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The sun rises, the sky becomes bright, the myriad rays of sunlight envelope the continuous layers of clouds, and birds knock on the window frames with their beaks.

Yin Heng rose early and went to a commercial port to buy some breakfast. He returned to the inn alone, carrying his full breakfast bag like a waiter. If it weren't for his elegant attire and handsome appearance, passersby would have asked, "Hey, can you sell me this breakfast?" He didn't notice the people staring at him, as he continued on his way to the inn. He went up to the second floor of the inn and reached Xiao Yuan's room. Just as he was about to knock on the door, the person inside pushed it open, startling both of them.

"What are you doing outside my house?" Xiao Yuan looked the man up and down, and when he saw that he was holding breakfast in his hand, he understood his purpose, so he took a tray of buns from Yin Heng.

"That one has fresh meat filling, a little greasy. You can have this one." He handed over the lunch box in his other hand. Xiao Yuan opened the lunch box and looked inside. Inside, he saw several exquisite pastries neatly arranged. How could someone buy a greasy fresh meat bun and such exquisite pastries at the same time? What was this person's intention? Was he trying to curry favor with him?

"Who did you buy that tray of buns for?"

Yin Heng mentioned the tray of buns and said a little embarrassedly, "Well...actually, I was only planning to bring you breakfast, but it wouldn't be nice not to bring those two, so I bought some on the way. Don't tell Jiang Yun, or he'll say I'm treating you differently."

"...Okay, I won't tell you. You can give it to them. It's time to leave after eating."

Later, when Xiao Yuan sat down to open his lunch box and eat some cakes, he could faintly hear Jiang Yun saying, "Brother! How did you know we hadn't had breakfast yet? You're simply the best brother in the world!"

The best senior brother in the world? If Jiang Yun knew that the steamed buns were just something that the "best senior brother" he mentioned bought for Xiao Yuan when he felt guilty about it... I wonder if he would still say that.

After packing their bags, the four of them left the inn and headed towards Lingcang Peak.

Walking down the street, the pedestrians, especially the women gathered together, were talking about something. Their faces were beaming with joy, and they occasionally let out exclamations of "Ouch!" As they passed a few vendors, they overheard someone say, "Hey, I'm telling you, I heard those two people who died were actually disciples of the Lianyun Sect." Yin Heng stopped and looked at the people beside him. They were also looking at each other, obviously having heard what they had said. Yin Heng stepped forward, patted the shoulder of the person closest to him, and asked humbly, "May I ask what happened to those people you just mentioned who died?"

The vendor turned his head impatiently and saw that this was the young master of the Cang Jing Sect! The impatience on his face disappeared, and he immediately nodded and flattered, "Isn't this the young master of the Cang Jing Sect? What did you just ask me?"

This guy... his expression changed very quickly. Yin Heng rolled his eyes silently in his heart, but he did not show any concern on his face and still politely repeated the question he had just asked.

"I'm asking what this dead person is that you just mentioned."

"Oh, you don't know. Last night, two Lianyun Sect disciples died in the Yuanfan Inn at the critical point. I heard their deaths were tragic. What do you think of this?"

Yin Heng was startled. Disciples of the Lianyun Sect? Could they be the two people who were with them at the Li Mansion a few days ago?

"Are the bodies of those two still in the inn?"

"Yes, yes."

"Thank you very much. Goodbye." Yin Heng bowed to show his gratitude. The other three people who were not far away also roughly understood what was going on. Yin Heng made a "go" gesture to them.

I had just finished dealing with the matter at Li's Mansion and had a night's rest when this incident happened. Although he was not a disciple of our sect, a murder happened here again. I would feel guilty if I didn't go and take a look. So it seems that the trip to Ling Cangfeng will have to be postponed.

Following the vendor's name, the four of them found the inn. The Yuanfan Inn was crowded with people outside. They rushed past them and entered. The bodies of the two deceased lay not far from the entrance, now covered in a white sheet. Next to them stood a tall, handsome young man wearing the uniform of a Lianyun Sect disciple. A flash of surprise crossed Ye Qingci's face when he saw the man, but then he regained his composure. Just as they were wondering how to approach without appearing rude, Ye Qingci approached and bowed solemnly.

"Brother Chonghui."

"It's Qingci. It's been a long time since we last met. Why are you here?"

The two seemed to have known each other for a long time, but judging from the man's attire and what Ye Qingci had said in Li's house before, it could be known that this man was Li Chonghui, the eldest senior brother of Lianyun Sect.

"I happened to be here to receive a commission, and I came here after hearing about this. Could you please let us see the bodies of these two people?"

"Please."

Yin Heng and Xiao Yuan approached to examine the corpse, but Jiang Yun tugged at Ye Qingci's sleeve and asked him in a deliberately low voice, "When did you meet the senior brother of Lianyun Sect? How come I didn't know?"

Ye Qingci leaned close to his ear and whispered, "When I was young, my master took me to Lianyun Sect. At that time, I got along well with Brother Chonghui and we became acquainted, but we haven't been in touch in recent years."

At Yin Heng and Xiao Yuan's side, the white cloth covering the corpse had been largely peeled back, revealing large bloodstains on the blue and white disciple's uniform. A deep wound lay at the corpse's neck, likely fatal, but a closer look revealed a rough cut, unlikely to have been caused by a sword. Even more shocking was the emptiness of the eye sockets, as if someone had gouged out their eyeballs. Looking down, a bloody hole formed over the heart, and the elixir that had been stabbed near it was nowhere to be found. This state of death startled the two men, sending a chill through their bodies.

