While Tang Qi Hong panicked, Tong Xue suddenly understood what I was trying to do. As he left my room, he began shouting.

"Oh no! Fei Wu has died! Someone poisoned him!"

"Eh?" Lian Rou was looking confused, but Tong Xue grabbed her hand and yanked her along.

"We"ve to go find Elder Zhao and report this to him immediately! And search for the murderer!"

"Eh?! Eh?!" Tang Qi Hong looked like she was in despair. She grabbed me and shook my body violently. "Don"t scare me like this! Didn"t you say you"re…?"

"Play along," I hissed in a low voice. "The murderer might still be out there. He might still be watching me."

"Oh." Tang Qi Hong understood. She nodded briefly and then dropped down and started wailing. "NOOOO!!!! Fei Wu?! How can you have died?! NOOOO!!!! Don"t leave me! You"re the best a.s.sistant I ever had! How will I prepare spirit materials now, when you"re dead!?"

Girl…you need to improve your acting. And besides, weren"t you preparing your spirit materials just fine before I joined the sect as an outer sect disciple? I could only hope that the outer sect disciples gathered outside wouldn"t notice the lack of common sense.

Liang Shao Yang, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d…

The one I wanted to fool the most was Liang Shao Yang, the dude who tried to kill me. If possible, I wanted him to think that I was dead or something.

"Stay there with his body, Qi Hong!" Lian Rou instructed. "Don"t worry! We"ll definitely find the murderer and avenge Fei Wu"s death!"

Evidently, Tong Xue had whispered the idea of faking my death to her, and she had responded well to that. The two of them disappeared shortly.

The commotion had attracted not just outer sect disciples but inner sect disciples as well. By now, a large group of inner sect disciples had also been drawn to the ruckus and were curiously mingling with the outer sect disciples to watch the show. Honestly, what was so interesting about a murder? It was as if they hadn"t seen anyone die before…

…wait. They most likely didn"t. As much as this was a martial arts world, it was a time of peace and killings rarely occurred, especially within Tushan City. Or so it seemed, anyway. I had gone through so many peaceful days that it felt almost like my original timeline, where the crime rate wasn"t high and people didn"t die everyday.

Among the crowd were Pang Feng, Tian Jian Hao, Liang Shao Yang and Hao Ying. Even Yin Jing Jing, who had been cultivating quietly beneath the Spirit Engraved Pillars, had stopped and rushed over to see what was going on. Lady, don"t you think you"ve your priorities all messed up?

On the other hand, Liang Shao Yang was here. I wanted to put on a good show and trick him into thinking I was dead.

To seal the acting, Tang Qi Hong stood up, retrieved my blanket and threw it over me. She then turned to glare sternly at the gathered onlookers.

"What are you guys looking at? Fei Wu has been murdered! Have some respect, will you? Go attend to your own businesses, and don"t crowd around here. I need the place clear so that Elder Zhao and the Blood Blades can investigate the scene smoothly without any hindrances." She clenched her fists as her gaze sharpened. Her rage was visible as she swept her gaze, particularly over Tian Jian Hao and Liang Shao Yang.

I felt sorry for Tian Jian Hao. The poor guy was innocent. But since Tang Qi Hong was not supposed to know who killed me yet, she had to put on a show of ignorance. Tian Jian Hao looked puzzled and retreated somewhat timidly, most likely trying to figure out what was happening, while Liang Shao Yang maintained his poker face, refusing to give anything away. I had to hand it to him, the guy was an excellent actor.

Meanwhile, Tong Xue and Lian Rou reached Elder Zhao. Lian Rou rushed into the building that served as both his quarters and office.

"Elder Zhao! Are you here?!"

"What is it, so early in the morning?"

Unlike the disciples, Elder Zhao was deeply focused on his work, and hadn"t heard about the murder yet. He raised his head to look at Lian Rou as she dashed into his office.

"Elder Zhao! It"s Fei Wu! He has been bitten by Venomous Scarabs!"

Elder Zhao"s expression darkened immediately. He stood up, putting his electronic tablet to sleep and laying it on the table. Putting on his coat, he followed Lian Rou and Tong Xue out as they briefly explained the situation.

"Where did those Venomous Scarabs come from?"

