Demon Realm Slaughter Trial Grounds 8

Just after midnight, his subordinate demons came to report that the source of the rumors did not involve other members of the royal family, but instead implicated six or seven princes and princesses who had the right to seize the throne.

Some were witches or demon servants who served them, some were their trusted and capable subordinates, and others were demons who had kinship or old friendships with them.

Xie Guijin covered half of her face, feeling a little pain.

Surprisingly, the system didn't seize the opportunity to mock her this time, and asked worriedly, "Host, what should we do?"

Xie Guijin lowered her hand and launched a barrage of questions at her subordinates: "Are there any commonalities among those spreading rumors? Or has anything unusual happened recently? What kind of demons have you encountered?"

“Princess, we have done our best to investigate this far. If we were to investigate further, it would inevitably cause dissatisfaction among the other princes and princesses,” the leader of the demons said with difficulty.

Xie Guijin understood and said, "That's right. Give me the list. You've worked hard, go and rest."

"No, no, it's no trouble at all. It is our honor to serve the princess." The demons were filled with trepidation and bowed respectfully.

The system accurately commented: "Host, you've gone out of character again."

Xie Guijin, with a blank expression, waved for her men to leave.

She set out in person to find the princes and princesses involved and ask them to investigate.

"I hope you will forgive my late-night visit, Sister/Brother Wang, Sister/Brother Wang," Xie Guijin said politely.

The demons all agreed to investigate as soon as possible and to inform Xie Guijin of the results immediately.

Exhausted, Xie Guijin returned to her palace and collapsed onto a recliner, too weak to even move a finger.

Seeing her solemn expression, the system asked in surprise, "It went very smoothly just now, what are you worried about? Just wait for the results. With so many demons involved, there must be clues."

"One or two is one thing, but six or seven at the same time? Buried so deep? So wide? Is the mastermind behind this really that desperate?" Xie Guijin was more worried than pleased: "If they are so desperate, they should be in the Demon Palace, in charge of at least one thing in the Demon Realm. Then why would they drag all the princes and princesses in the Demon Palace down with them?"

"Who knows? This isn't something you should worry about. As long as they catch them, that's all that matters," the system comforted.

Xie Guijin said with a mournful voice, "I am worried. This demon is more difficult to deal with than I believe. Of course, given enough time, we can definitely catch it, but what if one of the demons wants to take the opportunity to cripple the Sixth Princess, such a powerful opponent?"

"It's easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark," Xie Guijin said, on the verge of tears.

The system scoffed, "Host, I think you're worrying unnecessarily. You should trust the Demon Lord's judgment and the judgment of the Demon Realm's subjects. Your current allies are among the elite of the Demon Realm's royal family; they will definitely be able to solve this case, and at least the source of the rumors will be revealed today."

"You seem to have a lot of faith in them." Xie Guijin sighed softly, feeling somewhat relieved. She instructed the witch beside her to report any news promptly, then closed her eyes to rest.

Before she knew it, Xie Guijin had fallen asleep, and when she opened her eyes again it was almost noon.

It was the witch who awakened her and reported to her that several princes and princesses had sent messages that they had found the source of the rumors, all pointing to the fourth prince, and had now notified the Demon Law Palace.

"The Fourth Prince?" Xie Guijin vividly remembered the Fourth Prince's quick-wittedness at the luncheon two days ago and felt that it was not like the Fourth Prince's behavior.

This time, all the people involved were very close to the princes and princesses. To be able to plant such a spy, it must have required a long and meticulous plan. Could the fourth prince really do such a thing? He should be killing whoever he doesn't like on the spot.

The system rolled its eyes: "Host, why are you thinking so much? Its impatience in the face of trouble is probably just a disguise."

“Alright,” Xie Guijin got up and went to the Demon Law Hall.

The fourth prince is currently under house arrest in his palace pending the investigation results.

The demons who spread the rumors have all been captured and brought to the Demon Law Hall for trial.

Xie Guijin asked the Demon Envoy who greeted her directly, "Have you found anything?"

"Your Highness, please forgive me. Since Your Highness is also involved in this case, it is inconvenient for you to intervene at the moment. I beg Your Highness to be lenient and not make things difficult for me. Please rest assured, Your Highness, now that this case has come to our Demon Law Hall, the truth will surely come to light." The Demon Envoy said with a respectful bow.

Xie Guijin was met with a rebuff, but she didn't lash out.

After leaving the Demon Law Hall, Xie Guijin heard another piece of news: in a short period of time, the news that the Fourth Prince was the mastermind had spread throughout all the fiefdoms except for hers and the Fourth Prince's. It had even started to circulate in territories without a trial ground.

Such a grand spectacle must have been fueled by the princes and princesses of the various fiefdoms.

Xie Guijin raised an eyebrow in surprise and said, "The truth hasn't come out yet, why is it like this?"

The demon who came to report had dark green willow leaf-shaped demonic patterns flashing at the corner of his eye. He lowered his voice and said, "Princess, if the Fourth Prince hadn't been placed under house arrest, the version circulating today would be that you, Princess, deliberately created the trial ground to absorb demonic energy, cultivate demonic attacks, and plotted something sinister."

