“Please have Shopkeeper Sun and Captain Wang act as witnesses!” Lin Chen personally removed his storage ring and handed it to Sun Baocheng, “I’ll trouble you, Shopkeeper Sun.”
Sun Baocheng nodded, then took the storage ring and looked at Captain Wang, “Captain Wang, please.”
At this moment, Captain Wang’s face had turned completely dark, looking extremely unpleasant.
He had never expected that with just a few words, Lin Chen would use a single rule of the Pill Pavilion to transfer the authority of verification to Sun Baocheng, placing both him and Zhao Mang directly over the fire.
The Pill Pavilion belonged to the Alchemist Association.
The Alchemist Association held an extraordinary status, no weaker than the Merchant Alliance of the Eastern Extreme Region.
After all, no one wanted to offend the Alchemist Association.
No one knew the truth of this matter better than him, yet now he was stuck with no way out. He could only grit his teeth and inspect Lin Chen’s storage ring together with Sun Baocheng.
Meanwhile, cold sweat poured down Zhao Mang’s forehead. His entire body trembled slightly as he looked at Captain Wang.
This was his last lifeline.
But Captain Wang was helpless.
With Sun Baocheng present, there was no room for any manipulation behind the scenes.
Sun Baocheng extended his divine sense into the storage ring. In just a few breaths, he withdrew it, then faced the crowd and spoke in a clear, resounding voice, “After my inspection, the storage ring of Young Master Lin contains only Dragon Scale Fruit, Spirit Gathering Grass, Snow Lotus Seeds, and other medicinal materials, along with some personal items and spirit stones. There is no trace of the Purple Crystal Glazed Flower or Dragon Yang Blood Ganoderma mentioned by the Zhao Family.”
After speaking, he turned to Captain Wang and asked, “Captain Wang, is what I said correct?”
Captain Wang had no way to refute it. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he could only nod, “It is correct.”
The moment the two confirmed it, the crowd instantly exploded with noise.
“So it really was a false accusation!”
“Zhao Mang is despicable, framing the Lin Family’s heir like this!”
“I heard Zhao Wanling betrayed Lin Chen, and now Zhao Mang is pulling tricks like this. The Zhao Family is full of scum!”
“This brother and sister really have no conscience!”
…
Zhao Mang’s face turned deathly pale in an instant. His legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.
Even the two guards beside him lost all color in their faces.
Like a gambler who had lost everything, Zhao Mang screamed hysterically, “No! Impossible! You must have made a mistake! Captain Wang, search again, he must have hidden them somewhere!” The source of this chapter is novelping.com.
“Enough!”
Lin Chen shouted sharply, cutting off Zhao Mang’s frantic rambling.
At this moment, the situation had completely reversed.
His deep eyes locked onto Zhao Mang, as if passing judgment upon him, “Zhao Mang, you publicly accused me of stealing the Purple Crystal Glazed Flower and Dragon Yang Blood Ganoderma from your Hundred Herbs Hall, worth 10,000 spirit stones. Now, with Shopkeeper Sun’s testimony, my innocence is proven!”
“According to the ‘false accusation punished in return’ rule of the Merchant Alliance of the Eastern Extreme Region, you must immediately compensate me with the Purple Crystal Glazed Flower and Dragon Yang Blood Ganoderma, or 10,000 spirit stones, and receive 100 strokes of the rod in public!”
“And it will be permanently recorded, and you will be banned from entering the marketplace forever!”
Each word struck Zhao Mang like a hammer, making his entire body tremble.
10,000 spirit stones, how could he possibly produce such a sum?
And 100 strokes of the rod in public… even if he survived, he would be left half-dead!
More importantly, he would become a complete laughingstock, bringing shame upon the entire Zhao Family!
He pointed at Lin Chen like a madman and roared, “You useless cripple, how dare you judge me? I am a young master of the Zhao Family! My sister is a genius of Dragon Spring Academy! If even a single hair on my head is harmed, my sister will tear you to pieces!”
Mentioning Zhao Wanling only fueled Lin Chen’s rage.
