Li Yan and the other two walked towards the gate of the next courtyard. As they got closer, Kong Nantai and others outside the courtyard also looked at them.
Li Yan actually felt two snake-like gazes looking at them. Although he pretended to be terrified on the surface, he found two cold gazes coming from under the black robe with his spiritual sense.
To be precise, the other party's eyes were fixed on the master and servant in front of him.
As the three of them approached, Kong Nantai and the other three, who were spreading out in a surrounding formation, looked at each other. Kong Nantai's eyes flickered a few times, but in the end he did not speak to stop Li Yan and the other two from coming over.
In their minds, Li Yan and the other two were equally suspicious. They were in adjacent courtyards, and could have returned quickly after killing someone. The timing was completely possible, but they were not like the two men in black robes. It seemed even more suspicious that they were caught on the spot.
Suspicion about Li Yan and the other two was suspicion after all, and there had to be a reason for it. Moreover, they were so close to the murder scene, and the head brother should call these three over soon.
Li Yan and the other two arrived at the gate of the courtyard, but could not get in. Ten disciples had been stationed at the door, blocking them outside.
"Let them in. I have something to ask you."
At this moment, the voice of the Taoist priest in the inner courtyard was heard, and everyone could hear a hint of suppressed anger in his voice.
After hearing this, the disciples outside the door immediately made way for them and motioned for the three to go in. Now that they were there, Li Yan and the other two of course went in to take a look.
The three men entered the yard and found that the lights were on. Taoist Gong was standing alone in the yard, and a dead body was lying on the ground.
Li Yan and the other two looked intently. The man was lying face down on the ground. He was wearing the Taoist robe of Xuanqing Temple. There was a big bloody hole on his waist. There were large patches of bright red blood on the ground, and some of the blood had solidified into a black color with the soil on the ground.
Under the moonlight and the flickering lights in the courtyard, Taoist Gong's face looked gloomy and uncertain.
The hands of the dead body on the ground were blindingly pale. A gust of night wind blew by, causing the leaves in the yard to rustle. A strong smell of blood filled the space.
Li Yan and the other two felt a chill on their backs. The atmosphere here was eerie and gloomy.
Of course, cultivators no longer use their eyes primarily to see things. Li Yan scanned the man with his spiritual sense. Although the man was face down, his thin figure reminded him of the Qi Condensation disciple who had called him "Uncle Master Song" before.
Li Yan then remembered the man's appearance and figure. He seemed to be a foundation-building cultivator who stood next to Luo Sanpang in the afternoon. The bloody hole on his waist had been pierced from front to back.
While Li Yan and the other two were observing with their spiritual sense, a hint of ferocity appeared on Taoist Gong's face, which was dim and bright. He didn't expect that in just half a day, two of his fellow disciples had died in the Taoist temple. They were two powerful foundation-building masters.
There were only nine brothers and sisters in total, and two of them died in one day, causing the strength of Xuanqing Temple to decline sharply.
"No need to observe. Junior Brother Song was attacked from behind by someone, and his Dantian Purple Organ was directly destroyed. He died instantly."
He took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in his heart, and slowly spoke to the three people.
Upon hearing this, Li Yan and the other two couldn't help but look up at Taoist Gong at the same time. The young man in purple suddenly asked.
"In that case, the murderer must be familiar with this deceased senior. Otherwise, how could a foundation-building cultivator be so close to someone and still know nothing about him
If they really didn't know each other, only a cultivator at the Jindan level or above could have made a foundation-building cultivator completely defenseless."
Hearing the purple-robed young man's words, Taoist Gong's gaze lingered on him and he looked at him a few more times. He originally intended to say this to the hunchbacked old man.
The young man in purple felt as if he was being stared at by a ferocious beast and was unable to move. However, the hunchbacked old man moved his feet nonchalantly.
Half of his body was blocking the purple-shirted young man. The pressure on the purple-shirted young man suddenly disappeared, and his whole body was covered in sweat. The hunchbacked old man still did not speak, but just looked at Taoist Gong.
