The situation was truly peculiar, though rather hopeless for the accused man. He had just been betrayed by his own wife. Surely she had to be well aware of what that meant.

  May looked at the woman standing next to Yang and looked accusingly at her husband. From time to time, however, she would glance surreptitiously at May and Ze Yun, trying to perceive their reactions.

  Kai, however, was not going to simply stand there and be accused without saying a word. He desperately exclaimed to his wife.

  “I beg you! What are you talking about? You know very well that I didn't do it, and I never had such a box!” he shouted breathlessly.

  Ze Yun was watching, slightly shocked. Even he hadn't expected such a turn of events. He had expected May to accomplish nothing and leave in the morning without doing anything!

  “No... I know very well what you really are!” the woman shouted back, this time full of life and vigor. “You are a vile murderer! You have always been jealous of Yang! Your envy and hatred pushed you to this despicable act! And now we have proof!”

  The woman's mouth wouldn't shut as she shouted her words mercilessly at her now pale husband, who had turned so pale that he could be mistaken for a corpse. The woman finally turned to May and Ze Yun, this time speaking directly to them.

  “Great cultivators! You have seen the evidence of his crimes and what he has done. And now when even his own wife speaks of his guilt, there can be no mistake! I know him like no one else and I know what he is really like, I have endured a lot with him, but I cannot live in the same house with a criminal!”

  If Kai really committed the crime, his wife might indeed want him to be judged for his sins. However, she didn't seem the least bit concerned about her husband's fate. What's more, after just one piece of “evidence,” she immediately changed sides? Even if she had had suspicions before, her reaction was unnatural.

  May looked at Ze Yun, who was watching with indifference. May thought that it was too easy for him to pretend to be aloof.

  “Mr. Yang... So if I understand correctly, you're saying that Kai gave your daughter cookies that were poisoned. Then she went to play on the roof and fell?” May asked, wanting to confirm his version of events.

  Yang did not answer immediately. He thought deeply about what he wanted to say. He was extremely careful with his words, no longer displaying the vehemence and desire for justice he had shown earlier.

  “Yes... More or less. I think he wanted her to fall into a coma, just like my wife. Unfortunately, my daughter went to play on the roof at that time... I don't think he planned the fall itself, but as a result of the poison, it happened incidentally,” he replied.

  So he's sticking to the story about playing on the roof and cookies...? Hmmm. Wait... Oh.

  May happened to glance at the woman standing next to him. She seemed unnerved by his words. May immediately understood the source of her nervousness. She realized why May had asked about the brush earlier. There was evidence on it in the form of mold. His version with the cookies contradicted what she knew.

  It was an excuse to blame Kai. It was quite obvious. These in fact were two contradictory realities, only one of which could be true.

  Did this man really believe that she would fall for such a straightforward lie? She was perhaps perceived as a child here, but the man's common sense should have told him that even so, he shouldn't try to deceive a cultivator, even if one looked unthreatening. May sighed.

  Silence fell once again. All that could be heard was Kai's heavy breathing, as he seemed close to tears. May decided that enough was enough. It was time to finally end this farce.

  “I will certainly take your words into consideration. Very seriously,” she said. This time, she turned to the defendant's wife, who was standing next to him and was no longer as talkative as before. “And what do you think of Mr. Yang's theory?”

  As May expected, the woman didn't know how to respond. She knew she couldn't agree with the man's theory, because then May would ask about the brush. And contradicting his words would mean that she would have to negate his version of events.

  Regardless of the path she chose, she would still have a problem. She desperately searched for a way out, a way to create a coherent vision that would agree with Yang's words, while at the same time providing an excuse for the presence of the brush.

  However, she was unable to do so. May had already figured out most of the situation. She already knew who, but she didn't know what for or why.

  May snorted and shook her head. There was no point in prolonging this any longer. She glanced furtively at Ze Yun, hoping that he would ultimately support her in this situation. Regardless, she had to move on to a direct confrontation. She looked at Yang.

  “Mr. Yang... With the utmost respect, I think you believe me to be a fool.”

  Yang turned pale, shocked that she was addressing him this time. He sincerely believed that this naive child he had met by coincidence would fall for his evidence and directly accuse Kai! However, it seemed that instead, she had focused on him.

