Chapter 27 Zhang Yuanqing Curses Inwardly

At this moment, within his consciousness, a halo emitting a gentle, warm light was slowly pulsating.

This halo originated from the lie-detecting device in his hand.

The principle behind lie-detecting tools is actually quite simple. First, they observe you, analyzing mental fluctuations, micro-expressions, breathing, pores, and even adrenaline secretion to determine if you are lying.

Second, they control you, using a higher level of power to force you to be truthful.

The former is exemplified by the Scout's Insight skill.

The latter is exemplified by the Tiger Seal, which Zhang Yuanqing had encountered before.

The lie-detecting device in front of him belonged to the first type, but unlike Insight, it entered the consciousness to observe the spiritual body.

Therefore, this situation could not be transferred to Little Doubi; only the second type of mental control ability could be transferred.

Essentially, the halo wasn't doing anything to you; it was merely observing you.

Zhang Yuanqing now had to face a dilemma: avoid the Dean's question, but risk being exposed by Insight.

If he lied, he would be caught by the small brown horn.

The consequence would be that all his gains would have to be handed over to the Baihua Hui, submitted to headquarters, in exchange for rewards and merits.

Just as thoughts raced through his mind, a cold voice came, "Last night, I was with him the whole time. We can vouch for each other."

It was Zhao Chenghuang who spoke.

This second-generation spiritualist from the Taiyi Sect, with an expression and tone of utter indifference, snatched the small horn from Zhang Yuanqing's hand amidst the gazes of the crowd.

"Xia Chaoxue was not killed by me. Her death has nothing to do with me," he said.

The students and teachers immediately looked at the small brown horn.

It remained dark, ancient, and unchanged.

Not Yuan Shi Tianzun, nor Zhao Chenghuang… everyone present turned to look at Yuan Ting and the Star Observer, their eyes filled with ambiguous wariness.

Zhao Chenghuang continued to hold the small brown horn, and said,

"Dean, Yuan Shi Tianzun has already proven his innocence. Why do you still need to ask him if he was in the dormitory all night? Do you have any new clues?

"The students present are all frontline staff. In terms of solving cases and investigating, the academy's teachers are no match for us. If you have any leads, please don't hide them. Tell us."

He stared at the Dean with cold, calm eyes.

Well done!!!

Zhang Yuanqing praised inwardly.

He thought to himself that Zhao Chenghuang truly lived up to his reputation as the brightest star of the Taiyi Sect. Although he liked to act cool and show off, he was reliable at crucial moments.

Zhao Chenghuang had not only defused his crisis but had also turned the tables.

If the Dean was the Armored Man, he would not be able to give a reason. And the inability to give a reason, if repeatedly questioned, would definitely indicate a problem.

The official Saints were not fools.

The Dean frowned and shook his head.

"The information I received is the same as everyone else's," he said.

Zhao Chenghuang nodded expressionlessly, and handed the small brown horn to Yuan Ting beside him.

The students' gazes instantly sharpened, staring intently at him.

"Xia Chaoxue was not killed by me. Her death has nothing to do with me," Yuan Ting said loudly.

The small brown horn still did not react.

Yuan Ting breathed a sigh of relief, and habitually began to ramble, "I'm not familiar with Xia Chaoxue at all. She doesn't have any juicy gossip either. Well, I'm not saying that I like gossip, but…"

The small brown horn in his hand suddenly emitted a bright, pure light.

The crowd, who had just been disappointed, all looked over at once, their eyes sharp, as if they were looking at a heinous criminal.

The Dean shouted,

"Yuan Ting, stand where you are! Don't move!"

As he spoke, he summoned a three-foot-long sword.

The students and teachers quickly retreated, adopting a defensive posture.

Yuan Ting, holding the small brown horn, was somewhat at a loss.

The Dean shouted, "Did you kill Xia Chaoxue? Answer me!"

"No!"

Everyone glanced at the small horn. The Dean shouted again, "Are you familiar with Xia Chaoxue?"

"No!"

Everyone looked at the small brown horn again, and it still didn't react.

Huh? The reason why the small horn glowed just now was...

In the crowd, Zhang Yuanqing said unhappily, "Do you like gossip?"

"No."

The small brown horn emitted a dazzling light.

The scene suddenly fell silent.

Yuan Ting was a little embarrassed.

Everyone else was also embarrassed.

The Dean didn't expect this result and was stunned for a long time. Without changing his expression, he changed the subject, saying, "Next."

Zhang Yuanqing took the opportunity to say,

"Dean, don't ask unimportant questions. Fellow students, don't say unimportant things."

Yuan Ting exhaled a long breath, and threw the lie-detecting device to the Star Observer not far away.

"Xia Chaoxue was not killed by me. Her death has nothing to do with me," the Star Observer said calmly.

