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Lauren sat down across from Lilith and casually switched off the glaring lamp. Without the harsh light, Lauren’s pale face finally came fully into view. Lilith studied her for a moment before raising an eyebrow. “It looks like you’ve had a rough time.”

“The person who died,” Lauren said quietly, “was the Chief Inspector of the Inspection Bureau.”

Lilith immediately fell silent. She had known the man held a high-ranking position within the Inspection Bureau, but she hadn’t realized his status was that high. More importantly, she saw something different in Lauren’s eyes. It was clear that, to her, the man had been more than merely the Chief Inspector of the Inspection Bureau.

“When was the last time you saw Liana?” Lauren asked bluntly, getting straight to the point without paying any attention to the sympathy showing on Lilith’s face.

“In your office,” Lilith replied. “You should have seen it too. After that, I woke up in bed, and she was already gone.”

“I see…” Lauren nodded before continuing. “While you were with her, did you notice anything unusual about her?”

“Oh?” Lilith narrowed her eyes. Only now did she finally realize the purpose behind all the questions Lauren, and even the man from earlier, had been asking about Liana. “You suspect that the person who killed the Chief Inspector was Liana?”

Lauren looked at her without answering. She neither confirmed nor denied it. That alone was enough for Lilith to understand.

“That’s impossible. She’s an unarmed little girl without even the slightest trace of spiritual power. How could she possibly kill the Chief Inspector of the Inspection Bureau?”

“Chief Inspector Li didn’t die from that dagger you foolishly picked up at the time.” Lauren paused. “He died from poison.”

“Poison?” Lilith frowned. She immediately understood what Lauren was implying. If poison had been the cause of death, then what did power level or physical strength have to do with anything?

Anyone could administer poison. Naturally, that included Liana. More importantly, Liana had indeed disappeared before Chief Inspector Li’s death. If she had nothing to do with the incident, then why had she vanished?

“I still don’t think it was her,” Lilith said, shaking her head.

“Why? Because she’s your friend?” Lauren countered. “But according to your own account, you’ve only known her for a few days.”

“Because she’s an idiot.” Lilith’s expression turned unusually serious. “Someone as foolish, naive, and simple-minded as her could never do something like poison another person.”

“But what if she was deceiving you?” Lauren immediately refuted her. “I don’t believe a few days is enough for you to see a person’s true nature.”

“But everyone in the city knows she’s a fool.” Lilith was referring to the rumor that had long circulated throughout the city. The Third Miss of the Ye family was mentally unstable. But now, it seemed that it wasn’t merely a rumor. She truly was mentally ill. She had become obsessively fixated on curing her deceased mother.

“What if that was fake too?” Lauren suddenly raised her voice. “What if it was nothing more than a disguise she created to achieve her objective?”

“But that rumor started five years ago!” Lilith stared directly at Lauren and spoke each word with deliberate emphasis. “She has been a fool for five whole years.”

“Five years isn’t all that long.” Lauren remained calm, seemingly unconvinced by Lilith’s argument in the slightest.

“So you’re saying she spent five years pretending to be insane and foolish just so she could kill someone?”

“That’s a possibility.” Lauren’s voice remained steady. “A ninth-stage powerhouse would be worth that much effort.”

“Heh.” Lilith laughed in exasperation. “But she’s just a little girl! How old was she five years ago? You’re telling me she could fool an entire city at that age?”

“She’s a member of the Ye family.”

“So what?”

“The Ye family is a major clan. Clans like that tend to produce monsters.” Lauren lowered her gaze slightly, a trace of disgust flashing through her eyes. As though some unpleasant memory had surfaced, her tone softened noticeably. “It seems neither of us can convince the other.”

“Since when has truth ever been determined by who manages to convince whom?” Lilith let out a scornful snort. “If you want me to agree with you, it’s actually very simple. Show me the evidence.”

Evidence. Of course, Lauren had none. If she did, she wouldn’t have been sitting here asking questions.

