"How can I figure out the exact situation under the radar?"
Speculation is merely speculation. It was difficult for Su Chen to ascertain the true situation within the Medical Department, or whether it even was Wei Yinshuo.
Standing under the shade of a tree to the side, his expression was dark. He racked his brains, coming up with numerous methods, only to ultimately render himself speechless.
"Why am I overthinking this? He's a Chief Inquisitor who has returned with severe injuries, and I'm also a member of the Adjudication Court. Isn't it perfectly normal for me to pay a visit?"
However, even after figuring this out, he didn't act rashly.
If his speculation was correct, what if upon seeing Wei Yinshuo, the other party suddenly went insane and tried to kill him on the spot?
Turning back to head deeper into the Adjudication Court, he found that all three Chief Inquisitors left to guard the court were absent.
The whereabouts of Chong Jingtian and You Shan could not be ascertained, while Jiang Shumo was out on an official assignment.
"...Chief Inquisitor Jiang departed half a month ago to welcome the delegation from Yuandu."
The secretary responsible for receiving him explained.
"He's out?" Su Chen was taken aback. He was still keeping in mind the possibility that Jiang Shumo was keeping an eye on him, only to find the other party seemingly undisturbed.
"It was probably just the subconscious suspicion of that scheming old fox. Seeing me behave so well for such a long time, he just brushed it aside."
"After all, I led the charge to capture a Priest of Black Buddha. Even if a believer popped out to testify against Meng Qi, glancing at me twice is the extent of it; there's no way he'd keep staring at me."
This was good news to him, instantly lightening his mood considerably.
Changing the subject, he called over Bu Siqi. Upon hearing that Su Chen wanted to visit Wei Yinshuo, this senior brother immediately flared up like a stepped-on cat, shaking his head repeatedly:
"Not going, absolutely not. Teacher has poor relationships with a lot of people, but his relationship with him is the absolute worst. You could even call it a bitter enmity."
"Furthermore, that night, his nephew Xue Fei kicked Old Teng while he was down, specifically aiming to get him killed."
"Moreover, considering the massive disaster he caused this time, he'll probably have to keep a low profile for a few years. There's no need to pay any attention to him."
"Senior Brother, we're visiting the Chief Inquisitor, not Wei Yinshuo," Su Chen tried his best to bluff. "He's one of the nine Chief Inquisitors, after all. Since his return, all the various factions within the Adjudication Court have visited him; only we remain."
"This is just for the Chief to see. Going there is merely a showing of attitude."
Bu Siqi frowned, staring at him thoughtfully. "I almost forgot you're still a Core Seed. Since you'll be competing for Chief Inquisitor in the future, you definitely must have an expansive mind and accommodating attitude. Not going is indeed inappropriate."
"Before Old Chong became the Chief Inquisitor, his relationship with Wei Yinshuo and Yuan Poshan was also terrible, but later they became as close as family."
"Understood, let's go."
Su Chen was speechless. He possessed no such accommodating attitude. His little black book of grudges had quite a few names written down; if his strength were sufficient, he would have plowed through them long ago.
Having successfully bluffed Bu Siqi, he didn't bother explaining, adding, "Let's call Senior Brother Teng along. It's already confirmed that Meng Qi had issues, yet the Judgment Department still hasn't released him. We can take this opportunity to have them let him go."
"Good idea!" Bu Siqi smashed his right fist into his left palm, nodding repeatedly. "Old Teng killed Meng Qi, Meng Qi killed Chu Xuan, and Chu Xuan was Wei Yinshuo's student. Now that Wei Yinshuo is heavily injured, Old Teng definitely has to go take a look."
This was an excuse that was reasonable in both emotion and logic. Bu Siqi's inner resistance instantly vanished, and he excitedly dragged Su Chen towards the Judgment Department.
Lei Tieyan presided over the Judgment Department year-round, almost never leaving his sphere of activity. Upon hearing Bu Siqi's request, his stagnant pool-like eyes swept over the two, the muscles on his face as hard as iron blocks.
Under Bu Siqi's anxious gaze, Lei Tieyan finally relented. "After visiting Wei Yinshuo, he must return."
"He still has to return..." Bu Siqi was disappointed, but sensing the gaze Lei Tieyan shot over, he shuddered and hurriedly said, "No problem, no problem."
The two found Teng Liang and described the situation to him. He appeared very calm and didn't resist. "Going to take a look is fine."
Not needing to waste any saliva made Su Chen feel quite relaxed. Teng Liang was a 5th-tier professional. Given Wei Yinshuo's severe injuries, they shouldn't be faked, so if any unexpected situations arose, they would be able to handle it.
...
"Are you saying there are still your people inside the Adjudication Court?"
Inside the hospital room, Wei Yinshuo's brow couldn't help but furrow.
"Correct. Based on my previous perception, it should be a Priest," the voice said. "But it flashed and disappeared; the sensation vanished in the blink of an eye."
"A Priest?" Wei Yinshuo understood. "It should be that Priest the Adjudication Court caught recently. He was probably being transferred and you accidentally sensed him. Word is they are going to publicly execute him; this is clearly to draw out the remaining believers in Yingfeng. Aren't you going to stop them?"
