Speaking of this, Nan Zhu vaguely remembered that when those three groups came swarming together, Old Fifteen had muttered suspicions about whether they were one group. Now what did these words mean, had he really confirmed they were one group?
He immediately asked in a low voice, “How can you tell?”
Yu Qing swept a glance over the scene, seeing people staring this way from time to time, and muttered, “This is not the place to talk. We will speak later.”
Nan Zhu also looked around. Indeed, so he did not ask anything more.
The situation at the scene was obvious. It was a dead end. The people of Rift Valley Manor searched back and forth but did not find any murderer.
These guests who had come kindly to help did not linger long before being earnestly requested to return by Third Manor Lord Wu Heyun.
Once the guests left, Wu Heyun summoned Wu An over, rebuking in a deep voice, “Did I not tell you to watch them? How did you let them come here again?”
Wu An said helplessly, “Third Manor Lord, I stopped them. I shouted until my voice broke but it was useless. They simply ignored it and rushed straight here.” He also felt quite wronged. These guests simply would not listen to instructions. What could he do, could he use force? The manor had rules for treating foreign guests. Better to suffer grievance than to neglect them.
Second Manor Lord Wu Xieshan walked over from the side, saying, “They could not be stopped. After our people arrived and told them not to interfere, they ignored everything and insisted on catching the murderer, charging through hard. Our people could not easily clash with them, and also feared creating gaps that would let the murderer escape.”
Third Manor Lord Wu Heyun could not help spitting, “A bunch of fellows, actually running wild here. I, a dignified manor lord, swallowed my anger and personally served them. Do they really think our manor is easy to push around?”
Great Manor Lord Wu Dao listened with a dark face. Hearing this, he scolded, “Speak of the matter at hand. Losing temper serves no purpose. Where did the murderer go? How did he disappear again? Are you all blind, or have you all seen ghosts?”
Wu Heyun immediately stared at Wu An. “I told you to watch them. When the incident occurred, were they all present?”
Wu An thought for a moment, with a face full of recollection, and hesitantly said, “It seems… they should all have been there?”
The three manor lords’ gazes immediately fixed on his face in unison. Wu Heyun grabbed his collar, furious, saying in a deep voice, “I told you to watch them, and you watched out a ‘seems’ and a ‘should’?”
Wu An immediately became nervous. Only true insiders of Rift Valley Manor knew how serious it was to knowingly commit an “error.” Nervous to the point of stammering, he said, “The incident happened suddenly, the situation was urgent. They swarmed over together, and I did not see clearly. But I immediately chased here and counted again. They were all there.”
Wu Heyun gritted his teeth. “You counted a ghost. How did I see the Lin Erqing couple appear later? I watched with my own eyes that they came later. How dare you say you counted and they were all there?”
Wu An immediately puffed out his chest to guarantee, “They were there, really there. When the incident happened they were definitely in their own rooms. When I came over I passed by them. You instructed me to focus on watching them, so I paid special attention to them. When the incident happened they absolutely could not have been here.”
Hearing these words, Wu Heyun pushed him away, looking back at the corpse on the ground. “Really seeing ghosts?”
Wu Dao said with a dark face, “Even if it really were a ghost, it could not come and go freely under the eyes of so many cultivators without being noticed at all. There must be a gap somewhere.” He glanced at Wu Xieshan. “Prepare ‘Blue Enchantress’ for everyone. Once another incident happens, apply it immediately when rushing over.”
Wu Xieshan nodded silently…
“Sister-in-law, lend us your man for a moment.”
At the guest room door, Nan Zhu grabbed Yu Qing, speaking glibly to Qiao Qie’er.
Qiao Qie’er said nothing. She looked at Yu Qing who tilted his head to signal, then turned and went back to her own room alone.
The three martial brothers also squeezed into the same room. Once the door closed, Yu Qing immediately said, “In the future, do not be so obvious in front of her. It makes it seem like we have to guard against her in everything we do.”
Nan Zhu immediately pulled him inside. “What do you mean guard against her? I say, Old Fifteen, your thinking is becoming increasingly abnormal. We are not guarding against her, but we must know what can be said and what cannot. Some things are better for everyone if she does not know them. If one day she accidentally lets something slip in front of outsiders, people will die. I say, you have not blabbered everything to her in a state of infatuation, have you?”
