: I Am Not the Murderer!

2025-05-12 Author: Gu Zhenren

: I Am Not the Murderer!

The situation took a sharp turn for the worse!

The city guards of White Paper Immortal City surrounded the Listening Silence Pavilion tightly.

The pavilion's defensive formation had been activated, trapping Sun Ning and his companion inside like birds in a cage, unable to escape into the void.

"Lord!!!" The guards stormed in and discovered the body of Mournful Music Hidden Ling, letting out a collective cry of grief.

"Impossible, this must be fake."

"Lord Mournful Music Hidden Ling was skilled in divination; how could she die so easily?"

"Seize him! He's the murderer, the one who killed Lord Mournful Music Hidden Ling!!"

Many couldn't believe it, many panicked, and many were filled with hatred and rage, swearing to kill Ning Zhuo.

"I am not the murderer!! How could I, a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, kill a Golden Core cultivator, especially someone like Lord Mournful Music Hidden Ling?!" Ning Zhuo shouted desperately.

At this moment, his face was pale, showing a mix of fear and anger. Part of it was an act, but part of it was genuine emotion.

Heaven have mercy!

He was just about to take out the white candle, reveal his true identity, and state his divination request. He had waited so long for this meeting, only to find that Mournful Music Hidden Ling was dead.

She had been perfectly fine in the morning, continuously meeting with male consorts seeking promotion. After lunch, by the afternoon, this had happened?!

The city guards naturally didn't stand by idly just because of Ning Zhuo's self-defense.

They rushed at him one after another.

Ning Zhuo stepped back, positioning himself right beside Mournful Music Hidden Ling's corpse: "Stop! Anyone who comes closer, I'll destroy her body."

"If any of you provoke me, you'll bear the responsibility for desecrating the remains of White Paper Immortal City's hero."

The guards halted immediately, glaring at Ning Zhuo with a mix of shock and fury, cursing him for his audacity.

Ning Zhuo threw his head back and laughed heartily, then snarled with a fierce expression, "Since I'm going to die anyway, if you dare lay a hand on me and slander me, I'll drag you down with me before I go. I, Jiao Ma, mean what I say!"

The guards were stunned, exchanging glances before loudly cursing Ning Zhuo again, but they ultimately stayed put.

Ning Zhuo didn't stop there; he pointed at the crowd, "You fools, hurry up and report this! With Mournful Music Hidden Ling killed, the enemy will surely take this chance to attack. The military situation is urgent; if you delay even a moment and the city falls because of it, every one of you will be to blame!"

As soon as Ning Zhuo finished speaking, several explosions rang out. Flames rose from one corner of the city, and outside the walls, the ground shook with the sounds of countless wailing ghosts—clearly, the ghost tide had returned, launching a fierce assault on White Paper Immortal City.

The guards' expressions changed dramatically.

Ning Zhuo's words had come true far too quickly!

And judging by the intensity, the enemy's attack was stronger than ever before.

"What are you still standing around for? I couldn't escape earlier, so do you think I can now? Compared to me, White Paper Immortal City is ten thousand times more important!" Ning Zhuo continued to berate them. "You fools!!"

The guards wavered once more.

Just then, a figure swiftly descended on the scene: "Shut your mouth, you brat!"

The newcomer was none other than Wen Ruan Yu.

It turned out that the guards had reported Mournful Music Hidden Ling's death as soon as they discovered it.

Wen Ruan Yu burst into the Listening Silence Pavilion, his eyes fixed on Mournful Music Hidden Ling's body, the last shred of hope in his heart completely vanishing.

His face turned grim, his gaze sharp as a blade, locked onto Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo placed a hand on Mournful Music Hidden Ling's neck and immediately snorted coldly, "Lord Wen, I didn't kill her!"

"You saw me outside the city. I was brought here by Commander Qing Yan; I'm a local."

"But if you judge me as the murderer without any evidence, then there's only one possibility—you're the traitor! All the city guards here can testify to that!"

Wen Ruan Yu's pupils contracted, his momentum faltering.

The guards were dumbfounded. One moment Ning Zhuo was insulting them, and the next he was asking them to testify—what a scoundrel.

But on second thought, it did make some sense.

Some of the guards began to eye Wen Ruan Yu surreptitiously.

Feeling their hidden gazes, Wen Ruan Yu was so enraged that killing intent radiated from him: "Lord Mournful Music Hidden Ling is dead, and you were the closest to her. You should be subjected to harsh interrogation, yet here you are threatening me?"

Ning Zhuo shook his head and let out a bitter laugh, "Lord Wen, I have no other choice. If I showed the slightest hesitation or fear, I'd become a prisoner."

"I'm not afraid to die, but I fear dying without having control over my own fate."

"Besides, I'm a victim too. I truly didn't kill Lord Mournful Music Hidden Ling; I've done nothing wrong!"

"Lord Wen, let me advise you: don't make a mistake."

"If you try to force a confession, pinning the blame on me as a scapegoat to boost morale in the city, you'll only be playing into the enemy's hands."

"Because if the enemy later reveals evidence that they were the ones who did it, you'll be even more guilty. When the city realizes that a high-ranking official like you was so easily deceived, morale will suffer an even greater blow."

Wen Ruan Yu's face darkened like a pot: "You silver-tongued rogue. Fine, I won't make things difficult for you. Put this on yourself. If I have to take action, things won't be so pleasant."

With that, he tossed a red jade-sealed talisman to Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo snorted coldly, his palm opening to reveal his natal magical treasure.

