Chapter 106 The Murderer
The atmosphere instantly became tense and hostile.
The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder, as if it were about to explode at any moment.
The two, who were usually the most composed and indifferent, were actually arguing, leaving Cui Mingcan and Cen Ying completely bewildered.
Even Bai Yuheng, who was studying the jade pendant nearby, heard the commotion and was stunned for a long time.
How did they start arguing?!
Why did they suddenly start arguing?
"Hey, hey, hey, let's talk this out, let's talk this out, don't argue, it'll only hurt our relationship!" Bai Yuheng also joined the effort to reconcile them, separating Pei Yuan and Li Tiankuo.
The two stood on opposite sides. Li Tiankuo coldly watched Pei Yuan, and Bai Yuheng, who was pulling Pei Yuan aside and advising him not to be too sharp in his words. Suddenly, a chill rose in his heart for some unknown reason, accompanied by a helpless feeling...
Li Tiankuo pursed his lips, his gaze fixed on their clasped hands.
Pei Yuan could naturally sense the unfriendly look in his eyes. He grabbed Bai Yuheng's hand that was pulling his arm, cupped it in his palm, and slowly sweated as he felt a little uneasy.
But when he met Li Tiankuo's gaze, it was filled with provocation and smugness.
It's as if she's saying, "Look, she's on my side."
"..." Li Tiankuo's face turned cold. He took the tea that Cen Ying handed him, tilted his head back and drank it down, trying to suppress his rising anger.
"Let's talk this out, don't get angry." Bai Yuheng pulled her hand away from Pei Yuan's and poured him a cup of tea to calm him down.
“Xiao Kuo, what Pei Yuan said may seem harsh, but it still makes some sense. We shouldn’t let anyone off the hook just because they’re kind-hearted…”
"Impossible!" Li Tiankuo stood up abruptly and said sternly, "My elder sister has no reason to do this!"
"A reason?" Pei Yuan laughed. "Why not?"
Li Tiankuo: "My elder sister has always been kind and benevolent, how could she possibly use such methods to harm her own siblings?"
Seeing that he was on the verge of violence, Pei Yuan pulled Bai Yuheng behind him and sneered, "Why is it impossible? Doesn't everything in the Jiangzhou underground palace prove their ambition?"
"And another question," Pei Yuan coldly examined him, condescendingly, "do you hate your siblings? When they toyed with you and bullied you?"
"I...I..." Li Tiankuo paused, speechless, "But my elder sister is different from me..."
He could only compare himself to Princess Jing'an.
But as soon as he spoke, he lost the upper hand.
As expected, Pei Yuan scoffed upon hearing this, his mockery palpable. Li Tiankuo immediately blushed with shame, but he still didn't believe his deduction.
Li Tiankuo pursed his lips and then said, "All of this is just your speculation. Let's look at the facts."
Pei Yuan smiled, slightly raised his chin, and said, "Let's see the facts."
Li Tiankuo's face darkened, and he pursed his lips, unwilling to speak to him. The atmosphere in the hall became extremely awkward and filled with tension.
Bai Yuheng tugged at Pei Yuan's clothes, signaling him to say less. He seemed not to understand or to deliberately misunderstand her meaning. Following the force of her tugging, he took her hand in his palm.
Bai Yuheng: "..."
To ease the awkward atmosphere, Bai Yuheng said, "I have thought of a way to use the Rewinding Realm, but this method is a forbidden technique, developed by a cultivator several hundred years ago..."
"Is there any harm?" Seeing her worried and hesitant expression, and hearing about the forbidden technique, the three of them quickly asked.
"There are certainly disadvantages, but this technique can more clearly and completely show what happened in the time before the deceased died."
"Tell me about it first."
Forbidden techniques are forbidden only because they are immoral and harmful.
The harm caused is naturally unpredictable.
"First, the caster's spiritual power is damaged and their mental platform is corrupted. If they are disturbed while casting the spell, there is a risk of going into demonic possession." Bai Yuheng explained one by one. "Second, this forbidden technique will absorb the spiritual power and cultivation of nearby cultivators. At best, their spiritual power will be damaged, and at worst, their spiritual roots will be completely lost."