"Fei Wu said that Liang Shao Yang threw them at him. I heard someone attack him before I ran over." Tong Xue provided his eyewitness account. Elder Zhao nodded, his expression unchanging, but rage simmered inside his dark eyes.

"It has only been a few months and already a murder has happened. I can"t believe that Liang Shao Yang would be so ruthless as to use Venomous Scarabs to kill a fellow sect member. But then again, he is from the Divine Shadow Sect, known for their brutal a.s.sa.s.sination methods. Even so, this is not the Divine Shadow Sect! How dare he acts as if this place belongs to him?!"

"I think that he attempted to murder Fei Wu because he had gotten so close with Qi Hong," Lian Rou said as she bowed her head.

"Murdering people just because he"s jealous? What kind of logic is that?" Elder Zhao spat. "Is he going to kill all the guys in the sect because they"re all aiming for Qi Hong? He might as well commit a ma.s.sacre now."

He then took a deep breath to calm himself down. Biting his lip, he glared into the distance as he considered a few factors.

"Even so, if Fei Wu is the only eyewitness, it"ll be difficult to prove Liang Shao Yang"s guilt. Rest a.s.sured, I"ll definitely investigate this. I"ll start by looking into where these Venomous Scarabs come from, probably by finding out who had just returned from Fei Zhou, or at least who has connections with people from Fei Zhou and the means of procuring things from Fei Zhou."

"Thank you very much, Elder Zhao!"

"You don"t need to thank me," Elder Zhao told Lian Rou and Tong Xue, waving their grat.i.tude away. "This is my duty, after all. I"ll let you guys and Qi Hong know when I have more information. For now, I"ll have to go investigate the scene. Tong Xue, do me a favor and contact Shen Cha and his investigative team. Don"t tell them anything – just tell them to personally report to me immediately, and have them meet me at your or Fei Wu"s apartment."

"Roger that."

Tong Xue saluted, and then scampered off.

Elder Zhao nodded as he watched him go, and with Lian Rou accompanying him, he headed toward my position.

*

"Shao Yang, why are you still so anxious? Isn"t that Fei Wu already dead?"

Hao Ying watched as Liang Shao Yang paced incessantly across his apartment, surprised by his lack of composure. The latter scowled, his eyes flashing maliciously.

"Not necessarily. During my time in the Divine Shadow Sect, I was taught one thing by my father. If I have not confirmed with my own eyes that the target is a corpse, then I must never a.s.sume that he is dead!"

"The venom of the Venomous Scarabs are so toxic that it will kill a fully grown man within minutes. And you saw him get bitten, didn"t you?" Hao Ying studied Liang Shao Yang, who didn"t deny it. "Unless they have an antidote on hand, which I"m sure they don"t, he should be dead by now. It"s been hours since he has been bitten!"

"That may be true, but there is always the possibility that Senior Tang or Senior Lian Rou happen to have the antidote on hand. That acting…was too unnatural."

f.u.c.k! I told you that you need to work on your acting, Tang Qi Hong! See what you"ve done!? You gave it away!

Liang Shao Yang paused as he drummed his fingers impatiently against the table, as if trying to remember something that he had forgotten. Something streaked past the greyish pupils of his eyes and he jerked his head up.

"Senior, where did you get the Venomous Scarabs from?"

"I bought them from an outer sect foreign amba.s.sador," Hao Ying replied. "He is a regular in Fei Zhou, and he carried a few of them with him for businesses and trade. You know how there"s always a market for exotic species of magical beasts and monsters from overseas." He stopped when he noticed Liang Shao Yang"s cautious expression. "Don"t worry, outer sect foreign amba.s.sadors normally operate outside the sect, and I only dealt with him outside Tushan City. There"s no way our tracks would be discovered by anyone."

Liang Shao Yang smiled thinly, his eyes glowing ruthlessly as he gazed upon the trembling Hao Ying.

"Are you sure you want to take that chance?"

Hao Ying felt a chill go down his spine, and he gulped. Shaking his head, he bowed deferentially and took a step back.

"I understand. I"ll take care of it right away."

Drenched in cold perspiration, he quickly withdrew from Liang Shao Yang"s apartment. Having grown up in the Divine Shadow Sect as well, he understood just how ruthless the members of the sect were. If he didn"t take action and covered his tracks, the authorities – particularly the Blood Blades – would eventually find the Venomous Scarabs connection leading back to him. And in order to prevent suspicion from befalling him, Liang Shao Yang would ruthlessly silence even his fellow sect member, Hao Ying, without any hesitation whatsoever.

