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墨書 Inktalez
The eerie cave was filled with the presence of the Male Ghost, who seemed surprised by my words. He had been ready to leave but now stepped closer to me.
I felt a warm sensation behind me; it was Mu Xuanche drawing near, and I could sense his strong heartbeat.
The Male Ghost stood before me, scrutinizing me as if trying to guess what secret I held regarding Zhang Xiaoqian.
I told him, "I have a secret about Zhang Xiaoqian that I want to trade for the item Li Yun took to the master's room. This is a sure win for you. Trust me, I only want to help the master protect Xuanzong."
A hint of warmth melted the coldness on his face, and I could see hope in his eyes. I pressed on, trying to entice him further.
"Don't you fear regretting this for the rest of your life if you don't know?"
Finally, he couldn't hold back any longer and admitted, "Alright, I give in."
I revealed how Zhang Xiaoqian had once possessed me to test him. He seemed momentarily stunned, unable to believe it.
"Now you can tell me what exactly Li Yun was looking for," I urged.
He nodded and replied, "Your master once obtained an inner pearl from a Sharkman. It's said that if you hold this pearl in your mouth, you can swim freely in the sea. If ground into powder and ingested, it guarantees survival underwater for an extended period. I learned this by chance, but I don't know who instructed Li Yun to carry out this task."
So that was it; the only ones opposing Xuanzong were the Cult of Spirits. I couldn't think of anyone else capable of such actions besides them.
After sharing this information, the Male Ghost turned to leave. I called after him, "If you wish to go, then do so. I believe Qian is waiting for you too."
He turned back and said, "Thank you. Let me tell you one more thing: your master spoke to me before he left. He knew there would be difficulties this time, but he had no choice but to go. He wants you to sacrifice your spirit to save him and take good care of Xuanzong."
I nodded and silently thanked him in my heart.
Following Mu Xuanche out of the Symbolic Cave, I asked him, "What would you do if it were you?"
He glanced at me with arrogance and coldly replied, "My woman would not leave."
Where did he get such confidence? It was enough to make me feel embarrassed.
Now that I knew the enemy had already infiltrated the Xuanzong, we could no longer sit idly by.
The sky was beginning to lighten; it was around four in the morning, just about breakfast time.
The air in the mountains lacked the heavy exhaust fumes found in the city. I closed my eyes and quietly prepared to take a few deep breaths.
Suddenly, a loud bell rang in my ears.
I opened my eyes and began to count the number of bell tolls.
Eight times.
Exactly eight tolls; such a thing only happened when something serious occurred.
Oh no, something major must have happened within the sect.
I grabbed Mu Xuanche and hurried toward the main hall. By the time we arrived, several Senior Brothers were already gathered outside.
Everyone looked anxious, some were even trembling.
"What happened?" I asked them, looking around.
One of the Taoists shrank his neck and approached me, trembling as he spoke.
“Gu Fourth Uncle, go check at the door,”
Seeing that I wouldn't get any answers from them, I pulled Mu Xuanche and ran toward the entrance.
As we reached the main gate, a strong smell of blood hit me.
My heart tightened, and trembling, I pushed open the heavy door.
A skinned corpse hung gruesomely above me, blood dripping down.
Beneath it lay its own Robe, neatly stacked, soaked in blood that continuously dripped from the body.
The thick, fresh blood exuded a terrifying aura.
I could hear the sound of my companions behind me, their bodies trembling in fear.
This was too much; they were openly provoking us now.
I initially wanted to call my Senior Brothers to help remove the body, but when I turned around, they all had backed away, watching me from a distance.
Their faces were filled with terror. I decided to approach the bloody corpse myself to move it down.
However, Mu Xuanche stopped me. He waved his hand toward Shiro, who then spun around and severed the bindings on the corpse above.
As the body fell, he used his spiritual power to levitate it in mid-air, slowly lowering it to the ground.
I moved closer and sat beside the bloody corpse. Ignoring the filth, I pressed my hand against its forehead.