A mirror flashed, and a massive figure materialized out of thin air.

It was the Heavy Armor Blood Ape—Da Sheng!

Yuan Da Sheng stood in front of Ning Zhuo and caught the talisman.

Instantly, the guards gasped in shock.

"A Golden Core-level mechanical puppet!" Wen Ruan Yu's expression changed, his guard rising sharply.

The Listening Silence Pavilion's formation was operating at full power, sealing the space and preventing Ning Zhuo from escaping into the void. However, the space inside the pavilion was unified and not suppressed.

Ning Zhuo had just discovered this and immediately released Yuan Da Sheng.

But soon, Yuan Da Sheng's Golden Core aura was heavily suppressed, dropping directly to the Foundation Establishment level.

This was White Paper Immortal City, and the entire city was under the influence of the protective grand formation.

"Xiao Zhuo, the talisman is fine," Sun Ling Tong, using her spiritual eyes to observe from within the Thousand-Mile Wandering Dragon, secretly transmitted via divine sense.

Yuan Da Sheng then handed the sealing talisman to Ning Zhuo.

Ning Zhuo glanced at it, tucked the talisman into his robe without any intention of sealing himself, and simply clasped his hands: "Thank you for the talisman, Lord Wen."

Wen Ruan Yu laughed in extreme anger, finally losing his patience.

Just as he was about to make a move, a voice came from behind: "Stop."

Wen Ruan Yu and the guards all stiffened, quickly turning to bow to the newcomer: "Greetings, City Lord!"

The City Lord of White Paper Immortal City had been in poor condition, sealed away until now. Could he have emerged?

Ning Zhuo was startled but looked up and immediately understood.

The speaker was ten feet tall, with a pale white face and ink-black lips. His long hair, woven from 3,600 strands of snow-white fine silk, reached his waist. His neck and shoulders were supported by a delicate bamboo frame, with paper as thin as cicada wings layered into intricate folds over his shoulders.

His plain white robe was covered in符文, and as the hem dragged, it stirred waves of阴寒之气.

Around his waist hung a section of red rope, the most eye-catching feature, with a bronze bell dangling from the end that made no sound no matter what.

It was clearly a treasure-level paper puppet!

The paper puppet exuded a Nascent Soul-level aura. It floated into the Listening Silence Pavilion like a white cloud, bringing with it a rolling阴气.

It didn't even glance at Ning Zhuo, its gaze fixed on Mournful Music Hidden Ling's body.

Though its face showed no expression, its prolonged stillness radiated a dense atmosphere of sorrow and grief.

"Xiao Le, I never thought you'd fall in these troubled times, caught between internal and external threats," the paper分身 of the White Paper City Lord murmured softly.

The entire hall fell into silence, broken only by the sounds of the ghost tide outside and the occasional explosions from the renewed chaos within the city.

After a long silence, the paper分身 looked up at Ning Zhuo: "I'm in a very bad mood. I feel like killing someone!"

"You have three breaths to prove you had nothing to do with Mournful Music Hidden Ling's death."

"After three breaths, you will join Xiao Le in death."

Ning Zhuo shuddered, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

He wanted to defend himself, but the paper分身 had already started counting: "Three."

"One."

Even Wen Ruan Yu's heart skipped a beat. The paper分身 had skipped "two," jumping straight to "one," clearly showing its impatience and killing intent.

"Xiao Zhuo, I'll cover your escape; you go first!" Sun Ling Tong's hair stood on end as she prepared to rush out of the Thousand-Mile Wandering Dragon.

Ning Zhuo, with his life hanging by a thread and his heart pounding in fear, suddenly stretched out his hand: "I can prove it!"

In that short moment, he was already drenched in cold sweat.

Ning Zhuo stared intently at the White Paper分身: "All you need to do is cut open Lord Mournful Music Hidden Ling's stomach, and it will prove my innocence."

Wen Ruan Yu immediately roared in anger: "How dare you! You still intend to desecrate Lord Mournful Music Hidden Ling's body!"

The guards grew agitated too, but with the City Lord's分身 present, they didn't dare speak up.

The White Paper分身, however, fell into thought.

Suddenly, it raised a finger and made a swift cutting motion.

Mana sharp as a blade sliced open Mournful Music Hidden Ling's abdomen, cutting through her stomach as well.

Seeing the large amount of undigested spiritual food inside her stomach, the tense string of Ning Zhuo's heart loosened slightly.

He clasped his hands and said, "City Lord, Lord Mournful Music Hidden Ling was treating herself by consuming underworld cuisine. This type of food is hard to digest, and she couldn't use mana to aid digestion, or else it would be pointless."

"After lunch, according to the schedule, I was the first male consort to see Lord Mournful Music Hidden Ling."

"If I had killed her, it must have been shortly before."

"But the undigested spiritual food in her stomach proves that she died much earlier, shortly after finishing her meal, and was attacked then!"

Everyone fell silent.

All eyes turned from Mournful Music Hidden Ling's body to Ning Zhuo.

Sun Ling Tong rejoiced: "Xiao Zhuo, that makes sense!"

Wen Ruan Yu frowned.

Ning Zhuo let out a sigh of relief: "I have no possible time to commit the crime because, at that time, I was in the dining hall of the Hidden Sun Villa, eating the underworld cuisine myself. Many people witnessed it!"

The paper分身 snorted coldly, killing intent still lingering: "Your reasoning isn't bad. However, you haven't completely cleared your suspicion. Who are you, really?"

(End of )