Obviously, Hao Ying had no desire to die, so he could only cut off all trails leading back to him and take care of the outer sect foreign amba.s.sador before he ended up being silenced by the young master of his sect.

*

As it was, someone leaked out that I was alive, and…the game was given away. On the other hand, after I was given ample time to recover (not that I needed it, because I had immunity to all poisons), I was summoned to a trial.

"You say that Liang Shao Yang did this to you?"

A council of elders had gathered to pa.s.s judgement. Elder Zhao was one of them, but he seemed a little sidelined. As for the Sect Leader Zi Shou De and his wife, Da Ji, neither of them were present. It seemed that they were out on a mission and wouldn"t be back for a few days.

As such, this council of elders served as a subst.i.tute to investigate the attempt on my life. With nothing to lose, I told the truth.

"You are aware that you"re making quite the accusation, right?"

A hawk-nosed elder, Ying Bi, reminded me. His expression was predatory and grave, almost like that of a hawk.

"I can only describe what I saw," I replied firmly. "If you don"t believe me, then there"s nothing more I can say."

"So he says. What do you have to say in your defense?"

Another elder, this time named Elder Tong Pan, turned to Liang Shao Yang, who had been brought here to testify as well.

Liang Shao Yang maintained his nonchalant expression.

"There must be some mistake," he declared coolly. "I never stepped out of my apartment the whole night, until I heard the commotion."

He then glanced at me, as if challenging me to contest that. It was his word against mine, and given how the majority of the elders were gazing at me suspiciously, I knew whose word they would believe more.

They did realize that this dude was from the Divine Shadow Sect, a sect known for a.s.sa.s.sinations and underground dealings, right? Why were they more suspicious of me than they were of him?

The answer was pretty clear. Liang Shao Yang had displayed more talent in Spirit Engraving and blacksmithing than I did, and was well on his way to becoming an inner sect disciple. With someone whose future was so bright and would most likely bring great contributions to the sect, they couldn"t bear to dismiss him in favor of a slightly above average and merely hardworking outer sect disciple who didn"t have that much of a prospect beyond being…I dunno, a Blood Blade or an a.s.sistant for an inner sect disciple.

"Do you have evidence that I was the one who attacked you?" Liang Shao Yang was addressing me now, his eyes glinting maliciously.

"Well, I saw you with my own eyes."

"Are you certain that the person you saw was me? Wasn"t it dark? How were you able to see the features of your a.s.sailant?"

I frowned. The guy was trying to provoke me. He was expecting me to shout and yell at him, to threaten and rage at him. It appeared that he was slightly disappointed that I didn"t take the bait and was acting just as calmly as he was.

"How did you know it was dark?" I countered. "If you weren"t there, as you claimed, why do you know the details about the lighting of the environment?"

Liang Shao Yang stuttered, caught off guard by my question. Elder Ying Bi glanced at him, and then decided to intervene to help him.

"Just answer the question, Fei Wu."

Biased b.a.s.t.a.r.d. I noticed he wasn"t asking Liang Shao Yang to answer the question.

"The corridor is pretty well-lit. You should know. There are a lot of fluorescent lights in the corridor of the residential buildings."

"…that is true."

The elders couldn"t deny that.

"But an investigation carried out shortly after the attack showed no traces of Liang Shao Yang"s qi. Or anyone"s qi, for that matter. Are you certain that someone actually attacked you?"

"I heard it!" Tong Xue called out from my side of the room. "I heard someone attacking Fei Wu!"

"But are you sure that was Liang Shao Yang? Did you actually seen him?"

"That"s…" Tong Xue faltered, but Elder Zhao stepped in.

"The question was whether he was sure that Fei Wu was attacked. And at least one other eyewitness heard it, so we can be certain that Fei Wu wasn"t lying, and that he really was attacked last night."

n.o.body questioned that after that. However, I suddenly understood why Liang Shao Yang didn"t resort to more direct methods, such as attacking me. He used Venomous Scarabs because they left no evidence of his involvement. If he attacked me personally, he would inevitably leave behind traces of his qi, lingering qi signatures that could be traced back to him. On the other hand, if he used the Venomous Scarabs or some other creature to carry out his murder for him, then he wouldn"t have to use any qi at all.

