The Third Head promptly changed tactics—rapid barrages, hypothetical narratives, leading traps.

  “So when no one saw you… you slipped poison into Guo Liang’s cup, yes? You resented the world—resented fate—so you struck back, yes? You believed that killing Guo Liang would restore your pride. You wished to eliminate him for his arrogance, am I right?”

  Each question was more sinister, more desperate to ensnare a confession. Li Wei answered every one, steady as bedrock. “No. I bear resentment only toward my own weakness. My pride is dust—killing would not reform it. I seek survival, not vengeance. I harmed no one.”

  Elder Ming Haoren smiled thinly and continued, his questions growing less speculative, less investigative, and more factual in tone, as if he had witnessed Li Wei poison Guo Liang in person. When Li Wei calmly and politely rejected his hypotheticals, the elder's composure began to fray. Finally, he turned to the First Head of the hall and bowed stiffly.

  “Honored First Head, this humble seat requests permission to deliver my closing statement.”

  First Head Gong Sunhai nodded a single inch. “Permission granted.”

  Elder Ming Haoren looked slowly across the semicircle of raised seats where the elders of the Discipline and Punishment Hall were gathered. His gaze lingered upon the Second Head, then moved to the First Head. At last, his eyes shifted toward Su Qingyue. The latter's face resembled a wilted blossom, her beauty marred by sorrow, grief clinging to her like morning frost refusing to melt.

  Elder Ming Haoren cleared his throat, clasped his hands behind his back, and addressed the hall. “Honored elders, venerable masters, before this assembly, this humble seat shall conclude his interrogation. In our sacred Azure Cloud Sect, virtue is the guiding lantern. Repentance is the first step on the path back into the light. Yet this suspect, Li Wei of the servant quarters, shows no remorse. He clings to deception as though it were his lifeline, refusing the illumination of truth. He does not yearn for justice. Instead, he hides behind falsehood for the sake of his own insignificant survival.”

  Silence blanketed the hall. The Third Head’s sleeve billowed as he gestured sharply toward the raised platform where Guo Liang’s lifeless form lay. “Thus, allow me to speak plainly and offer my conjecture to guide the wisdom of the court.” He paced, footsteps measured and heavy. “During the Inner Sect Tournament, Young Lord Guo Liang spoke harshly to the accused, belittling him in front of elites and common servants alike. Humiliation entered Li Wei’s heart like a ten-thousand year snake coiling around his soul. In that fragile state, hatred blossomed. The accused likely carried poison on his person. He also served the young lord beverages several times. And recall this testimony—when Guo Liang tasted a drink poured by Li Wei, he declared: ‘This is swill.’ Was it because the poison had already tainted the flavor?” The elder turned sharply, eyes flashing. “Esteemed Elders! The evidence paints a chilling portrait. The accused harbors a broken cultivation and a heart twisted by humiliation. He had motive—resentment. Opportunity—service proximity. And means—access to the kitchen, where he could have premixed the poison with the drink.” He thrust an accusing finger toward Li Wei. “Servant Li Wei poisoned Guo Liang! Let us not allow a viper to masquerade as a lamb! Today, for the honor of our Azure Cloud Sect, we must obtain justice for the dead!”

  Stolen story; please report.

  His accusation crashed like a hammer, the final word echoing through carved pillars and gilded rafters.

  No one dared breathe for a long time.

  THA-BOOM! The First Head struck the gavel with a force that made the floor tremble. “Third Elder,” he said, voice carved from granite, “your words have been heard.” And then he stood, his expansive robes falling like compressed thunder. “Due to the sanctity owed to the deceased, we cannot leave Young Master Guo Liang's body exposed for long. The court shall adjourn for the duration of five incense sticks.” His piercing gaze swept the room. “During this time, the elders will deliberate. Though the final judgment shall fall upon this seat, I value the counsel of my subordinates. Justice shall be delivered without prejudice.” Once more, the gavel hammered. “Court adjourned!”

  The courtroom erupted into quiet rustling as elders and officials departed through their private exit, their silhouettes retreating into dim corridors. Patriarch Shigo Tianyu, Assistant Sect Lord Han Jingshu, and Su Qingyue departed through the main doors. But just before Su Qingyue crossed the threshold, she paused, her gaze drifting back to Li Wei. Her eyes were storms of rage, disbelief, grief… and something else hidden beneath, a flicker of confusion, perhaps doubt. The contradiction of her heart tore at her, and that pain reflected unmistakably in her trembling lashes.

  “I didn’t do it, Su Qingyue!” Li Wei’s voice cracked across the silent hall, trembling with desperation.

  He didn’t call her Lady Su or Young Miss. Just her name.

  For the briefest heartbeat, her expression faltered, a glint igniting in her tearful eyes. Was it relief? Hope? A desire to believe?

  Li Wei saw it.

  He clung to it.

  But then her gaze shifted, drawn inevitably to Guo Liang’s corpse upon the stone altar, and the light in her eyes died. She turned away silently and walked out the hall’s great doors, leaving only the echo of her fading footsteps.

  Li Wei felt his heart plummet.

  Moments later, two elders appeared with a ceremonial trolley. They bowed toward Guo Liang’s body before carefully lifting the young man’s lifeless form onto the linen bedding.

  The body that had once swaggered, mocked, smirked…

  Now it was limp. Now its lips were tinted purple. Now, its eyes stared heavenward, toward skies they would never again see.

  The trolley wheels creaked like a dirge as they escorted him away.

  When the doors closed behind them, the courtroom became a silent tomb.

  Li Wei remained alone in the cross-examination box, flanked only by two senior Punishment Hall disciples whose expressions were carefully empty. They stood watch like statues, hands on their weapons.

  He stared at the polished wooden floorboards, his thoughts his own.