The woman froze for a moment, then blurted out, "He's disappeared."
"Disappeared?" Lee Bane's brow furrowed deeper, his voice sharp with suspicion. "Why has he disappeared?"
Her gaze flickered, a mix of evasion and vindictiveness shining through her tears. "Mi-lord, you've been in secluded cultivation these past days," she said, her fingers nervously twisting the fabric of her skirt. "After… certain discussions with the Miu and Chou clans regarding arrangements, he just… vanished."
"Fool!" Lee Bane's face darkened, his voice cutting like a whip. "That disciple was a key witness, and you let those two clans kill him?!"
"But isn't it obvious?" she stammered, her confusion evident. "Yes, that damn little bastard Pay Ling is vicious and venomous, but if that housing disciple hadn't meddled with ill intentions, arranging a monster like him into Sagwon's courtyard, would this tragedy have even happened?"
Lee Bane sneered, his voice dripping with icy mockery. "Typical feminine naivety! You take the Punishment Crypt's word as gospel? Yes, their investigations are nearly flawless—the Holy Sect has stood for ages with hardly any unjust condemnations under their watch. But even their findings don't prove Pay Ling is the mastermind behind this crime!"
She gaped, stammering, "B-But—"
"That Pay Ling is just a fourth-layer Qi Refinement cultivator from some no-name family—no real roots," Lee Bane said, his tone frigid. "At his age and cultivation level, beating even one of those three kids in a one-on-one fight would be a stretch. Taking on all three—including Sagwon? Where would he get the skill for that?"
"The Punishment Crypt said he's mastered some killer blade art and a lightning-fast footwork technique," she countered weakly.
"Exactly!" Lee Bane snapped, leaning forward, his eyes piercing. "He's Pay Honine's clan brother. Pay Honine has been in the sect for years—everyone knows his capabilities. Does Pay Honine wield some fancy blade art or use a footwork technique? If he did, with his dimwitted nature and being tangled in Sun Elaine's beauty web, such secrets would have leaked long ago! Pay Honine, the clan heir of the Pay Clan, doesn't possess these killer arts—so tell me, how could Pay Ling, a mere clansman, have mastered them?"
"Maybe it's his own secret luck?" she ventured stubbornly. "It's not new disciple recruitment season, yet Inner Sect Bloodline Lord Zheng recruited him into the sect specially—he must be something special?"
Lee Bane stared at her as if she'd sprouted horns. "You think the Pay Clan of Deerspring is a bunch of fools? Blade arts and footwork techniques like that don't appear overnight. If Pay Ling had stumbled upon some great fortune growing up in that backwater, the Pay Clan would've sniffed it out. And if they had, they'd definitely have told Pay Honine, their clan heir!"
"Then what's your opinion, Mi-lord?" she asked, her voice shrinking as she mumbled the question, half-convinced but still clinging to her grief.
Lee Bane's sneer twisted colder. "The key to this crime isn't Pay Ling—it's Zheng Kinson from the inner sect!"
He jabbed a finger toward the direction of the Affairs Hall. "I sent men to investigate after hearing about Sagwon's death. That morning—the day they died—Pay Ling showed up at the Task Division, begging to join a squad. Chen Haunt's crew took him away. By now, his flesh, blood, and soul are probably fodder for Chen's Summon Soul Banner. If he's the vicious, venomous bastard you claim, would he have gone down that easily?"
"It must be Zheng Kinson's doing!" Lee Bane declared, his voice sharp and decisive.
"As for the root cause? Heh—our grandson Sagwon's death was likely collateral damage, entangled in the feud with the Miu family's kid."
"Miu Tyanh, the elder brother of that dead boy Miu Toanh, holds equal standing with Zheng Kinson as one of the Inner Sect's Thirteen Bloodline Lords. Their grudge runs deep and has festered for years."
"Strength-wise, Miu Tyanh doesn't even blink seeing Zheng Kinson's cultivation level. But Zheng Kinson has family ties to Sect Successor Lith, her highness. Miu Tyanh can't push too hard against him."
"Not long ago, the two bloodlines clashed. Zheng Kinson suffered a heavy loss—so severe that he nearly had to beg Successor Lith to step in and clean up the mess."
"After that, other bloodline lords mediated and called a truce, but Zheng Kinson has been howling for blood and revenge ever since."