The small brown horn did not react.

Seeing this, the crowd clamored once again.

The murderer wasn't a Star Official?

"If it wasn't a Star Official, then the crime was committed using a tool." Lin Su, the cold and aloof alchemy teacher, said,

"Everyone is a possible suspect, including the female students."

"How could a female student have sex with Xia Chaoxue?" a female student questioned.

The aloof Lin Su said,

"We didn't find any male fluids in Xia Chaoxue's body, did we?"

Everyone fell into contemplation.

If they had found bodily fluids, my Red High Heels would have directly locked onto the murderer. There wouldn't have been any need for so much trouble… Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself.

Next, under the Dean's witness, everyone underwent a round of lie detection.

The situation from the first day happened again—they couldn't find the murderer.

Everyone passed the tests of lie detection and Insight.

This meant that the murderer had special hiding abilities, making lie detection and Insight ineffective.

This result undoubtedly deepened the students' suspicion and panic. The gazes they cast at each other were now filled with wariness and mistrust.

The old Dean pondered for a long time, and slowly said,

"Everyone, go to the library immediately and write down everything that happened from last night to this morning. From now on, in groups of two, eating, sleeping, including going to the toilet, you cannot leave each other by more than three meters until the real culprit is found, or the training period ends."

Today was the fourth day of entering the Qinfeng Academy. There were still three days until the end of the training.

"Wait!" Zhang Yuanqing's voice interrupted the crowd's footsteps towards the library.

He stared at the gray-haired old man, "Dean, you also need to undergo lie detection."

Without waiting for the old Dean to respond, Zhang Yuanqing turned to look at Guo Hezu and Ren Junzi, "You two are responsible for keeping an eye on the Dean."

The pressure immediately fell on the Dean.

"Alright!" The Dean nodded, raised the small brown horn in his hand, and said in a deep voice under the gaze of the crowd,

"Xia Chaoxue was not killed by me. Her death has nothing to do with me."

The small brown horn was old and plain, and did not glow.

10:30 AM.

Coffee shop.

Zhang Yuanqing picked up his coffee and took a sip, his gaze looking out at the flowerbeds outside the window. The sun was shining brightly, the flowers were gorgeous, colorful butterflies danced among the flowers, and bees worked day after day.

He pressed the earpiece in his ear, "From now on, all discussions must be done through the earpiece. Everyone, remember that."

Across from him sat the handsome Xiahou Aotian.

At the table to the left were Zhao Chenghuang and Sun Miaomiao, and at the table to the right were Tianxia Guihuo and Hong Ji Ge.

Six people, three groups.

Because of the Dean's rule that they had to be in groups of two, Zhang Yuanqing weighed the pros and cons and decided that if he had to have an extra person, Hong Ji Ge was the most trustworthy.

"Understood!"

The replies of the other four came from the earpiece.

"The situation is not optimistic. There's something wrong with Xia Chaoxue's death. I suspect the murderer is targeting us," Zhang Yuanqing said.

"Preliminary suspicion is the Dean." Zhao Chenghuang's voice rang in the earpiece. "The question he asked Yuan Shi Tianzun downstairs in the girls' dormitory has already exposed his identity."

"Are you trying to say that the Dean is the Armored Man?" Tianxia Guihuo cut to the chase.

Xia Chaoxue's death was untimely and illogical. Everyone felt it was unreasonable.

But after the Dean asked that question, the Dungeon Squad realized it.

They knew that the Armored Man was not Yuan Shi Tianzun, and they also knew that the Armored Man was coveting the treasure behind the stone gate.

Zhao Chenghuang nodded silently.

"I don't think so."

It was Xiahou Aotian who spoke. This Warlock with severe personality flaws stirred his coffee, trying to come up with his own reasons. "First of all, how did the Armored Man know that the stone gate had been opened? Has he been monitoring the bottom of the lake all along? If so, then he doesn't need to kill Xia Chaoxue at all. He can just come straight for us.

"Secondly, it's unreasonable for the Dean to kill Xia Chaoxue. He was appointed Dean by the Baihua Hui. If he discovered that the stone gate had been opened, he would report it directly to headquarters.

"We are all decent people with names and faces. It would be too easy for headquarters to investigate us afterward. Could it be that we would become wanted criminals because of this?"

Sun Miaomiao agreed with this, "It doesn't make sense for the Dean to kill Xia Chaoxue and make such a big deal just to find out who entered the dungeon. That reason doesn't hold up."

Xia Chaoxue was an official Saint. Being arranged to train at the Qinfeng Academy meant that her branch intended to promote her to Deacon.

Killing a Deacon, even with a very good reason, was unacceptable.

Zhao Chenghuang and Tianxia Guihuo frowned deeply. The incident was becoming increasingly confusing.

