Conquering That Great Demon Lord [Xian Ni Fan Fiction] - Chapter 34 : Interrogation

Chapter 34 : Interrogation

The words on the elders’ jade slips were crystal clear. Li Muwan stood upright, stealing glances at Wang Lin from the corner of her eye, fearing he might lose his temper.

The elders harbored such thoughts for the sake of both her and the Cloud Heaven Sect. After all, he kept changing appearances every few days, while she remained young and beautifulno wonder others speculated she had switched husbands.

“They want Wan’er to sever ties with me to ensure the sect’s eternal prosperity.” Wang Lin’s brow furrowed with displeasure, his eyes shooting icy glares as he crushed the jade slip in an instant.

“Se-Senior Brother…” Li Muwan offered a weak consolation, “The elders and Grand Ancestors don’t realize that the you in my room now is the same fiend who forced them to surrender their Soul Blood a century ago…”

She caught her breath and rephrased, “The same cultivator who forced them to surrender their Soul Blood. Your appearance when you saved the sect that day differs from now. When we initially agreed to publicly declare ourselves husband and wife so I could govern the Cloud Heaven Sect in your stead, they naturally grew fearful of you.”

“If I, as sect leader, were to betray their trust, they’d be justified in offering earnest counsel. Ultimately, it’s for your sakewhy are you displeased again?”

Wang Lin fell silent, recognizing the logic in her words.

He then summoned his clone and instructed Li Muwan to use a Sound Transmission Jade Slip to call the sect’s Grand Ancestors and elders to the Southern Garden.

Upon seeing the cloned Wang Lin, the group had a brief scare. As for the red hair, Li Muwan simply explained it as an illusion conjured by Restriction magic.

While Li Muwan handled the negotiations upfront, Wang Lin stood behind her like an unshakable pillar, exuding the same imposing aura as in the pasthis mere presence commanding awe without anger.

In just decades, he had already reached the early Spirit Transformation stage, leaving the Grand Ancestors with no grounds for objection. They promptly ordered the sect rumors to cease.

Since Wang Lin’s return, Zhou Lin rarely visited the Southern Garden. Unless tending to the mystical plants in the backyard, he deliberately avoided the main pavilionexcept when specifically summoned by Li Muwan for sect matters.

He always felt the red-haired Wang Lin inside possessed an intensely possessive attitude toward their ancestor, making it wiser to stay away.

While waiting for the Immortal Realm of Rain to open, Wang Lin spent most days meditating with closed eyes, while Li Muwan would play the zither for him.

Not wishing to disturb Wang Lin during his energy regulation, Li Muwan took the paintings and calligraphy from her room to sun-dry in the courtyard.

She specifically instructed Xiao Ling, “These artworks are my prized collection. Guard them well and don’t leave this spot.”

Xiao Ling fluttered its wings in acknowledgment, not daring to stray an inch from its post under Li Muwan’s orders.

When the elders finalized plans for the Cloud Heaven Sect’s annual disciple recruitment ceremony requiring the sect leader’s approval, Li Muwan received the Sound Transmission Jade Slip and headed to the Elder Hall.

After Wang Lin awoke, he scanned the Southern Garden but found no trace of Li Muwan. Leaning against the pavilion railings with crossed arms, he overlooked the entire garden from the cool terrace.

The faint sandalwood scent in the room complemented his tranquil state. His Divine Sense swept through the Southern Garden, confirming her absence as he deduced she was handling important matters.

Feeling leisurely, he strolled to the backyard where spirit herbs grewthe same immortal herbs and spirit herbs he’d tended during his early days at Cloud Heaven Sect with Li Muwan in the Southern Garden.

As Wang Lin’s wide sleeves brushed past the medicinal plants, his gaze fell upon the pavilion behind the herb field where Xiao Ling was dozing off.

The Second Demon suddenly shuddered, sensing its master’s presence, and immediately flew behind him, circling obsequiously.

“Didn’t I order you to guard her without leaving her side?” Wang Lin glanced sidelong at Xiao Ling.

Xiao Ling pointed frantically at the artworks behind the pavilion, wishing desperately it could speak.

