Do you really think you can get me with just a banana?

Li Xiuqi calmly replied, "This man is a wealthy businessman who passed by the official road before. He's very rich. You don't know that the wheels of his car are inlaid with gold, and..."

"Ahem!" Qing Yuanzi coughed in his seat and said, "Old Li, get to the point."

Li Xiuqi replied, "That's all. He was rich, so I drew him a picture as a way to make friends. I think it was two years ago. But he never came by again, and we lost contact. As for that magic weapon, how would I know? It must be a rich man's collection."

Everyone looked at the magic weapon in the hand of the person in the painting. It was exactly the same as the thing held in Si Xuanqing's hand on the day he was murdered. It was obviously related to Si Xuanqing's murder.

However, looking at Li Xiuqi, the explanation that Li Xiuqi was the murderer seemed a little untenable. After all, Li Xiuqi was famous for his enthusiasm. He was used to drawing portraits of every visitor and hanging them in the hall. Ordinary people would not hang the tools of crime in their homes so openly.

But if the magic weapon really belongs to the person in the painting, it seems to point to a clear direction for the investigation of Si Xuanqing's case.

Seeing them lost in thought, Li Xiuqi asked curiously, "Everyone? Are you suspecting that I harmed Old Man Si?"

The elders looked up, puzzled. Qiushui Sword Princess was the first to speak, saying, "Old Li, we never said anything happened to Xuanqing."

Li Xiuqi smacked his lips, shook his head, and laughed, "Isn't it obvious? We've all been busy with the demon clan's affairs these past few days, but Old Man Si hasn't shown up. Given his personality, he should have been at the forefront long ago. Now with this abnormal situation, something must have happened. If I can't see this, how can I care about the Yuchen Palace?"

The elders suddenly understood. Qing Yuanzi silently gave a thumbs up and said, "Old Li is still very smart." Li Xiuqi snorted in disdain.

Only then did Yuan Chongxiao slowly speak, "Xiuqi, do you remember anything special about that man besides his magical weapon? Where did he go after you separated? Did he leave any messages?"

Li Xiuqi looked at the portrait and recalled, "That person looked just like the one in the painting, a typical outsider, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, a high nose bridge, a bushy beard, and a frontier accent. They came here via the official road, selling silk, tea, and other things. They simply asked about the cultivation situation at Yuchen Palace and left saying they would return home after selling their goods. I didn't bother to ask where they lived, I just knew they were from the north."

The elders exchanged glances, forming a plan in their minds as they decided to investigate this person. Yan Ruchen pondered silently, and Li Xiuqi added, "Oh, and that person you're holding captive? It doesn't seem right to keep him in my palace. My daughter and son are very curious and love to wander around the palace. If they see him and tell others, it wouldn't be good. Why don't you take him away?"

Upon hearing this, Qiushui Jianji's expression changed slightly. She quickly looked at Yan Ruchen and said, "Ruchen, there are some things we need to discuss. Please go out for a while and visit Miss Li."

Before Yan Ruchen could fully react, he was politely escorted out of the main hall. Standing outside the door, he pondered the elders' words. He inadvertently caught sight of Li Suyin standing nearby and greeted her unceremoniously, "Miss Li."

Li Suyin was already trembling with fear at the side, and when she saw Yan Ruchen actually come to talk to her, she immediately stood up and responded, "Yes... yes, what's wrong?"

Yan Ruchen's expression was gentle as he asked, "Excuse me, could you tell me who is imprisoned in the cell that Shan Yu visited at Yuchen Palace?"

Li Suyin was stunned. Looking at Yan Ruchen's face full of gentle smiles, she cursed Guan Shanyu in her heart. She wanted to play deaf and dumb and pretend that she knew nothing, but Yan Ruchen walked towards her when he saw that she didn't react. Li Suyin's heart skipped a beat. Seeing Yan Ruchen walking closer to her while smiling, she finally couldn't help herself.

