Chapter 42 Chapter 42 He, a skeptic, ascended the steps…

"How could someone die out of the blue?" The woman stood outside the street, gazing at the Qin residence, draped in white cloth. "They just had a grand banquet a while ago…" As she spoke, she began to lose her voice.

The setting sun melted into a golden glow. The Qin residence, nestled in the center of the street, was serene and silent. The lingering glow of the evening glow shone through like a fiery red brocade, making the entire mansion seem even more dreary. The faces of the guests who came and went to pay their respects were all filled with lamentation.

The young woman in green standing beside her sighed regretfully and echoed her words, "That's right. The Second Young Lady has only been brought back to the capital for a little over half a month, and she's still as lush as a spring tree..." "

I heard she encountered criminals on her way home, and coincidentally, she didn't have anyone with her, which led to this catastrophe," the man dressed as a cook whispered. The onlookers at the end of the street, upon hearing he'd learned the inside story, turned and gathered around him. Some, fearing their seats might be taken, pricked up their ears to listen. "When the Qin family guards arrived, the house was deserted, and all they found was the Second Young Lady's body."

"His Royal Highness Prince Su was furious and demanded a thorough investigation. He must not let the Second Young Lady die in vain." The cook lowered his voice, glancing mysteriously at the gathering onlookers. "It seems the case has been handed over to the Dali Temple. I wonder if Lord Qin Xiao is in charge."

"If it is, Lord Qin, with his judgment, he will surely bring justice to the Qin family as soon as possible," the young woman in green said.

The cook nodded, "Yes, the thieves are allowed to roam free, and no one dares to wander around anymore."

The onlookers echoed his words.

A man in black, hidden at the end of the crowd, stared intently at the nearby mansion. As the onlookers dispersed, he followed the surging crowd.

As he left the Qin family's street, his pace quickened.

Inside Chongren Gate, on Langya Street.

Night fell, and the mansions lining Langya Street were hushed and silent.

The man in black scaled the wall in quick steps, nimbly leaping into the deserted house. He made his way inside without hesitation. Within twenty steps, he spotted a figure strolling in the courtyard. He approached.

The man strolling in the courtyard glanced at him and raised an eyebrow, "Why did you come here—"

"Bang!"

In an instant, the man's voice stopped abruptly, and as his back hit the wall, he let out a slightly unbearable groan. The man frowned and scolded: "What are you crazy about!"

"The matter with the second lady of the Qin family was your handiwork." The man in black clenched his collar tightly with his palm, and his palm trembled as he tried to suppress it. Anger and unbearableness intertwined in the depths of his dark eyes: "The Dali Temple is investigating now. If they

really find out something, neither you nor I can escape!" "We are all dead men, what are you worried about." The man's eyes and eyebrows were full of pain. He patted the hands that were clutching his collar: "There is no evidence, where can he investigate?" He paused, his eyes staring at the man in black thoughtfully, "You, on the other hand, seem a little excited."

"Oh." The man in black sneered, staring at him intently: "Don't forget what you promised me."

"I only promised you not to touch the people in Qingyin Pavilion. Now it's just the second daughter of the Qin family. What are you worried about?" The man frowned and waved his hand away. He lowered his eyes and straightened his wrinkled collar that he had pulled out. He said nonchalantly, "Besides, being able to agree to this is already my biggest concession. If you continue to use chicken feathers as a token of authority and ruin the master's important affairs, you and I will both be worthless. Let's put it aside for now, but don't forget the people who stay with the master."

"Don't touch the people in Qingyin Pavilion." Jing Qing laughed coldly, his face grim. "You dare to say it wasn't your order that the junior sister in the pavilion was assassinated at the city gate."

"So what if it was my order? She wasn't hurt at all." He walked over Jing Qing, whose face was becoming increasingly gloomy under the shadow of the tree, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "It's just a warning to Qingyin Pavilion. Why panic?"

Jing Qing: "It's just that someone in the pavilion was guarding Qin Xiao when he went out."

