Not Suicide

"What?"

Liu Zhiwei had not expected there to be such a connection. He looked at Granny An and Eunuch Qiu beside Duàn Yì, his brows knitting as suspicion laced his voice.

"Can you two truly prove that Duàn Yì previously had no foundation in martial arts, knowing only a single Capturing Hand technique, and that only after coming up the mountain did he advance by leaps and bounds, attaining swordsmanship sufficient to defeat my disciple Ruan Dong?"

Leaving aside the Helan Family, Granny An and Eunuch Qiu were both renowned martial artists of the jianghu, of the same generation as his master. It was basically impossible to ask them to lie for some brat.

"Of course. Though this old woman is advanced in years and no longer much use, my eyesight is still sharp. If young Duàn truly had a foundation in swordsmanship and internal cultivation, he absolutely could not have hidden it from us."

"Actually, this matter is not difficult to verify. If you do not believe Duàn Yì possesses such enviable talent, you can teach him a martial art he has never learned on the spot. Give him a day or two, then examine his progress. Wouldn't that make everything crystal clear?"

Granny An's bean-sized eyes brimmed with amusement. Not only did she clear Duàn Yì's name, but she also proposed a test that made him want to clap his hands in praise.

"Well done, Granny An. That was brilliant."

Duàn Yì's expression remained calm, but inwardly he cheered. He wished Liu Zhiwei would agree at once and bring out the Golden Cauldron Sect's profound martial arts to test his talent and comprehension. Wasn't that practically delivering benefits straight into his hands?

The others in the hall all looked toward Duàn Yì. Seeing that the youth had remained detached and composed ever since entering the hall, as though he were not the one under suspicion, they all marveled at the firmness of his temperament.

Granny An's words gave Liu Zhiwei quite a headache. If Duàn Yì truly possessed such talent, would teaching him martial arts not merely help increase his cultivation?

Before his death, his disciple had already suffered unbearable humiliation at the other party's hands and lost all face.

If he truly helped Duàn Yì learn martial arts, Ruan Dong would likely crawl right out of his coffin to question what kind of master Liu Zhiwei was.

"Fine. Suppose what you said is true. Then Ruan Dong killed himself in shame and indignation after losing the sword match. Shouldn't Duàn Yì bear some responsibility no matter what?"

Provoked by Granny An, Liu Zhiwei somehow blurted out those words. Even afterward, he felt that he was being somewhat unreasonable.

Victory and defeat in a sword match depended entirely on one's own strength. If Duàn Yì had played tricks or used underhanded moves, causing Ruan Dong to lose unwillingly and kill himself, then Duàn Yì could indeed be said to bear some responsibility.

But this had been an open and aboveboard contest. Ruan Dong's own mental fortitude had failed him, yet he was dragging someone else into it. That rather resembled forcibly dumping dirty water onto another person.

Not only did Duàn Yì, the one being implicated, disagree, but even the other Golden Cauldron Sect members in the hall could not approve.

Still, the dead were to be respected. Since Duàn Yì was not a Golden Cauldron Sect disciple, he said nothing.

Bái Xī Wén was different. The moment he heard Liu Zhiwei so plainly looking for trouble, he widened his eyes and was about to argue on principle.

However, Duàn Yì stopped Bái Xī Wén, nodded to him, then stepped forward and cupped his hands toward Liu Zhiwei.

"Vice Sect Master Liu, there is actually something suspicious about this matter. If you wish to pursue my responsibility, you should first determine whether Ruan Dong truly committed suicide out of shame after losing the sword match, or whether someone with ulterior motives murdered him and arranged the scene to look like suicide."

"Do you think what I say makes sense?"

Facing Liu Zhiwei, Duàn Yì was neither servile nor overbearing, earning silent applause from Granny An, Eunuch Qiu, and the others. Setting aside how he intended to resolve this matter and extricate himself from it, simply having the courage to face such a predicament showed that he was no ordinary person.

Liu Zhiwei carefully examined the youth who had humiliated both Ruan Dong and himself. Seeing his handsome features, fair skin, steady bearing, and heroic spirit, he could not help but sigh inwardly. Compared with him, Ruan Dong had truly fallen far short.

Yet the more outstanding Duàn Yì appeared, the more wary Liu Zhiwei became. Unsure what the other party intended to say, he nodded.

"Indeed. From what I know, although Ruan Dong was not broad-minded, he was not someone who would easily seek his own death. That was why I believed someone had harmed him and suspected you."

"However, according to Junior Brother Bái and the two seniors, your suspicion has already been cleared. Presumably, he simply could not swallow his anger and took an extreme path. Do you have a different opinion?"

