Chapter 374

Staring at the female investigator whose face was bright red from being scolded and who almost passed out, Leon couldn’t help but give Black Goat a thumbs up, deciding to buy it a few more packets of GaoTe after work.

Though Black Goat’s “attack power” might be lacking a bit, its verbal offensiveness is definitely maxed out. Remember last time during the investigation, there was an episode like this where the other party got so mad they rolled their eyes back—this is what you call a dedicated investigator artifact.

“Alright, Elsa.”

Surprisingly looking at the arrogant goat head, the old investigator spoke up as a mediator, gently persuading: “The routine questions will end here for now since we haven’t obtained any solid evidence yet. Asking directly like this is indeed a bit impolite…you go outside and take a breather, I’ll handle the rest.”

“Okay…”

After hearing the elderly investigator’s advice, the female investigator clenched her fists and then nodded with her lips pursed, leaving the office with eyes full of reluctance.

And once she stormed out, the kind-looking old investigator sat up straight, locking eyes with Leon, speaking calmly:

“Lord Leon, if I’m not mistaken, the death of that Gold Nightingale Marquis has a direct cause related to you, right?”

Of course not!

Leon, who had already mentally prepared himself, instinctively wanted to shake his head in denial, but found his tongue slightly stiffened, unable to move no matter how much he tried.

“Looks like you want to lie again.”

Slightly opening his mouth to show Leon his tongue glowing faintly white, the old investigator smiled and said: “After my last visit from you, I felt my skills were insufficient, so I specially requested an anomaly from the General Bureau to detect lies. I replaced my original tongue with this one.

When conversing with me, if your response is a lie, your tongue will be affected and won’t allow you to give false answers. So for our next conversation, please try to be as honest as possible.”

Anomaly to detect lies?

After hearing the old investigator’s words, Leon subconsciously narrowed his eyes, staring at his tongue.

Although the angle wasn’t perfect, the middle part of the tongue seemed to have something akin to a “stitch line.”

The latter half of the old investigator’s tongue looked completely normal without any anomalies, but the front part, glowing with white light, appeared dried out, looking shriveled and shrunken. The surface of the tongue still looked somewhat intact, but the underside was severely shrunken, with deep blue veins bulging out, looking quite terrifying.

‘Be careful, this is the [Tongue of Truth]!’

A slightly damp hand grasped his, Emma Senior’s gentle voice traveling through their clasped palms into Leon’s soul.

‘This item was made by the fourth Taurus Director. He infiltrated the graveyard of the True Word Church, dug up the grave of their first Grand Speaker, and took this piece of tongue from the corpse.

That first Grand Speaker never told a single lie from birth to death, so the anomaly created from his tongue forces others to answer just as truthfully as him.

Moreover, the consumption of this thing is low; anyone with even a little Leon value can use it. The only cost is replacing your original tongue, and the number of uses is limited.’

“Zzz…”

[Through Emma Arman’s detailed explanation, you’ve gained a lot of intelligence regarding the “Tongue of Truth,” and the anomalous badge “Materialist Soul (Bright Red)” has been activated.

Tongue of Truth, huh? After glancing at the prompt, Leon squeezed Emma’s hand in return, asking through the soul link:

‘What else? Are there other details?’

There are… but why do you ask? Emma blinked in confusion upon hearing this, but out of trust in Leon, she quickly explained through the soul link:

‘There are some more…

According to the fourth Taurus Director’s calculations, when the total accumulated usage reaches the number of truths spoken by the Grand Speaker in his lifetime, this thing will dry out on its own.

So around three hundred years ago, it was already sealed away by the director at the time, only to be used in important situations. I don’t know how he got it.

Anyway, Leon, stop dealing with him. My Leon value is much higher than his, so this thing will affect me less. Let me answer the next questions!’

“Zzz…”

[Through Emma Arman’s detailed explanation…it can already block extremely deep influences.]

No mistakes, let me answer.

Comfortingly patting Emma Senior’s hand, Leon moved his still somewhat stiff tongue, speaking with a slightly strange accent but relatively fluently: “Alright, I’ll be as honest as possible moving forward… Besides, the Gold Nightingale Marquis wasn’t killed by me, and I have nothing to do with it. You’re investigating the wrong person.”

Huh?!

Upon hearing Leon’s response, the old investigator’s eyebrows twitched violently, immediately tightening the muscles in his jaw, trying hard to suppress this obviously absurd statement with his tongue.

However, no matter how hard he tried, even with visible muscle bulges under his chin, Leon’s words flowed smoother and smoother, even taking control, saying with a hint of disgust: “Also, I don’t know what’s wrong with you guys. Without evidence, you rudely confronted me directly with offensive questions, accusing me. And you even specifically prepared corresponding anomalies.

But no matter how meticulously planned, innocent people remain innocent. In the case of the Gold Nightingale Marquis drowning himself, I’ve always been clear of conscience. If you want to investigate, go ahead. Neither Emma Senior nor I touched even a finger of his.

And without any evidence, you’re trying to pin this on us. I suspect you’re connected to the Aquarius Director. After this conversation, I will immediately file a complaint with the General Bureau demanding a thorough investigation into your background and movements!”

“…”

Not…don’t you know what you’ve done? And you dare to investigate me? With his tongue nearly folded, unable to suppress Leon’s righteous speech, the old investigator’s cheek muscles tightened involuntarily, beginning to doubt if the [Tongue of Truth] was broken.

Before coming here, he had already investigated Cuiyu Manor and secretly used the [Ceremonial Pocket Watch] to rewind the events of that day.

This guy with a righteous face knocked out the guards that night and sneaked into the manor, standing outside the Gold Nightingale Marquis’s door for over ten minutes. Next, the Gold Nightingale Marquis had nightmares all night, woke up the next day, and jumped into the lake! Damn it! If this has nothing to do with him, I’ll take out the [Ceremonial Pocket Watch], chew it up, and eat it right here!

(End of Chapter)