Chapter 566 - 314: Digging Investigation, Hall Master Makes a Move!

"Should we kill him... or let him live?"

Su Mu didn’t take a closer look for now; he casually put the Ancient Scroll into the Sumeru Ring and looked at the unconscious Ink Scale Hall disciple, a cold glint flickering in his eyes.

Since he took action, one option was to simply eliminate the body without any trace.

"Forget it, let him live."

After a moment of rapid thought, Su Mu suppressed the urge to kill and abandoned the idea of silencing the person directly.

The reason was simple: the exits to the gang’s hall were sealed tonight, so the person must still be within the Cyan Fish Gang. If he remains missing for long, the members of the Cyan Fish Gang will surely realize it was someone among them.

Upon investigation, this person’s ’sudden disappearance’ would quickly be brought to light.

This person is a disciple of the Ink Scale Hall and belongs to Vice Gang Leader Gongsun Jue. His disappearance would undoubtedly arouse Gongsun Jue’s suspicion, potentially pointing the blame at him and implicating him.

The best approach now isn’t to make this person vanish but to knock him out, allowing the Cyan Fish Gang members to find him and let the Vice Gang Leader and other factions fight amongst themselves, thus keeping Su Mu out of harm’s way.

Thinking of this, Su Mu acted decisively without any hesitation.

His figure moved like a breeze into the darkness, avoiding the firelight, taking the person towards the original path to the Alchemy Hall. En route, Su Mu also took off a Sumeru Ring and hid it in a secret place.

Tonight, this item was probably stolen from the Flying Fish Pavilion, and the Cyan Fish Gang wouldn’t easily let it go, certainly conducting a thorough search. At that time, Law Enforcement Hall disciples might forcefully inspect the Sumeru Ring, which is not impossible.

Keeping this hot potato in hand is ultimately a risk. It’s better to hide it for a while and retrieve it after the storm has passed.

Destroy it?

What he did earlier would be meaningless if he went that route; the opportunity presented itself, how could he simply hand it over?

After Su Mu swiftly hid the Sumeru Ring, he returned to the small courtyard, changed into loose pajamas, and lied in bed, feigning sleep.

Thump, thump, thump.

Soon, footsteps accompanied by firelight approached; a team of Law Enforcement Hall disciples arrived outside the courtyard.

"Bang, bang, bang—!"

Not long after Su Mu feigned slumber, the courtyard gate was knocked upon urgently by the Law Enforcement Hall disciples. It was all expected; Su Mu pretended to be half-asleep, got up to open the door while still in loose clothes, portraying a groggy and slightly annoyed demeanor from being awakened.

Outside the door, a few torch-bearing Law Enforcement Hall disciples exchanged glances, then the leader stepped forward exerting pressure with his aura; his form was like a Humanoid Demon Beast about to pounce, imposing a tremendous psychological stress.

"Sun the Alchemist, do you mind if we come in and take a look?"

"You must have heard the commotion earlier, right? Was there anyone besides yourself in the courtyard tonight? What did you do tonight?"

The leader approached Su Mu while speaking, and behind him, several black-robed Law Enforcement Hall disciples entered in a row and began a thorough search inside and outside the courtyard without saying a word.

"What are you doing?"

Su Mu’s acting was impeccable; after a moment of daze, he pretended to slowly realize, "Recently, the Alchemy Hall’s Steward set a heavy load of alchemy tasks, requiring me to refine no less than three hundred pills in a month... I did hear the commotion, but I’m too exhausted to go out and check..."

"Has everything been investigated now?"

Su Mu added a final sentence, unafraid of being checked. If the Law Enforcement Hall disciples did verify, they would find that Zheng Qi indeed assigned him the arduous task of three hundred pills a month; this mix of half-truths is the hardest to discern.

"Three hundred pills a month..."

The Law Enforcement Hall disciples were stunned to hear this, knowing alchemy is a high-intensity, mentally consuming task, even the senior members of the Alchemy Hall rarely face such intensity.

Is the Alchemy Hall really placing such a burden on a disciple who hasn’t been in the gang for two months?

For a moment, a flash of sympathy and pity appeared in the eyes of the Law Enforcement Hall disciples, and their tone softened slightly.

"Sun the Alchemist, are you saying you were in the courtyard the whole night?"

"Yes."

The leader’s expression softened further, but he paused here, waiting for the feedback from others searching the courtyard.

Soon, after rummaging through the courtyard, several Law Enforcement Hall disciples emerged, shaking their heads to indicate no abnormalities. Receiving the feedback, the leader’s gaze scrutinized Su Mu, then settled on the Sumeru Ring in Su Mu’s hand.

"Sun the Alchemist, tonight a thief set fire to the Flying Fish Pavilion and attempted to steal the Secret Manual. Now some accomplices have been captured, but a few people are still unaccounted for. We are searching for their whereabouts."

Upon hearing this, Su Mu felt a chill in his heart, knowing these Cyan Fish Gang Law Enforcement Hall disciples were sharp, obviously trying to trap him. As expected, the Law Enforcement Hall disciples were all secretly observing Su Mu’s subtle reactions.

But unfortunately, Su Mu, having prepared in advance, showed no flaws, his reaction to the news was quite normal, first stunned.

"This, you’re not joking, right..."

Su Mu pretended to be appropriately dazed for a few seconds, feigning a look of shock, "There are actually thieves daring to target the Flying Fish Pavilion, even wanting to burn it and steal the Secret Manual, who’s gutsy enough to do this?"

Yet some of the surprise wasn’t entirely acted; he only guessed some of the night’s events, and this was the first time he received definitive information.

Observing Su Mu’s reaction, the Law Enforcement Hall disciples exchanged subtle glances, nodding slightly, deeming Su Mu innocent, deeming it impossible for a mere Seventh-Grade Martial Artist to infiltrate the Flying Fish Pavilion.