This sudden change came too abruptly, leaving everyone stunned and speechless.

Luo Fuchun turned sideways and covered Sang Luojiu's eyes with his hand.

With most of his face covered by Luo Fuchun's palm, Sang Luojiu curiously raised his eyebrows.

Compared to his father being suspected of murder and having his arm chopped off, he was more interested in what kind of fragile image he had in this senior brother's mind.

Zhu Mingxing stood up in shock, "Lord Yunzhong, the matter has not yet been concluded, yet you cruelly severed my husband's arm!"

"I've been wronged." Feng Rugu stood up, looking quite aggrieved, "It wasn't me who cut it off."

The ghastly head slowly returned to the sword body as the fierce spirit returned to its place, like a wooden sword being sheathed. Its expression unchanged, it didn't bother to explain upon hearing this, only glancing slightly at Feng Rugu.

——With this person's cultivation, he clearly had the ability to dodge, yet he refused to take action himself even when the sword was right in front of his eyes. Does he love to act weak and helpless that much?

If that's really the case, he's being far too careless.

After all, Zhu Mingxing was still Hua Ruohong's wife. When others were coldly watching Sect Leader Hua reap what he sowed, she quickly rushed to his side, fed him a pill, stopped his bleeding, and kept asking how he was doing.

She turned her head, about to speak, when a cold blade pointed directly at her brow, stopping the words that were about to come out of her mouth.

Yan Wufu drew his staff sword, his face gloomy, "You two are so deeply in love, are you eager to make love in front of my disciple's corpse?"

Madam Zhu's anger rose and she no longer cared, "Old lecher, watch your words!"

"Some people do despicable things, yet want others to mind their words. It's truly a reversal of right and wrong." Yan Wufu turned his sword stance, pointing at Hua Ruohong on the ground, "Speak clearly, otherwise in the next moment, even if you have a belly full of things to say, this old man Yan will not deign to listen. I guarantee you'll wish you were dead, and even if you die, you won't dare to reincarnate as a human again. Do you believe me?"

If Hua Ruohong had just steadied his mind, Feng Rugu's bluff would have been useless.

Even Zhu Mingxing, who wholeheartedly protected her husband, had to admit that it was too late to deny it now that things had come to this point.

Hua Ruohong took a breath to recover from the blood loss and intense pain. Leaning on his wife's arm, he softly confessed his crime, "Someone...sent me something, along with a letter."

Feng Rugu sat back in his previous spot, "Who, and when?"

"I don't know who, it was this afternoon..." Hua Ruohong, enduring his serious injury, took out a letter with one corner soaked in blood from his chest with a trembling hand, "The letter said...the notice Su Ping received about his father being critically ill was fake, and roughly when Su Ping would return from Qingping Prefecture. It said...for me to seize the opportunity."

Feng Rugu unfolded the letter Hua Ruohong handed over. It was indeed as he said.

He carefully examined the handwriting and discovered it wasn't written by an old acquaintance, allowing him to breathe a small sigh of relief.

Although the letter didn't explicitly say it, Feng Rugu had already roughly guessed what was sent along with the letter. "He sent a black gold Tang saber."

Hua Ruohong opened his mouth, repeating in a half-crying, half-laughing manner, "...A black gold Tang saber."

That person who sent the letter very likely was that black-clothed, masked Tang saber expert.

What he instigated Hua Ruohong to do was actually not much different from what Zhu Mingchao wanted to do.

——Kill Su Ping, make Qingshuang Sect bear the inescapable crime of colluding with outsiders, then use this to pressure Qingshuang Sect to hand over the Qingshuang Sword Technique and leave Jianchuan.

With a Tang saber, a vague letter, and a perfectly timed opportunity, the Tang saber expert easily provoked a long-hidden evil intention in someone.

Moreover, this person was Hua Ruohong, who had always been impatient for quick success and had a simple mind.

Feng Rugu asked him, "Where's the saber?"

Hua Ruohong, "After killing Su Ping in the forest, I threw the saber into deep water."

Feng Rugu asked, "Why didn't you throw Su Ping in too?"

Judging from his expression, he seemed to have no idea how cruel this question was.

With his right arm crippled and his sword path completely severed, Hua Ruohong was utterly disheartened and no longer cared about those formalities. "Feng Rugu, isn't it because of you?"

Feng Rugu asked with curious laughter, "Me?"

Hua Ruohong closed his eyes, exhausted to the extreme, "After the noon banquet, Ah Xing came to find me. She mentioned that you were investigating the scene. Even after a month, you could still discover many clues, which was really hard to deal with. I thought, if I discarded the corpse in the water, no one would know when he returned, when you would leave, or with your abilities, what kind of mysteries you would uncover while lingering in Jianchuan during that time. I simply placed the corpse in a spot disciples would definitely patrol outside the river, making it widely known, to make people think the Tang saber expert had openly killed someone and then fled. I thought, after the corpse was discovered, you would definitely go pursue the murderer..."

This was indeed the ideal outcome.

Su Ping, who had left Jianchuan without permission, had his throat slit and died near Jianchuan. A simple examination of the throat wound would reveal it was caused by a Tang saber. With some appropriate speculation, it wouldn't be hard to guess that Su Ping had colluded with the Tang saber expert and the two had a falling out.