  Still convinced of his standing, he failed to realize that his end was near.

  “Umm, respected cultivator, I really don't understand what you mean?” he said, trying to remain serious. “Is this evidence insufficient? Even his wife confirms this version of events.”

  “She confirms it… But isn’t that because she’s in cahoots with you?” she asked.

  The man immediately lost his sense of confidence. However, he still didn’t give up. What could such a dumb kid know?

  “These are baseless accusations.” he replied simply, unable to think of anything better to say.

  This time, May showed the brush to the man. He frowned.

  “I found this on the roof. See these black spots? It's black mold, specifically the Chale Ma species. Highly poisonous. It happened to be growing on the roof of this building. It looks like someone told your child to scrape it off the wall... It poisoned her.”

  The man fell silent, but after a moment he began to speak, knowing that remaining silent would not help his case. He had to get himself out of this somehow, and as quickly as possible.

  “How do you know it was my child who scraped it off? Maybe it was Kai who scraped it off and added it to the cookies, which caused my child's death! Yes! That’s it! That mold was growing on the roof, Kai scraped it off and used it to first poison his mother-in-law, then my daughter, and finally my wife! Triple murder!”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  May just shook her head. She knew it was not possible. His words were just a poor attempt to deflect the accusations. May knew that she would now deliver the final blow. The indisputable truth that would crush his pathetic theory!

  “First of all! The box you brought stinks, but it's clear that it's not black mold! They're poisoned, but with some other substance, which suggests that this is fake evidence that you prepared on the spot! Secondly, as soon as you opened the box, the stench rose from them. Why would a child want to eat something like that? They are clearly poisoned, even a child wouldn't be stupid enough to eat such a thing!" She said aloud everything she had been thinking about the matter so far. “Thirdly—”

  She didn't get to finish her argument because Yang suddenly interrupted her.

  “So what?! Are you suggesting that I killed my own child!? Absurd! Why would I do such a thing?” He shouted angrily, no longer caring about their identities as cultivators.

  “You better tell me. According to Kai's testimony, his wife told him to fix something at the time of the accident. I suspect it was an excuse to send your child up to the roof to remove mold. She must have known it was poisonous!”

  The woman's pupils dilated. Yang looked at her and grabbed her arm. Were they not even trying to hide it anymore? After a moment, he removed his hand from her, realizing how it looked.

  “Why would she do that? She's innocent, and it's her husband who's behind it!”

  But why are you defending her? Don't you realize how suspicious it looks? Despite the lack of concrete details, it's hard not to see what this whole thing is really about.

  “I don't know the exact motive, but I get the impression that you two are clearly conspiring with each other. You're trying to frame this man,” she said, pointing at Kai.

  “Absurd!” the woman shouted, red with anger.

  The man placed his hand on her again, trying to calm her down, which worked.

  “Dear cultivator, with all due respect, you have no evidence for that. These are just unconfirmed guesses and speculations.”

  And how is that different from your ‘evidence’? You yourself gave meaningless arguments, but when I do the same, it's not acceptable?

  "Really? Because from what I conclude, you two are behind all this. On top of that, you wished to frame Kai for the whole matter. That's why you publicly shouted your accusations in the tavern! You wanted as many people as possible to suspect him, but now when you saw the cultivators investigating the case, you wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to falsely accuse him and end it once and for all."

  “How dare you, you wretched brat!” he yelled, standing up and lunging at her with his fists.

  He thought: She's just a little kid who thinks she knows everything!

  May just laughed in her head, intending to dodge his blow, but unexpectedly, Ze Yun reacted! He grabbed his fist and twisted his arm! Yang just cried out in pain and fell sideways onto the table.

  “What impertinence! Just attacking a member of the sect is punishable by death, you worthless mortal.”

  Despite the immense pain, Yang quickly came to his senses and threw himself to his knees with his head on the floor. In his anger, he had done something stupid that could have cost him his life. He thought that his explosiveness would eventually cost him his life. Nevertheless, he wanted to try to get out of it somehow.

  “Please forgive me! Honorable cultivators! I'm sorry, I'll give you everything I have in compensation! Just spare my life!”

  Ze Yun just snorted at his words. All mortals reacted the same way against the threat of death. They abandoned their dignity, such was the difference between them and cultivators, he had thought.

