Midnight Bell 9
Having been in Anling for several days, I haven't had a chance to explore much due to the investigation. This border city is quite different from Yi, and the street vendors and entertainment seem much more rustic and casual.
Xiao Congzhi's mood was initially somewhat heavy, but after strolling around for a while, it brightened considerably.
He looked at Xie Mowen with a smile and casually asked, "Will you be staying in Anling afterward?"
While stopping Xiao Congzhi from buying this and that, Xie Mowen replied, "The Demonic Sect's headquarters will be established in Anling first, which is closer to Youheng Mountain, but I can stay with you in Yidu."
Xiao Congzhi paused, then smiled and said, "That's not what I meant."
"It will be even more inconvenient for you to leave Yizhou."
Xiao Congzhi was somewhat surprised. He had only asked casually, but he did not expect Xie Mowen to have a plan. He said without hesitation, "Then I'll trouble you to run back and forth between the two places."
"It's not hard work." Xie Mowen leaned close to Xiao Congzhi's ear and teased in a low voice, "Your Majesty can just pay the fare in bed."
Xiao Congzhi blushed, neither responding nor refusing.
The two were having a good time telling dirty jokes when a familiar voice suddenly came from beside them.
"Uh... Brother Xiao, Brother Mo."
Xiao Congzhi and Xie Mowen turned around hastily.
Yang! Yan! Shu!
Xie Mowen was speechless, but he still pretended to be polite and said dryly, "What a coincidence, Brother Yang."
Yang Yanshu said frankly, "Unfortunately, I came here specifically to find you two."
Xiao Congzhi and Xie Mowen exchanged a glance, somewhat puzzled. It wasn't hard to guess why Yang Yanshu had come: it was for Xie Mowen's identity and the Demonic Sect's plan to return to the Central Plains on Mid-Autumn Festival. But this was an unspoken understanding; after all, their positions were different. Even three hundred years ago, the Demonic Sect wasn't a righteous sect.
Seeing the confusion on Xiao Congzhi and Xie Mowen's faces, Yang Yanshu smiled and continued, "I've spoken with Sect Leader Ji and Brother Jiang, and I think it would be best to clarify things with... Brother Mo."
Xie Mowen laughed: "I was being too formal. Please."
The three of them casually found a restaurant and asked for a private room on the third floor. As soon as Xie Mowen sat down, he said, "You dared to come, which shows more courage than Headmaster Ji."
"I wouldn't dare." Yang Yanshu was a little reserved, and his nervousness was evident in his subtle movements and expressions, but he still spoke frankly, "It is possible to pass the Mid-Autumn Festival in ambiguity, but I think that would destroy our friendship."
Xie Mowen raised his hand and poured three cups of tea, pushing one to Yang Yanshu. Looking into the other's eyes, he said earnestly, "Thank you for your kindness, Brother Yang. I will be frank with you. I had my own purpose in contacting you all that day."
Yang Yanshu took the teacup, met Xie Mowen's gaze, and said frankly, "Sect Leader Xie has his own principles to uphold, and there is nothing wrong with this action."
Xie Mowen smiled and withdrew his hand. This exchange had eliminated the barrier between them, allowing them to chat without any reservations.
Yang Yanshu spoke first: "We know that Leader Xie's goal is to lead the Demonic Sect back to the Central Plains. Based on our interactions over the past few days, we are willing to believe that the calamity of the Demonic Sect three hundred years ago will not be repeated. But we don't understand, what does Leader Xie want us to do?"
“Brother Yang, since we’re here for the sake of our friendship, there’s no need for such formality.” Xie Mowen’s tone had softened, becoming as it always was. “You’ll know what to do on Mid-Autumn Festival. Now that things are out in the open, I can only guarantee that I won’t put you in a difficult position.”
"Thank you... Brother Mo also knows that Brother Jiang and I are not the sect leaders. Although Master intends to pass the leadership to someone else, we cannot make complete decisions on important matters."
"I know that, but I can't explain it clearly because it's a very important matter."
Yang Yanshu understood that Xie Mowen, as the leader of the sect, had an unshakable stance, so he did not ask any further questions, only saying, "Besides this, is there anything else Brother Mo needs from us?"
Xie Mowen shook his head: "If you wanted to come, Sect Leader Ji must have advised you against it."
"yes."
"The Demonic Cult's plan to return to the Central Plains has been in the works for a long time and is now unstoppable. Neither the Snow Mountain Sect, the Kongtong Sect, nor the Martial Alliance can stop it or offer any assistance. Sect Leader Ji knows this, which is why he didn't let you come over, leaving you with a handle to use against him for colluding with the Demonic Cult."
