Chapter 1168: Chapter 1167: Laughing Tiger Chapter 1168: Chapter 1167: Laughing Tiger The handsome youth's words were poignant, clearly targeting you, Fang Lin, implying that as soon as you entered the Inspection Hall, it meant you were guilty, that Fang Lin himself was a criminal.
Fang Lin gave the man a deep look and suddenly said, “Elder Tianhong and Mr. Long Jiu are both coming to the Inspection Hall for trial. Are you suggesting that both Elder Tianhong and Mr. Long Jiu are guilty as well with that statement you just made?”
As soon as these words were spoken, the handsome youth's face changed color. He had not expected that his deliberately disparaging remark toward Fang Lin would be seized by the latter as such significant leverage.
“That wasn't what I meant. You're twisting my words,” the handsome youth quickly retorted, his gaze towards Fang Lin turning particularly hostile.
Fang Lin scoffed and somehow a Sound Bead had appeared in his hand as he spoke, “The words you just said, I have kept them all. When I see Mr. Long Jiu and Elder Tianhong, I'll let them listen and see how they interpret your words.”
Seeing the Sound Bead in Fang Lin's hand, the handsome youth's nose was nearly crooked with anger. Was this guy doing this on purpose? Had he even prepared a Sound Bead in advance?
However, the handsome youth was somewhat panicked as well. Although he held a remarkable position in the Inspection Hall, he was still a member of the Pill Alliance. Uttering such words was simply outrageous.
In the entire Pill Alliance, not even the Inspection Hall Master, Situ Zheng, would dare accuse Elder Tianhong and Mr. Long Jiu of having any guilt, let alone him.
The four Inspection Envoys were also stunned, looking at each other, each seeing the shock on the others' faces.
They weren't fools either. The words spoken by the handsome youth, albeit not naming anyone, indeed bore the suspicion of great betrayal. Now that Fang Lin had grasped such a handle, it would cause anyone to panic.
The handsome youth's complexion had completely changed. He had maintained a calm smile earlier, but now his expression was severe, dark as the bottom of a pot.
“Kid, what's your name? You're nowhere near my level, Fang Lin,” Fang Lin said with a grin, deliberately shaking the Sound Bead in his hand.
Just as the handsome youth was about to speak, someone else came out from the main gate of the Inspection Hall.
“Lu Mingfeng, the words you just spoke were indeed outrageous!” The newcomer, without a second word, slapped the handsome youth twice firmly, causing Lu Mingfeng to fall to the ground, blood flowing from his mouth, his cheeks swollen high, completely devoid of any trace of handsomeness.
The four Inspection Envoys immediately knelt on the ground, trembling, daring not to look directly at the person before them.
Fang Lin observed the man who had slapped Lu Mingfeng twice. He was an elder, with a kindly appearance, seemingly gentle and benevolent, his face bearing a faint smile.
But this elder, who looked very mild-mannered, had slapped Lu Mingfeng so hard just now that the sound echoed; the force could have killed a Martial Artist of the Spirit Vein outright.
Lu Mingfeng sat there, utterly stunned, his cheeks so numb he had completely lost any sensation of pain, as if his face was no longer his own, unable to feel its existence.
“As a Grand Inspector, speaking without restraint, committing a great betrayal, I demote you to a mere Inspection Envoy!” the elder told Lu Mingfeng, immediately reducing his rank within the Inspection Hall.
Lu Mingfeng, without uttering a word, silently got up, bowed to the elder, then stepped aside with his head down, uttering not a single word of complaint.
“Lord Fang, I truly apologize you had to see this. I have already slightly disciplined him. I hope Lord Fang will be magnanimous and not hold this against him,” the elder turned, bowing to Fang Lin with a smile on his face.
Fang Lin instinctively felt some aversion to the elder's smile, sensing that the old man was completely a Laughing Tiger.
“May I know who the senior is?” Fang Lin asked with a salute.
The elder said, “I am Ding Yulong.”
Upon hearing this, Fang Lin thought to himself, no wonder Lu Mingfeng had been slapped twice and didn't even utter a peep—it turned out to be Ding Yulong, one of the two Vice Hall Masters of the Inspection Hall.
At that moment, Fang Lin also noticed that Ding Yulong's voice seemed somewhat similar to the second voice he had heard earlier and it did not reveal any hostility towards him.
However, it was now apparent that whether Ding Yulong harbored any hostility towards him was hard to say, as the man was a “Laughing Tiger,” always smiling at everyone, making it impossible to know what he was truly thinking.
“So, it is Hall Master Ding, I have been rude.” Fang Lin saluted with his fists respectfully.
Even though he himself was the Hall Master of North Town Hall and Ding Yulong was the Vice Hall Master of the Inspection Hall, theoretically, his position as a Hall Master should have been higher than that of a Vice Hall Master.
But Ding Yulong was the Vice Hall Master of the Inspection Hall, and Fang Lin's North Town Hall simply could not compare; they were not on the same level at all.
Ding Yulong, with a broad smile, said to Fang Lin, “Lord Fang, please enter the hall.”
Fang Lin nodded, and led by Ding Yulong with Fang Lin following behind, along with Lu Mingfeng, whose cheeks were swollen bigger than a watermelon, they entered the Inspection Hall.
Upon entering the Inspection Hall, Fang Lin felt the pressure emanating from this ancient hall.
It was an intangible pressure, felt everywhere within, as if a mysterious force was constantly pressing down on Fang Lin, instilling a fear deep within him.
Fang Lin kept his composure, walking and chatting cheerfully with Ding Yulong, unaffected by it in the least.
However, if it were someone from a weaker faction or someone with insufficient mental fortitude, they might have been affected by this pressure.
Soon after, Fang Lin arrived at a grand hall, where he saw seven black stone pillars towering inside, each inscribed with dense text.
These texts were all names, those of every person who had been punished in the Inspection Hall since its establishment.
Looking around, these seven massive pillars probably had no fewer than a hundred thousand names engraved on them.
This meant that a hundred thousand Pill Refiners had once been sentenced within this hall.
And their names were eternally engraved on the pillars, recording their shame here forever, irremovable, not just lingering through their lives, but lasting until the day the Inspection Hall ceases to exist.
Fang Lin's mind was deeply shaken, and he felt a hint of anger; even if it were for those guilty, sentencing them was one thing, but engraving their names on the pillars irrespective of the gravity of their crimes, all who were sentenced had their names carved, which seemed rather excessive.
At least in Fang Lin's view, this method of leaving a perpetual stain on someone's reputation should, unless it was directed at extremely wicked people, be used with caution.
After all, once these names were engraved, they were not just inscribed on the pillars but also etched into the minds, never to be erased.
“Fang Lin, you have arrived.” Atop the hall, there were three pitch-black thrones; the two flanking ones were slightly smaller, while the one in the middle was unquestionably grand, clearly belonging to Situ Zheng, the Inspection Hall Master.
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