Elder Zhao realized this, for he added, "Since the attempted murder was carried out using Venomous Scarabs, it"s obvious that no qi would be involved. Otherwise the accused would just attack with his own weapons and martial arts rather than rely on monsters to do the job for him."

"You need evidence that I"m the owner of those Venomous Scarabs," Liang Shao Yang countered coolly. Cunning b.a.s.t.a.r.d. That was something no one possessed, at least not yet. "Otherwise this is all just conjecture."

"Then, do you have evidence that you were in your apartment during the attack?" Elder Zhao asked. He was probably the only one in the council who was on my side. Liang Shao Yang maintained his poker face, his earlier blanching a faint memory.

"Yes. I have an alibi."

Stepping down, he gestured for Hao Ying to step forward. The inner sect disciple took his place and glanced nervously at the elders.

"I was there, in Liang Shao Yang"s apartment, when the attack took place. I can testify that Shao Yang was inside his apartment until we both heard the commotion and headed out to see what was going on."

"…didn"t you guys arrive separately?" Elder Zhao frowned. "I have a couple of eyewitnesses who testified that you both didn"t show up in the scene together."

"That"s…"

Hao Ying paled. I noticed Liang Shao Yang shooting him an incomprehensible stare. It wasn"t a murderous glare, but it wasn"t friendly or encouraging either. I wasn"t sure what to make of the almost nonchalant expression.

"That"s enough, Elder Zhao."

The other elders had intervened to cut short this farce of a trial. Elder Ying Bi tapped his desk as he glanced around the sea of eyewitnesses and investigators.

"As there isn"t any solid evidence, we"ll let Liang Shao Yang go for now." He nodded at me, his lip curling. "And you too, Fei Wu. Don"t make any more trouble."

"Hey, he"s the victim here, you know?" Elder Zhao interjected, annoyed.

"Of course." Elder Tong Pan cleared his throat and smiled. "Elder Zhao, make sure you have one or two of your Blood Blades protecting him. Ensure that no further harm falls upon him."

I don"t need protection. I need justice.

Unfortunately, the elders didn"t seem to care.

"I"ll continue the investigation. When I unearth irrefutable evidence and confirm who the perpetuator is, I"ll definitely bring him to justice."

Elder Zhao straightened up and declared. The other elders glanced at each other, but they didn"t object.

"Sounds good to me."

"Yeah, we"ll hold the trial again, after you find solid evidence."

"But before then, don"t make any baseless accusations, okay?"

Baseless accusations, my foot. I saw with my very own eyes Liang Shao Yang attacking me. But unfortunately, since I was the only one who saw him actually a.s.saulting me, it was his word against mine. And Liang Shao Yang had an alibi. Even though I knew Hao Ying was a false alibi and most likely was in this together with Liang Shao Yang, I had no way of proving it.

How infuriating.

"Noted."

Elder Zhao glowered, but he couldn"t go against the decision of the majority of the elders. The only way he could overrule them was to procure even more evidence, evidence solid enough to persecute Liang Shao Yang. Right now, I had to admit that the evidence was flimsy, and in the eyes of the elders, it looked more likely that I was accusing Liang Shao Yang because I was jealous of his talent and status and wanted to plot his downfall.

"Don"t worry…we"ll definitely nail him." Elder Zhao placed an a.s.suring hand on my shoulder, his expression solemn and dark. "Give us a bit of time and we"ll find the evidence. Until then, stay safe and keep a low profile. I"ll be…"

"Me, me, me!"

Zi Xiao Ji was jumping into the courtroom after the session was adjourned. She was followed by Zhao Shi and Da Ge.

Elder Zhao gave her a baffled look. "What do you mean, you?"

"I heard that you"re to a.s.sign the Blood Blades to look after Brother Wu!" so I was Brother Wu now, huh? When did I become her brother? I was pretty sure that never happened. "I volunteer!"

"But you"re not a Blood Blade." Elder Zhao was looking even more perplexed. Zi Xiao Ji cleared her throat.

"No, but Zhao Shi and Da Ge are!"

Zhao Shi sighed and rubbed her temple. "And there you have it."

