Chapter 109 Danger

Aunt Xu led Ming Huazhang into the house and put away the clothes in the room in a somewhat reserved manner: "My lord, please sit down first. I will go and make you some tea."

"Auntie, please don't bother." Ming Huazhang stopped Auntie Xu's movements and said, "I am here just to ask some old things. You don't need to be nervous. Just treat me as an ordinary guest. Auntie, when did you leave Chang'an?"

Aunt Xu trembled as she sat on the round stool opposite Ming Huazhang. When she heard this, her eyes were slightly blank. "It's been a while. Since the master got a new master and dismissed us old slaves, I haven't been to Chang'an again. It seems to be four years."

Four years? Ming Huazhang remained calm, but he became serious in his heart. This was a very sensitive time, when Lu Du's parents had an accident and when the murderer stopped committing crimes. Ming Huazhang asked, "Is the new head Lu Du?"

Aunt Xu nodded: "That's right, we all call him Da Langjun. Unfortunately, Da Langjun has a bad relationship with the master and has lived in his grandparents' house for many years. We old slaves are not familiar with him. When he takes over, the first thing he will do is to dismiss us."

Ming Huazhang asked: "His maternal grandfather's family is..."

"Madam's surname is Zheng, and this is the Zheng family's house." Aunt Xu said, "Young Master Lu grew up in the Zheng family's old house when he was a child. Later, when the empress came to power, many noble families were liquidated. In order to avoid disasters, the Zheng family moved back to Xingyang with all their members. Madam stayed because she married in Chang'an. Later, Madam became more and more a Buddhist, so she donated the Zheng house to the Buddha to accumulate blessings for future generations."

Ming Huazhang asked hurriedly, "Is the Buddhist temple donated by Madam Lu Qingshan Temple?"

Aunt Xu thought hard and nodded: "It seems so."

Qingshan Temple is the predecessor of Pudu Temple. Lu Du and Qingshan Temple have this origin. No wonder he lived in Qingshan Temple for a long time. Ming Huazhang asked: "Why does Lu Du have a bad relationship with his father?"

Aunt Xu sighed and said, "They say enemies are enemies. Parents have no choice in what kind of children they give birth to, and children have no choice in what kind of parents they have. How many fathers and sons in the world get along well? In fact, the relationship between the eldest son and the master was okay in the early years, but since the eldest son was twelve or thirteen years old, they have been at odds with each other all of a sudden."

Aunt Xu attributed all the changes to her children being debts from their previous lives, but Ming Huazhang felt that there was no such thing as a relationship suddenly deteriorating, and even less a father and son suddenly breaking up. Ming Huazhang asked, "What happened when Lu Du was twelve or thirteen years old?"

Aunt Xu thought about it and said doubtfully, "No. Maybe the eldest son has grown up. Young people are sensitive. Seeing the young lady being favored by the master, he is jealous."

Ming Huazhang raised his eyebrows slightly. How could a boy of twelve or thirteen be jealous of his sister? As a man with a younger sister, Ming Huazhang could not agree with this explanation. He calmly looked at Aunt Xu's expression and asked, "Who is the young lady you are talking about?"

"She is the second daughter of the master and his wife, only one year younger than the eldest son." Aunt Xu chattered, "In fact, the eldest son had an older sister, but she died at the age of ten. The master was very sad, so he treasured the second lady very much. He never held the eldest son in his arms, but he treated the second lady like a pearl and jade. The second lady basically grew up in the master's arms. The two children are almost the same age, but the master treated them so differently. Maybe this is why the eldest son felt unbalanced and became estranged from his father when he grew up."

The situation of the Lu family was basically a replica of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion. Ming Huazhang believed that he could understand Lu Du's feelings and situation very well, so he became more and more certain that there must be some hidden reason why Lu Du broke up with his father when he was thirteen years old. Ming Huazhang did not comment and asked, "But I heard that the Lu family's youngest daughter died early. When did this happen?"

Aunt Xu sighed again when she heard this: "The master took care of all of the young lady's daily life, and even chose her clothes for her. We servants actually had no contact with the young lady. But such a young girl died suddenly, who wouldn't feel sad? She seemed to be only fourteen years old when she died."

When Ming Huazhang heard the age of fourteen, he was shocked. When Ming Huachang was painting the portrait, she said that the murderer preferred gentle, childish girls between the ages of fourteen and sixteen. Doesn't this fit the Lu family's little daughter? Ming Huazhang thought about it and asked cautiously, "How did Miss Lu die?"

