CH 5

As soon as Changming left the yard, he saw tart fruits scattered on the ground.

The wicker basket that was lying nearby seemed very familiar, just like the one with the ‘morning dew’ mushrooms delivered in the morning.

No one sent anything here except for Xiao Yun.

Changming frowned slightly and followed the trace.

Although the Qixian Sect was not big, it had several peaks.

They were on the Linde Peak located on the periphery of the outer circle. They were only responsible for providing the daily supplies for the outer disciples. There were not many people, and the residences were far apart. When he went to Chef He, he usually had to spend on the road time enough to burn an incense stick.

Under such circumstances, even if someone heard the screams, it would be difficult for them to arrive in time. After all, the stewards and the attendants of the outer circle were at most pretty agile, but the Art of flying was something only high-level disciples from the inner circle could learn.

Changming was getting closer to the source of the scream.

He followed the trail. The trampled grass on the ground showed the other’s whereabouts, and so did the frost on leaves edges.

Passing by, he touched these frosty leaves.

The weather was not cold at all; this seemed to be a cultivation technique of solidifying the true qi.

As for which faction it belonged to, whether it was Daoist, Demonic or Buddhist, he couldn’t be sure.

Changming didn’t stay there for too long and hurried to the source of the sound.

“Ah!—”

The scream stopped abruptly.

It was so close!

“Where is…?”

“I don’t know…”

The night breeze brought a conversation to him.

One voice was fierce, and the other terrified.

The latter was indeed Xiao Yun’s voice.

Changming quickly caught up to them. His fingers moved slightly, and two white symbols appeared on his palm.

These white symbols flew away, grew rapidly in the wind, and turned into two little foxes that ran into the bushes in a blink of an eye.

The next moment, someone shrieked!

But it was not like a human voice and rather resembled a scream of a fox grabbed by its throat.

Changming didn’t hesitate and immediately shot a few more paper arrows.

The silent paper arrows never returned, as if engulfed by darkness.

That night was dark, the situation and the direction were unclear.

The trees long for peace but the wind will never cease.

The trees long for peace but the wind will never cease: fig. man proposes but Heaven disposes.

Clouds and mists rose, and the moonlight was flickering.

The wind picked up and raised his long robes. Changming sensed that whatever was going on ahead of him was not simple.

It was possible that Xiao Yun was abducted by robbers or even encountered something worse. But who would suddenly break into the Qixian Sect in the middle of the night and abduct an insignificant young attendant?

Was it someone from the Jianxue Clan?

Or did Xiao Yun accidentally learn some secret affairs and was chased by the Qixian Sect?

Those chaotic thoughts crossed his mind quickly, and Changming’s footsteps stopped abruptly.

No one was around.

He was in the desolate outskirts overgrown with weeds.

This was a relatively flat slope halfway up the mountain.

In spring, there were flowers in full bloom, and female disciples of the outside circle liked to come to enjoy the scenery.

But now—

There was a man lying in front of him.

He was facing the ground, motionless.

That person was dressed in white, and the gold threads on his sleeves were faintly glowing in the moonlight.

He wasn’t Xiao Yun.

Changming did not rush forward. He raised his eyes and looked around, but could not find a trace of the culprit.

But at that moment, a whole crowd of people came there from all directions, one by one.

They barely gave him any time to react, and glowing blades surrounded him!

Changming’s heart sank.

All those ominous premonitions turned out to be prophecies.

He had left this world for too long and become careless.

“It’s shishu Liu!”

“Shishu Liu is there!”

Someone rushed forward and raised the man in white.

Changming has never seen Liu Xiyu, but judging from the appearance of this person and the reactions of the people around him, this was indeed the ‘jade gentleman’ of the Qixian Sect, with boundless prospects.

The once daring and energetic head disciple, the hope of the Qixian Sect, was now lying helplessly on the ground.

His face was like joss paper, silent.

His face was like joss paper: frightened, angered or ill, bloodless.

“Shifu, shishu Liu, he, he’s not breathing!”

Shifu: master, teacher. “Martial father” by analogy with shixiong, shimei, etc.

Everyone turned their eyes on Changming.

He never thought about running away—it was too late to escape at this point—and his ways of retreat had already been tightly sealed anyways, leaving no gaps.

Their guard and hostility against him were like a forest of needles, piercing Changming.

“Get out of the way!”

The Qixian Sect’s master shoved everyone aside and went closer to Liu Xiyu, with a heavy expression.

He bent down and checked his breath, but didn’t want to give up and placed his hand on Liu Xiyu’s forehead.

A feeble blue light began to flow from his palm into Liu Xiyu’s body.

Changming knew that this was a soul-seeking technique.

When a person dies, his soul doesn’t leave his body immediately. If someone manages to summon it, they can learn about the circumstances of his death.

He kept trying for a long time, but found nothing, like a fisher returning with an empty basin.

Which meant that Liu Xiyu had died for good.

Nothing can be said about the whereabouts of a soul that was separated from the body for a long time. Maybe someone had caught it, or maybe it had already dissipated.

The disciples scattered around, searching for abnormalities.

Changming stood surrounded in the middle, as if in an inescapable net, and had nowhere to hide.

