"Sect Master, we were unable to find the murderer," It was Duan Luoyang who stepped forward and spoke up first, confirming Jie Fu Lian's guess that the man was supposed to be the one in charge of the investigation.
Sect Master Quan poured himself a cup of herbal red tea and looked completely calm as if he had already expected to hear such a report.
"But we found something new," Duan Luoyang continued as he spoke, "The Xu clan owns a demon-summoning ground and it looks like it has been there for quite some time and had been used before."
Sect Master Quan quietly lifted the cup of herbal red tea and took a sip as he heard this.
"I request Sect Master to reconsider the dangers of this case."
"Hmm," Sect Master Quan slowly hummed as he closed his eyes and thought about something before asking, "Was there anything else?"
"No, there wasn't." Duan Luoyang shook his head as he responded after thinking about it for a few seconds.
"As per your recommendation, I'll reconsider the grade of the case," Sect Master Quan put the cup down as he spoke. He looked over towards Hua Tianshu and waited for a minute before he slowly asked, "Hua Tianshu, you seem oddly interested in this case. Would you want to lead the investigation?"
Hua Tianshu nodded his head but said nothing more.
"Then it's settled," Sect Master Quan spoke with a thin smile.
It looked like the Sect Master Quan was about to say something more but before any words could leave his mouth, he was interrupted by Jie Fu Lian.
"Wait!" Jie Fu Lian jumped down from his hiding place and raised his hand as he enthusiastically shouted out, "I have something to say!"
"Who are you?" Sect Master Quan asked with a small amused smile as he looked at Jie Fu Lian.
"You! Did you follow us here...?!" Duan Luoyang frowned as he pointed at Jie Fu Lian and questioned.
"You know him?" Sect Master Quan asked.
"Sect Master, he is from the Wei clan of the east," Duan Luoyang spoke as he replied, "We met him on the way. He accused my junior martial brother of stealing his turtle and kicked him."
Jie Fu Lian suddenly cleared his throat and smiled brightly as he waved his right hand in front of him and spoke, "No need to drag down an innocent sect's name. I'm not from the Wei clan."
Duan Luoyang, "Huh...?"
"My identity is not very important at the moment," Jie Fu Lian ignored everyone's confused reaction and continued, "What's important is the sword that you promised to give me."
Sect Master Quan looked to be a little amused as he heard these words and politely asked, "What sword is this young Daoist talking about?"
"The Changbo sword," Jie Fu Lian confidently answered without missing a beat and his lips curled up, forming a small smirk as he looked back at the sect master.
"The Changbo sword has been promised to the one who finds the murderer of the Xu clan case. Have you found the murderer?"
Jie Fu Lian's smirk deepened as he heard this and he nodded his head, "Of course, I have."
"Who is it?" The Sect Master tilted his head as he asked.
"The eldest son of the Xu clan, Xu Lingxin."
"Xu Lingxin...?!" Duan Luoyang reacted first, "He was also one of the victims so how could it be him?"
"It was him," Jie Fu Lian firmly spoke as if he really held some solid evidence to back up his words.
Sect Master Quan, "Is there proof?"
"There is a confession from a witness."
"Where's the witness?"
Jie Fu Lian smiled happily as he pointed at his face and replied, "It's me."
Everyone looked at him with utter shock and some even seemed to be in disbelief as they heard his confident claim.
"Xu Lingxin is the only one who had all the blood drained from his body, isn't that right?" Jie Fu Lian asked and the sect master looked over at Duan Luoyang who nodded his head, confirming it.
"His corpse was the only one different from the rest and he was the last one to be killed," Jie Fu Lian crossed his legs leisurely and sat down on the floor as he continued narrating the details of the case.
"A month before the murder of the Xu clan took place, Xu Lingxin had freshly broken up his engagement with the daughter of the Mo family. He had liked her a lot but in the end, they could not get married because the daughter of the Mo family ran away with her secret lover. In order to save their face, the Xu clan broke the engagement before the news got out and Xu Lingxin was left heartbroken."