Yang Yanshu took a sip of tea and said nonchalantly, "It's alright. The righteous martial arts world is led by the Martial Alliance. I'm sure Brother Mo has seen what the Martial Alliance is like in Xiacheng. Above righteousness and evil, there is good and evil. I, Yang Yanshu, will act according to my heart."
Upon hearing this, Xie Mowen laughed loudly for a while before Xiao Congzhi patted him on the shoulder and he stopped. He then raised his cup to Yang Yanshu and said, "This time, I, Xie, will use tea instead of wine to make you my friend."
The three of them chatted and drank tea until dinner time. They originally planned to have dinner at a restaurant, but Jiang Xu arrived even faster than the waiter.
"Brother Yang, Brother Mo, Brother Xiao, the people from the Martial Alliance have arrived. The Kunlun Sect Leader is causing a ruckus, and Sect Leader Ji and Young Hero Yun are almost unable to persuade him."
Xie Mowen: ……
Xiao Congzhi: ……
"Excuse me for asking, but what's the Kunlun Sect Leader up to?" Xie Mowen wasn't trying to be sarcastic; he genuinely didn't understand.
Jiang Xu also looked helpless and said with a bitter face, "First, I don't believe the truth that Brother Ji told me; second, I don't want to punish Dong Xu severely; and third, I want to kill Miss Xuan myself."
Xiao Congzhi paused, sighing with a mixture of emotions, "Is the Kunlun Sect Leader really such an unreasonable person?"
"Otherwise, why would the sect have fallen into such a state?" Xie Mowen sneered.
Jiang Xu silently followed behind, pulling Yang Yanshu aside to ask her all sorts of questions, without participating in the complaints.
The Martial Alliance has a separate residence in Anling. Now, the Kunlun Sect Leader is causing trouble in this residence. Xie Mowen and Xiao Congzhi hurried over and, as expected, saw the noisy main hall.
When Yun Shaocheng saw that his sect leader had arrived, he quickly got up to greet him: "Young Master Mo, you've finally come."
Xie Mowen's lips twitched, and he asked meaningfully, "What does this mean?"
Yun Shaocheng smiled through gritted teeth: "The Kunlun Sect Leader is stubborn. He doesn't want to believe Brother Ji, nor does he want to believe me, nor does he want to listen to Sect Leader Ji say another word. We suggested that we send Lord Xing to say that the government's side of the story is not entirely trustworthy, and even Alliance Leader Xu couldn't do anything about it. That's why we've been waiting for Young Hero Mo. Young Hero Mo is quick-witted and has many plans. He will surely be able to help us solve our urgent problem."
Xie Mowen: ...
Xiao Congzhi leaned close to Xie Mowen's ear and asked, "Is Shaocheng under a spell?"
“That must be the eunuch curse.” Xie Mowen nodded and speculated very seriously.
Yun Shaocheng, who could hear everything clearly, twitched his eyes and struggled to maintain a smile. He desperately wanted to kill the sect leader, but unfortunately, he couldn't defeat him.
Xie Mowen walked into the front hall and looked around. Most of the people he could name were here. In the corner, there was a boy who looked exactly like Dong Jing, but... this person's face looked much more sinister than Dong Jing's.
When the Kunlun Sect Leader saw that several more people had arrived, he shouted at Xu Tan, "Alliance Leader, we can't possibly trust outsiders, can we?!"
"Alliance Leader Xu." Xie Mowen stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
Xu Tan rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. In fact, the injuries he sustained during the Qian Lin incident had not fully healed. It wasn't that his injuries were more severe than those of the younger generation, but rather that his health was declining year by year with age.
This was already a turbulent time, and now, with troubles compounded, Xu Tan had a terrible headache.
Xie Mowen's gaze swept over the Kunlun Sect Leader without lingering, and he said directly, "Brother Xiao went to discuss this with Lord Xing a few days ago, and Lord Xing has agreed to hand over Miss Xuan to us for disposal."
As noises rose around them, Xie Mowen raised one hand and pressed it down, continuing, "But we can't just do whatever we want."
"What do you mean by 'arbitrarily disposing of something'?!" The Kunlun Sect Leader was furious, glaring and snorting.
"Firstly, Miss Xuan is highly skilled in martial arts, and even if we all join forces, we cannot harm her. Secondly, Miss Xuan's actions on this trip are mostly righteous, and mishandling the situation could be disheartening."
Xu Tan nodded. After hearing Ji Zhou's retelling of the whole story, he also felt that the matter was difficult to solve, but what was even more difficult now was...
The Kunlun Sect Leader slammed his hand on the table and shouted at Xie Mowen, "How could you so easily believe that person's one-sided story!"
Xie Mowen ignored the Kunlun Sect Leader and politely said to Xu Tan, "Alliance Leader Xu, if the Kunlun Sect Leader is so unreasonable, I think we should discuss replacing the Kunlun Sect Leader before discussing Miss Yixuan."
