Feng Rugu curiously propped up his chin: "You two sisters are clearly of the same mother, with related interests and blood ties. Why would she deliberately harm Feihua Sect?"

...Just like how Madam Zhu clearly discovered her sister hiding the corpse and framing others, yet endured without revealing it, and even tried to stand united with her sister when confronting Qingshuang Sect. Why did she jump out at this time and heavily stab Sect Leader Zhu?

Madam Zhu smiled, her expression bitter.

Originally, she and her younger sister Zhu Mingchao practiced the Baisheng Sword Technique together.

Since the previous Baisheng Sect Leader gave birth to a pair of daughters, after they came of age, their parents told them about the current situation in Jianchuan:

-- Because the Qingshuang Sword Technique was easy to learn, the influence of Qingshuang Sect was growing. If allowed to develop, sooner or later, Feihua and Baisheng would be squeezed out of Jianchuan.

Therefore, in the future, Baisheng Sect would very likely form a marriage alliance with Feihua Sect to jointly resist Qingshuang Sect.

But there was one principle - the Baisheng Sword Technique must never be passed to outsiders. So, Madam Zhu and her sister could practice the Baisheng Sword Technique together, but whoever married out in the end must cripple their cultivation.

The three sword arts each had their strengths, but there was one commonality - they relied heavily on the mind method. Each sect's mind method was a scroll, written in ancient text. As long as it was opened, the text on it would pull the person into a cultivation realm.

There were only ten copies of the mind method. Relying on memory, it was nearly impossible to recreate, but it could be modified. Thus, later generations could write their own ideas into the scroll at any time to perfect the mind method.

Because of the irreplicable nature of the mind method, once separated from it, the sword art could not be cultivated.

All three sects were like this.

Each person's understanding of the mind method was different. The more accurate the understanding, the greater the power the sword art could exert.

It wasn't Madam Zhu boasting. She had extremely high talent in the Baisheng Sword Technique. Even her father and teaching master praised her potential, saying she would surely achieve great things in the future.

When she was seventeen, the previous Feihua Sect Leader fell seriously ill. Before his death, he begged Baisheng Sect to arrange his eldest son's marriage before he passed, to fulfill his last wish.

Madam Zhu and her sister were both unwilling to marry. Whoever married would have to cripple their cultivation. With no choice, their father had the sisters compete. The loser would marry.

The result was clear. Madam Zhu was miserably defeated by her sister.

The day Madam Zhu lost, her father crippled her entire body's sword art cultivation.

She cried and begged, but nothing changed.

She was naturally unwilling. She wanted to practice the sword art again, but without the mind method as a foundation, just knowing the sword moves was useless.

So, she disobeyed her father's orders and secretly entered his room, stealing the mind method, wanting to cultivate quickly before marrying.

Unexpectedly, she discovered an extremely terrifying thing.

-- In the third layer of the mind method she cultivated, the spiritual energy should be guided to the Taiyi acupoint.

But in her father's mind method, at this time, the spiritual energy clearly should be guided to Tianshu!

In mind method cultivation, the slightest deviation leads to a huge difference, let alone this enormous flaw.

If not for Madam Zhu's extremely high talent, stumbling into the fourth layer by chance, she likely would have deviated in cultivation long ago, ruining her spiritual power.

Madam Zhu carefully recalled and was shocked to realize that the one who originally passed her portion of the sword art to her was her sister Zhu Mingchao.

Did she change the acupoint path?!

Just as Madam Zhu was shocked and in disbelief, Zhu Mingchao's gentle voice sounded behind her: "Sister, put it back. I'll pretend I didn't see and won't tell Father."

Madam Zhu had difficulty accepting it at the time. She questioned her frantically, demanding to know why she did this.

In response, Zhu Mingchao was incredibly calm, saying, "My talent is no less than sister's, and I'm very clever, able to memorize most of the mind method. Once married into Feihua Sect, it would spell disaster for Baisheng Sect."

She also said, "I changed one acupoint, so you were destined to lose from the start. Even if you are knowledgeable and have outstanding talent, what you'll know after marrying into Feihua Sect is the wrong mind method."