"Are you saying he killed his entire family just because he didn't agree with their decision?" Duan Luoyang interrupted as he asked.
"That's not it," Jie Fu Lian shook his head as he continued to narrate the story that he had heard from the demon king's subordinate.
"He liked her and he could not get married to her so it was only natural that he felt extremely unhappy with not just his family, but also with the Mo family's daughter, Mo Xiulan. However, the one he hated the most wasn't Mo Xiulan nor was it his family," Jie Fu Lian revealed a small mischevious smile as he asked, "When another man steals away the one you love, whom do you think you will come to hate?"
Duan Luoyang frowned as he heard this question and thought about it for a few seconds before he spoke, "The man who stole her away...?"
"That's right," Jie Fu Lian nodded his head as he added, "Xu Lingxin hated the man that she ran off with but he had no idea who that man was nor did he know where the two had run off to. In the end, because of his lack of information, he couldn't do anything to satisfy his anger."
"So in a fit of rage, he killed his entire family?" Duan Luoyang enthusiastically asked.
Jie Fu Lian clicked his tongue as he shook his head, "Killing his family would not satiate his anger. The one he wanted to kill was the unknown man who had stolen his fiance. So he decided to summon a demon in order to kill the one whom he hated."
"Eh?"
"But a demon would never do anything for free. In order to make the demon work, he needed to offer a blood sacrifice, something that demons enjoy the most."
"So he sacrificed his entire family?" Duan Luoyang asked with a frown.
This time, Jie Fu Lian nodded his head as he confirmed it, "He slaughtered his own family in order to satisfy the demon, but in the end, the demon claimed his life as well. As for Mo Xiulan and her lover, they are still alive and living happily together."
"Huh? Didn't the demon already make a deal? Did he let them go?"
"He did make a deal but..." Jie Fu Lian replied with a smile, "The one Xu Lingxin wanted to kill was the man whom she had run away with, but in the first place itself, there was no such man. Mo Xiulan had run away with her lover who was a woman."
"..."
Nobody knew whether they were supposed to laugh or not.
This story was just... A bit too unbelievable!
"And what makes you the witness?" Sect Master Quan asked.
"I'll tell you if you show me the Changbo sword," Jie Fu Lian beamed, "After all, what would happen if I give you all the information and you don't give me the sword?"
The Sect Master Quan looked a bit offended as he heard this.
He cleared his throat and summoned the sword from his spatial ring as he spoke, "We do not cheat. If you can really prove your story and find the killer then this sword would be yours."
Jie Fu Lian looked at the sword with great interest and gulped.
He immediately felt a connection to the sword, the moment it was taken out.
There was no doubt about it... This sword was definitely the original Changbo!
"Now speak," Sect Master Quan pressed.
"The one who killed the whole family was Xu Lingxin and the one who killed Xu Lingxin was the great supreme demon lord, Shen Fang, himself."
Sect Master Quan's eyes widened in shock and he was certainly not the only one who had been stunned by this answer.
"H-How can you be sure?" Duan Luoyang questioned, still finding the whole story a bit too unreal.
"Because it's me," Jie Fu Lian replied with a light-hearted chuckle.
"Huh?"
"I'm Shen Fang."
"!!!"
Before anyone could even digest his words, Jie Fu Lian had already sprung forward and grabbed Changbo.
The Sect Master Quan glared at him with hostility but did not bother stopping him.
Jie Fu Lian jumped back and unsheathed the sword, further shocking everyone present in the hall.
Nobody knew what was shocking anymore, this man's identity or the fact that he was able to unsheath Changbo.
Some disciples looked over at Hua Tianshu, expecting the man to do something but contrary to their expectations, Hua Tianshu also looked to be just as shocked as everyone else.
"Old Quan, since I gave you the name of the murderers, I'll be taking this sword with me," Jie Fu Lian beamed, almost sounding as if he was teasing the man, "It was great working with you."