Aunt Xu showed a look of deep regret on her face and said, "He died of illness."

Ming Huazhang raised his eyebrows slightly, looking unconvinced: "Dead from illness? Aunt Xu, I don't doubt you, but this is a life after all. If you know anything, please tell me directly, so that I can clear the name of the deceased."

Aunt Xu sighed deeply, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes drooping, and said, "I don't know either. I only heard from the maids serving in the main courtyard that the young lady died innocently, but they were all sold off. After that, the young lady was hastily buried. The master said that she died of illness. How could we ask? On the contrary, the eldest son rushed back from the Buddhist temple as soon as he heard that the young lady had died. He insisted on the opening of coffin and had a big quarrel with the master. After that, they didn't even speak to each other."

Ming Huazhang frowned, his eyes darkened, and asked, "My daughter died inexplicably, what does Madam Lu say?"

"Madam is devoted to worshiping Buddha and has not been involved in household affairs for a long time." Aunt Xu said, "The master has the final say in the affairs of the Lu residence."

A father who even takes care of his daughter's clothes, and a mother who is indifferent, Ming Huazhang intuitively feels that something is wrong in this family. He asked: "How much do you know about the death of the couple?"

·

In Qingchan Temple, Ming Huachang walked into the meditation room and looked around curiously. Lu Du went in to get tea with ease. His voice came through the wooden rack, vague and unclear: "What kind of tea do you like?"

Ming Huachang had already found a mat to sit on and whispered, "It's okay, I'm fine with it."

Soon, Lu Du brought out a pot of hot tea. He held up his sleeves and poured tea for Ming Huashang, his movements slow and leisurely, pleasing to the eyes. He noticed that Ming Huashang seemed to be looking at him. chirping of birds is very annoying. Just now, I seemed to hear birds singing."

"Really?" Ming Huashang looked puzzled. "Dr. Lu, your ears are so sharp. How come I didn't notice it?"

Lu Du lifted his coat and sat down, saying, "Maybe you just arrived and you're not used to it yet. If you wait for a long time, you'll hear a lot of noise."

Ming Huashang didn't understand what was going on, and looked at Lu Du with admiration: "Dr. Lu, you know so much, and every word you say is so full of Buddhist principles."

Lu Du smiled faintly and gestured, "Thank you, Second Lady. This is the Mengding tea I made in my own way. Do you like it?"

Ming Huashang was surprised when she heard this and asked, "Doctor Lu, you also know how to make tea?"

As she spoke, she couldn't wait to take a sip. After Ming Huashang felt the tea fragrance inside, she praised it highly: "It is indeed fragrant and elegant, with a long aftertaste, and it is completely different from the common tea outside."

This Ming Er lady is very lively. She can give full feedback to any words. It seems easy to be happy when you are with her. Chatting with her is a good choice, but unfortunately...

Lu Du looked at Ming Huashang, who swayed and fell on the table with a thud. He thought to himself, what a pity, there will be no more of her in the future.

·

"Four years ago, we were sleeping when we heard a noise outside. We went out and found that the main courtyard was on fire. We rushed to put out the fire, but it was curfew and it was inconvenient to get water. In addition, we found it too late. By the time we put out the flames, the master and his wife had already burned to death."

Ming Huazhang frowned, having sensed something was wrong: "What are they doing? Why didn't they run away when the fire was burning them? Even if they couldn't run away, they didn't call for help?"

This question stumped Aunt Xu. She thought for a moment and said hesitantly, "It's possible that they were suffocated to death by the smoke before the fire reached them."

Ming Huazhang knew about this. Some people were afraid of the cold, so they would close the doors and windows and burn charcoal in the winter nights. They might be suffocated to death by the smoke without knowing it. However, as one of the Five Surnames and Seven Families, the Lu family would not be unaware of this. Ming Huazhang asked, "Did they not have anyone to serve them on the night of the fire?"

Aunt Xu shook her head. "The lady worships Buddha, and the master doesn't like people to get close to him. They don't allow servants to disturb them at night. We put our things away and go out. We dare not go back in until the master calls us the next day. No one is allowed in the master's courtyard. So we didn't notice the fire until it started. By the time we rushed over, the fire had already grown bigger."

At this point, Aunt Xu seemed to frown, so briefly that she probably didn't even realize it. Ming Huazhang noticed it, and he stared at Aunt Xu calmly and asked, "What did you think of just now?"