"There's no need," the voice said coldly. "Only some ordinary believers remain in Yingfeng City. If they really manage to stir up some chaos, it will actually help draw attention away from us."
Wei Yinshuo fell silent, deeply feeling that he was bargaining with a tiger for its skin. He also felt a vague sense of regret. If he had taken Xia Hanshi's words to heart back then, he wouldn't have ended up severely injured, tortured, and then blackmailed by the Believers of Black Buddha.
Unfortunately, whatever he said now was too late.
Right at this moment, the door opened, and Xue Fei walked in with a very strange expression.
Wei Yinshuo frowned. This restless nephew of his had just been scolded and thrown out, and he had been strictly instructed not to disturb him casually.
Just as he was about to reprimand him, he noticed several figures trailing in behind Xue Fei.
"Teng Liang..." Wei Yinshuo's eyelid twitched. "Bu Siqi, Su Chen?"
"Chief Inquisitor Wei..." The moment Su Chen walked in, his gaze locked onto Wei Yinshuo. The injuries were even more severe than he had imagined; his body was covered in wounds, and black blood bubbled out from time to time.
"Injured this badly?" Bu Siqi also hadn't expected it. He almost laughed out loud but hurriedly restrained himself.
Wei Yinshuo coldly snorted internally, but outwardly he sighed. "I didn't expect the three of you to come either."
"What is Chief Inquisitor saying? We all eat the rice of the Adjudication Court, so we're all one family," Su Chen said emotionally. "Seeing all these injuries on you, I truly..."
He sighed repeatedly.
I think you truly couldn't hold back your laughter
, the expressionless Xue Fei thought from the side.
"Why are your injuries still this severe?" In contrast, Teng Liang actually looked the part, wearing a solemn expression. But anyone familiar with him knew he looked at everyone like this.
Wei Yinshuo forced a miserable smile onto his shoehorn-shaped face. "The residual Evil God power is wreaking havoc in my body, so they didn't dare use overly aggressive treatment methods. They can only take it slowly."
Su Chen's eyebrow twitched.
He has residual Evil God power in his body... could that be what I sensed?
A misunderstanding?
No
, Su Chen denied it. His sensation was extremely intense and clear. There was no way a measly bit of residual Evil God power could fool him.
Wei Yinshuo might be able to deceive the Adjudication Court's testing equipment, but he couldn't deceive him.
The three exchanged pleasantries. The atmosphere was incredibly awkward, making even Xue Fei feel somewhat unable to bear it.
Having roughly obtained the information he wanted, Su Chen didn't bother wasting any more breath, bidding farewell and leaving.
With a pained expression, Xue Fei escorted them to the elevators. Only after watching the elevator reach the first floor did he coldly snort, "Baffling."
Stepping out of the elevator doors, Bu Siqi was already failing to maintain a straight face, but Su Chen found the on-duty nurse and asked, "What is the specific condition of Chief Inquisitor Wei's injuries?"
"Junior Brother, there's no one else on the first floor." Bu Siqi thought Su Chen had grown addicted to role-playing.
The Medical Department, which to begin with had few visitors, had practically been cleared out to exclusively serve Wei Yinshuo.
The little nurse on duty recognized Su Chen. Her gaze lingered on that handsome face for a few seconds before she finally broke eye contact and shook her head, "I can't, I can't say."
"Is that so." A gleam of light flashed in Su Chen's eyes as comprehension dawned on him. The Mental Seed had already been implanted; not only that, the little nurse's eyes also grew slightly vacant.
Mind Control + Mental Seed.
For the time being, he still possessed no way to bypass distance limitations and perform ultra-long-range mind control. He could only temporarily plant a hypnotic suggestion, instructing her to flip through Wei Yinshuo's medical files next.
This way, after returning, he could obtain the information he wanted through the Mental Seed.
Outside the Medical Department, Bu Siqi finally couldn't hold back his roaring laughter. "Did you guys see that? Wei Yinshuo smiled so miserably, it was so hard holding it in."
"How is his vitality?" Teng Liang asked abruptly.
"Pretty much non-existent," Bu Siqi gloated. "His blood is mixed with residual Evil God power. That alone is enough to make him suffer."
His profession allowed him to sense the blood of others, thereby inferring their level of health.
Bu Siqi naturally couldn't sense Wei Yinshuo at his peak, but the current Wei Yinshuo was practically no different from a dead man, aside from barely hanging onto his last breath.
Su Chen didn't speak a word the entire way back. Following Bu Siqi to escort Teng Liang back to the Judgment Department, he finally returned to his own residence and entered the gravity room.
He awakened his Mental Seed, entering the little nurse's perspective.
Meanwhile, the little nurse was flipping through a virtual terminal. The pages of text and images were exactly Wei Yinshuo's medical records.
"...The residual Evil God power is extremely stubborn; conventional therapies are unable to dispel it..."
"...Spirit body shattered; repaired by Chief Inquisitor You..."
"..."