Wang Lin strolled over, his gaze lingering with curiosity on the objects arranged within the pavilion. “Did Wan’er ask you to stay here?”

Several ancient books lay there, heavily thumbedlikely Li Muwan’s frequent reads. Beside them were a few copied calligraphy and paintings, her brushstrokes delicate yet firm, revealing a woman of refined taste who knew how to live elegantly. It was no wonder her room was so exquisitely arranged.

Wang Lin’s mind drifted to his mother’s words: “Tiezhu, find a good wife who can tend your lamp and mend your clothes someday, and I’ll rest easy.”

Li Muwan’s face flashed through his thoughts, and the corners of his lips unconsciously lifted.

But when his eyes fell upon the two portraits below, his smile froze. His eyes flushed crimson, and a wave of icy energy erupted, instantly freezing all the spirit herbs in the entire backyard.

Xiao Ling hugged its head with its wings, trembling in fear.

Wang Lin stared at the two portraits, his voice a low, gloomy murmur: “Ma Liang!””

A chill ran down Xiao Ling’s spine. Wang Lin’s eyes, deep as an abyss, held a barely perceptible killing intent. His brow twitched slightly, his gaze turning piercingly cold. With a slight clench of his palm, the two portraits of Ma Liang instantly turned to ashes, leaving no trace behind.

The other items remained untouched on the stone table, but Xiao Ling felt as if the sky were about to collapse. Li Muwan had tasked it with guarding these scrolls and writings, and now Wang Lin had burned them without a word. How was it supposed to explain this?

By the time Li Muwan returned to the Southern Garden, night had fallen. The elders, overly concerned, had insisted on discussing every minor detail, consuming much of her time.

She had been worried that Wang Lin might venture out searching for her upon waking, but seeing him still meditating indoors upon her return, she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Senior Brother, Wan’er is back.” Li Muwan brushed her sleeve across her forehead and nestled close to Wang Lin’s side. Having sat rigidly all day in the elders’ hall as sect leader, maintaining dignity and composure, she couldn’t afford to relax. But back in the Southern Garden, she was differentbefore Wang Lin, she shed the stern, unsmiling demeanor others saw, revealing a lively, charming charm tinged with a girlish innocence.

“What have you been doing?” Wang Lin asked, his heart aching at the weariness on her face.

“The Cloud Heaven Sect is expanding its disciple recruitment. I was discussing the details with the elders,” Li Muwan replied breezily. “Managing such a large sect requires considerable effort.”

“Once I return from the Rain Immortal Realm, I’ll take you out to relax,” Wang Lin said, lifting his gaze to her bright smile, which starkly contrasted her tired voice.

Without thinking, Wang Lin raised a hand to caress her cheek. Her rosy lips were enticing, and when he looked at her, the emotion in his eyes was unrestrained.

Li Muwan understood his gaze and leaned in to brush her lips against hisa fleeting, dragonfly touch. She always knew how to gauge his moods and reactions.

That simple gesture was enough to ensnare the usually upright gentleman, leaving him utterly captivated.

“Did Senior Brother miss Wan’er after waiting all day?”

Wang Lin’s gaze was direct and unguarded. Li Muwan, having perspired during her day out, didn’t wish to cling to him now, but leaving him unattended for too long might lead to her own exhaustion later.

Her eyes drifted to the window, where the sky had fully darkened, reminding her of the books and paintings still left outside to air.

As Wang Lin’s hand hovered mid-air, his heart burning with warmth, Li Muwan stood and moved away. “Senior Brother, I need to step out for a moment.”

His hand hung awkwardly in the air, and he couldn’t help but chuckle at himself, shaking his head in resignation.

Before long, Li Muwan had just stepped out when earth-shaking roars erupted from the backyard, “Xiao! Ling!”

The koi fish in the lotus pond dived underwater, while several fiends emerged from the Storage Bag, lining up behind Wang Lin and craning their necks to peer outside.

Xu Liguo, clutching Wang Lin’s arm with a cheek propped on his hand, feigned fright, “What’s happened to our kind and gentle mistress?”

