"
Murmurs broke out among the qi-trainers, too. Everybody frowned, deep in thought.
Five minutes later, Yan Xibei gradually floated out on his jet wheelchair. In misery, he shook his head slowly. "There are no traps. If Yan Chifeng had nothing to do with the incident, it is simply impossible for him to have found out that Yan Zhengdong was dead before Yan Chihuo!"
His declaration was like a death sentence for Yan Chihuo, whose face had turned from red to purple and from purple to black and eventually ended up pure white!
"Brother!"
After a clang, Yan Chihuo unsheathed his saber and roared, hot tears running out, "Brother, are you related to our father's death?"
Yan Chifeng held his heart and replied resolutely, "Of course not!"
Yan Chihuo waved his saber—a scorching aura darted out—while he said, "If not, go to the Truth Cabinet and say the words!"
Yan Chifeng rolled his eyes and glared at Li Yao in hatred. He gnashed his teeth, "Alright. If you don't believe me, I might as well prove my innocence through the Truth Cabinet!"
He spat and strode toward the Truth Cabinet, while he announced, "Sand Scorpion, after I prove my innocence, I'll ask you one last question, and your true face will—"
Half way through his speech, Yan Chifeng suddenly stomped on the ground. His spiritual gas surged out and raised a sandstorm that blocked everybody's vision.
Then, he leapt up like a viper and charged back at Yan Xibei, who was still floating in midair!
Yan Chihuo was caught unprepared. He roared and lunged at his brother, only to be kicked right in the chest by Yan Chifeng's unpredictable and almost invisible attack. Under the bombardment of the spiritual gas, he was blown away immediately while he was vomiting blood.
When the dust settled, Yan Xibei had fallen under Yan Chifeng's control. A dagger was pierced deeply into the old man's neck. With a tiny bit of spiritual gas, his veins and spines would be cut in half!
Yan Chifeng's hair was messy because of the wind, and his eyes seemed to be bleeding. His face was so hideous that he barely looked like a human. He yelled to all the qi-trainers, "Don't come here! I'll kill him if anyone comes close!"