Set Up
Jiao Dahu claimed, “I didn’t know. My suggestion is a question in itself.”
“Yes, yes, we do have their blood! Shifang Xuequan should be able to track them!” enthused Elder Tiantu, thankful for the reminder.
“He’s visiting his uncle in the city, though,” voiced Mrs. Zhu.
“Wh-what?” stuttered Elder Tiantu.
“I’m back. I’m right here,” announced Shifang Xuequan, running over.
“I thought you wouldn’t be back for another few days,” said Mrs. Zhu.
“I bumped into a fiend I don’t recognise this morning in the city, and he told me something happened h-”
“Great,” interjected Jiao Dahu. “Let’s find the kids now.”
Jiao Dahu raised several alarms for Mu Yu already, but the latter decided to stay silent until there was evidence to support his suspicions.
“Come, come, come,” urged Elder Tiantu, dragging Shifang Xuequan into his house.
With everyone watching on, Shifang Xuequan dabbed some of the blood onto his finger for a sniff. He discharged red spiritual energy from his fingertip, elevating the drop of blood into the air. Performing hand seals for his “Blood Spirit Return” technique, he mixed his spiritual energy into the blood. Informing the others that he had set the drop of blood to locate the children, he leapt out the window to chase after the flying drop of blood, others following behind him.
Upon glancing Jiao Dahu’s way and finding him smiling, Mu Yu inwardly communicated, Yeah, you two undoubtedly have a hand in this.
“Hoe come…?” Qiao Xue muttered, breaking Mu Yu’s concentration.
Seeing the drop of blood head for Qiao Xue’s house, Mu Yu thought, Dang it, it’s too late now!
The fiends following the droplet of blood came across a piece of material covering the wall and stopped.
“D-did my kids come here to play with Qiao Xue?”
Elder Tiantu picked up his pace and lifted off the piece of material. “Ah… Ah… My babies… My babies!”
Elder Tiantu wanted to hold his children. Nevertheless, his body would not budge. The sight of his children having their blood drained out of them and deposited it in a bucket beside their corpses shut his brain and body down. His wife let out harrowing screams as if she had gone mad, holding her dead children in her arms.
“You… It was you… You killed my babies!” thundered Elder Tiantu, bolting toward Mu Yu.
“It wasn’t me!”
“You want to deny it when we found their corpses in Qiao Xue’s home?! You two are the only ones living here! She would never harm our children, which means you’re the only suspect!” bellowed Mrs. Tiantu.
“I swear on my life Mu Yu isn’t the culprit,” Qiao Xue declared, just as emotional as everyone else.
“He’s not the culprit? He’s the only human who has come here recently. Are you saying one of us killed them?!” raged Jiao Dahu.
“Exactly. Why did they coincidently die as soon as he arrived? As we told you earlier, he assaulted Jiao Xinghua for no reason at the imperial city entrances a couple of days ago; Jiao Xinghua is still unconscious right now!” Jiao Dalang shouted, prompting others to start harbouring suspicion for Mu Yu.
Voice deep, Mu Yu argued, “I don’t know who left their corpses here, but anyone could’ve left their corpses here while Qiao Xue and I were out.”
“Funny. You accusing the residents here, then?” scoffed Jiao Dahu.
“We would never harm them,” explicated a resident.
“It all happened around the same time you two showed up. Are you ducking suspicion?” Mu Yu questioned.
“Don’t go maligning people without evidence. We came here for you. We are here under our lord’s orders to exorcise evil!”
I can’t believe saving the brothers caused an innocent child to die, Mu Yu bemoaned in his mind.
“Where are the other two? Hand them over, and I’ll let you die in one piece!” threatened Jiao Dahu, flashing his polished claws.
“Doctor, you have the highest authority in Sunshine Village. You must help us!” Mrs. Tiantu pled.
“I believe there are many unreasonable things about these conjectures,” opined the doctor. “I believe Mu Yu is innocent. Furthermore, there is no proof to support the claim that he is responsible.”
“Doctor, you are a fellow fiend and an elder we respect, yet you are defending a human outsider. Are you… somehow involved?” accused Jiao Dahu.
“What gives you any right to point fingers in Sunshine Valley?!” brayed the doctor.
“I am merely speaking up for my kin. If you get in our way, you’re also suspicious!”
The number of people present only ever increased. Fighting was a terrible idea because, if Mu Yu hurt anyone, it would have been even harder to clear his name.
“Mu Yu is clearly being framed!” protested Qiao Xue, standing by Mu Yu.
“Qiao Xue, step aside. We don’t wish to hurt you,” demanded a Body Synthesis Realm fiend.
Mu Yu released Elder Tiantu, whom he subdued, and took Qiao Xue’s hands, using their link to convey, “Don’t be reckless. I’ll get to the bottom of this. For now, stay here to back me up. Nothing good will come out of you also opposing them.”
“Will you be all right on your own?”
“Third Heaven Palace and Ghost Gate both failed to kill me. You think the two of them have any chance of killing me? I’m going to leave the valley so that I don’t implicate you and the doctor. Further, I’ll be able to investigate this from the shadows.” Mu Yu then told Jiao Dahu and Jiao Dalang, “I know you two are the murderers. I’ll be coming for you.”
Mu Yu teleported himself away immediately after, leading to Jiao Dahu commanding, “After him!”
“Dang it! I shouldn’t have let my guard down just because Qiao Xue told me I was safe in Sunshine Valley!” Mu Yu cursed from a tree he sat on in the woods.
“Mu Yu, you should’ve just let me roar in their faces, and we wouldn’t need to go on the run,” lamented the dragon vine.
“Scaring them doesn’t absolve me of suspicion. Plus, Long Xingyun’s old man will eventually personally come. He’s not going to show either of us any mercy. Our priority right now is to find the other two divine silkworms without revealing ourselves.”
“What if those two have already killed the kids?” Xiaoshuai asked.
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