Clues

Mu Yu spent another three days at the academy. The culprit seemed to lay low while Bai Lang and Ju Wenxing were around. After piecing together the killing style and intelligence displayed, Mu Yu concluded there was only one race that checked all the boxes: fiends. Having said that, they would've maintained their fiend beast traits to some degree. To think they could infiltrate the academy with a distinctly different appearance from humans was far-fetched. Most importantly, they lacked the intelligence to perform something so complex. One thing was certain. The culprit was quite familiar with the academy and was deliberately targeting disciples of the two biggest sects.

Bai Lang and Ju Wenxing were unable to dig up anything on the culprit. As keystones of their respectable sects, the two had to leave to take care of other business. Ju Wenxing took all Jiuhua Sect's disciples with him to play it safe. Bai Lang had two disciples stay behind to deal with miscellaneous jobs.

Mu Yu knew the culprit was on standby until Bai Lang left. He planned to visit Green Pine Sect's courtyard to see if he could find traces of the culprit at night. The incidents had nothing to do with him, but his interest was piqued after he exchanged blows with the culprit the night of Xiaohu's death. Since he didn't know where his shifu was, he figured he might as well catch the culprit to kill time.

Mu Yu entered a tree in a secluded place as soon as the skies blinds were dark. When he passed by the grey-rank disciples' courtyard, he saw a cultivator giving one of the grey-rank disciples a hard time at the entrance. The cultivator was youth with a proud look on his somewhat ashen face. It was clear he was another typical condescending cultivator.

"You grey-ran disciples are such eye sores. You lack talent, and you're slow."

"Enough, Junior Brother Lin. Stop giving grey-rank disciples grief for no reason. Shifu is waiting for us," said another youth with a oblong face shape.

"They're our slaves to being with." The condescending youth kicked the grey-rank disciple before leaving with his senior.

As much as Mu Yu wanted to dish out another beating, he refrained as he had another job. He shifted over to a tree by the wall of Green Pine Sect's courtyard. As he waited, the chilly breeze joined the tranquil night. The rooms of the two disciples were still bright and silent, so Mu Yu assumed they were meditating. He waited and waited, but the culprit didn't come for them, much to his disappointment. When the golden orb came out for its shift, Bai Lang opened the door and stepped out, fatigue written all over his face.

"The culprit didn't take the bait. Pack up, and let's head back," instructed Bai Lang.

Bai Lang never left; it was merely a ruse to lure the culprit out. Mu Yu didn't detect Bai Lang's presence all night.

Mu Yu yawned and headed back to his courtyard for some shut eye.

"Senior Brother, have you seen Junior Brother Lin?"

Two disciples turned the corner up ahead. One of them was the oblong-faced youth Mu Yu saw last night. He was with someone else Mu Yu hadn't seen before.

"No. Did he go for a stroll somewhere? Did he come back last night?" asked the male cultivator Mu Yu hadn't seen before.

"He came back with me yesterday. I saw him when I woke up in the middle of the night. When a breeze woke me up at dawn, he was gone."

"What a drag. Where has he gone when he knows we're supposed to go back today?"

Mu Yu furrowed his eyebrows after he passed the duo. Something suddenly occurred to Mu Yu. Xiaohu died the night he tried to force himself on three grey-rank female disciples. The culprit only killed Xiaohu and spared the three girls. They also didn't finish Mu Yu off when he chased them. Tu Panshan was murdered on the same night he crippled a grey-rank disciple's arm. The cultivator referred to as Junior Brother Lin gave another grey-rank disciple grief yesterday and went missing at dawn. Was it a coincidence, or was somebody avenging the grey-rank disciples?

Up until then, Mu Yu was fixated on the idea that the culprit was trying to sow discord between Green Pine Sect and Jiuhua Sect. He couldn't conclude his new theory was supported as there still wasn't any proof Junior Brother Lin was killed. Moreover, someone avenging grey-rank disciples was suspending reality. General Manager Xun would've stood up for them, but he was already dead. If he somehow survived the ordeal Xiaohu put him through, he still wouldn't be strong enough to kill the victims thus far. The theory could keep rolling into more absurd hypotheses, such as a grey-rank disciple learning some new skills and coming back to avenge the others.

It wouldn't be surprising if Gu Yitian went around avenging grey-rank disciples knowing his personality. That being said, Gu Yitian didn't like being sneaky. He'd challenge his opponents to front-on confrontations. By that logic, he was an unlikely suspect.

If the theory held true, the culprit had to be at the academy. There would be no other way for him to know who was picked on, otherwise.

"Wait! Killed or missing?"

Mu Yu smacked himself on the head. Based on the nature of the academy, any disappearances would be ruled out as someone leaving the academy. Nobody else besides fellow sect members would search for them. Weaker disciples wouldn't even be recognised or be given time of the day. Was Junior Brother Lin killed or missing? His death wouldn't cause the same commotion Xiaohu or Tu Panshan's deaths would. Put another way, even though other disciples could have been going missing all this time, they might've gone under the radar owing to their difference in status compared to Xiaohu and Tu Panshan.

Reinvigorated, Mu Yu felt prepared to go and test his hypothesis.