As she said this, she looked at Elder Tian, implying that the way he handled cases in the Enforcement Hall was worse than a dog's.
A flash of anger clearly crossed Elder Tian's eyes, but he managed to suppress it. He took a deep breath, his chest heaving, and called out, "Come back, everyone."
The disciples who were about to cause trouble stopped in their tracks, glaring hatefully at Leng Rufeng. They clearly believed that Leng Rufeng was the one who had done it.
Shi Xuan said, "We, the Lianfeng Sword Sect, are all very reasonable people. If this death is indeed related to our sect, we will absolutely not cover it up! On the contrary, if it is proven that someone intentionally framed us, we will definitely pursue the matter to the end!"
Elder Tian was already very displeased, and said with a stern face, "Then he is now the prime suspect, and naturally needs to be detained." As he spoke, he ordered the disciples of the Enforcement Hall to step forward and detain Leng Rufeng.
"Wait," Shi Xuan raised a hand, gesturing to stop them from advancing, "Your Enforcement Hall has no jurisdiction over us. Besides, we've only just arrived at your sect and we're already being framed. I want to ask what your Luoyin Sect is all about! I'm definitely going to ask Sect Master Lei this time, what kind of hospitality is this!"
When these words reached Elder Tian's ears, they were automatically translated as, "What kind of bullshit Enforcement Hall is this? Only the Sect Master can handle this." Elder Tian coughed violently, his face turning slightly red with anger.
"Then how do you explain this jade safety buckle?" Elder Tian's anger was rising; he felt humiliated by Shi Xuan.
Shi Xuan then turned to Leng Rufeng and asked, "Is this jade safety buckle yours?"
Leng Rufeng was a little downcast. "I did have something that I wore since I was a child, but it fell off during a fight with my two senior brothers, Guo and Liu, when I was expelled from the sect. It's been lost for a long time."
"You say it's lost, but who knows if you really lost it or not!" said the disciple who led the charge. "Anyone can say that if it's evidence, it's lost!"
Shi Xuan scoffed, "Now you're suddenly being clever? I think, given how eager you are to convict someone, you might have killed that person yourself."
"You're spouting nonsense!" The disciple's neck turned red with anger.
"I'm just speculating. Look, we're right here, we haven't run away. Your sect will definitely send someone to handle this. As a disciple, you just need to wait for the result. Why are you in such a hurry?" Shi Xuan looked him up and down suspiciously. "Unless... you're in a hurry to destroy the evidence!"
Although the disciple's chest heaved with anger, she stopped shouting. Seeing that things had developed to this point, the other disciples also began to observe. She was right about one thing: the sect would not sit idly by. As disciples, they should just wait for the outcome.
The scene immediately quieted down considerably.
Elder Tian and Shi Xuan stared at each other without speaking, but a tense atmosphere was palpable.
"The sect leader is here!" someone suddenly shouted, and then Lei Zhi, the sect leader of the Luoyin Sect, arrived at the crime scene.
At the same time, Shi Mingxiu also appeared, arriving at the same time as Lei Zhi. It seems he had been observing from the shadows for a long time, and only showed up when he saw the other sect leader appear.
Upon seeing their sect leader arrive in person, the disciples of the Hidden Sect bowed and greeted him in unison.
Elder Tian cupped his hands and said, “Reporting to the Sect Master! Our disciple Guo Hao died an hour ago, right outside the Luoying Courtyard where the Lianfeng Sword Sect resides. He was also holding Leng Rufeng’s safety amulet in his hand, so Leng Rufeng is the prime suspect. However, the disciples of the Lianfeng Sword Sect are unwilling to hand over Leng Rufeng, so we are at a stalemate.”
The report was very skillful; it seemed to be true in every word, but every sentence subtly tried to implicate their Lianfeng Sword Sect.
Before Lei Zhi could speak, Shi Mingxiu interjected, "Brother Lei, the elders of your sect's Enforcement Hall are poorly chosen. You certainly didn't choose them yourself, did you?" He then looked at Lei Zhi with a "you can't be that bad at judging people" gaze.
Lei Zhi shook his head helplessly and asked, "Has the murder weapon been found?" A disciple had already reported the whole process to him. At this moment, he also felt that Elder Tian had handled the situation somewhat improperly, but he couldn't say it in front of so many people.
"Not yet," Elder Tian replied.
"Then let's start with the murder weapon," Lei Zhi said. "Did anyone witness Guo Hao being killed?"
Elder Tian said somewhat embarrassedly, "I was just about to send someone to inquire."
The implication of "just about to send someone to inquire" is that they haven't inquired yet. So what has the Enforcement Hall been doing all this time? Just arguing with the disciples of the Lianfeng Sword Sect?
Shi Xuan turned his head and covered his mouth with his hand, whispering to Leng Rufeng, "He hasn't looked for the murder weapon or the witnesses for so long. It seems he's convinced that you're the murderer. There's something wrong with this elder of the Law Enforcement Hall. Could he have killed the person?"
Although it was said to be a whisper, both sect leaders were at the Nascent Soul stage, and even Elder Tian was at the Core Formation stage. How could they not hear Shi Xuan's mutterings? This was clearly an attempt to sow discord between the sect leaders and this elder of the Enforcement Hall.
Elder Tian glared at her, but didn't know what to say. Her behavior was that of an ignorant little disciple whispering, and as their teachers, how could they say, "Did I hear you whispering?"
The scene became somewhat awkward. Elder Tian quickly arranged for a group of disciples from the Enforcement Hall to search for the whereabouts of the murder weapon, while another group inquired among the sect disciples if anyone had seen anything unusual that night.
Before long, a disciple came running over, shouting, "Sect Master, Elders, we've found the murder weapon!"
"Oh?" Elder Tian became interested: "Where did you find it? Bring it here quickly."
The disciple from the Enforcement Hall quickly arrived before the group, handing Elder Tian a bloodstained spirit sword. He glanced at Shi Xuan and Leng Rufeng and said, "Reporting to the Elder, this was found in Leng Rufeng's room at Luoying Courtyard!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he sparked a discussion among a group of disciples of the Hidden Sect.
[What! I knew it! It must have been Leng Rufeng who dried it up. So much evidence points to him, who else could it be!]
[The Lianfeng Sword Sect is just making excuses. Both sect leaders are here now; let's see what they have to say.]
[How could they allow Leng Rufeng to enter the sect! He shouldn't have just been expelled from the sect for murdering a fellow disciple; he should have been executed on the spot!]
...
As they glared angrily at Leng Rufeng, they found Shi Xuan standing in front of him, a smile on his face, seemingly unmoved by the evidence of murder.
She calmly said, "I have a few questions, and I hope your sect's law enforcement hall can answer them."
Lei Zhi: "Go ahead."
Since the sect leader had spoken, the others dared not say anything more and waited for Shi Xuan to ask questions.
Shi Xuanyang raised his eyebrows and said loudly, "Thank you, Sect Master Lei. My first question is, Leng Rufeng's cultivation level is the sixth level of Foundation Establishment, while the deceased Guo Hao has already formed his core. How could a Golden Core cultivator be killed by a Foundation Establishment cultivator in one blow!"
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