"Alright. For now, everyone should go back to what they were doing."
Jiang Yan addressed the crowd before him.
"I will resolve this matter before tomorrow morning."
"So don't worry."
Hearing his words, the merchants all nodded.
"Then we'll trouble Lord Tianquan to uphold justice for us!"
The middle-aged merchant, clearly a man of manners, bowed respectfully.
"We ask Lord Tianquan to deliver justice for us!"
The others followed with respectful salutes.
Jiang Yan nodded.
Then he brought the young woman from the Eight Ministries into Yuehai Pavilion.
Compared to the silence outside after Jiang Yan's arrival, the inside of Yuehai Pavilion was complete chaos.
Voices overlapped like a crowded marketplace.
The disappearance of ore carts was no minor issue, especially considering how many parties were involved.
The Eight Ministries staff themselves were equally bewildered.
In fact, when they first learned of the incident, most of them had been completely dumbfounded.
Most importantly, the supposed ore inspection policy had never been issued by the Eight Ministries.
The entire matter reeked of something suspicious.
After entering Yuehai Pavilion, Jiang Yan looked over the noisy, chaotic scene and frowned.
"Calm down!"
His shout rang out.
The room instantly froze, as if someone had pressed pause.
Everyone turned to look at him, fear visible in their eyes.
After all, their superior had clearly become aware of the incident.
And if nothing unexpected happened, they were all about to receive a harsh reprimand.
Jiang Yan swept his gaze across them and sighed softly.
"Where is your director, Havria?"
He asked one of the Eight Ministries employees.
"Lord Tianquan!"
The worker bowed respectfully.
"Lady Havria has already gone to Blackrock Quarry to inspect the scene."
"If she goes now, she's already too late."
Jiang Yan narrowed his eyes slightly.
He knew what Havria was trying to do.
She wanted to investigate clues left behind at the site.
But that method was far too slow.
Jiang Yan preferred simple and direct solutions.
"Since she isn't here, then you'll do."
He ordered the staff member.
"Gather every person connected to this incident and bring them to Yujing Terrace."
"In one hour, I want everyone involved assembled there."
"Yes!"
His tone allowed no room for refusal.
The employee immediately complied.
Jiang Yan then headed upstairs.
"Ah Yan!"
Ganyu immediately walked over.
Clearly, this incident had also affected the secretaries of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
"Have you eaten?"
Jiang Yan didn't ask about the details immediately.
He would investigate the matter himself.
But before that—
His Ganyu wasn't allowed to go hungry.
Ganyu shook her head.
With something like this happening, she simply had no appetite.
"Ah Yan, about Blackrock Quarry—"
Jiang Yan raised a hand, stopping her.
He waved lightly.
A spatial portal opened, and a lunchbox dropped out.
"Eat first."
He said gently.
"I'll personally handle this matter."
Ganyu instantly relaxed.
If Jiang Yan had decided to intervene, then the issue would likely be resolved quickly.
She trusted him completely.
"Master!" ×3
At that moment, Ningguang, Beidou, and Shenhe ran over on their short little legs.
Stopping before Jiang Yan, Ningguang looked up and said:
"Master, after Shiniang told us what happened, we went to investigate ourselves."
"These are our findings~"
Jiang Yan blinked in surprise.
Findings?
Curious, he looked over the paper Ningguang handed him.
Immediately, his eyes widened slightly.
The document recorded the entire sequence of events in detail, along with the three girls' own deductions.
The fact that they had investigated the incident itself wasn't surprising.
What surprised him was their analysis.
Ningguang sharply pointed out the inconsistencies.
The Eight Ministries had never issued an ore inspection order.
Yet somehow, workers had taken away the ore carts, and they vanished without a trace.
Ningguang believed the culprits might be Treasure Hoarders disguised as officials.
Beidou, however, disagreed.
She didn't think Treasure Hoarders had the ability to impersonate quarry workers so convincingly.
If they did, they wouldn't be reduced to being Treasure Hoarders.
Beidou suspected greed among quarry personnel.
In her opinion, the workers had fabricated the order and stolen the ore themselves.
Shenhe's conclusion was different from both.
Compared to Ningguang's and Beidou's straightforward assumptions, Shenhe's carried a more conspiratorial tone.
