39: It's an unspoken understanding; those who know, know.

The Principal quickly pursed his lips upon hearing this, looking like he wanted to laugh but was too embarrassed to.

Li Yongchang's face on the other side also turned ugly. He glared at the Single Lens Glasses Man, who realized he had spoken incorrectly and sat down awkwardly. He was merely a Micro-Expression Expert, not an Interrogation Expert.

Xie Ning showed a brilliant smile, looked at the Single Lens Glasses Man, and gave him an unconcealed look of gratitude, making the young man feel as uncomfortable as if he had swallowed a fly.

When Xie Ning first saw the group, he didn't understand what they planned to do.

The performance of the Young Man with Single Lens Glasses standing up, however, gave Xie Ning some guesses.

The young man should be the Micro-Expression Expert, responsible for determining if Xie Ning was lying. Lame Uncle Wang was responsible for Hypnosis interrogation to extract information. As for the woman, nothing was clear yet—Li Yongchang's Secretary and Mistress?

Xie Ning showed no courtesy towards these people.

The Madman Hunter Group was very powerful, but their bullying of the weak and arrogance in Flower City was common knowledge. Aside from things that crossed the national bottom line, they had committed almost every other evil deed. Therefore, Xie Ning felt no guilt in confronting them.

"Very well, you have a sharp tongue." Li Yongchang's expression was cold, and his tone carried displeasure.

"Don't worry, it's only two hundred thousand or so. My Li Family isn't short of this money; we'll make it up to three hundred thousand for you. However, similarly, you must cooperate with our investigation."

Xie Ning looked at Lame Uncle Wang and asked, "How do you plan to conduct the investigation?"

"Hypnosis."

Old Principal frowned and looked at Xie Ning, preparing to speak, but saw Xie Ning smile at him and agree immediately.

Seeing this, he couldn't say much, only warning, "Alright, but know when to stop. If you dare cause any harm to the child, don't blame this old man for showing no mercy."

Right after their conversation ended, Lame Uncle Wang stood up and summoned his Demon Tamers Beast—the Hypnosis Doll.

This was the first time he had revealed his Hypnosis Doll in front of others.

At this moment, he no longer concealed his inner thoughts. The kindness that usually hung on his face turned into a vicious glare fixed on Xie Ning.

Xie Ning appeared very calm under Lame Uncle Wang's gaze.

This calmness also made Lame Uncle Wang realize that Xie Ning might have suspected him all along.

"Wang Jin, hurry up and use Hypnosis." Li Yongchang urged.

Wang Jin, who was Lame Uncle Wang, snapped back to attention and commanded the Hypnosis Doll to implement Hypnosis on Xie Ning.

Xie Ning only felt a wave of mental exhaustion and sleepiness wash over him, causing him to yawn. But just as he was about to fall asleep, the System prompt arrived as expected.

[Drip! Abnormal mental state detected. Clearing... Cleared.]

Xie Ning had just closed his eyes and instantly regained consciousness, but he didn't open them. Instead, he slumped backward, falling onto the chair. His hand knocked over the water cup, and water dripped onto the ground along the edge of the conference table.

Li Yongchang and Wang Jin exchanged glances. Seeing Wang Jin nod, Li Yongchang tried asking a few irrelevant questions, which Xie Ning answered as expected, his tone soft and weak, like sleep-talking.

Seeing this, Li Yongchang nodded again and asked, "Where is my son?"

"...I don't know."

Li Yongchang frowned and looked at the Young Man with Single Lens Glasses, but saw the youth shake his head with a bitter smile, meaning, 'I can't tell if it's true or false even after Hypnosis.'

He could only continue asking, "What exactly happened regarding the conflict between you and Li Zhi?"

"...Uncle Wang hypnotized me into confessing to the Campus Belle, using the Campus Belle's admirer to kill my Demon Tamers Beast. Li Zhi is the Campus Belle's admirer..." Xie Ning recounted the general sequence of events very slowly.

