Chapter 86 [Jiaozhu] After meeting Ajiang again, he accused him of killing the previous king.

Xu Yingli didn't take what Mo Linyu said to heart, nor did he scold him for saying such things. Whether he won the first place or not, Cang Qiong had won the first place for so many years, so this time wouldn't make a difference.

Xu Yingli nodded, "I understand. You guys can go down and rest too."

Mo Linyu had nothing to explain, so he took Shen Lian and left as instructed.

When the two of them reached the gate of the courtyard, Xu Yingli suddenly said, "Chen Lian, please stay. I have something to ask you."

Chen Lian's heart skipped a beat. He had never been alone with Xu Yingli before, and Xu Yingli had never summoned him, so the sudden summons made him a little nervous.

Mo Linyu glanced at Chen Lian and let go of her hand. "Go ahead. Senior brother will wait for you in the house." After that, he left.

Chen Lian slowly walked back to the pavilion, his lips pressed into a line. He bowed and asked, "Master, what do you want to call me for?"

"sit."

Chen Lian couldn't understand Xu Yingli. He could never see through him and didn't understand what Xu Yingli was thinking. He poisoned his master, and before Xu Yingli died, he only told him to protect Cang Qiong well, and then he died, falling down so suddenly.

Chen Lian thought Xu Yingli would question him why he did this, but Xu Yingli only investigated who poisoned him and did not do anything to him. He couldn't understand it.

This was the first time he was alone with his master since he became his disciple. He couldn't understand and couldn't see through Xu Yingli's behavior. When he thought about the fact that Xu Yingli didn't blame him or scold him before his death, he felt a lot of guilt in his heart.

Shen Lian sat opposite Xu Yingli.

"How did you obtain the Mermaid Pearl?"

"Kill the Mermaid King and take the Mermaid Pearl." Shen Lian said. He always thought that Xu Yingli accepted him as a disciple because he could kill the Mermaid King and get rid of the biggest worry in Xu Yingli's heart. Little did he know that it was because Shen Lian came to her with the Mermaid Pearl that she accepted him for the sake of the Mermaid King.

"Impossible, tell me the truth, who killed him?"

Chen Lian looked at Xu Yingli and met her eyes. Although she was weak, the majesty in her eyes was not diminished in the slightest.

What Chen Lian didn't know was that when he first became her disciple, Xu Yingli had doubts about him, wondering if what he said was true. How could a great mermaid king be killed by an ordinary person? Something must have happened, but she had been in seclusion for three years and didn't know what was happening outside.

The Elder Hall told her that all three realms were at peace.

She didn't believe it and felt more and more uneasy.

Xu Yingli thought that it was the mermaid king who personally gave the mermaid pearl to Chen Lian and asked Chen Lian to come and see him.

"Since Master knows that it was not my doing, how could I know? I just happened to pass by and got the mermaid pearl." Shen Lian saw Xu Yingli's face changing again and again, and remembered what A Jiang said, so he told the truth.

"You really don't know?"

"I don't know."

Xu Yingli closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The reason why she asked Chen Lian was because the mermaid king was her lover. She gave birth to a daughter for the mermaid king, and her daughter grew up in the mermaid tribe. Now that her lover died, the person she was most worried about was her daughter.

If she remembered correctly, the Mermaid King had once told her that he had a younger brother, and if there was a sibling conflict, she would have to take her daughter back. But if it weren't for her, she wouldn't have caused this blunder, ruining the peace of the Mermaids and the world of cultivation.

"Disciple wants to know, aren't Master and the Mermaid King enemies? Now that the Mermaid King is dead, why does Master look so haggard?" Chen Lian thought that the person in front of him was somewhat similar to the merman Nono who pointed out him. To be more precise, it was Nono who looked like Master.

"Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask." Xu Yingli was silent for a moment, then said, "If you have nothing else to do, don't get too close to your senior brother."

Hearing this, Shen Lian's pupils lit up. It turned out that Xu Yingli knew about the dirty things Mo Linyu had done. Then why didn't he expel Mo Linyu from the sect?

Chen Lian was becoming increasingly confused about Xu Yingli's ways.

He didn't ask any more questions, just said "yes" and left.

Chen Lian did not return to his house, but went down the mountain to the west coast.

The west coast was windy, and with winter fast approaching, the wind was chilly. Chen Lian looked around until he found the rock where he and A Jiang had first met. He walked towards it expectantly, hoping that A Jiang was just behind it.

But there was no one, nothing, only the stranded fish. Chen Lian threw the fish back into the sea, held onto the reef, and looked at the endless sea.

He wondered, with his current strength, how long could he last if he went into the water, and could he find the way out accurately?

He had only been to King Bei's Palace once, and he got there after being knocked unconscious. He had no idea the route.

Since A Jiang didn't come to find him, I guess he didn't go back to ten years ago. At that time, A Jiang didn't know him yet. I wonder if he would fall in love with him.

He was very worried that when he saw Ajiang again, Ajiang would no longer love him. The thought made him panic. Suddenly, he heard some movement behind him, and he immediately turned around and looked around.

“Who is it!?”

Xu Yingli walked out from the darkness.

"Master?" Shen Lian looked at Xu Yingli suspiciously, "Are you following me?"

"Master, I'd like to know what you're doing here secretly?"

"I heard that the people here are simple and honest, so I came to take a look."

"Really?" Xu Yingli obviously didn't believe it.

"Then why did Master come here?"

Xu Yingli came here to go to the Bei Palace to see what was going on and whether his daughter Nuonuo was still safe. She didn't need to tell Shen Lian about these things.