Aunt Xu hesitated for a moment before she stammered, "After hearing what you said, I found it a little strange. Madam and the master have been separated for a long time, so why did they sleep in the same room that night?"

Ming Huazhang's pupils trembled slightly, and he immediately became serious and asked, "Did the couple meet anyone that day?"

Aunt Xu frowned and tried to recall: "I don't think I saw anyone... During that period, there were no guests. Apart from the eldest son who greeted the master and the mistress, there was no one else."

Lu Du was actually living at home during that time? Ming Huazhang felt that he had grasped an important clue and quickly asked, "What was he doing when the fire started?"

"Of course he was sleeping." Aunt Xu said as a matter of course, "The fire was not far from Dalang's residence. If we hadn't gone in to wake him up, I'm afraid Dalang would have been burned to death."

Lu Du was woken up by someone, so it seems that the fire had nothing to do with him, and he also escaped death. Ming Huazhang did not comment, and asked: "Where was his yard at that time?"

Aunt Xu gestured with her hands: "The Lu family's house is in the city, much smaller than the old house of the Madam's family. The fire started from the master's Lengjia Courtyard. At that time, the eldest son was still living in Yanhua Courtyard. Fortunately, the wind was light that day, otherwise the eldest son would have suffered too..."

Ming Huazhang was stunned when he heard the name of the courtyard, but not because it was Lu Du's residence, but because: "You just said that Lengjia Courtyard was the residence of Lu Du's father?"

"Yes." Aunt Xu said, "The master is a Buddhist and has a strange personality. He doesn't live in the largest courtyard in the middle, but chooses a side courtyard and names it Lanka. I think that courtyard is a bit shabby, but the master likes it very much and usually doesn't allow us to get close to it."

Lankavatara is the name of a Buddhist scripture, so after Lu's house was donated to Qingchan Temple, the abbot did not change the name of the courtyard. Ming Huazhang was stunned. He remembered that when he went to Qingchan Temple for inspection, he heard the guide monk mention that Lu Du had a private meditation room in Qingchan Temple, which was called Lankavatara Courtyard.

Lu Du hated his father so much that he even donated his own house. Why did he keep the courtyard where his father once lived and even move in? What was so special about that courtyard?

·

When Lu Du handed her the tea, Ming Huashang knew there was something fishy going on. She pretended to take a sip, pretended to be unconscious from the Chinese medicine, and spit out the tea when Lu Du was not paying attention. Thanks to the special training at Zhongnanshan, Ming Huashang was very good at pretending to be unconscious. She closed her eyes, but actually used her ears to catch Lu Du's movements, secretly outlining the route in her mind. After she was placed in the secret room, Ming Huashang thought that the effect of the medicine was almost gone, so she woke up in time.

The first thing she saw was a dark and low roof. The tip of her nose smelled damp and unpleasant, as if it had never seen the sun, and the smell of decay was everywhere.

She moved instinctively and found that her limbs were tied by ropes. She looked along the ropes and saw a square stone platform below her, with suspicious dark red marks on the edge, and further ahead was a clay Buddha statue holding a flower and smiling.

If such a Buddha statue is placed in the main hall, it will certainly appear kind and benevolent, with boundless merits and virtues. However, in this situation, it only makes people feel eerie and terrifying.

Ming Huachang stared at the Buddha statue, but did not cry or struggle as expected. The people watching from the dark could no longer hold their breath and asked, "You don't seem afraid?"

Ming Huashang looked in the direction of the sound and found Lu Du in the darkness. Ming Huashang said, "Of course I am afraid. But now, is there any use in being afraid?"

Obviously it won't work. Lu Du slowly walked out from the shadows and said, "You are different from what I imagined. You are very special."

"Then what should I be like?" Ming Huashang asked, "Like the female beggar, Yuyan, and Cheng Siyue, crying and struggling, begging bitterly, so that you can get pleasure?"

Lu Du's eyebrows twitched, and he became more and more surprised: "How do you know it's a swift?"

He did not deny the other people, which shows that he has admitted that he is the serial killer who shocked Chang'an. He also did not try to cover it up. For him, it only brings satisfaction to outsiders to fear him, hate him, and talk about him, but if outsiders belittle his "achievements" or even attribute those crude and crude imitations to him, it will really anger him.

For so many years, everyone thought that he killed Huang Caiwei. Jingzhao Prefecture had changed so many people and investigated back and forth, but they all believed it. He was both content and lonely.

He desperately wanted others to recognize him, but he couldn't tell others about what he did, so he could only taste the fruits of his victory alone in disappointment.

