"You opened it?" Gu Yue Bo frowned deeply.
"That's right, at this point, I shall not hide it any further!" Fang Yuan acted as if he was risking everything, speaking urgently, "I bought six pieces of purple gold rock at the gambling den, but because I did not have enough primeval essence, I only opened five on the spot. The last one, I brought back to the hostel and after opening it, I found a Liquor worm inside. I was overjoyed as I had searched up information on it before, and knew that the Liquor worm is a rare Gu worm that could supplement my lack of talent, thus I refined it on the spot."
"Wait, you said that you bought six gambling rocks and opened a mudskin toad as well as another Liquor worm?" The clan elders upon hearing this, could not help but ask in an unbelievable tone.
"So what?" Fang Yuan answered as a matter of fact, then pointed at the female Gu Master, shouting, "She can be my witness!"
Everyone on the scene were momentarily stunned before turning to look at the female Gu Master.
The female Gu Master felt the pressure from all the gaze and did not dare to lie, so she honestly said, "It is indeed true, Fang Yuan bought six rocks and opened the mudskin toad on the fifth. He brought the sixth piece away, but I do not know what he opened inside."
"Buying six purple gold rocks and getting two Gu worms consecutively, isn't this luck way too good?" The clan elders mumbled.
"What's so hard to understand? It's luck, who knows, heh, back in the days when I gambled rocks I also…"
"Wait, Gu worms are hard to refine, why did it sound like Fang Yuan easily refined it?" Some of the family elders asked suspiciously.
"You're muddled. Don't you know that when a Gu is extracted from a fossil, they're extremely weak, tittering on the brink of death? Even refining then from a lower Rank is possible. What's so peculiar about him refining the Liquor worm?" Someone immediately answered.
Fang Yuan continued, "I refined the Liquor worm and went to the stores on the second day, I indeed went to a wine shop in the afternoon and bought a cup of monkey wine. At night, I went again and witnessed a scamming scene, Jia Jin Sheng was selling a smelly fart fat worm as a Black Boar Gu to someone in my clan. Next, Sir Jia Fu appeared and resolved the dispute."
"I went to the wine shop again, but I did not expect to see Jia Jin Sheng drinking wine in a poor mood. I had just obtained the Liquor worm and was extremely happy, so I asked him how many primeval stones I could sell it for. Who knew that Jia Jin Sheng upon hearing my Liquor worm, wanted to forcefully buy it. I obviously rejected him, I had no intentions to sell it, only wanting to know its value. Even if I wanted to sell it, that would have to be after I am Rank two, thus I left on the spot."
Fang Yuan's words had brought out the matter of Jia Jin Sheng and Jia Fu's conflict, causing the clan elders to see Jia Fu in a different light.
Under these pressuring gazes, Jia Fu coughed and asked Fang Yuan with shining eyes, "Then did my brother chase after you?"
Fang Yuan nodded, half lying, "He not only chased me, but also added an extra fifty primeval stones. But I did not want to sell it, so he was furious, claiming that the Gu Yue clan was no big deal, asking me to watch out. After saying that, he walked away. I never saw him again."
Jia Fu silently acknowledged it. Based on what he knew about Jia Jin Sheng's personality, it was highly likely that he had pursued Fang Yuan and even threatened him—that was just how he operated.
If Fang Yuan had claimed otherwise, it would have been clearly false.
However, Fang Yuan's current statement placed Jia Fu in a difficult situation. His investigation had only led up to this point. Was it really true that Jia Jin Sheng didn't go after Fang Yuan again?
It was also possible that he did find Fang Yuan later, and when they couldn't come to an agreement, Fang Yuan might have killed him. — A scenario that couldn't be ruled out.
"Speak, was Jia Jin Sheng killed by you!" Thinking of this, Jia Fu interrogated fiercely, attempting to pressurize Fang Yuan with his aura.
Fang Yuan continued to deny any further encounters with Jia Jin Sheng.
With no solid evidence on hand, Jia Fu's aggressive questioning led nowhere—one side persistently pressing, the other firmly denying—resulting in a deadlock.
As Gu Yue Bo observed the exchange, his expression grew increasingly sour. The fact that Jia Jin Sheng had dared to threaten a member of the Gu Yue clan on Qing Mao Mountain was already a blatant show of disrespect.
Now, Jia Fu was publicly interrogating a Gu Yue clan youth in front of all the clan elders.
It might have been tolerable if there was concrete proof, but in the absence of any, if word of this incident spread, it would seriously damage the Gu Yue clan's reputation.
