Her spirit boiled up again.
She decided to overthrow her previous conjectures and start over.
"If Fang Yuan didn't obtain the Liquor worm from an inheritance and got it from other people, then this Chi faction would be the biggest suspect. However, why would Chi faction take notice of a C-grade aptitude ordinary student and secretly give him the Liquor worm?"
"What does Fang Yuan have that Chi faction felt it worthy to invest in him? Because he is Fang Zheng's brother? No, that is almost negligible. Wait a second, it might not be Chi faction taking the initiative to invest in him. There is another possibility, and that is because Fang Yuan blackmailed them!"
"If it is truly so, what did Fang Yuan have on them to make them hold their nose and obediently compromise with a student that had yet to be a Gu Master?"
Tie Ruo Nan racked her brains and an answer seemed to gradually emerge in her mind.
But this answer was blurry like the light behind a paper window. Tie Ruo Nan could feel its existence but she couldn't grasp and understand it.
"Father." The young girl suddenly raised her head and looked at Tie Xue Leng, "I would like to borrow the Cactus Pointer."
Tie Xue Leng replied in a relaxed voice, "The suggestion given by Cactus pointer is based upon the information the user has. It only speculates on behalf of you and might not be accurate. Are you sure you want to use it?"
The young girl nodded.
Cactus pointer was a seed.
Tie Ruo Nan buried it in the ground then used her palm to press on the soil, transferring her white silver primeval essence to it.
After a few breaths, she withdrew her hand. The soil loosened, and a young sprout emerged.
The sprout was translucent green and fragile, quickly growing. Its color shifted from yellow to verdant, then to dark green.
It resembled a cactus, with thick flesh, sharp black thorns, and lush greenery.
A flower bud soon appeared on top, growing into a delicate white bloom. The cactus, however, began shrinking, as if losing moisture.
Tie Ruo Nan plucked the flower gently. As soon as she did, the cactus turned grey and died within seconds.
The cactus pointer was a Rank three consumable Gu.
Tie Ruo Nan carefully opened the flower bud, revealing not petals, but a ball of paper.
Unfolding it, she found a neat, square white paper with the word 'Aptitude' written on it.
To others, this word might seem meaningless or strange, but to Tie Ruo Nan, it was a crucial clue.
The cactus pointer worked like this: it guided Gu Masters who were stuck, offering them insight to move forward.
"Right, it is aptitude!" Tie Ruo Nan shouted.
She immediately took out the letter which recorded all the intels collected by Jia Fu.
There was something written in this intel which described the details on when and at what price Gu Yue Chi Lian had bought the Cleansing Water Gu.
"It's this! I only briefed through this earlier and neglected it, not considering the underlying meaning. But the cactus pointer speculated on my behalf and gave me the answer. This Cleansing Water Gu only has one use and that is to cleanse the foreign primeval essence auras from the aperture."
"Why did Gu Yue Chi Lian need it? Hehe, this situation is too common and happens a lot in many clans. He should have bought this for Chi faction's inheritor. Chi faction's inheritor should have a bad aptitude, so Gu Yue Chi Lian poured his primeval essence to raise the former's cultivation. The Cleansing Water Gu is necessary to remove any after-effects from this action. By some chance, Fang Yuan found this secret and used it to blackmail Chi faction, thus forcing them to compromise and give him the Liquor worm."
Tie Ruo Nan kept on mumbling out her conjecture.
"Lady Tie, you are amazing. You could deduce so many things with just this word! But Gu Yue Chi Cheng clearly has B-grade aptitude," Fang Zheng said.
"B-grade aptitude? Hehe, does that mean it can't be fake? It is very simple to prove this. We only need to examine Chi Cheng's aperture and the truth will be out." Tie Ruo Nan's gaze was burning as her mouth slightly curved upwards.
"That's inappropriate." Tie Xue Leng, however, shook his head disapprovingly.
If this truth was found out, it would be a great blow to Chi faction, leading to turmoil among the Gu Yue village's higher-ups and causing political conflicts. However, what they did not know was, Fang Yuan had already cause a political conflicts by telling Mo Chen about the truth.