"When did you become so naive and foolish?" The man paused, glancing sideways at him. "Do you really think that person, following Qin Xiao around every day, didn't hear anything? If you hadn't deliberately concealed the identity of the accompanying person, I wouldn't have rashly issued a bounty order and attracted the attention of everyone in Xianyun Tower."

"What's more—" The man's gaze shot up and down Jing Qing, lingering on the palm that was gripping his sleeve. "You're so-called hurting for a fellow disciple, isn't your biggest purpose to clear your name? We've known each other for years, so why bother pretending to be wholeheartedly protecting a fellow disciple and resisting all odds?"

The man scoffed. "That's fake."

Jing Qing remained silent. As the man walked away, his arm suddenly dropped to his side.

He clenched his palm tightly, the veins on the back of his hand throbbing violently, almost bursting.

After news of the Qin family's second daughter's mysterious death spread, Biezhi disappeared. He watched his master's dwindling dejection, shutting himself in his room and drinking away the days. His master then dispatched Mingzhe to take over her mission, and he realized something was amiss.

Death warriors.

Jing Qing laughed.

Ironically, they were the very death warriors he had personally trained.

Now, they were being used on Biezhi.

The Qin family had claimed that the house was deserted by the time the guards arrived, but it had been three days since Biezhi's murder, and Qin Xiao had been missing for nearly three days. Prince Su had also appeared, so it was possible they had all been taken away by the Dali Temple.

Fortunately, according to his master's rules, any death warrior sent out must take poison before carrying out their mission. A cure would be available upon completion of the mission; without an antidote, they would bleed to death within half a day.

Jing Qing breathed a sigh of relief.

On the morning of the sixth day, Biezhi still hadn't woken.

Ling Feng, rushing in the dark night, gazed at his disciple, whose face slept peacefully on the couch. It had been ages since he'd seen her so lifeless.

The girl, usually full of energy and vitality, now lay there quietly... Ling Feng

sat quietly beside the desk, speechless for a long moment.

Yaoguang, who had been sent to tend to Biezhi, wrung out a damp handkerchief and wiped the girl's fair face. Hearing her master's occasional sighs, she turned back and said, "The doctor came to see her last night and said she's fine. I think she'll wake up soon."

Despite this, Yaoguang remained uncertain.

They had no idea how long they could survive on a diet of rice soup.

Ling Feng hummed a little, then glanced up at the amulet hanging from the edge of the bed.

Beneath it, the words "Yongning" were prominently written.

It was the amulet from Yongning Temple.

Yongning Temple, the Li Dynasty's national defense temple, is located on a mountain peak just north of the Imperial City. It takes half a day to reach the temple by carriage, and thousands of steps lead up to the temple, a testament to the power of heaven.

Even a quick ascent takes about an incense stick.

When Ling Feng arrived yesterday, he hadn't seen the talisman.

Besides himself and Mingzhe, only one other person knew where Biezhi was recuperating at the hot spring villa outside the capital.

He frowned slightly. "When did the master arrive yesterday?"

"Master arrived not long after Master left." Yaoguang followed his master's gaze and immediately understood how he knew about his master's visit. "Yesterday, I went to the backyard to make medicine for Junior Sister. When I returned, I saw Qingshan waiting outside. After Master left, Qingshan gave me this talisman, saying that Madam Qin knew Junior Sister was still in a coma and had Young Master Qin ask Prince Su for it."

Ling Feng's eyelids twitched as he listened to Yaoguang's words.

Such roundabout words could only deceive those who didn't know the truth.

Six days had passed since the assassination attempt, and the Qin family still hadn't discovered their true identity. How could they truly believe Biezhi was in danger and ask for a safety talisman?

"The master stayed for an hour before leaving." Yaoguang finished her words, then recalled something. Yesterday, Qingshan had taken the medicine from her hand and told her to rest. A moment later, he returned with the medicine and said with a smile, "The master is quite quick at feeding the medicine, though. It took less than half a cup of tea for her to finish." Lingfeng

: "..."