Bai Yuheng raised her third finger and said, "Thirdly, we need the blood from the fingertips of ten young boys and girls, as well as the blood from the fingertips of their closest relatives, and then we need to gather the deceased's personal belongings..."
"Furthermore, the timing of this action must be carefully chosen. It cannot be done at the extremes of Yin and Yang, nor during rain, on cloudy days, or when the sun is shining directly overhead... These conditions are extremely stringent."
Cui Mingcan sighed, "Isn't there anything simpler?"
Bai Yuheng chuckled: "Of course there is, but you can't see the image. You can only guide it through the aura, and the deviation is quite large. Ordinary cultivators don't usually use this method."
Li Tiankuo pondered for a moment: "Let's try this first. After I have someone arrange what you said, we'll confirm it again."
"Yes, that's fine."
Cen Ying casually mentioned, "This isn't too much trouble, is it?"
Bai Yuheng waved her hand: "It's alright, it's alright, it just requires the blood from the fingertips of the deceased's parents as an anchor point."
"Then let's try this one first," Li Tiankuo said with a sigh of relief.
Li Tiankuo glanced at the composed Pei Yuan, pursed his lips, turned his gaze away, and walked out of the palace: "I'm going to discuss this with Father Emperor. It would be best to find the murderer before tonight..."
Otherwise, Prince An would be in danger.
The others nodded in agreement: "Okay!"
Perhaps because the situation was dire, and the emperor did not want the last few children to be killed, he wanted to find the murderer as soon as possible and also to restore the imperial dignity. Not long after Li Tiankuo left, the chief eunuch personally came to invite them over to perform a ritual in the Taiji Hall.
The Taiji Hall was quite well-gathered.
The emperor lay weakly on the dragon throne, with the dignified empress beside him, as well as Consort Xian, the birth mother of Princess Jianing. Prince An was also there, but he dared not return to his palace at this moment. He could only stay by the emperor's side, hoping to receive some protection from the true dragon's aura so that he could escape this calamity.
Even Princess Jing'an, whom Li Tiankuo often mentioned and always protected, was in the hall. She was beautiful and gentle, and indeed seemed to be a kind and good-tempered woman.
The four entered the hall, and with just a glance, they could see that the faces of those in the main seats, despite the heavy makeup, were haggard, indicating that they had suffered a great blow from this incident.
The emperor didn't waste any more words with them and directly ordered them to begin casting the spell.
Bai Yuheng had a palace servant fetch the blood from the Emperor and Consort Xian's fingertips, then floated the jade pendant that Princess Jianing had given her, given to her by Li Tiankuo, in mid-air. She then looked at Pei Yuan and said, "Pei Yuan, lend me a hand!"
The latter nodded earnestly in response, stood behind her, and together they concentrated their spiritual energy before splashing the bowl of blood from their fingertips onto the jade pendant.
In an instant, a golden light burst forth from the jade pendant, blinding everyone who saw it, who covered their face with their sleeve to avoid its brilliance.
The jade pendant, gleaming with golden light, began to tremble. The blood that had seeped into the cracks of the jade slowly detached from the pendant and condensed into a cloud of blood mist, which flew through the air.
Bai Yuheng underestimated the culprit behind this. Someone with such power must be a highly skilled magician. She was only distracted for a moment when the blood mist broke free of its restraints and, as if it had gained consciousness, suddenly flew towards the emperor who was half-reclining on the soft couch.
"Concentrate!" Pei Yuan reminded her.
"Um!"
Bai Yuheng used all her strength to deal with it, and in no time, the blood mist was brought under control, the specks of black mist dissipated, and the power controlling the person behind it also disappeared.
The frightened crowd breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this, and their stiff, wary bodies suddenly relaxed.
Princess Jing'an sneered at this, waved her hand and rolled up her wide sleeves to hide her burning palms, a hint of hatred flashing in her gentle eyes.
Ha, she'd like to see what tricks they have up their sleeves!
The blood mist hovered in mid-air for a long time, and as time passed in the blink of an eye, everyone's hearts were in their throats.