The Principal now looked completely enlightened. He finally understood why Xie Ning had confessed to Lu Bingyun.

Upon hearing this, Li Yongchang glared fiercely at Wang Jin, a flash of Killing Intent in his eyes, causing Wang Jin to tremble.

It was true that Wang Jin was a powerful Silver Rank Demon Tamer, but compared to a Gold Rank, the difference was like heaven and earth.

"...Then a few days ago, I secretly saw Uncle Wang get Li Zhi drunk, trying to provoke him into killing me. Li Zhi refused, and then I hadn't seen Li Zhi again. Later, Li Zhi suddenly came knocking and was beaten away by me..."

After Xie Ning finished speaking, Li Yongchang's face was so gloomy he looked like he wanted to devour someone. He stared at Wang Jin, not concealing his Killing Intent at all.

Wang Jin hadn't expected Xie Ning to know these secrets. Crucially, Xie Ning was currently under Hypnosis, so whatever he said, people would believe.

What was worse was that Xie Ning first exposed the fact that he knew about the Hypnosis incident, leading everyone to be predisposed to believe Xie Ning's words.

"Group Leader Li, please let me explain, I didn't do anything to the Young Group Leader, I just had a few drinks with him and..." Halfway through Wang Jin's words, he was grabbed by Li Yongchang, slammed heavily onto the ground, and had his lame leg violently stomped on.

"Ah!" With a faint 'crack' sound, Wang Jin screamed, clutching his injured leg. The intense pain made his face pale and cold sweat pour out. His eyes were full of terror, whether from the present situation or recalling the experience of his leg being broken before.

Liyan and the Young Man with Single Lens Glasses were so scared they stood up from their chairs. They wanted to retreat but dared not, their legs shaking so much they could barely stand. They kept their heads down, afraid to look at Li Yongchang.

No one expected Li Yongchang's temper to ignite so suddenly, without any warning.

"I never thought it would be you, you dog, who harmed my son!" Li Yongchang was full of Killing Intent now, his fair complexion making him look even more sinister. He leaned down, grabbed Wang Jin, and stared intensely, "Tell me! Where exactly is my son?"

"I... I really... don't know." Wang Jin's expression was distorted, unrecognizable.

Li Yongchang turned to the Young Man with Single Lens Glasses. The youth shivered, struggled to observe for a moment, and stammered, "His, his expression is too, too complicated, I can't tell..."

"What use are you!" Li Yongchang raised his leg and kicked the Young Man with Single Lens Glasses to the ground. He tried to step forward for another kick but was blocked by the office chair Old Principal shoved over.

"Li Yongchang, this is a school, not your Corporation. If you want to fight, go back and do it. Now that your questions are finished, shouldn't you release our student from Hypnosis?!"

Li Yongchang's emotions were intense at this moment, but facing the Principal, he didn't dare to be too reckless. He could only take a few deep breaths to calm down, release his grip, and shout at Wang Jin, "Hurry up and remove the Hypnosis!"

"Y-yes..." Wang Jin endured the pain and commanded the Hypnosis Doll to remove the Hypnosis.

As the Hypnosis was lifted, Xie Ning slowly woke up. He first looked around confusedly, then exclaimed, "Holy crap! What's going on? Are you guys fighting among yourselves?"

Li Yongchang: "..."

Wang Jin: "..."

"Principal, did something just happen?" Xie Ning asked Old Principal again. Old Principal, suppressing a laugh, gave him a rough summary.

"That's so exciting—ah, no, I mean tragic. Right."

Li Yongchang: "..."

Seeing that he couldn't get any more information, Li Yongchang felt it inappropriate to stay any longer. After exchanging a few polite words, he left with his group.

After they left, Old Principal looked at Xie Ning again and asked curiously, "Were you really hypnotized?"

"I don't fall twice in the same place." Saying this, Xie Ning winked, the meaning self-evident.

Old Principal and Xie Ning both burst out laughing.

Mutual understanding, those who know, know.