Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 269 - 230: This is The Truth 2_1

Chapter 269: Chapter 230: This is The Truth 2_1

Li Xuan stood waiting in place, but the surrounding noise continued for a good three breaths without settling down.

Even the Slayer of Demons couldn’t stand to watch anymore, he directly placed his cane on the ground, "Silence!"

In consequence, both inside and outside the main gate of the Demon Tower, silence fell once more.

"My initial thoughts were similar to that of Jianchashi Shi, believing that the insider who caused the Demon Tower explosion and allowed Shenhui and others to escape, need to simultaneously meet several conditions. First, and also the most important condition, they must have had the opportunity to enter both the fifty-seventh floor and the three underground levels of the Demon Tower within seven days. After learning that the traitor had used Xuan paper to create talismans, I shortened this time to three days.

Secondly, they have had access to the Demon Tower’s blueprints and are familiar with the underground structure of the Demon Tower. They were able to bypass the impregnable water gate, accurately puncturing the isolation layer between the water prison, the sewer, and the water channel;

Lastly, the traitor needed the opportunity to acquire Xuan paper, sulfur and charcoal. As everyone knows, the security checks for entry and exit of the Demon Tower are extremely strict. Neither gunpowder nor talismans could be brought into the Demon Tower. But since saltpeter can be found near the restroom and in the sewer, one only needs sulfur and charcoal to make gunpowder inside the Demon Tower; talismans can be made with Xuan paper and human blood."

Li Xuan looked around at the people present:"Then there’s a fourth requirement, to coordinate with Aunt Lin’s meal delivery time, and plant the explosives at two locations. In this way, only the four colonels who were on duty that day in the Six Paths Bureau meet these conditions."

"If I followed this line of thought, I would set my sights on Xiaowei Zhen as well. But an unexpected incident made me change my mind. I realized, apart from those imprisoned by Jianchashi Shi, there are others who can meet the most important condition, that is, have entered both the fifty-seventh floor and the three underground levels of the Demon Tower within three days."

Li Xuan’s gaze focused on a man in the crowd whose complexion was gradually growing pale.

"After that, I had people focus on investigating three matters: the connection between the Six Paths Bureau’s Xiaowei and the lowly civilians, and those who have any connections with the Demon Tower’s blueprint, particularly the Mo craftsmen who repaired the Demon Tower’s drainage system more than twenty years ago; thirdly, the source of the sulfur. Apart from this, I also conducted an autopsy on Aunt Lin. When all these clues came together, I had a clear idea of the identity of the traitor."

This time, he took a deep breath, clenching his fists tightly: "Xiaowei Sima, could you lend me your identity token?"

At this moment, almost everyone turned their heads in unison, shifting their gaze to Sima Tianyuan in the crowd.

The latter looked a little confused. He smiled and said, "There’s no harm in lending it to you, but how is it related to the case?"

As he curiously asked, he removed the token from his waist and threw it to Li Xuan.

"This is to unveil the truth about the explosion." Li Xuan said as he walked towards the stone lion by the main gate.

"Everyone should know that we in Zhuque Hall honor these twelve Fire-Eyed Lions, entrusting them with the guard of the Demon Tower’s entrance, because they possess an unparalleled power of smell and a nearly ’Fiery Eyes’ divine ability. To enter the tower, one must not only refrain from carrying any foreign objects, but also use an identity token that corresponds with oneself. After the incident, I learned about the token-making process. They are made integrating a person’s essence and blood into the token, blending the person’s breath with the token.

Therefore, the Fire-Eyed lions see not only the token, but also the person. I tried entering the Demon Tower with someone else’s identity token, only to be understandably rejected. Afterward, I asked Vice Master Zhang to cast an illusion on me, imitating the look of a friend, attempting to deceive the Fire-Eyed Lion, but I still failed. This shows the powerful divine ability of the Fire-Eyed lions and the strictness of their monitoring. However, as long as I carry my identity token, I can enter the Demon Tower, even if I disguise myself as the Slayer of Demons."

Next, Li Xuan pulled out an object from his sleeve. It was a coarse white identity token, "This is the identity token I found on Aunt Lin’s body. Coincidentally, the two Fire-Eyed Lions on duty today are the same ones that were on shift the night of the incident. Now, I would like to ask these two Lion Brothers to help me determine whether this token and its owner have entered the Demon Tower on the day of the incident."

With his respectful bow, the two ’stone lions’ quickly came to life, but they still sat on their bases, motionless.

Fearing they might not understand, Li Xuan continued to explain, "Dear Lion Brothers, on the night of the incident on the nineteenth of September, if this token and its owner entered the Demon Tower, please lift your front paws."

But these two Fire-Eyed Lions did not make a move.

Seeing this, Shi Xin’s pupils slightly contracted; whilst beside him, Qiu Qianqiu subtly raised his eyebrows, a grim look in his eyes.

Meanwhile, a faint discussion emerged from the crowd.

"Aunt Lin didn’t enter the Demon Tower? How is that possible?"

"It can’t be true, can it? I saw her that day."

"I even scolded her a couple of times, it couldn’t have been a ghost, could it?"

"We pushed the food cart and entered the lift together, how could this be possible?"

"Humph!" The Slayer of Demons made a cold snort, quieting the people by the Demon Tower’s gate. He then kindly looked towards Li Xuan, "Continue."