He knelt on the ground and told everything he knew.

By the time she finished, Li Suyin was already frightened to tears, kneeling on the ground sobbing. Yan Ruchen ignored why she was so afraid of him, only frowning as he pondered her words.

Anti-cultivation, escort, secret detention.

What is the connection between them? Why don’t the elders let him know?

Yan Ruchen stared at the ground with a serious look in his eyes, still pondering the meaning of these contents in his mind, when he suddenly heard a noisy sound in the distance.

Li Suyin also heard it. She wiped her tears and looked towards the direction where the voice came from. She saw Yan Ruchen rushing out with his clothes flicked. She wanted to go up and see what was going on, but then she remembered that Yan Ruchen had just said that she had to stay in the side hall and could not go out without being summoned. So she sighed heavily, sat down on the ground honestly, and did not dare to move.

Yan Ruchen had excellent hearing and was sure that the noise came from where Guan Shanyu had been sitting just now. When he arrived at the place, he found that it was indeed the case. However, there was not only Guan Shanyu there this time. He was surrounded by several disciples of Tianxuan. It seemed that they had come to Zixiao to deliver files. On their way back, they happened to meet Guan Shanyu who was alone, so they gathered around him, and it was not known whether they were arguing or chatting, but they surrounded Guan Shanyu.

Yan Ruchen did not intervene immediately, but kept his distance and observed. A disciple approached Guan Shanyu, stared at his face, and asked, "Are you crying? We didn't scold you much, did we?"

Another disciple said, "Is this guy stupid? He's not moving at all. Hey! Speak up! I'm calling you. What do you mean by ignoring me?"

Guan Shanyu remained silent, his head bowed, his eyes fixed on the ground, and he ignored the calls from the surroundings. The disciples gradually lost their patience, and one of them couldn't help but push him, urging, "Hey, say something!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the disciple was suddenly blown away.

The disciples were startled by this and rushed to help their friend who had been thrown away. Turning around, they saw Yan Ruchen striding over to them. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking at them with a gentle smile on his face. He asked, "Are you bullying your fellow disciples here?"

The disciples were about to retort, but then they remembered that Yan Ruchen was already the acting head, and he must have witnessed what had just happened. Arguing now would only lead to frustration. So, they quickly apologized, helped the nearly dead disciple to his feet, stole a glance at Guan Shanyu, and then hurried away.

Yan Ruchen watched them run away, then turned to Guan Shanyu, who was still lying on the ground. Seeing that he had fallen and was motionless, with no intention of getting up, Yan Ruchen wanted to help him, but Guan Shanyu slowly got up on his own, sat back on the ground, brushed the dust off his hands, and whispered "thank you".

Yan Ruchen frowned slightly, looked at him for a while, then slowly squatted down, his eyes level with Guan Shanyu. Seeing that Guan Shanyu was still staring at a certain place in front of him with a wooden look, he did not ask anything, but reached out and gently lifted the loose hair that fell on Guan Shanyu's right cheek.

There was a gash of moderate length there, probably caused by his face hitting a stone when he was pushed down by the group of disciples. A lot of blood had seeped out, but he seemed to be unaware of it and just sat there numbly.

Yan Ruchen helped him push his hair behind his ears and said, "Your face is scratched, go get it treated."

Guan Shanyu came back to his senses, glanced at Yan Ruchen, and reached out to wipe his face. He saw that there was indeed blood, but he did not look surprised. He just said, "Oh, it's okay, just a small wound."

Yan Ruchen frowned, straightened up, and repeated, "Go get it treated. It will leave a scar."

Guan Shanyu glanced down at himself, thinking that he already had so many scars on his body, so he wouldn't need one more. He was too lazy to get up after thinking about it, so he changed the subject and said, "I heard you brought everyone here. You're really efficient."

Yan Ruchen frowned, and regardless of Guan Shanyu's daze, he insisted on pulling him up, intending to take him directly to heal his injuries.

