The Lin family was in a panic, and many other families in Qing City were placing pressure on them to find out what happened. When Lin Runru was struggling with this matter, Lin Xuanzhi came back. Not only did he return, but he also brought with him a bunch of people. Except for Yan Zhonghua and Yin Xingli, all of the names of the people present were familiar to Lin Runru, including Xia Xiaochan, who was wearing a green robe and had a babyface.
Lin Runru fully demonstrated his open-minded demeanor as the head of the Lin family by not expressing any unnecessary emotions. He properly welcomed everyone who arrived.
Yan Zhonghua claimed to be a rogue cultivator. In order to prevent being targeted, Yin Xingli changed his face and claimed to be a friend of Esteemed Lan Yue.
Lin Xuanzhi noticed something was wrong as soon as he entered the city. He asked, “What happened in Qing City? Why are there so few pedestrians on the road in broad daylight?”
Not only were there few people, but everyone on the road seemed to be walking fast with scared expressions on their faces.
Lin Runru sighed and said in a complicated tone, “It’s a long story. Let’s go into the house first and talk about it there.”
After everyone entered the house with Lin Runru, Lin Runru described the matter in detail from beginning to end. After listening, Lin Xuanzhi felt that there were so many suspicious things about this. For instance, the possibility of Ji Lanjun and Lin Liuchun being suspected as murderers one after the other was very small. Just by judging Ji Lanjun’s cultivation, she could never kill some disciples silently.
Lin Xuanzhi frowned slightly. “Can I go and meet Fourth Elder and Aunt Ji?”
Lin Runru nodded. “I have already asked them, and they themselves can’t tell what happened at that time, especially what Liuchun witnessed. I also specially examined the neck of the watchman afterwards, but there was no tooth mark on it, and he didn’t seem to be bitten by anything. Although I believe Liuchun’s words, they won’t stand up to outside scrutiny.”
Yan Tianhen was also full of doubts and said, “Fourth Elder could never do such a thing. At this time, it is very strange. I think someone behind the mystery is framing Fourth Elder and Aunt Ji.”
Lin Runru asked, “Just… who would do such a thing? What would they gain from this?”
“It all seems like loud noise,” said You Ming. “I think they’re going to make a big move soon. You have to take precautions in advance.”
Looking at You Ming, Esteemed Lan Yue said, “Do you think this behavior is related to demonic cultivation?”
You Ming shook his head. “It’s hard to say. The technique seems like demonic cultivation, but I can’t make a conclusion without seeing the body.”
Lin Runru quickly pressed his hands together and said, “I’m sorry to trouble you, we should hurry.”
Lin Xuanzhi won three magic weapons– the Twin Lotus Lamp and Four Directions Seal didn’t need to be mentioned. The former was purely due out of good luck, while the latter was not touched by anyone else except them. As for the Heavenly Thunder Tripod, Sky Peak Sect had already released a statement saying Lin Xuanzhi killed Yan Xinghan and grabbed this magic weapon.
Nowadays, many people were secretly organizing forces to get Lin Xuanzhi’s head when Lin Xuanzhi was returning to the East Continent from the South Continent all the way.
Needless to say, they met many dangers on the road. Fortunately, Yan Zhonghua had a high cultivation and powerful magic weapons, which protected him on their way home.
Lin Xuanzhi replied faintly, “Being famous is not my wish. It all depends on those people who are too fussy and have never seen the world.”
Madam Bai’s face stiffened and reluctantly said, “It’s good for the Young Master that he left, but the Lin family’s gates have been trampled by many people these days. Shouldn’t Young Master say something about that?”
“Since everything started with me, the money for repairing the gate will naturally come from me.” Lin Xuanzhi turned to a servant boy beside him and said, “Take money from my warehouse and give it directly to Madam Bai.”
After Ji Lanjun was detained, the power of the Lin family’s housekeeper fell into Madam Bai’s hands. Naturally, it was her duty to repair the gate.
When Madam Bai heard this, she felt that Lin Xuanzhi’s skill of being hostile to her was greater than before. This skill of pulling a thousand pounds with one hand was very strong, which was not a good sign.
Madam Bai turned the topic to Yan Tianhen. “It’s rumored that Yan Tianhen is a Divine Devil and killed many righteous path disciples in the Heavenly Swamp Mysterious Land. Is it true?”
Yan Tianhen smiled shyly. “Of course, it’s not true. Good people are bullied, just like how good horses are ridden. They are jealous that my Dage has many magic weapons and is handsome and beautiful too, so they want to replace me by deliberately spreading rumors. Madam Bai can’t possibly believe such low-level lies made to sow dissension?”
You Ming nodded. “Only an idiot would believe it.”
Madam Bai gave a very forced smile. “Of course not.”
If she believed, wouldn’t it seem like she was an idiot who believed in such provoking words? After careful examination, it seemed that Yan Tianhen also had no demonic Qi.
Madam Bai set her mind and looked at Lin Xuanzhi. “Did you really kill Master Shen Ji from the Nine Lands?”
Without waiting for Lin Xuanzhi to answer, You Ming responded, “It was this Venerable who killed him. If anyone wants to seek revenge, just come to me.”
