Chapter 653: Shifting the Blame

Doubt was safer than confidence, but at the same time, it pricked at my brain like a needle.

Everything that had happened in the nightmare was still vivid in my mind. Even now, I didn't dare lift the hair on the back of Tie Ningxiang's neck. It wasn't purely out of fear; to me, it felt more like a way of deceiving myself.

If there really was a plum blossom mark on the back of Tie Ningxiang's neck, it would be a fatal blow to me. I might never be able to trust anyone ever again.

"It's fine like this." Stepping back into the lobby, I looked around. The Sichuan couple who lived downstairs from me were among the crowd; neither of them had slept well last night. I edged closer to eavesdrop on their conversation, moving aside only after confirming that the hypnosis had worked.

The interrogations didn't end until noon. Every tenant was cleared of suspicion.

"Rest assured, Daoist Masters. I, Chen Jianguo, swear right here and now that we will find the true culprit! I will give you a satisfactory answer!"

The armed police and criminal investigators withdrew in two groups and began a blanket search of the entire city, its scale rivaling the manhunt from that rainy night.

Truth be told, I was the target of both citywide manhunts. The only difference was that last time I had been out in the open, whereas this time I was hiding in the shadows.

"Thank you for your hard work, Officer Chen," Xu Yan said politely, though his gaze didn't linger on Chen Jianguo. A trace of clarity shone through his cloudy eyes; no one knew what he was thinking.

"It's part of our duty—just doing our job," Chen Jianguo replied, gesturing for Chen Feng to come over. "My son will stay here with you, Masters. If you discover any clues, you can tell him directly."

Pitiful is the world's parental heart. Chen Jianguo's character left much to be desired, but he treated his own son extremely well.

He knew this was a rare opportunity and wanted Chen Feng to forge a connection with these sect cultivators. If they hit it off and his son was accepted as a registered disciple, it would be a massive gain.

However, the falling flowers have intent, but the flowing water is heartless. The sect cultivators were in no mood to take on a disciple. They had come here on a mission, only for it to become a case of dying before achieving victory—before they had even found the Ghost Mother, they had already lost one of their own.

Stranger still, there was no sign of him alive and no body to be found in death. Had his Life Lamp not alerted them, they wouldn't even have known Chen Jiuge had been killed.

Daoist cultivators possessed terrifyingly sharp spiritual perception. They could likely sense that someone was scheming in the shadows and targeting them.

Only after Chen Jianguo left did Tie Ningxiang and Wu Meng step out of the VIP room. Two detectives followed behind them, carrying laptops and two thick stacks of transcripts in their arms. Throughout the entire process, Tie Ningxiang didn't say a single extra word to me.

I watched them leave, stretched lazily in my chair, and stood up to call out to Leng Qingxuan. "The police have already proved I'm not a suspect. Can I go home now?"

"It wasn't the police who proved your innocence; Daoist Master Xu Yan and Senior Brother Lu Chen testified for you." Leng Qingxuan felt a headache coming on just looking at me. 'Who knows what went wrong in the heads of those other sects,' he grumbled inwardly. 'They just had to provoke a stubborn bastard like you. Now look what happened—talk about lifting a stone to drop it on one's own foot.'

He shook his head and walked toward me. "Gao Jian, just stay here and rest easy. Jiangcheng is about to descend into chaos. It's very unsafe outside; you're better off staying with us."

"Oh, give me a break. One of you just died yesterday, and you're telling me it's safe here? No way, I'm leaving right now." My stance was firm. In reality, I wanted to leave so I could redeem items from the Live Show. "If I stay with you guys, what if the killer mistakes me for one of your group and takes me out? Wouldn't I be dying for nothing?"

"We haven't even figured out who the killer is yet, or why they killed Chen Jiuge. It's too early for you to jump to conclusions." Leng Qingxuan looked at me, half exasperated and half amused. "Besides, surveillance footage caught Chen Jiuge leaving Century New Garden last night, and he never came back. That means he died outside the building. As long as you stay inside and don't wander off, you'll naturally be safe."

"He died outside the building? Then why aren't you following the surveillance footage to keep tracking him?" I said this to probe whether the Jianghu Cancer Research Hospital had been exposed.

"If we could track him, we would've done it already instead of wasting time talking to you here." Leng Qingxuan wasn't on guard against me at all and spilled everything. "The cameras only caught Chen Jiuge leaving Century New Garden. After that, it seems he deliberately avoided surveillance. The armed police combed through the footage for the entire urban area and couldn't find any trace of him."

"Sneaking around like that, the guy definitely wasn't up to any good. Say, do you think he was killed by the Ghost Mother? Jiangcheng isn't small, but it's not huge either. There probably aren't many in this city capable of killing Chen Jiuge without a sound, right?" I was deliberately steering Leng Qingxuan's train of thought in the wrong direction.

"The Ghost Mother really could be the killer!"

The more Leng Qingxuan thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. He didn't even bother continuing our chat and hurried off to find Xu Yan.

Upon hearing this, Xu Yan immediately called me over. The sect cultivators surrounded me, their bearing distinctly aggressive and overbearing.

