Imperial henchmen? My divine skills are all hacked versions.

"I am from Kang State, the only daughter of the Marquis of Nanlong in Kang State."

Ouyang Ruiming straightened his back. "My family has an heirloom. Somehow, outsiders found out about it. I was young that year, and a group of people broke into the mansion and killed everyone they saw."

"Later, His Highness told me that those people were desperate outlaws from the martial arts world who came to steal my family's heirloom."

"Your Highness avenged me. Everyone involved in the massacre was killed without exception. From then on, I followed Your Highness. He taught me martial arts and provided for my needs. My life belongs to Your Highness!"

Dean Zhou's hand holding the bamboo slip trembled slightly, and his eyes flickered.

"Marquis of Nanlong, are you the daughter of Marquis Ouyang Zhengming of Nanlong?"

"Yes."

Dean Zhou nodded slowly and looked at Xu Xian. "This did happen more than ten years ago. That year, news spread in Kang Kingdom that the Marquis of Nanlong's family had a map that pointed to a priceless treasure. It was rumored that this treasure was related to the secret of ascension..."

"Upon hearing the news, heroes from all sides rushed to Kang State. The reason they were willing to risk their lives for a rumor was because the news had been verified by Master Yuanding of the Western Desert. Master Yuanding was a high-ranking Buddhist monk who never lied. If he said it was true, the people of the world would believe it."

"Although the Marquis of Nanlong held a high position and wielded great power, he could not withstand both open and covert attacks. In the end, one night, his mansion was stormed and no one in the entire family survived."

"At that time, I was studying the way of the first and second generation of sages at the Sage Academy in Kangguo. The next day, I heard about this tragedy and was deeply saddened. But the news I heard was that no one from the Marquis of Nanlong's family survived. I never expected that there would be an orphan still alive."

Xu Xian stopped tugging at his stubble.

The ascension treasure certified by a high-ranking Buddhist monk, the massacre of a family to seize the map, and the adoption of the orphan of the Marquis of Nanlong by a mysterious prince—these events, when combined, seem far too coincidental.

He looked at Ouyang Ruiming.

"What exactly is this precious treasure?"

"I don't know. I've never seen any picture before, and I don't know anything about any treasure. My father never lets me into his study, so I've never even seen what that picture looks like."

"Has His Highness received the map yet?"

"No! Didn't I already say there's no picture at all! It's all just rumors circulating outside! If my dad really had that picture, he would have traded it for his life long ago!"

He didn't leave me anything before he died, not even a single word.

Ouyang Ruiming's voice choked for a moment, but he immediately bit his lip.

Xu Xian stroked his stubble and remained silent for a while before looking at Dean Zhou.

Dean Zhou nodded slightly and completely concealed the light emanating from the bamboo slip.

The spell of words has been completely dispelled.

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Ouyang Ruiming slumped in the chair, panting heavily, his chest heaving.

Xu Xian stared in disbelief for a moment, then quickly looked away, tugging at the few barely noticeable stubble strands on his chin, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Your story is interesting, but I have another version. Would you like to hear it?"

Ouyang Ruiming looked up at him and said, "Speak."

"Most of the story is true... the Marquis of Nanlong did indeed possess a treasure map, and the warlords did indeed wipe out his entire clan... but there are some discrepancies regarding your survival..."

"I think the normal version should be that your prince is also one of the teams that want to capture the map, and most likely the final winner."

"nonsense!"

Ouyang Ruiming suddenly stood up from his chair.

Dean Zhou raised his hand to signal her to calm down, but she no longer cared about being a dean or not; her eyes were bloodshot as she glared at Xu Xian.

"What right do you have to say that! What evidence do you have! You can kill me and humiliate me, but you cannot insult His Highness! His Highness saved my life and avenged my entire family. You've never even seen His Highness's face, yet you're here spreading rumors and accusing him of being the murderer who wiped out my family!"

Yang Xu was also taken aback by Xu Xian's wild idea, and tapped the floor tiles with his knife.

