Chapter 131 The Scent of Orchid Poison
Li Qiuwen's suspicions were dispelled, while Yu Sui continued to observe the conversation and expressions of the two.
Tonight, she did most of her work by observing.
She couldn't directly reveal the news that Yinhe Shui was with Nian Qiuyan.
Only a portion can be revealed; we'll observe the reactions and actions of others.
Zou Qian, a sage of the Yin-Yang School, may seem carefree, but he has a clear mind and knows a lot. However, he is not the type to take the initiative.
The Taoist sage Li Qiuwen's remarks about Gu Gan caught Yu Sui's attention.
If he was inherently suspicious and insisted on accuracy and truth in everything, then when Zou Qian raised the suspicion that Gu Gan might have been involved in the team's theft of the Milky Way Water, he did not pursue the matter too much. Instead, he reminded Zou Qian that Gu Gan was a disciple of the famous Zhu Lao, and that reinvestigating Gu Gan would be a slap in the face to the Legalists.
Li Qiuwen may have been involved in the dismantling of the Pagoda fragments.
The agricultural sage Ou Rushuang is suspected to be a participant in the Milky Way Water.
With so many saints mobilized tonight, even if they don't find the Milky Way, they should still gain something else.
Yu Sui put away the Wind Listening Ruler and, through the Five Elements Light Core, saw the instructors packing up and leaving one after another.
Gu Gan didn't find anything on that level either. Although he took away many disciples, it was all because of the quarrels and fights.
He subtly observed Zhu Feiye and the others who were preparing to leave, secretly relieved that the matter of the Floating Pagoda fragments had not been discovered.
Gu Gan looked down at the wind-listening ruler, his eyebrows twitching slightly.
He recalled their initial conversation; the guy admitted that he had also entered the Upside-Down Moon Cave that night. So it seemed that tonight's events were most likely the work of the mysterious person opposite the Listening Wind Ruler.
Wasn't it he who took the Milky Way water?
The thief cries "Stop thief!"
Gu Gan sneered inwardly, feeling that his guess was pretty much right.
Yu Sui was in the Shushe Hall, where there were still a few saints who had not left.
The military strategist Leng Rouyin meticulously and decisively searched each layer of the area. With Leng Rouyin present, even if her disciples were to act rashly due to emotional manipulation, she would quickly suppress and quell the disturbances.
At this moment, the disciples in the corridor all huddled up like quails, not daring to make a move.
Leng Rouyin remained expressionless as she searched each room.
She personally went into the rooms and participated in the search of each dormitory. After entering the room, her eyes swept across the doors and windows, watching the instructors use green bamboo sticks to sense the presence of the Milky Way Water.
If you touch the Milky Way water directly with your hands, you will become poisonous, but most people are unaware of this, while the person who stole the Milky Way water knows it very well.
Although Yu Sui didn't know, he stumbled upon the fact that the Milky Way Water was hidden in the dormitory, which was more believable than the Milky Way Water being hidden on someone.
Leng Rouyin randomly picked a room and went inside. She stood at the door and watched as another instructor probed every corner of the room with a green bamboo stick.
Without triggering the sensor, the instructor turned around and shook his head at her.
Leng Rouyin turned to leave, but then she caught a whiff of a rich orchid fragrance. Although it was fleeting and almost like an illusion, it still drew her attention.
She paused, turned around, and looked around the room again.
The instructor asked, "Are there any doubts?"
“Smell.” Leng Rouyin said, walking towards the bookshelf against the wall.
The instructor beside her listened to her words, sniffed around, and still didn't understand. He didn't seem to have heard that the Milky Way Water had any special smell.
The instructor continued, "What does it smell like?"
Leng Rouyin said, "The smell of orchid poison."
The instructor's expression changed slightly, and he became cautious, whispering, "How could the disciple's quarters be like this..."
Leng Rouyin didn't offer much explanation, because it might be her imagination, and she needed to find evidence to confirm it. She followed the direction from which the scent might be coming and carefully examined the items on the bookshelf.
These were all trinkets and ornaments bought from the outer city. The owner of this room was a disciple of a famous master, and Leng Rouyin could find the secret locks with words on some of the boxes.
She didn't try to decipher the words; she simply followed the scent.
The instructors also started sniffing around the room.