A long time later, Su Chen finally snapped out of it, summarizing the information from all sides.
"Wei Yinshuo obfuscated the concept, leading everyone to believe that the Evil God power was merely residue within his body. However, the truth is not so."
"But his spirit body was inspected, so he's definitely not a Believer of Black Buddha. Then what exactly is the power of Black Buddha in his body doing?"
Su Chen secretly speculated: "This situation definitely can't be hidden for long. If the residual Evil God power can't be expelled for a prolonged period, even an idiot could tell something is wrong."
"He should be aware of the hidden dangers of such behavior. Either there's another hidden truth, or the task he aims to accomplish must be completed within a short period."
"He wouldn't happen to be targeting me, would he?" Su Chen's brow furrowed tightly, a trace of ruthlessness flashing through his eyes. "It would be best to strike while the iron is hot and take his life while he's sick."
However, killing a Chief Inquisitor—even a heavily injured one—was fraught with difficulties.
Su Chen's frown deepened.
What about finding someone to report him?
He reconsidered his old method but immediately discarded it. There were too many complications, and it would likely be useless. Wei Yinshuo was a Chief Inquisitor.
Poisoning?
No, that was the Medical Department. Unless he could control everyone, and furthermore, high-grade poison wasn't easy to procure and could easily be traced back to him.
He thought for a long time, truly feeling this was a thorny issue.
Even taking the risk of personally doing it was a major problem. Even with Wei Yinshuo heavily injured, getting entirely close to him was incredibly difficult. The security forces around him were very strong, and that guy Xue Fei was also a 5th-tier professional.
Not to mention, this was still inside the Adjudication Court.
Even if the Medical Department was relatively remote, if any actual commotion occurred, Chong Jingtian would arrive, if not instantly, then quite close to it.
"If all else fails, I'll go hide in the Class Decoding Department."
After pondering for half the day, he realized he genuinely had no good solutions, changing his thoughts to plan an escape route. "I'll first see how long this guy can hold on. If Wei Yinshuo really can keep it hidden constantly, I'll think of something else then."
When he needed to hide, he had to hide. He immediately contacted Sang Hanhai, stating that he planned to come over and study for a while.
Old Sang was somewhat surprised but didn't refuse, merely telling him to come after a week. He claimed to be translating something critical and couldn't pull himself away.
Su Chen wasn't in a rush anyway; Wei Yinshuo's injuries couldn't be healed in a short amount of time.
"I might as well make some other preparations first to be safe," Su Chen thought, rubbing his chin. "I'll ask Lei Tieyan to help me acquire some stealth-assisting items, as well as a mask..."
...
A few days later, Wei Yinshuo welcomed two more visitors.
"...Chief Inquisitor..." Xiao Ying, having just walked in, displayed sincere sorrow on his face. "I didn't expect you to be injured this heavily."
After speaking, he explained, "I went home for the Yuanqing Festival and only returned today. I came to see you immediately."
"How is your father holding up?" Wei Yinshuo asked with a smile.
Xiao Ying hastily replied, "Thanks to your concern, he's doing quite well."
He Kang, standing beside him, added, "Old Wei just recently advanced to a 5th-tier profession and is trying his best to stabilize it. He truly couldn't pull himself away."
"You already said that the last time you came; I know," Wei Yinshuo chuckled. "Everyone has their own matters to attend to, and the Adjudication Court still needs to function. There's no need for everyone to come see an old fellow like me."
"I heard Su Chen also came to see you a couple of days ago?" Xiao Ying prodded tentatively.
"Yeah," Wei Yinshuo nodded, an indescribable emotion flashing through his eyes as he sighed. "This student of Xia Hanshi's is indeed quite different from him."
Xiao Ying's expression stiffened slightly. He lowered his voice, "But back then, he didn't leave Chu Xuan the slightest bit of face."
"You probably don't know just how hard Chu Xuan worked to defeat him, yet on the arena... Sigh..."
He hesitated to speak further, affecting an expression of pity. He Kang furrowed his brow, disgust welling in his heart.
Wei Yinshuo's expression grew indifferent. "The dead cannot be revived, and Chu Xuan has already passed. I do not wish for anyone to make a fuss over him again."
He Kang breathed a sigh of relief. Even though Wei Yinshuo didn't get along with Xia Hanshi, he was at least reasonable.
Xiao Ying's face looked much uglier. Wei Yinshuo stated, "I'm tired."
Standing to the side, Xue Fei deemed it an internal pity but immediately stepped forward to show the guests out.
Xiao Ying could only helplessly reply, "Then focus on resting."
Only after exiting the main doors of the Medical Department did He Kang coldly demand, "What exactly are you trying to achieve?"
"Some things just need someone to do them," Xiao Ying shook his head coolly.
He Kang felt a surge of rage internally. To his mind, there had to be a limit even to competition, and Xiao Ying had crossed the line.
Just as he was about to speak, his expression abruptly shifted.
He saw in the distance that the previously somewhat dim sky was gradually being dyed a blood-red hue. Dozens of crimson lightning serpents furiously writhed in mid-air.
(End of this chapter)