Luo Fuchun was shocked: "Master, what do you mean...?"

"Shh." Feng Rugu tapped his upper lip with his index finger, then looked over his shoulder at the disciples of the three families coming and going beside him, indicating that he should not make a scene. "I don't mean anything. Just bring the people I want to where I'm staying."

Luo Fuchun enthusiastically said, "Master, do you want to ask them one by one? Which family's disciples should we start with?"

"Lock them up first." Feng Rugu crooked his finger at Ruyi, then turned and walked away with his hands behind his back. "I'm going to take a look at where the child died. I'll come back and ask them later... Oh right, don't forget, lock each person up separately, don't put them together."

Seeing that Feng Rugu was about to leave, Luo Fuchun chased after him a few steps: "Master, master, the interrogation can be handed over to Luojiu, it will also save time..."

Feng Rugu had already walked more than ten meters away. Upon hearing this, he said without looking back, "Luojiu, hit him on the head."

Before Luo Fuchun could react, Sang Luojiu behind him said, "Senior brother, excuse me", and heavily knocked Luo Fuchun on the head.

Luo Fuchun covered his head, feeling both aggrieved and puzzled: "Why did Master hit me?"

Sang Luojiu apologetically rubbed the place where he had been hit: "Senior brother, did you forget? I'm posing as the son of the Feihua Sect's leader, which puts me in an awkward position. If I participate in this matter, it will inevitably be questioned by the other two families for being biased."

Luo Fuchun suddenly realized, and was about to speak, but clutched his head and hissed in pain.

Sang Luojiu had hit quite hard, and tears came to Luo Fuchun's eyes from the pain. But seeing his junior brother gently rubbing the sore spot with sincere apology in his eyes, Luo Fuchun couldn't get angry anymore, and was left with only a heart full of helpless affection: "Alright, alright, Luojiu, don't worry about this matter, go back and rest well; Hai Jing, go to the edge of Jianchuan and get the duty roster of the disciples responsible for patrolling tonight; while the leaders of the three families are all here, I'll go back to the hall and ask who was patrolling by the river at that time. Maybe someone will refuse to admit it. When the time comes, we'll compare it with the duty roster. Those with serious suspicion will be interrogated first, and Master will have less to worry about when he returns."

Watching Luo Fuchun's back as he hurriedly rushed back to Muxue Hall after assigning the tasks, Sang Luojiu stood alone in place, raised his hand to press on his chest, his face filled with a gentle spring light that would never melt away.

Only Sang Luojiu knew that the reason Master did not allow him to participate in the investigation was not out of concern that he would be criticized by others.

-- Master clearly forbade him from intentionally inducing, planting clues, or fabricating evidence to frame Feihua Sect at this time.

-- I have been Master's disciple for three years, obedient in all matters, yet at critical moments, he still guards against me.

This realization, instead of disappointing Sang Luojiu, made him so excited that he began to tremble slightly.

Like Luo Fuchun, Sang Luojiu admired and revered Feng Rugu.

But he was completely different from his senior brother.

Luo Fuchun revered the past Feng Rugu, who looked down on Kunlun, wielded his sword across the world, and shone with brilliance.

Sang Luojiu, however, revered the present Feng Rugu, who was always lazy, casual, but whose every smile carried an imperceptible blade.

If one day Feng Rugu let down his guard against him, Sang Luojiu might even feel disappointed.

But now, realizing Master's wariness of him, Sang Luojiu knew that Master was still the same Master.

Therefore, he was very pleased.

Master's suspicion was indeed not without reason. However, Sang Luojiu felt that he was living quite well now, with a Master to dote on him and a senior brother to play with. As long as Feihua Sect didn't offend him, he was too lazy to cause trouble for them.

He straightened his robe and turned around, only to run into Hua Bieshuang who had hurriedly arrived.

Hua Bieshuang had a strange expression, obviously having something to say, but he still respectfully bowed: "Big brother."

Sang Luojiu squatted down: "Shuang'er, why do you look unwell? Did something happen?"

Shuang'er tugged on his big brother's sleeve to a secluded place and lowered his voice: "Big brother, I have something to tell you, don't tell Lord Yunzhong."