Lee Bane's eyes narrowed to slits, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous tone. "Otherwise, do you really think Pay Ling—a low-born, weak cultivator—would suddenly go completely mad and murder Sagwon and the others on the very day he joined the sect?!"
"No. He entered the outer sect under Zheng Kinson's orders—to kill Miu Toanh as an act of revenge."
The woman blinked, her expression dazed and confused. She frowned, sensing something amiss. "Mi-lord, wait—you just said that if Pay Ling had mastered such killer arts, the Pay Clan would've noticed, and Pay Honine would definitely have learned them. But Pay Honine can't even swing a blade properly! Plus, Zheng Kinson only recently went to Deerspring Town. How could Pay Ling have mastered such arts so quickly?"
"How can you be so foolish?" Lee Bane sighed, cutting her off impatiently. "Pay Honine has been a loyal hound under Zheng Kinson for years. Slipping some technique to his clan brother? No one would notice. Why don't Pay Honine or the Pay Clan know these arts? Simple: Zheng Kinson only wanted a pawn for his scheme. Why would he care about the life or death of someone like Pay Ling? True supreme-grade cultivation techniques are rarer than phoenix marrow! Do you think a lowly clan like the Pay Clan would warrant such a sacrifice from Zheng Kinson?"
"I'd bet it's some brutal, quick-learn technique with a nasty shortcut—something that burns out the practitioner's body within a decade."
"The Pay Clan might toss a spare kid like Pay Ling into Zheng Kinson's grinder, but they'd never risk their prized clan heir."
"Pay Ling is perfect for this—his mother died young, and his stepmother pushed him aside. Such roots make him the ideal throwaway pawn."
Lee Bane smirked, his expression cold and calculating. "This is Zheng Kinson's signature move. Back when he first ascended to the Inner Sect, he murdered his own father for cultivation power, all to secure his status as a Bloodline Lord. If even his own father could be used as a stepping stone, what's a mere disciple from the Pay Clan to him?"
Hearing Lee Bane's words, the woman's teeth ground together, her fury rising as she shot to her feet. "Mi-lord! If we know it's Zheng Kinson behind this, we can't just let him get away with it!"
"It's too late!" Lee Bane's voice was icy, cutting through her anger like a blade. "Sect rules are ironclad—without evidence, we have nothing. Pay Ling is likely a vengeful wraith bound to Chen Haunt's banner by now—dead, with no testimony to give. No matter how suspicious Zheng Kinson may be, we can't convince the Punishment Crypt to act against him. Storming to Zheng Kinson for questioning might seem easy, but one misstep could break sect rules, and we'd be the ones paying the price!"
He exhaled sharply, glaring at her as if she were a clumsy fool who had shattered priceless jade while trying to polish clay. "That's why I asked about the housing disciple who arranged Pay Ling's placement in Sagwon's courtyard. I had hoped to catch him and uncover evidence that Zheng Kinson bribed or colluded with him. Otherwise, how do you explain the coincidence? Pay Ling, a newcomer to the outer sect, just happens to be assigned to the same residence as Miu Toanh? Among all the outer sect disciples with bad tempers, why Miu Toanh?"
Lee Bane's voice grew colder, his frustration palpable. "It's clear that Zheng Kinson bribed that disciple, deliberately creating an opportunity for Pay Ling to carry out his deadly task. But now, thanks to your impulsiveness, that disciple is dead—and you've helped Zheng Kinson clean up his mess!"
Tears streamed down the woman's face as she sobbed, "Mi-lord, that was your kin grandson! Even if you have other offspring, he was my only flesh and blood for you—are you really going to let this go?"
"Of course not," Lee Bane said, his tone softening slightly as he glanced at her. After all, she had served him faithfully for many years, and he couldn't entirely dismiss her grief. After a pause, he continued, "But Zheng Kinson is in the inner sect, and I'm merely an outer elder. My hands are tied. However, there is a way. Inform the Miu family and the Chou clan. Ask Sect Successor Chou to restrain Successor Lith, giving Miu Tyanh the opening to deal with Zheng Kinson. Without Successor Lith's protection, Zheng Kinson will be vulnerable under Miu Tyanh's wrath."
"Aye!" The woman wiped her tears roughly, her face hardening into a mask of ferocious determination. With a murderous glint in her eyes, she turned and stormed out, her voice trembling with a mix of sorrow and hatred. "I'm going to avenge Sagwon right now!!!!"