"I don"t mind," Da Ge offered cheerfully. "It"s just one other charge. I"ll be happy to keep an eye on both of them."

Tang Qi Hong frowned as she hurried over.

"Hey…" she protested, but Zi Xiao Ji grabbed her hands before she could say anything else, almost dancing happily.

"Sister Qi Hong! I"ll protect Brother Wu for you! Rest a.s.sure, I"ll make sure he"ll be safe! Hmm, maybe we should add you too!"

"Uh, what? Um, no, I mean…"

Tang Qi Hong was getting all fl.u.s.tered, unable to handle Zi Xiao Ji"s infectious energy. She glanced at me for help, and I shook my head wearily.

"I don"t know anything anymore."

"F…fine! I"ll take you up on your offer then! Fei Wu is my a.s.sistant, after all! If you"re going to protect him, then make sure you do it while he a.s.sists me with my work!"

"Consider it done!"

"Oi, you know that we are the one who have to do all that bodyguard work and not you, right?" Zhao Shi placed her hands on her hips, exasperated.

"On the other hand…" Elder Zhao was pondering thoughtfully. "With all of you in a single large group, I believe Liang…I mean, the perpetuator will not dare to target you."

"Good point!" Da Ge agreed.

"Hmph," Tang Qi Hong snorted. "Anyway, let"s just go back for today." She glanced at me, concerned. "Especially you, Wu, you just recovered from being poisoned. You should rest for today."

"I told you, I am immune to venom," I muttered, but Tang Qi Hong smiled ominously.

"You should rest. In three days, I"ll be working you to the bone, so make sure you have enough energy for whatever tasks I a.s.sign you, okay?"

Maybe I should have pretended to be poisoned after all…

On the other hand…

"Three days from now? Isn"t that Thursday? Don"t we have cla.s.ses on Thursday?" I tilted my head. "We can"t just skip school."

"Oh, don"t worry about that." Tang Qi Hong smiled sweetly as if she had done me a favor. "I"ve already contacted Teacher Jiao and informed him of your close brush with death. We"ll have the entire week off, but you"re to report for the level 6 test on Friday."

Today was Monday, so…four days from now. Gotcha. It also seemed that Teacher Jiao hadn"t forgotten about the d.a.m.ned level 6 test. Well, I did prepare for it, so I didn"t mind taking it.

*

The next day, while Elder Zhao was reading reports in his office and sorting out files, one of his subordinates appeared at the door. A martial artist belonging to the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, he was of the revered Blood Spears and under the direct command of Elder Zhao.

"What is it, Shen Cha?" Elder Zhao asked, noting the heavy expression on his subordinate"s face.

"Long He is dead."

"What?!" Elder Zhao jumped out of his seat and slammed both his palms against his desk, causing piles of paper to fall slowly to the ground. "How?!"

"Someone slit his throat with a blade." Shen Cha paused for a moment before shaking his head. "There were no signs of struggle. It appears that he was taken by surprise before his death."

"But why?"

Shen Cha swallowed and produced his tablet, scrolling through a digital report.

"I suspect…it has something to do with the attempt on Fei Wu"s life."

"What do you mean?" Elder Zhao demanded, but his eyes had narrowed in realization as he joined the dots together.

"In the past six months, Long He was the only one who had been to Fei Zhou. According to our investigations, Long He did bring Venomous Scarabs back with him.

Elder Zhao scowled. "I see…the moment we began the investigation, someone had the foresight to silence Long He before we can interrogate him. He was most likely involved in the attempted murder, whether directly or indirectly. It"s too much to be a coincidence." He sighed as he flopped back down on his chair. "Continue investigating and see where the trail leads. I want to know who Long He recently interacted with. Keep tabs on all of them."

"Roger that." Shen Cha bowed and then withdrew from Elder Zhao"s office silently.

*

"Ah choo!"

It had been three days since the trial, but I couldn"t help but feel a chill, as if someone was talking about me behind my back. If there truly was someone talking about me behind my back, I swore to find him, and kill him.

On the other hand, I attended school as usual, aware that I had only a couple of days left before the level 6 test. The trial and attempt on my life had thrown my schedule back a little, but I was able to figure things out and come up with a contingency plan for the level 6 test in time. I was cutting it pretty close, but I should be able to manage it. It was far from perfect, but after narrowly escaping with my life, I didn"t mind making do with what I could.