  Ze Yun looked at May.

  “You are the victim, so decide for yourself what to do with him,” he said to her in a calm and composed voice.

  Another test. He wants to see what I'll do.

  “Your punishment for your actions is a matter for later,” she said, being more interested in solving the case. “First, tell me what really happened. Don’t try to lie anymore.”

  “But I really did say...”

  “Give it up,” Ze Yun suddenly interrupted in a commanding voice. “I have the ability to detect lies. Since the beginning of this conversation, you haven't told the truth even once.”

  The man turned pale, as did the woman. May, on the other hand, became frustrated.

  You really have that ability!? Why didn't you say so right away! The whole thing could have been resolved in a minute! You were involved in that accident? No? Lie! End of story.

  But she couldn't do anything about it anyway. Ze Yun could do whatever he wanted, and May had no say in the matter. Even if it was annoying, at least now that he had revealed himself, she was sure that this was the end of the matter.

  All that was left was to uncover the whole truth.

  Unfortunately, neither of the two said anything. They fell completely silent. Only Kai seemed slightly pleased, though also confused. No wonder, after all, he had just been falsely accused by his own wife.

  May decided to encourage them to speak.

  “Admit your guilt, tell us what happened, and we'll take that into account in your punishment,” she said, hoping that this would encourage them to reveal the whole truth. “Your punishment may even be reduced if you confess now.”

  “It was all his idea!” the woman suddenly exclaimed, pointing her finger at Yang, who jumped up in anger. “Yes, it's true! It's all true! We had an affair! For years! One day he proposed this whole plan!”

  She shouted as loud as she could.

  “What are you talking about, woman!” Yang got upset.

  “I'm telling the truth! Right?” She looked at Ze Yun. “Your ability... You have to believe me now! He planned it all! He wanted to get rid of his wife and child... And then accuse my husband, win everyone over to his side, so that we could be together!”

  “That...”

  “Don't deny it! His ability... It's true!” She replied agitatedly.

  “Maybe so... But you didn't protest! As soon as I told you, you laughed! You're just as guilty as I am!”

  “Me? Guilty? You took care of most of it, even if I knew about it, you took care of the implementation!” She spat angrily.

  “I did everything because you're useless! Except for your boobs, you apparently have no brain!” He yelled at her. “You even fucked up poisoning that brat! Because of that, everyone thought it was an accident!”

  May interrupted this time, shocked to see the true faces of the two.

  “Brat? It was your own child? You had no remorse or doubts?”

  “Doubts? What are you talking about?! That wicked child was my nightmare, always crying, a runt who couldn’t even sit still or do anything useful! As soon as it was born, all I dreamed about was killing that piece of trash!” He turned red with anger.

  “And my wife was just as bad! She was always running after that little brat! She didn't have an ounce of love for me!”

  Somehow, I don't blame her.

  “So just like that? You just killed them?”

  “Yes.”

  May didn't know what to say.

  “You...” Suddenly, Kai interrupted, struggling to hold back his tears. He was struck by the extraordinary indifference of Yang and his wife. “You're monsters...”

  His wife just snorted.

  “You never had the balls. You're useless.” She said, then turned to Ze Yun. “Like I said... Yang was behind everything.”

  “Yes...” he replied with a stony face.

  He took out his sword. Yang turned pale.

  He tried to back away. But he stumbled and fell to the ground.

  The woman laughed at the sight.

  With that laugh, her head fell to the ground. Soon her body fell as well.

  For some reason, she thought she would not be punished. As if not participating in the act itself justified her actions. Naive and foolish. Although the brutality of the execution was extremely gruesome, May decided that it was an ending that suited her.

  Kai and Yang both screamed in fear.

  Yang covered his face with his hand. Tears streamed from his eyes. Soon after, a sword pierced his neck, and blood flowed from his neck. He writhed in pain for a few more moments and squealed like a pig. He desperately tried to get air into his lungs, but finally his last breath came.

  May was shocked. She had expected it to end this way, but she hadn't thought it would happen so quickly.

  “Let's go back,” Ze Yun said to May, then left the house as if nothing had happened.

  Kai stared blankly at the corpses in his house. No more tears flowed from his eyes, and his lips no longer uttered any words.