There was a hint of surprise in Taoist Gong's eyes. He had known for a long time that this hunchbacked old man was very powerful, but he didn't expect that the pressure he exerted on him could be resolved so easily. He himself had already touched the Golden Core Realm with one foot.
He continued without changing his expression.
“This young friend is right. The protective formation here is still half-activated, which means the situation at that time should have been like this.
Junior Brother Song might have stood up to see the murderer off, and when he walked into the yard, he opened the restriction at the gate, wanting the murderer to leave. The murderer deliberately lagged behind Junior Brother Song and then killed him from behind.
The attack was so ruthless that it penetrated his internal organs directly from the waist, destroying Junior Brother Song's Dantian purple organs, causing Junior Brother Song to die instantly without any power to resist. "
When he said this, he was already filled with anger.
This was a naked provocation to Xuanqing Temple. The killing in the morning was somewhat concealed, but in the evening it was a direct killing.
At the same time, he was struggling in his heart. Various signs showed that the results he and Master Ji had previously deduced were all facts, and it was precisely these results that made him unacceptable.
In this case, the murderer must be someone from the Taoist temple. Even if these foreign monks came to find Junior Brother Song for urgent matters, he would not be so lax.
The murderer was not only familiar with Junior Brother Song, but also very familiar with him. This was also the reason why he had not given the order to arrest the two black-robed men outside the door.
Before he could say a word, Junior Brother Song's storage bag disappeared.
"Then may I ask, Senior, it has not been long since the screaming occurred here and you all arrived. Logically speaking, the resentful spirit of this senior should still be nearby. Have you found it?"
The purple-shirted young man thought about it and asked, "As long as we find the resentful soul, the problem can be solved." He was anxious to leave this place and didn't care what Taoist Gong thought of him.
"No, just like Junior Brother Liu this morning, his soul is completely destroyed."
Gong Daoren's face was gloomy, and it seemed that tears were dripping from his eyes.
At this moment, Li Yan, who was lowering his head as if thinking, suddenly changed his expression, but he still lowered his head so that people could not see the expression on his face.
Later, the hunchbacked old man seemed to inadvertently look up at the side of the courtyard wall, and at this time a voice was heard.
"My three fellow Taoists, what the head brother meant is that the three fellow Taoists live next door. We are so close, have you seen anyone else passing by, or heard any noise?"
As the voice spread, the purple-shirted young man and Li Yan seemed to be awakened by someone and looked in the direction of the voice. A figure had quietly stood on the courtyard wall, and the figure was slowly becoming clearer from blurry.
The person who came was none other than the head of the Discipline Hall of Xuanqing Temple, Ji. When he appeared, he first shook his head at Taoist Gong, then leaped forward and landed next to Taoist Gong.
When Taoist Gong saw Hall Master Ji shaking his head, his face became even gloomier.
After they entered the courtyard, they first checked all the places there, and then they went out of the courtyard separately and searched around.
In addition to searching for clues, they also hope to find the soul of Junior Brother Song. Even if there is only a glimmer of it, the murderer's true colors will be exposed.
With their cultivation level and understanding of the formations in the temple, the search was quick. After searching for a while without success, Taoist Gong returned here first.
Seeing that Hall Master Ji was like this, it was as if the murderer was like a shadow, coming and going without a trace, and even not letting go of the soul, leaving others without even the chance to reincarnate.
This made Gong Daoren feel even more depressed, and he felt that everyone around him might suddenly kill again under the right circumstances.
After hearing what Hall Master Ji said, the purple-robed young man looked at Li Yan, who had a frightened look on his face, then looked at the hunchbacked old man in front of him and slowly shook his head.
"What happened this afternoon was frightening. After we came back, the five of us chose our own rooms to rest. Uncle Sang and I stayed in the room talking about what happened today until we heard screams outside, and then we left the room.
Oh, this fellow Taoist can prove this. He actually left the room first and just happened to see us leaving."
Having said this, he pointed at Li Yan, then smiled at Li Yan and continued.
"While the three of us were in the courtyard, no more sounds came from next door, and no one was seen walking outside the courtyard. However, during this period, the other black-robed Taoist friend did not appear.