Guan Shanyu didn't resist and let Yan Ruchen pull him along. After the two took a few steps, they ran into Qing Yuanzi and his group walking out of the main hall.

"Yamayu, didn't I tell you to go on vacation? Why are you here?"

Qing Yuanzi greeted Guan Shanyu from a distance. Guan Shanyu was startled when he heard the words and stopped in his tracks. Yan Ruchen saw this and immediately let go of his hand. When Qing Yuanzi got closer, he noticed the wound on Guan Shanyu's face and asked, "What's wrong with your face?"

Guan Shanyu secretly glanced at Qiushui Jianji and others who came out of the hall, and quickly explained: "I was playing at the foot of the mountain and accidentally fell."

Yan Ruchen listened to this and couldn't help but glance at Guan Shanyu. Qing Yuanzi believed it to be true. After examining it carefully, he took out a medicine bottle from his sleeve and handed it to him, saying, "That was really careless. Hurry, apply this, otherwise it will leave a scar."

Guan Shanyu took the medicine bottle, whispered his thanks, and hurriedly said, "Master, I actually have some things to deal with down the mountain. Now that I have a vacation, I will go down the mountain first. Goodbye, Master."

After Qing Yuanzi nodded in agreement, Guan Shanyu immediately turned and left. Seeing this, Yan Ruchen also bowed and said goodbye to Qing Yuanzi, saying, "I still have some things to say to Shanyu, so I'll leave first." Qing Yuanzi nodded in confusion, and watched Yan Ruchen leave, and couldn't help but mutter to himself: "What's going on with these two kids?"

Yan Ruchen chased Guan Shanyu's back and saw that he was walking very fast, so he called out to him: "Shanyu!" Guan Shanyu did not stop and continued to rush forward with his head down, as if he did not hear him. Seeing this, Yan Ruchen raised his voice: "Guan Shanyu!"

This time, Guan Shanyu finally stopped and looked back with a puzzled look on his face. Yan Ruchen quickly stepped forward and asked, "Are you going down the mountain?" Guan Shanyu nodded without saying anything. Yan Ruchen pointed to the path next to him and said, "The way down the mountain is over there."

"Thank you." Guan Shanyu murmured his thanks, but then walked in the wrong direction. Yan Ruchen raised his voice to correct him: "It's this fork in the road, not the one you went to."

Guan Shanyu looked back bewilderedly, and saw a path on the side. After thanking him again, he turned to the right path. Yan Ruchen saw that one side of his cheek was stained with blood, so he quickened his pace and walked side by side with him, saying, "Let's take care of the wound first."

Guan Shanyu shook his head and replied softly: "I want to go down the mountain first."

Yan Ruchen replied: "But your face..."

"I want to go down the mountain, I want to leave here first, is that okay?" Guan Shanyu stopped, his eyes reddening again, staring at Yan Ruchen with a bit of grievance, "Anyway, you can find me wherever I go, right? Can't I just be alone for a while?"

Yan Ruchen was stunned for a moment. After meeting Guan Shanyu's red eyes for a moment, he looked away unnaturally and said slowly, "The elders have decided to send disciples down the mountain to search for the whereabouts of the person in the portrait of Yuchen Palace. I have to go down the mountain too. If you don't mind, you can come with us."

Guan Shanyu sneered and shook his head when he heard this: "Don't waste your energy."

Yan Ruchen looked at him in confusion and explained, "How could it be in vain? I didn't mean to monitor you, but your injuries haven't healed yet, and it might be dangerous on the way down the mountain..."

"Yan Ruchen." Guan Shanyu interrupted him and said, "Are you stupid?"

Yan Ruchen looked bewildered, not understanding what he meant. Guan Shanyu looked Yan Ruchen up and down, then slowly said, "I clearly designed you to be an exceptionally intelligent person, why haven't you figured it out yet?"