He stepped forward like a fierce tiger, towering over Zhao Mang, yet spoke in an extremely calm voice, “What your sister owes me, I will make her repay a thousandfold, ten-thousandfold. For now, I’ll collect a little interest from you first.”
After speaking, Lin Chen turned to Captain Wang and said, “Captain Wang, now that both witness testimony and physical evidence are clear, according to marketplace rules, Zhao Mang must compensate me 10,000 spirit stones and receive 100 strokes of the rod in public.”
Captain Wang glanced at Zhao Mang.
After all, they had colluded together. Now that the plan had failed and Lin Chen pressed step by step, he tried to smooth things over with a forced smile, “Young Master Lin, Zhao Mang is a young master of the Zhao Family. This matter is significant. Besides, he cannot produce 10,000 spirit stones immediately. How about we…”
Lin Chen sneered. There was no way he would let Zhao Mang off.
He looked around the crowd and said loudly, “Captain Wang, you are the captain of the Luoyun City marketplace guards, representing the fairness of the Merchant Alliance of the Eastern Extreme Region. If you favor Zhao Mang today, then are the rules set by the Merchant Alliance nothing but a joke?”
Captain Wang’s face turned ashen.
Lin Chen smiled faintly, leaned closer, and said in a low voice, “If this matter blows up and reaches the marketplace inspector, do you still want to keep your position?”
Captain Wang’s expression changed drastically.
He was merely a squad captain of the marketplace guards. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
The inspector, however, was appointed by the Merchant Alliance to oversee enforcement across marketplaces.
If this escalated, not only would he lose his position, he might be permanently expelled from the marketplace.
As captain, he had offended many people. Without this position, his fate would be miserable.
At that thought, Captain Wang shuddered and looked at Zhao Mang with a resolute expression.
“Young Master Zhao, you falsely accused Young Master Lin. According to the rule of false accusation punished in return, you are hereby ordered to compensate Young Master Lin with 10,000 spirit stones.”
“I didn’t!” Zhao Mang immediately denied.
Lin Chen had already prepared for this, “You made the accusation in the name of the Hundred Herbs Hall, so the compensation naturally falls to the Hundred Herbs Hall. If you refuse, does the Hundred Herbs Hall no longer wish to operate in the marketplace?”
Zhao Mang’s expression changed drastically.
The marketplace was independent from Luoyun City. Even if the Zhao Family had influence there, it could not extend into the marketplace.
If the Hundred Herbs Hall were permanently expelled, the losses would be unbearable even for the Zhao Family.
“I’ll pay!”
Zhao Mang glared at Lin Chen darkly, then reluctantly took out two items from his robes.
The Purple Crystal Glazed Flower and the Dragon Yang Blood Ganoderma.
Together, they were worth 10,000 spirit stones, both being century-old spiritual herbs.
The older the heavenly materials and earthly treasures, the more valuable they became.
Some, due to their unique effects and rarity, were even more precious.
For example, the century-old Purple Crystal Glazed Flower was worth 6,000 spirit stones. Not only did it contain abundant spiritual energy, it could also nourish the soul.
The Dragon Yang Blood Ganoderma contained extremely pure yang energy, capable of tempering the body, strengthening blood and qi, and nourishing vital essence.
Lin Chen’s eyes lit up as he took the two items. To him, they were extremely beneficial.
He immediately stored them in his storage ring.
Then he looked at Zhao Mang and Captain Wang, his voice turning cold, “Captain Wang, it’s time to carry out the punishment.”
Zhao Mang shouted angrily, “Lin Chen, don’t push things too far! You’ve already taken the Purple Crystal Glazed Flower and Dragon Yang Blood Ganoderma from my Zhao Family for nothing. I advise you to know your place and leave now!”
Lin Chen let out a cold laugh, “Pushing things too far? For nothing? Zhao Mang, if your accusation had succeeded, would you have stopped there?”
After speaking, he looked at Captain Wang and frowned, “Captain Wang, if you are unwilling to enforce the punishment, then as the Lin Family’s heir, I will personally report this to the inspector and have him carry it out!”