Chapter 376 – Convicted

Translator: Coca5156

Editor: Drea

Some people, such as Lin Rong and Wei Lingshu, pleaded on their behalf and as a result, Gu Lingzhi and Rong Yuan did not get thrown into the dungeons eventually. However, their activities were closely monitored. Whilst they were investigating the matter, both of them were restricted in one of the guest houses in the Chancellor’s Manor with more than ten guards keeping watch. They were not allowed to leave the house.

Le Yao, on the other hand, was not so lucky. Without anyone to plead on her behalf, she was thrown into the dungeons directly. Thinking back to what Le Yao had said earlier to him, Wei Lingshu decided to remind Gu Lifu to send some men who had a stronger willpower when it came to women.

Gu Lifu’s face twitched for a bit as he watched Le Yao leave. He pitied the guards that were going to be keeping watch on her.

In the main hall, whoever that was still present kept their opinions to themselves for the time being. With the guards leading them, Gu Lingzhi and Rong Yuan followed them into the house where they would stay temporarily.

Though they were being imprisoned, it was just a formality. Given both of their cultivation levels, it was impossible to forcibly imprison them.

Qiao Yeshu walked together with them to the house, but paused at the door. He wanted to say something but stopped himself. For someone that had always talked back to them, Gu Lingzhi and Rong Yuan were surprised to see this side of him.

“Is there anything else?” Gu Lingzhi looked at Qiao Yeshu funnily, “Were you going to blame us over those dead warriors?”

“...No,” Qiao Yeshu shook his head quickly. He looked conflicted and under Gu Lingzhi’s gaze, he mumbled, “I believe that both of you aren’t the killers.”

With that, he turned around and left. Gu Lingzhi was stunned for a moment, before she burst out in laughter.

Qiao Yeshu was truly an interesting person. Though he had always gone head-to-head with them, he was actually really confident that they were not the culprits.

Suddenly, a hand covered her eyes. Rong Yuan whispered in her ear, “Do not look at other men.”

Rong Yuan sure got jealous easily...

Gu Lingzhi turned around and buried her head in his chest. “Fine, I won’t look at anyone, I’ll only look at you.”

“Mm,” Rong Yuan uncovered her eyes as he closed the door. He sat both of them down on a chair as he continued to hug Gu Lingzhi without saying a word.

Gu Lingzhi could tell that he was still feeling troubled over falling for someone’s schemes, so she did not bother trying to comfort him. Instead, she began to analyze the situation.

“It seems that Le Yao has started to work in cahoots with the killer. We need to find out when and where she met the killer so that we can foil her schemes and catch the killer as well.”

“Mm,” Rong Yuan replied blandly.

Gu Lingzhi ruffled his hair. “We have to come up with a plan of our own. Since they’ve tried so hard to keep us in here, we’ll make good use of this time.”

“Mm,” Rong Yuan hummed in response again.

Gu Lingzhi continued, “I wonder if the killer would go to the prison to release Le Yao from prison?”

Once again, Rong Yuan barely acknowledged her. Something was wrong, Gu Lingzhi thought. She suddenly realized that his chest was hot and sweaty.

“Rong Yuan!” Gu Lingzhi exclaimed as she put some distance between them. However, he snaked his arm around her waist and held her close once again. He buried his head in her chest, a wronged expression on his face. “I’m hurt, you have to comfort me.”

Gu Lingzhi rolled her eyes, “I’m hurt too, you have to cheer me up.”

Rong Yuan jolted, suddenly awake, “Alright, I’ll cheer you up.”

He then stood up and carried Gu Lingzhi to the bedroom. They spent the next hour or so “cheering” each other up.

When they were done, Rong Yuan looked at Gu Lingzhi, his face full of satisfaction. He no longer looked as depressed as he did just now. Ultimately, he was making use of the situation to be able to sleep with her.

“After working on the case for so long, we can finally take a break,” Rong Yuan sounded happy, as if he had gotten what he wanted.

Gu Lingzhi’s face darkened, “You did it on purpose?”

He looked guilty, “I didn’t fall for her schemes on purpose, but what happened afterwards was all part of my plan.”

The moment Rong Yuan knew that he had fallen into Le Yao’s trap, he had already planned to get back at her. Otherwise, he would not have been locked up so easily. Since the killer had schemed against him, it would not stop like this. Using this situation to their advantage, Rong Yuan was planning for the killer to make his next move.

Looking at this matter from another point of view, Le Yao’s interference in the investigation had helped them greatly. Before, they met with a dead end. Now, they had a trail that they could follow. However, he still did not feel good being tricked by them.

