Star Trace Gate

Chapter 948 Monk Soldiers are all pawns; a mastermind is behind the scenes.

Embroidered Silk Courtyard, Private Room.

Liu Wei's psychological defenses had completely collapsed, because he knew very well that the existence of that ghostly spirit was irrefutable proof. And once handed over to Tianzhao Temple, the mere eight words "fratricide, Liu Wei escaped" would be enough to sentence him to death a hundred times over. Even if he had the protection of the cooks' superiors, it would be of no use.

After all, the crime occurred in the underground treasury of the Divine Court, a place far too sensitive. Furthermore, the amount of Star Essence entering the account was outrageous, and the mention of infighting made it absolutely intolerable within the temple, at least outwardly.

Liu Wei felt incredibly unlucky and depressed. He just couldn't understand why, out of so many people present, this damned ghost only remembered that he had escaped, and even specifically mentioned his name.

However, since things had come to this point, he could only try his best to negotiate and cooperate, hoping that the monk Zhenyi in front of him was a kind person who could lend a hand and let him get through this ordeal.

Ren was clearly a seasoned interrogator. He only needed to observe Liu Wei's expression briefly to roughly guess his thoughts. Then, he changed the subject and reassured him, "Brother Liu Wei, let me put it this way: as long as you're not the one who ultimately takes the wealth from the Star Source Treasury... then this humble monk has no reason to foolishly offend your cooks. I'm only checking the accounts, not investigating a case. These two things are very different. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Lord Zhenyi, I swear to the heavens, I truly didn't obtain a single star source from that treasury." Upon hearing this, Liu Wei tried his best to prove himself: "Think about it, if I really had obtained so many star sources, why would I continue to stay in Beifeng Town? I would have definitely put in a good effort to get transferred away from this place of trouble by now. Or... I might as well have just run away. Why would I be living in fear and anxiety, standing here day and night?"

"Brother, calm down, have some tea," Master Chu said in a low voice. "We believe you didn't take it, but you need to tell us what happened, in detail... understand?"

"Oh, alright." Upon hearing this, Liu Wei suddenly realized that his mouth was dry from explaining. He then took a large gulp of tea and said softly, "I'll tell you everything, I just hope that you two can do me a favor, considering that I have also rendered military service...!"

Ren didn't rush to answer, but went straight to the point and asked, "Brother Liu, start with the fact that more than a dozen government offices joined forces to surround the treasury. For example, who organized this, how were the negotiations conducted, and did it involve matters such as sharing the spoils after the treasury was breached?"

After organizing his thoughts for a moment, Liu Wei sighed and said, "Alas, to be honest, the fact that these dozen or so monk-soldiers jointly surrounded the treasury wasn't organized by any one person, but rather a tacit agreement among the various monk-soldiers' camps. For example, my cooks' corps has participated in dozens of battles, large and small, in the relocation areas. Whenever there's a siege, if we manage to capture the city, everyone will definitely seize the opportunity to make a fortune. After all... once a major battle begins, life and death are unpredictable. Even for military officers like us, at the fourth rank, in this chaotic land of battle and combat..." "They die so easily, just like that. A random cultivator comes along, waves their hand, and a hundred years of cultivation vanishes like a dream. Think about it, even people like us are like ants in war-torn lands, so what about the monk soldiers below? After a great battle, they're no longer human; they're all evil spirits from the underworld… They also need to be satisfied, they also need to release their rage… Therefore, looting and abducting women during city raids, as long as it's not too excessive, the higher authorities will turn a blind eye."

"So, after Beifeng Town fell, I seized the opportunity and immediately sent people to the town's garrison. Using the prestige of the cooks, I intimidated the civil officials there, trying to force them to reveal the location of the Divine Court's hidden funds. The people in the garrison, like Wang Anquan, were all spineless. Before my men could even force them to reveal the location of the Ministry of Revenue's treasury in Beifeng Town, they took the initiative to disclose it."

"To be honest, I didn't initially intend to go to the Ministry of Revenue's treasury, because I knew that it was the highest-ranking government office in the Divine Court that controlled the money and provisions here. Usually, for such a lucrative target, one would first 'scout' the headquarters of the three armies. My vanguard battalion only had a little over a thousand monk soldiers, which was only considered average among the attacking armies. It would have been foolish of me to actively seek out such a target..."

"But the garrison commander had already told us the location of the treasury, so I couldn't resist my greed. Besides, there was already a tacit understanding in the city to collect money, and the principle was that the law would not punish the masses and everyone who saw it would get a share. So, after thinking it over for a bit, with the attitude of taking whatever I could get, I led more than forty guards to the Ministry of Revenue's treasury compound."

"What I didn't expect was that when I led my troops to arrive, there were already more than a dozen monk soldiers from various government offices in the Ministry of Revenue's treasury, and they all followed the lead of Niu Dali's main force. When I saw that everyone was in sync and had come to take advantage of the Star Source, I was happy to communicate with the military officer in charge of Niu Dali's team. Although the man's expression was unfriendly, he tacitly acknowledged our presence."

"This is how the chaos of over a dozen families jointly surrounding a treasury came about, something that had never happened before. The officials in other cities are very stubborn; even if their cities fell, they would never cooperate with us monk soldiers in making money. But Beifeng Town is different. The officials here, under Wang Anquan's leadership, have no intention of resisting, which is why they gave us this opportunity…!"

