Daoist Liu Yi sneered, "Di Nü Feng, have you lost your mind? What nonsense are you spouting!"
Di Nü Feng frowned. She wasn't sure either - this was what Li Xuanxiao had told her. The master of Mount Shushan's Little Bamboo Peak, Liu Yi, was actually the vice leader of Tian Sha Hall. Her former comrade who had once lived and trained alongside her.
Di Nü Feng scrutinized the man before her. This was clearly a male. And his aura bore no resemblance whatsoever.
Liu Yi's hands glowed with magical energy. "Di Nü Feng, where is Wang Yushu?"
Di Nü Feng raised a finger, about to unleash a torrent of abuse, then suddenly remembered. She produced the Recording Stone from her sleeve.
A deep, aged voice emanated from the stone: "Liu Yi, drop the act. You're the vice leader of Tian Sha Hall - a spy planted in Mount Shushan."
Liu Yi's expression darkened as he stared at the stone. "Hah! You think a mere recording can frame me? How naive."
The voice in the stone seemed to anticipate this response: "Don't be hasty... let me explain..."
Key facts: First, this vice leader excelled at concealing identities and tracks, never revealing their true appearance. They'd disappeared for an extended period!!
Later, after ambushing the vice leader, Li Xuanxiao learned their cover was nearly blown. The mole almost exposed.
This narrowed the suspects down to Mount Shushan's seven peak masters. For a peak master to turn traitor made no sense.
Considering the vice leader's personality traits, Li Xuanxiao boldly equated one peak master with the vice leader.
Following this logic, three criteria emerged:
Only one person fit all three perfectly: Great Bamboo Peak's master, Wang Yushu.
But another problem arose. According to Di Nü Feng, she and the vice leader had both been orphaned street urchins taken in by their master and raised in Tian Sha Hall.
Yet Wang Yushu came from a prominent cultivation clan, never went missing, and joined Mount Shushan at fourteen.
Li Xuanxiao had to reconsider. Was his hypothesis wrong? Maybe the vice leader wasn't among the peak masters after all.
The idea that a Mount Shushan peak master had always been Tian Sha Hall's vice leader sounded like madness to outsiders.
Li Xuanxiao explored countless possibilities, but none connected all the dots. For instance, if a peak master was the mole but not the vice leader themselves - perhaps they were lovers?
That could work, but it didn't explain the vice leader's shape-shifting and secretive nature. Nor their long disappearance...
After exhausting all theories, Li Xuanxiao circled back to his original conclusion - the vice leader was indeed a peak master. Yet besides Wang Yushu, no one else fit.
Staring at his tangled web of clues, Li Xuanxiao suddenly crossed out a critical assumption: FEMALE.
Why assume their gender? Couldn't they identify as an attack helicopter? Or a plastic bag? Even if Di Nü Feng swore the vice leader was female, what gave her the right to define someone's gender? The audacity!
Breaking free from this mental constraint, Li Xuanxiao had an epiphany: Daoist Liu Yi.
Investigating Liu Yi's records revealed:
- According to his account, his family was slaughtered by heretical cultivators. He alone survived the village massacre.
- He and Wang Yushu joined Mount Shushan together - timeline matched.
- Had long harbored feelings for Wang Yushu.
- Sources indicated Wang Yushu reciprocated.
- They made a perfect match, yet never got together. Even when Wang Yushu confessed, Liu Yi repeatedly rejected her... while secretly protecting her from the shadows.
Why Liu Yi loved Wang Yushu yet spurned her advances? Because his vice leader identity forbade it.
Why he recently started pursuing her? Having seized control of Tian Sha Hall and ousted Di Nü Feng, he had no more worries.
Why Di Nü Feng remembered the vice leader disappearing and changing appearance? That's when he'd infiltrated Mount Shushan...
After this exhaustive explanation, Liu Yi's expression turned grave. He couldn't help but applaud. "Bravo! Where's your evidence? This is all conjecture! What proof do you have that I'm Tian Sha Hall's vice leader?"
Liu Yi sneered. "Don't try trapping me with words. Even if you record this conversation, do you think Mount Shushan would condemn me based on this?"
Stray dogs need no tombstones - they just run until they rot! Liu Yi recalled his master's words.
Back when he and Di Nü Feng were caged like animals, surrounded by corpses. Bloodcurdling screams tore through the night - agony beyond description. Flesh peeled away strip by strip, every muscle and nerve screaming in torment.
"Remember - you're no longer yourself. You can be anyone." The master's voice whispered like a demon's.
"Master... I've become a peak master now."
"Hahaha! Excellent! My years of training you weren't wasted."
"Tian Sha Hall's leader - you demonic fiend! Taste Mount Shushan's sword formation!"
Facing multiple Mount Shushan tribulation transcendents, the sect leader paled. "Traitor! You dare betray me?!"
Only with you dead am I truly safe. No one will ever know my true identity!
I'll inherit Tian Sha Hall's leadership while remaining a Mount Shushan peak master.
Master... you were right. Stray dogs need no tombstones - we just run until we rot.
"The late sect leader passed the command jade to Di Nü Feng. Henceforth, we shall honor her as our new leader."
"All hail the Honored One!"
"Hehe, rise my loyal subjects."