The impatient Prince An directly mocked Li Tiankuo: "Where did you find this charlatan? You're not trying to fool us, are you?"
Under normal circumstances, Li Tiankuo would not talk to this imperial brother, firstly because it was too foolish, and secondly because it would make him appear foolish.
But at this moment, he was targeting Bai Yuheng. He shot her a cold look. Prince An had always been a bully who preyed on the weak. Seeing his usually weak and easily bullied younger brother become tough, he shrunk his neck in embarrassment.
Princess Jing'an said, "Prince An, please don't say such things. They are not only your brother's fellow disciples, but also disciples of a major sect in the land. Moreover, it was your uncle who invited them to help you find out the truth. You should not speak ill of them under any circumstances. Besides, since your uncle invited them to help, they must be capable. Do you really doubt your uncle's judgment?"
The emperor was involved, and Prince An was both embarrassed and annoyed: "I was just making a reasonable guess. Why is my sister being so aggressive?"
Then she muttered again, accusing her of favoritism: "Royal sister, all you know is Prince Xian, Prince Xian. I am also your brother, why do you always protect him?!"
Princess Jing'an laughed: "Look at you, why are you so jealous? Xiao Tian has been close to me since he was a child. If you had bullied me less when you were little, I would have put in a good word for you."
"That's because you only know how to play with the Prince Xian, and not with me..."
Prince An curled his lip, looking unhappily at the terrifying cloud of blood mist in the sky, and stopped arguing with her.
Princess Jing'an looked at Li Tiankuo and smiled gently: "Don't take it to heart with Xiao An. He's just a child who never grew up. He's mischievous and sharp-tongued, but he's actually a good person at heart."
Prince An secretly pricked up his ears and heard Princess Jing'an speaking up for him; the corners of his lips that had been pursed turned up again.
Li Tiankuo naturally wouldn't stoop to the level of a fool, but he was deeply moved by his elder sister's words of protection, feeling as if his heart was being warmed by gentle water.
The Empress Dowager is still the same as before; he still holds the top position in her heart. Influenced by Prince An, Li Tiankuo inevitably developed a childish competitive spirit and thought to himself.
"It's alright, Your Majesty." Li Tiankuo smiled slightly at her.
But the smile on his face didn't last long before he saw the blood mist floating around him rushing straight towards him.
Li Tiankuo's face froze for a moment, then turned cold as he dodged the extremely powerful blood mist, causing the pillar behind him to sway.
When he came to his senses, the blood mist rushed towards him again, as if it had located him and only recognized him.
The sudden turn of events left everyone stunned and unable to process what had happened.
Upon seeing this, the people in the main hall reacted with varying expressions.
Especially after Prince An came to his senses, he shouted loudly, "So you're the murderer who killed the Crown Prince and his elder brother and sister!!!"
The hall was completely silent. Even the unimportant palace maids, eunuchs, and guards held their breath and lowered their heads.
Those in the main seats all stared intently at Li Tiankuo with strange and complex expressions.
Consort Xian snapped out of her daze, suddenly leaping up and grabbing the thin-walled, pink-glazed teacup in front of her, throwing it at him. Unfortunately, it was too far away; the shards merely grazed his feet. She roared, "You murderer! Give me back my son!!!"
He roared in anger, but couldn't catch his breath. He staggered backward and fainted.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!!!"
The eerie atmosphere in the main hall suddenly dissipated, and chaos ensued.
The old emperor was in no better shape, breathing rapidly, his hand trembling as he pointed at him, his eyes bloodshot and his face contorted: "It was you! You're the one who killed my child!?"
"Someone come here!"
The old emperor flew into a rage and coldly shouted, "Drag this utterly depraved and ruthless scoundrel away! Lock him in the imperial prison!!!"
"Yes!" The guards standing in the hall obeyed the order, drew their swords and spears, and walked toward him with cold expressions.
"Father! Your son is innocent!" Li Tiankuo had not expected this to happen and knelt down abruptly.
"Take it down!!!"
The emperor was furious.
"Father!"
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. Something is amiss!"
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