At this point, Liu Wei took another sip of tea, and then his face became increasingly strange, turning pale: "At first, everything went smoothly. Our dozen or so families surrounded the treasury, and then worked together to slowly break through the formation and the doors with magical artifacts, corpse puppets and other divine objects... But after several treasury doors were opened, strange things began to happen one after another."

"First of all, after entering the underground vault, we saw that each storage room was enormous, seemingly boundless, and the star resources inside were piled up like mountains, stretching as far as the eye could see. At that time, everyone was dumbfounded, completely stunned. You think, among the military officers present that day, the highest-ranking one was only a fourth-rank general, and they were all frontline warriors. None of them had ever seen so many star resources in person. Therefore, some people estimated that there were at least more than 200 million star resources here, while others said... 200 million is impossible, it must be more than 800 million, and some even said it was more than a billion...!"

"Anyway, everyone was dazzled and blinded by the light of the Star Source at the time, and their greed was written all over their faces. Then, the military officer sent by Niu Dali said that everyone could only take the Star Source from the outer edges of the storage room, but the large amount inside could not be touched and had to be deposited into the accounts and handed over to the temple for processing. Otherwise, if so many Star Sources disappeared, something big would definitely happen."

"Although these dozen or so groups verbally agreed, they gradually lost control once they actually entered the storage room. Some military officers, with their quick wits, wanted to secretly take more, and when others saw them, those people also wanted to take more. This trend quickly affected the ordinary monk soldiers who came to help break the formation and explore the way. These monk soldiers also began to secretly sneak into the storage room, frantically collecting star energy into the consciousness space...!"

"Once the situation got out of control, arguments broke out. Some military officers accused others of taking too much and deliberately letting their soldiers plunder; others said they hadn't taken that much and that the other side was making false accusations; still others threatened the monk soldiers, demanding that they hand over the Star Source... In short, the scene was extremely chaotic. Then, in the struggle for huge profits, our hundreds of people went from shouting and cursing to fighting each other."

"I remember it clearly. The first to make a move was an ordinary monk soldier. He stood in the inner treasury looking crazed, blocked by another group of military officers, who forcibly ordered him to hand over the Star Source, or they would capture him and search his soul. Upon hearing this, the monk soldier suddenly shouted like a madman: 'You're allowed to make money, but we're not allowed to take a little? Why are you targeting me?!' As he shouted, he swung his staff, using ordinary divine magic, and smashed it at the military officer... After only seven or eight rounds, the monk soldier had both arms chopped off by the military officer's broadsword. But even in this situation, he did not fall, still fighting desperately, even biting the officer's calf, as if trying to bite him to death...!"

"In that atmosphere, the other monk soldiers, seeing this scene, all felt threatened. To protect the Star Sources they had obtained, they all went mad, either trying to run away after grabbing the Star Sources or starting to fight back. Then the situation completely spiraled out of control, and bloody battles broke out in almost every corridor and every storage room...!"

"I remember being chased by three military officers and a dozen or so monk soldiers... I was nearly killed several times, and then, with nowhere else to run, I escaped into a side passageway in the underground vault. I didn't know where that passageway led... but I knew that if I didn't run, I would definitely die in there... so, I didn't think about anything, I just ran like crazy... until I was sure no one was chasing me anymore, then I gradually relaxed and felt my mind clear. Then, I felt it was too dangerous to go back the way I came, so I walked a little further and finally saw a ventilation window above the passageway in the dim light. I climbed out from there and escaped all the way back to the camp...!"

"That very night after returning to the camp, I still felt disoriented... My mind was filled with images of the infighting within the underground treasury. Even when I looked at the guards who had been with me for many years, I felt that they might harm me at any moment. To prevent further disaster, I had my men implant nine Source-Sealing Nails into my body, and then I had them imprison me in a dungeon, away from all living beings... It took me two whole days to recover from that bloody massacre... But even now, thinking about it still fills me with dread, and I still dream of that bloody scene when I fall asleep...!"

After listening intently to this, Ren asked, "Is that all?"

"Yes, it's over." Liu Wei nodded, his face pale, and assured, "Master Zhenyi, I'm telling the truth. If I've uttered even a single lie, may I be impotent for life! You can even hand that ghost over to the temple."

Ren Ye paid close attention to his micro-expressions throughout. From a professional perspective, there might have been some minor alterations in the other party's narration, but overall, it shouldn't be a lie.

After a moment's thought, he asked, "You took the Star Source first, and then started killing each other. Did you also get the Star Source before you escaped?"

"No, because before I could even take it, we started fighting amongst ourselves," Liu Wei immediately replied. "To be honest, I may look fierce and brave on the surface, but actually... I'm quite timid and cautious when it comes to being an official. After all, I got to my current position through sheer luck and merit, fighting my way up from the dead. When I saw so much Star Source, I was a little scared and hesitant because I felt that such a large sum, if... if it got out and attracted the attention of the temple, would definitely cause problems later. So, at first, I just let a few of my officers take it, and then I whispered a few words with the other officers... and the infighting happened during our discussion."

"Oh." Ren nodded slightly, thinking to himself, "His words may be false, but it doesn't matter to me. Even if he took it, he definitely wouldn't have taken much, otherwise he would never dare to tell the truth just now."

After thinking for a moment, Master Chu asked, "Brother Liu, you just said that when these people are killing each other, they are in a state of madness and confusion. Do you feel that way too?"

“Yes.” Liu Wei immediately nodded and said, “After someone casts a spell, everyone has a sense of panic that if I don’t kill others, I might be silenced by them. Then all their actions are subconscious… without any thought. Their souls are also extremely chaotic. They feel confused and only have the thought of self-preservation in their minds.”