Before the Kunlun Sect Leader could speak, Xie Mowen moved with lightning speed, smiling as he struck the Kunlun Sect Leader's major acupoints.
"This..." Xu Tan was completely shocked.
Not only Xu Tan, but everyone present except Xiao Congzhi looked surprised.
Yun Shaocheng was the first to react. He walked to Xu Tan's side and quietly urged, "This move might be feasible. Why not go with the flow?"
Xu Tan has recently become particularly trusting of Yun Shaocheng and has even been somewhat persuaded.
Ji Buyu glanced at Xu Tan's expression, rolled his eyes at Xie Mowen, and thought to himself, "Do we have to wait until the Mid-Autumn Festival? Why not just reveal my identity here and force them to change the name of the martial arts alliance leader?"
Xie Mowen noticed Ji Buyu's gaze, turned around and gave a sly smile.
Ji Buyu: ...
Xiao Cong stepped forward to ease the atmosphere and advised, "Brother Mo, your move was a bit abrupt, but it was also because you were anxious. Lord Xing risked violating the law to agree to my request, and we really cannot refuse this favor."
Xu Tan was already tempted, but he didn't want to be the bad guy, so he pretended to hesitate: "This... although the Martial Alliance has the right to temporarily change its leader in times of crisis, it has never done so in all these years. Besides, it is not a time of crisis right now."
Xie Mowen said without any burden: "The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and the threat of the Demonic Sect is imminent. If we cannot properly resolve the matter of Miss Xuan, there may be changes. If the Demonic Sect enters the Central Plains and stirs up a bloody storm, how can this not be called a time of crisis?"
Xiao Congzhi wanted to laugh, so he raised his fist and pressed it to his lips, trying his best to suppress it.
"Furthermore, if the Martial Alliance were to lead the heroes to attack the Demonic Sect in the future, it would be risky to keep such an inconsiderate sect leader around."
Xie Mowen spoke with such righteous indignation!
From the moment he spoke his second sentence, Ji Buyu turned away, clutching his head, wanting to avoid seeing him.
Yang Yanshu and Jiang Xu listened, becoming increasingly stunned, their eyes widening in bewilderment but filled with admiration.
Yun Shaocheng really wanted to kick Xie Mowen, because based on his understanding of Xie Mowen, half of what he said was just for fun.
Of all the people present, only Ji Zhou, with his simple mind, stepped forward and bowed to Xu Tan and Xie Mowen, saying righteously, "Changing the sect leader is inappropriate, but Ji Zhou is willing to handle Miss Xuan's matter on behalf of the sect leader."
Xie Mowen certainly didn't want to put Ji Zhou in a difficult position, so he immediately composed himself and said seriously, "Brother Ji, if the sect leader isn't replaced, and you handle this matter on his behalf, you might be blamed afterward."
Ji Zhou said with a smile, "I was involved in this matter from beginning to end, and I really didn't want it to end with such a regrettable outcome."
Xie Mowen raised his hand and released the pressure points of the Kunlun Sect Leader. The Sect Leader had heard and seen everything that had just happened, so Xie Mowen asked in a cold voice, "Do you think this is appropriate?"
The Kunlun Sect Leader, having lived most of his life, had never encountered a character as ruthless and straightforward as Xie Mowen. Still shaken, he dared not say anything else and nodded in agreement, "That's very good."
"In that case, all the better." Xie Mowen's face remained cold. Although he had only intended to amuse himself, it would be good to take this opportunity to push Ji Zhou to the position of sect leader. He found the Kunlun sect leader annoying.
Xie Mowen walked to the center of the hall, bowed to everyone, and then said solemnly, "Regarding Miss Xuan's matter, the laws of the country must be upheld, and so must the code of the martial world. Now that Lord Xing is willing to hand her over to us for processing, it is because he has judged the first twenty-three murder cases, and Miss Xuan is innocent."
Even without the Dong Jing incident, according to the rules of the martial world, the person should have been released. The difficult part now is this last murder case.” Xie Mowen looked at Ji Zhou, “Dong Jing is a disciple of Kunlun. This is a private feud between Kunlun and Miss Xuan; we shouldn't interfere.”
Ji Zhou understood that Xie Mowen meant he was leaving the matter entirely to him, so he was relieved: "Although I don't know Dong Jing's character, he was only fourteen years old, and it is truly heartbreaking that he died at such a young age. But upon closer examination, this calamity is not Miss Xuan's fault; it was caused by Dong Xu. From today onwards, Dong Xu is no longer a Kunlun disciple, and Miss Xuan is free to deal with him as she sees fit."
As for Dongjing… Last night I read through the ancient book left by Miss Xuan all night long. There's a soul-summoning technique in it. Could we ask Miss Xuan to summon his soul so Dongjing can make his own decision?”
