The crowd continued to descend to the seventh floor, where the second victim finally appeared.
The victim was from the Xuan Shi Peak lineage, and had died in a certain area of the Jing Gate. He had been traveling with his Senior Brothers and was at the very end of the group.
As they passed through a forest, someone suddenly realized this Junior Brother was missing, so the group turned back to look for him. They found the victim dead under a tree, the ground around him covered with frozen frost.
The victim had a sword wound at the front of his neck and had been struck once, fatally, across the throat. Blood had sprayed out massively from the wound.
At the base of the tree trunk where the body leaned, a line of small characters had been carved with sword qi:
"Those who spread falsehoods, your throats shall be locked and tongues sealed. Su Jian."