The Black Pot Was Snatched Away Before It Was Even Secure? These Teammates Were Too Reliable!

Seeing the three elders, in their efforts to protect themselves and fight for power, openly preparing to pin the blame firmly on An Yi, Xiao Zhan finally could no longer suppress the fury in his heart.

"Enough!"

Xiao Zhan suddenly stepped forward, and the formidable Dou Qi of a Great Dou Master erupted at once, forcibly drowning out the three elders' voices.

He glared furiously at them and shouted, "Three Elders, aren't you being far too hasty? An Yi is my, Xiao Zhan's, adopted son. Just because he often wandered around this area, you intend to place the capital crime of slaughtering a Cloud Mist Sect elite on his head? Absurd!"

The First Elder showed no fear. He sneered and argued reasonably, "Patriarch, it is not that we are hasty. It is simply that there cannot be such a coincidence in this world. Yesterday afternoon, that Cloud Mist Sect disciple had a verbal conflict with An Yi at the training grounds. Then that night, the two of them vanished from the household together and did not return all night!"

The First Elder pointed at the devastated pool. "He had only just arrived in Wutan City and was unfamiliar with the place. Why would he leave a perfectly good guest room in the middle of the night, run out of the city alone, and just so happen to die before the very waterfall where An Yi most often frequented? Patriarch, can you give a reasonable explanation?"

Xiao Zhan was immediately left speechless.

By the First Elder's impeccable logic, An Yi truly had the greatest suspicion—one could even say he was the only person with both suspicion and motive!

After all, that Cloud Mist Sect disciple had only been in the Xiao Household for one day. Aside from taking a dislike to An Yi at the arena yesterday, it was impossible for him to have made enemies with anyone else.

To say that this had absolutely nothing to do with An Yi, no one present—not even Xiao Zhan himself—could truly find that convincing.

Ge Ye, who had remained grim-faced and silent, finally raised his head.

His cloudy yet sharp eyes fixed firmly on An Yi as he pressed him word by word, "Boy, I'll ask you one last time. Did you truly kill Wang Teng?"

An Yi rolled his eyes speechlessly and sighed. "Elder Ge, look at this situation. Our household's elders have already tailored the black pot to fit me, wrapped it up, and made it ready. Do I even have a choice but to carry it?"

Although An Yi had long expected those old geezers to kick him while he was down at a critical moment, he had not expected them to be so decisive and coordinated that they would not even bother with a shred of pretension!

Ge Ye took a deep breath, his face frosty. "This is no small matter. Wang Teng was not only an inner sect elite of the Cloud Mist Sect; his parents are also outer sect stewards. Now that he has died without clear cause, I must take the suspect back to the Cloud Mist Sect and hand him over to the Punishment Hall for strict interrogation!"

He turned to Xiao Zhan, his tone forceful and beyond dispute. "Patriarch Xiao, I hope you will understand. I must take this man away today!"

Xiao Zhan opened his mouth, only to realize that he had nothing to say.

Without any evidence proving An Yi's innocence, forcibly preventing the Cloud Mist Sect from taking away their prime suspect would be equivalent to the Xiao Household formally going to war with the Cloud Mist Sect for the sake of an outsider.

As the patriarch, he could not bear that cost.

Seeing Xiao Zhan yield, a glint of triumph flashed through the First Elder's eyes. He immediately turned to the captain of the Xiao Household guards and roared, "What are you standing around for? Hurry up and seize this wretch!"

"Wait!"

"Hold on!"

Just as several guards braced themselves and prepared to step forward and arrest him, two clear, pleasant female cries carrying unmistakable authority rang out simultaneously from the crowd!

Everyone froze and turned toward the voices.

Xiao Xun'er and Nalan Yanran had both stepped forward, placing themselves in front of An Yi.

Nalan Yanran was the first to turn to Ge Ye and say urgently, "Uncle Ge! Calm down! An Yi is only a Sixth-Stage Qi Disciple, while Senior Brother Wang Teng was a Five-Star Dou Practitioner! How could he possibly have killed Senior Brother Wang Teng? It makes no sense at all. He could never be the murderer!"

