Shrouded in mystery

Shen Shixu's expression changed drastically when he heard how many people had died. One hundred and sixty-four lives—an entire household massacred!

No, not quite the entire household. After all, the eldest son was still alive, though he had been accused of the murders. That only made Shen Shixu all the more curious about the case.

"When you say there was an injustice, do you mean for the hundred and sixty-four people who died so horribly, or for the man accused of killing them?"

A trace of grief surfaced in Jiang Miaokong's eyes at Shen Shixu's question. "Both! The family that died was named Song. I'm friends with their second son, Song Xianghe."

"Their family was fairly well known in Qu City and quite wealthy. What made them famous there was that they had produced Song Zhuoyang, renowned throughout the martial world as the Sunlit Sword.

"Song Zhuoyang is the eldest son suspected of murdering his entire family, but that's simply impossible. On the day the Song household was killed, he wasn't even in Qu City."

Jiang Miaokong sounded evasive as he spoke, making Shen Shixu wonder what he was hiding. "You say Song Zhuoyang wasn't in Qu City that day. Where was he, then? Who can vouch for him? If no one can, your word alone doesn't count as evidence."

Jiang Miaokong hesitated for a long while before answering, "I... I can vouch for him. As I said, I'm good friends with the Song Family's second son, Song Xianghe. He once gave me a jade ring, and I always carried it with me."

"Song Zhuoyang caught me during one of my burglaries and chased after me, trying to catch me. As he pursued me, he spotted Song Xianghe's jade ring on me. He thought I'd stolen it and tried to