The day's brutal light was finally giving way to evening. The sun gradually fell toward the horizon, casting long, blood-red shadows that stretched across the cracked stone courtyard of the abandoned temple.
Every single person inside the vast, decaying hall—the assembled martial artists from the Central Plains sects, the wounded, the leaders, and the curious—stood utterly still. Their collective focus was directed with a chilling intensity toward the formidable figure standing at the center of the gathering: the Chief Leader of the Seventy-Two Islands.
His presence was like a physical weight in the room. Even as the daylight dimmed, the man's power was palpable, his image sharp and terrifying against the fading light. Every eye, whether filled with defiance, hatred, or paralyzing fear, remained fixed upon him, waiting for the inevitable moment when the most feared despot of the islands would make his move. The air was thick with the silent, desperate tension of hundreds of lives held hostage by one man's will.
Ma Jingguo, partially blinded and consumed by rage, stared straight at the Chief Leader of the Seventy-Two Islands. "Have I offended you? Why do you frame me for the killing of Dandan and Lui jiefu?"
The Chief Leader of the Seventy-Two Islands scoffed, utterly lacking remorse. "Xin Taiyang, from the beginning to the end, you have not offended me. On the other hand, I appreciate your determination very much. I just overlapping my plan with your plan. I had always known that the Six Sects wanted to get rid of Seventy-Two Islands. At that time, you seemed to be the perfect target of the Six Sects. I simply turned their attention to you instead of the Seventy-Two Islands. If anyone is to blame for this problem, you should blame yourself for being too careless and arrogant." He looked contemptuously at Yongzheng. "Because I have never been number one, no one really pays attention to me."
Yong Taihua shouted, his voice cracking with rage. "Then why do you kill Dandan?"
Bazar Batu, his mind racing, offered a calculated explanation. "Because he doesn't want to wait for the Six Sectors to fight Ma ge. The longer he waits, the better the chances of Sunset Sect and the Six Sects will get together. Moreover, he dares not fight with Ma ge." Bazar Batu paused in thought. "Zhanjin, remember what I told you before I passed out?"
Yan Zhanjin confirmed. "You told me, you know how the murderer killed Dandan."
Bazar Batu pointed his accusation directly at the Chief Leader of the Seventy-Two Islands. "Since the murderer knows that I know how Dandan and Luijiefu were murdered, they poisoned me and sent someone to kill me for fear that I could guess who he was. I shouldn't have known that you were the culprit, but what I don't understand is how you convinced other martial artists to be your eyes and ears." He looked at the Chief Leader of the Seventy-Two Islands. "Can the Chief enlighten me?"
The Chief Leader of Seventy-Two Islands laughed, enjoying his reveal. "Bazar gongzi, do you know what Seventy-Two Islands means?"
Bazar Batu retorted dryly, "Why would I ask you if I knew?"
The Chief Leader of the Seventy-Two Islands' smile was a chilling threat. "That means I ruled the seventy-two islands in the south. We are the largest sect there is in Central Plains, so for me to have spies inside the Six Sects, Four Households, and other sectors or clans acting as my eyes and ears, it's not a big of an issue."
Yong Taihua returned to the core question. "How did he kill Dandan?"
Bazar Batu explained his theory. "He doesn't have to kill Dandan himself, but he shares the responsibility to plan her death."
Yong Taihua added critical information. "Yuan Chaomei said that besides the murderer who killed Lui jiefu, she was the last person to see him alive. I checked Lui jiefu's body and found that his clavicle bone was indeed fractured."
A martial artist in the crowd muttered, "She could have killed Lui gongzi."
Gu Yingjie defended his ex-wife. "Chaomei is a woman of medicine, not a martial artist. There is no way she can kill Lui gongzi physically."
A martial artist interjected, "After she joined the Sunset Sect, she could have learned some exercises from Xin Taiyang."
Ma Jingguo countered, his voice sharp with anger, "She is a master of medical skills, why use her strength to kill Lui jiefu? If she really wants to kill Lui jiefu, she can use poison instead!" He glared at the martial artist. "Now she is the leader of Sunset Sect. You must be tired of living to frame their new chief. Aren't you afraid that your little world will turn to ashes?" He sighed with finality. "When adults are talking, children should listen quietly."