Yu Qing brushed away his hand. “Rest assured, I know what can be said and what cannot. I definitely will not speak carelessly.”
Nan Zhu said, “Hopefully. Anyway, I see you are becoming increasingly relaxed in front of her. I cannot say too much, or sister-in-law will be unhappy if she finds out. You must tighten the string in your own brain yourself. Fine, speak. What do you mean when you say they are one group?”
Yu Qing walked to the chair and sat down, placing his sword across both armrests. His cold eyes swept over the two, and he blandly uttered, “When the incident happened, Lou Yushu was not in her room.”
The two senior brothers exchanged a glance, both quickly walking to his side. Nan Zhu asked, “How do you know?”
Yu Qing said, “I entered her room and looked.”
Nan and Mu immediately showed frightened expressions, both looking him up and down with strange gazes.
Mu Aotie could not help asking, “You went to Lou Yushu’s room behind Qiao Qie’er’s back?”
Nan Zhu blinked his eyes repeatedly, as if he had discovered some secret.
Hearing this he knew the two had misunderstood. Yu Qing rolled his eyes. “I say, what are you two thinking? When the incident happened, everyone left their rooms. Did you not notice one person was missing?”
The two immediately thought about it, but no matter how little they thought, they simply could not recall.
“When the incident happened, everyone showed their faces. It seemed everyone was there. In that chaotic mess of running, you say who was missing. I really cannot be certain of that.”
Nan Zhu expressed doubt. Mu Aotie also shook his head to show he had no impression.
Yu Qing pointed at his own eyes. “I saw, and I memorised the number of people present to distinguish. I discovered she was not there at the time. The reason I had you go first was to draw away the guards. Once you left, I entered her room to search. She was not there then, nor did she go to the scene with you, nor was she in her own room. Where do you say she went? When I rushed to the incident scene, I discovered she had appeared again, mixed among you. What do you say is going on?”
The two martial brothers were somewhat surprised. They had not expected that fellow Old Fifteen, in that kind of situation, had actually memorised everyone one by one. In that chaotic scene, his eyesight was sharp enough.
Even now being reminded, the two still could not recall whether someone had been missing at the time.
Of course, the two also knew what Old Fifteen’s words meant, gradually becoming alarmed and suspicious.
Nan Zhu said in disbelief, “If you said Ning Chaoyi and the Thief Mandarin Duck couple did it, it would be more believable. Yet it is this woman who earns men’s money with her flesh taking such great risks to do killing. It is truly unimaginable. If it really was this woman who did it, being able to resolve those people in the brief time before being discovered, then this woman’s strength is not weak.”
Mu Aotie pondered, “When the incident happened, she did not flee, but hid in place.”
Yu Qing said, “Correct, she hid in place. A group of people swarmed over. She took the opportunity to mix into that group, following them to blindly stir things up. Thus everyone became blind. Just like you now feel no one was missing, even if the murderer swayed back and forth before your eyes you would not discover it. You watched with open eyes as the murderer left without knowing.”
Nan Zhu slowly exhaled a breath. “Yes, no wonder. But speaking of which, this still may not prove they are one group. I was in the midst of it. Twice I rushed to the incident scene, and neither time did I discover someone had mixed in.”
Yu Qing said, “She is not stupid. When hiding at the scene, she would not appear before you two. Also, if they had not led the way, when you rushed over, once the Rift Valley Manor people stopped you and said not to interfere, would you stop? Under normal circumstances, when the host does not allow you to run wild in their home, you would certainly stop and not intrude. But they did not. Twice they charged in regardless. Do you think that is normal? It would be strange if they were not one group.”
Nan Zhu nodded thoughtfully, understanding. He then thought of an earlier question. “These are all people who disregard worldly morality, living only for themselves. Having lived to this point, they basically care nothing for fame or profit. Who has the ability to bind them together?”
Mu Aotie, in thought, suddenly uttered, “Could our purpose have leaked?”
Nan Zhu was startled. “You mean, those great powers have made a move?”
Yu Qing shook his head. “Unlikely. If those great powers truly knew, any one of them making a move, even secretly, could directly control this place. If they wanted something they could simply detain people and interrogate them. There would be no need to kill secretly like this.”
