CHAPTER 2

Qin Yan's arrival was too much of a shock for Fu Changling. In his shock, he fumbled, clutched his broken rib, turned around unconsciously, and attempted to flee outside.

Among the group of people who hadn't yet reacted, his actions were too conspicuous. Before Qin Yan could return the long sword in his hand to its sheath, he flung it once more. The long sword flew in Fu Changling's direction before abruptly turning around and hanging in front of him. Fu Changling was stopped in his tracks and unable to move any further when the sharp tip of the sword was aimed directly in front of his neck.

"Don't... don't move!" A youngster's gasping voice could be heard from a short distance away at this precise moment. Everyone scanned the area in search of the sound and soon spotted a youngster panting and running in their direction.

With a round face that was distinctly pleasing to the eye, he appeared to be only fifteen or sixteen. Similar to Qin Yan, he wore a white robe with wide sleeves, and a jade ring hung from his waist. However, a hairband was used to secure his hair instead of a jade guan, and instead of white cranes, flowering straws were embroidered on his wide sleeves.

He trotted all the way to Qin Yan, raised his hands in front of him, and saluted with a gasp, "Shi... Shixiong!"

Qin Yan kept nodding while extending a hand to the side. The sword that had come to a stop in front of Fu Changling hurried back like a summoned spirit pet and landed steadily in Qin Yan's hand. Qin Yan cast a quick glance at Fu Changling. Fu Changling couldn't help but freeze as he felt as though he had been stared at for very long without reason, despite the fact that it was only a fleeting glance. Before he could react, Qin Yan turned away and began walking towards Yue Mingsi.

Fu Changling stared blankly at Qin Yan's receding figure, at which point the youngster came up to Fu Changling and saluted respectfully, saying, "Fu Gongzi, I am Yun Yu, a disciple of Hongmeng Heavenly Palace. My Shixiong, Qin Yan, and I were passing through this area when we noticed you were trapped, so we decided to come and help."

Fu Changling was jolted back to his senses by the youngster's voice, and he turned his head to stare at this "Yun Yu".

What is this—exterminating an entire clan and bringing his own Shidi here?

Could this be another potential demon lord?

Fu Changling gave it some thought but couldn't really recall this "Yun Yu", assuming that this person either died too soon or was incompetent, which explains why he had no memory of him at all.

Fu Changling loosened up a little when facing such a petty subordinate whose name couldn't even leave an impression, so he gave Yun Yu a grateful nod. Yun Yu was also aware of the Fu Clan's speaking prohibition, which applied to anyone below Jindan, so he smiled and rummaged through his spirit pouch for some bottles and jars and handed them to Fu Changling, saying, "Fu Gongzi, please go to the side to apply some medicine first. Shixiong has gone to negotiate with Mister Yue and will take you away later."

These words left Fu Changling a little perplexed. He wrote a sentence in the air while being helped to the side by Yun Yu: "Why are you taking me away?"

His writing radiated a golden glow in the air. Yun Yu took a glance at them and patiently explained, "To save lives until the very end. You're in distress here right now. We won't just leave you here after saving you."

"Why save me?" Fu Changling was further baffled by these words. Given that he was neither a relative nor a friend, why be so kind to him?

That was actually a little offensive, but Yun Yu didn't take it personally. He helped Fu Changling sit down, gave him some medicine, and then started using his spiritual power to treat Fu Changling's injuries.

While tending to Fu Changling's injuries, he clarified, "The Fu Clan and the Hongmeng Heavenly Palace have always been on good terms. It would have been fine if we hadn't noticed that you were in trouble, but since we did, we won't disregard you."

For no other reason than that this reason was too bogus, Fu Changling refrained from asking any more questions. This "Yun Yu" would not tell him the truth, no matter how many questions he asked.

That person, Qin Yan—even if you were to perish right next to him, he wouldn't even give you a glance, let alone do such a thing as passing by and taking a look and then flinging his sword to help?

