"Opened out?" Gu Yue Bo frowned deeply.
"That's right, since things have come to this point, I won't hide it anymore!" Fang Yuan looked as if he was throwing caution to the wind, his tone hurried, "I bought six pieces of purple-gold rock at the rock gambling casino. Because my primeval essence was insufficient, I only opened five pieces on the spot. I brought the remaining piece back to the dormitory, and after opening it, I found it was a Liquor worm. I was overjoyed because I had checked the information beforehand and knew the Liquor worm was a rare Gu worm that could make up for the shortcoming of my aptitude. Therefore, I immediately refined it."
"Wait a minute, you say you gambled on rocks and bought six pieces. One rock gambled out a Mud Skin Toad, and the other opened out a Liquor worm?" Hearing this, one of the elders could not hold back and asked in return, his tone full of disbelief.
"And what about it?" Fang Yuan asked in return as a matter of course, then pointed at the female Gu Master and said loudly, "She can testify for me!"
Everyone in the hall was stunned, looking towards the female Gu Master in unison.
The female Gu Master felt the oppressive force coming from their gazes. She did not dare to lie and spoke the truth: "It is indeed like this, Fang Yuan bought six pieces, and then opened a Mud Skin Toad from the fifth piece. He did indeed take the sixth piece away, but as for what it opened out, I do not know."
"Buying just six pieces of purple-gold rock and consecutively opening out two Gu worms, isn't this luck a bit too good?" quite a few elders muttered among themselves.
"What is so incomprehensible about this? When it comes to luck, no one can say for sure. Heh, thinking back to when I gambled on rocks back then…"
"Wait a minute, Gu worms are hard to refine. How come listening to Fang Yuan's words, he refined the Gu worm all at once?" An elder said doubtfully.
"Are you old and muddled? Don't you know that when Gu worms are opened from rocks, they are extremely weak and on the verge of death? Even refining it across a major realm is possible. What's so strange about him refining a Liquor worm?" Someone beside him immediately answered.
Fang Yuan continued speaking: "I refined the Liquor worm and went to the shops again the next day. I indeed went to a wine tavern at noon and bought a cup of Monkey wine. I went again in the evening, and happened to see a fraud dispute where Jia Jinsheng passed off a Stink Fart Fat Worm as a Black Boar Gu and sold it to a Gu Master of my clan. Later, Lord Jia Fu appeared and resolved this dispute."
"I went to the wine tavern again and didn't expect to happen to bump into Jia Jinsheng drinking alone in depression there. I had just obtained the Liquor worm and was incredibly happy in my heart, so I just wanted to ask and see how many primeval stones this Liquor worm could sell for. Who knew that upon learning I had a Liquor worm, Jia Jinsheng wanted to forcefully buy it. Naturally, I was unwilling. I simply didn't want to sell the Liquor worm at all, I merely wanted to clarify the value of the Liquor worm. Even if I wanted to sell, it would at least have to be after I reached Rank two, so I left right on the spot."
These words from Fang Yuan made the conflict between Jia Fu and Jia Jinsheng public, which caused the gazes the elders directed at Jia Fu to become somewhat meaningful.
Under the pressure of these gazes, Jia Fu coughed. A sharp glint flashed continuously in his eyes as he asked Fang Yuan: "Then did my younger brother Jia Jinsheng chase after you later?"
Fang Yuan nodded, speaking half-truthfully and half-falsely: "He not only chased after me but also added fifty primeval stones. But I simply didn't want to sell it. He was very angry, threateningly asking what the Gu Yue clan amounted to, and told me to be careful in the future. After speaking harsh words, he left. I have never seen him again since then."
Jia Fu nodded secretly. With his understanding of Jia Jinsheng's character, he definitely would have chased after him. Uttering harsh words was also Jia Jinsheng's usual style.
If Fang Yuan had said Jia Jinsheng didn't chase out, he would have expected it to definitely be a lie.
But since Fang Yuan spoke like this, it put Jia Fu in a somewhat difficult position. The results of his investigation stopped right here. Did Jia Jinsheng really not look for Fang Yuan again? Perhaps Jia Jinsheng later found Fang Yuan again, the two sides failed to reach an agreement, and as a result, he was killed by Fang Yuan—this was entirely possible.
"Speak, did you kill Jia Jinsheng!" Thinking up to this point, Jia Fu aggressively interrogated, attempting to oppress Fang Yuan with his imposing aura.
Fang Yuan firmly denied it, insisting without hesitation that he had never seen Jia Jinsheng again since then.
Jia Fu had no other evidence. With one side interrogating and one side denying, the matter reached a deadlock at this point.
As Gu Yue Bo listened, his expression became somewhat displeased. This Jia Jinsheng actually dared to threaten a person of the Gu Yue clan like this on Qing Mao Mountain. This was clearly not putting the Gu Yue clan in his eyes! Now, right in front of the Gu Yue higher-ups, Jia Fu was aggressively interrogating a Gu Yue clan member like this. If there was solid evidence, it would be one thing, but now there was clearly no key evidence. If this matter were to spread out, where would he put his face?
"Brother Jia, it's not that this older brother is being talkative," the clan leader interrupted Jia Fu's aggressive interrogation and said, "With Jia Jinsheng missing for so many days, I am afraid he has met with more ill fortune than good. For the murderer to cause this bloody case, there must definitely be traces. I wonder if you, younger brother, have found anything?"
Jia Fu fiercely glared at Fang Yuan, threw his head back, and let out a long sigh: "How could I not know what older brother said! If there were traces, I, Jia, would not have come to your place to confront him. That murderer is clearly a repeat offender, his methods ruthless and meticulous. I will not hide it from you, older brother, all the clues have been broken. The day we left, it rained heavily again, so even if there was the smell of blood, it was washed away."