Wang Lin closed his eyes, his mind troubled yet his expression utterly composed, as if he knew everything.

In the backyard, Li Muwan was scolding Xiao Ling, conjuring a spirit whip to strike the beam and intimidate it, “Xiao Ling, didn’t I tell you to guard it properly? Where’s the painting?”

Xiao Ling shook its head repeatedly, looking utterly innocent and wishing it could bury itself in its wings.

“Were you slacking off and dozing?” Li Muwan planted her hands on her hips, twirling the whip with a fierce demeanor.

Even if Xiao Ling had dozed off, if the painting had blown away, it could have been found somewhere in the yard. But it had vanished into thin airotherwise, she wouldn’t be so angry.

No disciples other than Zhou Lin ever entered the Southern Garden, and today Zhou Lin was attending a meeting at the elder’s hall. That left only the fiends.

Hearing the commotion outside, the fiends hastily retreated back into the Storage Bag.

Li Muwan stormed back in, her face flushed with a mix of anger and grievance, addressing the cross-legged Wang Lin, “Senior Brother, could you summon all your fiends?”

“Wan’er, what’s wrong?”

“Senior Brother, the painting I was airing in my yard has disappeared. I originally asked Xiao Ling to watch over it,” Li Muwan shot a glance at the closely following Xiao Ling, “Xiao Ling dozed off, and perhaps the fiends were playing around and accidentally lost it without realizing.”

The fiends had all witnessed who destroyed the painting, but Wang Lin remained silent, so none dared expose their master.

They exchanged nervous glances, sweating bullets.

“Is that painting very important to you?” Wang Lin’s voice deepened, but Li Muwan, preoccupied with the painting, didn’t catch the hint of dejection in his tone.

“Very important,” Li Muwan stated bluntly.

Wang Lin grunted in response, summoning all the fiends and ordering, “Answer whatever Wan’er asks.”

Led by Xu Liguo, the five fiends stood in a row. Li Muwan paced over, sat at the desk, and spread out paper and brush, her aura as sect leader vividly apparent, “Step forward and report.”

The fiends exchanged uneasy looks, then collectively glanced back at Wang Lin, who remained impassive throughout.

The Southern Garden was so quiet you could hear the wind passing by.

Xu Liguo grew increasingly agitated, inwardly cursing, “That little scourge burned the painting himself but doesn’t dare admit it in front of the mistress, forcing us underlings to face her interrogation. Damn it all. Whoever speaks up today is doomed, but if we don’t, the mistress will be furious, and we’re still doomed.”

Li Muwan slowly dipped her brush in ink, lifting it to ask, “Xu Liguo, you start.”

“Mistress, what should I say?” Xu Liguo simpered.

“What did you do today? Did you see the painting airing in my yard, or notice anyone going to the backyard?”

Xu Liguo: “Mistress, little Xu stayed by the master’s side all day without leaving, I didn’t go anywhere.”

The Great Ape beside him, being rather dull, thumped its chest as if exposing Xu Liguo.

Xu Liguo grew flustered, “Great Ape, what’s that expression for?”

“If anyone dares lie, I’ll have my husband teach them a lesson,” Li Muwan narrowed her eyes threateningly.

Xu Liguo had no choice, “Little Xu did go to the backyard once…”

At this point, he could already feel the pressure of Wang Lin’s Divine Sense and quickly changed his tone, “I only stole a jug of wine to drink, but I didn’t see any painting! What was depicted in the painting, Mistress?”

“No wonder Zhou Lin said some wine was missing from the backyardit was you who drank it.” She twirled the brush in her hand, having uncovered something else during the interrogation.

“And what about the missing Elixir from the East Courty’s alchemy room? Do you know where it went?”

Xu Liguo had no choice but to kneel down. “Mistress… Little Xu was wrong. I drank the wine, and I took the Elixir, but I truly haven’t seen the painting. I swear to heaven, Master, you must stand up for Little Xu!”

Li Muwan glanced sideways at Wang Lin by the windowsill. Seeing that she couldn’t get anything out of him, she shifted her focus. “Xiao Ling, while you were dozing off, did you see anyone else come to the backyard?”