Sang Luojiu did not directly agree, but with a warm smile, he gave Hua Bieshuang the illusion that he "had already promised": "Go ahead and say it."

Shuang'er cautiously said, "This past month, with Jianchuan sealed off, I was so bored. As soon as the ban was lifted, I secretly left the river and went to the nearby Jianchuan City to buy some food and played for half a day..."

Sang Luojiu had already realized that Hua Bieshuang was about to say something incredible. He pretended not to notice and put on the expression of an elder brother reproaching his playful younger brother, patting his hair whorl and giving him a great sense of security in a timely manner.

Sure enough, after being comforted by his elder brother like this, Hua Bieshuang's words were no longer hesitant: "About an hour ago, I returned to Jianchuan, but I hid in the small grove behind Jianchuan and didn't hurry to cross the bridge -- I had checked the duty roster before I left, and the disciple responsible for guarding the bridge during that time period was from our Feihua Sect. I was afraid of being caught by them and having them report to Mother, who would then say I was neglecting my duties and not ambitious enough -- as a result, I saw Little Aunt in that grove as well, as if she was waiting for someone..."

...Little Aunt?

The leader of Baisheng Sect, Zhu Mingchao?

Sang Luojiu asked, "Did you see who she was waiting for?"

Hua Bieshuang shook his head with a bitter face: "I didn't stay there. As soon as I saw her, I hid. Little Aunt is even stricter with the younger generation than Mother. I didn't want to get caught by her."

In other words, before that disciple was killed, Zhu Mingchao had appeared in that grove.

Sang Luojiu couldn't help but recall that Master had said that Zhu Mingchao had also appeared beside the corpse of that little Daoist priest in the mountain valley and had turned the corpse in a different direction, trying to direct the conflict towards Feihua Sect.

Sang Luojiu did not believe that Shuang'er would tell such an easily exposed lie.

As long as Zhu Mingchao had an alibi at that time, this lie would be self-defeating.

He gently said, "Have you told Dad about this?"

This was a deliberate question.

With Hua Ruohong's narrow-minded nature, if he had gotten hold of such a big handle on Zhu Mingchao, he would have already publicly exposed it or used it to threaten her, not just target Yan Wufu alone.

Sure enough, Shuang'er shook his head: "I haven't told anyone, only big brother. After I slipped back, I heard that something had happened in the small grove, and the more I thought about it, the more I felt something was wrong..."

After all, Shuang'er was just an eleven-year-old child who couldn't keep things bottled up in his heart. The more he spoke, the more flustered he became: "It couldn't really have been Little Aunt, right?... Otherwise, otherwise big brother should still tell Lord Yunzhong about this. I'm afraid--"

Sang Luojiu picked him up and skillfully comforted, "Don't be afraid, your big brother is here. Whether or not to tell Master is not important, but this kind of thing cannot be kept bottled up inside. Come, big brother will take you back, and on the way, you can tell big brother in detail again. Big brother will think about it with you, and if the situation is serious, we'll tell Lord Yunzhong, okay?"

...

After separating from the other three, Feng Rugu and Ruyi walked towards the Ice Bridge.

Feng Rugu was thinking about things, while Ruyi was watching Feng Rugu lost in thought, his gaze not leaving the index finger that had touched Luo Fuchun's lips.

He held a handkerchief in his right hand, gripping it until it became hot, but he just didn't hand it over.

Feng Rugu started to chat with him again in a flirtatious manner, "There's something fishy about this matter, right?"

Ruyi: "Mm."

Feng Rugu: "To be able to take someone's life so easily, the suspicion on the three family heads is not light, right?"

Ruyi: "Mm."

Feng Rugu: "Am I good-looking?"

Ruyi: "...Nonsense."

Feng Rugu was not too discouraged at not being able to trick Ruyi.

Because of the murder case, the Ice Bridge had already been fixed in place with magic power, and quite a few disciples were crossing the bridge, seemingly dispatched by the family heads of each family to chase after the Tang saber swordsman. Unable to find any traces, they could only return to report the situation.

Looking at the dark, swaying deep water surface, Feng Rugu actively stretched out a hand.

Ruyi stared at his palm, stunned for a moment.