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

The setting sun completely disappeared behind the mountains, and night quietly fell, swallowing up the last rays of light from the day. Candles on both sides of the road automatically lit up one after another, like stars from the sky descending to the earth, covering the dark earth with a layer of soft light.

A gentle breeze blew past, gently ruffling a few strands of hair across Yan Ruchen's forehead. He tucked these restless strands behind his ears, sorted out his complicated feelings, and walked towards the purple figure in front of him that almost blended into the night. His tone was full of concern, "Hongyin, it's so late, why are you coming from the mourning hall?"

Si Hongyin had suffered a great blow in the past few days. Her face was very bad, as if she had cried many times. Her eyes were full of bloodshot, as if all color and vitality had been drained away overnight. Her figure, which should have been considered round and plump, had now become much thinner. Her lips were tightly pursed, occasionally twitching, as if she was trying her best to suppress the grief surging deep in her heart. She said in a hoarse voice, "Are you going to kill him?"

Yan Ruchen knew she was talking about Guan Shanyu, but that wasn't the reason he came here. He said apologetically, "No, I came here to question him and see if there are any clues."

Si Hongyin seemed to have anticipated this outcome. His pale face sneered, and he said, "Did you find out anything? Did he confess who ordered him to do it? Or did he collude with someone from the demon clan to kill my father? If you don't deal with him, don't stop me from enforcing justice!"

After saying this, Si Hongyin drew her sword and headed for the dungeon. Seeing her suddenly agitated, Yan Ruchen quickly stepped forward to hold her close and soothe her, saying, "Hongyin, don't worry. The Elders' Council is still investigating the case. If we deal with him now, wouldn't we have no clues at all? Besides, Shanyu was indeed cowardly and vain in the past, but since coming up the mountain, under the guidance of Elder Qing, his character has improved a lot. Whether he is the murderer or not, this matter still needs to be thoroughly investigated."

Si Hongyin struggled to break free from Yan Ruchen's arms more than ten times but failed. Finally, she threw herself into Yan Ruchen's arms and burst into tears, saying intermittently, "But it was my father who died, your master. How can you ask me to calm down? I've been investigating for almost three days and there's no clue at all. I can't pry Guan Shanyu open. If he wasn't colluding with the demons, who in the world could have entered and exited Tianxuan Dao Sect so easily and murdered my father so easily!"

Yan Ruchen sighed deeply, patted Si Hongyin's back soothingly with his hand, and kept saying comforting words. Si Hongyin's crying gradually became louder. After crying for a long time, it seemed that she was tired of crying. Her voice gradually became softer and she fell into his arms and sobbed. Yan Ruchen said helplessly: "Now some people suspect that Shan Yu is the murderer, and some people suspect that he is colluding with both insiders and outsiders. But what the truth is, we still have to wait and see. Hongyin, don't worry, I will definitely investigate it carefully and tell Master the truth."

After being comforted by Yan Ruchen for a long time, Si Hongyin slowly calmed down. However, when she thought of her father's horrific death, the anger and sadness in her heart could not be suppressed no matter what. But what made her most angry was that even she herself doubted whether Guan Shanyu was the real murderer.

After all, when the incident happened, the Council of Elders took Guan Shanyu to the mourning hall once. Originally, they wanted him to reflect on his mistakes and confess his crimes in front of all the elders. But who knew that he was so scared that he vomited and cried until he fainted as soon as he arrived at the mourning hall and took a look at the person in the coffin. He could not say anything except begging for mercy. He was so stupid that it really made people doubt whether he could be the murderer and planned this incident.

But this matter is definitely related to him.

But if he wasn't the murderer, who else could it be? If they couldn't find the murderer in three days, would they still be able to find him in the future? Wouldn't the murderer have already escaped in three days?

Thinking of this, anger slowly burst out of Si Hongyin's red eyes. She always knew that Yan Ruchen was kind to others and would not easily think the worst of people. Even Guan Shanyu, such a traitor, was willing to defend him. But Si Hongyin could not let him go easily. She now wanted to go to the water dungeon and skin Guan Shanyu alive, peel off his skin and dig out his heart to see what kind of black heart he had.

Yan Ruchen was still patting her back to comfort her, saying, "Don't harm Guan Shanyu's life before the truth is revealed. But if he is really related to this matter, we must pry open his mouth." Si Hongyin bit her lip and said angrily, "If Uncle Yue is unable to dig out clues from him in three days, it is better to find someone as soon as possible. I don't believe that a person like Guan Shanyu, who came from the countryside, has no experience and no backbone, and who can forget who his parents are if given a little benefit, is really so difficult to investigate? This kind of person, he..."

Yan Ruchen's hand, which was patting Si Hongyin's back, faltered for a moment, and Si Hongyin noticed immediately, realizing that his words had been inappropriate. After all, Guan Shanyu and Yan Ruchen were from the same village, and calling Guan Shanyu a country bumpkin in front of him was essentially scolding Yan Ruchen as well.

She quickly sat up from Yan Ruchen's arms, her apology evident in her words: "Ruchen, you know that's not what I meant."

Yan Ruchen smiled faintly and responded gently, "Of course I know that, don't worry about it."