Li Xuan laughed and said, "Yes, Aunt Lin was clearly around that night. But as far as I know, due to her unusual appearance and figure, she was not only unsociable, but also ashamed to be seen by people. She is always cloaked in a black cape. Due to a scar on her face, she often veils it. Have you indeed confirmed that the person you saw was the real Aunt Lin?"

"However, it’s rather unfortunate that in Aunt Lin’s stomach, I found duck meat, fish meat, shrimp meat... about three and a half shichen’s time before her death, around the end of the Hour of You (about six o’clock in the evening). She probably accepted her fate and wanted to enjoy a good meal before her death, to prevent from becoming a famished ghost. But on the night of the incident, the meals prepared in the kitchen of the Demon Tower for the Baiyis were - vegetables, tofu, braised pork, stir-fried eggs with green peppers, plus a bowl of loofah soup; there’s no correlation with what Aunt Lin had."

"After performing autopsy on Aunt Lin, I even found the restaurant where she bought salted duck, and squirrel fish - both Jinling specialties, a day ahead, but this is not important."

Just when people were all feeling uncertain, Li Xuan held up Sima Tianyuan’s identity token and said, "Lion brothers, like before, on the night of the incident on September 19th, if this token and its owner have entered the Demon Tower, please raise your forefoot."

The two Fire-Eyed Lions raised their right forefeet almost simultaneously.

At this point, even the prestige of Fumo Zongguan couldn’t suppress the commotion from the crowd.

"Sima Tianyuan? Xiaowei Sima?"

"He was in the Demon Tower that night?"

"Does this mean that Xiaowei Sima might have committed the crime?"

"Are you joking, how could Xiaowei Sima possibly be the insider?"

"This is really unexpected–"

"Interesting, since he was in and out of the Demon Tower on the day of the incident, why wouldn’t he admit it?"

"How is this possible?" The face of the blind old man oozed again with astonishment. It was still unbelievable to him that the prime suspect had changed from Zhen Shenlian to Sima Tianyuan.

Both Qiu Qianqiu and Shi Xin looked at Sima Tianyuan in utter surprise.

Not only them, but everyone present including Jiang Hanyun, Lei Yun, Shen Zhimou and even Zhen Shenlian, were all startled.

The people around Sima Tianyuan stepped aside, making the tall and hefty Xiaowei stand alone in everyone’s sight, just like a rock exposed after the tide has receded.

Sima Tianyuan didn’t mind. He glanced at Li Xuan, then looked at the two lion statues and laughed, "Are you suggesting that I, Sima Tianyuan, disguised as Aunt Lin and entered the Demon Tower that day? That’s really surprising, how could it possibly be me? Although Aunt Lin is indeed tall, even taller than many men, my stature and hers are still different, right? That night, I did enter the Demon Tower, but it was to handle a case from the Huoque Department.

"The one Jianchashi Shi wanted to find earlier was someone who had records of being on duty at both the top and the bottom of the Demon Tower within the past seven days, should I not have concealed this?" He asked.

"Xiaowei Sima, besides the Fire-Eyed Lions, there were also others guarding the entry! I expected you to say this, so I interrogated them beforehand. The four guards on duty were adamant that you, Sima Tianyuan, had never entered the Demon Tower. Also, the register does not contain your name." He said.

The pain was evident in Li Xuan’s eyes, "As for the appearance, varying techniques to disguise and conceal oneself are abundant in this world. Although there is a difference between your physique and Aunt Lin’s, the difference is not substantial. With your talent, you can easily achieve this level of bone-shrinking."

"They might have forgotten, or perhaps had ulterior motives." Sima Tianyuan said, glancing sideways at his heavy sword placed outside the entrance of the Demon Tower, "Your conjectural words can’t convict me. You said the criminal made the gunpowder in the Demon Tower, so how could I have acquired that sulfur and charcoal?"

"Those weren’t conjectures. Those brothers on guard duty would never overlook a person like you, nor allow anyone to frame the reputable Sima Tianyuan of Zhuque Hall." Li Xuan said, shaking his head and then producing a document: "As for the sulfur you mentioned, this is the result of my subordinate Yue Qianqian’s collaboration with several secretaries. It was found that this month, our Liudao Division captured four snake demons, all of which originated from the Huoque Department. When you applied for entering the tower, apart from applying for enough sulfur, you also asked the main storehouse for abundant realgar. I’ve personally inspected it, and the amount of sulfur does not match the record in the account."

Moreover, "Among the nine people who had contact with Pine Script Ink, you, Sima Tianyuan, are one of them—"

At this point, Qiu Qianqiu suddenly interrupted, "If it’s Sima Tianyuan, how could he get the blueprints of the Demon Tower?"

"That’s precisely what I was going to mention next." Li Xuan pulled out a second file from his sleeve, "Still credit to Qianqian’s efforts, it was found that the Mo master craftsman, Gu Hong, who helped in the renovation of the Demon Tower’s sewer system 23 years ago, is your uncle. You were greatly influenced by your uncle in the past and almost joined the Mo. Even now, you’re still fond of fiddling with various mechanical devices."

"Just because my uncle was involved in the construction of the Demon Tower, does that mean I could have accessed the structural diagram of the Demon Tower?" Sima Tianyuan scoffed, "That’s a bit far-fetched. And even if your deductions were correct, why would I do it? My family may not be noble, but it’s a known demon-eliminating family in South Zhili. I would have no reason to collude with the Maitreya Teaching, nor would I need to mingle with those low-ranking servants. Tell me, what’s the reason for me to do this?"