Instructor Joel said sothing that made pause. My thoughts had been elsewhere, but the words snapped them back.
"Huh?"
"I said murder. You've heard about Sleepless Kael's disappearance, right? It's been confird that he was killed in cold blood."
"..."
Five days had passed since the sudden interrogation led by the Head Instructor and his colleagues. Now, I sat in the Way of Survival class, listening to another lesson on terrain study and exploration.
For once, I chose to attend all my courses in my main body. It couldn't be helped. If I transferred my consciousness fully into the Mirror Bond, my real body would remain motionless and unguarded. Worse, it would grow unnaturally stiff from lack of movent.
With that in mind, I dismissed the Mirror Bond back into my "domain" and carried on with my activities myself.
After all, it was never wise to indulge in laziness too much… even for soone as lazy as .
Though I hadn't expected to be blindsided by soone suddenly bringing up murder without any warning. It was abrupt, to say the least.
Seriously, who starts a conversation like that?
Frowning, I inquired,
"A Sleepless was murdered? How's that even possible? And Kael, I thought he was missing, yes? When was it decided that he was dead?"
The masked instructor, sitting cross-legged, shrugged and began to explain the situation nonchalantly.
"A few days ago, apparently. I was not part of the investigation team, but the conclusion was that Sleepless Kael was murdered. The reason behind it is classified, so you'll have to promise not to breathe a word of this to anyone. Understood?"
That last line carried an uncharacteristic gravity, stripped of Joel's usual lodious tone. I nodded.
He continued.
"Upon further observation, it appeared like nothing inside his room had been moved or touched. If Kael had simply left the academy, then he would have surely carried a few tis with him especially his communicator. However, this wasn't the case. On top of that, traces of blood were found on the scene, but there was no signs of a struggle. He was likely poisoned, and the killer disposed of the body."
I grimaced.
"How disturbing. Has the killer been caught?"
Joel shook his head.
"Not yet. There is a pri suspect, though. His na is Xyler, one of Kael's acquaintances. Interestingly, he was present the night Kael disappeared. Currently, he's detained inside his dorm room until further notice."
Tilting my head, I pretended to blink in surprise.
"Huh?"
Then I continued from there.
"Isn't that strange? Why would he be detained? Isn't he just a pri suspect? It doesn't necessarily an he's the killer, right?"
Funny enough, it was sothing I had said before but I needed to say it again.
Joel rubbed his chin thoughtfully, and from the look in his eyes, it seed he understood — or at least didn't disagree with — my reason.
"That's true. Being the pri suspect doesn't necessarily make soone the actual perpetrator," he said, the faint glow behind his mask flickering ominously. "But the issue is that Xyler was the last person to see Kael alive. You might not know this, but the Clan he belongs to… well, they have a rather notorious history."
My eyebrow arched in surprise, for real this ti. "You an the Blood Blossom Clan? What about them?"
"For starters, they weren't always called the Blood Blossom Clan. During the Old Emperor Era, they were known as the Crimson Lotus. They were so of the most ruthless and cruel individuals you could imagine. If they wanted soone dead, that person was dead. If they wanted soone to vanish, they disappeared as though they had never existed. To put it bluntly, they were assassins who thrived in the shadows. Naturally, it's easy to see why people feared and despised them."
Joel leaned back slightly.
"Eventually, the other clans decided that the Crimson Lotus had beco a nuisance and plotted their eradication. But the clan's Venerable at the ti anticipated their move and made a daring decision: he led the clan to rge with the Great Imperial Clans, abandoning their old na and forsaking their identity as assassins. That's how they survived complete annihilation. Tsk. Those bastards. If I could spit on the floor, I would have done so."
What an intriguing history. Still, sothing about it felt incomplete.
I didn't need to voice the thought.
Judging by the way he glanced at , Instructor Joel must have sensed my contemplation. Without missing a beat, he picked up right where he had left off.
"You've probably realized this already, but things didn't end there. If I explained everything at once, we'd be stuck here all day. For now, all you need to know is that the Blood Blossom Clan remains troubleso even today. This casts a shadow over Xyler. There's another reason to suspect him: one of his associates disappeared prior to Kael's death."
I furrowed my brow and asked impatiently,
"Who?"
Joel replied casually, as if it were nothing unusual.
"A Sleepless nad Zephyr. Unlike Kael, he belonged to the Sky Wind Clan. Coincidentally, both this clan and the Blood Blossom Clan are classified as Lessers, but their relationship is far from cordial. In fact, the Sky Wind Clan beca a Lesser because the Blood Venerable killed their acting Venerable under unusual circumstances, causing the clan to collapse and be absorbed into a Greater Clan. Do you understand the implications of this?"
I could only mutter an "Ah" in acknowledgnt.
Given the circumstances, it made sense why Xyler had been flagged as the pri target for questioning. The boy himself was innocent, but the Instructors had no way of knowing that. Complicating matters further, both of his friends had "disappeared" in quick succession.
Ironically, their deaths conveniently painted Xyler as the scapegoat, diverting attention away from my own involvent.
My brows knitted together.
Guilt lingered, though I tried to push it aside. After all, I was the one who had killed those two, yet soone else was bearing the consequences of my actions. Most likely, Xyler would face even greater complications from those in higher power. Still, that didn't an I was about to confess or hand myself over.
I was just that selfish.
But sothing didn't quite add up. Instructor Joel didn't strike as the type to casually divulge classified information, especially to a Sleepless like .
Curiosity crept into my voice as I asked,
"Instructor Joel… why are you telling all of this? Is there a reason?"
Hearing my question, Instructor Joel suddenly fell silent. Behind the white eyes of his porcelain mask, I could sense him weighing sothing, perhaps an internal debate over whether to reveal the information or not.
The tension in the room was almost palpable. After a long pause, it seed one side had prevailed, and he finally spoke:
"Despite everything I've told you, I don't believe he's the one responsible for their deaths. It feels far too convenient. It's entirely possible he's being frad, and the real culprit remains at large. Tsk. That damn bastard."
Ouch.
"Even more pressing," he continued, "there's a festival coming up in the next few days — what we call the Great Imperial Festival. Naturally, most Sleepless will want to leave the academy to partake in the celebrations, which is precisely what worries . That's also why I'm telling you all this. Be careful, and if possible, don't linger outside for too long."
I could only smile wryly.
There was no need to fear so killer because I was that mysterious killer. Of course, that was not sothing I could easily disclose. And for now, I had no intention of claiming another life, so nobody else will die.
…At least, not for the ti being.
Following that, he said nothing more on the subject, signaling the conversation's end. We returned to the lecture as if nothing had happened at all.
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