However, he listened for a long time, until all the memories concerning Po Xiao in Mandara's mind were read, yet he found no evidence of Po Xiao's rebellion.
One could say the only deception towards the Dark Association was that Po Xiao had secretly given her and Fei Yan two Nine Revolutions Golden Pills, allowing them to secretly consume them and improve their strength.
But what proof was this? After all, for people of the Dark Association, withholding some benefits during mission execution was a common occurrence.
To convict him on this, the reason was definitely insufficient!
Besides this, it was Po Xiao's instruction to the two that if there was any danger, they should seek protection from Lan Yue, Huang Shan, and others, which also did not constitute any evidence!
Thinking of this, Kong Ling's gaze became extremely grim.
Even the woman by Po Xiao's side did not know about Po Xiao's rebellion.
This could only indicate two possibilities.
Firstly, it was very likely that the rebellion mentioned by Gu Hai simply did not exist, and was fabricated by Gu Hai to retaliate against Ye Cangtian.
Secondly, Po Xiao intentionally concealed these matters from Mandara and others, so he could not interrogate anything.
And in his opinion, the possibility of Gu Hai fabricating lies to deceive him was very small; after all, he had known Gu Hai for so long and believed he understood him.
"As you've heard, this woman knows very little. Let her go, consider it a return gift to Po Xiao!"
Thinking this, Kong Ling said coldly.
He had been infuriated by Po Xiao before. Now, returning Mandara would likely drive Po Xiao mad.
This could also be considered revenge.
At the same time, this move might yield unexpected gains. If Po Xiao was truly enraged, he might reveal his hand.
"Lord Kong Ling, since this woman knows so little, should we bring Lan Yue and the others?" Bai Wuchang asked hurriedly upon hearing this.
Kong Ling shook his head and said, "We'll discuss this later. After all, they are all Earth-level supervisors, and it's not appropriate to act rashly. Let's wait for Gu Hai to return and see if they have any evidence."
"Understood, subordinate." Bai Wuchang responded after hearing this and spoke.
With that, he and Hei Wuchang, supporting Mandara between them, left the secret room.
...
The next day at noon.
Ye Cangtian and the others had just finished their meal when a knocking sound came from the door.
Fei Yan quickly got up to open the door.
However, when she saw the two figures with black and white ghost masks, her heart skipped a beat, and her brow furrowed.
She had seen bronze, silver, gold, and dark gold masks, and knew their ranks. But she had never seen black and white ghost masks before, nor did she know their identities.
"Let them in!"
Just as Fei Yan was unsure whether to let them in, Po Xiao's voice came from behind her.
Although they were at some distance, Po Xiao had already sensed their formidable auras.
They were experts at the peak of Quasi-Heavenly rank, seventh or eighth level. Their presence here must mean they held high positions within the Dark Association.
Furthermore, Ye Cangtian had already guessed their identities. These were likely the last two Quasi-Heavenly rank powerhouses hidden by Kong Ling, besides Xue He and Gu Hai.
On the other side, hearing Po Xiao's words, Fei Yan stepped aside, and the Black and White Impermanence swaggered in.
Bai Wuchang glanced at the seated Ye Cangtian and said, "To introduce ourselves, we are the Black and White Impermanence serving Lord Kong Ling."
"I'm not interested in your identities. Get straight to the point!"
Ye Cangtian glanced at the two and said indifferently.
He was very curious now about Kong Ling's intentions in sending them.
In other words, were they here to deal with him?
Sensing Po Xiao's intense gaze, Bai Wuchang smiled faintly and said, "Don't be nervous. Lord Kong Ling sent us not to deal with you; Lord Kong Ling is not that petty."
"That's right."
Hei Wuchang echoed, continuing, "Lord Kong Ling sent us to return an old acquaintance."
As he spoke, Hei Wuchang clapped his hands. Shortly after, two guards appeared at the entrance, supporting a woman between them. She was limp and boneless, covered in wounds.
However, the woman had been tortured, her hair disheveled, making her face completely unrecognizable.
The next moment, the two guards arrived before Po Xiao and directly lifted the woman's face.
Sister? Mandara?
Although her face was swollen and bruised, Fei Yan and Ye Cangtian recognized the woman's identity at first glance.
In an instant, a terrifying killing intent spread around Ye Cangtian.
Harming someone close to him had touched his bottom line, something he could never tolerate.
"Did you capture Mandara?"
A cold, murderous voice emerged. Bai Wuchang's brows furrowed, then he replied, "We were merely acting under Lord Kong Ling's orders to bring her back to assist in the investigation."
"Exactly! The investigation is now concluded, and it has been proven that Mandara committed no wrongdoing, so Lord Kong Ling has ordered us to return her," Hei Wuchang added.
The Black and White Impermanence, speaking in unison, directly shifted the blame to Kong Ling.
In fact, according to their usual practices, even if Mandara were innocent, they would have eliminated her afterward to prevent future retaliation.
But now Kong Ling had given an order, and the two could not disobey.
However, even though they returned Mandara, they immediately passed the buck to Kong Ling. In their view, Po Xiao would absolutely not dare to question Kong Ling.
This way, they could avoid entanglement with Po Xiao, as Po Xiao was also a Quasi-Heavenly rank expert and not to be trifled with!
A brief silence fell in the room, with only a strong, lingering killing intent.
As the Black and White Impermanence slightly frowned, Ye Cangtian finally spoke.
"Since it was Lord Kong Ling's order, I naturally won't say anything!"
"Now that the person has been delivered, you can leave!"
His voice was somewhat low, but he withdrew his killing intent at this moment.
He was well aware of Kong Ling's intention in sending Mandara back at this time: to provoke him and force him into rebellion.
This way, Kong Ling could frame him with the charge of rebellion and legitimately eliminate him.
Regarding Kong Ling, Ye Cangtian felt he could put up a fight. Even if he lost, he had a high chance of saving his life. But if he could save his own life, what about the people around him?
Moreover, once he made a move, he could no longer stay in the Dark Association, and what use would his Po Xiao identity have then?
Therefore, he could not act now, to avoid implicating others.
"You! Say that again!"
On the other side, hearing Ye Cangtian's words, Hei Wuchang became furious, pointing at Ye Cangtian and roaring.
He was, after all, Po Xiao's senior, and had served both Ba Tian and Kong Ling, his status far surpassing Po Xiao's.
Therefore, upon hearing Ye Cangtian reprimand him, he found it utterly unacceptable.
"I told you to leave!"
"If you don't understand, I don't mind sending you out myself!"
Ye Cangtian met his gaze directly, his killing intent flashing again.
Without a valid reason, it would be difficult for him to act against Hei and Bai Wuchang, but if they were ungrateful, it wouldn't hurt to vent his anger on them.
"Po Xiao, who the hell do you think you are! How dare you tell me to scram?"
"Let me tell you, not to mention you, even Xing..."
Hei Wuchang roared in anger, but before he could utter the word "Yuan," Bai Wuchang promptly pulled him back.
Regardless of anything else, they were only Quasi-Heavenly rank experts. In terms of status and strength, they were incomparable to Xing Yuan.
And if such a matter were to reach Xing Yuan's ears, even with his good temper, he would deal with them. Thus, Bai Wuchang stopped Hei Wuchang in time.