Guo He was the most intelligent student Teacher Yu had ever had. He was able to top every exam he sat for. Meanwhile, Shang Zhuo was his most talented and well-behaved student. They were both his favourite students. Now, Guo He was dead. If Shang Zhuo was really the killer, he had to pay for the crime he committed. For both of his favourite students to be taken away in such a manner, it was akin to carving out his own heart.

Unlike Lin Shu, who got furious when he was accused of being the murderer, Shang Zhuo remained calm as usual. He went forward to help support Teacher Yu who was quivering and he explained, "Teacher, I did not kill Guo He. However, I admit that I was the one who wrote the letter Guo He left behind with my left hand."

Teacher Yu bent forward as he yelled with a croaky voice, "Why did you fake the letter if you weren't the killer? Tell me, were you the one who pushed him down the well and forged a counterfeit letter afterwards? Did you lie, telling everyone that Guo He had left the academy, in order to hide his death during for the past year?"

"I would never do such a thing," Shang Zhuo repeated, this time in a sombre manner. He sounded confident and resolute.

However, Teacher Yu harshly pushed Shang Zhuo's hand away. "Are you still not admitting it? As it is, it is clear that you lied about the letter. You wrote the letter and personally handed it to me, claiming that it was from Guo He. Why did you do that if you were not the killer?" He lost his balance when he finished his words and stumbled back a few steps. Fortunately, Ji Yunshu was standing behind him and caught him.

Ji Yunshu had already formed her opinion but decided to hold back and listen to what Shang Zhuo had to say.

Gently furrowing his brows, Shang Zhuo grimaced, cracking his calm expression. He took a deep breath before he said, "I did not lie to you at all. Although I faked the letter, Guo He certainly did pass me a letter before he left. What I just said is true. I hope that teacher can believe me."

Hey, brother. Do you know how contradictory your words sound right now? You are telling us that you wrote the letter, but Guo He handed the letter to you before he left? Is this some paranormal incident?

Teacher Yu had had a very eventful day and he was not able to take another blow. Moreover, his health had not been well at all. At this moment, he was very close to fainting.

Ji Yunshu quickly said, "Teacher, please stay calm. This humble one has said that the letter is insufficient evidence to identify the killer. A mere letter doesn't prove that he's the murderer."

"Then... then, what?"

"Please have a seat first, Teacher." She helped him to take a seat.

Ji Yunshu turned to ask Shang Zhuo, "Young Master Shang, according to you, you wrote the letter, but Guo He passed it to you before he left. This humble one is curious about what exactly happened a year ago. I hope you can tell me every single detail as this is very important to determine the time of Guo He's death."

Shang Zhuo was confused. "This letter is really related to Guo He's death?"

"Possibly!" Despite the uncertainty in her statement, she sounded rather confident.

Shang Zhuo shot a concerned glance at Teacher Yu, watching his expression before he lowered his head and said in a weak and soft tone, "To be honest with Teacher, since I have been sharing a room with Guo He, we were very close and he would often share his personal struggles with me. There was a period of time last year when he often told me about his disinclination to study. He did not want to be constrained by the academy and intended to leave this place. Not only that, he had everything planned out.

"It was June, when all the competitions were being held at the academy. Together with the August autumn examination that was approaching, everyone was occupied by their revisions. During that time, Teacher was less stern to us and did not watch us as closely as usual. Hence, Guo He intended to leave the academy during this period of time and had mentioned it to me multiple times. I tried my utmost to stop him but to no avail.

"I remember the date clearly. The day before he left, which is the 12th of June, he gave me a letter and informed me that he would leave the academy on the 13th. He needed my help to pass the letter to the teacher. I intended to deliver the letter to Teacher on the 13th, right after he left. However, I accidentally spilt some water on the letter [1] and the words were smudged as a result. I had no choice but to forge his handwriting and write a new copy. The original letter is still kept in my room. I can show you if you're not convinced yet. What I said is utterly true. Not a single word of this is false."

He certainly did not look like he was lying. Moreover, the original Guo He's letter was concrete evidence.

He continued, "I should've stopped him from leaving and informed Teacher immediately. Then, he probably would not