With Su Ping killed, the Tang saber expert must not have escaped far. In that case, Feng Rugu, who was responsible for investigating the Tang saber expert, would have to immediately set off and leave Jianchuan to apprehend the criminal. Qingshuang Sect would also inevitably bear the serious crimes of lax disciple management and privately allowing misconduct. The most severe consequence would be that Yan Wufu would have to take the other disciples and leave Jianchuan.

For Hua Ruohong, this could be considered killing two birds with one stone, much to his delight.

Feng Rugu nodded, "So, when you came to find me to attend the banquet at that time...?"

"I knew that with your personality, you definitely wouldn't accept my invitation." Hua Ruohong's face was deathly pale as he smiled miserably, "I originally thought, after the incident, you would think that since I dared to invite you to the banquet, it meant I had a clear conscience and had nothing else to do tonight, so I could pull you in as a seemingly true witness..."

This kind of presumptuous gilding the lily indeed fit Hua Ruohong's temperament.

Yan Wufu's words were extremely vicious, cutting straight to the core, "For such a big matter, why didn't you tell your woman? Although you two can at most be considered partners in crime, it's still better than nothing."

These words, both mocking and insulting, steadily jabbed at the hidden pain in Hua Ruohong's heart. He didn't know where he got the strength, but he forcefully sat up from Zhu Mingxing's embrace, "Why should I say anything? Nowadays, everyone only knows Feihua Sect has Madam Zhu; who even remembers that the sect's original surname is Hua?!"

Madam Zhu's face changed dramatically, her hands trembling, not knowing if it was from shock or anger. Sang Luojiu watched coldly from the side, quite understanding of his father's complaints.

Hua Ruohong was a man who loved indulging in sensual pleasures and had no interest in managing internal affairs, yet he was unwilling to be accused of marrying into his wife's family. Over the years, he had suffered quite a bit.

For more than a decade, all matters big and small within the sect were decided by Madam Zhu.

His wife, with whom he had a lifelong commitment, was killed at her command.

The courtesan who was brought into the sect was also dismissed at her order.

Even if Hua Ruohong had the intention, he lacked the corresponding ability. No matter how much he complained, he could only swallow it and endure it silently.

Now, a great opportunity suddenly descended from the sky that would benefit Feihua Sect. He knew about the fake letter in advance and the exact time of Su Ping's return. He could even frame someone readily available. As long as Su Ping was killed, among the three sects, Qingshuang Sect, which had the best development momentum, would most likely be kicked out of Jianchuan.

For such a man, with such an opportunity, did he still need to go and seek his wife's consent?

Feng Rugu and Ruyi looked at each other, each adding another mark in their hearts:

This Tang Saber swordsman was actually able to clearly grasp the family affairs and inner conflicts of every person in Jianchuan?

Yan Wufu laughed and said, "In other words, you wanted to solidify your position as a kept man?"

Hua Ruohong was furious: "You—"

However, his body was weak and couldn't withstand such strong emotional fluctuations. He started coughing violently.

Yan Wufu had no sympathy for him and looked like he wished Hua Ruohong would be angered to death on the spot: "You're pushing the blame around, trying to make yourself look clean. Who knows if that forged letter about Su Ping's father being critically ill was written by you? Who knows if that Xiafei Sect disciple whose corpse was dumped in the valley was also your handiwork?"

"I didn't kill that disciple! I only killed Su Ping—"

In his agitated state, Hua Ruohong choked on his breath. His eyes rolled back and if Madam Zhu hadn't come to her senses and massaged his chest, he probably would have passed out directly from anger.

After a long while, he finally recovered. The first thing he did was to defend himself: "It wasn't me! I've already admitted to killing Su Ping with the blade. Whether it's killing one person or two people, what difference does it make? Why wouldn't I admit it? That person only told me to kill Su Ping. There must be someone else in Jianchuan... someone secretly colluding with that Tang Saber swordsman!"

Madam Zhu alternated between grief and anger, her whole body feeling like it was soaked in ice water. Upon hearing these words, her heart suddenly became clear. She raised her head, her bloodshot eyes staring straight at Zhu Mingchao.

Zhu Mingchao was originally sitting calmly in the hall. Feeling a chill in her heart from that gaze, she couldn't help but frown.

Madam Zhu asked in a trembling voice, "Was it you?"

Zhu Mingchao remained calm: "What are you talking about?"

When Su Ping died, Hua Ruohong had been so complacent that he took the initiative to propose signing a soul contract: if any of the three sects was involved in the Tang Saber swordsman, they would immediately be kicked out of Jianchuan.

Madam Zhu didn't expect her husband to be involved in this quagmire. Now that he was reaping what he sowed, she had nothing to say. But she absolutely could not let Zhu Mingchao remain unscathed!

She said in a hoarse voice, "I remember, you go to the back mountain every day to practice breathing and gather dew to nourish your body, right?"

Zhu Mingchao's face turned grim. She had already guessed what she was going to say next: "You..."

However, before she could stop her, Madam Zhu had already spoken: "That day, I saw with my own eyes you fiddling with the corpse of the Xiafei Sect disciple in the valley!"

Seeing the situation sliding towards an uncontrollable point, Feng Rugu tugged at Ruyi's clothes and leaned against his waist, watching this farce that was both laughable and lamentable with a cold eye.