Tang Nian put down the bucket and crossed her arms over her chest.
She's not planning to leave today. Let's see what you're up to, priest.
Turning her head, Tang Nian saw a small wooden stool to the side, so she pulled the stool over and sat down directly by the well.
This infuriated the priestess; she couldn't possibly stay here all day, could she?
"No, this is forbidden territory. You are not allowed to come near. You must leave!"
The priest spoke urgently.
"You want me to leave? Sure, it's simple, just answer a few questions for me!"
The priest relaxed considerably after hearing Tang Nian's words, and answering some questions was not a big deal.
She also knew that Tang Nian, as a Taoist priest, might have discovered something.
In that case, she needs to be even more cautious.
"Sure, what question do you want to ask me?"
Tang Nian smiled faintly; she already had many questions she wanted to ask the priest in person.
"Let me ask you, do you know if there is a butcher in Lijia Village at the foot of the mountain who is called Pork Li?"
"I know them. Why are you asking this? As a temple priest, it's normal for me to know the people around me."
The priest was very vigilant, fearing that Tang Nian might set a trap for him in the questions, so he explained quite a bit.
"Don't worry about all that. Just answer my questions, and don't worry about the rest."
Tang Nian waved her hand, signaling the priest not to interrupt, and continued to ask, "You know Jiang, the wife of Pork Li, right?"
“Of course I know her; she used to come to the temple often.”
“I heard from the residents of Lijia Village at the foot of the mountain that Jiang came up the mountain and visited the temple a few days ago. Why haven’t I seen her in the temple these past few days?”
The priest thought for a moment, then explained, "Perhaps they just came up to see a doctor, and will come down the mountain after they're cured?"
“But I visited Pork Li’s house down the mountain a few days ago. It was clear that no one had lived there for many days, and even the pig’s blood that should have been fresh had dried up.”
As Tang Nian spoke, she stood up and met the priest's eyes.
"How would I know where she went after she finished her doctor's appointment and went down the mountain?"
The priest avoided looking at Tang Nian.
"Because she is dead."
Tang Nian's gaze was intense, and her very calm words stirred up a thousand waves in the priest's heart.
She panicked and reached out to push Tang Nian away, but Tang Nian grabbed her hand and she couldn't move.
"I don't know anything. Why are you asking me all this? You've asked your questions, can you leave now?"
The priest spoke very quickly, but remained silent about Jiang's death.
This is not how a compassionate priest should behave.
"Oh? Why are you so nervous if you don't know? I didn't say you killed her. What, could it be that it really has something to do with you?"
Tang Nian grinned mischievously and whispered something in the priest's ear, startling the priest quite a bit.
"No, I don't know anything!"
The priest's behavior was practically a blatant attempt to make it clear that he was connected to Jiang's death.
"I've finished answering, you should go now!"
The priest struggled for a moment before pulling his hand away from Tang Nian's grasp.
"I'm not leaving. I want to see what's strange about this well!"
Seeing that Tang Nian still had no intention of leaving, the priestess finally couldn't hold back any longer and tried to drive Tang Nian away!
"Don't forget, I'm a Celestial Master. Do you think I can escape my eyes?"
The priest paused, grabbed a broom, and swung it at Tang Nian.
"Really, you won't listen to reason, but you want to suffer the consequences!"
Shaking her head helplessly, Tang Nian made a hand seal with her fingers.
A gentle breeze blew by, and the broom in the priest's hand fell to the ground, while the priest himself was suspended in mid-air.
"What, what's going on! What kind of sorcery have you used!"
The priest's words made Tang Nian scoff: "Sorcery? I'd like to ask you what kind of sorcery you cast on these people outside!"
"fall!"
With just a flick of her finger, Tang Nian suspended the priest upside down in the air.
"Let me ask you, are the deaths of Pork Li and Jiang Shi related to you?"
"Also, a lot of beggars have disappeared from the city recently. One of the three corpses I saw belonged to a beggar!"
"I suppose this has something to do with you too?"
Tang Nian's words flowed like pearls, each sentence striking straight to the priest's heart.
"I don't know. I treat so many people every day. Even if the Jiang family had been to the temple, I wouldn't remember them, let alone Pork Li. Have any people down the mountain said he's been up the mountain?"
The priest was spouting nonsense. Since he knew the Jiang family, he must have remembered them when they visited the temple.
"Still trying to deny it? You don't want to tell the truth, do you?"
Tang Nian twirled her finger, and the priest's body began to spin in the air. Before long, she couldn't take it anymore and quickly begged for mercy.
She had never liked questioning people in this way, but the priest in front of her clearly couldn't be pried open by conventional methods.
"Stop! I'll talk! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"
Tang Nian stopped when she heard that she was willing to talk.
The priest's face turned ashen, and he looked like he was about to vomit.
"Speak, what do you know? Did you kill the person? And what about the heavy snow in the city? Tell me everything you know."
"Help! Help! Someone is offending the priest inside the temple!"
Sure enough, the priestess wasn't going to tell Tang Nian the truth so easily; she shouted towards the outside.
At that moment, Tang Nian raised her hand and waved it gently.
In the priest's eyes, her loud shouts were quite effective, and the people outside the temple and those who were receiving treatment inside rushed over.
They all witnessed this scene.
"Master Priest!"
When the people saw this scene, they all concluded that Tang Nian was bullying their good priest by the well.
They began to criticize Tang Nian, and some even prepared to rush up and attack her.
However, seeing their priest still floating in the air, they were all afraid of Tang Nian and dared not go forward.
"You unreasonable woman, why are you treating the priest like this!"
"Yes, quickly put the priest down!"
"What kind of sorcery is this? You're not a monster, are you?"
"Yes, could it be that you caused the heavy snow in the city, and now that you're resentful after the priest saved us from disaster, you want to take revenge on the priest?"
The people had many different opinions, and without exception, they were all unfavorable to Tang Nian.
Upon seeing this, the priest's lips curled into a triumphant smile.
"Laugh? You still have the nerve to laugh?"
Tang Nian waved her hand, and a beam of spiritual light shot out from her sleeve, freezing the crowd in place, leaving them speechless.
"You really are a monster! What did you do to them?"
The priestess was very nervous, and her concern for the people seemed genuine.
Indeed, if the priest is so worried about the people, then perhaps...
"Get down!"
Tang Nian waved her hand, and the priest immediately fell to the ground.
“From now on, I will give you ten breaths. If you do not give me a reasonable explanation for the deaths of Pork Li and Jiang, I will kill one person for every breath that passes.”
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