WBICDPH Chapter 102

Chapter 102: A Hidden Arrow Is Hard to Guard Against

“Huh?”

The moment Lin Jin said that, Hua Nanzhi, standing beside him, was the first to react in confusion.

Her eyes were still red from crying, and now they widened in disbelief as she stared at him.

“Lin Jin, have you lost your mind? Are you speaking up for Yao Fang? The witness and the evidence are right here—how could this not be him? That bastard killed Xiao Lang! Snap out of it, will you?!”

Over there, Yao Fang—who had nearly been dragged away—also hesitated and glanced at him.

A faint glimmer of light appeared in his dull eyes as he looked at Lin Jin, but it was quickly replaced by confusion.

Lin Jin believed him?

Why?

Many people shared the same question.

Liu Xun crossed her arms and looked at Lin Jin seriously. “Xiao Mo, think carefully before you speak.”

“Master, I’ve thought it through.”

Lin Jin gave her a respectful bow, his tone firm.

“Everyone knows I’ve had conflicts with Yao Fang. So when I say I believe him, there’s no bias or personal motive involved. I’m not helping him—I’m doing this for Xiao Lang.”

His gaze flicked to the small boy lying alone in a pool of blood, and he looked away, unable to bear it.

“If Yao Fang takes the blame today, then the real killer will walk free. That wouldn’t be fair to anyone. What we need is the truth—not just someone to punish to settle the matter.”

Hearing this, Liu Xun pressed her lips together and said nothing more.

Jiang Lou, meanwhile, clasped Xiao Lang’s storage ring behind his back, took a deep breath, and nodded.

“You make sense. Go on—tell us your reasoning.”

“It’s simple. This case was resolved far too smoothly.”

Lin Jin pointed at Yao Fang.

“The witness, the evidence—everything seems to fall into place perfectly. But if you look closer, none of it holds up. If I were Yao Fang and wanted to kill someone for their treasures, would I really call Xiao Lang away in front of so many people? Wouldn’t that be like writing ‘I’m the killer’ across my face?

“And even if he did kill him, why not dispose of the body? Doesn’t he know that once the body is found, he’d be the prime suspect? And he even kept Xiao Lang’s storage ring—was he in such a hurry to hand over evidence against himself?

“Of course, if he really is that stupid, then I have nothing to say.”

“… ”

Jiang Lou had been blinded by anger before, but now that Lin Jin pointed it out, he also sensed something was off.

He nodded. “You’re right.”

After a pause, he turned to the young boy who had accused Yao Fang.

“Kid, did you truly see Yao Fang push my disciple off the bridge last night?”

“Yes!”

The boy met Jiang Lou’s gaze without hesitation and nodded firmly.

“I saw it!”

“You’re sure you didn’t make a mistake?”

“I’m sure.”

The boy’s expression was sincere.

“He’s my senior brother—I see him every day. How could I be mistaken?”

There wasn’t a trace of deceit in his demeanor or tone, but Lin Jin narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched him.

A suspicion formed in his mind, though he wasn’t ready to confirm it yet.

After a moment of thought, he looked up at Jiang Lou.

“Elder, may I examine Xiao Lang’s body?”

Jiang Lou hesitated briefly, then nodded.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Lin Jin stepped forward and knelt beside Xiao Lang, pretending to examine the body with spiritual energy.

Yes—pretending.

He wasn’t a forensic expert. He couldn’t actually detect anything. He only needed a pretext… to force the truth out.

From the beginning, something had felt wrong. As he observed Mu Shan and Yao Fang’s exchange, Lin Jin had been mentally reconstructing the sequence of events.

Why did Xiao Lang die?

He was so young, just an ordinary newcomer in artifact refining. Before yesterday’s competition, no one had even heard of him. This was his first time attending the Sword Trial Convention and his first time leaving Yan Yu Mountain. He didn’t know anyone, and his talent wasn’t exceptional enough to provoke lethal jealousy.

So revenge killing was unlikely.

An accident? Also unlikely. If it were, why would his storage ring end up in Yao Fang’s room?

So someone killed Xiao Lang—and deliberately framed someone else.

But why target Xiao Lang?

There was no such plotline in the original story. Lin Jin didn’t even remember a character like him. Without a “god’s-eye view,” he could only infer from what he knew.