However, this lamb that he suddenly caught revealed his intention. Lu Du was excited all over, she was so similar, she was almost a replica of her sister, but she was luckier than her sister.

She had a good father, a good brother, and her mother died when she was born. Why did all these lucky things happen to her?

Ming Huashang's biggest characteristic is laziness. She is too lazy to explain things a second time after having already explained them once. Ming Huashang asked: "I still don't know the name of that female beggar. What was her name? Why did you kill her?"

Normally, no one would answer questions from a prey that was about to die, but Lu Du had been lonely for too long. Now someone wanted to know him, and he almost couldn't wait to reply: "She has no name. I named her May."

"Why?"

"Because of Er Niang, she died in May."

Ming Huashang raised her eyebrows. Judging from the tone of voice, the second mother that Lu Du was talking about must not be her. So, she must be his sister?

There are so many coincidences between Ming Huashang and Lu Du's sister. But this is just right, Ming Huashang asked: "Why did she die?"

"Because of that beast!" Lu Du's tone became excited. He had always been a gentle and elegant teacher, but now he gritted his teeth and his whole face was angry. "He was proud of being born in a famous family, a descendant of the Fanyang Lu family, but he didn't even have an official position. He couldn't wait for the court to invite him to be an official, so he said that he wanted to concentrate on practicing Buddhism and had no intention of pursuing a career in politics. But a person like him is not worthy of practicing Buddhism. He heard that the highest Buddhist Dharma of Tantric Buddhism requires both men and women to practice. He looked down on women with impure bloodlines who were not from the five surnames, and actually cast his eyes on his daughter. The women of the Lu family are naturally of the most noble bloodline."

Ming Huashang was not panicked when she was tied to the secret room, nor was she panicked when she found herself being targeted by the murderer. But now she frowned, with obvious disgust on her face: "You mean, your father violated his own daughter, and he even called it Buddhism?"

Lu Du sneered, his face twisted, and he was completely lost in his memories: "Yes, it's really disgusting. When I was very young, my father doted on my sister and never paid attention to me. I hated her very much. But when I was thirteen years old, I went to my father's room to find him and accidentally ran into him doing something to my sister... She was only twelve years old at that time, right here, on this stone platform."

"I still remember how I felt when I saw that scene. The white bodies of men and women were extremely ugly and disgusting, but my mother ignored it and was devoted to worshipping her Buddha. My father threatened me that if I made this matter public and caused the reputation of the Fanyang Lu family to be damaged, I would be the sinner of the family. I have no talent myself, and if the Lu family's reputation is gone, I will be worthless."

Ming Huashang listened quietly and asked, "So, you gave in?"

"What else?" Lu Du laughed sarcastically, "Do I have any other choice? I can't face my father, and I can't save my sister. I can only move to Qingshan Temple. I asked the abbot of Qingshan Temple what to do, and the abbot told me to practice Buddhism."

"My sister committed sins in her previous life, so she has to go through all this in this life. She uses her body to redeem herself from sins, which is also a form of spiritual practice. In the next life, she will go to the Paradise to enjoy happiness. I believed it, and devoted myself to practicing Buddhism in Qingshan Temple for the next two years. But when I was fifteen, the servants said that my sister was dead. I hurried home and found that her coffin had been nailed. After she was buried, I secretly went to see her. Her body was all purple and blue. She was tortured to death. I asked the abbot what to do. It seemed that practicing Buddhism was useless. Those evil creatures would not be led to become Buddhas at all. The abbot said that it was because my sister did not have enough merit. I took him to my sister's tomb, and he dug out my sister's tibia and made it into a bone flute. He said that as long as this was done, the sins of my sister in her previous life could be eliminated and she could be led to the Paradise."

"You believe it?"

"All things are empty, only cause and effect are not empty." Lu Du lowered his eyes and clasped his hands. His face was pale. He made such a pious gesture in the secret room full of ghosts, which was both absurd and gloomy. "She owed a debt, so she is like this in this life. The abbot offered her bone flute in front of the Bodhisattva. Every time he performed a ritual and recited a sutra, he was eliminating her debt. In the next life, she will be reborn into a good family."

Ming Huashang raised her eyebrows, unable to understand this victim-blaming theory. Sister Lu Du had gone through all this because she owed a debt in her previous life, and Father Lu Du would pay it back in his next life. However, she was already dead in this life, and Father Lu Du had not paid any price, so what was the point of having to live in the next life?