The martial artist frowned at Ma Jingguo and immediately fell silent.
Bazar Batu stretched out his hand. "Taihua, give me ten liangs." Yong Taihua reached into his robe and handed Bazar Batu the silver. Bazar Batu clasped the coins in his hands and continued.
"If I'm not mistaken, the murderer of Lui jiefu and Dandan was not the same person. I think their original plan was to kill Caixia, Lui jiefu, Wenqian jiejie, and Dandan, but the two loser leaders of Seventy-Two Islands failed to do so. They didn't expect to see Wenqian jiejie is a skilled martial artist and met Lok gege."
He began to walk back and forth between the martial artists, continuing his hypothesis.
"Wenqian jiejie's martial arts allowed Dandan and Lui jiefu to escape. Therefore, the first killer injured Lui jiefu. At that time Dandan must have known that if she pulled the distress signal, the people of Sword Village could come to her rescue within an hour. Ma ge rushed to Mu Village to rescue Dandan, but it was too late, and the murderer had seriously injured Dandan."
Gu Xiaowen shouted, challenging the entire narrative. "That doesn't explain why Ma Jingguo is not a murderer!"
Bazar Batu insisted, "It does! It proves that Ma ge did not kill Dandan and Lui jiefu!"
Gu Xiaowen sneered. "That little story you made up is to help Ma Jingguo."
Bazar Batu's eyes flashed with madness. "I will make you eat your own words!"
Gu Xiaowen confidently agreed. "If you can persuade everyone, I will kowtow and apologize."
Bazar Batu smiled, taking the challenge. "Very good." He stretched out his right hand. "Gu gongzi, how many liang are in my right hand?"
Gu Xiaowen scoffed. "Ten liangs. Everyone has heard clearly, you want ten liangs from Yong gongzi."
Bazar Batu lowered his voice. "Do you want to reconsider changing your answer?"
Gu Xiaowen was dismissive. "No."
Bazar Batu opened his right hand. It was empty. "In my right hand, there are no liang."
Gu Xiaowen immediately yelled, "You must have hidden the money!"
Bazar Batu calmly explained his trick. "Everyone was so focused on my speech, but they didn't see that I had given the money to someone else."
Gu Xiaowen regained his smugness. "Everyone knows that the money is given to Kuo gongzi. I didn't expect that as the son of Kuo shifu, he would let this alien bully him."
Xue Horan stepped forward, his palm open. "I have the money." The silver coins were resting in his right hand.
Bazar Batu pressed his point. "Gu gongzi, I only met Xue gongzi two days ago. Do you think I'm conspiring with him too?" Gu Xiaowen didn't answer. "Like I said, everyone valued my speech too much, and didn't notice that I gave the money to others, and I added five more liangs to the ten liangs. In Xue gongzi's hand should be fifteen liangs." He looked at Cao Wenyan. "Cao gongzi, do you mind counting the liangs?"
Cao Wenyan counted the coins. After he finished, he confirmed, "Sure enough, there are fifteen liangs."
Bazar Batu drove home his analogy. "When everyone paid close attention to Ma ge and thinks that he is the murderer, no one really pays attention to the murderer. The murderer can quickly take off his clothes and join the gathering crowd later without anyone noticing it. At that time, everyone's eyes are on Ma ge." He looked at the Chief Leader of Seventy-Two Islands. "You are right, being second, everyone didn't really pay attention to your every move. You created the perfect scapegoat." He pointed his finger, the final charge ready to be leveled. "You must be one of the martial artists within the Six Sects!"
The Chief Leader of Seventy-Two Islands smiled, the admiration genuine but chilling. "Bazar gongzi, you are indeed very smart but be careful. Being smart will get you killed. Do you know that the first people to die are indeed smart people under any circumstances?" The Chief Leader of Seventy-Two Islands smirked, glancing pointedly at Yan Ru and then Li Kong Bai.
Bazar Batu ignored the threat. He looked around, scanning the people standing in the crowd. He frowned. "He is not here?"
Kuo Lok asked, confused. "Who?"
Bazar Batu took a step back, his eyes widening in final realization. "I know who you are!" He pointed his finger directly at the Chief Leader of Seventy-Two Islands.
Ma Jingguo looked at Mu Dishi and smirked, blind or not. "I also know who he is…"