Xiao Ling looked toward Wang Lin’s direction. Wang Lin raised his eyes with an innocent expression, and Xiao Ling shook her head vigorously, indicating she hadn’t seen anyone.

“Then did you see Xu Liguo sneaking into the backyard to steal wine?”

Xiao Ling shook her head again. Li Muwan concluded she must have been sound asleep.

“What about the Great Ape?”

The Great Ape mumbled and gestured excitedly, as if recounting some thrilling tale. Li Muwan set down her brush, then picked it up again and made a mark on the paper.

“You went to the East Courtyard to pick Spirit Fruit? How did you know there was Spirit Fruit there?”

The Great Ape grunted in agreement. Though his sense of smell was sharp, his previous memories had been erased when Wang Lin refined the Fiend, so he shouldn’t have remembered.

He then pulled a few fruits from his fur and obediently placed them on Li Muwan’s desk.

Li Muwan sighed. “Great Ape, I don’t want your fruits. Take them back.”

The Great Ape stared blankly, then complied and retrieved the fruits.

Xu Liguo watched idly as Wang Lin amused himself by teasing Li Muwan.

With a look of enjoying the show, he thought, “That little troublemaker is secretly delighted. If the Mistress finds out he burned the painting, let’s see how you explain that.”

“Mosquito beast, you’re the one who sticks closest to Senior Brother,” Li Muwan said, standing up from her desk as she grew tired of sitting. “What about you? Have you seen my painting?”

The mosquito beast buzzed a few times, shaking its head and poking the Thunder Frog beside it with its proboscis. The Thunder Frog remained lazily motionless.

“Then what were you doing today?”

Mosquito beast: “Buzz buzz buzz…”

After going in circles and getting nowhere, Li Muwan’s patience was nearly exhausted. The buzzing noise only made her mind more chaotic.

“Enough! Stop that noise. You buzz all night long outside the pavilion without end.”

The mosquito beast looked at Wang Lin with a pitiful expression and fell silent.

“And you, Thunder Frog! Every night you go swimming in my lotus pond. Look what you’ve done to those lotus flowers! Even the koi fish flee at the sight of you. You croak endlessly in the pond at nightI haven’t slept well for days because of you.”

The Thunder Frog closed its eyes, expressionless and listless, completely ignoring Li Muwan’s scolding.

It even provocatively croaked: “Ribbit, ribbit ribbit.”..”

Li Muwan felt a surge of frustration but struggled to calm herself, her face flushed red. She moved closer to Wang Lin. “Senior Brother, look at it…”

“All of you, cease this mischief.” Wang Lin turned slightly to embrace her.

“Has Wan’er finished her interrogation?”

“Didn’t Senior Brother hear everything? They all said they didn’t see it.” Li Muwan leaned against his chest, disheartened. “But how could it just disappear? Have you seen it, Senior Brother?”

“No.” Wang Lin replied without changing his expression.

Xu Liguo cursed inwardly: “Bullshit! It was clearly you who burned it to ashes with the Netherworld Flame.”

“Wan’er, aren’t you tired?” Seeing the fatigue on her face, Wang Lin recalled the Fiend.

Her mind was heavy with worries. Those two scrollsthe figure in the Sea of Demonic Cultivation cave residence she had spent two years painting after returning from the Sea of Demonic Cultivation to Luoshui Sect, and the one she had worked on during countless nights over two hundred years from the Fire Burning Country to Cloud Heaven Secthad kept her going in Cloud Heaven Sect whenever she gazed upon the person depicted.

The scrolls had suffered moisture damage several times. To preserve them, she had to seek restoration methods in the Scripture Repository to barely maintain them until now.

That night, Wang Lin used a Restriction to keep the Fiend outside the Southern Garden. After bathing, Li Muwan carried a faint lotus fragrance that stirred Wang Lin’s previously calm heart. But the moment she leaned against him, she fell asleep.

He could only suppress his desires with resolve. Li Muwan slept peacefully through the night, no longer hearing the cries of the mosquito beast or the Thunder Frog.