The four aristocratic families of Luo'an, the largest city in the Distant Lands, had been founded during the Warring Era a few centuries ago. They were among the myriad lineages whose ancestors had started out as powerful cultivators. With the inner talent for absorbing qi passing down in their blood, these ancient families became forces to reckon with for many decades. However, due to the importance of parentage being gradually diminished and the subsequent rise of the Five Great Sects, the majority of important families disappeared from history. In this region, the only exceptions were the Lei, Shui, Yun and Li families, who had successfully anticipated the trends of time and forgo amassing influence using their cultivation arts, instead choosing to accumulate wealth and political power. Their titles of nobility, Jiang Shiqin recalled, were granted by Northern Wu's imperial family after the nation's annexation of the Distant Lands.
Second Master Lei was precisely the master of the subsidary branch of the Lei family, and the younger full-blooded brother of the current head. His keen assistance in managing the family's operations and various assets had proved invaluable to the his elder brother. Falling Stars Sect, which had organized the banquet, would definitely be strongly condemned by Lei Wuqin for their lapse in security upon releasing the news.
At the moment, the disciples were gathered according to their sects in the hall. Some of the elders had disappeared behind the decorated walls, most likely to conduct a thorough examination on the body, while others were speaking words of reassurance to their prized disciples. Jiang Shiqin caught a glimpse of Yu Wentian's stiff expression. The Blazing Hawthorn disciple was standing at the edge of the group of inner disciples, a good half a meter away from the red-clothed men and women conversing in hushed voices.
He shifted his sight back to the people besides him, all of whom had reacted in a reasonable manner except for one. Although Li Airu maintained her iciness, he detected an inexplicable trace of contempt in her eyes. Jiang Shiqin's eyelashes flickered unnoticeably.
The murmuring died down as the iris-patterned folding screens slided to the right, and the Sect Master of Falling Stars stepped out, his hawk-like eyes sweeping across the restless crowd.
"For those who are not in the know, Second Master Lei was found dead in the lake near the Altar of Earth and Rain a few hours ago. As we have not been able to confirm whether this is a murder or an accident, Falling Stars Sect would have to ask everybody here to stay a night for further investigation. Our sincere apologies for the inconvenience."
The faces of almost all those presence, except for Falling Stars Sect disciples, were filled with dissatisfaction. An elder of Blazing Hawthorn Sect shouted angrily, "We are all fellow cultivators. Are you accusing us of committing such a heinous crime?"
As the surrounding cultivators turned alert and vigilant, he spitted vehemently. "I'll see who dares to keep us here."
The displeased remarks within the building grew louder as even those of the younger generation were voicing out their displeasure, emboldened by that elder's vehement objection.
"Just because Falling Stars Sect won this year's tournament doesn't mean they can climb onto our heads however they want to."
"They just want to humiliate us. All this for a dead mortal?"
"How arrogant! So this is the true face of Falling Stars Sect."
The Falling Stars Sect Master's voice remained firm. "My fellow cultivators, it is not that our sect wishes to delay you all. However," he glanced at the small group of unaffiliated guests standing at the edge, "this incident is extremely suspicious. How can we not give a proper answer to these distinguished ladies and gentlemen, who had given their utmost trust in the deeds and character of us cultivators?"
He took a deep, pained breath. "As cultivators, how could we not choose to uphold honor and justice?"
"How could we shame the names of our ancestors by turning a blind eye towards a grievance? A grievance, in this very area, where the most distinguished sects of the Distant Lands are present?"
The powerful words resounded in the hall. They were fierce and filled with a strong sense of determination, the heroic spirit imbued within which evoked an unusual feeling of shame within those present. After all, it was true that an important figure had most likely been murdered under their collective guard, and the disicipes near the scene of crime had not noticed anything despite their self-proclaimed status as martial arts geniuses.
The general sentiments started leaning towards Falling Stars' proposition, but many remained quite unwilling to voluntarily detain themselves. The hestiation was not derived from unfounded antigonism towards Falling Stars Sect; this was fundamentally a matter of face.
The two sides entered a deadlock. The current atmosphere, charged with sparks of tension that threatened to transform into a raging inferno, was akin to a blanket pressing downwards, smothering and threatening to choke off the breaths of those present. To Jiang Shiqin, the constant stream of qi seeping out from the elders as they quietly switched to an alert stance were alarming every single cell in his body. He used all his might to resist the dire desire to take off from the swirling currents of hostility, beads of sweat trickling down his forehead.
At this moment, an elder with slanted eyebrows and a glacial expression suddenly said, "Of course justice must be upheld. However, what is the use of keeping all of us here? Our disiciples, who are still young and learning about the world, naturally cannot contribute much. While you are properly investigate the body, let us return. Afterwards, you can head to the sects and request for related personnel to coooperate with you. We, the Great Sects of the Distant Lands, will certainly not refuse once you provide the relevant evidence."
Upon his delivery, the strained atmosphere lightened slightly, the elder's extremely logical argument having convinced quite a number of cultivators.
Contrary to expectations, a few minutes passed by and yet the Falling Stars Sect Master continued to remain silent, his eyes clearly expressing unwillingness to let them depart. His reluctance was completely understandable. Since the elders had not determined the direction of investigation after a few hours, the issue was clearly rather troublesome and could not be solved in a short time. Once he let the people in the hall depart, any remnant clue on the body of the culprit - who was most probably one of those present - would have been removed by the time Falling Stars knocked on the doors of the other sects. His sect would be the only one to bear the wrath of the Lei family in that case.