However, it seemed that Lu Du believed it. Ming Huashang continued to ask: "Since you have already paid off her debt, why did you kill those women?"

Lu Du slowly opened his eyes. There was only one oil lamp burning in the secret room. His face looked eerie and scary under the light of the lamp. "That's because I started to discuss marriage, and I found that I couldn't have any impulse towards any woman."

Ming Huachang's eyebrows moved slightly, and he understood a little. Calculating the time, Lu Dusha was eighteen years old when he was the most restless and hot-blooded. However, he could not have any impulse towards normal women, and the suppressed desire must be released from another outlet.

Lu Du smiled very gently and whispered like a lover: "I hated that beast so much, but in the end I found that I was the same as him."

When he found that he didn't like gentle, smart or cheerful women, but had impulses towards a 13 or 14-year-old girl, he was terrified. He was tortured in pain for two years, and kept convincing himself that he was not that kind of person, and he would never be like that beast! But one day, he seemed to lose consciousness, and when he came to his senses, he found that he had brought the beggar woman who looked like his sister back to the meditation room and knocked her out. After a moment of panic, he had a crazy idea in his heart.

She was just a beggar woman, and he was the son of Fanyang Lu. It was a blessing for her to be with him for three lifetimes. If he hid her and served him exclusively in the future, she would surely be very happy.

In this way, Lu Du hid Wu Yue in the underground altar. This was once the house of his maternal grandparents. He grew up here in his childhood and was very familiar with every plant and tree here. He knew that there was a secret room in the underground of Qingshan Temple. Later, his mother, who was a devout Buddhist, had transformed this place into an altar for worshiping the Happy Buddha. The abbot could not come here once a month. It was an excellent paradise.

There was a secret passage in his room that led to the altar. He chose this courtyard to live in because he had played in the secret passage when he was a child.

He thought that as long as he was careful, he would be able to hide it from everyone. But Wu Yue resisted fiercely and she almost escaped several times. She was just a beggar. If it weren't for him, she would have to live with the lowest ruffians for the rest of her life.

Lu Du had no choice but to kill her. Wu Yue had gone through all this because she had a grievance and debt in her previous life. He tried to take the tibia to accumulate merit for Wu Yue, just like the abbot had done before. However, his technique was very unskilled and the ground was covered with blood. In the end, he was discovered by the abbot.

Lu Du calmly told the abbot that if he reported the case, Lu Du would tell the government what the abbot had said in previous incidents, and neither of them would be able to escape.

Finally, the abbot did not dare to take the risk and agreed to keep the secret for Lu Du.

The abbot had the key to Qingshan Temple, which greatly facilitated Lu Du's actions. In the dead of night, Lu Du threw May's body into the back mountain. As he expected, no one paid any attention to it. He spent a year in the long-lost peace, and in the seventh year of Tianshou, he couldn't help it again.

This time, he targeted Huang Jijiu's maid Yuyan. She was just a servant, not much more noble than a beggar, and he could easily cover up the matter as he did last time.

But he didn't expect that after he took Yuyan away, Huang Caiwei chased after him and bumped into him and attacked Yuyan. Lu Du had no choice but to knock Huang Caiwei unconscious as well.

However, there was a problem during the aftermath of this incident. Huang Jijiu suddenly showed up, and Lu Du had to hastily transport the person out, and he was almost caught by the Jingzhao Prefecture.

The daughter of the Imperial College's chief academic officer was murdered. The case was so serious that it spread all over Chang'an. The abbot of Qingshan Temple and Lu Du were frightened. The abbot had a big fight with Lu Du and refused to let Lu Du stay at Qingshan Temple anymore. Lu Du had no choice but to return to his father's home.

However, he couldn't bear to see his father and mother. The two consecutive murders seemed to have pointed him to a new path, and Lu Du suddenly realized that he could kill them.

Killing those two was much easier than killing Wu Yue and the others. He put poison in their tea, and soon they fell to the ground twitching and never moved again. Lu Du looked down at them, and still found the white bodies of people disgusting.

Afterwards, he moved the two men to the bed and set the curtains on fire to make it look like a fire. He calculated the wind direction and the speed of the fire and deliberately lay in the sea of ​​fire, waiting for others to "rescue" him.

As he expected, the servants thought it was an accidental fire and sympathized with him. Lu Du became the only person in charge of the Lu family. The first thing he did was to dismiss all the old servants. In this way, no one would know the truth about the Lu family.

After killing his parents, Lu Du finally felt clear-headed. He no longer hunted girls to relieve his stress, and even had the energy to chant sutras for them. He lived a peaceful life for four years until a stupid imitator pretended to be him.