Since when did he have so much time to spare?

Furthermore, why was the Yue Clan in bad standing with the Hongmeng Heavenly Palace while the Fu Clan was in good standing?

One palace, three sects, and four clans made up the top forces of Yunze.

The "one palace" was the Hongmeng Heavenly Palace, which housed the most extensive collection of ancient books in Yunze. From the Palace Leader to the Elders, they were unanimously chosen from everywhere, and through the selection process, all young disciples could be accepted into the Hongmeng Heavenly Palace and learn under them. It was Yunze's most prestigious, authoritative, and slick sect.

With whom did such a sect have a poor rapport? On what grounds should they favour him, Fu Changling?

As Yun Yu treated his injuries, Fu Changling stopped asking questions. Then Yue Mingsi was led back by Qin Yan, and beside Yue Mingsi stood a middle-aged man, who looked to be in his forties, with decent features, clad in a white tunic and blue robe, and with somewhat red eyes.

Fu Changling recognised that this was Shangguan Yuan, the head of the Shangguan family and father of Shangguan Yuemin.

"They claimed that you killed someone," Qin Yan spoke, his voice unperturbed, "but is it true?"

Fu Changling froze in response to this voice. In contrast to the Qin Yan he had known in his previous life, Qin Yan's voice was much clearer now. In his previous life, Qin Yan had never spoken loudly. Every time he spoke, his somewhat raspy voice felt as though it were grating on the heart.

But Fu Changling realised the reason right away; Qin Yan was only seventeen at this time. Later, at the Golden Light Temple, Qin Yan made himself a scapegoat and had sixty-four nails driven into his bones, one of which was nailed to his throat. His throat was injured, probably because of this.

"Fu Gongzi?" said Qin Yan again, bringing back Fu Changling's awareness. Fu Changling's thoughts returned to the present when he heard Qin Yan's call, and he frantically shook his head in response. He raised his hand and started writing golden words in the air: "When I woke up, the person was already dead beside me."

"Full of lies!" Shangguan Yuan yelled furiously, "Yuemin and you had an argument yesterday, and today she was dead in your bed, yet you dare to claim that you had nothing to do with it?!"

Fu Changling grinned mockingly, looking at Shangguan Yuan with all the clarity in his eyes. This look made Shangguan Yuan can't help but clench his fists, appearing to be a little anxious.

Fu Changling didn't bother to say too much.

The fact that he wasn't responsible for Shangguan Yuemin's death was very good proof. It was just that in his previous life, he did not know what benefits Yue Mingsi had promised Shangguan Yuan. Simply seizing the opportunity, Shangguan Yuan killed his daughter and also presented numerous false witnesses and fabricated evidence, so that Fu Changling didn't have the slightest idea how to defend himself against this blatantly false accusation.

In any case, the odds are... none of these people will survive tonight.

Fu Changling's heart sank at this thought. He gazed up at the sky and sneakily cast a glance at Qin Yan.

He had to find an opportunity to escape this place rife with trouble.

After mulling it over, Fu Changling outlined a fresh plan in his mind.

According to what he recalls, whether or not Qin Yan had come to wipe out the clan in the first place, there was indeed an evil spirit present on this night. Qin Yan was unable to be defeated by that evil spirit, but the Shangguan Clan would undoubtedly be in chaos for a while. His best chance was to use the teleportation array to flee during the chaos that ensued the moment the evil spirit suddenly appeared.

Just setting up the teleportation array required time and effort, and the evil spirit wasn't going to appear right away. What he had to do now was put off the setting up of the array and wait for the ideal time to do so.

Fu Changling made up his mind and smiled anew. He held up his hand and was ready to write. Seeing this, Yue Mingsi immediately stepped forward and said, "Da Gongzi, you don't need to..."

"Let him speak," Yue Mingsi's words were interrupted by Qin Yan, who raised his hand, and the look on Yue Mingsi's face was a little unpleasant. Being able to witness Yue Mingsi's embarrassment made Fu Changling quite pleased. Leaning against a tree, he scrawled three words in the air: "Examine the body."

