Once, in Fang Zheng's heart, Fang Yuan had been like a towering peak — too high to ever climb.
Once, Fang Zheng had believed that the shadow of that peak would loom over him for the rest of his life.
But life had brought an unexpected turn.
Fang Yuan's decline had allowed Fang Zheng to see his weakness. The towering peak in Fang Zheng's heart had crumbled.
But now—
It turned out it had all been his brother's performance? An act?
The peak that had already collapsed in his heart now seemed cloaked in a layer of mysterious fog.
"Brother… just what kind of person are you?"
Fang Zheng realized, only then, that he had never truly seen through his own blood brother.
Fang Yuan's cunning ran deep — far too deep. Suchacting, and the cruelty of killing, all felt incomparably alien to him.
And within that alienation lurked a feeling that even Fang Zheng did not want to admit — dread.
This wretched feeling had returned to his heart once more.
He tried desperately to shake off that dread, and in doing so, he unconsciously quickened his step to follow Tie Ruo Nan.
"Miss Tie, thank you for helping me see the truth — for showing me another side of my brother. Helping you is helping myself. Just say the word, and I'll tell you everything I know." Fang Zheng spoke with earnest sincerity.
Tie Ruo Nan nodded, then shook her head. "I've already learned most of what I needed to. The question now is — where did Fang Yuan get his Wine Worm?"
"You're right. That's the suspicious part. At that time, my brother hadn't even inherited our parents' estate yet. His aptitude was only Grade C, and he had just begun cultivating. Where could he have obtained a Wine Worm?" Fang Zheng furrowed his brow as well.
"There are really only two possibilities in a case like this. Either someone backed him financially, or there was a hidden inheritance. Who would invest in someone with only Grade C aptitude? And if it's a hidden inheritance — what kind?" At this thought, Tie Ruo Nan came to an abrupt stop.
Hidden inheritance… hidden inheritance…
The words kept surfacing in her mind over and over again.
She fell deep into thought.
"If there really is a hidden inheritance, then everything falls into place. First, the origin of the Wine Worm can be explained. Second — the motive for Jia Jinsheng's murder suddenly makes sense!" Tie Ruo Nan's heart raced.
The main question that had been puzzling her all along was the motive for the murder.
There always had to be a motive for killing.
Fang Yuan had revealed the Wine Worm, and Jia Jinsheng wanted to buy it. But the value of the Wine Worm alone was still somewhat thin — not quite enough to constitute a murder motive.
But what if the petty, never-letting-a-thing-go Jia Jinsheng had insisted on acquiring Fang Yuan's Wine Worm, then followed him — and discovered a hidden inheritance site?
What would Fang Yuan have done then?
"Heh heh heh." Tie Ruo Nan laughed out loud.
Fang Zheng cast a curious glance her way.
Tie Ruo Nan turned back. "I need to consult the Guye Clan's historical records!"
Fang Zheng shook his head and spread his hands. "The historical records are kept in the clan's forbidden grounds. How could an outsider just waltz in and read them?"
"Can you get in?"
Fang Zheng shook his head. "You have to be an Elder to enter."
"I see… Then what should we do?" Tie Ruo Nan frowned.
"Miss Tie, perhaps this old woman can help you." From the shadows, a one-armed old woman emerged.
It was none other than Gu Yue Yao Ji.
She was still the head of the Medicine Faction, but ever since she had stepped down from her position as Medicine Hall Elder — replaced by Gu Yue Chi Zhong — and had severed one of her own arms, her power had long since shriveled beyond recognition.
Yet her hunger for power had sunk deep into her very bones. She understood clearly that her cooperation with Gu Yue Chi Zhong was only a stopgap measure. Only by crushing and devouring the Mo Faction first could she accumulate enough capital to reclaim the Medicine Hall Elder position.
To devour the Mo Faction, she only needed to snuff out their hope.
And that hope was none other than Gu Yue Fang Yuan.
"Divine Constable Tie, to be honest, this old woman has been watching you for quite some time. Please, follow me. I'll take you into the clan's forbidden grounds. Heh heh — under normal circumstances, the guards there are quite formidable. But as it happens, I'm the one in charge of guarding them right now." Gu Yue Yao Ji let out a few sinister chuckles.
Of course she hoped to borrow someone else's blade to kill — but if Fang Yuan turned out to be innocent, she would not hesitate to resort to planting false evidence either.
In a secret chamber deep within an underground cavern, Tie Ruo Nan laid eyes on the hidden records chronicling the history of the Guye Clan.
From the first generation, when the Guye Stockade was just being established, through its era of glory and prosperity, to its current somewhat diminished state — the records documented centuries of events, large and small, in extraordinary detail.
"This founding patriarch — his origins are mysterious. He established the Guye Stockade single-handedly. He was very likely a Demonic cultivator!" Tie Ruo Nan flipped through the first few pages and made a startling declaration.
"There's nothing unusual about that. Many Demonic Gu Masters, once they grow tired of wandering the world, settle down and establish families. After a few centuries, their lineage is laundered from black to white, and their descendants become Righteous Path cultivators. This sort of thing is actually quite common — nothing strange about it," Tie Xue Leng spoke from the side.
"Then his past sins are simply wiped clean like that?" Tie Ruo Nan's expression was indignant. "These Demonic Gu Masters commit all manner of atrocities, and when they've had enough, they settle down and enjoy a peaceful old age? Isn't that letting them off far too easily?"
Tie Xue Leng let out a long, quiet sigh. "Ruo Nan. When I was young, I was just like you — I believed that black was black and white was white in this world. But once you've seen enough, you'll discover that this world is actually grey. Sometimes black can turn to white, and white can turn to black. Not every black is more sinister than white, and some white may carry even deeper sins."