The Culprit! (Seeking Collection! Seeking Recommendation!)

The woman was stunned for a moment, then instinctively replied, "He's already gone."

"Gone?" Li Ping frowned. "Why is he gone?"

The woman's gaze flickered, a hint of gloating in her eyes. "My lord has been in seclusion these past few days. I... I discussed it with people from the Miao and Zhou families, and then he disappeared."

"Foolish!" Li Ping's face darkened as he berated her. "Such an important witness, and you let those two families silence him?!"

"But isn't the matter already clear?" the woman asked, confused. "Besides, while that brat Pei Ling is indeed vicious, if that disciple hadn't been ill-intentioned and sent such a scoundrel to Si Guang and the others, would this have happened?"

Li Ping sneered, "Such a woman's perspective! Do you believe everything the Deacon Hall says? Yes, their investigative abilities are indeed exceptionally refined, and in the Sacred Sect's history, there have been few wrongful or false judgments! But even their words, can they prove that the main culprit is Pei Ling?"

The woman was speechless. "But, but..."

"Pei Ling is only at the fourth level of Qi Cultivation, and his background isn't high. He likely has no deep connections," Li Ping said coldly. "With his age and cultivation, it would be good if he could defeat any one of those three children one-on-one. Where would he get the ability to fight three at once and kill Si Guang and the other two?"

The woman replied, "The Deacon Hall said he knows a powerful saber technique and a movement technique..."

"Then that settles it?" Li Ping said calmly. "He is Pei Hong Nian's clansman. Pei Hong Nian has been in the sect for years; everyone knows his background. Does Pei Hong Nian know such powerful saber and movement techniques? If he did, given his foolishness in being toyed with by Sun Yinglan, wouldn't it have been spread long ago! Since Pei Hong Nian doesn't know them, I ask you, how could Pei Ling know them?"

"Perhaps it was his own private opportunity?" the woman said, somewhat unconvinced. "After all, it's not the sect's recruitment period. Yet, he was able to be brought in exceptionally by Inner Sect Pulse Master Zheng. He clearly has unique qualities?"

Li Ping looked at her as if she were an idiot. "Do you think the Pei clan of Luquan City is dead? Such saber and movement techniques aren't achieved overnight! If Pei Ling obtained such an opportunity himself, he grew up in Luquan City his whole life. Wouldn't the Pei clan have noticed? And after noticing, wouldn't they have told Sect Son Pei Hong Nian?"

"...Then what does my lord mean?" The woman's mouth opened, and she felt his reasoning made sense. Her voice lowered, and she asked hesitantly.

Li Ping sneered, "The key isn't Pei Ling at all! It's Zheng Jingshan of the Inner Sect!"

He pointed in the direction of the Affairs Hall. "After I heard about Si Guang's matter, I sent someone to inquire. On the morning of the day Si Guang and the others were killed, Pei Ling appeared at the Miscellaneous Affairs Department, asking everyone for a team... He was taken away by Chen Huan and others. Now, I fear his cultivation, flesh, and blood, along with his soul, have all been refined into the Soul Summoning Banner. If he were truly the ferocious individual you claim, how could he have been so easily harmed?"

"This must be Zheng Jingshan's doing!"

"As for the reason, hehe, most likely our Si Guang was implicated by that child from the Miao family."

"Miao Chengan's elder brother, Miao Chengyang, is a fellow Pulse Master of the Inner Sect's thirteen pulses, and they have an old grudge."

"Although in terms of strength, Miao Chengyang doesn't take Zheng Jingshan seriously, Zheng Jingshan does have a history with Li True Disciple... so Miao Chengyang doesn't dare to go too far."

"Not long ago, a conflict occurred between these two pulses. Zheng Jingshan suffered a great loss, almost needing to invite Li True Disciple to clean up the mess."

"Although they stopped after mediation by other Pulse Masters, Zheng Jingshan has been vowing revenge..."

