Demon Realm Slaughter Trial Grounds 9

Xue Linchuan explained carefully: "Generally speaking, when a person injures themselves to the point of being unable to move, it is either to avoid disaster or to create an alibi. Demons should be no exception. I have investigated carefully and found that the wine merchant prince has not had any life-or-death feuds with other demons, and I cannot see any major disasters that would require him to injure himself to this extent in the short term."

"So I suspect it's probably plotting something to create an alibi. What do you think? Should we tell the Demon Law Hall what I've found out? We have no right to arrest and investigate the wine merchant prince; after all, he's the Demon Lord's illegitimate son and the Sixth Princess's half-brother," Xue Linchuan concluded.

Xie Guijin tapped her fingers on the table, making a clanging sound. She said to the system, "Go ask the Sixth Princess how to proceed. After all, I will be leaving the Demon Realm after midnight, and the follow-up matters will need to be handled by her."

"Host, do you think this wine merchant prince is the murderer who drained the demons' energy?" The system ignored the sixth princess and asked what it wanted to know first.

Xie Guijin asked in surprise, "Why do you say that? Do you have any evidence to prove it? Or do you have some deduction that has confirmed it?"

"No, it's just...it's just..." the system tried its best to describe, "It's a very strange feeling, you know?"

“I understand. In our human society, this feeling is usually called a sixth sense or intuition.” Xie Guijin stroked his chin and grinned mischievously. “I didn’t expect your system to have one too? Are you really just a bunch of data? Or are you some other being in disguise? Or were you tricked by the mainframe, and you’re actually human, and it modified you?”

The system quickly interrupted: "Stop, stop, stop! This is getting more and more absurd. I was just saying it offhand, believe it or not."

"It's not that I don't believe it, it's just a bit far-fetched. My falling into the trap was an accident," Xie Guijin said, spreading his hands in defense. "My setting up a trial ground was definitely not within its intended scope for the wine merchant prince. So how did it manage to drain the demonic energy of those demons at just the right time, suppress their cultivation growth using unknown methods, and use the demons it had already bribed to spread rumors and severely injure all the princes and princesses who were expected to inherit the position of Demon Lord? Unless its original plan coincided with all of the above."

The system was exasperated and muttered, "This is so annoying. If only we could open our third eye."

What was said in jest was taken seriously by Xie Guijin. Her eyes lit up, and she opened the interface again to search for items. She found an item called "Turtle Shell," which had a small label that read: "A divine artifact. Even those who do not know divination can use it. You can ask only one question, and the answer will show whether it is true or false. The accuracy rate is as high as 100%. It is an essential item for home and travel."

Because Xie Guijin didn't believe in ghosts and gods, she subconsciously ignored the prop when she first saw it. Now that she thought about it, she was no longer in the modern era after the founding of the People's Republic of China, where supernatural beings were forbidden, but in the Six Realms, where demons, monsters, gods, and immortals existed. Divination itself was a kind of magic, so there was no harm in trying it.

Xie Guijin took out the tortoise shell. Its carapace was raised with patterns of the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams, while its plastron was flat with hexagonal blocks corresponding to the Earthly Branches. It felt very smooth to the touch.

Following the instructions, Xie Guijin asked, "Was the trap I fell into the other day actually orchestrated by the wine merchant prince to create an alibi, and was it also the one that killed the first batch of demons using the trial grounds and drained their demonic energy?"

Then, following the instructions, she held the tortoise shell in both hands and began to shake it.

The system hesitated and said, "Host, is this going to work? There are several problems in just one sentence you said."

“It should be possible. We must have faith in the profoundness of the written language.” As Xie Guijin was speaking, three copper coins fell from the tortoise shell.

They landed on the table, and before Xie Guijin and Xue Linchuan could see the divination results, the three copper coins rose into the air, stood upright and kept changing positions, occasionally even colliding with each other.

Seeing this, the system became furious and said, "Host, you see, you see, I told you it wouldn't work. You can only ask one question. You've ruined it!"

Xie Guijin scoffed and said, "I only asked one question: yes or no. It's clear that it can't make a judgment. The claim that the accuracy rate is 100% is utter nonsense and a lie."

The copper coin in mid-air suddenly split into many parts, each vibrating and emitting a buzzing sound.

Xie Guijin's hand tightened, gripping the chair armrest, and she muttered to herself, "What's going on?"

The copper coins clattered and fell onto the table, forming the character "是" (shì, meaning "yes").

"Huh?" Xie Guijin stood up and looked down at the table, surprised. "The reverse psychology actually worked? So easy to fool, is this thing reliable?"

Now the tortoise shell she was still holding in her left hand also started to buzz.

Xie Guijin missed her, and the tortoise shell broke free from her palm, jumped onto the table, sucked the copper coins back into its belly, then suddenly leaped, turned around, and began firing copper coin bullets at Xie Guijin.

"Ouch, ouch!" Xie Guijin cried out repeatedly as she was hit, raising her hands in surrender: "Okay, okay, I was wrong, you're right, I believe you, I believe you one hundred percent, please stop hitting me."

The turtle shell was finally satisfied and stopped attacking.

Xie Guijin reached out to grab it, but missed; the tortoise shell and copper coin had vanished.

