The orb was round and smooth with its crystal clear color that made it transparent. It oozes out a mysterious vibe, similar to those tarot cards reading.

"Oh, this orb is similar to those video recordings." Jiang Ming exclaimed aloud.

Bing Tong flashed a smile as she nodded her head.

"Indeed, Jiang Ming. The spy's name is Yun Zhilao and he originally worked as an accountant for the Di Clan. During the past few days, he had found a secret and tried to inform us through the spherical orb. Unfortunately, he was discovered by the Di Clan and dealt with accordingly."

Jiang Ming held a contemplation expression when he heard her words.

According to Bing Tong, the supposed victim, Yun Zhilao unveiled a secret and was silenced. But how would that explain his corpse to be in the back alley of Lavender Heaven?

'During the Personification, I have already determined the back alley was the first crime scene, meaning his corpse was not moved there. If Yun Zhilao had really unveiled a secret, then why wouldn't he directly contact Bing Tong or Zhao Tong?' Jiang Ming wondered silently.

He didn't doubt Bing Tong's words since there was no point in her lying to them.

With some process of elimination, Jiang Ming could determine one thing; the story she got was fabricated by someone.

"Bing Tong, does Yun Zhilao have any relatives or family?" Jiang Ming asked.

Bing Tong was stunned for a moment before rubbing her chin, seemingly in deep thought.

A few seconds later, she shook her head. "No, I don't recall Yun Zhilao ever mentioning having a family or relatives."

"I suppose you might need to re-investigate that part, Bing Tong." Jiang Ming said. "The so-called message that Yun Zhilao sent might be out of his free-will, meaning someone forced and allowed him to send a particular message to you."

"Wait a minute, Jiang Ming. Then are you saying Yun Zhilao's death in the Lavender Heaven was plotted by the Di Clan?" Yuan Chunhua suddenly intervened.

Jiang Ming nodded his head.

"How many times and efforts have we spent so far on the Lavender Heaven Instructor Yuan Chunhua?"

"About 4 hours now, but we are barely getting anywhere in the investigation. Hence it might take another few weeks or so to get some clues."

After saying that, Yuan Chunhua held a shocked expression as she realized something.

Jiang Ming curled his lips upward when he saw her spotting the main point. "A misdirection- one that is meant to make us waste our manpower so that they can continue their scheme unhindered."

From the start, Jiang Ming was already suspicious of the coincidence that kept occurring. They had just finished visiting the Lei Clan, yet the moment they came out, a victim was discovered.

How convenient is that?

The moment they needed more clues on the murder cases, the killer decided to kill again even though it would increase their chances of being caught.

With their meticulous plan and scheme, Jiang Ming highly doubt they would be that stupid to kill again when everyone is on high alert. Unless, they wanted to misdirect the Imperial Soldiers and attention to somewhere else.

SLAM!

"Damn it, we've truly been played like fools," Yuan Chunhua slammed the table angrily. She couldn't believe that she was being toyed around by the enemy despite being assigned as the highest commander.

"Calm down, Instructor Yuan Chunhua." Jiang Ming said and patted her shoulder. "This might even work better for us now that we have figured out their plot."

"You mean-"

"Mhmm, we will follow their trap and play along. At the same time, we will secretly send out another team to investigate. It's a cat and mouse chase."

Sometime later, Jiang Ming stood up and stretched his body.

"Bing Tong, return to your father's side so that he wouldn't be worried sick. I know you wanted to help lessen his work, but now's not the time." He said calmly.

"I understand…" Bing Tong said, standing up and bidding farewell. There would be more chances to interact with him in the future, so there wasn't a point to linger around.

Once Bing Tong left the room, Jiang Ming returned his focus to Yuan Chunhua.

"Instructor Yuan Chunhua, you'll continue to pretend to investigate the murder case dilegently to put on a show for our enemy. Since they want to play with us, then we must return the favor."

Yuan Chunhua nodded her head in understanding. "What are you planning to do then? Although we suspect it might be the Di Clan's work, it could actually be all 6 clans colluding together in this matter."

"Just leave the rest to me. I'll need to return home early today, otherwise, my aunt is going to kill me."

"I see…"

After giving out some more instructions, Jiang Ming bid his farewell and left Lavender Heaven. The murder case could be considered a close deal since the death of Yun Zhilao does not really affect the big picture.

Hence, there was no point in finding the actual culprit. Yun Zhilao could be considered a sacrificial pawn in a political game.

By the time Jiang Ming headed outside, he took in a breath of fresh air and glanced at the sky that was about to turn dark.

'Hmm, what kind of food did aunt prepare for me?' Jiang Ming wondered silently.

His mood was especially great today because of the progression in his current mission.

Ding!

<Current Progress: 40%>

–

From the initial progress of 'ongoing', the current progress now stated 40%, meaning Jiang Ming was closer to the truth and completing the mission.

The mission was long and tedious, but the more difficult it was, the happier Jiang Ming was. After all, only when a mission is this complicated would the reward be magnificent.

'It has been a long time since there was any main story progression, especially in Cultivation Omega. Maybe this world is truly interconnected with the actual game in my previous world.' Jiang Ming thought.