Volume 3, Chapter 318 – Chi Chun Is Dead

Lu Guan let out a cold laugh. “One wonders who could be so bold. Using such filthy means to frame our Lingxiao Sword Sect’s Young Sect Master and smear the name of our sect.”

“Family Head Chi, you had best root out this sort of petty schemer and deal with them without mercy.”

“After all, this concerns the reputation of Lingxiao Sword Sect as much as the good name of the Chi family.”

“Naturally,” Chi Jingwen replied, his tone unhurried.

Song Shutao heard this and something uneasy flickered through her eyes.

She quietly lifted her gaze and stole a glance at Lu Zhuxin, seated in the distance. The moment she saw Lu Zhuxin turn to look back at her, she hastily looked away.

Her hands twisted at her own sleeves, turning over and over.

Her mind was in disarray. She had no idea what to do.

Chi Xiyan’s face remained cold.

The reputation of Lingxiao Sword Sect. The good name of the Chi family.

The one who was truly wronged last night was Muxue.

And yet, was there a single person in this room who had spared a thought for how Muxue felt?

To Lingxiao Sword Sect, a young miss from a merchant family was beneath their notice entirely.

Chi Xiyan’s hand tightened into a fist.

Qingshan had been missing for a full day now. No one knew where she had gone.

The only clue left behind was that strip of pale blue gauze carrying the trace of Lingxiao sword qi.

And right now, that strip of cloth was tucked inside Chi Xiyan’s sleeve.

Other things could be forged. But Lingxiao Sword Sect’s distinctive sword qi could not be faked.

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Was Lingxiao Sword Sect truly as blameless as Lu Guan claimed?

Chi Xiyan did not know.

Muxue had not truly been violated. At most, Song Shixuan had only made an attempt that failed. Lingxiao Sword Sect could easily pin everything on the drug, and no one could prove whether Song Shixuan had actually been affected by it or not.

Qingshan’s body had not been found. What she held in her sleeve was hardly conclusive evidence.

And besides… if she thought about it rationally, making a bitter enemy of Lingxiao Sword Sect over a single handmaid was simply not worth it.

She should not produce that strip of gauze. She could not do it.

The feeling sat in her chest like something she could not breathe around.

Just then, Chi Xiyan felt a tug at her sleeve. She turned her head and found Lu Zhuxin’s face, quietly filled with concern.

“Sister, what’s wrong?” Lu Zhuxin held her sleeve. “Your expression doesn’t look right.”

Seeing the worry in her younger sister’s eyes, Chi Xiyan felt something inside her soften a little.

The familiar, clean scent that clung to the girl seemed to smooth over the restlessness and unease in her chest, settling something that had been unsettled. Like last night.

Chi Xiyan closed her eyes for a moment. She leaned down slightly, drawing closer to Lu Zhuxin.

The familiar scent grew a little richer.

“I’m fine,” Chi Xiyan said quietly. “Just a bit tired.”

“Would you like to rest against me for a moment, Sister?” Lu Zhuxin asked.

Chi Xiyan gave a small shake of her head.

With so many eyes watching, she naturally could not do something so undignified.

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While they spoke, more people continued to trickle in.

Chi Zhong was among them.

He trailed behind the elders of his branch, taking in the assembled heads and elders of each Chi family line seated throughout the hall, and felt his heart clench with unease.

The scale of this gathering was even more imposing than the recognition ceremony from before.

The eldest young miss’s engagement banquet had been cut short without warning. As the main line of the Chi family, Chi Jingwen did owe every branch and faction an explanation.

Chi Zhong shrank carefully into the crowd, drew a slow breath, and steadied himself.

‘It’s fine. I wasn’t the one who administered the poison last night. I didn’t buy it either. The main line won’t be able to trace anything back to me.’

Lu Guan swept his gaze around the room, noting that all those gathered today were figures of standing within the Chi family.

It seemed the Chi family genuinely intended to offer a proper account of themselves.

Lu Guan found this quite satisfying.

“I think that’s about everyone, Family Head Chi,” Lu Guan said. “The key parties are mostly here. It’s time to present your findings.”

“No rush, no rush. One honored guest has yet to arrive,” Chi Jingwen replied.

Lu Guan’s brow creased. He could not tell what Chi Jingwen was playing at.

“An honored guest? Who exactly are you waiting for, Family Head Chi?”

Chi Jingwen glanced toward the entrance and said, “Elder Lu, there, you see. She has arrived.”

Wei Qingyu walked in from outside, dressed in a fitted dark outfit.

She stepped into the center of the hall, cupped her fists toward the assembled crowd, and said, “My apologies for making everyone wait. Qingyu is a little late.”

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Lu Guan’s eyes widened slightly. “You are the Demon Suppression Bureau Inspector, Wei Qingyu?”

“Since when does the court concern itself with the internal affairs of noble families?”

Wei Qingyu smiled. “Elder Lu has misunderstood. The Demon Suppression Bureau has no intention of meddling in family matters.”

“It is simply that last night’s incident at the Chi estate has some connection to Bureau business, which is why Qingyu is here today on the Bureau’s behalf.”

Lu Guan’s brow shifted.

The Demon Suppression Bureau was no ordinary institution. As a body under the direct authority of the Human Empress, it held no small measure of power throughout the empire.

He could not quite understand how a minor family like the Chi clan had managed to bring the Bureau to its door.

Wei Qingyu smiled and made her way to the seat Chi Jingwen had prepared for her in advance.

In truth, as an Inspector of the Demon Suppression Bureau, she had no obligation to wade into disputes between noble families and cultivation sects.

But the Human Empress had given her a personal instruction to keep a close watch on the Chi family.

So when something happened at the Chi estate, she had no choice but to come.

She just could not understand what the Human Empress intended by having her pay the Chi family such particular attention.

There were rumors at court that the Empress was planning a southern tour to select consorts, drawing in all eligible daughters from the noble families.

Could it be…

Something came to Wei Qingyu all at once. She looked sharply across the room at Chi Xiyan.

Chi Xiyan looked back at her in puzzlement. She was fairly certain she had just caught a flash of shock in Wei Qingyu’s eyes.

“Inspector Wei, is something the matter?”

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Wei Qingyu gave a wry smile and shook her head several times.

“Nothing. I was simply struck, thinking that the little girl I once knew has grown into someone like this.”

“The Fairy Xiyan, peerless in both alchemy and the sword. Even His Majesty in the Royal Capital has heard that name.”

Chi Xiyan’s face remained full of question marks.

“Ahem…” Chi Jingwen cleared his throat and turned to address the room.

“I expect you all know why I have gathered you here today.”

The room gave collective nods.

The engagement banquet had been cut short without warning the previous night. Of course they knew.

And as for what had occurred in the inner quarters, anyone who asked around even briefly would find out soon enough.

There had been far too many witnesses. And many of them were not Chi family members.

The Chi family could not have kept this quiet even if they had wanted to.

It was plain that Chi Jingwen had called this assembly because he had reached a conclusion.

“Then I will not waste any more words,” Chi Jingwen said. “Yesterday, during Xiyan’s engagement banquet, someone poisoned the Chi family’s second young miss.”

“The one who administered the poison was Chi Chun, of a Chi family branch line.”

“Just moments ago, Chi Chun was found dead. She took her own life rather than face judgment.”

A ripple of shock passed through the room.