She believed someone high within the Eight Ministries had become greedy.
That person secretly colluded with quarry workers to steal the ore.
And in the end, the ore likely ended up lining some powerful figure's pockets.
After reading their conclusions, Jiang Yan exhaled deeply.
Honestly…
He suddenly felt incredibly proud.
Their reasoning still had flaws.
But for children, this level of analysis was already excellent.
"Very good. Worthy of being my disciples."
He rubbed each of their heads with a smile.
"You've helped a lot. Thank you."
"Thank you for praising us, Master~"
The three little girls looked delighted.
This was the first time they had truly helped Jiang Yan in something important.
It gave them a strong sense of accomplishment.
"You stay here with your Shiniang."
Jiang Yan said gently.
"I'll take care of the rest."
Then he turned and walked away.
The moment he turned around, however, the smile vanished from his face.
In its place remained an expression as cold as ice.
Since Jiang Yan had chosen to involve himself—
This matter was no longer going to stay simple.
Whoever was responsible…
He would not let them off easily.
A short while later.
Yujing Terrace Plaza.
Everyone connected to the incident had already been gathered under the supervision of the Eight Ministries.
After the incident surfaced, these individuals had been detained by the Millelith for questioning.
When Jiang Yan arrived, nearly everyone froze under his presence.
The killing intent radiating from him felt almost tangible.
He merely glanced at them.
Several people immediately began trembling.
Some collapsed outright to the ground.
Standing atop the platform, Jiang Yan looked down at their fearful expressions.
"Now, I'll give you one chance."
"If you truly did this yourselves, step forward now."
"I can still show leniency."
"But if you refuse to admit it…"
He looked over them calmly.
Everyone lowered their heads in silence.
No one stepped forward.
"Heh. So no one intends to confess?"
Jiang Yan smiled faintly.
"Then don't blame me for being merciless."
A chill ran through the crowd.
They had no idea what he intended to do.
But instinctively—
They knew it would be terrible.
"What I'm about to do…"
"Will be painful."
"Believe me—you do not want to experience it."
"I'll give you one final chance."
"Step forward now, and I'll still handle things lightly."
His voice echoed clearly.
The crowd exchanged uneasy looks.
Still—
No one moved.
"Who is it?!"
Suddenly, one man broke down.
"Who did this?!"
"Just confess already!"
"I don't want to die—I don't want to die!"
He screamed hysterically, flailing wildly.
The immense psychological pressure had shattered him.
Before he could continue, Millelith guards rushed over and pinned him down.
"Enough. Let him go."
Jiang Yan waved a hand.
"You may step back."
"Yes, Lord Tianquan!"
The guards saluted and withdrew.
Jiang Yan simply stood there.
Watching.
Waiting.
But even after a long silence—
No one confessed.
He sighed inwardly.
So it had come to this.
If not for wanting to end this quickly, he wouldn't have used this method.
"Since all of you insist you're innocent…"
"If I wrongly accuse you, you'll only suffer some pain."
"But if I discover any connection to this incident…"
His voice turned icy.
"You already know the consequences."
Then, under everyone's gaze—
Jiang Yan raised his right hand.
The Soul Stone lit up.
An immense pressure descended upon the crowd like collapsing mountains.
Instantly—
Everyone screamed.
The simple, direct method Jiang Yan preferred—
Memory inspection.
No matter how skilled a liar someone was—
Memories could not lie.
Soul inspection inflicted pain directly upon the spirit.
It was agony few could endure.
This was precisely why Jiang Yan disliked using the Soul Stone this way.
But it was undeniably efficient.
Under the Soul Stone's power, countless memories surfaced before him.
Jiang Yan sifted through them one by one.
Searching.
Examining.
Yet after reviewing every memory—
His brows furrowed.
Nothing.
There was nothing.
Not a single trace.
"Hm?"
Now even Jiang Yan felt confused.
No memories related to the incident existed.
Either someone had erased their memories—
Or these people truly knew nothing.
The first possibility seemed unlikely.
After all, manipulating souls and memories—
Aside from Irminsul's ability to alter memories—
Only Jiang Yan himself could achieve such a thing.
Of course, the Heavenly Principles might also be capable.
But Jiang Yan seriously doubted Celestia would bother provoking him over something like this.
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