As the three couples continued exploring, they gradually caught the attention of the disciples, who were reading the manuals at their study table. "Hey... aren't they the guests?"

"Yeah, they are..."

"Ohh, such beautiful skin..."

"Shut up! They'll hear us!"

The disciples whispered amongst each other, but they forgot that the guests were superb cultivators, who could hear them from even fifty metres away. "What are you reading?" Wei Wuxian was the first to ask, leaning down to look at the contents in the reading manuals.

"It's '12 Reasons Why Demons are Horrible'." The young disciple blurted out.

Wei Wuxian smiled. "Then, can you give me a reason as to why they are?"

The young disciple immediately thought that he was given a test, so he responded with accuracy. "The third reason why demons are horrible is their strength. Demons contains a lot of demonic energy from practicing devilish cultivation methods. They don't have any limits to cultivation. That is why they're so strong."

Shen Qingqiu piped in. "Then, how do you think righteous cultivators can surpass demons?"

The young disciple retorted without hesitation. "More spiritual energy."

The three couples looked at each other. Normally, the answer wouldn't be "more spiritual energy" but rather "more practice in cultivation". Both answers sounded the same though, so they guess they would give the young disciple a pass (for now).

Walking away, they kept their sight on the rest of the disciples.

Abruptly, Lan Zhan stood rooted in the spot. The rest of the group was confused, following where he was looking. "He's alone." Lan Zhan pointed. He was looking at a teenage boy, who quietly read a book while slouched against the wall.

"Yes." Wei Wuxian piped in. "He's alone."

"So what?" Luo Binghe was confused.

He was smacked on the head by his Shizun's fan.

"What are you reading?" Xie Lian gently asked the lonely disciple.

Peering up from his book, the disciple frowned. "It's for alchemy."

"You want to be an alchemist?" Xie Lian smiled.

The disciple wanted to distance himself from the others, however, these guest cultivators seem to be attracted to him for no good reason! "Yes, is there a problem with becoming an alchemist?" He retorted, wanting nothing to do with them. Instead, a gratified smile was revealed on Xie Lian's beautiful face. "What have you learned from the book?"

The disciple felt strange. Why was that woman looking at him like that?

He coughed. "In this book, there are only a few tips for refining pills."

"Like what?" Xie Lian continued his interrogation.

The teenage disciple huffed. "There is a method in here for extracting spiritual energy from someone's dantian. All you need is a needle."

"What else?" Xie Lian asked.

"There are also anaesthetics. After injecting it inside a person's body, the person will instantly feel dizzy from their sudden loss of awareness. Even an immortal will find it difficult to resist."

"What else?" Xie Lian persisted.

"Hmm... there is also a method here for refining the 'Purity Pill'. Eating it allows the cultivator to get rid of the impurities in their meridians. It helps a cultivator in improving their cultivation as well."

"Ooh." Xie Lian feigned interest. "Can I borrow that book? I am curious, since one of my friends is struggling in getting rid of their impurities."

"No way." The disciple immediately rejected him. "This is the book that Clan Leader entrusted to me. There's no way I'd share it to you. Who knows when you'd give it back."

Xie Lian felt wronged. "I promise I'm not a robber."

The disciple scowled. "And I promise I'm not an asshole."

"Gege," Hua Cheng patted his lover gently on the shoulder. His eyes held a loving look. "Don't worry. If this youngster won't give it, I'll snatch it for you."

"San Lang." Xie Lian shook his head. "It's fine."

Shen Qingqiu stepped forwards. "What's your name?"

The young disciple shot a disapproving look before snapping, "It's Mo Huanhan."

"Then, Mo Huanhan." Shen Qingqiu bowed. "We're glad to be acquaintances."

"Whatever." Mo Huanhan spat.

"You're so rude." Luo Binghe sneered. "Be respectful to your elders."

Shen Qingqiu tried to pacify his lover by patting him on the back. It was only until a few more seconds did Luo Binghe finally calm down. He sighed, and his chest heaved up and down. "Let's go explore elsewhere." He scoffed, pulling his lover by his arm possessively. Shen Qingqiu could only sigh and give in.

The three couples decided to head back to their rooms and discuss.