Yeah, I know I didn"t seem convincing, what with snot dripping from my nose and all…

"Are you all right, Brother Wu?"

Zi Xiao Ji watched me, concerned, as I sniffled. I nodded and mumbled a "yeah."

"Make sure you don"t catch a cold."

"…right."

Suppressing the urge to retort, I retreated back to the corner of my room. Apparently, just so that they could guard me, Zi Xiao Ji, Zhao Shi and Da Ge had me move into Zi Xiao Ji"s VIP pavilion. Obviously being the daughter of the sect leader and his wife had its privileges, so Zi Xiao Ji was essentially living in a palace.

At least the pavilion had a nice veranda that afforded a magnificent view over the Lake of Fire. Even at this time of the night, there were still inner sect and outer sect disciples gathered underneath the slightly luminous Spirit Engraved Pillars.

Some were scribbling symbols and diagrams on their electronic tablets with their styluses, while others were in quiet meditation. I recognized Yin Jing Jing, Tian Jian Hao and Liang Shao Yang as they sat under the Spirit Engraved Pillars, doing their own thing. Evidently they still held hope of comprehending the pillars, receiving enlightenment and triggering a reaction so that they could jump straight into the inner sect.

Tong Xue was conspicuously absent. The guy had given up quite some time ago.

"Do you want to try as well?" Zi Xiao Ji asked me, misunderstanding my reason for staring at the platform atop the Lake of Fire. I shook my head.

"No, I"m just wondering how Liang Shao Yang can just calmly go over there and continue whatever he"s doing even though he just tried to kill me."

"Don"t worry. I wouldn"t pay any attention to him. Especially now that you have us to take care of you!"

"You mean me and Da Ge, Miss," Zhao Shi corrected from another corner of the room. She chugged down a can of beer before plopping the empty vessel down. Wiping her mouth, she rolled her eyes. "I"m not sure if you can protect yourself with your skills, never mind someone else."

"Geez!" Zi Xiao Ji pouted as she turned on Zhao Shi. Then she turned back toward me, her eyes br.i.m.m.i.n.g with curiosity. "But why don"t you want to try out the Spirit Engraved Pillars, Brother Wu? Don"t you want to be an inner sect disciple?"

"Well…"

To be honest, I didn"t care about being an inner sect disciple. Just being in the Nine-Tailed Fox Ssect was incidental. I never meant to join it in the first place. Of course, I had to admit that the idea of triggering a reaction from the Spirit Engraved Pillars and receiving acknowledgement from the elders was an attractive prospect.

It would certainly take that Liang Shao Yang down a peg.

However…

Whoa!

Even from this distance, I could sense that demonic presence dwelling under the nine Spirit Engraved Pillars. It was just waiting for me to approach, so that it could seize me and take over my body. I still hadn"t fortified my spirit and mind to resist its invasion, and so I had to hold off attempting the Spirit Engraved Pillars for now.

At least until I found a countermeasure against whatever was inhabiting the abyss beneath the Spirit Engraved Pillars…

Liang Shao Yang and the others were lucky. While they couldn"t sense the menacing demonic presence, didn"t know what was lurking beneath them, that fact also meant they wouldn"t be as vulnerable to its predations as I was. They could continue their attempts to commune with the Spirit Engraved Pillars without having to fear the presence or worry about their bodies being taken over. Lucky b.a.s.t.a.r.ds.

"Anyway, you should sleep early tonight," Da Ge told me, as cheerful as ever. "Miss Tang says that she has a lot of work for you."

"Oh boy," I grumbled, but I obeyed. The next thing I knew, I was wide awake when Tang Qi Hong"s voice echoed throughout the pavilion.

"Wu! Are you awake?"

"…yeah."

I groggily climbed out of bed. Nearby, Da Ge stirred, still half-asleep as he struggled out of his slumber with Tang Qi Hong"s voice serving as a good replacement for an alarm clock.

"From today onward, you"ll be my blacksmith a.s.sistant! Get up now and follow me to my workshop! I need to forge a weapon, and you"ll be helping me with it!"

Er…wasn"t I already doing that all along?

Fortunately, that day, I learned what a "blacksmith a.s.sistant" really meant.