After searching the other rooms, the instructor who was passing by saw the two people in the room and looked puzzled.
Yu Sui saw the commotion through the Five Elements Light Core, and Leng Rouyin discovered traces of orchid poison, which matched her expectations.
The fact that Taiyi could transport the Orchid Poison to the capital of Qingyang indicates that there is definitely a lot of Orchid Poison here.
Since Zhang Xiangyun and others were secretly stealing the Milky Way Water and cooperating with the Sage, it is estimated that there are many more disciples related to the Orchid Poison under the Sage's protection and cover-up.
They were either drug addicts or, like Zhang Xiangyun and his group, responsible for buying and selling drug.
Tonight, we won't find the person who stole the Milky Way from the Upside-Down Moon Cave, but we will find a few orchid corpses.
Although the Dragon-Sealing Lock had been unlocked, the disciples dared not go inside to watch the instructors and others search. They could only stand obediently outside the door, with their backs to the door, and were not allowed to see what was happening inside.
Leng Rouyin approached the bookshelf against the wall. Sometimes, getting too close made it impossible to detect the scent. She stood in front of the bookshelf for a long time, slowing her breathing and inhaling naturally.
The scent of orchids.
The fragrance was rich, but only for a fleeting moment.
Orchid poison comes in many forms, such as watery or misty, but all of them have a refreshing and subtle orchid fragrance.
Leng Rouyin stretched out her hand, gently brushed her fingertips along the edge of the wooden frame, and then brought it back to her nose, smelling the lingering scent of orchid poison, a pungent yet rich orchid fragrance.
As her hand rested on the edge of the wooden frame, several images flashed through her mind:
The delicate blue water bottle was knocked over by someone's hand, its mouth pointing towards the door, from which pale purple mist flowed out, leaving its scent on the wooden frame.
But at this moment, there were no bottles of orchid poison on the wooden shelf.
“Let the owner of this house in,” Leng Rouyin said.
The instructor knew she had found the answer as soon as she said that, and immediately did as she was told.
He called all four of them into the main room, pointed to the room where Leng Rouyin was, and asked, "Who lives in that room?"
“Disciple Qiao Jun,” a young man stepped out and bowed his head.
He appeared neither humble nor arrogant, as if he believed that his use of orchid poison would not be discovered.
Leng Rouyin invited him into the house.
Qiao Jun did as instructed, went into the house, stood not far from Leng Rouyin, and waited with his head bowed.
"You use orchid poison?" Leng Rouyin's seemingly casual remark sent shockwaves through the room.
The instructor and the other three disciples standing in the main room all looked at Qiao Jun in shock.
Qiao Jun was taken aback at first, then bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I have never touched the orchid poison."
Leng Rouyin turned to look at him and said, "There is a smell of orchid poison in your room."
Qiao Jun remained calm and said, "This disciple does not know, but this disciple did indeed cultivate a few orchids. Although the flowering season has passed, the fragrance still lingers in the room."
"The orchid poison in the bottle is in the form of mist. Judging from the size of the blue bottle, there is enough orchid poison for you to use for seven days. If you use it sparingly, it can last for more than half a month." Leng Rouyin was not fooled by Qiao Jun's calm response. She just rubbed her fingertips, which were covered in the scent, and said, "Unfortunately, it was knocked over and almost half of it spilled out."
Qiao Jun felt his heart sink when Leng Rouyin correctly predicted the size of the bottle and the dosage of the orchid poison.
That happened when he was alone in the house. How did Leng Rouyin know?
Fortunately, he disposed of the orchid poison and the bottle, so Leng Rouyin couldn't find any evidence.
Qiao Jun steadied himself and continued, "This disciple is foolish and truly does not know what the Sage is saying."
“It’s already a strange thing that the Orchid Poison appeared in Taiyi. We won’t make a decision based on just a few words from you.” Leng Rouyin looked at him and said to the instructor at the door, “Take him to the Legalist school and have his blood tested for the Orchid Poison.”
Qiao Jun looked up and said, "Even the Legalists shouldn't act like this without evidence."
After listening to his rebuttal, Leng Rouyin paused, then looked past Qiao Jun at the three disciples behind her: "If you know anything, speak up. If you conceal anything, you will be punished the same as them."