"Furthermore, these rumors have some basis. If the Fourth Prince is proven innocent in the future, the Demon Law Hall will naturally clear his name." The reporting demon paused and then said, "The most urgent matter at hand is whether to continue opening the trial grounds. I urge the princess to make the decision."

"Open?" Xie Guijin was somewhat puzzled. Shouldn't his subordinate ask, "Should we close the training grounds?" Although the two sentences meant the same thing, their stances were obvious.

"Yes, Princess, everyone's waiting. Many demons have been asking us about it. Tickets are practically impossible to get right now," the reporting demon said, beaming.

Xie Guijin: "......"

She was wrong. She shouldn't have underestimated the demons' fervent pursuit of improving their cultivation and breaking through realms. She had even considered hiring a demon to go to the trial grounds if all else failed, pretending to queue and then cooperating with their publicity to help her complete the main quest of selling houses.

"Then strike while the iron is hot. Reopen all the trial grounds in the fiefdoms. As for the other completed trial grounds, build them in various places as needed," Xie Guijin ordered decisively.

The demon reported and left in obedience.

Xie Guijin turned around and went to the Demon Law Hall. Facing the Demon Envoy who looked surprised, she said, "The Trial Grounds will be reopened. The Demon Law Hall can send demon officers to follow the demons who come out of the Trial Grounds. This may be helpful in solving cases."

"Thank you, Princess. I will make the arrangements immediately," the Demon Envoy replied.

"Wait," Xie Guijin called to the Demon Envoy who had finished bowing and was about to leave, "I will also order a demon to follow, so that the demons of the Demon Law Hall will not misunderstand."

"Understood, Your Highness, rest assured." After the Demon Envoy took his leave, he went to make the arrangements.

Upon returning to the Demon Palace, Xie Guijin immediately made arrangements for the surveillance.

With nothing else to do, she began to patrol various parts of the Demon Realm, wanting to see how the trial grounds were functioning.

Despite being mentally prepared, Xie Guijin was still shocked by the popularity of the trial grounds in various places. Soon, there weren't enough demons to keep track of them all. Xie Guijin borrowed some from the Demon Lord to barely maintain the two-on-one strategy.

In the evening, Xie Guijin returned to the Demon Palace. The Demon Lord in charge of finances under the Sixth Princess came to see her and presented her with a thick document.

Xie Guijin was puzzled. When she opened it, she saw that it was filled with gold, silver and jewels, magic tools, magic treasures, elixirs and so on, all of which were offered by the demons under the Sixth Princess's command today.

"What's going on? It's neither a holiday nor a festival," Xie Guijin asked curiously, holding the document firmly in her hand.

The Finance Demon said gleefully, "Your Highness, which demon in the Demon Realm doesn't want to enter the Trial Grounds to improve their cultivation and break through to a higher realm as soon as possible? But the number of spots is limited. So we have to send some gifts and offer some benefits to secure a spot. Everyone knows that this Trial Grounds was proposed by Your Highness, and their tributes to you are not enough, so they've all sent their offerings to us, haven't they?"

"Since we've received these gifts, we should naturally choose the best to present to Your Highness. Please accept them for now, Your Highness. I reckon this will continue for a while." The Finance Demon smiled, his smile causing the golden, ingot-like demonic patterns on his face to gleam.

As a top salesperson, Xie Guijin had seen her share of money, but as a workaholic, she couldn't describe her feelings at this moment. She waved for the finance manager to leave, threw the documents on her desk, and asked the system, "Is this considered a completed task?"

"Yes, yes," the system nodded repeatedly, taking credit for its work. "And I've already submitted it for you in advance. Now it's your leisure time. Isn't that thoughtful? Aren't you touched?"

"Yes, I'm touched," Xie Guijin replied casually. Although she received a positive answer, Xie Guijin was still unhappy. She was still worried about the demons who had been drained of their demonic energy and died, and she wanted to catch the murderer before she left.

But there was nothing else she could do at the moment. It was almost dawn, and Xie Guijin, who had been on the move for a long time, decided to take a short rest and wait for the results of her tracking.

At 1:15 AM, the witch came to report that Master Chu Guishi requested an audience.

Xie Guijin had not yet spoken.

The system kept chattering: "Host, I have a feeling that he has something very, very important to say when he comes at this time. You absolutely must see him."

"I know," Xie Guijin sighed inwardly and ordered the witch to invite Xue Linchuan in.

Xue Linchuan didn't dwell on it and went straight to the point: "The case of the wine merchant prince is very strange. After my investigation, there is no demon in the entire demon realm who has a motive, fits the timeline, and has enough evidence to identify the suspect."

Xie Guijin remained silent, knowing that Xue Linchuan wouldn't come until he reached a conclusion.

Sure enough, Xue Linchuan continued, "So, I investigated this wine merchant prince in reverse and found that he had enough time to set up the trap and also found relevant physical evidence, as well as two pieces of demonic evidence. However, for fear of alerting the enemy, I did not arrest them for formal interrogation, but it can be basically confirmed that the assassination was orchestrated by the wine merchant prince himself."

"What's the motive? Oh dear, why would it do that?" The system listened with genuine concern and urged repeatedly, "Host, ask him quickly, ask him now!"

Helpless, Xie Guijin relayed the system's words with a blank expression.

Whether it was out of goodwill from the system submitting the task in advance, or for some other reason, Xie Guijin did not block the system this time.