Tie Xue Leng said, "We came here to solve a case and not to wreck havoc. In the end, we are outsiders and unless it is absolutely necessary, we can't meddle in other clan's politics."
Tie Ruo Nan nodded, "Father is right. Besides this, there are also other ways to prove it. I remember that clans use a Photo-audio Gu to record every important sacrificial ritual. This is a traditional practice and I believe Gu Yue clan isn't an exception. I want to refer to the Awakening Ceremony's image!"
"Divine investigator Tie, you have constantly been on the move for so many days and have gone through a lot of trouble to solve the case, please come have tea. As for the image you want to look into, it is stored in the secret room inside the underground cave which is among the clan's restricted areas. It would be inconvenient to let you two enter, but I have already sent someone to get it. It will be here in a short while," Gu Yue Bo spoke with a smile.
"Hah, what a coincidence. Mo Chen just told me to rewatch the Awakening Ceremony because Chi Chen might have faked his grade." Internally, Gu Yue Bo was slightly surprised but didn't voice it, considering it an internal matter. After all, the Divine Investigator was just an outsider.
"I have troubled the clan leader," Tie Xue Leng politely said.
Tie Ruo Nan and Gu Yue Fang Zheng were standing on the side.
"Divine investigator Tie, if I may be so bold to ask a favor…." Gu Yue Bo suddenly said.
Tie Xue Leng. "Oh? Please speak, clan leader."
"This is our Qing Mao Mountain's internal affair. My clan, Bai clan and Xiong clan have always been in a deadlock but that changed due to the wolf tide. Xiong village evaded the wolf tide with malicious intentions and tried to take advantage of the wolf tide to weaken the other two clans. The negotiation earlier for compensation with them ended up in nothing. Hence, our three clans decided to hold a three-clans tournament. Only Gu Masters at age thirty or below can participate in it, and it will decide the future strength of each clan."
Upon saying this, Gu Yue Bo sighed, "Actually I have already felt that something was strange with Fang Yuan long ago, but couldn't look into it properly because of the wolf tide. If he really is the killer, my clan absolutely won't shield him. But I hope Divine Investigator Tie can delay this for a few days, since the three-clans competition is hosted on the day after tomorrow."
Fang Yuan killed Old Wang's family, but they were just mortals, so it wasn't worth investigating. Even if he did kill them, it wasn't a big deal.
However, if he killed Jia Jin Sheng, that would change everything.
If Gu Yue clan protected Fang Yuan, they'd risk becoming enemies with the Jia family, losing trade opportunities, and facing retaliation.
Organizations prioritize benefits. If one or two members threaten those benefits, they're sacrificed for the greater good.
Originally, human clans united for survival, sharing strength to gather food and hunt more efficiently.
The essence of any organization is maximizing benefits.
If a member obstructs that, they're discarded without hesitation.
Though Gu Yue clan has few elders left, if they had to abandon Fang Yuan, the clan leader would do so without second thought.
But the three-clans competition in two days could determine their future, and as a Rank three Gu Master, Fang Yuan was crucial for the Gu Yue clan's strength.
Like Bai clan's leader, Gu Yue Bo sought to extract the most value from Fang Yuan.
A Gu Master had already delivered the Photo-audio Gu, but this Gu was currently in Gu Yue Bo's hand."Divine Investigator Tie, what did you think about my request?" Gu Yue Bo asked smilingly.
Tie Ruo Nan lightly snorted.
Tie Xue Leng ruminated for a while before agreeing, "Alright, if Fang Yuan really turns out to be the killer, I will leave enough time for him to participate in the three-clans competition."
"Father…." Tie Ruo Nan's eyes flashed with a strange light; this was not her father's style.
"Hehe, Divine Investigator's words are worth a lot and he never breaks his promises. This humble one fully trusts you and also thanks you for understanding." Gu Yue Bo's smile became more gentle, however he coldly hummed inside.