"Yuan Shi, what's your opinion?" Sun Miaomiao's watery, large eyes looked over.

Zhang Yuanqing paused, and his thoughts flickered. "In the beginning, I also thought that the Dean was the Armored Man, but Miaomiao's words made me dispel my suspicion. Her analysis is correct."

Sun Miaomiao chuckled, and revealed two small tiger teeth with a smug look.

In fact, Zhang Yuanqing had thought of this a long time ago.

The reason why he said this was to take the opportunity to let Sun Miaomiao feel some favoritism.

"I've seen the Armored Man. He (or she) is most likely a student. That night, I personally watched him clumsily search for the stone gate. It didn't seem like he had scouted the place before. If the Dean was the Armored Man, and he has been in the academy for so many years, wouldn't he have scouted the place?"

Zhang Yuanqing's voice rang in everyone's ears. "Before the action last night, I said that the Mermen, the academy teachers, and the giant tiger on the island were all guardians of the hidden mission. How could the Dean not know the location of the stone gate?"

Tianxia Guihuo took a sip of his coffee, and his gaze swept around the empty coffee shop, lingering slightly on the clerk working behind the counter before retracting it.

"There are three forces in the academy. One is the guardians of the hidden mission, one is the Armored Man, and the other is us. The Armored Man discovered that the stone gate had been opened, so he killed someone to create trouble, wanting to take the opportunity to find us.

"It's logical, but in this case, we have to face three doubts: First, why did Xia Chaoxue die? Second, why did the Dean ask that question? Third, which force does the Armored Man belong to? Fourth, how did the Armored Man know that the stone gate had been opened?

"The last question is the most important. If we don't figure it out, I won't feel at ease. I always feel like we're being monitored at any time."

One thing was certain: the Armored Man didn't know who entered the stone gate, but this contradicted his killing behavior this morning, because our guessed motive for killing was to create trouble and find the person who entered the stone gate...

Zhang Yuanqing pondered for a few seconds, and his heart stirred. He stood up and said, "I'm going to the bathroom."

He passed by the coffee tables, entered the bathroom, locked the door, closed the toilet lid, sat down, closed his eyes, and visualized his father's appearance in his mind.

Before long, his brain boiled, all kinds of meaningless noises roared in his ears, and fragmented, chaotic images flashed by one by one.

This time, the chaotic state lasted for a very long time, until blood seeped out of Zhang Yuanqing's nose, and he broke out in a cold sweat from the pain. Only then did this state stop.

The first thing that appeared in his mind was the scene of him leaving the dormitory for the first time and sneaking into Mermen Lake.

He directly went back to four days ago.

The images flashed by one by one. Soon, he saw the Armored Man who had appeared that night.

He saw himself hiding invisibly under the protruding cliff stone.

The Armored Man, as he had that night, swam and searched under White Beast Island. Because the stone gate was very eye-catching, he quickly found it.

The Armored Man stopped in front of the stone gate, staring at the round hole carved with the pattern of a dark bird.

Zhang Yuanqing still remembered this scene to this day.

Next, he would be discovered by the Mermen… he thought.

In the next second, a group of Mermen swung their fish tails and quickly swam closer.

It was at this time that he saw the Armored Man reach out and gently wipe the round hole, and take advantage of the situation to turn around and look at the Mermen.

In that instant, Zhang Yuanqing saw through the flowing frames of the picture that his palm was slightly closed, and something seemed to be sandwiched in the palm of his hand.

The next scene was the Armored Man escaping in the Mermen's pursuit.

"Hiss..."

Zhang Yuanqing pressed his forehead, enduring the splitting headache.

He sat on the toilet lid with his head lowered, blood constantly dripping from his nose.

After a long time, the headache lessened. Covered in sweat, he casually wiped the blood from his nose, and leaned weakly against the toilet.

"So that's how it is. It should be a kind of material, a material that is invisible to the naked eye. He smeared it on the 'keyhole'. The Armored Man analyzed that the stone gate had been opened through the destruction of the traces..."

"He doesn't know exactly who it is, so he killed Xia Chaoxue?"

"He sneaked into Mermen Lake that night, not just to scout the place. He's a cunning enemy... There's a problem. The Armored Man seems to know that someone can open the stone gate. That's impossible."

"We just came out, and he discovered it. That means he sneaks into the bottom of the lake every night to check for traces."

Zhang Yuanqing took out a roll of paper, wiped the blood stains on the ground, and flushed them into the sewer.

He pushed open the door of the stall, washed his face, walked out of the bathroom, and returned to the coffee table.

"Why were you gone for so long?" Sun Miaomiao saw him come back and complained, "Do you have constipation?"

PS: I'll update the typos first and then revise them later. The following content is a bit difficult to write. I have to bury and collect the lines. It's very brain-intensive, so it's slow to write.