Madam Bai said with a smile, “Esteemed Huai Yu is really a man of high cultivation and courage. When others told me, I was still thinking about how Xuanzhi’s cultivation could kill someone like Master Shen Ji. So it’s actually like this. Since several people still have things to do, I’ll leave you alone.”
After Madam Bai left, Lin Xuanzhi suddenly asked, “What changes have happened between Third Elder and Madam Bai during this time?”
Lin Runru shook his head. “As usual. Although he is not honest, there will not be much movement from him. I can’t see anything passing me unnoticed.”
Everyone soon came to the ancestral temple of the Lin family. It was located at the foot of Luojia Mountain. It was a whole seven-story pagoda with bell rings hanging on each of its twelve corners. They have never sounded in recent years.
The memorial tablet of the ancestral temple is on the seventh floor, and the Lin family’s disciples come to pay their respects every ten years. All of the people who have made great contributions to the Lin family are allowed to be placed in the ancestral hall, but the names on some tablets look very vague, probably due to the spells.
The reason why Ji Lanjun and Lin Liuchun were temporarily held in the ancestral temple was because the pagoda had another use. It could suppress the energy of evil things. It was unknown who revealed that Lin Liuchun and Ji Lanjun were possessed by demonic objects, so they had to be locked up here.
On the one hand, Lin Runru was trying his best to protect these two people, and on the other hand, he was trying to convince the people to shut up about their rumors. That was why, with a wave of his hand, he sent them into the pagoda.
Lin Xuanzhi looked at the tall pagoda and felt that there was something in it that attracted him. When they neared, the horn bells that had never rung before suddenly made a clanging sound and rotated wildly at an oblique angle.
However, the sky was clear, and there was not even a breeze in the air, but Lin Runru was very calm. He glanced at Yan Tianhen and said, “Once a demon approaches, this horn bell will ring and give a warning. When you enter the ancestral temple, the horn bell will stop ringing, and it won’t hurt.”
Yan Tianhen rubbed his nose awkwardly.
Lin Runru went on, “Don’t worry, I knew of your identity a long time ago.”
Yan Tianhen grinned gratefully at Lin Runru and took the lead in entering the ancestral temple. The sound of the horn bell stopped for a moment, and then it rang again.
Lin Runru, “…”
Lin Runru turned to Yan Zhonghua and Yin Xingli who were both in disguise. Although one couldn’t see much emotion in his half-squinted eyes, his meaning was obvious.
At that moment, You Ming raised his foot and walked into the ancestral temple. The horn bell stopped ringing and never sounded again.
Lin Runru, “…”
He seemed a little disoriented.
Lin Xuanzhi looked at the elder who was not looking very good and kindly explained, “In fact, Esteemed Huai Yu is Ah Hen’s father. Naturally, he is on Ah Hen’s side, so Family Head doesn’t have to worry too much.”
Lin Runru was surprised, but nodded quickly to express his understanding, “I see.”
Sometimes — certain things, certain people, and certain identities, didn’t matter too much.
The light inside the ancestral temple was very dim, surrounded by thick pillars and closed windows. There was a faint smell of burning incense in the air, which was very special. It was said that it was the fragrance of a long-term candle that could burn for a thousand years. Lin Liuchun and Ji Lanjun were detained on the lowest floor of the pagoda.
This ancestral temple was very strange. The reason why it was worshipped once every ten years was because their ancestors left a family rule to worship it every decade, so that the evil spirits in the pagoda would dare not come out to harm the people. This was due to the suppression of the Lin family’s ancestors.
Otherwise, if the ancestors were not here, the pagoda would be those evil spirits’ world, and it was not guaranteed when the evil spirits would come out to harm people.
Therefore, even if someone dared to barge into the pagoda, the ancestral temple would not stop them. It was clear that it would make those trespassers disappear with no return. Of course, over the years, there had been incidents of disciples not listening to advice and going into the pagoda anyway, but all those people without exception had disappeared one by one. That’s right, no bodies were found, and they all disappeared. Nobody knew whether they were dead or alive. Above the second floor was a forbidden area, and even Lin Xuanzhi had never been inside. They naturally wouldn’t go in today.
There were no stairs in the pagoda. If one wanted to go up and down the floors, they could only rely on the transmission array by standing on it, and soon everyone arrived at the underground floor.
It looked as big as the space above. There were quite a few independent rooms in all eight directions with an open space in the middle. When they heard something, two doors were opened from the inside.
Lin Liuchun and Ji Lanjun appeared at the same time. When they met Lin Xuanzhi and the others, they showed similar expressions of having been waiting for them. Ji Lanjun was a woman full of maternal love after all. As soon as she saw Lin Xuanzhi and Yan Tianhen, she began to ask about family matters, and Lin Xuanzhi answered them one by one.
After talking about some trivial family matters, the topic changed suddenly and fell onto the strange things happening these days.
Lin Liuchun was also very puzzled. “I originally thought the watchman secretly took my jade pendant when I was treating him, but later, I figured it was impossible. Not to mention that his breathing was indeed intermittent, he couldn’t even move a finger. With his cultivation, it was absolutely impossible for him to break through the prohibition around the jade pendant and take it without my notice.”
