The disappearance of the Minister of Agriculture is solved, and the conspiracy of the Immortality Cult is revealed.

Feng Liunian and Shen Shaobai and his party came to the Shaofu, but found the gate locked and no one answered the door. Fearing that the Shaofu had met with an accident, they discussed and then climbed in. One after another, a group of people threw things around like fish in a pot, making a sizzling sound. A cloud of dust rose from the ground, blinding them. They rubbed their eyes and saw clumps of weeds emerging from the barren yellow earth, extending to the roof. The moss on the black tiles was as thick as dumplings. They groped inside the house, but saw spider webs everywhere. Taking a breath felt like eating half a mouthful of ash.

"Is anyone there? Is the Shaofu at home?" Shen Shaobai asked, but no one answered after a long while.

"Could it be that the Shaofu has been murdered by the Changsheng Sect?" Shen Er asked

"Don't jump to conclusions or act rashly. Shen Er, you and Ba Liang will search the backyard inside and out to see if there is anyone there." Feng Liunian said

Shen Er and Balian went to the backyard, while Feng Liunian and Shen Shaobai were in the front yard. "Do you think the young master has been killed? Otherwise, why is the mansion like this?" Shen Shaobai asked.

"I see this house is so dilapidated and abandoned that it's worse than a ruined temple. It looks like no one has lived in it for a long time. It's lifeless. We haven't seen a single living thing since we entered." Feng Liunian said

"Then do you think there might be ghosts?" Shen Shaobai asked worriedly.

"Ghosts and gods are nonsense, and with me here, no one dares to hurt you, don't worry." Feng Liunian said

Before Shen Shaobai could say anything, a gust of wind blew, withered leaves drifting and windows creaking. The door then opened, and a man came in.

The man saw someone at home and asked, "Who are you? Why are you breaking into my house? What is your crime?"

"I am Shen Shaobai, the son of Prime Minister Shen. I am here today for a case. I hope you can forgive me. By the way, you are the steward of the Shaofu, right? May I ask where the Shaofu is?" Shen Shaobai said

"I'm ashamed. I'm the Shaofu, Jiang Huai." Jiang Huai said

A closer look revealed that Jiang Huai was wearing a faded and threadbare official uniform, with patches on his trousers and shoes that had been mended many times. He had a thin face and a skinny waist, revealing an appearance of poverty.

"I see, there is a reason for this. We have come here uninvited, and I hope you will understand." Feng Liunian said

"Why is it so that you can climb over the wall and get in?" Jiang Huai said

Fengliunian and Chen Shaobai told Jiang Huai everything.

"Why is the Changsheng Sect so cruel? Why do they kill people?" Jiang Huai asked

"We are afraid that the Changsheng Sect will kill you, so we came to find you. Since you are okay, come with us to find Pei Linyan and Gu Yanzhou." Feng Liunian said

"Okay." Jiang Huai said, and it just so happened that Shen Er and Ba Liang also happened to come out.

“Master, there are signs of life in the backyard, but the house is dilapidated and looks like a spider web, about to collapse.” Shen Erdao

"No problem, you see this man is Lord Jiang Huai of the Shaofu. Come with us to the Grand Minister of Agriculture's Mansion to look for Lin Yan and Yan Zhou." Shen Shaobai said

The five of them rushed to the Grand Minister of Agriculture's Mansion. At the same time, Pei Linyan and Gu Yanzhou arrived at the Grand Minister of Agriculture's Mansion, only to see that everyone in the mansion looked panicked and at a loss.

Pei Linyan arrested the man and asked, "What happened in the mansion? Why is there such a panic?"

"It turned out to be Master Pei. This morning, the servants helped the master wash up, but no one responded in the room. When we went in, we found that the master was nowhere to be found. Everyone in the mansion was in a panic, so there was chaos." said the housekeeper.

"When will your master return home? Has he shown any abnormal behavior since returning home?" Gu Yanzhou asked.

"Master, I returned home at twilight hour and have not left my room since then. By the way, although no one was in the room, the door was locked from the inside. It took us a lot of effort to open it." said the housekeeper.

"Then please take us to the room quickly." Gu Yanzhou said

A group of people came to the room and saw that the doors and windows were intact. Gu Yanzhou touched the door latch and found some slight scratches.

"It's impossible for a person to disappear without a reason." Pei Sandao

"Even if we kidnap the person, he will react when he wakes up and struggle, which will be troublesome. Besides, there is no one in the house, so how can we close the door from the inside?" Pei Linyan said

Gu Yanzhou picked up the teacup and sniffed it. "The tea has a magical aroma. I think the Minister of Agriculture passed out after drinking it, so there's no sign of him struggling."