For instance, the upper ranks of Piaomiao Pavilion had long been colluding with demons. During the Sword Trial Convention, they were secretly plotting something major.

So what if Xiao Lang, misled by Yao Fang and lost among the similar-looking buildings and bridges of Mount Penglai, had accidentally stumbled upon something he shouldn’t have seen—and was silenced for it?

This seemed like the most plausible explanation.

But one thing still puzzled him: why leave the body and frame, Yao Fang?

The killer could have easily destroyed the evidence and made Xiao Lang simply “disappear,” turning the case into an unsolvable mystery.

Why go through all this trouble?

Lin Jin couldn’t find a satisfying answer—but it wasn’t the most important point.

After his “examination,” he looked up with a solemn expression—more convincing than the boy’s earlier accusation—and declared:

“Everyone… the one who killed Xiao Lang is a demon.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Lin Jin watched Mu Shan’s reaction.

Sure enough, Mu Shan’s composure faltered for a brief moment.

He asked, “H-how do you know?”

A faint smile curled at the corner of Lin Jin’s lips.

“I possess an ability called ‘Demon Detection.’ It allows me to sense demonic energy. The demonic aura on Xiao Lang’s body is still fresh—no more than a night old. That means he must have encountered a demon shortly after parting from us.”

At this, the people from Yan Yu Mountain exchanged puzzled looks.

Since when did Lin Jin have such an ability?

But no one questioned him aloud.

They understood—if he said this, he had a reason.

“And…”

Lin Jin locked eyes with Mu Shan, his expression turning enigmatic.

“Senior Mu Shan, whether there are demons within Piaomiao Pavilion… you should know better than anyone, shouldn’t you? Who exactly is colluding with demons, and who allowed them into the mountain—surely you’re aware?”

Of course, Mu Shan knew.

He was the one raising furnace vessels. He was the one who advocated appeasing the demons after repeated attacks. He was the one who proposed offering those vessels to Mingzhu Heaven as a gesture of goodwill.

Lin Jin remembered clearly—in the original story, Piaomiao Pavilion’s collusion with demons was led by Mu Shan and his faction. They had sought cooperation out of weakness, offering resources, intelligence, even orchestrating the Sword Trial Convention as a trap—only to be betrayed and destroyed by the demons in the end.

Like bargaining with a tiger.

At this moment, whether Lin Jin truly had “Demon Detection” didn’t matter.

With a few words, he had cornered Mu Shan.

Lin Jin narrowed his eyes, waiting for his response.

Mu Shan was clearly flustered. He took a step back, stammering, “You—I… how would I know…”

“Really?”

Before he could finish, a childish voice suddenly cut in, loud and clear.

Lin Jin turned and saw the young boy tilt his head slightly, looking at him with wide, innocent eyes.

“What?”

A sense of foreboding crept into Lin Jin’s chest.

The boy smiled.

“You have an ability called ‘Demon Detection’? What a coincidence—I have one too, called ‘Scent Detection.’ I don’t know whether that dead brother had demonic energy… but I can smell it on you. And it’s very strong.”

His eyes were clear and guileless.

But Lin Jin felt a chill shoot from his feet to his head.

…Damn.

In an instant, everything clicked.

The killer hadn’t left the body and framed Yao Fang just to find a scapegoat.

It was all aimed at Xiao Lanqi—no, at him.

The trap had been laid for him from the start.

Every step he took had been anticipated, all to deliver this final, fatal blow.

This boy was no ordinary child.

From the moment he calmly accused Yao Fang, Lin Jin should have realized it—but he had been misled by the boy’s age.

Just as he had said—whether he truly had “Demon Detection” didn’t matter.

And now, whether the boy had “Scent Detection” didn’t matter either.

Because Lin Jin had fabricated the claim about demonic energy on Xiao Lang, but there really was a demon by his side.

He couldn’t prove Piaomiao Pavilion’s collusion.

But if the other side chose to investigate, they could easily find traces of a demon in his room.

At that point, he would be the one accused of colluding with demons.

And no matter how much he argued, it would all sound like lies.

He had thought he was setting a trap for Mu Shan.

Instead, he had walked straight into one himself.

Lin Jin met the boy’s gaze, his eyes shifting slightly.

…What a vicious mind. What a ruthless scheme.