He had no idea how Shangguan Yuemin had died, but in any case, a person's death would leave more or less some traces on their body.

Yun Yu immediately spoke in favour of Fu Changling's suggestion, saying, "Yes, yes, yes, examine the body. If we examine the body, everything will become clear."

Qin Yan nodded and turned his head to look at Shangguan Yuan and Yue Mingsi, saying, "Let's examine the body first."

Neither of them look very pleased. After holding back for quite a while, Shangguan Yuan finally yelled curses aloud, "My daughter is already dead! She must be allowed to rest in peace after her death! Nothing needs to be examined! Fu Changling is the killer! He was already seen dragging my daughter into the room last night!"

Upon hearing this, Yun Yu immediately blurted out, "Someone saw Miss Shangguan being dragged into the room in the Shangguan Mansion? Why didn't that person call for help?"

Fu Changling turned his head away and chuckled inaudibly. Shangguan Yuan appeared embarrassed and was about to explain when Qin Yan spoke calmly, "I'll take him away if you don't dare to examine the body."

Shangguan Yuan's expression grew uglier upon hearing these words, and the two sides were in a deadlock when a youngster's timid voice rang out from the crowd, "Father..."

Everyone turned to look when they heard this call and saw a youngster, either fifteen or sixteen, wearing a blue tunic, having seemingly mustered the courage. He swallowed and controlled his trembling voice as Shangguan Yuan's furious gaze fell upon him, "Mother said... it's better... it's better to make a thorough investigation into sister's death."

Fu Changling looked up and pondered for a while. In hindsight, this would be Shangguan Yuan's eldest son, Shangguan Mingyan.

Shangguan Yuan glared at Shangguan Mingyan after hearing this. Shangguan Mingyan didn't dare to look at him, but he raised his eyes to Qin Yan and gestured "please". "Xianshi, my mother invites you all in."

Qin Yan nodded, turned his head, and glanced in Fu Changling's direction. Yun Yu noticed the expression in Qin Yan's eyes, and without waiting for Fu Changling's consent, he helped him stand up, saying, "Shixiong, let's go!"

Qin Yan nodded. Fu Changling rolled his eyes as he leaned on Yun Yu, then Yun Yu assisted him in following Qin Yan to the backyard.

Fu Changling was sluggish, as if every bone in his body were broken, as he leaned on Yun Yu, leaving no one even the slightest bit on guard. He quietly scanned the entire courtyard of the Shangguan Mansion with his divine sense, secretly nicking his finger using his tiny fan, and extremely quickly flinging a bead of blood onto the ground whenever he reached a suitable spot.

He arrived at the backyard with the others while secretly musing over the layout of the entire Shangguan Mansion.

In the backyard, a mourning hall had been set up, and Shangguan Yuemin, who hadn't yet been placed in the coffin, was lying at the back. At the entrance of the mourning hall, a woman dressed in white stood in front of the main door with red eyes, seemingly waiting for everyone.

She appeared to be in her early forties, with a slim figure and the kind of supple beauty that is unique to women from the South. Qin Yan approached the woman and greeted her with a respectful salute, "Madame Shangguan."

"Xianshi," Madame Shangguan respectfully returned the salute before turning to look at Yue Mingsi and Shangguan Yuan. "Yue Zhenren, Laoye."

"What are you doing?" Shangguan Yuan's expression did not appear to be particularly pleased. "I told you to take care of the mourning hall properly, didn't I? Why do you feel the need to meddle in the affairs of the front yard?"

"Min'er is gone," with tears welling up in her eyes, Madame Shangguan lowered her head. "I'm always curious as to how she died, and it's always appropriate to let the cultivators from the Hongmeng Heavenly Palace help and investigate more while they are here."

Madame Shangguan seemed to anticipate Shangguan Yuan's response when she said this. Without giving him a chance to respond, she turned sideways and addressed Qin Yan, "Please come inside, Xianshi."