These words shocked Xiao Congzhi and Xie Mowen. When Xing Haotian took Miss Xuan away, she mentioned that there were several ancient books in her room, which contained no evil magic like the human skin lantern, and suggested that everyone could take a look if they were interested. Later, it seemed that Yun Shaocheng took them away, but they never expected that Ji Zhou would read them all night.
Xiao Congzhi was the first to react, and he replied, "That's excellent. Why don't we go to the yamen immediately to invite Miss Xuan?"
While repenting for her mistakes in the yamen, Miss Xuan pondered how she would be dealt with. She had lived for nearly a hundred years, which was quite a long time.
She was fully prepared to pay for the poor Dongjing's life, but was respectfully escorted out of the dungeon by a group of people.
"A necromancy spell?!"
"Yes, this is what's recorded in this book," Ji Zhou said, pointing to the contents of the book.
Miss Xuan frowned and admitted, "I can try, but it will be very difficult to succeed. In this degenerate age, such techniques rely on the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, which is now exhausted."
"Try it and see."
These words were spoken by Xie Mowen.
After Ji Zhou proposed the soul-summoning technique, Xie Mowen and Xiao Congzhi discussed it and agreed that it was impossible to summon a soul in this era of depleted spiritual energy, but they possessed Qilin blood.
Miss Xuan didn't refuse any further and closed her eyes to begin casting a spell.
After a short while, the wind and rain subsided. Just when everyone thought the spell had failed, a sudden gale arose, and the bright moonlight was blocked by thick clouds, plunging the world into darkness and an eerie chill.
Everyone stared wide-eyed, and actually saw a hazy cloud of energy gathering in front of Miss Xuan...
"Dong Jing!"
Someone shouted that.
Dong Jing looked at everyone blankly and tilted her head in confusion.
Xie Mowen and Xiao Congzhi dared not step forward, and Yun Shaocheng also hid in the crowd, leaving only Ji Zhou to boldly walk up to Dong Jing and softly ask, "Do you still remember me?"
“Brother Jizhou,” Dongjing replied with a smile.
Ji Zhou almost burst into tears, but she held back her tears and briefly told Dong Jing the whole story. Finally, she asked, "You don't need to be nervous. Just tell us what you think."
Dongjing nodded and said without hesitation, "I admire Miss Xuan's righteous act. I hope Miss Xuan can pray for me for three years, and then this matter will be settled. As for my brother, you can send him down to meet me as soon as possible, and I will teach him a lesson on behalf of everyone."
Ji Zhou finally cried, and Miss Xuan was also deeply moved. Dong Jing smiled, waved to everyone, and slowly drifted away.
The wind stopped, the moonlight shone again, and the temperature warmed up considerably; the summoning ritual was over.
The case of "Midnight Bell" has largely come to an end.
After bidding farewell to Yun Shaocheng and the others, Xie Mowen and Xiao Congzhi left the Wulin Alliance courtyard side by side.
The moment I stepped out the door, a familiar voice came from behind me.
"Master, Master Xiao, why are you here?"
Xie Mowen and Xiao Congzhi turned around abruptly, and there stood Dong Jing!
Dong Jing's spirit floated in mid-air and suddenly approached Xie Xiao and the other person. Seeing that neither of them responded, he said, "I just saw Protector Yun."
Xie Mowen was unusually nervous, unconsciously squeezing Xiao Congzhi's hand, his eyes fixed on Dong Jing, but he still didn't answer.
"Is this the cult leader's plan?" Dong Jing floated in mid-air, seemingly in a good mood. "I haven't seen Wei Zhao here, nor have I seen any undercover agents."
"Wei Zhao?"
“He’s a spy from Shaolin, and he’s on good terms with Dong Jing.” Xie Mowen answered Xiao Congzhi’s question, but his eyes remained fixed on Dong Jing.
In his spirit form, Dong Jing had become much bolder and was no longer afraid of Xie Mowen. Facing the cult leader's dangerous gaze, he smiled and floated in front of Xiao Congzhi, blinking his eyes as he said, "Hero Xiao, I won't pursue the matter of you lying to us, but it's hard to say about Xiao Hua."
Xiao Congzhi chuckled to himself; he actually wanted Dong Jing and Xiao Hua to blame him together.
"How long can you stay?" Xie Mowen asked abruptly, his face stern.
"I don't know..." Dong Jing tilted her head and drifted away slightly.
"Elder Qingfeng is on his way. If you..."
Dong Jing quickly interrupted, "Then I'd better not see him. I don't want him to blame me."
Xie Mowen took a deep breath: "He wants to see you one last time."
"I am already dead. There will be no final farewell. My soul exists in the world, but it is merely the obsession of mortals."
As soon as he finished speaking, Dong Jing's soul dissipated like mist.
This time it seems like things have completely fallen apart.
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