"Brother Jia, it's not that I want to speak out of turn." The clan leader interrupted his interrogation and continued, "Jia Jin Sheng has gone missing for so many days, hope is bleak. The culprit who caused this crime definitely left behind some traces. Did brother find anything yet?"
Jia Fu stared fiercely at Fang Yuan before raising his head and sighed, "I understand brother's words! If there were any traces, I would not have come here to find the culprit. That criminal is obviously experienced with vile methods and meticulous handling. To speak the truth, all the clues are at a dead end, and on the day we left, there was a huge rain that could have washed away all the possible blood traces."
Gu Yue Bo smiled faintly. "Brother Jia, I heard that your Jia family has a tracing Gu worm called the Underworld Path Butterfly. It can emit soul fragrance and be implanted on Gu worms. The scent is colourless and odourless, and never fades. Your Jia family member's Gu worms all have this scent. As long as you use the Underworld Path Butterfly, following the fragrance, you'll be able to find the Gu worms and thus your brother."
Jia Fu solemnly said, "I used the Underworld Path Butterfly long ago, but there was no effect. I'm sure you've heard that once the Gu worm dies, the fragrance dissipates. Evidently the murderer killed all of the Gu worms in my brother's possession."
Gu Yue Bo's words turned, "That's strange. The murderer harmed your brother, but he did not go for the Gu worms, or for extortion to get primeval stones. The murderer killed this tiny Rank one Gu Master, what was the motive?"
Indeed, what could have been the motive?
Whether Jia Jin Sheng was dead or alive, there had to be a reason behind his disappearance.
If it wasn't for Gu worms or primeval stones, could it have been driven by emotions?
But crimes of passion usually stem from long-term entanglements—if that were the case, Jia Fu wouldn't have come to the Gu Yue clan.
The people most likely to be involved would be those from the caravan or his close associates, not outsiders.
The hall immediately sank into a heavy silence.
Fang Yuan followed everyone's gazes, and suddenly said to Jia Fu, "Maybe Jia Jin Sheng was killed by you. I heard before that your family is splitting assets, now that one brother is dead, wouldn't you get more inheritance?"
"Shut up!"
"Baseless accusation, do not slander Sir Jia Fu."
The family elders burst into a commotion at once.
Fang Yuan remained silent, his eyes glinting faintly—but his goal had already been accomplished.
His earlier statement was like a stone cast into the elders' minds, stirring waves of thought and unease.
The clan elders followed this train of thought, and started to think, "Jia Fu cannot kill Jia Jin Sheng, this causes more harm to him than reward. Wait, even if he won't do it, that does not mean others won't…"
"The Jia family's internal dispute!" A certain elder had a flash of inspiration and lightly muttered.
His volume was not high, but in the silent hall it could be heard clearly.
At once, the elders' gaze shone.
"Finally, they have thought of this." Fang Yuan's mouth twitched, his eyelids drooping, hiding away his cold gaze.
The Jia family's leader was preparing to pass on his position, causing fierce rivalry between Jia Fu and Jia Gui.
In recent years, this internal power struggle had become somewhat known across the mountain villages.
Jia Jin Sheng's death seemed too clean for a student like Fang Yuan. The motive was weak, and there was no proof.
The elders quickly suspected Jia Gui, who would gain most if Jia Fu was blamed. The incident looked more like a political move in the Jia family's power struggle than a student's doing.
Fang Yuan's involvement seemed unlikely.
"To make someone believe in something wholeheartedly, it is not through convincing, but directing." Fang Yuan's keen observation allowed him to see these glances, and he laughed coldly in his heart, but his face still showed an expression of indignance and stubbornness.
Jia Fu's face was so dark and gloomy it could drip water.
The matter of the Jia family internal dispute caused him to think of Jia Gui.
At that moment, his soul shook!
Who else had a greater motivation than Jia Gui?
No one!
"I understand now, I understand everything." The academy elder stood behind Fang Yuan, looking at him. His eyes shone, "Fang Yuan is both lucky and unfortunate, meeting Jia Jin Sheng at the last moment. With his age of just starting to attend school, how can he get rid of all the evidence? If he had such scheming abilities, how can he show this expression of indomitability. He denied it earlier just to hide the existence of the Liquor worm."
At this point, everyone had dispelled their suspicious towards Fang Yuan!
Jia Fu looked at him too, the unfriendliness in his eyes growing obviously more intense.