This smile was like the warm spring sun, and Si Hongyin's gloomy mood finally relaxed. She gazed at Yan Ruchen's handsome profile, and suddenly remembered something. She hurriedly pulled out an exquisite purse from her bosom and gently placed it in Yan Ruchen's hand. "Speaking of Guan Shanyu, you were curious about why Elder Qing favored him so much, even going so far as to break the law to help him. You only need to look in Elder Qing's room to find out the truth."

Yan Ruchen lowered his head and saw a token hidden in his pouch. He frowned slightly, revealing a hint of worry: "Although I am curious, it is indeed against the rules for a disciple to enter the elder's residence without permission."

Si Hongyin gently pressed Yan Ruchen's hand as he tried to return the purse. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she whispered, "Ruchen, you and I have already pledged our lives together. This purse is my gift. How can you refuse? Furthermore, Elder Qing has already requested disciplinary action from the Council of Elders for violating regulations, and you are investigating my father's case. This is official business, so there's no need to be bound by conventional etiquette."

Hearing this, Yan Ruchen's frown gradually relaxed. He smiled gently at Si Hongyin and whispered softly, "Let me take you home first. You haven't had a good rest recently."

Although he was concerned about Si Hongyin not getting enough rest, Yan Ruchen himself was also working around the clock and had no time to rest.

Besides thoroughly investigating the incident, he also shouldered the heavy burden of numerous follow-up tasks. The library had been damaged by lightning, with the ancient books scattered and scattered. The task of repairing and replenishing the collection was enormous, requiring a meticulous inventory to be submitted to Xuanshuangju for procurement. Furthermore, with the disciples' hasty return from Wuzijian, the outside world still didn't know what had happened to Tianxuan Dao Sect. However, this incident had piqued the curiosity of many, and recently, people had been gathering at the mountain gate to inquire about the situation. Disciples had to be stationed there to guard the area and prepare a response.

Furthermore, the tasks of investigating the case, conducting the trial, preparing for Si Xuanqing's funeral and burial, and clearing out the escaped demonic beasts all fell largely upon the disciples of the Heavenly Sword Pavilion. However, the disciples of the Heavenly Sword Pavilion, traditionally devoted to their training, were surprisingly ignorant of the ways of the world. Faced with such a complex situation, they seemed completely overwhelmed. While other factions shared the same lineage as the Heavenly Sword Pavilion, with rumors of disciples colluding with the demons, the elders of each faction were preoccupied with their own internal investigations, leaving them with little energy to assist the Heavenly Sword Pavilion.

Because of the friendship between Si Hongyin and Yan Ruchen, she strongly recommended Yan Ruchen as the main investigator. Therefore, each of these issues was a stressful matter, and all of them fell on Yan Ruchen's head.

For the first time in his life, Yan Ruchen felt that each day was a year. It was only three days since the incident, but it seemed like half a lifetime had passed.

He sent Si Hongyin back to Ziwei Society and settled her there, coaxing and comforting her until she fell asleep. He then returned. He pounded his arm, numbed by Si Hongyin's leaning, and walked unsteadily back to the Heavenly Sword Pavilion. Entering the hall, he saw a floor littered with files and jade slips. The files were piled high, and the disciples were circling and drawing on them, working diligently. They were counting the books lost in the lightning strike that night and investigating whether the demons had secretly taken anything from the sect.

Yan Ruchen stared at the mess on the floor, feeling a sense of fatigue welling up in his heart. He was about to turn back to the dormitory to rest for a while before coming back to help, but as soon as he raised his left leg, a disciple's gaze passed by. He paused with his pen, then looked away, saying in a sly tone, "I thought someone was blocking my light. It turns out to be the current chief disciple. He's quite good at coaxing people, but he disappeared when he was helping. We're so tired."

Upon hearing this, several disciples around him raised their heads, their eyes flickering before quickly lowering them again. They whispered among themselves, "Don't take it personally. With her high cultivation and good looks, she's naturally loved. Let's just honestly check the files."

"That's true. Judging from how much Miss Si likes him, he might be the one to take over the Tianjian Sect in the future. How dare I refuse? I'll have to cling to this big guy in the future."

The back-and-forth between the two of them had Yan Ruchen pinned to the pretty boy's pillar. Yan Ruchen stood awkwardly on the threshold, listening to the sarcastic remarks but not even attempting a retort. He simply gave a helpless smile, thinking that perhaps everyone was simply too tired, hence the harsh words. He decided not to rest for now and instead help out here.

After thinking about it, he walked towards the lobby, and was about to tell everyone to go back and rest, and let him look at the remaining files. But before he could say anything, he suddenly felt someone pulling his arm. He turned around and saw Hu Qizheng standing behind him with a stern face.

Hu Qi glared at Yan Ruchen in dissatisfaction, then turned to the disciples in the hall and shouted, "Are you all looking for death? You are investigating a case for Master, are you really working for Yan Ruchen? You all talk so strangely. If you really don't want to do this, I will go to the Elders' Council and speak for you. You won't have to do this anymore!"

Everyone was frightened by Hu Qi's arrogance and fell silent, burying their heads in their work, pretending nothing had happened. Yan Ruchen gave a wry smile and was about to thank Hu Qi when he pulled him out, saying, "Have you done everything you asked me to do this morning? When are we leaving?"