Closing my eyes, I silently recited the sutra that my Senior Brother had taught me for guiding souls, performing a rite for this unfortunate Disciple of Xuanzong.
He originally had no fault, yet he suffered such a consequence. The people from the Cult of Spirits were truly excessive.
After arranging for the disposal of the blood corpse, I returned to the room with Mu Xuanche. I was eager to discuss the matter of the murderer with him.
I pressed him down, making him sit at the edge of the bed.
He grasped my hand in return, saying, "No need to rush."
"How can there be no rush? They've come knocking at our door! What does it mean to be in a hurry then?"
I felt restless inside. Just yesterday, I had been trying to protect the Disciple of Xuanzong, and now this had happened. How could I not be anxious?
"Have you considered why they chose to skin the disciple just when you arrived at Second? Such incidents have only happened at the foot of the mountain before; this is the first case at Xuanzong."
I couldn't understand why Mu Xuanche was asking me this. My Senior Brothers were dead; I simply couldn't calm down.
"It's precisely because such things never happened at Xuanzong before that they came to kill now. The people from the Cult of Spirits are truly despicable."
He reached out and pressed his hand on my head, ruffling my hair with a chuckle. "You know, once your mind gets heated, it seems like it stops turning."
Hearing something off in his tone, I looked at him and asked, "What do you mean by that?"
"Think about it carefully yourself."
He stood up and left me alone in the room.
He understood me well enough to know that if I really wanted to think things through, I needed to be alone in silence; otherwise, I wouldn't be able to think clearly at all.
I mulled over his words repeatedly. This skinning incident was indeed the first occurrence at Xuanzong. Trouble had arisen as soon as I returned to Second.
I had just announced my intention to protect the Xuanzong yesterday, and now trouble had arisen.
I went through all the clues in my mind again and again, and finally, I had some thoughts.
It seemed that the members of the Cult of Spirits were not merely relocating; they were trying to give me a warning, or perhaps they wanted to drive me away.
They clearly did not want me to stay at Xuanzong, and they intended to use this method to force me out.
What was their goal in driving me away?
Was it because I had discovered something?
The only thing I had uncovered yesterday was related to Li Yun.
The moment I thought of Li Yun, everything became clear.
He was the only one capable of killing someone at Xuanzong and then hanging the body at the entrance.
I couldn't believe he was so ruthless—helping outsiders was one thing, but turning against his own Senior Brothers was another.
This time, I absolutely could not let him off the hook. Having made up my mind, I opened the door and prepared to confront Li Yun.
As soon as I opened the door, I saw Mu Xuanche's handsome face, smiling as he stood outside, his eyes filled with tenderness.
Seeing me come out, he stepped forward. "Are you ready to go out?"
I nodded and pushed past him, heading outside.
My heart was ablaze with anger; I was determined to find Li Yun and settle the score. How dare that bastard betray his own brothers!
"Do you want to go find that person?" Mu Xuanche asked as he held me back.
"Yes, this guy is simply too heartbroken and insane to betray his own brother. I need to expose him," I replied.
He asked, "How do you plan to expose him?"
I was taken aback and stammered for a moment before answering, "I just need to tell everyone that he is the murderer."
Mu Xuanche looked at me with a serious expression and said, "Yan Xi, you're being impulsive. Even if you tell everyone that you saw him go into Lingyunzi's room last night, as long as he goes in and looks for something, what can you do? You have no key evidence in your hands; there's no way to bring him to justice."
I forced myself to calm down slowly. Mu Xuanche was right; I had no evidence. If I went around telling everyone that Li Yun was the murderer at this point, I might not only fail to expose him but also end up in trouble myself. In that case, they would get exactly what they wanted.
I asked him, "Isn't their goal to make me leave the Xuan Sect and not disrupt their plans?"
He lightly tapped my forehead from behind, his gesture gentle and affectionate. "You've finally come to your senses."
I didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult, and I was at a loss for how to respond.
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