He recalled what he had seen that day, then glanced at the porcelain bowl Yaoguang had spooned out of the medicine not long ago. His frown deepened.

The Prince Su that Lingfeng knew was the most skeptical of all the world.

Yongning Temple now obeyed only his orders. It appeared to be just like any other temple, with monks practicing vegetarianism, chanting Buddhist scriptures, and offering sacrifices to the gods, but in reality, they were all martial monks who hadn't bothered with other trivial matters in a long time.

And now...

despite his aversion to ghosts and gods, he ascended the steps to pray for her protection.

Yongning Temple, long unseen, could now offer amulets for peace.

Thinking of this, Lingfeng sighed.

After he finished speaking that day, he received no response for a long time. It seemed as if the prince paid no attention to his words, as if they passed by his ears like wind, leaving no trace.

He sighed deeply again.

Yaoguang had listened to her master sighing all morning, assuming he was worried about her junior sister, and soothed her, "God will protect her, she'll be fine."

"I hope God is kind to her," Lingfeng said.

Yaoguang, understanding what her master meant, couldn't help but sigh. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the knuckles of her hand tremble on the couch. Startled, she jumped up and hurriedly said, "Master! My junior sister's fingers are moving!"

Lingfeng stood up and approached, just in time to see the girl's fingertips trembling.

He immediately held his breath, his eyes wide as he stared at her fingertips, afraid she would think it was a disturbance and ignore it, falling back into sleep.

Biezhi felt like she had been walking for a long, long time, so long that she was exhausted and didn't even have the strength to open her eyes.

She struggled to lift the lid for a long time before she finally opened a tiny gap.

Behind the dazzling light were two anxious faces. Biezhi stared blankly at her master's relieved expression, then turned her eyes with difficulty to look at her senior sister with tears streaming down her face, and her thoughts came back to her little by little.

She met assassins on the hill behind the Xu family.

Then, she was poisoned.

Biezhi still remembered that the last person she saw when she was unconscious seemed to be His Royal Highness Prince Su.

Xu Wenche.

Her eyes widened instantly, and she wanted to support herself on the bed to get up, but she didn't expect that she had any strength at all.

Seeing that she was in a hurry and seemed to want to get up, Yaoguang hurried forward to help her get up and lean on the bed.

"Xu Wenche." Biezhi's voice, long silent, was hoarse, like a traveler who had walked in the desert for half a month. "Is his safety now—"

Ling Feng held her hand as she tried to rise and interrupted, "The master has already sent your Senior Brother Mingzhe."

Instantly, Biezhi breathed a sigh of relief, her body limp.

Her eyes swept across the unfamiliar surroundings. Everywhere exuded the scent of wealth; even the vase by the window looked priceless.

"When did the master have so much money, so extravagant?" Biezhi's face was filled with envy, not even the appearance of someone seriously injured.

Seeing her like this, Ling Feng was furious: "You should be concerned about yourself."

Bie Zhi pursed her lips slightly and looked up at her master who was angry at her for not fighting. She was silent for a moment, and said with concern: "I'm hungry."

After a pause, she added: "I want to eat big fish and meat."

Ling Feng: "..."

He asked Yaoguang to go out to find food for her and pass the news to Qingshan. Then he turned around and poured a cup of clear spring water and handed it to her: "Why don't you ask about those dead soldiers?"

Bie Zhi raised her head and drank the water in the cup in one gulp, then handed it back to her master, "Master said they were dead soldiers. Since I am alive, they are naturally dead."

"You're the only one who's optimistic." Ling Feng poured another cup, pondered for a moment, then picked up the teapot and cup and handed them to her. "Right now, Shanju is working with the Dali Temple to investigate. They haven't left any traces in the capital. The only thing we can find that might be related to them is the entrance to the city through the Suzaku Gate on the day of your accident. The figures described by the gatekeepers are a bit similar to theirs."

Biezhi tilted her head and put the spout of the teapot to her open mouth, pouring clear water into her mouth. Only after she finished the pot of water did she feel better in her throat. She wiped the water stains that had overflowed from her mouth.