"Do I need to report to you about my master's affairs?"

Shen Lian subconsciously shook his head.

As night fell, a fisherman returned from fishing and saw the two men standing on the beach. He said to them kindly, "You two are from other places, aren't you?"

Seeing that the two men had no intention of talking, the fisherman said, "You two, please don't know, the nights on the west coast have been very uneasy lately. Mermaids often come ashore, and I don't know what they're doing. Anyway, it's best not to stay here for long."

"What does the mermaid look like?" Shen Lian asked.

"It's said to have a blue tail and glow with colors. Why are you asking? You're not going to catch that mermaid, are you?" The fisherman saw that Chen Lian had an extraordinary aura and knew at first glance that he was a disciple of immortal cultivation. "Absolutely not! I heard that mermaids have tails nine feet long and are not to be trifled with."

When Chen Lian heard the description, he thought, wasn't it A Jiang? A Jiang had actually been ashore. According to A Jiang, at this time period, he should still be at the bottom of the West Sea, in charge of the overall situation.

Suddenly, there was a long cry in the sky. The fisherman was so scared that he ran away, saying as he ran, "It seems to be coming. I'm leaving first!"

Shortly after the fisherman finished speaking, a strange light suddenly appeared on the sea, and a blue figure leaped from the waves with grace and swiftness. It was Ajaan. His silver hair gleamed in the moonlight, and his blue tail shone with a faint glow. His beauty was breathtaking.

Shen Lian's heartbeat quickened. He wanted to rush forward, but he was worried that his actions would expose A Jiang's identity. He turned to look at Xu Yingli, but found that her eyes revealed a complex emotion, as if she was recalling something.

"Ah Lian!" Excited, he transformed into a human form, ran towards Chen Lian, and hugged him. "I've been looking for you for a long time. Something big happened in the clan. I didn't dare to leave. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting..."

A Jiang smelled Chen Lian's hair, and the familiar fragrance made him sink into it.

Shen Lian glanced at Xu Yingli who was standing aside and staring at the two of them. This look made him feel uneasy, so he pushed A Jiang away.

"A Jiang?" Xu Yingli asked. She had never seen A Jiang, but she had heard from her husband that his younger brother was born with a spirit, had the most beautiful tail in the tribe, and had a first-class appearance.

Ah Jiang narrowed his eyes. He didn't know Xu Yingli, so how could Xu Yingli know his name? However, the woman in front of him looked somewhat similar to Nuonuo, and he had a bold idea.

"You are Nono's mother."

Shen Lian frowned, looking from A Jiang to Xu Yingli. It suddenly dawned on him: Nuonuo was actually Xu Yingli's child? Didn't that mean Xu Yingli was exposed? And how had she managed to keep it a secret so well, deceiving him and Mo Linyu, the Elders' Hall, and even the entire world?

Xu Yingli was not afraid of Chen Lian knowing. What she was most worried about now was her daughter and the real murderer who killed her lover.

"How did A Yuan die? Did you kill him?!" After saying that, Xu Yingli summoned the sword of life, and as soon as A Jiang said yes, she would kill A Jiang immediately, even if it cost her own life, to avenge her lover.

A Jiang just shook his head, then suddenly pushed Chen Lian away, pointed at Chen Lian, and said words that Chen Lian would never forget in her life.

"It was him! He was the one who killed my brother! Nono saw it with his own eyes!"

"It's not me!" Chen Lian looked at A Jiang in surprise. A Jiang knew that it was not him who killed the previous king, so why did he say that?

"You were involved!" Ajaan roared. "You killed him!"

"What evidence do you have to say that he killed A Yuan?" Xu Yingli thought that he had killed someone without any reason and did not believe what A Jiang said.

A Jiang waved his hand, and the water on the sea formed a water mirror in mid-air, which showed how Chen Lian killed A Yuan and took away the mermaid pearl.

Shen Lian looked up in disbelief. He shook his head. Things were not like that at all. When he saw A Yuan, A Yuan was already dead. "No, it's not like that!"

"Why not? I've been investigating for so many years, how could I not find anything? I didn't kill you earlier because you were the representative of the Immortal Sect, so it was difficult for me to do it. I had no choice but to stay by your side and make other plans." Ah Jiang laughed coldly, as if with a sense of sarcasm as if he had a great revenge. "I have wanted to kill you for a long time to avenge my brother!!"

"Since I've been reborn ten years ago, before anything happened, and you've become the leader of the Cang Qiong Sect, I'm not afraid to tell you that I deliberately broke your path, allowing you to become a demon, and then I'll unite with people from all the major sects to kill you!"

Chen Lian stumbled back a few steps, "I don't believe it."

He felt desolate. A Jiang had clearly said that he loved him and would protect him, so why would he want to kill him?

"You said you loved me, but is that also a lie?"

"Of course it's fake. How could I love someone who killed my brother? That's just your trust!"

Chen Lian was most afraid of being betrayed by someone he trusted. His brother was like this, and so was Mo Linyu. He had thought that A Jiang would be different, that he would always be with him, protect him, and love him, but now...

So this is the truth of the matter. No wonder he begged Ajahn so much, and Ajahn insisted on taking him at such an important time.

A tear fell from the corner of Shen Lian's eyes. He covered his heart, feeling the pain coming from here again and again.

"Why? It wasn't me. I didn't kill him. Don't you know that?" Shen Lian rushed forward, grabbed A Jiang's arm and questioned.

"You killed him! Otherwise, why would you have taken the Mermaid Pearl?!"