"Sir, why did that person disappear out of thin air?" Banjin asked

"Look, there are scratches on the door latch. First, a thin thread was tied to the door latch. Then someone carried the Minister of Agriculture to the outside of the door. When the door latch was pulled, it automatically locked and the thin thread was also recovered. So it looks like the door was closed from the inside." Gu Yanzhou said

"So that's how it is. Then, sir, do you know where my master is now?" the housekeeper asked anxiously.

"Giving the drug, closing the door, and carrying the person, at least two people are needed to complete it. Who is usually responsible for your master's daily life?" Gu Yanzhou said

"It's an old woman, but she's diligent and kind, so she's also a suspect? Sir, please wait a moment while I go call her." said the housekeeper.

After a while, a short woman came into the room and asked, "Let me ask you, were you the one who prepared the tea in the Minister of Agriculture's room yesterday?" Pei Linyan asked.

"My Lord, this is what I prepared. Is there anything wrong with it?" the old woman asked.

"You are so bold! You actually dare to kidnap and kill someone." Pei Linyan said seriously.

"My Lord, I really don't know what crime I have committed." The old woman asked tremblingly.

"Please open your hands and I will make the final decision." Gu Yanzhou said

There was a very thin mark on the old woman's hands. "I think the mark on your hands is the evidence of why you want to harm the Minister of Agriculture." Gu Yanzhou said

"I...since you already know, I will tell you a story. Twenty years ago, a refugee girl was rescued by a man. The girl was grateful for the man's kindness and promised to spend her life with him. Unexpectedly, the man was greedy and wanted power and status so he married someone else. The girl had an affair with him and got pregnant. She had no choice but to find a stable boy for a hasty marriage. Who would have thought that twenty years later, their daughter came to the man's house to work and was raped by him. Unable to bear the humiliation, the daughter committed suicide. To seek revenge, the girl pretended to come to the man's house and worked as a tea maid, waiting for the opportunity. Finally, the girl got what she wanted and died without regrets." The old woman said

"Since you encountered this, why didn't you report it to the police?" Gu Yanzhou said

"Sir, who in the government office is not protecting each other nowadays? For the sake of their careers, who would dare to take on this hot potato? They just ignore it and turn a blind eye to it. But we ordinary people have grievances but no one can speak out." said the old woman.

After the old woman finished speaking, she vomited blood and soon died. Everyone sighed and sighed, but before they could express their feelings, they saw Doctor Liu approaching and saying, "Zhou'er, the bodies of Qusheng and Songbai are gone."

"Who wants to steal their bodies? What's the point?" Pei Linyan said

"Could it be the Changsheng Sect? Oh no, the others are in danger too." Gu Yanzhou said.

At the same time, Feng Liunian, Shen Shaobai, Shen Er, Ba Liang and others also came to the Grand Minister of Agriculture's Mansion.

"Pei San, go to Guanglu Xun's mansion and see if Guanglu Xun is safe and sound at home; Chen Er, go to Weiwei Mansion and see if his body is still there; Banjin, go to the clan's mansion to find out if the body has been buried; Balian, go to Taifu Mansion and ask Zhao Dan how the body was disposed of." Gu Yanzhou made the arrangements, and everyone took action after receiving the orders.

"Zhou'er, is there anything important happening?" asked the Medical Immortal.

"Mother-in-law, we have discovered that the Changsheng Sect kills people in accordance with the eight sufferings of life. There may be some unknown secrets." Gu Yanzhou said

"The eight sufferings of life, corpses, could this be a ritual for immortality?" The Medical Immortal said.

"Mother-in-law, do you know something?" Pei Linyan said

"If it's for the sake of immortality, then it makes sense." The Medical Immortal sighed.

"Why do you say that? Do you have any explanation?" Shen Shaobai asked

"Twenty years ago, a book of immortality was spread in the martial arts world. The martial arts world and the imperial court fought for it, but none of them could get it. Later, some people said that people could only achieve immortality after experiencing the Eight Sufferings, but it was so difficult to go through the Eight Sufferings throughout one's life. Later, a cult developed a ritual of immortality. It only required replacing one's own body with the body of the person who had experienced it to conceal the way of heaven and thus achieve immortality. But these are all rumors in the martial arts world, and should not be taken seriously. Who would have thought that I would hear it today." said the Medical Immortal.

Soon, the group came back and said that both the people and the bodies were missing.

"Mother-in-law, besides requiring the body of the person undergoing the longevity ritual, are there any other conditions?" Gu Yanzhou said.

"It's best to be on a high mountain, so it can easily connect to the sky; inside a cave, it can connect to the underground." The Medical Immortal said

"Could it be the Dengxian Cave on Beimang Mountain? This place meets the requirements." Pei Linyan said

"Then let's go check it out first. We might as well give it a try." Shen Shaobai said