Chapter 3059 A Competition of Lower Limits

When he came clean to Corvos about that bloody case, the members of the Ji clan hadn't heard him.

It might be a little cruel, but saying it out loud now would certainly answer Ji Zhaoyi's doubts.

Not only that, it would achieve multiple benefits with one move by tying back to the theme—when Corvos set up this situation, he had explicitly said, "Feel free."

And whether Professor Fu would actually feel free was evidently what the Night Watcher wanted to know.

Telling the "police" about Ji Yicheng's death didn't matter; they rarely interfered with internal conflicts among transcendents anyway.

But once the truth of that unsolved case was officially revealed to the Ji clan, it would turn into a fight to the bitter end.

Thus, in Corvos's eyes, whether Professor Fu was joking would serve as a crucial signal.

As long as the truth of the past remained hidden, no matter how spectacular the surface looked, he could be seen as holding back.

And holding back when explicitly told to feel free amounted to making an empty show of strength.

Fully aware of this, Fu Qian chose to satisfy Corvos's expectations.

'You told me to feel free, so I will.'

'Now it's my turn to see if you really don't mind me being "free".' As it turned out, Corvos was indeed an interesting opponent. In the face of Professor Fu's sudden confession, he actually gave a slight nod, a stark contrast to the grim expressions of the other two renowned Night Watchers.

Not only did he seem genuinely unbothered, he even looked forward to how things would unfold.

"I see... I understand."

The victim's family, by contrast, had a much harder time staying calm.

At that moment, Ji Zhaoyi seemed to figure everything out. Even his voice turned sharp.

"I always found it strange that someone would target him," Ji Zhaoyi said.

"So Ji Yicheng stumbled upon some secret, and you had to silence him?"

...

"Strictly speaking, that really is what happened," Fu Qian said.

Hearing the Head of the Ji Clan's conclusion, Fu Qian pondered for a moment. While the truth differed from what the man imagined, there was actually nothing wrong with phrasing it that way.

Ji Yicheng's death really was because he had stumbled upon the Angel Dungeon and tried to exploit the secrets inside.

But Ji Zhaoyi understood it differently: he believed Professor Fu had been scheming against the Ji clan all along, connecting all the dots—such as Ji Yicheng dying in the Wasteland, and the Axe that got Ji Xue pregnant also originating from there.

If everything was Professor Fu's scheme, then the Wasteland was clearly a crucial location, and the two events were no longer pure coincidence.

Although Ji Yicheng was a blue-blooded member of the Ji clan, his Rank wasn't high, and his position wasn't actually that critical. Normally, there would be no reason to make a move against him.

But if he had discovered something extraordinary, such as a conspiracy against the family, then there was a motive for murder.

As for the conspiracy itself, there were many possibilities—the true origins of that Axe, the corruption of certain key personnel, or even...

"The Rebirth Club also operates in the Wasteland?"

Sure enough, Ji Zhaoyi helped supply the third possibility the very next second.

It wasn't surprising. At this point, no matter how stupid someone was, they couldn't possibly fail to think of that mysterious organization.

After all, for the higher-ups of the Ji clan, an unsolved mystery had been staring them right in the face: how did the next family head end up becoming the Saintess of the Rebirth Club?

Classmate Liushuang had practically grown up under their noses for the past eighteen years.

The only time she was out of their sight was during her secluded cultivation at the Academy. With so many people watching, how was she led astray?

Now they had the answer. The Academy was no longer pure, and the one corrupting the students was a legitimate professor. Furthermore, for many years, the Rebirth Club had been far more complex than it appeared.

Beneath its harmless exterior, certain operations had likely been running for a long time—such as over in the Wasteland.

Even recently, the Rebirth Club had meddled in the "Battle of Dragon Peak".

"How should I put this? We don't have that much business there," Fu Qian said.

Putting himself in the Head of the Ji Clan's shoes, Fu Qian recalled his own actions in the Wasteland.

"Also, An Gui was actually unaware of it."

While giving yet another honest answer, he didn't forget to exonerate the innocent An Gui.

"Heh... So who did know?"

Unfortunately, the attempt wasn't very effective. It only earned a string of pleasant chuckles from Ji Zhaoyi.

"The Night Watchers. Corvos knew I killed Ji Yicheng."

Yet, in response to such an ambiguous question, Professor Fu answered incredibly naturally, even gesturing toward Corvos.

...'Did you think secrets came free? Now, please begin your performance.'

Just as mentioned before, the current situation was akin to a competition to see who could stoop lower.

Corvos wanted to see just how far Professor Fu would go, and Professor Fu equally wanted to observe him in return.

At this moment, Fu Qian wasn't lying. The Night Watcher really did know he had killed Ji Yicheng—he had just learned it a few minutes earlier.

But to Ji Zhaoyi's ears, it clearly sounded like an entirely different story. He would undoubtedly interpret the situation in the worst possible way.

Most importantly, it completely confirmed that he had killed Ji Yicheng, turning the previous series of speculations into reality.

Of course, this minor misdirection could easily be punctured if the Night Watcher just stepped forward to explain.

The question was, would he?

From the very beginning, the Night Watcher had been keeping himself out of it.

Fu Qian even believed that if Corvos didn't want to be noticed, then no matter how accurately he pointed, Ji Zhaoyi wouldn't realize the Night Watcher heavyweight was there—

"That's right, I do know."

However, reality once again proved the sheer scale of Corvos's vision. Amidst the sudden shock finally revealed by the Head of the Ji Clan, the Night Watcher heavyweight actually spoke up.

Not only did he not mind Fu Qian pointing him out, but he didn't even clarify the time discrepancy, merely nodding in acknowledgment.

And from Ji Zhaoyi's reaction, it was entirely obvious that Corvos had appeared in his field of vision.

The probability of the dignified Head of the Ji Clan recognizing this Night Watcher heavyweight was clearly quite high.

"...So Ji Yicheng's death was because he discovered the secrets related to that Axe? Like how it didn't accidentally fall into the Ji clan's hands, but was arranged by you?"

Not only did Corvos not mind being exposed, he didn't even mind joining forces for a complete wipeout.

Faced with Corvos's astonishing methods, the Head of the Ji Clan finally lost his posture of having everything under control.

However, his train of thought didn't seem to be in chaos yet.

Since it wasn't the Rebirth Club's secret, and An Gui's cooperation at the time hadn't seemed very deep, Ji Zhaoyi quickly used the process of elimination to confirm the intelligence Ji Yicheng might have discovered—

"No, I was the one who put the Axe there."

Yet, before Fu Qian could offer a critique, Corvos next to him actually spoke up again, delivering a shocking answer.