Chapter 281: Jingguan Stone

As Gu Yuanzong asked his question, everyone present withdrew their gazes and fell into thought, yet no one answered immediately.

"Old Gu, since this brat is the only one under suspicion right now, instead of wasting effort testing him, why don't we just kill him?"

After a while, the Ding Family Patriarch, Ding Zhen, was the first to speak up.

"I agree with what Old Ding said. In matters like this, it is better to kill by mistake than to let one slip. Besides, Chen Che's current status is merely that of a lowly president of the Scorpion Society; killing him is nothing to us."

Ouyang Guilin chimed in.

Huang Shili seized the opportunity to fan the flames: "That's right, Old Gu. Chen Che is a scourge. If we keep him, it will sooner or later become a disaster, causing major problems."

Fang Shaoyi's eyes shifted, but he did not speak.

Gu Zhangsheng recalled being forced to bow and apologize to Chen Che earlier and also wanted to take the opportunity to add fuel to the fire to put Chen Che to death, but Gu Zhengying saw through his intentions and pulled him back in time.

"Everyone, stay calm. Today's cocktail party also invited Chief Xue of the Inspection Division; if we are to kill, it cannot be at this very moment."

Gu Zhengying explained.

"Then we wait until the party ends."

Because Ding Zhen was still brooding over the death of Ding Yuan, he said angrily: "Killing a brat who hasn't even grown his hair out yet shouldn't be a difficult task."

Gu Zhengying shook his head helplessly, with a tone of mockery.

Gu Yuanzong spoke up: "He cannot be killed. When the incident at the Welfare Institute happened earlier, Xue Zhangming specifically sent me a video—a video of Ding Yuan, under duress, revealing the secrets of the Botanical Garden and the Welfare Institute. He said someone sent this anonymously to the Inspection Division's mailbox."

Ding Zhen's expression changed instantly, his entire face turning gloomy.

"Although that video cannot serve any substantial purpose, it is enough for the Inspection Division to have reason to summon and investigate the Ouyang Family and the Ding Family. If the video is released, or if that person leaves Jinling with the video and goes to Beijing..."

Gu Yuanzong swept his gaze over everyone's faces. "The Gu Family, the Ding Family, and the Ouyang Family will all be investigated by Beijing. Although it won't be enough to ruin us completely, suffering a major blow is inevitable. But there is no time left now; I will not allow anything that could cause an impact to happen."

Gu Yuanzong said the last sentence obscurely; apart from Gu Zhengying and Gu Zhangsheng, no one else understood.

"Therefore, before we figure out whether that video is actually on Chen Che, he cannot die."

Gu Yuanzong said finally.

The crowd fell into silence again; since they could not kill him, none of them had a better way to test him.

Fang Shaoyi's eyes shifted, and seizing the opportunity, he finally spoke: "Old Gu, I have an idea."

"Speak."

"I once fought that mysterious person when I was at the Fang Family. I can be certain that his realm is definitely that of a Post-Heaven Earth Master. And as far as I know, the Martial Dao cultivation that this Chen Che has displayed is only at the Grandmaster Realm."

Fang Shaoyi took a smooth stone out from his bosom. "This is my Fang Family's treasure, the Jingguan Stone. It can test the Martial Dao cultivation of anyone below the Heavenly Master Realm."

"The method is also very simple. You only need to hold it in your hand. If they are in the Earth Master Realm, it will emit a red light, just like this; if they are a Grandmaster, it will be a blue light. No matter how deliberately the person holding it tries to hide their cultivation, it is useless."

Fang Shaoyi let go, and the red light emitted by the Jingguan Stone extinguished, turning back into a plain, earthy gray.

"Very good. Since that is the case, then we shall proceed according to the Fang Family Head's idea."

Gu Yuanzong nodded and added: "Today is a cocktail party, so everyone go to the back garden to attend. If the experiment shows that Chen Che is indeed that mysterious person, I will have to ask you all to help me keep him here."

The crowd stood up and headed to the back garden one after another.

Fang Shaoyi quietly gave a wink to Fang Yuying, and Fang Yuying headed to the back garden a step ahead.

In the back garden, there was music and dancing, and the guests were all in high spirits—it was very lively.

Not far away, Ma Zijun was accompanying his grandfather Ma Youxiang and his father Ma Yiren, chatting happily with several elders from the government and the public who were on good terms with the Ma Family.

Only, if one observed carefully, while Ma Zijun appeared at ease, his attention was not on the conversation at all, but was constantly keeping an eye on the direction of Chen Che and Jiang Lan.

"Young Master Ma."