Gu Yue Bo smiled faintly: "Brother Jia, I heard that your Jia family has a tracking Gu worm called the Underworld Path Butterfly, which can emit a soul fragrance and plant it on Gu worms. This fragrance is colorless and odorless, remaining fresh over time. The Gu worms of your Jia family clansmen are all tainted with a trace of soul fragrance. As long as you use the Underworld Path Butterfly to follow this wisp of soul fragrance, you can find the Gu worms, and thereby find the clansman."
Jia Fu's face was gloomy: "I have long since used the Underworld Path Butterfly, and it had absolutely no effect. Presumably, older brother Gu Yue has also heard that as long as the Gu worm dies, the soul fragrance dissipates. Clearly, that murderer has already killed all the Gu worms on my brother's body one by one!"
Gu Yue Bo's tone abruptly changed direction: "This is strange. That murderer harmed your brother; firstly, he didn't want his Gu worms, and secondly, he didn't send a kidnapping ransom to extort primeval stones. What was the murderer's motive for killing a mere Rank one Gu Master like him?"
Yes, what was the motive?
Regardless of whether Jia Jinsheng was dead or not, the murderer who harmed him must have a motive.
Neither for Gu worms, nor for primeval stones. Could it be a crime of passion?
But if it was a crime of passion, there had to be a process of time accumulation, so Jia Fu shouldn't be coming to the door looking for trouble here. The people in the caravan who spent day and night with Jia Jinsheng would be more suspicious.
For a time, silence fell over the discussion hall.
Fang Yuan inconspicuously swept a glance across everyone and suddenly said to Jia Fu: "Perhaps it was you who killed Jia Jinsheng. I have long heard that your Jia family is going to divide the family property. If one brother dies, wouldn't the family property you get be more?"
"Shut your mouth!"
"Having no proof for your empty words, you cannot arbitrarily accuse Lord Jia Fu."
Immediately, elders called out in low voices.
Fang Yuan immediately stopped speaking. His gaze flickered obscurely; in fact, he had already achieved his goal.
His single sentence just now was like a small stone thrown into the lake of the elders' thoughts, rippling out circle after circle of waves.
Following these ripples, the elders' thoughts involuntarily diverged: "It is impossible for Jia Fu to have killed Jia Jinsheng; the loss for him doing this is greater than the gain. Wait, if he didn't do it, it doesn't necessarily mean others wouldn't do it…"
"Jia family's internal strife!" Unknown which elder had a flash of inspiration, saying it softly.
His voice was not loud, but it was very clear in the silent grand hall.
For a time, the gazes of many elders suddenly brightened.
"Finally thought of this aspect." Fang Yuan curled his lips, lowering his eyelids to conceal a smear of cold light in his eyes.
The Jia family clan leader wanted to divide the family property and pass on the clan leader position; therefore, several children engaged in fierce competition. Especially Jia Fu and Jia Gui; both had Rank four Gu Master cultivation and possessed a group of supporters by their sides.
Over these years, many villages somewhat knew some of this intelligence regarding the Jia family.
Jia Jinsheng being murdered, this matter was too bizarre. Currently, there was no direct evidence proving that Fang Yuan was the murderer. Killing purely for a Liquor worm was clearly an insufficient motive. At the same time, the murderer's methods would not be this secretive and meticulous.
But if it was Jia Gui who secretly made a move, then it could be explained.
Almost everyone present was a high-level figure. Anyone holding a high position definitely possessed outstanding traits. At the very least, they had a sharp sense of smell and insight towards political conspiracies.
The words "Jia family's internal strife" undoubtedly inserted a pair of wings of imagination into the highly unimaginative crowd.
One of the intentions behind the Jia family clan leader arranging for Jia Jinsheng to join the caravan was to inspect Jia Fu's temperament, whether he was benevolent and kindly, only suppressing but not bullying his brother.
With something happening to Jia Jinsheng, Jia Fu would also be implicated. Who was the true beneficiary?
Clearly, it was Jia Fu's biggest competitor—Jia Gui!
Adding to this that the murderer acted so experiencedly, with all clues almost completely severed, it showed the murderer's abundant experience. How could this possibly be the doing of Fang Yuan, a fifteen-year-old youth?
Therefore, all the answers were vivid and ready to come out!
The discussion hall was still shrouded in silence, but the elders present were exchanging meaningful glances with each other.
"To make people deeply believe in a certain possibility from the bottom of their hearts, it is not through persuasion, but guidance." Fang Yuan acutely noticed these glances, sneering inwardly in his heart, while a stubborn expression of unwilling to bear grievances still remained on his face.
Jia Fu's expression was so gloomy it could drip water.
As soon as the words "Jia family's internal strife" came out, he instantly thought of Jia Gui.
In that instant, his entire soul began to tremble!
Who else had a higher possibility of making a move than Jia Gui?
No one!
"I see it clearly. I understand it all." The academy elder stood behind Fang Yuan, looking at Fang Yuan, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. "Fang Yuan was both lucky and unlucky, happening to bump into Jia Jinsheng at the very end. With him just being at the age of entering the academy, how could he possibly sever all the clues? If he had such deep, meticulous calculations and scheming, how could he possibly act so untamed and stubborn? Him firmly denying it just now was nothing more than wanting to conceal the existence of the Liquor worm."
For a time, all of everyone's suspicions towards Fang Yuan had completely vanished!
"Washing away suspicion is only the second step, what comes next is the crucial moment." Fang Yuan strategized within his control; the development of the situation was entirely in his mind, completely as expected. He sighed in his heart and looked towards Jia Fu.
Jia Fu was also looking at him, the hostility in his eyes already becoming increasingly obvious.