Then he remembered something.
Did she say she found him close to the sect?
He nodded slowly as understanding dawned on him.
Could they really be so cruel?
If he wasn't mistaken, the body had probably received these injuries through external means. Someone might have intentionally injected qi into him. And since his body was so weak, it ended up like this.
He remembered that brat Zhou Wei had gone out with his goons yesterday. They had probably taken a servant to use as bait. They had this habit.
If he wasn't wrong, they had used this guy.
But why torture him like this afterward?
He scratched his head again.
Argh. How could I possibly understand the minds of those mentally ill kids?
…
Near the edge of the sect's territory, Su Mei stood over a corpse.
A headless monster lay sprawled across the forest floor, its massive body already beginning to attract flies.
Her eyes traced the scene carefully.
Then she noticed something.
A sword.
It was lodged deep into a tree trunk several meters behind the monster's body. The blade had sunk so far into the wood that only the handle remained visible.
Su Mei approached it, her mind working through the details.
The angle of entry. The depth of penetration. The position relative to the monster.
Her eyes widened slightly.
Someone threw this sword with such force that it blasted straight through the monster's head.
She turned back to look at the corpse.
Assuming the monster was chasing that servant... then who saved him?
She had sensed that the servant didn't have any qi. And given his condition, he certainly wasn't capable of doing something like this.
Su Mei reached out and gripped the sword's handle. With a firm pull, she wrenched it free from the tree.
She examined the blade, turning it over in her hands.
What's going on here?
Who threw this sword?
And why didn't they save the servant after killing the monster?
None of it made sense.
Su Mei sighed heavily.
"It seems I won't be doing this mission today."
She sheathed the sword at her waist, then walked over to the monster's corpse. With one hand, she grabbed it by the leg and began dragging it behind her.
Then she headed back toward the sect.
…
The next day.
The great hall of the Stormblade Sect was silent.
Towering pillars lined both sides of the chamber, carved with ancient symbols that seemed to pulse faintly in the dim light. Incense burned at the corners, filling the air with a heavy, ceremonial fragrance.
At the front of the hall sat a massive throne of dark stone.
Sect Master Feng Tianlong occupied it, his posture relaxed but his eyes sharp. He appeared middle-aged, with streaks of gray running through his otherwise black hair. His robes were immaculate, and an aura of authority radiated from him.
To his right sat the Grand Elder - an elderly man with a long white beard and half-closed eyes. He seemed almost asleep, but anyone who knew him understood that appearance was deceiving.
On either side of the hall, five elders sat in rows, their expressions ranging from curious to hostile.
At the center of the hall, Su Mei knelt with her head bowed.
Then a voice cut through the silence.
"Are you still sticking to that story?"
Elder Zhou Haoran leaned forward from his seat on the left side. His face was twisted with barely contained rage, his knuckles white as he gripped the armrest of his chair.
"We've already sent people to investigate. The young master's body has been recovered - with a sword wound." His eyes bore into Su Mei. "The same sword you returned with."
"Are you trying to say that the young master killed himself with his own sword, then chased down a monster stronger than him and killed it?" His lip curled. "Could you at least try to make up a plausible story?"
Su Mei remained calm.
"It is just as I said. I have nothing to hide."
She raised her head, meeting the elder's glare without flinching.
"I found a servant passed out at the edge of the sect. A few feet away lay the monster - headless. I noticed a sword lodged deep into a tree behind the monster's corpse. Based on the angle of entry and the depth of penetration, I concluded that someone had thrown the sword with enough force to blast straight through the monster's skull."
Her voice was steady.
"As for Zhou Wei, I hadn't seen him in a day. I had no knowledge of his whereabouts when I made my report." She paused. "If what you say is true, then I am sorry for your loss."
"You…!"
Elder Zhou Haoran shot to his feet, fury radiating from him.
Then he froze.
Something glinted before his eyes.
He looked around and found himself surrounded by thousands of threads - thin as spider silk, but unmistakably made of qi.
His gaze snapped to the elder seated opposite him.
A woman sat there with a serene smile on her face. She appeared to be in her thirties, with sharp features and eyes that sparkled with amusement.
Elder Liu Qingmei tilted her head.
"Why don't you let my disciple talk?"
"Hmph."
Elder Zhou Haoran's hand swept through the air, shattering the threads. He settled back into his seat, his expression murderous.
Liu Qingmei's smile didn't waver.
"Continue," she said to Su Mei.
Su Mei nodded.
"If what Elder Zhou says is true - that Zhou Wei was killed by a sword - then it is safe to assume the killer took his sword afterward. They later encountered the monster and used the sword to kill it. Considering this happened near the edge of the sect, they must have realized they couldn't carry the sword with them and left it there."
She looked directly at Elder Zhou Haoran.
"Instead of arguing with me, perhaps we should focus on finding the actual killer. They might still be out there."