You're constipated!"

Zhang Yuanqing flicked her forehead, and before Sun Miaomiao could retaliate angrily, he pressed his earphone:

"I think I know what's going on."

The underground palace team's hearts lifted, but they didn't show it on their faces. Some pretended to drink coffee, others pretended to admire the scenery, all attentively waiting for Yuanshi Tianzun's explanation.

"I suspect the armored man tampered with the stone door."

Zhang Yuanqing explained his conjecture, concealing his headache and only saying he had an item that could activate memories. So that's how it was! The underground palace team suddenly understood. Tianxia Guihuo felt a slight relief. What he feared most was that the armored man had undetectable and incomprehensible surveillance methods. That would put their side in a very passive position. "Based on Xia Chaoxue's death, we can deduce that the armored man sneaked into Jiao Ren Lake to check for traces in the latter half of the night. During the day, he has classes, and there are too many people. The same goes for the evening. Only in the latter half of the night, when everyone is asleep, is it suitable to sneak into the lake. If it were me, I would also choose the latter half of the night when I wouldn't be discovered." Tianxia Guihuo lowered his head and drank his coffee. Yuanshi entered the underground palace twice, once in the morning and once in the evening, perfectly avoiding detection. Sun Miaomiao pretended to stare blankly at the ceiling. "In that case, the armored man is unlikely to be a Star Official. Star Gazers and Yuan Ting are not the armored man." Star Officials had spirit servants and Yin corpses, so they didn't need to sneak into the lake themselves. They could monitor the situation at the stone door at any time. Yuanshi Tianzun was an example. Xiahou Aotian said, "There are three questions left. Do you have any ideas? If we solve these three questions, we can sort out the whole situation. I still feel something is wrong..." He thought for a moment and spoke telepathically, "Imagine, if I were the armored man, I would choose to investigate secretly, lock onto the target, and then take action, rather than killing someone and making it known to everyone. That's a lose-lose situation." Just as Zhang Yuanqing was about to speak, Hong Ji Ge slammed the table and said angrily, "Enough! I can't stand your depression." Library, meeting room. The old dean, with his gray hair, sat at the end of the conference table with a stack of thin papers in front of him. He looked around at the teachers at the table and said in a deep voice, "There are 11 people in the entire academy who can vouch for each other in the latter half of the night. Nine of them were eating barbecue skewers and drinking porridge in the cafeteria, organized by Hong Ji Ge. They ate and drank until 1:30 AM. The other two are Yuanshi Tianzun and Zhao Chenghuang. The others were all in their dorm rooms and went to bed early." Huo Mo Luo Lesheng said in a muffled voice, "Can these people be ruled out as suspects?" The old dean shook his head. "No, these people are the ones we can investigate. Those who were alone in their rooms are the ones we can't investigate because no one can verify if they're telling the truth." After a pause, he raised his teacup and took a sip. "Next, we need to verify two things. First, according to the cafeteria students' statements, Zhu Mingxu left halfway and didn't return for more than ten minutes. Second, Yuanshi Tianzun and Zhao Chenghuang stayed together all night? From my usual observations, Yuanshi Tianzun has never been absent when Hong Ji Ge treats. Xingkong, take the lie detector and go ask them." Xingkong Tancezhe nodded and left the meeting room. The old dean looked at the remaining teachers and said, "Next, everyone, think about the armored man's motive for killing." Everyone was startled by Hong Ji Ge and stared blankly at him, wondering what was wrong with this crude fire demon. Hong Ji Ge cursed, "I can't stand it anymore. You haven't said a word since we entered the coffee shop. Isn't it just one student who died? What's there to be depressed about? We've only known each other for a few days. Of course, I'm also very unhappy that someone died, but life has to go on, doesn't it? I suggest we go to the cafeteria for lunch and have a bowl of fresh and delicious congee. It'll make us feel better." He thought we were sad? Everyone stared blankly at Hong Ji Ge. "Why are you looking at me like that? Am I wrong?" Hong Ji Ge glared. "Yeah, yeah, you're right." Everyone nodded in unison. "I admire Hong Ji Ge's simplicity..." Zhang Yuanqing smiled. "We're just wondering who the murderer is. After all, we still have to stay here for three days. If we find the murderer as soon as possible, everyone will feel at ease." "That's true." Hong Ji Ge nodded. "Then have you figured out who the murderer is?" "It's definitely not you." Sun Miaomiao snorted. "Little girl, I think you want to fight. I'm a staunch supporter of gender