At this time, Kong Renhe's face and nose were swollen, his forehead was covered with bruises, and there were two pieces of cloth stuffed in his nostrils. He looked so disheveled that he no longer had the dignity of a praying priest.
"My lords, I, Kong Renhe, have failed to live up to your trust. I am ashamed." Kong Renhe said with a shameful look on his face.
"Master Kong, what is going on?" Guan Xiu Jin asked.
"Oh, I didn't expect that damn girl to be so insidious and cunning. Even I fell into her trap..." Guan Xiu Jin sighed and then recounted in detail what had happened before.
After hearing his words, Guan Xiujin and others were stunned.
The dignified prayer priest of the Temple of Life was actually cheated by a little girl. Although the little girl was the chief priest of a lower-level temple, she was far inferior to Kong Renhe in age, strength and experience. To put it bluntly, Kong Renhe had probably eaten more salt than she had eaten rice, but he was actually cheated into this state.
Now they began to understand Zhao Xinghong's original feelings. Not to mention Zhao Xinghong, who was narrow-minded and vindictive, even if it were them, they would probably not let her off easily.
"So, those five-colored soul beads are no longer on her?" Guan Xiu Jin said disappointedly.
Several other priests also frowned, their faces filled with worry. Although they felt sympathy for Kong Renhe's tragic experience and were surprised by Mu Hanyan's scheming, the most important thing now was the whereabouts of those five-colored soul beads.
"If it's not in her possession, then in whose hands could it be? Could it have fallen into the hands of other temples?" a priest speculated.
"No, the five-colored soul bead must be on her." Kong Renhe said affirmatively.
"Master Kong, haven't you already checked it thoroughly?" a priest said impatiently.
"Lord Kong, I know you are dissatisfied with Mu Hanyan, but even if you want to vent the Zhao family's anger or want to avenge yourself, you have to look at the priorities. The most urgent task now is to find those five-colored soul beads first." Another priest said dissatisfiedly.
They could also guess a little about the reason why Kong Renhe was so obsessed with Mu Hanyan. One reason was that based on speculation, she was indeed the most suspicious. The other reason was that he wanted to vent the anger of the Zhao family and fulfill Zhao Xinghong's last wish.
But the facts are right in front of us. He didn't find anything on Mu Hanyan, but he still insisted on holding on to her. This is a bit too much. It is obviously a personal vendetta.
"No, no, no, you two have misunderstood. I, Kong Renhe, can still distinguish the priorities. There is a reason why I suspect Mu Hanyan. I have also heard about Long Wudang's character. He is afraid of death and as cowardly as a mouse. How could he seek revenge on Zuo Qiuhan? He must be trying to cover up something by doing that. If I am not mistaken, the more than a thousand colorful soul beads on him are most likely the hush money given to him by Mu Hanyan, and the bulk of it is with Mu Hanyan." Kong Renhe said.
"Well, I've seen Long Wudang once before. He really doesn't have much courage, and his actions today were indeed a bit strange." A priest nodded.
"Why don't we just capture Long Wudang and torture him?" said another priest.
"No, Zuo Qiuhan has already helped him prove the origin of the five-colored soul beads in front of so many people. If we take action again, we will violate the laws of the temple and it will be difficult to convince everyone." Guan Xiujin directly rejected his proposal.
As the saying goes, there's no order without rules. The Temple's ability to rule the Continent of Gods for so many years relies not only on power but also on law. If the Temple's laws could be trampled upon at will, the Continent of Gods would have fallen apart long ago. As the High Priest, he must never violate the Temple's laws. At the very least, he must not knowingly break them, or else his tenure as High Priest would be over.
"What should we do?" The other priests all looked worried.
"Or, just send someone to capture Mu Hanyan and torture her severely. I don't believe she won't tell the truth." Kong Renhe said with a gloomy face.
Everyone else looked at Kong Renhe like he was an idiot. "The High Priest was afraid of breaking the law, so he didn't even dare to touch Long Wudang. How dare you try to touch the High Priest of the First Hall?" They knew you'd suffered at the hands of Mu Hanyan and wanted revenge, but they couldn't be so obvious.
"Ahem, ahem, I was just saying it casually." Kong Renhe also realized that his idea would not work. The implication of retaliation was too obvious. He explained after two dry coughs.
"Let me think about it again, Lord Liang, please go to the front and keep an eye on it. Maybe we are wrong, and the batch of five-colored soul beads are actually on someone else. We can't let him get away with it in the chaos." Guan Xiu Jin waved his hand and ordered.
"Yes." The priest he named took the order and left, and the others also dispersed.
Guan Xiu Jin sat there alone, thinking for a long time, but still had no clue, feeling anxious and uneasy.
Why was the Temple of Life one of the five superior temples? Why, once the chief priests of the lower temples reached a higher level of cultivation, were willing to give up their positions and join him at the Temple of Life's behest? The primary reason was cultivation resources. If he couldn't recover those five-colored soul beads, the Temple of Life's status would plummet, and he, the chief priest, would become the Temple of Life's eternal sinner.
Alas, if I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have tried to smooth things over last time. Guan Xiujin couldn't help but feel a little regretful. If he had punished Zhao Xinghong severely after the incident in Qianlong Valley and given Mu Hanyan an explanation, at least in the short term, Zhao Xinghong wouldn't have dared to go after Mu Hanyan. It was because he wasn't clear about rewards and punishments, and even supported Zhao Xinghong in disguise, that he felt so confident and determined to kill Mu Hanyan.
In the end, Mu Hanyan didn't die, but he himself died completely. Fine, if you want to die, no one can stop you, but why did you keep all those five-colored soul beads on you? Now, if you die, I will have to take the blame for you.
The more Guan Xiu Jin thought about it, the more he hated and regretted it. Unfortunately, things had come to this point, and it was too late to regret it.
"Father, what's wrong with you?" A young priest came up to him, looked at Guan Xiu Jin and asked in confusion.
"Qingyun, you're back!" Guan Xiujing was in a state of panic and resentment until he came to him. He raised his head and said in surprise.
This young priest was none other than the self-righteous sticky guy in Mu Hanyan's eyes—Guan Qingyun. Gao Weihu was right, he was none other than Guan Xiujing's only beloved son.
"I'm back. Father's vision is indeed good. Mu Hanyan is very good-looking and has good looks." Guan Qingyun said.
"Have you seen her?" Guan Xiu Jin asked curiously.
Originally, he wanted Guan Qingyun to participate in the hunting trial to gain some fame and see if Mu Hanyan could catch his eye, but Guan Qingyun did not show up. Later, he learned that Guan Qingyun was at the critical moment of breakthrough, so he did not force him. However, he did not expect that he would actually meet Mu Hanyan.
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