Once again, Wei Wuxian set up a sound-proof talisman, ensuring their privacy. He slouched down on the carpet floor, leaning against a wall. Lan Zhan sat beside him with a straight back, his hair stationed down full of elegance and a stoic demeanour. Shen Qingqiu joined the circle, crossing his legs lazily. Luo Binghe sat behind him, occasionally brushing his hair with an affectionate look. Xie Lian and Hua Cheng sat as well.

They looked at one another. Then, they spoke at the same time.

"I think that..."

They paused at the same time.

"You go first..." Once again, they spoke at the same time.

Xie Lian's skin flushed a deep red from his forehead to the ends of his neck. He stammered, "How about Shen-xiong go first?"

Shen Qingqiu coughed when hearing his name. "Then, I guess I'll go first." Unravelling his fan open, he fanned himself diligently. His long strands of hair swayed back and forth due to the currents of wind. "Something I paid attention to was the state of the bodies. The female disciples appear like they've been cut open by a large weapon. Precisely, I believe it's a spear."

"A spear?" Wei Wuxian blurted out from surprise. "If I'm correct, there are plenty of spears scattered across the Mo Clan. Anyone could've set their hands on one."

Shen Qingqiu blushed. "That's true. However, if we manage to find the correct set of spear used to murder the female disciples, we might be able to find who the culprit is."

"Interesting decipher." Hua Cheng commented.

A prideful smile was revealed on Shen Qingqiu's face. "Of course. Who's next?"

"I'll go." Wei Wuxian chirped. "The suspects I have so far is Mo Bao, Mo Ming, and Mo Shifeng. Although he's just a young disciple, that doesn't rule Mo Bao out. He could've been the demon's pawn in orchestrating the entire murder sequence. Meanwhile, Mo Ming is suspicious for lying about the closeness between disciples. He said that all disciples aren't close to one another, but later on contradicts himself."

"What could there possibly be to hide about? Naturally, Mo Shifeng has such a deep hatred for demons, we can't ignore him. He might be the cause as to what's going on."

They listened on and on while nodding their heads.

"And that's all I got." Wei Wuxian ended.

They thought about Mo Bao. The little disciple was watching/spying on them during last night, and admitted that he was trying to pursue Shen Qingqiu. Meanwhile, Mo Ming had a weird look in his eyes whenever gazing upon the "females". Which concludes that... they're both just a bunch of perverts!

"I'll add something." Xie Lian spoke up. "I find Mo Huanhan suspicious."

Shen Qingqiu shoot him a weird look. "How so?"

"The information he shared to me sounds quite peculiar. I want to investigate the book he has, but I'm afraid that he won't give it to me. In the end, I'll have to snatch it from him... but that might give him a scare. I believe that the best course of action would be to sneak in his room during the middle of night." Xie Lian sighed.

"You want to steal from a little boy?" Luo Binghe's jaw dropped.

Xie Lian immediately retorted. "No no! I'm not stealing! It's just borrowing!"

On the sidelines, Hua Cheng shot Luo Binghe a warning glance. If he saw that his beloved was being mistreated in any way... he won't show mercy.

"I guess I'll give up on learning what's inside the alchemy book." Xie Lian sighed.

Lan Zhan nodded. "Mn."

"Let's use the rest of this day to check the spears. We need to see which one is irregular from the other. Some clues like drops of blood, newly polished blade, or change in position might be useful." Wei Wuxian commanded. The rest of the group agreed, then separated to check.

Throughout the entire afternoon, they checked every crook and canny. However, none of the spears were irregular! They looked identical to one another!

Could it be that the culprit used their own spear instead of the ones on display?

The three couples were also on the lookout for traces of demonic energy. To their surprise, the afternoon was a peaceful day. There were no signs of demonic energy anywhere. It was as if the entire Mo Clan had no demons. It was as if the demon didn't stay in the Mo Clan at all.

Later on, night came.

The three couples reported to each other, only to find that each and everyone of them found no results. They could only separate and leave to their rooms, heading to sleep for the night.