equality. I never hesitate to hit women, even if you have an ambiguous relationship with Yuanshi Tianzun." Hong Ji Ge understood her mockery, just like the dean's mockery back then. "Who has an ambiguous relationship with Yuanshi Tianzun?" Sun Miaomiao reacted fiercely. At this moment, Yuanshi Tianzun's voice came through the earphone. "Xiahou Aotian's doubts are related to why Xia Chaoxue died. The murderer may have another reason for killing Xia Chaoxue. But no matter what, the fact that the stone door has been opened is now known. We must find the murderer and kill him (or her) so that he (or she) can't reveal this matter." Tianxia Guihuo narrowed his eyes, harboring murderous intent. "We must find him and kill him before the academy teachers do." Zhao Chenghuang and Xiahou Aotian also had a determined look in their eyes. They would do anything to protect this wealth. "That's right, but we don't need to be too nervous. The armored man won't easily reveal this matter because he's also after the treasure. Also..." Zhang Yuanqing's words were interrupted again, but this time not by Hong Ji Ge, but by Xingkong Tancezhe. This Star Official with ordinary features but a ethereal and noble temperament entered the coffee shop. "Everyone looked over. I asked around and heard you were in the coffee shop." Xingkong Tancezhe walked to the table, gracefully sat down, looked at Yuanshi Tianzun and Zhao Chenghuang, and said, "The dean asked me to ask you, what were you doing last night?" Fortunately, Xingkong Guancezhe wasn't a scout, or he would have noticed the underground palace team's momentary solemn expressions. Damn it, is this ever going to end? This lie detector is a disaster... Zhang Yuanqing's heart trembled. He looked at Zhao Chenghuang, whose expression became even colder. Tianxia Guihuo, Xiahou Aotian, and Sun Miaomiao silently looked over, their calm exteriors hiding frantically working minds. Zhao Chenghuang's wit was the only reason they avoided the lie detector in the morning, which was a coincidence. This time, they were being directly confronted, asked one-on-one. If a similar tactic was used again, even a fool could see the problem... Use ambiguous language to solve it? For example, Zhao Chenghuang and I were doing something secret together? No, this kind of language can't deceive anyone. We can't treat people like fools. If they ask what exactly it was, I won't be able to answer. Zhang Yuanqing's mind was racing, but he appeared extremely calm. He glanced at the small brown horn placed on the table and said in a deep voice, "Teacher Xingkong, before I answer you, you need to answer a question for me first." Xingkong Tancezhe stared deeply and said, "Speak. Why is the dean so concerned about what the students were doing last night?" "Since the lie detector can't detect the results, we can only try to understand the information as much as possible and perhaps find clues," Xingkong Tancezhe said. "Then I think your question shouldn't be what we did last night, but some more precise questions, such as: What is our relationship with Xia Chaoxue, did we have any affection for her, did we have any private contact with her?" Zhang Yuanqing smiled. "Aren't these more targeted?" While stalling for time, he entered Silver Coquettish Maiden's body and activated White Face. Because of the incident in the morning, he thought there would definitely be similar encounters later. Therefore, he obtained Silver Coquettish Maiden's consent that he could freely enter and exit her body for the next three days. "Good idea." Xingkong Tancezhe nodded. "Then answer these questions one by one." Zhang Yuanqing smiled, but there was no smile in his eyes. "Your attitude makes me very unhappy. I'm not a suspect. Watch your tone. If this weren't the academy, I would have pinned you to the ground and beat you up, even if you're a level five." Xingkong Tancezhe said coldly, "Please hold the item and answer my questions." Yuanshi Tianzun is planning to use emotional outbursts as a reason to muddle through and refuse this lie detection? That won't work. These teachers used to be front-line workers. They can see through this kind of low trick at a glance... Tianxia Guihuo frowned. The others in the underground palace team also felt their hearts sink. At this moment, they saw Yuanshi Tianzun pick up the small brown horn and say calmly, "I gave Zhao Chenghuang a spirit inscription manual." Immediately, he coldly threw the small brown horn on the table. "Teacher Xingkong, now it's your turn to answer my question." Xingkong Guancezhe looked at the unresponsive small horn, first frowned, and then suddenly understood. Zhao Chenghuang and Yuanshi Tianzun were trading last night. The content of the trade was obvious. It was precisely the skill of drawing spirit symbols in the air that Yuanshi Tianzun displayed on Chicken Heart Island that day. For Star Officials, that was indeed an irresistible temptation, and he had missed it for a long time. Xingkong Guancezhe recalled the events of that day and