“Indeed, there truly is no need.” Nan Zhu nodded in approval, and therefore could not understand. “Then what do these people want to do, sneaking around? Their guts are indeed big enough. Though acting secretly, it is not much different from being unbridled. Running directly into someone’s home to kill, killing again and again, and still being able to stay put without leaving. How arrogant is this? Think about it. Their method of concealing the murderer is indeed clever, but Rift Valley Manor personnel spread everywhere would certainly be the first to arrive at the scene. So the premise of escape is that the murderer must not be discovered by Rift Valley Manor’s people before the helpers arrive. Therefore the possibility of the murderer being discovered after the crime is still quite large. What does this show? It shows they simply are not afraid of being discovered by Rift Valley Manor.”
Yu Qing said, “There is a somewhat unbridled feeling. What do these fellows want to do? Damn it, them acting like this has completely made us afraid to act rashly.”
Nan and Mu both understood his meaning. Not to mention other things, to obtain the “halberd” they first had to wait for that sleeper to drink heart blood. Now that things had become like this, who knew when that sleeper would drink the heart blood, who knew if they might startle the snake by beating the grass.
“For now, we should still slowly map out the route situation here. First map out where the ‘halberd’ and the sleeper are located, then see when to act and how to strike appropriately.” Nan Zhu sighed.
Yu Qing said, “Having encountered troublemakers, the defenses inside the mountain body have clearly strengthened. We can only do this. The problem is, if they continue to act so unbridled, Rift Valley Manor are not fools. Sooner or later it will be exposed. Later, do not let Rift Valley Manor mistake us as one of their group and strike at us. That would truly be wrongful.”
The room fell into silence. The atmosphere of puzzled contemplation was obvious.
Nan Zhu tentatively uttered, “How about we sell that group out to Rift Valley Manor?”
This meaning was understood upon hearing. Tell Rift Valley Manor their discovery, sell out Ning Chaoyi’s group, so this chaotic situation would end quickly.
Yu Qing lightly humphed. “Who knows what those herding sheep people came here to do. Whether there are people behind them, we do not know. Are you certain that once they tear faces, Rift Valley Manor will not sell us out in turn?”
Nan Zhu immediately put his hands behind his back, pacing back and forth, sighing long and short, discovering things were somewhat difficult to handle.
The key point was that Rift Valley Manor’s core area was all inside the mountain body. Even wanting to figure out the route situation inside was difficult. Unlike surface buildings that could be viewed from a height, let alone finding the most concealed core location.
Mu Aotie, in deep thought, inadvertently also uttered, “It is all stone. Wanting to set a fire to force out some clues will not work.”
Yu Qing slowly leaned against the chair back, one hand tugging at the tiny bit of moustache at the corner of his mouth, twisting it, muttering to himself, “Join forces with them to take on Rift Valley Manor?”
Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie both turned their heads to look.
But Yu Qing himself then shook his head to reject it. “Cannot figure out their purpose. Not good to speak rashly. No rush, must not rush. Better to see the situation first.”
At the village entrance, under the night curtain, roaring flames burned again.
Five corpses. Another five dead. Their hearts were also hollowed out, again gathered at the village entrance to be cremated.
Old rules, old habits. People harmed by demons must be cremated immediately. This time could be no exception.
The surrounding villagers continuously added firewood inward, carefully observing their surroundings from time to time, clearly somewhat afraid.
The lights of every household were also extinguished. Quiet, without human voices.
Truly, recently too many people had died too frequently. Even the Wu clan people who were accustomed to it were afraid.
On the stone steps beneath the clan emblem flagpole, a filthy old man squatted there, clicking his dry tobacco pipe as he stared at the roaring flames. In his turbid eyeballs flickered the shadow of the firelight, silent and still…
All foreign guests including Yu Qing and others appeared outside, standing at the foot of the mountain watching the flames rising from the village entrance.
Yu Qing and the others had followed out after discovering those three groups had come out, wanting to see what these people wanted to do again.
Naturally, Third Manor Lord Wu Heyun was also drawn out. Facing the guests’ inquiries, he gave a simple briefing on the casualties.
“Third Manor Lord, I am not leaving tomorrow. I will simply shamelessly linger here a few more days. I want to see what kind of demon can be so arrogant as to come and go without trace.”
