Chapter 1588: Clues

It was no wonder she was suspicious. After all, their own people had already searched the water several times before. The Black Water Pool, apart from being cold and deep, had presented no other issues. Yet, as soon as Golden Medallion Eleven arrived, he immediately started suspecting her, and after just one dive, he emerged claiming that Lord Seven's body had been dumped there by a woman.

If you're going to lie, at least make it believable. How could such things be discovered underwater?

Not just her, even Xiao Jianren was a bit skeptical. Was the boss testing them? But he didn't look like he was lying.

Zu An said calmly, "Don't concern yourself with how I obtained this information. I have my own methods. You'd best find a way to prove your innocence, and then investigate whether Lord Seven had any connections with women."

He couldn't publicize the matter of the turtle spirit, so he could only speak in this manner.

"Lord Eleven's explanation is simply too far-fetched," Zhang Zitong said, displeased. "There's no physical evidence or witnesses. Are you just going to casually say that and expect us to investigate in this direction?"

Zu An frowned slightly. "I'm not discussing this with you; this is an order!"

Zhang Zitong's expression shifted slightly, but she could only lower her head reluctantly and say, "Yes!"

However, anyone could sense the insubordination in her tone.

At this moment, Xiao Jianren, who was standing by, said, "Miss Zhang, our lord never speaks falsely. Since he said so, there must be a reason for it."

Zu An secretly nodded. This old fellow hadn't been completely swayed by her beauty yet. If he had sided with the woman at this point, he would truly have lost all sense of proportion.

A strange glint flashed in Zhang Zitong's eyes, but she said nothing more.

"Furthermore, the woman who disposed of the body isn't necessarily the murderer," Zu An said, frowning deeply in thought. "I just can't figure out her motive for doing so."

"What do you mean by that, my lord?" Xiao Jianren asked curiously.

"If that woman truly intended to dispose of the body without it being discovered, she could have easily tied stones to Lord Seven's body to sink it to the bottom, ensuring it wouldn't be found for a long time," Zu An said gravely. "Moreover, if she truly wanted to destroy the body and erase all traces, there are countless methods. There would be no need to go through the trouble of dumping it in the Black Water Pool."

This was a world of cultivation, where many possessed supernatural abilities. Unlike ordinary people in his previous life who found corpse disposal troublesome, there were countless ways here to make a body vanish into thin air. There was simply no need for such an elaborate act.

The turtle spirit had previously mentioned that the woman said, "It would be better if it were discovered sooner." Could it be that she deliberately did this to have Golden Medallion Seven's body found?

But if that were the case, she could have simply thrown his body at the yamen gate or in a busy market, where it would be found more easily. The Black Water Pool was, after all, relatively remote.

Too many possibilities emerged in his mind, but none had enough information to support a conclusion.

Xiao Jianren was full of admiration. "My lord indeed sees everything clearly. This analysis is truly meticulous."

Zhang Zitong, who was standing by, gaped. She wasn't disdainful of Xiao Jianren's flattering, because she felt the same way.

This person had so quickly realized the unusual aspects of the situation; he was truly worthy of being a Golden Medallion.

But she just didn't know where he got this information from...

She naturally didn't believe he had gathered the information just by diving into the water. Instead, she guessed he had obtained the intelligence from other sources much earlier, and was only just revealing it.

Zu An looked up at the sky, noting that it was getting late. He then instructed Xiao Jianren to investigate in the direction he had just indicated, to be cautious of the woman with the high ponytail, and to further investigate whether Golden Medallion Seven's previous cases involved any women.

Xiao Jianren detected a hint of departure in his words, and asked curiously, "Lord Eleven, are you not returning to the city with us?"

Zu An replied, "I have other matters to investigate, so I won't be joining you."

Xiao Jianren nodded. This lord had always been a solitary figure with mysterious whereabouts, but most Golden Medallion Embroidered Uniform Guards were like that, so he had no suspicions.

After parting ways with the two, Zu An immediately summoned his Wind-Fire Wheels and rushed back. He had already wasted enough time, and now he dared not waste a single moment.