He knew very well that if the other party didn’t have questions for him, he would have been torn to pieces by the angry disciples of the Qixian Sect.

“I am not the murderer.”

Without waiting for questions, Changming spoke first.

“I’m an attendant in the outer circle, I work under Chef He. I heard something outside the door, so I decided to follow that sound.”

“My meridians are damaged. A person without cultivation can’t kill shishu Liu. You can check it if you don’t believe me.”

He took the initiative and stretched out his hand.

The Sect Master glanced to the side with a cold face, and someone came out immediately to check his pulse.

That person was acting rudely, but Changming didn’t care. He closed his eyes, and let him check it carefully.

“Shifu.”

That person shook his head, looking at the Sect Master.

The meaning was obvious. He thought that Changming was indeed incapable of doing such a thing.

After all, who was Liu Xiyu? Even if he was not well-known outside the sect and had not yet attained a high cultivation level, he still was a second-rate master.

Being able to kill a second-rate cultivator is obviously not something that the sick man in front of him could do.

Sect Master Zhang Qin’s face sank.

He had high hopes for Liu Xiyu, and was very sad at that moment.

First, the Jianxue Clan came for him, and Liu Xiyu was defeated by the envoy of the Jianxue Clan; now he was killed.

If news about their people being killed on their own grounds spread out, how could the Qixian Sect save its face?

Hundreds of years since its foundation, everything was ruined overnight!

He resisted the urge to strangle Changming.

This person can’t die, he probably saw something.

Zhang Qin gritted his teeth, trying to control his emotions.

“What’s your name?”

“Changming, I work under Chef He.”

“Go and bring old He here.” Said Zhang Qin to his disciples and continued interrogating him personally. “What did you see just now?”

Changming: “A child named Xiao Yun from the outer circle came over to give me some things. I heard noises outside, but when I went out I only saw those things the boy brought, not Xiao Yun himself. I heard movements from a distance, so I followed the sound and came all the way here.”

It seemed strange for Zhang Qin that a cook’s helper from the outer circle could remain so composed in front of a high-level cultivator and even answer so consistently.

Changming also understood that very well.

But he could hardly pretend to be nervous and frightened.

He needed time to figure out this whole matter.

Some outer disciples and Chef He were soon brought over.

When they saw Liu Xiyu’s body, they were stunned.

When Chef He noticed Changming, he blurted out: “Why are you here!”

Zhang Qin: “Do you know him?”

Chef He hurriedly said: “Yes, yes! He is my new helper, he works under me. He is diligent and has a talent for cooking!”

That was a right time to deny their relationship, but he was still willing to speak for Changming.

The disciple had already completed making inquiries and reported.

“Shifu, I have asked everyone here, there is no one named Xiao Yun among the attendants of the outer sect!”

Changming saw a few outer disciples who had bullied Xiao Yun that day among the people being questioned, so he pointed at these people and said: “A day ago I saw Xiao Yun being bullied by them, they know this child. “

These people were immediately pushed over. When they heard the name Xiao Yun, they all seemed to be puzzled, indicating that they had never seen anyone with this name.

“I have asked around. At the age you mentioned, there are only two children of the outer circle’s attendant and an outer disciple accepted this year, but their names have no ‘yun’s.”

The disciple in charge of questioning was very meticulous and brought all three of them.

Seeing the looks of those three, Changming completely understood.

He fell into a trap.

Xiao Yun may have never existed, or maybe he was an illusion that only Changming could see.

Regardless of what happened, when Xiao Yun appeared in front of him looking like a young Yun Weisi, this trap was set for him.

Who had set up this trap and what was its purpose?

Among those four disciples who rebelled against their master, some fell out with him and became his enemies, and the others hated him. It was not impossible for them to do such a thing.

But they all thought that Jiufang Changming had already died, how could they find him here?

Even if such a trap was set up, what is the culprit’s goal?

Just to frame Changming and let him fall into this embarrassing situation?

“What else do you have to say!”

Zhang Qin was full of anger and stretched out his hand to grasp Changming’s neck.

His fingers faintly emitted thunder and fire qi, and a scorching hot air blew in his face.

Although Zhang Qin may not have been ranked among the top hundred in grand masters of the world, he was the leader of a sect after all, so his skills shouldn’t be underestimated. And this Thunderous Palm technique is better than anything Changming has seen since he returned to this world.

In the blink of an eye, those fingertips burned several red marks on his skin.

Changming was able to see through his opponent’s movements clearly and understand them, but at that moment he had no spiritual power and could not react in time, so he could only calmly watch Zhang Qin’s hand getting closer.

Death wasn’t inevitable, but he was sure to be injured.

Changming frowned slightly. He could dodge this attack, but that would expose his expertise in cultivation, and then, even if he jumped into the Yellow River, he could never wash himself clean.

Even if he jumped into the Yellow River, he could never wash himself clean: to find it hard to clear oneself.

And at that moment, a soft satin silently stretched out to him.

Appearing to be soft and feeble, a woman’s hand firmly grabbed Zhang Qin’s arm.

The sound of a bell accompanied a beautiful female voice, which sounded far yet close.

“Such a good-looking gentleman, and you are willing to hurt him, have you lost your humanity?”

The author has something to say:

If I said it is a detective novel, would you believe me? →_→