After years of wandering the world, she knew that the most difficult thing to do was to die without any evidence.

Let alone finding the master behind it, even if it was just a simple matter of who they were targeting, they couldn't find out any information.

At this time, footsteps were heard at the door.

Biezhi held back the words that were on the tip of her tongue. She looked at her senior sister, who was carrying the porridge, then glanced at the white gruel and curled her lips. "Is that all?"

"You just woke up. If you've eaten meat, you can live in the toilet today." Yaoguang picked up the spoon and stirred the porridge, which she had cooked for half an hour to avoid having to wait for her junior sister to wake up. "The doctor also said that you must avoid eating until the wound heals."

Biezhi heard this and remembered the wound on her hand.

She lowered her eyes to glance at her tightly wrapped arm and sighed.

Biezhi took the spoon and small bowl and sipped the porridge mouthful by mouthful.

Reluctantly, she finally drank six bowls, the entire pot.

After finishing the porridge, Biezhi came back to life. She handed the bowl to Yaoguang, who was already holding out her hand. After thanking her, she threw back the blanket and stood up. "It's getting late. I'll be leaving first."

Ling Feng hurriedly held down the restless little ancestor, his forehead veins throbbing. "Your injuries haven't healed yet. Where are you going?"

Biezhi said matter-of-factly, "Of course, to get Senior Brother Mingzhe back. It wouldn't be good to trouble him for too long."

Ling Feng: "..."

He paused, then said, "From now on, this mission will be handled by Mingzhe."

Biezhi looked up in surprise.

Her ten thousand taels!

"Why?" Her eyes widened, and within a moment, she thought of someone. "Did the master decide?"

"The master has already given the order." Ling Feng nodded. "During the six days you were unconscious, your senior brother stayed by Xu Wenche's side."

Biezhi took a deep breath.

Slowly, she regained consciousness.

The mission was urgent, so they couldn't wait for her to wake up. To be safe, the master had no problem assigning it to someone else. But—

"What about my money? How do I calculate it?"

Ling Feng didn't ask. "It depends on what the master means."

"No..." Bie Zhi curled her lips, decisively denying her master's words. "Master

, I've already paid you over half a month's wages. The master still owes you five hundred taels! "

Bie Zhi stood up again. "I'm going to find the master."

Ling Feng held her back again, but seeing her vibrant appearance lifted the weight of his anxiety. "The master isn't available right now."

He should still be at the palace during the morning court session.

"When is he available?" Bie Zhi frowned.

Ling Feng: "What are you going to do?"

Bie Zhi glanced at her master, puzzled as to why he didn't understand. But she still told him generously: "Go talk to him and get the money."

"Master!" Yao Guang, who had been leaving, suddenly rushed in. Seeing her junior sister with sparkling almond eyes, she seemed to be arguing with the master. But she didn't care. The key thing was outside: "Qingshan is at the door. He said the master has arrived."

Ling Feng was stunned.

He glanced suspiciously at the waterwheel outside the window.

That's right, it was indeed the time for the morning court.

Then he turned his head to look at his disciple who had suddenly become quiet, as if it was not her who had clamored to find the master to argue just now, and he could not help but urge with a smile: "It just so happens that the master is here, you can also argue with him about how much money he will give you."

Biezhi: "..."

She suddenly remembered something.

According to the convention of Xianyun Tower, before arguing about how much money she can get, the master seems to be able to punish her for not acting strictly, which almost caused a disaster.

Otherwise, why would he come here now?

Biezhi hesitated, glanced at the master who was smiling very brightly, silently covered his chest and lay back in his original position, pretending to be unwell: "I seem to be a little dizzy and it is not appropriate to see the master. If the master asks, the master will say a few words for me."

At this time, there was a knock on the door.

She raised her eyes and saw Qingshan's calm face. He looked at her and seemed to hear what she said. He was silent for a long time, and then said in a light voice: "The master is waiting."

The moment the voice fell, Biezhi, who was lying on the couch, climbed up nimbly.