“And what about you?” Lauren suddenly lifted her head and fixed her gaze on Lilith’s eyes. “In this entire affair, what role exactly did you play?”
“I don’t know anything.”
“But you were with Liana the entire day. The two of you were practically inseparable.”
“Which is exactly why I’m saying she couldn’t have been the killer.”
“……”

Lauren fell silent as she stared into Lilith’s eyes. She had been the Deputy Chief Inspector of the Inspection Bureau. No—now she was the Chief Inspector. Over the years, she had interrogated countless criminals and encountered every kind of lie imaginable. It was no exaggeration to say that ninety-nine percent of people were incapable of lying convincingly in front of her.

As a result, she quickly reached a conclusion. The girl before her was genuinely telling the truth.

“So you’re saying that you really just got up in the middle of the night to use the restroom, stumbled across a corpse, and then, because of sheer curiosity, picked up the dagger?”

“Yes. That’s exactly what happened.” Expressionless, Lilith nodded.

Looking at her, Lauren suddenly felt a headache coming on. She would have preferred it if there had been something suspicious about Lilith. Yet judging by the fact that Lilith had foolishly remained at the scene afterward instead of fleeing, it was genuinely difficult to find anything suspicious about her. But if there was nothing suspicious about her, then it meant the investigation had hit another dead end.

“Did you check the Ye family?” Lilith suddenly asked when she noticed the exhaustion written all over Lauren’s face.

Lauren paused briefly before answering. “I sent people there immediately. It’s just that we still haven’t—”

‘Hm? Wait.’ Lauren suddenly realized something was wrong. The assignment had only been to visit the Ye family and ask about the situation. Even in the middle of the night, there should have been guards keeping watch at the gate. So why hadn’t the men she sent returned yet?

A sense of foreboding rose within her. Just as she was about to get up and investigate personally, a bailiff suddenly rushed in from outside. He looked utterly bedraggled, covered in dust and grime. There were wounds all over his body, blood continuously seeping through his clothes.

Lauren immediately recognized him as one of the men she had dispatched to the Ye family. To be safe, she had specifically chosen someone who ranked among the strongest experts in the Inspection Bureau, second only to the captains. Yet somehow, he had ended up in such a miserable state.

“Chief Inspector Lauren!” The moment he saw her, the panic on his face eased considerably, as though a burden had finally been lifted from his heart. But the instant his tension relaxed, another mouthful of blood burst from his lips, splattering across the floor.

“What happened?” Seeing his condition, even Lauren could not help but feel alarmed. Could another major incident have occurred tonight?

“I followed your orders and went to the Ye family. However, I discovered that the entire estate had sealed itself off. Even their clan-protection grand formation had been activated. I thought something might have happened to the Ye family, so I was preparing to return and report the matter. But on the way back, I encountered one of our brothers from the South District Branch.”

“The South District Branch?” Lauren frowned in confusion. The headquarters of the Inspection Bureau, the very place they were currently in, was located in the eastern district of the city. So why would someone from the South District Branch appear there?

“When I found him, he was being hunted down. Naturally, I stepped in to help. But the pursuer was too powerful. Even working together, the two of us were no match for him. In the end, he sacrificed himself to hold off the attacker and told me to deliver this to you.”

He pulled out a slip of paper stained crimson with blood and handed it to Lauren.

Lauren accepted it. The moment her eyes swept across the intricate symbols drawn upon it, the ominous feeling in her heart intensified. The cipher used on the note was highly specialized, something only the upper ranks of the Inspection Bureau could decipher. In other words, something major must have happened in the southern district.

Focusing her mind, Lauren immediately began decoding the message. Several minutes later, when the entire contents finally revealed themselves before her eyes, even her remarkable composure could no longer remain intact.

“The Ye family… is attacking the Wang family… The Wang family is unable to resist… and is steadily being driven back… They may…” Her pupils contracted. “They may be completely wiped out?”