Arriving at the scene after several bounding leaps, Li Yundong’s eyes widened, and he gasped in a mixture of shock and rage.
In the southwest corner of the Daoist temple rested a coffin bearing the memorial tablet of the previous Sect Master, Liu Ye. However, the coffin lid had been pushed aside, leaving it empty. Lying next to the coffin were the corpses of two women, one nearby and one further away, both utterly desiccated—sucked dry, faces skeletal, resembling mummies air-dried for millennia, their appearances hideously terrifying.
Li Yundong saw that the woman further away was clad in revealing, scanty clothing, slightly disheveled. From the attire, he recognized her as the earlier Meiniang, while the nearer one wore a Daoist robe, likely a disciple of the Fox Charm Sect. Because her body was so drained, her features were unrecognizable, making immediate identification impossible for Li Yundong.
However, shortly after, Su Chan, Cao Yi, and others rushed over. Cao Yi, upon seeing the scene, immediately gasped, her eyes wide, and cried out, “Fourth Senior Sister!”
Zhou Qin, lacking the art of magical movement, merely ran, arriving last. By the time she got there, everyone from the Fox Charm Sect had assembled. She took in the scene and instantly recoiled, involuntarily covering her mouth, her face etched with horror.
Li Yundong, his face ashen, turned to Cao Yi: “Is this Changsun Hong?”
Cao Yi, gripped by fear and shock, stammered, “These are my Fourth Senior Sister’s clothes. Look at the belt—next to the belt is a yellow brocade pouch. That is my Fourth Senior Sister’s magic treasure, the Five-Colored Brocade Pouch.”
Li Yundong was consumed by fury and disbelief. He could not fathom that someone dared to murder his disciples right under his nose, especially while outsiders were present, immediately after he had taken charge of the sect!
Li Yundong glanced at the equally drained Meiniang, then turned to Wuhua, who was standing with palms pressed together, continuously chanting sutras, and asked, “Master, when you spoke earlier of something being far away yet right before our eyes, were you referring to this situation?”
Wuhua lowered his eyelids and stated, “Amitabha, it cannot be spoken, it cannot be spoken.”
Li Yundong exploded in anger, “Such a thing is happening right now, and you still wish to obscure the truth? Don't you possess the Clairvoyance of Past Lives? Are you unaware of the full story behind this incident?”
Wuhua let out a knowing, dry laugh. “Daoist Master Li, if I knew everything in this world, I would have attained Buddhahood long ago! Even the Buddha himself cannot see through every perplexing event in this world with just his two eyes, let alone I? I can only glimpse fragments. Just as you Daoist practitioners cannot use your arts to murder indiscriminately, I too cannot reveal the Heavenly Secrets entirely, or I will face a heavenly tribulation.”
Li Yundong’s rage subsided somewhat. His gaze swept over the Fox Charm Sect disciples; every face was pale with terror, and those who had been close with Changsun Hong were secretly wiping away tears.
Li Yundong’s face remained dark, leaving him momentarily speechless. He noticed Zhou Qin gently tugging his sleeve, whispering, “Master, should we call the police?”
“Call the police?” Li Yundong let out a cold sneer. “And tell them what? Do you want to be ‘harmonized’ when we meet them?”
Li Yundong’s gaze sharpened as he looked at Cao Yi. “Why is the former Sect Master’s coffin here?”
Cao Yi, weeping silently over Changsun Hong’s corpse, quickly wiped her tears upon hearing Li Yundong’s question. “Today is the seventh day since the former Sect Master passed away. A few of us older disciples of the Fox Charm Sect privately decided to pay our respects, but we didn't tell you for fear that you might overthink things. When you returned, I intended for Changsun Hong to come see you with us, but she insisted she couldn't leave the site unattended, so she stayed behind and didn’t come.”
Saying this, Cao Yi broke down into loud sobs. “It’s all my fault! If I hadn't agreed to let her stay, she wouldn't be dead!”
Her crying set off the other disciples who had spent their days with Changsun Hong, and they too began to wail, filling the courtyard with earth-shattering grief and a pall of sorrow.
Although Su Chan had left the Fox Charm Sect in her youth, she felt empathy for her fellow practitioners. Seeing her Martial Aunt murdered, her own eyes reddened.
Li Yundong roared in fury, “Insolence!”
It was unclear if he was scolding the crying disciples or the murderer, but his roar instantly silenced the weeping. The Fox Charm Sect disciples were so frightened they could only manage soft whimpers.
Su Chan rarely saw Li Yundong so enraged. She cautiously tugged his sleeve and whispered softly, “Yun… Sect Master, please don’t be angry.”
Seeing Su Chan address him as Sect Master, Li Yundong realized she must have been deeply shaken. His tone softened considerably. He sighed, “Don’t be afraid. I am not angry with you. I am angry with myself, for failing to protect you all. I am an incompetent Sect Master!”
Hearing him say this, Cao Yi and the others immediately protested, “Sect Master, saying that makes us utterly ashamed.”
“Indeed, Sect Master, this is not your fault.”
“I wonder which vicious cultivator killed our Fourth Martial Uncle!”
Li Yundong turned his gaze to Wuhua and asked, “Master Wuhua, are you truly certain you don't know who murdered my disciple Changsun Hong?”
Wuhua pressed his palms together. “Daoist Master Li, a monk does not tell lies; I truly do not know. However, what I do know is that by finding this murderer, you will find the whereabouts of Ao Wushuang.”
Li Yundong clenched his fists, silently noting these words. His eyes suddenly fell upon Meiniang, and a headache instantly struck him. “Now this woman has died in our temple, and so strangely. What are we to do? If the police find out, we will be in serious trouble.”
