3rd Day of the First Month in the Year 736 NCE.

Disciplinary Hall, Mu Household, Miu Aisla City.

"Boy, stop wasting all our time and get to the point! Or else, I will sentence you to death right here and now!" roared Elder Tie.

After waiting for the old man to finish his piece, Wuzhi quietly smiled and said, "Very well. I will get to the point."

"I was utterly exhausted after the long travel it took to reach the Mu Household residence. After sorting a few items, I lay on the bed and immediately found myself asleep from the tiredness."

"It was this careless mistake that wound up bringing about my current predicament..."

---

Midnight. 1st Day of the First Month in the Year 736 NCE.

Silver Lilies Courtyard, Inner Residence, Mu Household

A loud 'clatter' sound roused Wuzhi out of his sleep. He quickly rolled away from his bed and toward a corner of the room. Upon reaching the said corner, he quickly huddled himself into a ball and quietly waited.

A groan and some whispers followed after which came silence. Wuzhi hid in his dark corner for a good length of time before crawling out and standing up. He closed his eyes and used a Path technique that he hadn't used in quite some time. When he confirmed that there was no immediate danger surrounding him, he moved and walked in the direction where he had heard the sound of something shattering.

Arriving at the foyer, Wuzhi held the doorknob and waited. He closed his eyes and confirmed his safety once more before twisting the knob open. The scene outside the door was revealed to him, causing his eyes to furrow.

On the ground outside was a bloodied young woman with a knife sticking out of her back. A pool of blood had formed underneath her body, wetting the ground and her clothes.

Perhaps, she had sensed his arrival or perhaps it was her final struggle. With tear-ridden eyes, she gazes at Wuzhi with pain and mouthed something with her lips. Halfway through her exertion, the light in her eyes disappeared as her head fell limp.

Dispassionately viewing this scene, Wuzhi clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Really? On my very first night?"

After gazing at the pitch-black surroundings which resembled the ravenous maw of a beast, he gazed once more at the body on the ground before turning around and heading back inside. "I don't have the energy to deal with this."

Stifling a yawn, Wuzhi went back to sleep.

---

3rd Day of the First Month in the Year 736 NCE.

Disciplinary Hall, Mu Household, Miu Aisla City.

"Wait, so you mean to say that you heard the poor woman's cry for help but instead of helping her, left her alone to die?" Elder Tie asked, sharply.

"You misunderstand. I never 'heard' anything. Besides, she had already lost too much blood and was beyond help." Wuzhi shook his head in pity and smoothly replied. He then waved his hands and continued, "There you have it. I did not murder her. And I couldn't have, even if I had tried because she was already dead by the time I saw her. That is my defence. I am innocent."

As he said this, one of the suit-wearing men sitting at the prosecution's side stood up and asked, "I request the council of elders to allow me to speak."

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"Granted," replied Elder Tie.

The man nodded his head in thanks. He then turned towards Wuzhi and eyed him sharply. "Mr Wuzhi, do you have any witnesses or evidence that can corroborate your statement?"

Wuzhi shook his head and replied, "No. Not any that I am aware of."

"May I ask you then, what it is that you did on the following day? On the 2nd Day of the First Month in the Year 736 NCE."

"I was woken from my sleep by heavy knocking at the door. After rousing myself, I answered the door, only to find a squad of inspectors belonging to the 'Disciplinary Hall' standing outside my door. I was then informed that I was the lead suspect in the murder of first-class servant Mengmeng and that I had to go with them for questioning."

"I did not protest and obediently followed. Upon arrival at the Disciplinary Hall, I was made to sit and forced to hear many accusations and slanders of my character thrown at me. I must say, I was rather taken aback by the Mu Household's treatment of its guests. Do you accuse every guest of murder or am I the first?"

"Remember where you are and watch your tongue, Mr. Wuzhi. We do not take kindly to accusations thrown against us," warned the prosecutor. The air within the hall also turned hostile.

At his response, Wuzhi showed a bright smile and exclaimed, "Ah, what a coincidence! Neither do I."

The prosecutor shook his head and solemnly said, "I'm afraid, Mr Wuzhi, that if the story was your only means of defence, then it is simply not enough. You need to be backed with evidence if you wish to prove your innocence."

"Do you have it then? Evidence proving that I am the murderer" asked Wuzhi.

"We do."

"Can I see it? I have the right, don't I?"

"At this time, given this setting, I'm afraid—!"

Wuzhi directly interrupted the man. "Don't worry. I won't take too long."

The man entered a stare-off with Wuzhi as the two of them intensely peered into each other. A sudden flash of light appeared and disappeared in the depths of the scholar's argent eyes, causing the prosecutor's expression to turn sluggish for an instant.

"I… agree," he nodded his head, unexpectedly.

Expressing a polite smile, Wuzhi thanked the man with cupped fists. "Wuzhi thanks Prosecutor for accepting my request."

At this moment, the ever-hostile Elder Tie suddenly roared. "What is this nonsense!? You want to look at the evidence while the trial is in session!? Do you think the rest of us have nothing to do!? Denied! I deny you the right to peruse the evidence!"

Wuzhi kept quiet while the old man said his piece. After he was done, he smiled in reply and said, "A denial of rights, huh? I didn't know that the Mu Household was so overbearing in the way it conducted its affairs."

He then immediately turned to look at the prosecutor and spoke. "Alright, Mr. Prosecutor. You don't have to hand me the evidence. You simply have to answer a few of my questions. Is that fine?"

"…yes," replied the man.

"Excellent. First question; the murder weapon was recovered, was it not?"

"…it was."

"Did it have any traces that directly pointed toward me?"

"… no, it did not."

"Second question; my residence was searched after I was taken away by the inspectors, was it not?"

"…it was."

"Did you find any of my clothes or other items bearing any bloodstains or bloodspots?"

"…we did not. However, the inspectors in charge of your arrest submitted a report to the Disciplinary Hall stating that the robes that you were wearing at the time of arrest contained bloodspots on them. It was then later confirmed that the source of the blood matched the murdered victim."

"Oh, so they found bloodspots on the clothes that I was wearing yesterday, huh? It's funny. You would think that the person who was wearing the clothes would notice something like that first."

"Third question and final question; why was I the primary suspect? Was it simply because she was found dead outside of my residence? What would be my motive to commit this heinous crime?"

"…" The prosecutor stalled longer when faced with this question. After a few seconds, he explained sluggishly, "The reason why you were taken as the primary suspect was because we had a witness come forward and say that you were the murderer."

At that, Wuzhi raised an eyebrow. "May I know who this witness was?"

"…yes, you ma—!"

"Denied! This farce has gone on for long enough!" thundered Elder Tie. "I hereby sentence Wuzhi as gu—!"

Just as Elder Tie was about to proclaim his sentence, a voice interrupted him. "Hold on a second, Elder Tie. I am also curious about this witness."

Another elder seated upon the council suddenly opened his mouth. He then flashed a kind smile to Elder Tie before turning around and instructing the aides. "Go and bring the witness."

"Understood, Lord Elder." The aides quickly moved.

Elder Tie seemed to have a bellyful of complaints; however, that single smile from the other elder had silenced all his thoughts. He simply snorted heavily and looked away.

From where he stood, Wuzhi looked at this scene and inwardly thought, 'Interesting.' He then made a note to remove this person from a 'certain list' that he was making.

After a few minutes of waiting, while the rest of the audience members stood discussing in low chatter, a group of guards arrived with the witness in tow.

Looking at the face of the witness who had accused him of first-degree murder, Wuzhi smiled brightly and greeted, "Steward Lu! I never thought that I would see you again so soon!"