On the way, Zu An mused that the case of Golden Medallion Seven was strange in every aspect. In fact, asking Zhu Xie Chixin would likely reveal what happened, as Golden Medallion Seven had mentioned reporting his investigations to Zhu Xie Chixin before his death.

However, Zhu Xie Chixin was now also elusive, not having returned to the capital for a long time. Zhao Hao was also tight-lipped about his whereabouts, so he had no idea what the two of them were up to.

By the time he returned to the military camp, dawn was just breaking, and many people in the camp were already active.

Fortunately, he had instructed Wang Bolin and Zhang Zijiang not to disturb him yesterday, so no one else called him to get up.

However, he soon noticed a figure lingering near his tent. His heart skipped a beat, thinking it might be someone with malicious intent.

When he clearly saw the figure, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Sister Daoyun, what are you doing here?"

"Ah?" The graceful figure was startled. She turned around and saw him, and for a moment, her expression became exceptionally flustered. "Bro... Brother Zu, why are you outside?"

She had drunk the Feather Mountain Spirit Spring yesterday, and with a night's sleep, her spiritual power had recovered significantly. The first thing she thought after waking up today was how undignified she had been in front of Zu An yesterday. She wanted to come and thank him, and incidentally salvage her impression score.

But doing so might seem a little too deliberate, and coming to a man's bedroom so early in the morning could easily lead to misunderstandings.

While she was debating, Zu An called out to her from behind, which naturally startled her. "I just went out for a stroll," Zu An said with a smile.

"Brother Zu, did you go cultivate? No wonder your cultivation is so advanced at such a young age." Xie Daoyun noticed the frost in his hair and that he looked somewhat disheveled from travel. She naturally wouldn't have guessed he had traveled thousands of kilometers away overnight.

Zu An knew she had misunderstood, and this saved him from having to explain. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes, thank you, Brother Zu." The wind was strong around them, and Xie Daoyun gently smoothed the wind-blown strands of hair at her temples.

"It's windy out here, let's talk inside." Zu An noticed that she seemed to have specially drawn her eyebrows today, applied powder to her face, and her lips were a vibrant red.

"Mmm." If it were any other man, Xie Daoyun certainly wouldn't have casually entered his bedroom, but Zu An was different.

Before entering, Zu An specifically put Daji away. The two chatted in the tent for a while, sharing what had happened to each of them over the past few days.

Zu An thought of Golden Medallion Seven's case, and casually asked, "That Truth Talisman of yours yesterday was quite amazing. What cultivation level does it work on?"

He really wanted to test whether the woman with the high ponytail was problematic.

When talking about her area of expertise, Xie Daoyun became quite excited. She roughly explained the principles behind the Truth Talisman's creation, adding at the end, "It generally works up to the sixth or seventh rank, but human hearts are complex. If you encounter someone with strong willpower, the Truth Talisman might not be able to detect anything. That's why the imperial court rarely relies on its results, only occasionally using it as a supplementary tool."

After listening, Zu An realized that using it to test the woman with the high ponytail would indeed be unreliable.

Noticing his disappointment, Xie Daoyun considerately asked, "Brother Zu, have you encountered something difficult recently?"

"Not really, just asking casually," Zu An said with a smile.

Xie Daoyun pursed her lips and said, "I was overthinking it. With your current cultivation and status, Brother Zu, I suppose nothing could truly trouble you."

The two chatted for a while longer, when Zu An suddenly realized that Xie Daoyun, this talented woman, was exceptionally knowledgeable. So he pretended to casually mention how to silently kill a master and make it look like a natural death. The Embroidered Uniform Guards and other systems generally kept information confidential from each other, and others didn't know about Golden Medallion Seven's case, so he wasn't worried she would guess anything.

Xie Daoyun treated it merely as a discussion topic. After thinking for a moment, she replied, "A powerful water-element cultivator could feign a drowning, but if the deceased was already a top master, and there are no signs of struggle on their body, that possibility is low. Additionally, I once heard my teacher mention that there's a branch of the Witch Sect skilled in mental control, capable of killing people silently. However, since the establishment of the Great Zhou Dynasty, this lineage has either died out or dispersed, and many are said to have retreated into the mountains and forests. Thus, very few people are aware of them. If a master from that sect were involved, it would be much easier to achieve."