"After the sword match that day, Ruan Dong said something to me before leaving. He said, 'You won, and I lost. But next time, I will definitely defeat you.'"

"Not only did I hear those words, but quite a few people below the arena heard them as well."

"Tell me, how could someone who truly intended to end his own life say something like that?"

"And if he had no thought of suicide even in that situation, then after calming down, he would be even less likely to have one."

"I believe someone murdered Ruan Dong, then arranged the scene to make it appear as though he had taken his own life. The purpose was to muddy the waters, directing everyone's attention toward me while allowing the true murderer to escape notice."

"Of course, that is merely my personal speculation."

Duàn Yì's words rested solely on conjecture, yet once spoken, they gave everyone present another line of thought.

Indeed, if the possibility of Duàn Yì being the murderer were eliminated, then if Ruan Dong's death were still viewed as suicide, the Golden Cauldron Sect would ultimately retain a certain prejudice against Duàn Yì.

After all, he was not one of them. Because of him, the personal disciple of one of the Golden Cauldron Sect's vice sect masters had committed suicide. Some might even believe that the Golden Cauldron Sect's martial arts were nothing but commonplace. That was where the conflict lay.

Whether or not you were at fault, he was dead and you were alive. That in itself was a guilt that was not guilt.

Thus, Duàn Yì's situation on the mountain was bound to become difficult. He might even easily drag Bái Xī Wén into it.

And if that was precisely what the murderer wanted, then the target might have been Duàn Yì, or Bái Xī Wén. Perhaps the murderer even wished for undercurrents to surge within the Golden Cauldron Sect, for conflicts to breed and hearts to drift apart.

What was more, after killing Ruan Dong and arranging the scene to look like suicide, the murderer could shift everyone's attention and place himself in a safer position.

The Golden Cauldron Sect members had not considered these possibilities for the moment, but Duàn Yì had, so he raised them.

Naturally, his purpose was to clear himself of any connection to Ruan Dong's death. Correspondingly, the Golden Cauldron Sect would no longer target him too harshly, leaving him unable to take even a single step.

Otherwise, Ruan Dong's death had nothing whatsoever to do with him. Why would he go out of his way and make the person lurking in the shadows hate him? Everything was for self-preservation.

Crack! A sharp sound startled everyone in the hall from their thoughts. They all turned northward and discovered that Vice Sect Master Shi Jian had grown so agitated that his especially massive, fearsome fleshy palms had snapped the armrest of his chair. He then ground and kneaded it into wood dust with raw palm force.

"Detestable! Detestable! I never imagined that murderer's intentions could be so vicious. Senior Brother Liu, it seems we must investigate this matter thoroughly. Otherwise, not only will Ruan Dong be unable to rest in peace, but our Golden Cauldron Sect may also be in danger."

He was even more agitated than when he had argued with Liu Zhiwei before. His gaunt face had turned iron-blue. Presumably, he was worried about the Golden Cauldron Sect's safety, no different from the other sect members in the hall, only far more conspicuous.

After offering his reminder, Duàn Yì quietly returned to Bái Xī Wén's side, carrying himself as though he had brushed off his sleeves after the deed, hiding both merit and fame deep within.

Yet when he saw Shi Jian's hands, curiosity arose within him.

He wondered what martial art the man cultivated. Still, as the vice sect master of a sect, his martial arts presumably could not be poor.

"Then who exactly is the murderer? Are there any clues?"

Liu Zhiwei held one hand to his forehead, feeling an immense headache. He was skilled at the sect's struggles for power and profit, but when it came to analyzing a case and tracking down a murderer, he knew absolutely nothing.

"Duàn Yì, do you have any leads?"

Everyone else was thinking. Even Helan Yue'er's little face was drawn tight as she pondered deeply, clearly intrigued by the matter.

But Bái Xī Wén directly turned to Duàn Yì and asked him for advice. The youth's performance just now had given him quite a surprise; presumably, he still had something in reserve.

The other Golden Cauldron Sect members in the hall also looked at Duàn Yì, hoping he could provide some clue.

Without realizing it, everyone had already overlooked Duàn Yì's age and identity and sought guidance from him. It was clear that his earlier performance had deeply shaken them.

In some matters, the difference between thinking of something and failing to think of it was only a hair's breadth, yet it often represented a gap that could not be crossed.

Setting martial arts aside and not speaking of experience, perhaps Duàn Yì was the clearest-minded person present. Because he was not from the Golden Cauldron Sect, he could see matters concerning the sect more clearly as an outsider.