Early the next morning, several buses drove out of Flower Village. The vehicles were filled with the captured members of the Truth Society. Of course, to prevent these people from whispering to each other, colluding, or planning anything else, a Lungmen Guard Officer was thoughtfully assigned to look after each person individually. At the slightest sign of trouble, they would be greeted with a baton first before being asked for the reason.
"Will these captured bad guys face a public trial?" Flandre asked Beatrice, who was beside her.
"Some will, but not all!" Beatrice said.
"Ah? Why?" Flandre was a bit puzzled.
"Because their people are spread across all walks of life. If they were all brought out for trial, it would cause panic among Lungmen's citizens. No one would be unafraid of whether the person next to them might be the next cult member. So, only the leaders will be brought out for public trial. As for the other members, a comprehensive judgment will be made based on everyone's testimony, and the court will ultimately deliver a non-public verdict."
Beatrice answered the question while holding Flandre.
"Then where will they be imprisoned?" Flandre recalled that she hadn't seen a prison specifically for serving sentences in Lungmen yet.
"Imprisonment? There's no such luxury here. Lungmen doesn't support idlers. The lower levels of Lungmen have specialized penal areas where they will perform various types of work and production until their sentence ends. Then, they will be kicked out of Lungmen and barred from ever entering again for life." Beatrice snorted coldly. She had no mercy for these fellows who dared to disrupt the order of the city.
After returning to the city, the group went to meet Wei Yenwu. He seemed very happy. Clearly, he was extremely satisfied that the Guard Department's operation had wiped out the Truth Society, a tumor hidden within Lungmen, in one fell swoop. He looked at Flandre.
"There's more good news. Remember how Baizao sent people to investigate you?"
Flandre thought for a moment and recalled the event. "I almost forgot!"
"The investigation team's evaluation of your assistance to the Guard Department in capturing the Truth Society members is very high. After all, you played a crucial role from beginning to end. Not only did you discover traces of the cult at the very start, but you also found the hidden toxic gas canisters, saving Lungmen from danger." As Wei Yenwu said this, his gaze toward Flandre was very kind.
"So Flandre passed?" she asked curiously.
Wei Yenwu nodded. "You could say that. But one of them expressed a desire to have a conversation with you before returning to Baizao to report, and the others agreed. Then they found me. What I can tell you is that among those people, some represent forces that have always coveted Lungmen. They might try to set a trap for you during the talk, baiting you into saying things that would be unfavorable for your staying here. So, you must treat this conversation with caution."
Flandre pouted after hearing this. "These people are so annoying. Can't I just kill them?"
Hearing her words, a cold sweat broke out on Wei Yenwu's forehead. This child's thoughts were a bit too extreme; her character needed some serious reshaping. He couldn't help but look up at Beatrice and Chen Huijie, his expression saying, 'Is this how you two are raising a child?'
Chen Huijie and Beatrice glanced at each other, then both pointed their fingers at the other, indicating that it definitely wasn't their fault.
"Sigh... Flandre, you have to know that not all problems can be solved through fighting and killing. Just like your sister—does she kill everyone she meets when there's a dispute?"
After Wei Yenwu finished speaking, Flandre realized it was true. When her sister caused the Red Mist Incident back then, she only had a match with that Hakurei Shrine Maiden, and they eventually became friends.
"Besides, it's just letting you have a chat with them. If there's something you don't want to say, just don't say it."
Flandre nodded. "Then when does it start?"
"I told them that you just returned and need a day's rest, so the talk is scheduled for tomorrow morning. Of course, it doesn't matter even if something goes wrong. My affairs in Lungmen have independent authority anyway. At most, we just won't get official support from Yan. But keeping you here won't be a problem. No matter how long Baizao's reach is, they cannot stop a peace-loving person with great prestige from staying in Lungmen. If those people really try to force you to leave, we'll just expose the matter and see if the citizens trust you or them."
Wei Yenwu spoke with great confidence. Ever since Flandre first entered the city, he had been building momentum for her precisely to guard against those with ulterior motives in Baizao.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the three members of the investigation team were communicating about tomorrow's talk. However, the results were very unsatisfactory. There was a serious dispute among the three. The one most hostile toward Flandre still insisted that there was something wrong.
"Something wrong? What could be wrong? Those trash from the Truth Society have been causing trouble for so many years without being taken down, yet they were dealt with as soon as they showed up in Lungmen. Doesn't that demonstrate that Blood Demon's ability?" The burly man among the three looked irritably at the somewhat sinister man.
"Is that not a problem? The Truth Society people were hidden so well; there was no movement before we arrived. Yet as soon as we arrive, such a big thing happens, and then they just happen to be encountered by the other party, and then they just happen to be busted. To be honest, this seems too unreasonable. I suspect this business is the work of Wei Yenwu and that Blood Demon. It's just to shut our mouths. But hmph, they chose the wrong target. If the cult were that simple, they wouldn't have committed all those bloody crimes across various regions without being wiped out. I absolutely do not believe they could take them down in less than half a month starting from a common murder case. I suspect there must be many innocent people among them; this is an event Wei Yenwu deliberately manufactured to satisfy his desire for control and to send us away."
The man's words failed to gain his companions' trust; the other two simply rolled their eyes. They had been watching silently—would they not know whether those people were from the Truth Society? They looked at the man as if he were a clown. It seemed he and the people behind him had driven themselves mad in their quest to topple Wei Yenwu and seize control of Lungmen.
The woman from the Dali Temple named Lin(Leizi) closed her eyes, not intending to pay him any mind. This talk with Flandre had been his idea, but she hadn't refused. She was also very interested in the Blood Demon girl, particularly some of the views in her interpretation of "Originium and Sorcery."
After Flandre and the other two left the Governor's Mansion, Beatrice took her back to the villa.
"Ah, one's own home is still the most comfortable!" As soon as she entered the house, Beatrice plopped down onto the bed and began to squirm around. Flandre, meanwhile, was floating back and forth in the air while holding a pillow. Suddenly, she was grabbed and pulled into a hug by Beatrice.
"Flandre, you don't know how nervous I've been these past few days!"
Flandre blinked, not understanding what there was to be nervous about.
"I've heard of those Truth Society people; they've committed bloody crimes in several places in Yan. Successfully solving this case not only makes Lungmen safer but also allows us to build closer ties with other regions."
As the eldest daughter of the Schwarz Family, Beatrice saw the benefits immediately. This battle established the Guard Department's prestige and removed a threat, but the captured criminals could also be used to contact other cities for joint investigations. When Wei Yenwu handed these criminals over, the favor would be returned. While many coveted Lungmen, that didn't include the top leaders of other cities who viewed it as an excellent port for foreign trade.
Flandre didn't fully understand the politics, but she understood that catching the bad guys made Lungmen better, and that was enough.
"MUA~ Flandre is just too cute. Come on, big sister is taking you out to spend some money!" Beatrice's shopping addiction was kicking in, and she insisted on dragging Flandre to the mall.
Soon, the two appeared in a Schwarz Family mall. "Beatrice" was like a dragon entering the sea. She quickly led Flandre toward a cosmetics store. Smelling the heavy scent of perfume inside, Flandre instinctively leaned her head back; the smell was so strong she found it uncomfortable to breathe.