Lu Du could not stand the world looking down on him, so he would rather kill another person to prove his elegance and perfection.

He thought this time it would be the same as the previous two cases, with nothing to show for it after repeated investigations, but the new Shao Yin of Jingzhao Prefecture was very persistent and actually found out about the Imperial College, and even came to question him several times. Lu Du could see from the young man's clear and calm eyes that he was suspicious of him.

The investigation became more and more stringent, and Lu Du became a little scared. After many years, he visited Qingshan Temple again - which was now called Pudu Temple - and asked the abbot to help him exonerate him.

Not only for him, but also for them. If the previous incident were to be spread out, the abbot would not be in good condition. Even if the abbot was an outsider and could be exempted from punishment, the popularity of Pudu Temple would surely plummet, so it would be better to kill the abbot.

The abbot finally agreed. On the day designated by Lu Du, the abbot went to Chang'an to give a lecture. For this purpose, he took away all the monks and left only Cen Hu, creating an opportunity for Cen Hu to "steal things". Then the abbot asked Cen Hu to accompany Lu Du to travel in the mountains. He messed up Cen Hu's meditation room in the temple to make it look like Cen Hu was fleeing for fear of crime. Lu Du deliberately walked to the dangerous section and pushed Cen Hu to the bottom of the cliff when he was not prepared.

Cen Hu fell to his death immediately. Lu Du walked down the cliff leisurely and stuffed documents, money, and the deliberately smashed bone flute into Cen Hu's clothes. Let these evidences rest in the dust forever along with Cen Hu's death.

The subsequent developments were satisfactory, and Jingzhao Prefecture convicted Cen Hu as the murderer, and the case was closed. Lu Du was already unhappy about having someone else impersonate his work, but he also met an ignorant young lady who showed off her brother in front of him.

The words "proud of one's success" and "young and promising" hurt Lu Du's heart. Lu Du could no longer bear it and decided to teach the ignorant Jingzhao Shaoyin a lesson.

Ming Huashang really fits his fantasy. It's a pity that she's a little old, but she's pretty, well-behaved and cute, so she's okay.

Lu Du came back to his senses and realized that a long time had passed. He didn't have the patience to chat with the lamb anymore. He took out a knife and said, "I clearly told you, why are you still not behaving well? A disobedient sister must be punished."

Ming Huashang stared at the cold light on the tip of the knife, her heart tense, and she kept praying for Ren Yao and Jiang Ling to come quickly. She secretly sent a secret message before drinking tea, could they not have heard it?

She went deep into the tiger's den alone, and of course she had a backup plan, so she could confuse Lu Du and protect herself. But she made this arrangement just to "catch him in the act", to make Lu Du's actions known to the world, so that Ming Huazhang could overturn the case without any dispute. If it was not necessary, Ming Huachang really did not want to ruin the situation she had carefully laid out.

Lu Du looked very excited, and murmured nervously: "You are like this, and so is Cheng Siyue. You have everything you want, so why are you running around?"

Ming Huashang wanted to buy time for herself, so she deliberately asked, "How did you trick Cheng Siyue out?"

Lu Du sneered and said, "It was too easy. She just sent a pigeon letter and happily got rid of her maids and guards and came to the banquet alone. I took her to the meditation room, and she drank the tea without any defense, just like you. I decomposed her body here."

"You claim to believe in Buddhism, but you do such evil things. Do you really think your faith is pure?"

This seemed to have angry Lu Du. He frowned and said sternly, "Don't even think about stalling for time. It's all your fault for being so self-willed and disobedient that you ended up like this. You brought this upon yourself! Remember to atone for your sins in your next life and be a good and obedient sister."

As he spoke, Lu Du raised his knife and stabbed Ming Huashang's neck. Ming Huashang quietly grasped the short crossbow on her sleeve and was about to release the trigger when suddenly there was a loud bang from above, as if something was kicked away. Then a strong wind passed by her and a woman's voice exploded in her ears: "Coward, you only know how to attack unarmed little girls, fight me if you dare! You bastard, give me your life!"

Ming Huashang opened her eyes in shock and saw a flash of silver light, a red thread piercing the darkness like lightning, and a gun shot out like a dragon, full of vigor and wind. Before she could react, the restraints on her wrists were cut by the cold light, and someone picked her up from behind. His arms were steady and powerful, but his hands couldn't stop shaking: "Shangshang, it's okay, I'm here."