They all became female demons after being reborn.

Chapter 36 Strategic Planning

Upon hearing Wu Cheng say he knew who the murderer was, Xue Jianren immediately stepped forward, his voice urgent, "Who is it?!"

Wu Cheng pointed to Yuan Congwen's corpse on the ground, "Hisself."

"How is this possible!" Xue Jianren clearly didn't believe it.

The disciple from the Discipline Hall next to him also said, "Yes, Junior Brother Wu, how could that be? I was the first to break in. This Hundred-Refined Black Iron Sword was stuck in Junior Brother Yuan's body. Moreover, the wound on his chest was not fatal. The real fatal wound was the sword wound that went through his heart in his back."

Wu Cheng laughed. "If I'm not mistaken, Yuan Congwen died lying on the ground, with the sword stuck in his back?"

He asked a question but received no answer.

But when he looked up, he saw three pairs of eyes filled with shock, as if they were looking at a god.

"What's wrong?"

"Junior Brother Wu is truly a divine being!"

The two disciples from the Discipline Hall looked at them with admiration. "You weren't even there, how did you know so clearly?"

Because I've seen Kindaichi and Young Justice Bao.

Wu Cheng smiled faintly and said, "That's not hard to guess."

He pointed to the ground, "If I'm not mistaken, there are traces of the hilt of the Hundred-Refined Black Iron Sword on the ground among the pile of scattered chairs."

Xue Jianren immediately rushed over and shoved aside the chair fragments, then exclaimed, "It really is there! I found it!"

The two disciples from the Discipline Hall immediately went over to check and, sure enough, found a deep mark among the bloodstains on the ground.

They clashed the hilts of their Hundred-Refined Black Iron swords together, and the fit was perfect!

The three were deeply shocked, and when they looked at Wu Cheng again, their gazes were no longer filled with shock, but rather with fear!

"How did you guess that, junior brother?"

Wu Cheng smiled and continued, "It's very simple. Yuan Congwen sent Senior Brother Xue away, but left his sword behind. He first stabbed himself, but firstly, it would be difficult to frame him, and secondly, he was probably undecided or acting on impulse, so that stab only caused him minor injury."

"Then he stood the sword upright on the ground and held it between a chair, then stood on the table with his back to the sword and jumped down."

Wu Cheng pointed to the table, "And then he died."

Having gone through the reasoning just now, Xue Jianren and the other two had already completely trusted Wu Cheng.

Upon hearing Wu Cheng recount the events, the three of them conjured up images in their minds.

In the still of the night, in the candleless room, Yuan Congwen's expression was uncertain. He first drew his sword and stabbed himself in the abdomen, but ultimately couldn't bring himself to do it. After hesitating for a long time, he stacked chairs together, stuck the sword in the middle, stood on the table, gritted his teeth, and jumped off, only to be stabbed through the heart...

Xue Jianren, his eyes red-rimmed, gritted his teeth, "I've never wronged him! Why would he risk his life to frame me?!"

"That's true." The disciple next to him stroked his chin. "Although Junior Brother Xue has offended many people in the outer sect, it's only because those people despise his background and are jealous that he was able to enter the Sword Pavilion to cultivate. Therefore, they often gossip behind his back. And since Junior Brother Xue is a bit dim-witted, he naturally often falls into their trap and offends people."

Xue Jianren's gaze was deep and unfathomable. "Senior brother, I'm still here..."

Wu Cheng asked curiously, "Even disciples of military families are looked down upon?"

Xue Jianren frankly said, "It's not that. It's just that my grandfather used to be a night soil collector. After my father joined the army, he was lucky enough to become His Majesty's personal guard and had merit in supporting the emperor. Therefore, His Majesty entrusted him with the important task of guarding the border. Those people looked down on me and said that I still had the stench left by my grandfather. I couldn't get along with them."

After he finished speaking, seeing that Wu Cheng didn't react much, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Junior Brother Wu, don't you... think I come from a humble background?"

"What do I care about?" Wu Cheng smiled. "Senior Brother Xue, being born into poverty is not a disgrace; a true man is one who can bend and stretch. Let us both strive to uphold this principle."

Besides, no matter how good their family background is, can they compare to him?

