Chapter 2248  Portrait of the Culprit(2)

"An Outsider, you say?" Commander Wong nearly burst out laughing at Xu Jiaqi's response, but managed to hold it in.

"While the Outsiders were given assistance by the Celestial Emperor to help with their growth, there's no way any of them could defeat a single soldier of Heaven's Mandate at this time, much less slaughter thousands using Void Manipulation at the advanced level!"

"Void Manipulation? And even at the advanced level?" The others expressed shock after learning this information for the first time.

Xu Jiaqi calmly replied, "I don't know anything about that. I am merely telling you what I know about the man you claim to be the culprit."

Commander Wang then asked, "You also claimed that this individual had already left the faction, correct? In that case, why did his actions affect your faction's karma? If he'd truly left the faction as you'd claimed, your karma wouldn't have declined as a result."

Xu Jiaqi shook her head and sighed, "Unfortunately, I am just as confused as you."

"You'll need more than that to convince me," Commander Wong said.

"Then don't believe me. I already told you what I know about the culprit."

"If you continue to make this difficult for us, we'll have to use more forceful methods."

"Oh? I would love to see such methods." Xu Jiaqi narrowed her eyes and stared at him with a provocative gaze.

The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly. Those aligned with Xu Jiaqi rose to their feet, their auras flaring, making it abundantly clear they were ready for battle at a moment's notice.

"This is outright defiance," Commander Wong said with a deep frown. "And since I'm acting under the Celestial Emperor's orders, your resistance is no different from defying the Celestial Emperor himself."

As much as he wanted to pressure Xu Jiaqi into revealing everything, he was clearly at a disadvantage in numbers. Moreover, even if her behavior was undeniably suspicious, he couldn't simply arrest her, as she was an enormously influential figure in the Nine Heavens, and doing so would provoke outrage from countless individuals.

Commander Wong suddenly shifted his focus to Senior Bai and spoke, "And you, Bai Ling? Do you also intend to defy the Celestial Emperor? Someone as highly respected and righteous as you wouldn't be foolish enough to lie for a criminal… would you?"

Senior Bai responded calmly, without the slightest hesitation, "I was present with Celestial Overlord Xu during both the recruitment of that individual and his departure. I will corroborate her statement."

"Then would you be willing to let us read your memories?" Commander Wong suddenly asked.

"I refuse," Xu Jiaqi rejected without hesitation.

"Why not? Because you're guilty?"

"Guilty of what? Knowing someone?" she scoffed. "My memories contain countless private matters and priceless techniques—hardly something I'd allow a stranger to sift through. And let's not forget that the Celestial Emperor showed great interest in my father's legacy. What if this is nothing more than a ploy to get his hands on it?"

Xu Jiaqi's refusal to have her memories read wasn't unusual, even given the circumstances. Outside of servants or those working in environments like Heaven's Mandate, requesting to inspect someone's memories was considered highly intrusive and outright disrespectful, all the more so when directed at a powerhouse like Xu Jiaqi. Even if she were personally accused of killing the soldiers, she still wouldn't share her memories, even if doing so would clear her name.

That was why no one in the room—besides Commander Wong—questioned her refusal, not even Liu Yucang, who would have benefited the most from her downfall.

Commander Wong trembled with anger as he snapped, "You think the Celestial Emperor would stoop so low just to covet a few damn techniques?! You must be out of your mind!"

"And you dare to demand my memories?" Xu Jiaqi's voice turned frigid, her gaze slicing through him like a blade. "Tell me, Commander—who here has truly lost their mind?"

"Enough of this." Old Man Bi suddenly interjected. "Lady Xu and Old Bai are not the type to lie, especially when it concerns the integrity of the Celestial Overlords. I cannot fathom either of them fabricating a story for someone who has tarnished our reputation, regardless of any prior connection."

"I agree," Qiang Qing Yun said. "Moreover, you've provided no proof that the man in your portrait was responsible for anything. If you refuse to take our word for it, why should we accept yours?"

"..."

Commander Wong fell silent for a long moment before responding, "Very well. Since I only came here to investigate and nothing more, I shall retreat for now and report back to the Celestial Emperor first."

He turned around and began walking toward the exit.

"If I were in your shoes, I'd make sure to find the criminal before it's too late," he said before leaving with his soldiers.

The room became dead silent after Heaven's Mandate left. "So… care to explain yourselves?" Liu Yucang broke the silence and immediately started questioning the two again. "Unlike Commander Wong, I won't leave this alone until I find out the truth."

Xu Jiaqi turned to him and said, "I have nothing more to add. Everything I told the Commander is the truth. I recruited him early on because I saw potential in him, but he chose to leave for his own reasons."

"That's difficult to believe, but given your reputation, I'll take your word for it," he scoffed.

"The question now is… where that little rat is hiding. Clearly, he never truly left the faction if his actions affected our karma. We need to find him before Heaven's Mandate returns since they'll definitely show up prepared next time." Old Man Bi nodded and said, "The simplest way to draw out a rat hiding in its hole is to flush it out by force. We can perform a mass recall and verify every member's identity."

"That might take a while, but it'll definitely help us find him," Qiang Qing Yun said, agreeing with the plan. 

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