“What’s wrong with Meimei? Is she spacing out again?”

Mingmei, feigning illness, had a towel on her head to look more convincing.

She watched as Mei Jiu, after Mei Shi entered the room, grimaced as if controlling her strength with her face, secretly winking at her before slipping out.

[Sis, I’m counting on you—go for it~]

Mingmei was disgusted by this.

“No, I just have a bit of a headache…” Mingmei, snapping back to reality, tried to avoid Mei Shi’s gaze, afraid she would betray herself.

“You have a fever?”

Seeing the towel on Mingmei’s head, Mei Shi didn't doubt her and reached out to touch Mingmei’s forehead.

“You don't have a fever.” Mei Shi frowned, sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at Mingmei’s expressionless face, downcast eyes, and listless demeanor. She pondered for a moment and then said, “Have you not been eating well these past few days?”

Mingmei: “…”

Was her mother implying that the food at Bibo Yaoshan wasn't good?

Seeing Mingmei not speaking again, Mei Shi became anxious and couldn't help but mutter, “Why is she being silly and spacing out again?”

[Again?] Mingmei didn't dare to make too big of an expression on her face, but her eyes moved as she silently turned her head and asked Gui Gui in her mind, [What does my mother mean by that?]

In response, Gui Gui, who had been slacking off for many days and hadn't reminded Mingmei about her and Mu Chen’s affair, fell silent.

[It's a long story…]

[Then make it short.]

Gui Gui: [Sigh, it's just that you forgot about Mu Chen again.]

Mingmei: [?? Tell me the details quickly!]

Gui Gui: …

Didn't you just want the short version?

…

Just as Mingmei successfully tricked Mei Shi with her “illness,” Mei Jiu led the group of players into the room where the corpse of the Wan Jian Sect elder was placed. When Lu Xiaoyao and Lu Gui lifted the cloth covering the corpse, she first covered Mei Jiu’s eyes with her hand.

This scene was not suitable for Mei Jiu to see.

“Hurry up, my sister and Yaoyao are holding off the sect leader and my mom. The time may not be long. If you don’t hurry, if you get caught…”

“Don't worry, even if we get caught, we won't rat you out.” The others were already examining the body, but they didn't forget to reassure Mei Jiu.

“No, I want to see too.” Mei Jiu was clearly not satisfied with just being here; she wanted to examine the body as well. Lu Xiaoyao, after confirming that the corpse, apart from being a little pale, wasn't too scary, finally released her hand that had been covering the other's eyes.

As soon as she let go, Mei Jiu bravely rushed to the bedside where the body was placed.

“Huh… why is he fatter than before?” When he was still alive yesterday, Mei Jiu had been so scared by him that she cried, but now, looking at him again, she felt he seemed a bit bloated.

“He was pulled out of the water; he probably got bloated from being soaked? Although the water on the surface of Shishu’s (martial uncle) corpse has been removed, the corpse itself should have absorbed some water.”

The Wan Jian Sect players also noticed that the corpse seemed a bit swollen.

“That's not right. Didn't my brother say that the mystical beasts in this Bihu Lake aren’t easy to deal with? How come the corpse wasn't eaten or attacked by mystical beasts after being soaked in the water for so long?”

Lu Xiaoyao still remembered Lu Gui’s earlier deduction. After speaking, she turned to look at Lu Gui, who had been silently observing the corpse with Charlie and the others.

Lu Gui didn't respond. He suddenly squatted down, his line of sight level with the corpse, staring straight at it, then stared at the hair for a good while.

“Brother, what… are you looking at?”

Lu Xiaoyao’s voice became much softer because of Lu Gui’s actions.

She also squatted down, imitating Lu Gui, and looked at the corpse's plane for a long time, but she couldn't see anything.

“Don’t bother looking. Shishu’s (martial uncle) robes at his level are all top-grade magical artifacts. Besides the wound left by the murderer, do you think ordinary traces could be left on this magical artifact even if something was done afterward?”

The Wan Jian Sect player reminded them. What he said was true, and Lu Xiaoyao realized this as well.

Mei Jiu, however, turned her head back and forth, listening to everyone saying one thing or another, feeling that this made sense and that seemed confident.

She was also curious about what this person would say.

Noticing Mei Jiu’s curious gaze, Lu Gui returned a smile, then pointed to the dead man's hair and said, “His hair crown is askew.”

Hair crown?

The others also looked at the dead man's hair crown. It was indeed askew, loose and drooping.

“Is there a problem?”

The others still didn't quite understand what Lu Gui meant. Lu Gui reached out and suddenly pulled the loose hair forward, saying, “To cause this kind of looseness, his hair should have been drooping forward in this direction…”

The hair crown was pulled forward by Lu Gui until the corpse’s head couldn't help but be pulled forward as well. Seeing this, Mandison couldn't help but say, “How can a dead person raise their head and reach forward? It's better to guess that he was fighting with the murderer before he died and someone pulled his hair.”

Everyone: “…”

Buddy, wake up. This is a Xianxia (cultivation) game. How could two cultivators be pulling each other's hair?!

“He could have been looking down.” Charlie also discovered another piece of evidence at this time. He pointed to the back of the corpse’s hand where it met the cuff of the sleeve. There was a small bloodstain on the back of the hand.

It was very small, just enough to break the skin, as if it had been cut by a very thin weapon.

Charlie looked up and smiled at Lu Gui. The two of them said in unison, “His corpse was tied to the bottom of a bamboo raft beforehand, face down.”

…

Back at the Bibo Yaoshan disciple’s room,

“Thank you, Shijie (senior martial sister), I'm fine, no, I don't want to drink medicine anymore.”

Luo Yao was anxious to inform Mei Jiu and the others when she saw that her Shifu (master) had left, but before she could go out, she was stopped by a disciple whom Yuehua had arranged to keep an eye on her before she left.

Luo Yao found this Shijie (senior martial sister) somewhat familiar, but she didn't really know her. She didn't know where her Shifu (master) had found her to watch over her.

The other party didn't care whether Luo Yao was acting spoiled or throwing a tantrum. No matter how much you fuss, you have to finish your medicine first and then rest well.

“Luo Yao, be good. Drink your medicine first. If you still want to go out and play, Shijie (senior martial sister) will accompany you for a walk, okay?”

After much persuasion, the other party made a small concession, but the problem wasn't that small step for Luo Yao.

She needed to deliver the message quickly!

The kind without anyone following her!

Luo Yao didn't buy it and refused to drink the medicine no matter what. She shook her head like a rattle drum and said while refusing, “Qilan Shijie (senior martial sister), I'm so afraid of bitterness~ Can you let me go out and play for a while before taking the medicine?”

“Good medicine tastes bitter~ Besides, is the bitterness of taking medicine as bitter as being a ferryman on Bihu Lake down the mountain? Constantly exposed to the wind and sun, rowing boats to welcome and send people off?”

Suddenly, what Qilan said reminded Lu Xiaoyao who the Shijie (senior martial sister) in front of her was—wasn't she the disciple who ferried people on Bihu Lake down the mountain?