"The Half-Sage Manor's Master, Cheng Yuankai, wore a look of dissatisfaction as he said, 'If you are willing to enlighten me, sir, I will listen with utmost attention.'"

"Old Liu pointed to the corpses on the ground and said, 'Within five days, eleven disciples of the Half-Sage Manor have been murdered.'"

"'Among these disciples are members of your four families, as well as students who came from afar to study. From their relationships, they seem to have no connection, as if the killings were random.'"

"'In reality, they share a common characteristic: they are all opponents of the Hè Míng Poetry Society.'"

Yan Xing and Cheng Yuankai exchanged bewildered glances. "This..."

The Half-Sage Manor was more like a large academy than a martial arts sect, encompassing various groups: poetry societies, chess clubs, painting societies, and even small schools of thought.

The Half-Sage Manor not only did not prohibit academic disputes but even encouraged healthy competition.

However, the Half-Sage Manor would never allow academic disputes to develop into personal grudges, let alone escalate into armed conflicts.

In the eyes of Confucian scholars, academic arguments could become heated, but outside of academics, it should not affect mutual admiration of each other's talent, knowledge, and even close personal friendships.

This was the ideal state envisioned by the Half-Sage Manor.

Yan Xing seemed to sense something, and his face turned ashen.

Cheng Yuankai frowned and remained silent, his expression suggesting he didn't understand what Old Liu was implying.

Old Liu walked over and used his fan to lift the white cloth covering a corpse. "When this disciple's body was discovered, it was leaning against the wall. Only when someone pushed him did they realize he had been pierced through the temple by an iron nail."

"Look closely at his fatal wound, and then at his left cheek."

While the two men carefully examined the wound, Old Liu continued, "I went to the scene and saw only one footprint, indicating a sideways jump."

"More importantly, his corpse's right cheek was against the wall, not his head tilted to the left."

"In other words, this disciple was walking when he was suddenly startled. He instinctively jumped to the right, trying to avoid something on his left, and ended up hitting a nail that was already hammered into the wall, dying instantly. The corpse was held up by the nail and didn't fall."

After carefully examining the corpse, Yan Xing's face turned increasingly grim. "The disciples below reported that he was killed by a long nail thrust through a wall, and no footprints were found behind the wall. Was that all wrong?"

If this person had been killed by a long nail piercing through the wall, even if the attacker was fast, the corpse's head would have tilted to the left.

But this person's corpse was against the wall, clearly indicating that the coroner made a mistake.

Old Liu lifted the white cloth from the second corpse. "Look at this one."

"This person was killed by chopsticks piercing his throat, and no one was around at the time. Am I right?"

Yan Xing nodded. "That's correct!"

Old Liu tapped the corpse's chest with his fan, and a piece of chicken bone covered in blood shot out of the corpse's mouth.

Old Liu said, "This person actually choked to death on a chicken bone lodged in his throat. You can cut open his neck and take a good look if you don't believe me. You are all well-read, you know simple autopsy methods, right?"

Cheng Yuankai wanted to act, but Yan Xing shook his head. "No need! Your judgment is correct."

Old Liu said sternly, "Did you ask who discovered the body first? When the person who found the body went to get help, was anyone left to guard the body?"

"This..." Yan Xing's face turned red and white, indicating that he knew nothing about what happened at the time.

Old Liu walked to a corpse. "I can tell you that the student who stayed with him was this one."

Old Liu lifted the white cloth and used his fan to lift the corpse's wrist. "Look at his hand. He has bamboo splinters stuck in his hand. What does that mean?"

"It means that when he stuck the chopsticks into the corpse's throat, he accidentally injured his hand."

"He himself was quickly silenced."

Old Liu continued to lift the white cloths from the corpses, explaining the cause of death of each person.

Yan Xing and Cheng Yuankai's faces grew increasingly grim until Old Liu stood up. Yan Xing then asked, "Sir, are you saying that none of the deceased died from ghostly apparitions, but were all murdered?"

"Correct!" Old Liu snapped his fan shut. "Moreover, I can also tell you that the clues left on these corpses all point to the Hè Míng Poetry Society."

Cheng Yuankai said angrily, "Outrageous! I will go find the members of the Hè Míng Poetry Society now. Academic disputes must not occur in the Half-Sage Manor."

Cheng Yuankai was clearly heading in the wrong direction.

Before the other party could turn around, Old Liu shouted, "Stop! Did I say that the murderer was a member of the Hè Míng Poetry Society?"

Cheng Yuankai was stunned. "Didn't you just say... didn't you say the clues pointed to the Hè Míng Poetry Society?"

Old Liu shook his head. "If there is a flaw on one corpse, you can treat it as a clue."

"But if every corpse has flaws, then it's not a clue, but a setup."