"Tsk...you're being way too audacious. We've been investigating this case for over half a month, relying entirely on evidence. You're just making baseless accusations and convicting someone. What if they really aren't guilty?"

"Besides, that was the Marquis of Nanlong of Kang State. The massacre of his entire family happened more than a decade ago. How do you know who the murderer is?"

Xu Xian ignored Yang Xu.

Ouyang Ruiming clenched his fist and sneered.

"Then tell me, why did he spare my four-year-old child? To wipe out the entire family, to eliminate any potential threats—is such a simple principle that Your Highness doesn't understand? Since he killed everyone, why didn't he kill me too?"

"Killing a four-year-old child is much easier than killing the guards outside. You call him the murderer who wiped out the whole family? Then explain that to me!"

"It's simple. Why did he go there? The map wasn't found, and you're the only clue. You're the only daughter of the Marquis of Nanlong. If you don't know what your father hid, who will?"

"Killing you would completely cut off the trail. Keeping you alive will allow the truth to surface eventually, so there's no harm in it; it's just another person to support!"

"Impossible! I don't remember any treasure map at all! His Highness asked about it too; he only asked me once, but I really don't know anything about it!"

Ouyang's voice echoed in the main hall.

"And most importantly, at that time, my enemies captured me and interrogated my father. When they couldn't get anything out of him, they killed him in a fit of rage. Just as they were about to kill me, His Highness arrived and saved me..."

"I saw with my own eyes that His Highness's guard killed my enemy with a single blow! I saw it with my own eyes! Are you going to tell me that it was a hallucination I had when I was four years old? That His Highness deliberately put on a show for me?"

clap clap...

Xu Xian chuckled and clapped his hands repeatedly.

"Classic, truly classic! Just when you were about to be killed, that prince happened to appear outside the door, killed your enemy, and saved you. Don't you think it's too much of a coincidence?"

"Only you and your prince survived. Isn't that a coincidence?"

Ouyang Ruiming was stunned.

His mouth moved several times, then he clenched his teeth.

"His Highness treated me like his own daughter, teaching me martial arts, literacy, and how to be a person for twelve years. If he only wanted something from me, why would he spend twelve years raising an orphan?"

"Why not just lock me up and interrogate me? What you're saying is completely unfounded!"

"I've never seen a father raise his daughter to be an assassin and send her out to commit crimes. Other fathers teach their daughters music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, but your prince teaches you to kill and commit arson."

Xu Xian shook his head and stood up from his chair.

"It's an old case, nobody knows what really happened that night. I'm just telling you something casually, just listen to it casually to pass the time... The story is over, the audience is dismissed."

Ouyang Ruiming stood there, clenching his fists, silent.

Xu Xian walked up to Dean Zhou and clasped his hands in a salute.

"Dean, thank you for your trouble today."

"Young Master, you are too kind. This woman is strong-willed but not evil. Under the influence of the Word of Power, she would rather injure herself than betray her master. Such will is one in a million in the martial world. It is a pity that such a gem has been wasted."

Dean Zhou glanced at Ouyang Ruiming, then put the bamboo slip back into his sleeve. "What are your plans for dealing with her next, Junior Tutor?"

"Since we can't get anything out of her, we won't torture her anymore. The pain of resisting the power of words is much greater than physical torture. She almost went crazy just now but still didn't open her mouth. Torture won't work on her. Take her back and we'll see how the case progresses."

Dean Xu Xianchao bowed and took his leave.

Yang Xu picked up his knife and followed.

Ouyang Ruiming walked silently behind Xu Xian, her hands no longer bound, and no one was holding her back.

She followed along by herself, her steps slow, as if she were thinking about something.

The three of them left the academy gate. The morning light was bright. Xu Xian led the horse in front, with Ouyang and Yang Xu following on either side.

After walking for quite a while, Yang Xu couldn't help but ask, "Where to next?"

"Let's go eat, I'm hungry!"