Seeing this, both of them remained silent with heavy expressions.

What kind of deep hatred could allow someone to do such a cruel thing?

Li Chonghui approached the two of them, took out a zither string from his brocade bag and handed it to them.

"This is what was found under my junior brother's body. It must have been left by the murderer. Judging from the wounds on their necks, it must be the murder weapon. The material... is quite unusual."

“…What is it?”

"It's the tendon of a red-tailed fox that lives in a group on the edge of the ghost world."

Red-tailed fox... This kind of fox is extremely cunning and cruel. It is good at bewitching people and creating dreams. It lives in groups on the edge of the ghost world and is immersed in a thick ghost aura. Its tendons can be used to make strings of a musical instrument. This person has great cultivation. No wonder there are no signs of fighting with the murderer on Yu Shang and Yu Xian.

Yin Heng reached up to the strings. The blood had long since been cleaned, but they still shone slightly red. He stared at them and said, "There's still a faint trace of spiritual energy remaining on these strings."

Originally, Li Chonghui planned to go directly to the ghost world. Since he could detect the spiritual flow, he might as well follow the spiritual flow to see what happens. However, the murderer was not a fool. The spiritual flow must have been left there intentionally by the murderer. He didn't know where he wanted to lead them by leaving the spiritual flow.

"Let's follow the spiritual flow first." Ye Qingci suggested.

There is no better way now than this. No matter where the murderer wants to lead them, they must admit it.

Li Chonghui took out a pearl, called the "Mingshi Pearl," which could reveal everything. He placed it in his palm and wrapped the zither string around it. The pearl suddenly emitted a dazzling light and then slowly floated up.

"Let's go."

Several people flew through the air on flying swords, with Li Chonghui leading the way. Their speed was incredibly fast, and Li Chonghui's expression gradually grew gloomy, his heart hanging in the balance.

A few people were in the air, looking far away through a layer of mist, and saw a group of buildings standing tall.

It is Lianyun Sect.

Li Chonghui's heart sank when he saw the place that was very familiar to him. He always felt something was wrong along the way. Unexpectedly, he was really heading towards Lianyun Sect. He slowly slowed down and stopped not far above Lianyun Sect. The Mingshizhu also stopped.

"...The spiritual flow has ended here. Everyone, please go to Lianyun Sect and rest first."

Li Chonghui led a few people into Lianyun Sect and sat down in the reception hall.

Xiao Yuan asked: "This murderer deliberately left the spiritual flow

I'm afraid they're trying to lure you back here, or maybe the murderer is from the Lianyun Sect. I wonder if the two of them have any grudges against anyone?"

"No, my junior brother never holds grudges against anyone. Furthermore, my sect is capable of using the tendons of red-tailed foxes as zither strings... I truly cannot imagine anyone with such a high level of cultivation who doesn't use a zither."

"What if they are just scapegoats?" Ye Qingci stood up and continued, "Perhaps the murderer wasn't targeting them. They are just scapegoats. I'm afraid this man is targeting the Lianyun Sect."

Hearing this, Li Chonghui frowned and tapped the table rhythmically with his fingers.

"If that's the case, instead of asking whether Yu Shang and Yu Xian have any grudges against anyone, it would be better to ask whether Lianyun Sect has offended anyone."

Li Chonghui stopped tapping the table, was silent for a moment, and said, "No."

As the saying goes, don't air your dirty laundry in public. Even if you have done something offensive, you should not tell anyone about it.

"That's strange. Could it be that the murderer killed people without any purpose? There must be something wrong when things are abnormal. There are too few clues left." Yin Heng had been listening silently and spoke at this moment.

Yin Heng was aware of this in his mind. Seeing Li Chonghui's expression, he knew that he was hiding something. Just because he was not in a position to ask did not mean that he did not have any doubts in his heart.

Several people were silent. Suddenly, a leaf flew in at high speed and hit Yin Heng's face. Yin Heng picked up the leaf and heard Yin Jingyi's voice.

"My son, come back quickly."

Yin Heng told Yin Jingyi these four concise words before setting off. It was time to return to Cang Jing Sect, but Yin Jingyi's sudden urging made Yin Heng smell something was wrong.

Everyone in the hall heard this voice transmission, and Li Chonghui naturally heard it too. He said, "If you have anything to do, please go quickly. Lianyun Sect will handle this matter on its own."

Yin Heng stood up and bowed to everyone.

"I'm one step ahead."

Yin Heng went out, and the other three followed behind him and flew back to Cang Jing Sect on their swords. As soon as they entered the meeting room, they saw Yin Jingyi sitting in the hall with his hand on his forehead.

"Father, why are you calling me back so urgently?"

Yin Jingyi raised his head, his eyes were dark and bloodshot.

"For the past two days, villagers from Xiejia Village down the mountain have been coming up the mountain, saying they don't know where their husbands have gone. They've been crying and shouting, but they won't answer anything I asked. I finally persuaded them to leave. How can I send people to investigate if they can't explain the situation clearly? You should go and take a look, and come back as soon as possible."

"yes."

As the four of them walked out, Yin Heng pondered. Xiejia Village was located not far from the foot of Lianyun Sect Mountain, and every incident was related to Lianyun Sect. But now was not the time to dwell on these matters. The most urgent task was to check on Xiejia Village. The four of them headed for Xiejia Village without stopping.