However, he still closed his eyes comfortably. He was happy that he could finally take a breather. Gu Lingzhi sat up, wanting to probe more, but she was pulled down to the bed by Rong Yuan again.

In a blink of an eye, both of them had been under house arrest for ten days. In these ten days, the killer did not appear, as if it had disappeared. This confirmed many people’s suspicions that both of them were the killers the whole time they stayed in the Spirit City.

At the same time, there were many rumors that spread about how new “evidence” had surfaced that proved they were the killers. For example, how the murders had only occurred when they arrived at the Spirit City; how they were acting sneakily that night they got caught; how many weird-looking stones had appeared all over the place – Gu Lingzhi’s Recording Crystals.

Not knowing how these Recording Crystals worked, the rumors said that they were tools that Rong Yuan and Gu Lingzhi used to kill people. The Recording Crystals acted as their “eyes”, helping them to keep track of which places were not being guarded so that they could infiltrate them. Due to these Recording Crystals, they could kill so many people without getting caught.

Lin Rong came over to their house and told them both about the rumors that were spreading in the city.

“...What you’re saying is that the entire city thinks that Rong Yuan and I are the killers?”

“Not everyone,” Lin Rong did not dare to look directly at Gu Lingzhi, “At the very least, Master Wei and I believe that both of you are innocent.”

“What’s the point in that?” Gu Lingzhi could feel her head starting to hurt. “The killer is really cunning, he managed to pin all of the blame on us.”

In just ten days, the killer had managed to set them up and spread the rumors about them, putting them in a poor position to clear their names. If it was not for Wei Lingshu and some other people who still believed that they were innocent, Lin Chongyuan would have just given the both of them up to the public so that they could decide what to do with both of them.

“It’s alright, if they want to remove the Recording Crystals, let them. It just so happens that we’ve found a new lead from one of the Recording Crystals. Bring the footage here, so we can confirm it with everyone.”

Lin Rong was overjoyed, “Sister Gu, you’ve found a new lead?”

“I think so,” Gu Lingzhi replied, “It’s just a suspicion for now, we have to verify something before we’re sure.”

“That’s great! Who is the killer? Quick, let me know, so I can tell Father to arrest him!”

“I’m afraid we can’t tell you who it is now,” Rong Yuan interjected, “You just need to bring all the Recording Crystals to us secretly, and you’ll find out when the time comes.”

“Tsk, how dare you keep me in suspense?” Lin Rong stuck out her tongue at him. However, she did not dare to probe any further in front of Gu Lingzhi. Even though Rong Yuan was always warm and gentle with Gu Lingzhi around, those who knew him long enough knew that he had a short temper.

Lin Rong then discussed some happenings in the Spirit City with Gu Lingzhi before leaving. In the evening, she returned with a Storage Ring full of Recording Crystals.

Gu Lingzhi thanked her before sending her off. She did not miss the presence of someone hiding in the corner.

It was Lin Chongyuan. Every time Lin Rong came to find them, she thought she was alone. She did not know that her father was always guarding her from afar. He emanated a strong aura whenever she was around the both of them as a warning to them to not do anything to hurt her. In these few days, Lin Chongyuan was well aware of Wei Lingshu and Lin Rong passing them the Recording Crystals. Gu Lingzhi was extremely grateful towards Lin Chongyuan for this, as she knew that there was no way they could have gotten their hands on the Recording Crystals without his permission.

Another ten days had passed, and there were no corpses that appeared. Almost everyone was sure that Rong Yuan and Gu Lingzhi were the murderers. Finally, that morning, a large group of family members of the deceased had gathered at the entrance of the Chancellor’s Manor, demanding for justice to be served.

They demanded for Rong Yuan and Gu Lingzhi to be executed and their shouts could be heard all the way from the guest house that the both of them were staying at. Gu Lingzhi and Rong Yuan exchanged glances silently, before opening the door. He asked Qiao Yeshu, who was guarding the door, to enter the house. A few moments later, Qiao Yeshu left the house with a puzzled expression on his face.

An hour later, Lin Chongyuan confirmed that both of them were indeed the killers responsible for the murders that had happened in the Spirit City and that they would be executed at the Hall of Order and Discipline.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

When the news had spread, cheers could be heard. Majority of people could not wait for the next day to come.

The Hall of Order and Discipline was right next to the Chancellor’s Manor. Whenever they were carrying out executions for serious crimes, the doors would be wide open so that the public could witness the execution as well.

Whilst some were happy, others were upset. Everyone in the Spirit City could not wait for the next day to come; on the other hand, Lu Heng and Jiang Xinghai felt extremely bitter.

They had decided that they would rescue Gu Lingzhi and Rong Yuan before the execution was carried out!