In a busy room, Wei Wuxian was busy brushing his locks of hair. It was his second night of retaining the shape of a female. After the next day, he'll return back to his male figure. He gently applied crimson red lipstick, planning to seduce his husband for the night. It wasn't his fault for the term "everyday means everyday".

Wei Wuxian tied his hair up in a loose bun. He had stripped down to his inner robes, leaving himself in a flurry of only thin white fabric.

He waited for his husband to come back from the next door linking bathroom.

Wei Wuxian looked out from the window. The moonlight shone through the window, reflecting a beam of light against the mirror. At that moment, the world seemed so peaceful. There wasn't a single fluctuation in sound nor appearance-

Suddenly, Wei Wuxian froze. Wasn't the situation too peaceful?

He quickly snapped out from his stupor. A series of chills ran down his spine, and he immediately jumped up. A loud bawled out.

Wei Wuxian managed to dodge the incoming spear, which instead, smashed into the mirror and shattered the glass into several shards. The shattered glass shards fell onto the chair which Wei Wuxian leaped out from. He turned around to face his opponent, who wore a black oversized cloak to hide their appearance. Their face was blocked from the shadows.

A wicked smile fell on Wei Wuxian's face.

From the table, he snatched a qiankun pouch. It is able to hold anything larger than what it look like it should hold. In other words, the qiankun pouch was like a connection to a second space. Opening it, Wei Wuxian pulled out a sword.

Suibian was held diligently in his hand. With a quick turn, Wei Wuxian stabbed at the opponent.

The attacker managed to dodge reflexively. They stepped backwards, with their cloak swaying back and forth. Wielding their spear, the attacker spun it across the back of their torso. Only its afterimage could be seen, while its real figure couldn't be followed by the naked eye.

"How troublesome." Wei Wuxian whistled.

He and the attacker sparred. The sound of their weapons clanged against one another, creating sparks at every encounter.

Wei Wuxian's robes flailed due to the wind rushing from the immense force rebounding.

"Are you done yet?" He teased. "Won't you take off your hood for me to see your pretty face?"

His hand trembled on its hold of Suibian. The attacker didn't miss out on their chance, and swung their spear at Wei Wuxian's chest. The latter dodged, but suddenly, the attacker spun their weapon vertically at 360 degrees with high speed and velocity.

The blade of the spear spun to the direction of Wei Wuxian's waist.

Another loud riled up in the room. A familiar sword—Bichen—blocked the contact between the spear and Wei Wuxian. With a disapproving expression etched over his face, Lan Zhan wielded his frosty sword and kicked at the attacker. He was extremely disappointed.

Lan Zhan's face was even more colder than before!

With no hands left to dodge, the attacker was flung against the wall.

A mouthful of blood was spat out from the impact. Leaving no room for the attacker to move, Lan Zhan immediately pounced on his opponent. Naturally knocking the attacker unconscious from his weight, Lan Zhan took out the rope that he was planning on using for his nighttime with his wifey... he then dejectedly tied the attacker up.

Disappointed that his nighttime with his wifey was interrupted, Lan Zhan sighed.

Wei Wuxian tried to lighten up the mood with a massage. That had only made Lan Zhan's mood even more downcast. Clearing his throat, Wei Wuxian spoke. "I'll see who has the guts to sneak up on me."

Reaching out a hand, he flipped the hood off the attacker-

Wei Wuxian muffled his gasp. It was one of the disciples guarding the gates! The disciple was one of the first from the Mo Clan that they met.

"No wonder we couldn't find the murder weapon." He said. "It turned out that the spear had never left the beholder's hand in the first place."

"No." Lan Zhan shook his head. "There's something wrong."

On a closer inspection, Wei Wuxian finally realized what was wrong. There was not a single trace of demonic energy on the guard disciple's body! Then... that means he wasn't the demon?

CoolCool-Aid: Who do you think is the culprit? Vote on the options below (I'll count by comment) and give me your best shot! I'd love to see your comments. It makes this entire novel brighter and more fun!

Mo Shifeng (the Clan Leader)

Mo Bao (the brat who wants to pursue Shen Qingqiu)

Mo Ming (the top disciple)

Mo Huanhan (the alchemy-loving disciple)

Other (give a reason? I'd love to see what's going on in your brain, lol)