Ge Ye frowned, looking troubled. "Yanran, I also do not believe that a Qi Disciple could kill a Five-Star Dou Practitioner. But just as the Xiao Household's First Elder said, he is currently the most suspicious! Apart from him, we cannot find a second clue in this wilderness. Wang Teng's body is gone without a trace. When I return, I must give the sect—and his parents—an explanation!"

"An explanation? Then where is the evidence?"

Xiao Xun'er's usually gentle, autumn-water eyes were now as cold as ice. She raised her chin slightly and stared unyieldingly at Ge Ye and the Xiao Household's First Elder, her voice faintly cold. "Just because you cannot find the real murderer, you can seize someone at random and make him take the blame based on a few one-sided speculations, all for your so-called explanation? Is this how the Cloud Mist Sect conducts itself—so overbearing and unreasonable?"

Ge Ye and the three elders were instantly rendered speechless.

Evidence? The ground was covered with bones and scraps of cloth gnawed apart by magical beasts. They could not even piece together an intact corpse—where were they supposed to find evidence?!

Just as both sides remained deadlocked and the atmosphere grew taut with hostility,

another Xiao Household patrol squad came running over from outside the forest, panting heavily.

Seeing this squad, which should have been patrolling inside the city, Xiao Zhan frowned and asked in a low voice, "Why have you come outside the city? Weren't you told to gather information around the market district?"

Seeing the terrifying scene ahead, like a joint trial by three courts, the patrol captain shrank back in fright and quickly dropped to one knee to report, "R-Reporting to the Patriarch! This subordinate learned shocking news while gathering information in the market district! Early this morning, several mercenary groups in the city began spreading word that treasure is hidden deep in the mountains outside the city! Some even swore that a hidden treasure cave had been discovered behind this great waterfall, and that someone had found a priceless treasure inside!"

"This subordinate thought that the missing Cloud Mist Sect lord might have heard some rumors last night and come here to search for treasure. To be safe, this subordinate hurried over with men to investigate. Patriarch, what is this...?"

"What did you say?! There's a cave behind the waterfall?!"

At those words, Ge Ye, Xiao Zhan, and the others' expressions changed instantly. They all turned to look at the roaring waterfall.

Ge Ye reacted the fastest.

Without another word, he flicked his toe and kicked several stones from the ground. Infused with powerful Dou Qi, they shot fiercely toward different parts of the waterfall!

"Bang! Bang!"

Two stones struck the hard cliff face and shattered into powder.

But one of the stones passed silently through the curtain of water, without even an echo returning!

"There really is space inside!"

A sharp gleam flashed through Ge Ye's eyes. He leaped into the air, becoming an afterimage as he passed straight through the water curtain and flew into the waterfall.

Seeing this, Xiao Zhan and the elders followed him inside without hesitation.

Not long afterward, several splashes sounded. The group emerged from the waterfall one after another with complicated expressions and landed back on the shore.

"Uncle Ge, how was it?" Nalan Yanran hurried forward to ask.

Ge Ye took a deep breath and shook his head with a tightly furrowed brow. "Behind that waterfall... there truly is an enormous, spacious cave. Judging by the traces inside, it seems that people have been active there for a long time."

Hearing this, Nalan Yanran's eyes lit up. She immediately pieced together a perfect chain of logic. "Then that explains it! Uncle Ge, think about it! Could Senior Brother Wang Teng have heard rumors about treasure here while wandering around the city last night? Eager to earn merit, he decided to come investigate overnight. Then, in this desolate mountain wilderness, perhaps he accidentally encountered some powerful magical beast that had come out to hunt, and met with disaster?"

"Or perhaps... after discovering the treasure, he happened to encounter another desperate mercenary group that had also come searching for it. The two sides fought over the treasure. Outnumbered, he ultimately fell, and the mercenaries abandoned his corpse, attracting magical beasts to feed on it?!"

Nalan Yanran's two guesses were both reasonable and logically sound.

Most importantly, they perfectly explained why a Five-Star Dou Practitioner would appear here in the middle of the night!

Ge Ye's brows remained tightly furrowed, his expression shifting uncertainly. Yet this time, he did not refute her, nor did he mention taking An Yi away again.

Because Nalan Yanran's deduction was clearly ten thousand times more reasonable than "a Sixth-Stage Qi Disciple poisoned and assassinated a Five-Star Dou Practitioner."