thought it was reasonable and logical for Zhao Chenghuang to seek a trade. So that's how it is. I understand. I will report back to the dean. Well done! Zhao Chenghuang's cold expression hid surging surprise. Yuanshi Tianzun's operation was simply a stroke of genius. He first showed extreme displeasure and anger, and then combined it with the three people's exchange on Chicken Heart Island that day to perfectly resolve the situation. Xingkong Guancezhe wouldn't be suspicious because Yuanshi Tianzun did give him a spirit inscription manual, and as someone who was present that day, he could easily understand it if he thought about it a little. Tianxia Guihuo and the others were at a loss and didn't understand what magic Yuanshi Tianzun had used to gain Xingkong Guancezhe's trust so simply. "Teacher!" Zhang Yuanqing called out to Xingkong Guancezhe, who was getting up to leave, and asked, "What are your views on the murderer?" Xingkong Guancezhe was silent for a few seconds and said in a low voice, "I suspect the murderer is the same person who sneaked into Jiao Ren Lake on the first night of school." Zhang Yuanqing raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?" "Because the lie detector and insight techniques didn't work, and this kind of ability is very rare. It's impossible for everyone to have it," Xingkong Guancezhe said his reason. "Very rare, which means it exists, right?" Zhang Yuanqing thought for a moment and said, "Do you know what abilities can hide from lie detectors and insight techniques?" Xingkong Guancezhe hesitated. Seeing this, Zhang Yuanqing turned to call the waiter, "Pour the teacher a cup of cappuccino." Seeing Zhang Yuanqing's posture, Xingkong Guancezhe had no choice but to sit down and glanced at Zhao Chenghuang, then at Yuanshi Tianzun, and lowered his voice, "Didn't I say it on the island that day? Taiyin symbolizes secrecy." Zhang Yuanqing frowned. "But there are only so many Star Officials on the island, and Zhao Chenghuang is the only one who majors in Taiyin." Zhao Chenghuang glanced at him and said calmly, "My Taiyin power is not yet complete and can't block lie detectors. Sun Miaomiao majors in constellations, and Yuan Ting doesn't have enough merit to obtain the cultivation secret method." "Then it's not Taiyin." Zhang Yuanqing shook his head. "You don't understand what I mean..." Xingkong Guancezhe hesitated again. "The Taiyin power of Great Perfection can not only hide oneself but also grant it to others. When I was still a front-line worker, I was once responsible for arresting a warlock who committed crimes. The warlock could divine, so the elders in the sect granted me the power of concealment. That way, actions related to me couldn't be divined." The underground palace team fell into deep thought. The Taiyin power of Great Perfection can grant others the power of concealment... The armored man killed Xia Chaoxue without hesitation for the things behind the stone door. This cruel approach doesn't seem like a normal official saint because it will inevitably break with the authorities... But people who aren't officials can't enter Qin Feng Academy. Relationship holders like Hong Ji Ge are one of a kind... He's in the officialdom but clearly not a true official walker... Holy crap, Dark Rose?! Zhang Yuanqing's mind was in a storm. At this moment, he suddenly solved a long-standing confusion—why are Dark Rose members always able to escape the official annual physical examination? The leader of Dark Rose is a Night Walker profession and one with an extremely high position. He (or she) granted the power of concealment to important figures in the organization. The general physical examination definitely can't detect it. Everything makes sense. Damn it, a Dark Rose member has infiltrated this batch of students! No wonder he kills people without hesitation. Dark Rose's double agents are this kind of style. Dark Rose members lurk in the officialdom and spiritual families, and there are many high-ranking officials. It's understandable that they know about the academy's hidden mission. Damn it, why is it so coincidental that it's in this class? I'm too unlucky... No, maybe it's not bad luck. Star Officials can use Star Observation to view the direction of things in the world. If that leader coveted the hidden mission, then it's very likely that he observed the celestial phenomena at night and sensed that the time was ripe. So he ordered the double agent lurking in the officialdom to participate in this training. The armored man surveying the area, applying invisible materials, and monitoring the stone door every night can all be explained. It's Dark Rose again. This broken organization has a karmic relationship with me... Zhang Yuanqing took a deep breath, looked at Xingkong Guancezhe, and said, "Teacher, we need to talk. I think I've guessed the murderer's hidden identity." His first reaction was to tell the dean about this and cooperate with the school to arrest the Dark Rose hidden in the academy.

Chapter 1 The Beginning