Fu Changling and Yun Yu followed Qin Yan to the back of the mourning hall, while Yue Mingsi and Shangguan Yuan exchanged a glance. Unobtrusively shaking his head, Yue Mingsi then followed Qin Yan inside.

When the group reached the back of the mourning hall, Madame Shangguan suppressed her emotions and stepped forward, pulling the white cloth from the top of Shangguan Yuemin's head down to her chest, and saying in a low, hoarse voice, "Xianshi, come and have a look."

Qin Yan nodded as he stepped forward and slowly swept his gaze over the corpse.

Shangguan Yuemin was wearing a long pink skirt, her hair had been combed, and her hands were resting on her stomach as she was lying flat on the bed board. Her eyes were tightly closed, her face appeared bluish-pale and in pain, and there were visible finger marks on her neck, but other than that, there were no other injuries.

"Min'er was found in Fu Gongzi's room this morning. She was lying in bed with Fu Gongzi when she was found. She had no clothes on, and her neck was the only part of her body with any bruises. The coroner said she was strangled to death..."

Next to him, Madame Shangguan was talking about how Shangguan Yuemin was discovered. Qin Yan raised his hand to open Shangguan Yuemin's eyelids while he listened. Shangguan Yuemin's eyes were rolled up, and there was nothing else unusual. He then pulled off Shangguan Yuemin's clothes and examined the limbs carefully. After confirming that there was no problem, he looked at Shangguan Yuemin's sash.

Shangguan Yuan noticed his gaze and grew a little anxious when he appeared to be hesitating a bit, roaring angrily, "What do you want to do?!"

Qin Yan remained silent as he quietly observed Shangguan Yuemin's stomach.

Fu Changling's expression changed to one of instant shock as soon as he followed Qin Yan's gaze.

Shangguan Yuemin's stomach was gradually bulging slightly, with an extremely faint, barely perceptible vibration to the ***** eye.

Under her clothes, the vibration was so slight that it gave the impression that a snake-like creature was slowly slithering through her belly. An ordinary person's ***** eye would likely not be able to detect such a movement if they weren't an expert like Qin Yan, who had been practising martial arts for years.

Fu Changling nudged Yun Yu, who was standing next to him. Yun Yu turned around, somewhat bewildered, and Fu Changling scribbled the words: "Yin Detector."

Despite not understanding what Fu Changling meant, Yun Yu took the Yin Detector out of his sleeve and handed it to him, saying somewhat bemusedly, "What do you want this for... what's going on?!"

When Yun Yu took out the Yin Detector, he noticed that its compass-like pointer was spinning erratically. The pointer continued to spin after he tapped on the Yin Detector. He was compelled to glance up at Qin Yan in front of him and quickly uttered, "Shixiong, there appears to be a problem with the Yin Detector. It's spinning very fast and has no direction at all!"

While silently drawing his sword out of the sheath by half an inch, Qin Yan kept his attention fixed on Shangguan Yuemin's stomach.

Fu Changling closed the small fan he had been fanning himself with, took a half-step forward without making a sound, and looked at Shangguan Yuemin, who was lying on the wooden board.

As the sun slowly set over the hills, birds were soaring off in alarm, and dark Qi in the forests began to rush erratically in the direction of the Shangguan Mansion; everywhere it passed, the grass and trees withered.

"I think," Qin Yan stared at Shangguan Yuemin, his calm voice tinged with a hint of alarm, "that it wasn't Fu Gongzi who killed Miss Yuemin."

"Then who was it?" Madame Shangguan displayed an unusual level of composure. She tucked her hands in her sleeves and stared intently at Qin Yan. Fu Changling's blood-dripping hand twirled a spell as he peered outside with his divine sense.

The moment the sun completely set and darkness engulfed them, a shriek suddenly erupted from outside. Qin Yan swept his long sword across and calmly uttered, "Here it comes!"

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