Ning Chaoyi, who said this, was clearly angered. Regardless of whether Wu Heyun agreed or not, he directly turned and went back into the stone cave, clearly intending to fight injustice.
Shen Qingcheng of the Three Branch Flowers, infinitely tender, quickly followed to link his arm, leaving together.
Looking at her appearance, whether leaving or staying she was clearly going to advance and retreat together with Ning Chaoyi.
Wu Heyun watched them leave, choked and speechless.
“A daughter grown is not controlled by her mother. Mother, what if Qingcheng suffers some mishap?”
Lu Xingyun, with a small white flower pinned beside her temple, asked her mother Lou Yushu.
Lou Yushu giggled. “Naturally I cannot ignore it. I also want to see what monster is causing trouble. Third Manor Lord, I will not leave for now. I will stay a few more days. Whatever the expenses, report the account later. Not one wen short.” Having spoken, she also left with her daughter.
Nie Pinlan also humphed. “Too bullying. This matter must see a resolution. Truly cannot leave, otherwise it would let down Rift Valley Manor’s kind hospitality. Third Manor Lord, rest assured. No matter who the intruder is, we husband and wife are not unrighteous people. We will certainly help. We will not rest until the matter is settled!”
She left filled with righteous indignation, her husband silently following.
Wu Heyun did not utter a sound, watching coldly.
Was there still need to say anything? There was not.
He was very clear. They simply did not want to leave. Whatever was said was useless. Besides, driving guests away was not Rift Valley Manor’s way of treating guests.
The three martial brothers were also watching, equally speechless. Where in the cultivation world did so many righteous and good people come from? Besides, they were all people who only cared about themselves when it was none of their business. This clearly showed they intended to stay here and not leave.
“I presume you gentlemen also intend to stay long?”
Wu Heyun’s voice rang out. The few looked over, seeing him staring at them with an expressionless face.
Yu Qing walked over, face to face, saying, “Third Manor Lord, whether you believe it or not, we are definitely not one group with them.”
Wu Heyun said blandly, “Brother Lin’s words are quite unfounded. I did not say you were one group. I am asking, do you also intend to stay long?”
After a moment of silence, Yu Qing blurted out, “We also want to see what they want to do.”
These words sounded awkward even to himself.
Wu Heyun uttered a meaningful “Oh,” extending his hand toward the stone cave entrance, making a “please” gesture.
Nan Zhu scoffed, discovering that what he worried about had indeed come to pass. He could not help shaking his head as he walked away. “Yellow mud falling into the crotch. This time even if it is not shit, it is shit.”
“Precisely because of this, we must stay even more to prove our innocence.”
Yu Qing threw down these words, waving his hand to signal everyone to return.
Wu Heyun watched the disappearance of the few with an expressionless face.
After the few returned to the housing corridor, shortly after entering their rooms and closing doors, one room door opened.
Lu Xingyun, in a black long dress with a small white flower pinned beside her temple, exited the door, gently closing it. She walked gracefully and dignifiedly toward one end of the corridor.
Among the Three Branch Flowers, she already had the reserved appearance of a dignified good woman. Paired with widow’s attire, it was truly a special charm.
At the end where she walked, two men stood against the wall on left and right, taking turns on duty. On the surface they were guarding guests, but in reality they were monitoring all movements in the corridor.
On the other side at the corridor corner, there were actually also two guards watching the stairway down. Even Wu An lived there.
Seeing her approach, the two men at the end immediately grew vigilant, highly on guard.
Lu Xingyun did not approach them too closely. At a distance of about one zhang from the two, she walked to the wall and stopped, also turning to lean her back against the wall, head lowered in silence. Under the lamplight, her charm was distinctive.
Just as the two men wanted to speak and ask, Lu Xingyun spoke first, her voice gentle. “These two evenings it seems you two have been on duty.”
One of the men probed, “Do you have some matter?”
Lu Xingyun raised her hand to brush hair behind her ear. Her fair, beautiful face, bright eyes looking at the oil lamp on the opposite wall, spoke to herself. “Before the incident, you two seemed drowsy. I walked back and forth, and you did not discover me. This matter you seem not to have reported.”
Turning back, her bright eyes fixed on the two who showed slight panic. She had a delicate, dignified, and gentle appearance, speaking calmly. “Also, before last night’s incident, you were also drowsy. You also seem to have concealed it and not reported it.”