Chapter 1722 — A Lucky Mistake

"Don't!" Yu Huoxing was startled the moment he heard that Yu Xiaoshen intended to go and question the man, and he blurted out a reflexive objection. But no sooner had the words left his mouth than he regretted them. Wouldn't stopping him just make me look guilty?

"Don't? What's this? Afraid your lies will be exposed?" Yu Xiaoshen had already been mostly convinced, but hearing Yu Huoxing say this made him suspicious again.

"No... what I mean is, if you go question him just like that, Family Head, how could Wei Zhao possibly admit it?" Yu Huoxing's mind raced for a way out. "My guess is that it was Wei Zhao who told Young Master Yu Bing about my getting the Qi-gathering pills—eight chances in ten. And his aim was to make you come down hard on me. But you, Family Head Yu, are so wise and mighty—how could you be taken in so easily?"

Yu Huoxing was a cautious man, and so he had listened closely to what Yu Xiaoshen said. He had keenly caught one piece of information—that Wei Zhao had also taken part in the trial. That gave him all the more justification to start pinning the blame squarely on Wei Zhao.

"Skip the flattery. Get to the point!" Yu Xiaoshen waved a hand. He wasn't buying that sort of talk.

"Yes..." Yu Huoxing hurried on with his "analysis." "So think about it, Family Head—if you were a good friend of Young Master Yu Bing, would you admit to having robbed his family of their Qi-gathering pills?"

"What you say does make a certain amount of sense!" Yu Xiaoshen nodded. "Even so, I'll still write a letter and ask. Whether this Wei Zhao is the male thief, whether he took part in the tomb robbery!"

"That..." Yu Huoxing was terrified inside, but he could not say so outright, and could only keep trying to talk him out of it. "Family Head, look—since Young Master Yu Bing made no mention of Wei Zhao in his letter, that means he wanted to cover for Wei Zhao. If you question him like this, how could he admit it? In his place, I'd deny it flatly too!"

"Oh, that doesn't matter. It's all in how you go about asking—some technique is required!" Yu Xiaoshen waved a hand and spoke as though it were nothing. "When the time comes, I'll confront him straight out—Wei Zhao took part in the tomb robbery too, he was the male thief and he got the Qi-gathering pills, so why didn't he tell me? Why did he hide the facts? I'll be a little vague, act as though I already know everything, and put it to him as a direct accusation!"

"That..." Yu Huoxing was at a loss. He truly had no grounds left to argue against it. He had to admit that Yu Xiaoshen's proposal was perfectly reasonable. As a member of the Yu family, Yu Bing would surely not dare conceal anything further under such an accusing tone.

But if Yu Bing truly knew nothing at all, then no matter how harsh the accusation, no matter how convincingly Yu Xiaoshen acted as though he understood everything, Yu Bing still could not possibly admit it. So Yu Huoxing worried—this whole tale was something he'd made up on the spur of the moment, and when the truth came out, what then?

"All right, the matter is settled!" Yu Xiaoshen waved a hand. "If it really was Wei Zhao who did it, then I won't make things hard for you. I know Wei Zhao does have some skill. But if you've made all this up, then—heh heh—you know the consequences!"

With that, Yu Xiaoshen waved his hand with a trace of impatience and picked up his teacup. Yu Huoxing knew he was being dismissed. He could only sigh helplessly. There was no use saying more; all he could do was wait for the final outcome.

Yu Huoxing made his way toward his own quarters, only to find Yu Liu following behind him—openly, without the slightest attempt to hide it. He knew then that he was being watched.

"I hope that Yu Bing can help me too!" Yu Huoxing prayed silently for a miracle...

Yu Xiaoshen watched Yu Huoxing leave, then hurried straight to the Yu family patriarch's place of cultivation. This was a matter of the highest importance—he had to discuss it with his father.

The Yu family patriarch was puzzled that Yu Xiaoshen had come back so soon. "Xiaoshen, why are you back again? Is it about Yu Huoxing?"

"Yes... it's exactly because of Yu Huoxing..." Yu Xiaoshen rather admired his father's sharp perception and nodded quickly.

"You can't even make a decision on a little thing like this?" The patriarch was somewhat taken aback. Yu Xiaoshen had never been this sort of person before. Dealing with a Yu Huoxing was no great matter—was it really necessary to come back and discuss it with him?

"There's a bit of a hidden complication in all this!" Yu Xiaoshen shook his head. "Father, I did as you suggested and showed that letter to Yu Huoxing, and then he explained the reason behind it all..."

"Oh? What reason?" The patriarch was curious too. What secret could there possibly be in this?

"It's like this..." Yu Xiaoshen repeated everything Yu Huoxing had said, along with his own analysis of the suspicious points and his assessment of how credible the story was.

"The way he tells it, it's possible—and also not possible..." The patriarch nodded. "Writing a letter to ask is the right move. This is something you can decide on your own. Just tell me the result—it's no great matter!"

"Yes. Then I'll go write the letter and ask," Yu Xiaoshen replied.

Back from the patriarch's place of cultivation, Yu Xiaoshen first wrote a letter accusing Yu Bing. Of course, he did not go into detail in it. He merely stated in a tone of certainty that he knew Wei Zhao had taken part in the tomb robbery and that Wei Zhao had obtained the Qi-gathering pills—and why had Yu Bing concealed this and not reported it?

As for the details, Yu Xiaoshen mentioned none of them, precisely because he was afraid of giving himself away. If Yu Bing really had something to hide, he would surely offer an explanation upon reading the letter. If he himself wrote too much, it would instead smack of protesting too much.

Once the letter was written, Yu Xiaoshen headed quickly to his daughter's room. Yu Xiaoshen was an expert at the peak of the late Earth rank, and since he deliberately made no sound, Yu Ning naturally heard nothing. And when the other Yu family cultivators and servants saw Yu Xiaoshen, they of course did not stop him.

So Yu Xiaoshen reached Yu Ning's room without the slightest hindrance—only to find Yu Ning painting.

That Yu Ning was painting—Yu Xiaoshen neither minded nor objected to it. But when he saw clearly who the figure in the painting was, his brow knitted tightly at once!

"Ahem!" Yu Xiaoshen cleared his throat twice.

Yu Ning jumped in fright, and the brush in her hand gave a jerk—the painting was ruined. She had not expected a person to suddenly appear in the quiet room! And when Yu Ning turned around and saw that the newcomer was actually her own father, her face flushed red at once and she tried to turn her easel face down.

"I've already seen it all. There's no need to hide it!" Yu Xiaoshen had meant to have a proper heart-to-heart with his daughter, but seeing how deeply infatuated she was—still painting Wei Zhao, of all people!