To this day, the words Zhu Mingchao said that day still echo in Zhu Mingxing's ears from time to time: "Sister, I can't marry out because I'm too smart and can remember things I shouldn't, potentially endangering Baisheng Sect's foundation. You also need to remember after marrying that everything you sacrificed was for Baisheng Sect's future. Don't do anything to harm Baisheng Sect, otherwise, your current pain will all be in vain."

Thinking of this, Zhu Mingxing couldn't help but gnash her teeth and beat her chest.

But facing Feng Rugu, she could only put on an appearance of complete calmness, saying, "The reason she framed Feihua Sect was probably to give me a warning. Because after marrying, I was increasingly favoring Feihua Sect. So, she used that young Daoist's corpse to set up a scheme. That extremely simple dying message was enough to make Feihua Sect shoulder an evil reputation and be criticized."

...After all, Feihua Sect's foundation wasn't very clean. Before, Hua Ruohong's romantic debts had involved the life of Feihua Sect's Second Young Master Hua.

Madam Zhu thought that if she hadn't stumbled upon her sister setting up the scene, the entire Feihua Sect would be in the midst of a storm right now, and she hated her sister even more in her heart: "...At that time, the Feihua Sect would have no way to explain themselves clearly, and I would have no choice but to beg her to represent the Baisheng Sect to support the Feihua Sect, and she would take the opportunity to consolidate my alliance with her, making it even more impossible for me to leave her."

Having said so much with a mouthful of resentment, Madam Zhu took a breath and pushed those few stones in front of Feng Rugu: "These are just my speculations. Lord Yunzhong, please listen."

Feng Rugu nodded: "I've heard it. After hearing so much, I also have a word to say, please listen carefully, Madam Zhu."

Madam Zhu: "What is it?"

Feng Rugu crooked his finger at Madam Zhu. Although Madam Zhu felt this gesture was presumptuous, she endured it and still leaned over.

Feng Rugu waited for her fragrant ear to get close, then lowered his voice and said in a proper tone: "...You are all sick."

——After this investigation, this was Feng Rugu's feeling.

Just a scene of a corpse, and there were so many schemes and struggles.

One deliberately changed the direction of the corpse's crawling and forged a dying message to force her sister to seek cooperation with her again; one clearly saw the scene but concealed it and did not report it, only waiting for the investigator to arrive before fiercely accusing her sister; plus two shit-stirring sticks adding fuel to the fire, they forcibly made this corpse first crawl towards the Baisheng Sect, then crawl towards the Feihua Sect, and finally crawl towards the Qingshuang Sect, unable to even die a good death.

The three families of Jianchuan, each harboring ulterior motives, even the crawling traces of a corpse begging for life could be used by them as a tool to bite each other.

So, what roles did the mediocre Hua Ruohong and the seemingly straightforward Yan Wufu play in it?

When Feng Rugu and Ruyi returned to their lodging place, the daylight had already receded.

The disciples sent by Hua Ruohong had been waiting in the courtyard for a long time, eagerly asking if Lord Yunzhong wanted to go for another drink.

Feng Rugu declined Hua Ruohong's invitation to the banquet and walked towards his residence, thinking about things on the way.

Luo Fuchun's complaint was still echoing in his ears: "Master, I asked around. No one has seen this murdered disciple of the Dao Sect, and no one claims to have known him. Even the disciple guarding the bridge says he doesn't remember this person ever crossing the bridge... This is really strange, a living person with a name, it's as if he suddenly grew out of the core of Jianchuan."

Yes, just like how poisonous mushrooms breed in damp places, how could this corpse that appeared out of nowhere not be a product of the various malices in Jianchuan?

Feng Rugu was lost in thought all the way. He pushed open the door of the room and was about to close it when a hand with distinct joints grabbed the door frame from behind.

Feng Rugu was stunned for a moment and said with a smile, "Master Ruyi, Feng Er has arrived home, thank you for accompanying me all the way. But you went to the wrong room."

"Not the wrong room." Ruyi put away the umbrella he had been holding the whole way and calmly announced, "This is also my room."

Author's Note:

Feng Er: Let me lean on your shoulder for a bit, I need to take a nap.

Ru Yi: He must be trying to seduce me.

Feng Er: You've got the wrong room.

Ru Yi: He must be playing hard to get with me.