"You say the Ghost Mother was the one who killed Chen Jiuge?" Since this involved evil spirits and fierce ghosts, it wasn't suitable for ordinary people to overhear. Xu Yan dismissed Jiang Chen and the others, instructing the Golden Mountain Sect disciples to guard the lobby doors.

"Maybe, maybe not," I said, putting on a cryptic air as I looked at them calmly. These sect cultivators saw me as the Ghost Mother's husband, so they subconsciously assumed I understood her best and could give them plenty of vital information. They weren't afraid of me lying; they were only afraid I wouldn't open my mouth at all.

Hearing my words, the men furrowed their brows. Wei Jianming, who was guarding the door, even muttered under his breath, "Nothing but nonsense!"

"Explain in detail." Xu Yan looked at me. Under the stare of those cloudy eyes, I actually felt a twinge of unease, as if he could see straight through every thought in my mind.

"I say it's possible because Daoist Master Chen was a disciple of your orthodox sects, not some random stray on the street. Ordinary people couldn't possibly kill him. There aren't many in Jiangcheng capable of taking his life, so why don't you investigate them one by one?" My words hit the mark, bringing a strange look to the cultivators' eyes.

Daoist Master Xu Yan nodded. "Continue."

"The Ghost Mother is one of those with the ability to kill Chen Jiuge. She has the capability to commit the crime, but she lacks the motive." I grabbed a chair and sat down among them. "The Ghost Mother might not even know you've arrived yet, so striking first to gain the upper hand is out of the question. Besides, there is another point that proves she isn't the killer."

I paused and pointed at Leng Qingxuan. "Brother Qingxuan just told me that Chen Jiuge left Century New Garden of his own accord. Why would he leave Century New Garden in the dead of night? Figuring that out is crucial to finding the killer."

Here I was, the actual murderer, sitting in the middle of a bunch of Daoists and analyzing the case with perfect logic.

"Keep going," Xu Yan said, waving his hand. The others brought over chairs and sat down.

"First, Chen Jiuge left voluntarily. He had just arrived in an unfamiliar city, yet he left his residence alone late at night. That's highly unusual. It indicates the killer likely knew him beforehand and had communicated with him in some way, getting him to leave at that specific time before striking." My tone was certain, my expression calm. "From this, we can see that this murder was likely committed by an acquaintance."

"Committed by an acquaintance?" It was probably the first time these Daoist masters had heard the phrase, and they didn't quite grasp what it implied.

I smiled faintly, my sharp gaze sweeping across their faces. "It means the killer might be someone close to him. In other words, the killer could be one of you! Only one of you could have lured Chen Jiuge outside Century New Garden in the middle of the night!"

"Spreading malicious lies!"

"Senior Brother! Let's capture him!"

My words drew different reactions from each of the sect cultivators. Still, whether they felt anger or doubt had little to do with me. All I needed to do was plant a seed in their hearts and pave the way for my next move while I was at it.

"I'm just looking at the facts. Don't get agitated. Getting defensive right now might just be a cover for inner panic." Paying them no mind, I leaned back in my chair and continued, "Every murder requires a motive. Why the killer targeted Chen Jiuge is certainly intriguing. I suggest you search through his personal belongings. You might just find something."

Chen Jiuge's corpse was still dumped at the Jianghu Cancer Research Hospital. I wasn't sure if he had left any crucial items behind in Century New Garden, but I was certain of one thing: he held the dual identities of a live show streamer and a Double-Faced Buddha Chess Piece. No matter which identity was exposed, it would be a good thing for me.

Diverting the trouble onto others—whether that meant getting these sect cultivators to deal with the Underworld Live Show or wreck the Two-Faced Buddha's plans—would bring me nothing but benefits and no downside.

The snipe and the clam grapple, and the fisherman profits. Right now, I desperately needed an opportunity to slip away.

"Luggage?" Xu Yan slowly stood up and said in a low voice, "Everyone, follow me upstairs. We're going to check Chen Jiuge's luggage."

Under the watchful eyes of Lu Chen and Wei Wenming, I was also "forced" to follow them to Chen Jiuge's room.

The room was spotless. They searched everywhere and in the end found only a light-colored bundle.

Xu Yan untied the bundle in front of everyone. Inside lay three ancient tomes and a fresh set of Daoist robes.

"Fellow Daoist Chen hailed from the Xiao Zhuang Taoist Temple and lived simply and frugally. In an age of declining morals, for him to stay true to his original heart makes him a role model for our generation..." Before Wei Wenming could finish, Daoist Master Xu Yan shook out Chen Jiuge's robes, and two chargers and an extendable selfie stick tumbled out.

"Who would've guessed? You cultivators look so stiff and old-fashioned on the surface, yet you've got plenty of ways to entertain yourselves in private," I teased.

Wei Wenming's expression stiffened. Stepping forward, he quickly changed the subject. "Daoist Master Xu, did you find anything else?"

Setting the Daoist robes aside, Xu Yan looked at the three ancient tomes on the bed with a trace of surprise. "A Daoist scripture, a Buddhist scripture, and one that is actually a lost forbidden book. How could a junior disciple from the Xiao Zhuang Taoist Temple have things like these on him?"