The three disciples felt the pressure as if a mountain was collapsing. They looked at each other for a moment before turning to Qiao Jun.
Qiao Jun didn't dare to turn around and look at them at this moment.
The instructor said gently from the side, "Don't worry, if you weren't involved, then it's fine."
"I definitely didn't participate," a disciple said, scratching his head in frustration. "I didn't even know there was orchid poison in his room... Where did you get this stuff from? You didn't let us accidentally come across it too, did you?"
“A blue bottle? I think I’ve seen it in his room before.” The disciple, looking somewhat hesitant, spoke up. “It was over on the bookshelf… but I don’t know if it contains orchid poison.”
Qiao Jun then turned around abruptly.
The third disciple angrily said, "Hey, don't talk nonsense! What if it's just an ordinary bottle? Qiao Jun isn't that kind of person!"
After listening to the conversation between the three, Leng Rouyin said directly, "Take them away."
Only then did the instructors begin to take action.
They stood on either side of Qiao Jun, and although they didn't actually tie him up, their intention to take him hostage was obvious.
Qiao Jun walked out with a sullen face. Just as he reached the main hall, his figure suddenly flashed, and he seemed to fly. The instructor on his left reacted quickly and tried to stop him, but Qiao Jun dodged the attack with uncanny movements.
The instructor, who had been outmaneuvered by Qiao Jun, was embarrassed. As a military instructor, he was very comfortable using the slender and sturdy bamboo stick in his hand.
The military instructor used his bamboo staff to unleash several sharp sword energies, blocking Qiao Jun's movement and cutting off his escape route. However, he did not expect that Qiao Jun was not heading towards the passageway.
The sudden commotion inside the room caused the disciples in the corridor to turn around and look inside.
As a top-tier disciple of a renowned master, Qiao Jun possessed considerable skill. At this moment, only one instructor was making a move in the room. Their exchange was swift, and Qiao Jun reacted quickly, dodging rather than attacking.
He raised his hand and blasted open the tightly closed window with a famous inscription, creating a loud bang and sending wood chips flying. Amidst the sound of the window shattering, Qiao Jun transformed into a golden light, his figure changing into a black bird with outstretched wings, and flew out of the window.
The three disciples inside the room were stunned.
"He...this..."
Do renowned masters possess such low-level skills?!
The instructors, who thought they could handle it, were also stunned.
Kuang Chu and Jiang Shulan, who were guarding below the dormitory, noticed the commotion above and saw a black bird fly out of the window.
Leng Rouyin walked towards the window, her gaze fixed on the black bird flying further and further away in the night sky, and said, "Divine Mechanism Technique, Pseudo-Beast."
The Divine Mechanism Pseudo-Beast, ranked eighty-first.
They possess the ability to transform themselves into birds and beasts, but this ability is time-limited.
Even a few moments would be enough for Qiao Jun to escape.
At this moment, he transformed into a bird and soared through the sky, flying higher and higher, farther and farther, until the dark dot in the night was almost out of sight.
Leng Rouyin reached out and grasped the golden hilt of the sword in mid-air, then swung it forward, striking almost simultaneously with Kuang Chu downstairs.
Two swift and powerful sword energies, accompanied by a piercing cry, caught up with the black bird that had flown far away in the blink of an eye and shot it down.
The two military strategists attacked simultaneously, and the clear, resonant sound of their swords drew everyone's attention. People in the inn all instinctively looked outside.
Kuang Chu and Leng Rouyin used their wind manipulation techniques to chase after him. They were very fast and arrived at the same time, where they found Qiao Jun lying dead on the ground in the peach blossom forest.
Having been struck by two sword energies of saints, there is absolutely no chance of survival.
Leng Rouyin glanced down and said calmly, "I didn't intend to kill him."
Kuang Chu sheathed his sword with one hand, raised an eyebrow and smiled, "I didn't expect this either. What a coincidence, didn't you know I was downstairs and would intervene if I sensed anything amiss?"
Leng Rouyin turned and left: "Since you killed him, then send him to the Legalist Chalan Poison while his blood is still warm."
Kuang Chu stared at her back: "Make things clear. The cause of death was being struck by two sword energies, not just my fault."
Leng Rouyin ignored her and vanished in an instant.
[Author's Note]
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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