Fang Yuying came to Ma Zijun's side with a glass of red wine, a smile on her face. Ma Zijun immediately raised a smile, and the two leaned in together to whisper.

Fang Yuying left quickly after finishing, and Ma Zijun took a sip of wine with deep eyes, looking toward the direction of Chen Che and Jiang Lan.

At this time, Chen Che and Jiang Lan had already stepped out of the "dance floor" and were picking out snacks and desserts by the table to taste.

Shifting his gaze, Ma Zijun met Su Xiao's eyes looking this way, and he smiled and raised the wine glass in his hand.

Su Xiao withdrew her gaze calmly, came to Chen Che and Jiang Lan, lowered her voice, and said: "Ma Zijun gave the signal; the plan is going smoothly."

Hearing this, Chen Che and Jiang Lan looked at each other and looked up together. At the entrance of the back garden, the people from the Ding Family, Gu Family, Huang Family, and Ouyang Family all walked in one after another, and the guests who held positions in the government immediately beamed and went up to greet them.

Fang Shaoyi and Fang Yuying were surrounded by some Martial Dao families, exchanging pleasantries, and for a moment, they could not get away.

Fang Shaoyi's original plan was to find an opportunity to talk to Chen Che and then find a chance to place the Jingguan Stone in Chen Che's hand. With Chen Che's cooperation, this process would not be difficult; the difficulty lay in how to make it look reasonable without revealing any flaws.

It was just that plans could not keep up with changes. As the leader of the Jinling Martial Dao families, the Fang Family naturally had many social obligations. If they forcibly refused and left, it would instead look very strange.

Helpless, Fang Shaoyi had no choice but to hand this arduous task to Fang Yuying.

After Fang Yuying finished reporting to Ma Zijun and had just returned to Fang Shaoyi's side, she was forced to take the Jingguan Stone and saw Fang Shaoyi signaling her with a serious face to go find Chen Che.

Fang Yuying was stunned for a moment. Her original plan was that she would be done after reporting, but now it had turned into her having to execute it, and she became nervous in an instant.

All sorts of messy thoughts flooded her mind, and a layer of fine sweat broke out on her forehead and the tip of her nose, thinking about what to do if something went wrong.

What if the Gu Family and others discovered something was wrong? She had absolutely no experience as a spy for the first time; if she messed this up, everything would be ruined!

Fang Yuying's heart pounded, her legs felt as if they were filled with lead and she simply couldn't take a step. She watched the place where Chen Che was, making up her mind over and over again, only to reject it again and again. In the end, she had no choice but to subconsciously cast a gaze toward Fang Shaoyi for help.

Fang Shaoyi glared at her with a look of "iron not becoming steel," but he really couldn't get away, so he could only urge her with his eyes to be quick.

Fang Yuying had a bitter expression, her heart in a state of chaos, and she completely couldn't take a step.

"What are you waiting for?"

A familiar but terrifying voice rang out. Fang Yuying looked up abruptly and discovered that a servant had come to her side and served her a glass of red wine.

Those deep eyes made Fang Yuying's heart tremble; she recognized this disguised servant—it was Xuanwu.

Her heart sank suddenly, and she subconsciously took the red wine and said thank you.

Xuanwu left without a trace. Fang Yuying looked up and drank the wine, suppressing the panic in her heart, but at this moment, she also discovered that many pairs of eyes were staring at her.

The people from the Ouyang Family, the Ding Family, the Huang Family, and the Gu Family.

Even Ma Zijun, Su Xiao, and Chen Che and Jiang Lan were observing her actions calmly.

Even though Xuanwu had gone elsewhere, his gaze still remained on her side, and two other servants were also looking this way.

Fang Yuying guessed that these two servants were likely the same as Black Tortoise, two other Protectors, Azure Dragon and White Tiger, who had disguised themselves and were lying in ambush here.

The gazes of these people were either kind or malicious, puzzled or expectant, yet they all held the same meaning: urging her to act quickly.

An invisible pressure, like a great mountain, weighed down on her so heavily she could not catch her breath; Fang Yuying steeled her heart, closed her eyes, and regardless of anything else, raised her arm and threw the Jingguan Stone fiercely toward Chen Che.

"Whoosh!"

The Jingguan Stone traced a perfect parabola through the air, and one second before it was about to hit Chen Che's nose bridge, he caught it steadily.

"Uh..."

For a moment, the scene was deathly silent.

This simple, crude, and completely illogical method was surprisingly effective, and it left everyone watching Fang Yuying stunned, as clearly none of them had expected the Jingguan Stone to fall into Chen Che's hands in such a way.