Xie Guijin and Xue Linchuan exchanged glances subconsciously. Xie Guijin spoke first: "The wine merchant prince's cultivation level is not high, but those demons who were killed were top-tier experts, one in a hundred. Why didn't they resist when they were killed? Moreover, the wine merchant prince's cultivation level has indeed not improved. Did he obtain a magic artifact that can shield the Myriad Demon Ranking? Or does he have a treasure that can temporarily store demonic energy?"

In a flash of inspiration, Xue Linchuan said, his Adam's apple bobbing, "Perhaps demonic energy is not meant to enhance cultivation."

Xie Guijin looked puzzled and blinked at Xue Linchuan.

"I need to investigate a few things. Wait for me," Xue Linchuan said softly.

Xie Guijin nodded and said, "Alright, go and investigate. I'll send a demon to investigate whether those demons who spread the rumors have any dealings with the wine merchant prince."

After the team split into two groups and arrangements were made, the system asked, "Host, have you forgiven Xue Linchuan?"

“How could that be?” Xie Guijin categorically denied.

The system didn't believe it and pressed further, "But you two work together seamlessly."

"The human world is complex. It's not data that your system can define or deny. For us humans, emotions are emotions, and reason is reason. We can't condemn a person based on one incident, nor can we ignore their flaws because of their strengths."

Xie Guijin looked at the dark purple Heavenly Palace of the Demon Realm and said with worry, "Alas, I am now struggling to survive. It seems that I am bound to him and he, sharing life and death. When it comes to important matters, I cannot act impulsively. Survival is the most important thing."

The system didn't really understand; it only remembered that Xie Guijin had said a lot of incoherent things that day.

Xie Guijin only stopped talking when the demon under the Sixth Princess's command, who was investigating the relationship between the wine merchant prince and the demon who was the source of the rumors, came to report.

Not long after the demon left, Xue Linchuan arrived.

The case has made a breakthrough. Xie Guijin originally wanted to hand over all the clues he found to the Demon Law Hall directly, but the Sixth Princess expressed her opposition through the system.

In the end, Xie Guijin adopted the Sixth Princess's suggestion and requested an audience with the Demon Lord to hold a celebration banquet on the grounds of a successful start to the trial grounds.

The Demon Lord looked at the radiant Xie Guijin, his sharp eyes seeming to see his own daughter through her. After thinking for a moment, he nodded in agreement and instructed, "Be careful, don't go too far."

Xie Guijin, whose acting addiction had been aroused by the Sixth Princess, awkwardly agreed.

Since the Demon Lord made it clear that he would not attend, Xie Guijin sent invitations to all the princes and princesses, inviting them to the banquet.

In the Sixth Princess's palace, there was a witch official in charge of preparing banquets. Xie Guijin specifically instructed the wine merchant who supplied the wine to attend to the banquet.

The witch official was surprised, but said nothing and strictly carried out the order.

That night, the wine merchant prince was summoned to a banquet. He had no seat and stood with the demon servant, only in a slightly forward position.

To outsiders, the little demons respectfully call it a prince, but they would never dare to address it that way in front of the powerful princes and princesses in the Demon Palace. As a product of the Demon Lord's promiscuity, which has not been recognized, it is no different from other demon servants.

The wine merchant prince remained unfazed, acting as if nothing had happened, showing no sign of being humiliated.

At the banquet, glasses clinked and the demons chatted and laughed, exchanging toasts.

After several rounds of drinks, Xie Guijin raised his hand to stop the singing and dancing, and sat in the main seat, saying to the guests on both sides: "I recently acquired a batch of new wine, please enjoy it, brothers and sisters."

As Xie Guijin spoke, the witch entered in single file, carrying a tray. She moved gracefully to each seat, offering wine cups and wine jugs. She knelt on the ground and poured wine for the distinguished guests with her delicate hands.

Xie Guijin raised his wine glass, inviting the demons to drink together.

The demons drank it all in one gulp and praised it endlessly.

Xie Guijin accepted all the offers with a smile, then pointed to the wine merchant prince and said, "Come here."

"What are your orders, Sixth Princess?" The wine merchant prince stepped forward and bowed.

Xie Guijin waved her hand slightly, and a witch carrying a tray with a cup of wine on it quickly walked to the side of the wine merchant prince.

"You're an expert in winemaking, why don't you try this wine?" Xie Guijin said with a smile.

The wine merchant prince hurriedly bowed and said, "Thank you for your generous gift, Your Highness."

After saying that, it picked up the wine glass, brought it to its lips and was about to drink when it smelled the aroma in the glass and froze instantly.

"What? You're not drinking?" Xie Guijin looked at the wine merchant prince with a half-smile.

The demons sensed something was wrong, exchanged glances, and none of them spoke.

Xie Guijin then smiled and said, "There's a Night-Blooming Orchid in here. I heard you just bought a batch for brewing, is that right?"

“Yes,” the wine merchant prince felt a chill run down his spine, his heart filled with doubt and uncertainty, wondering whether the contents of the wine were a coincidence or something Xie Guijin had deliberately done.

Xie Guijin said softly with a smile, "Then quickly taste it, taste it, how is this wine different from yours?"

The wine merchant prince had no way to express his bitterness. As one of the best winemakers in the Demon Realm, he could tell with just a sniff that in addition to the Night Night Orchid, there was also the Yunmianzhi in the wine. These two things were extremely rare in the Six Realms, neither delicious nor of any medicinal value, so they were little known.