175 A Banquet of Heavenly Prodigies, the Name of the Vicious Commandant

Li Xian forced himself to remain calm and bent over to examine Qiuyue's corpse. The Blood-Sealing Throat poison worked swiftly; its poison had reached her heart, killing her instantly. But there wasn't a mark on her body.

Li Xian knew full well that if he slipped up and Madam Wen grew suspicious, she would surely think him disloyal. After a long pause, he said, "There are no injuries on her. Could she have taken her own life?"

"Qiuyue had no reason to enter the deep mountains and old forests. She must have betrayed Madam and taken advantage of... of Madam's absence to flee the Manor. But when she got here, she suddenly regretted it. Terrified of Madam's punishment, she ultimately chose to take her own life here."

"Take her own life?" Madam Wen laughed. "Then answer me this: if she killed herself, who buried her?"

"This..." Li Xian had no answer. Madam was not easy to fool.

Madam Wen gathered wind in her palm and gave a gentle push. The gust lifted Qiuyue's sleeves and hem, revealing rope marks. She said:

"Qiuyue has no external injuries. But there are rope marks on her hands and feet. Someone captured her while she was alive. This method of restraining someone forces them face down, with their limbs bent back, leaving them unable to move. It must have come from the Flower Cage Sect."

She had seen much of the world, and could spot the traces of the Jianghu's many methods at a glance. Fortunately, Li Xian had felt compassion at the time and killed Qiuyue with poison, leaving few traces.

"She doesn't look like someone who would take poison rather than endure humiliation," Madam Wen said, frowning.

"Madam, I suspect her death must have something to do with the Flower Cage Sect.