As he furrowed his brow in worry, a small, timid voice suddenly spoke from nearby: “I have an idea.”
Everyone turned their gaze in unison toward the sound, seeing that it was Xiao Zhu, who had arrived with Meiniang.
Xiao Zhu timidly hid behind Wuhua and whispered, “Meiniang didn't have any close relatives. I can say when I go back that she returned to her hometown. She was usually very harsh with people, so no one will likely press for details about her whereabouts.”
Li Yundong was quite surprised that an ordinary person like Xiao Zhu dared to speak up in the face of such a scene. He regarded her with a prolonged look, nodded, and said, “While this may be the only way for now, she was a living soul. I, Li Yundong, will definitely find a way to help Meiniang’s spirit in the afterlife find the killer.”
Seeing him look, Xiao Zhu was frightened and quickly retreated behind Wuhua, daring not speak further.
Cao Yi looked at Meiniang’s body and managed a bitter laugh. “Her physical body was drained dry; her soul must have been sucked away too. There is no spirit left to seek justice in the afterlife.”
Hearing this, Li Yundong jolted. His eyes snapped wide open. “I remember Ye Yu was struck by Mo Ashi’s Soul-Sapping Divine Pin, wasn't she drained of flesh and blood, and her soul devoured?”
Su Chan, standing nearby, exclaimed loudly, “Yes, yes! I remember when Mo Ashi—no, wait, when Yan Fang slept with Second Martial Uncle Gu Feng, Yan Fang used the Soul-Sapping Divine Pin to kill Gu Feng, sucking dry his flesh, blood, and soul! Could these two have suffered the same fate?”
Li Yundong gasped in shock, “Could it be that Yan Fang took the Soul-Sapping Divine Pin and has been lurking in this Daoist temple all along?”
As soon as he spoke, everyone present shivered uncontrollably.
Although Yan Fang had lost her physical body and could not wield powerful magic, her capacity for endurance and her vicious methods were enough to make anyone’s blood run cold. If it were truly her, then everyone in the Fox Charm Sect, save for Li Yundong, felt a chilling terror.
From the older generation like Cao Yi to the younger disciples like Su Chan, everyone in the Fox Charm Sect thought: If Yan Fang is right beside me, then…
For a moment, the Fox Charm Sect members were overcome with fear and panic.
Fortunately, Cao Yi retained some composure. She steadied herself slightly and said in a dry voice, “Sect Master, wasn't the Soul-Sapping Divine Pin taken away last time?”
Li Yundong countered, “Could Yan Fang have been the one?”
Cao Yi shook her head. “The last time the Divine Pin was seized, it was by a plume of black smoke. This art of transforming form into Qi requires a physical body to execute. Yan Fang at that time was only her nascent soul; she wouldn't have possessed that ability. Looking at the scene then, Zheng Yuan, the Sect Master of the Yin-Yang School of Wuhua Mountain, was the most suspicious.”
Upon hearing Zheng Yuan’s name, Li Yundong erupted in rage, “That scoundrel! I had a grudge with him last time, and now he dares to come knocking on my door? Is he not afraid that I will flatten his entire Wuhua Mountain Yin-Yang School?”
Su Chan, her eyes red, chimed in, “Yes, it must be him! Last time we ruined his good thing, and now he sneaks into our Fox Charm Sect to murder and steal treasures out of spite!”
Li Yundong paused. “Steal treasure? What treasure?”
Su Chan pointed to the coffin and shouted in anger, “The former Sect Master’s coffin was opened! Her body and her magic treasure are gone! What is that, if not murder for treasure?”
Li Yundong’s heart stirred, and a thoughtful expression crossed his face. He considered it for a moment, then said, “If it was murder for treasure, then why didn't they take Changsun Hong’s Five-Colored Brocade Pouch?”
Cao Yi sighed. “The former Sect Master’s magic treasure, the Jade Staff of Heaven and Earth, is one of the greatest treasures in the world. If the culprit was after treasure, they naturally wouldn't bother with a lesser item like Fourth Senior Sister’s. Her pouch is only a minor treasure—like the two pouches I gave you, Sect Master, which were single-use. But this kind of treasure is permanent; it can store vast quantities of items and will never be damaged.”
Li Yundong frowned deeply. He then asked, “When you heard that scream earlier, could you tell if it was Changsun Hong screaming?”
Cao Yi, Liu Yuehong, Zhuang Yating, and the others exchanged glances and shook their heads.
Li Yundong’s brow furrowed even tighter, and he fell into silent contemplation.
Wuhua suddenly addressed Li Yundong. “Daoist Master Li, now that such a grave matter has occurred in your sect, I should not linger. I shall take my leave now.”
Li Yundong was too preoccupied to ask him to stay. He said to Wuhua, “I had intended to ask the Master to stay for a meal, but with this disaster in the Fox Charm Sect, my mind is in chaos, and I have no disposition to keep you company. I must apologize.”
Wuhua pressed his palms together in a bow. “It is nothing. However, Daoist Master Li, you must pay close attention. Everything in this world is connected by cause and effect; even baseless rumors always have a reason behind them. That is all I can say. I hope it proves helpful to you, Daoist Master Li.”
With that, he turned, patted Xiao Zhu’s shoulder, and led him toward the outside of the Fox Charm Sect grounds.
Li Yundong watched them depart, his gaze momentarily bewildered. He repeatedly pondered Wuhua’s parting words, feeling as if he understood something, yet a greater fog of mystery surged toward him, threatening to drown him.