Li Ping narrowed his eyes. "Otherwise, with Pei Ling's low background and weak cultivation, why would he go mad upon entering the sect and attack Si Guang and the other three?!"

"It's likely he entered the sect precisely to obey Zheng Jingshan's orders and kill Miao Chengan in revenge."

The woman was stunned for a moment, feeling something was amiss. She couldn't help but remind him, "My lord, you just said that if Pei Ling knew powerful saber and movement techniques, the Pei family couldn't possibly not have noticed, and Pei Hong Nian wouldn't have learned them either! But Pei Hong Nian doesn't even know saber techniques... And Pulse Master Zheng only went to Luquan City recently. How could Pei Ling have mastered such powerful techniques in such a short time..."

"Why are you so stupid?" Li Ping sighed helplessly, interrupting her. "Pei Hong Nian has been under Zheng Jingshan's tutelage for a long time. Who would know if he privately passed some techniques to his clansman? As for why Pei Hong Nian and the Pei family wouldn't know, it's simple. Zheng Jingshan just wants a pawn; why would he care about Pei Ling's life or death? Truly superior techniques are extremely precious! With the Pei family's status, would they be worth his great cost to bribe?"

"It must be that while it's extremely powerful and can be learned quickly, it disregards consequences and has a tragic price."

"It's one thing for the Pei family to have a collateral branch disciple die for Zheng Jingshan, but why would they sacrifice their Sect Son, whom they have high hopes for?"

"As for Pei Ling, his birth mother died early, and after his stepmother entered the family, he became superfluous in the Pei household. With such a background, he's most suitable to be a disposable pawn!"

He sneered again. "This is Zheng Jingshan's old trick. Don't forget, when he first entered the Inner Sect, he killed his own father to practice his skills and seize the position of Pulse Master! He could use his own father as a stepping stone, let alone a mere disciple of the Pei clan!"

The woman gritted her teeth upon hearing this and stood up. "My lord! Since we know Zheng Jingshan is responsible, we absolutely cannot let him off!"

"It's too late!" Li Ping said coldly. "Sect rules are ruthless, but sect rules also require evidence. Now that Pei Ling has become a ghost of the Soul Summoning Banner with a ten-thousand-percent certainty, there's no one to prove his death. No matter how much we suspect Zheng Jingshan, we can't convince the Deacon Hall to act against him. If we rashly go to demand an explanation, we might accidentally violate sect rules and even have to pay a fine!"

He exhaled slowly, frustrated. "That's why I asked you where the disciple who assigned Pei Ling to Si Guang and the others is. I originally thought that if we could catch Zheng Jingshan's handle, it would be evidence of him bribing and colluding with that disciple. Otherwise, why such a coincidence? Pei Ling just arrived in the Outer Sect, and among so many Outer Sect disciples with bad tempers, why was he assigned to Miao Chengan's residence?"

"This is clearly Zheng Jingshan bribing that disciple and doing it deliberately, just to give Pei Ling a chance to act maliciously."

"But I didn't expect you to be so impulsive and actually help Zheng Jingshan clean up the mess!"

The woman couldn't help but burst into tears, sobbing, "My lord, that's your own grandson! Even if you have other children, but I, whom you bore, have only this little bloodline. Are you really not going to do anything?"

"Of course, I won't ignore it." Li Ping glanced at his concubine. After all, she had served him for many years, and he felt a pang of sympathy. He hesitated for a moment and said, "However, Zheng Jingshan is in the Inner Sect, and as an Outer Sect Elder, it's inconvenient for me to act. How about this: inform the Miao and Zhou families. Ask Zhou True Disciple to restrain Li True Disciple, so that Miao Chengyang can deal with Zheng Jingshan. Without Li True Disciple's protection, Zheng Jingshan is no match for Miao Chengyang!"

"Yes!" The woman wiped her face haphazardly, her expression contorted as she curtsied. She turned and walked out with murderous intent, crying out sadly and hatefully, "I will go and avenge Si Guang now!!!"