While I was puzzled, I heard someone outside shouting. Someone had come and left the courtyard. I just saw Senior Kong from the temple leading people to surround the two black-robed Taoist friends not far away, but I didn't know when the two black-robed Taoist friends left.
After saying this, he bowed respectfully to Master Ji and Taoist Gong.
It sounded like the purple-robed young man was just recounting what he had seen and heard, but his words were vaguely pointing to the two men in black robes, and he also included Li Yan in the conversation.
After the purple-shirted young man bowed respectfully, he couldn't help feeling a little apologetic towards Li Yan, he thought to himself.
"I'm sorry, fellow Taoist. I really had to leave early, but I didn't lie. When I came out, you were indeed standing in the courtyard."
He also looked at Li Yan and smiled apologetically.
Taoist Gong and Hall Master Ji looked at Li Yan again. Although they did not feel any threat from a Qi Condensation cultivator, Hall Master Ji still spoke.
"My dear friend, when did you come to the courtyard? Have you seen anything unusual? If so, please tell me. I will reward you handsomely."
Although he was so polite, his eyes were staring at Li Yan like a knife, and he was thinking in his heart.
"This person is from the Blood Leaf Sect, which is just a third-rate sect. If he can give a reason, then it's fine. Otherwise..."
Although he and Taoist Gong have determined that Junior Brother Song’s death was more than 70% likely caused by a traitor within the Taoist temple, other accidents could still happen.
Since Li Yan couldn't say anything, he got annoyed and took Li Yan's storage bag to check if there was any magic weapon in it that could kill a foundation-building cultivator. This was the quickest way and could get rid of a suspect.
Li Yan sneered in his heart when the purple-shirted young man pushed him out. Although he looked even more afraid, he quickly spoke.
“Seniors Qi Bing and I did arrive at the courtyard first, but I only came out to check after hearing the screams.
I also have someone who can testify to this. It was Senior Qin who arranged our accommodation in the afternoon. He was sitting in front of the window opposite my residence, drinking.
When he saw the younger generation, he raised his glass to signal him. There was no mistake. At that moment, screams were heard.
After I arrived at the courtyard, no other sounds came from next door. Even when I walked out of the courtyard with the two of them, I didn’t see anyone passing by the door.”
"Oh? Are you talking about Junior Brother Qin? Hmm... it's possible that what you said is true. The windows of these courtyards are facing the courtyard where Junior Brother Qin lives on the other side."
Master Ji was stunned, thought about it for a while, and felt that this was possible.
Just at this moment, a clear voice came.
"Oh, what this Taoist friend said is true. I was indeed sitting in front of the window drinking at that time, and I raised my glass to signal this Taoist friend when I saw him looking over. Senior Brother Song's screams only occurred at that time. This Taoist friend really has nothing to do with this matter."
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a figure walking in from the gate. It was Qin Chengyi.
"Brother Qin, why did you come here at such a late hour?"
Hall Master Ji looked at the visitor with displeasure. Such a big thing happened here. Although Junior Brother Qin was still in the Qi Condensation Stage, he should have rushed over immediately anyway. However, he didn't seem to care.
"Greetings, Senior Brother Headmaster, Senior Brother Ji. I rushed over when I heard something was wrong here. But when I passed by the gate of Senior Brother Liu's courtyard, Senior Brother Luo stopped me and asked me what was going on.
I said a few words to him, but was afraid that he might do something reckless and walk around randomly. I was afraid that something might happen to Senior Brother Liu's courtyard that he was guarding, so I let him stay there quietly.
I said I would go over and explain to him after I found out what was going on. I had just arrived outside the courtyard when I saw Senior Brother Kong and his men surrounding two guests, so I asked about the situation, but it was too late.
Qin Chengyi said so.
After listening to Qin Chengyi's explanation, Hall Master Ji's expression finally relaxed, and Taoist Gong also nodded.
If Qin Chengyi hadn't met Luo Sanpang, that bastard would have really deserted his post and come directly here. If the murderer went to destroy the scene over there, they would really have no explanation when the master came back.