Although he was not well-liked in the palace, he was still a prince.

However, judging from Xue Jianren's appearance, he didn't seem to connect his surname to his background.

It's unclear whether his father, Xue Baichuan, never told him about himself, or whether he was simply disliked and considered insignificant.

Xue Jianren paused for a moment, then cupped his hands and said solemnly, "I have learned a lot."

He gritted his teeth, then suddenly bent down. "Junior Brother Wu, I offended you greatly this morning, yet you still helped clear my name. Go ahead and beat me up! I won't say a word!"

"Why would I hit you?" Wu Cheng said, both amused and exasperated. "Alright, Senior Brother Xue, let's continue the investigation. You have to cooperate with me."

Xue Jianren straightened up, looking puzzled. "What else is there to investigate?"

"Of course, it's the motive behind Yuan Congwen's suicide," Wu Cheng said matter-of-factly.

Xue Jianren scratched his head. "Isn't he just framing me?"

Wu Cheng patted him on the shoulder, "Senior Brother Xue, I may be a little harsh, but aren't you being a bit too self-centered? This man is the son of Yuan Hao, the magistrate of Luoyang. You committed suicide just to frame him? It would be more accurate to say that his father forced him to die so that he could target your father."

Xue Jianren's expression changed. "Could it really be targeting my father?"

Wu Cheng smirked and ignored him, instead bowing to the other two disciples of the Discipline Hall, "Senior brothers, you were among the first to break in. Is there a reason for your actions?"

One of them said, "Another outer disciple came to the Discipline Hall saying that Junior Brother Xue had a dispute with Junior Brother Yuan and accidentally killed him, so we rushed here."

As expected, one thing leads to another.

Wu Cheng pressed further, "Which outer disciple was it?"

"It's someone named Sun Xiaohu."

"It was him?!"

Seeing everyone looking at him, Xue Jianren gritted his teeth and said, "That Sun Xiaohu is Yuan Congwen's servant. However, after he went up the mountain, he did not allow servants to accompany him, so he pretended to be the two of us and entered the outer gate together. In order to avoid suspicion, Yuan Congwen did not stay with him."

"This morning, after I was defeated by Junior Brother Wu, I returned to my room dejectedly. On the way, I ran into Sun Xiaohu. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he left. Now that I think about it, he already knew that Yuan Congwen was dead. After seeing me return, he went to the Discipline Hall."

"This person is not the murderer, but he is also someone who knows about this." Wu Cheng bowed to his two senior brothers, "I would like to trouble you two to make the trip and bring Sun Xiaohu here for a confrontation."

"No problem, junior brother, please wait a moment, I'll be right back."

One of the disciples left his companion behind to guard Xue Jianren with Wu Cheng, and then hurriedly left.

After waiting for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Wu Cheng quickly found himself chatting and laughing with the disciple who stayed behind, feeling quite at ease.

Xue Jianren paced back and forth in the room. Seeing this, he couldn't help but speak up, "Gentlemen, what time is it? Why are you still so calm?"

The disciple smiled and said, "Junior Brother Xue, don't worry. Where could Sun Xiaohu possibly run off to?"

"No," Wu Cheng shook his head calmly, "If I'm not mistaken, Sun Xiaohu has probably already fled to escape punishment. Otherwise, he should have come here with his senior brothers."

The disciple and Xue Jianren were taken aback. Before they could ask any further questions, the disciple who had just left returned with a gloomy expression.

After seeing the three of them, he sighed. "Sun Xiaohu is nowhere to be found. I asked the person who lived with him, and he said that Sun Xiaohu went out last night and never came back, not even with his luggage."

Xue Jianren and the disciple who stayed behind looked at Wu Cheng in utter surprise.

"W-what's wrong?" The disciples who had just returned were confused, so the two of them told them about Wu Cheng's guess.

He exclaimed in surprise, "Junior Brother is truly a divine being! But I wonder where Sun Xiaohu has escaped to?"

Wu Cheng remained calm and smiled slightly upon hearing this, "If I'm not mistaken, he should have fled back to Luoyang."

He wondered why he had been safe and sound all the way; it turned out they were waiting for him here.

If we don't go to Luoyang... it would truly be a disservice to the elaborate trap they've laid.