Old Master Yan

Jiang Ruoyun nodded. "Although I did not see Brother Tang himself, I would never mistake that one-of-a-kind beastly aura. It was definitely him."

"How could this be?" Qiao Xue'er staggered back two steps in disbelief, muttering, "Brother Tang clearly asked me to meet him at the Abandoned Temple yesterday. How could he have appeared on Azure Mushroom Mountain?"

"The Abandoned Temple? The place where Yan He died? Brother Tang asked you to go there?" Jiang Ruoyun asked suspiciously.

Thinking it over now, Qiao Xue'er also realized how many things had not added up. At last, she told them the whole course of events.

"Yesterday around dusk, I received a note asking me to meet at the Abandoned Temple east of the city. The handwriting looked like Brother Tang's, so I went. But when I arrived at the Abandoned Temple, I found Yan He lying there on his last breath, with a dagger still lodged in his chest."

Even recalling it now, Qiao Xue'er still felt lingering fear. She had never seen such a scene before.

"I rushed over in a panic, thinking I might be able to save him. But I saw agony all over his face, and both hands were gripping the dagger in his chest, pushing it deeper..." Qiao Xue'er's words were interrupted.

Jiang Ruoyun spoke in confusion. "He was stabbing himself with the dagger? You mean he committed suicide?"

Qiao Xue'er nodded, then shook her head. "I am not sure. When I approached, he noticed me too. He stopped moving the dagger and signaled for me to pull it out. He was also faintly crying, 'Save me...' But after I pulled it out, he stopped breathing. And just then, the prison official arrived with a group of people."

"If you did not kill him, why did you admit to it?" Jiang Ruoyun asked, puzzled.

"I was in such a panic then. I remembered that Yan He had harassed me before, and I remembered that Brother Tang had asked me to meet him there. So I secretly assumed that Brother Tang had killed Yan He, which was why I..." Qiao Xue'er said with self-mockery, sounding foolish. If not for what Jiang Ruoyun had said, she might still have believed that Yan He had been killed by Tang Yuan.

Both Jiang Ruoyun and Lu Feng were moved by her words. They had not expected Qiao Xue'er to be willing to sacrifice her life to take the blame for Tang Yuan. It had been impulsive, but was that not proof of how deeply she loved him?

"Damn it! Who set up this trap?" Jiang Ruoyun said indignantly, her little face filled with anger.

Lu Feng pondered in silence. What was the purpose of the person who had laid such a dead end to frame Qiao Xue'er? If they had not happened to encounter Tang Yuan, this scheme could have been called flawless, without a single seam. It showed just how deep the schemer's calculations ran.

From all the details, it was clear that the person behind this arrangement knew Qiao Xue'er's character well and also knew about her relationship with Tang Yuan. That was why they had known to use Tang Yuan as part of the scheme.

"Do you still have the note Tang Yuan used to ask you out?" Lu Feng had been silently thinking the entire time. This was the first time he had spoken since entering the prison.

"I destroyed the note in the Abandoned Temple. I was afraid it would implicate Brother Tang." Qiao Xue'er looked ashamed. Then she pleaded with Jiang Ruoyun, "Help me keep an eye on Brother Tang. I am afraid he might do something because he is worried about me."

"All right. I will go find him shortly," Jiang Ruoyun promised. She then asked Qiao Xue'er about further details of what had happened at the Abandoned Temple, but they found no leads at all. Based on the clues they had, all they knew was that Yan He had been killed and the blame had been cleverly shifted onto Qiao Xue'er.

"Let us go look at the coroner's autopsy notes. Perhaps we can find some clues," Lu Feng said. Although Yan He was dead, sometimes corpses could still "speak."

"All right," Jiang Ruoyun answered obediently. The two bid Qiao Xue'er farewell.

Watching them leave, Qiao Xue'er sat cross-legged again. Yet her mood was much lighter now. After all, some of the doubts in her heart had been resolved.

After Lu Feng and Jiang Ruoyun left the prison cells, they found the prison official. Once Jiang Ruoyun frankly explained that there were hidden circumstances in Qiao Xue'er's case, the prison official cooperated cheerfully. Even when they asked to examine the coroner's autopsy notes, he handed them over without the slightest hesitation.

Jiang Ruoyun was somewhat surprised. She had thought it would take much persuasion before they could see the coroner's notes, yet the prison official's attitude was unexpectedly good.

Setting aside Lu Feng's status as the Prison Enforcer, new developments in the case were also a good thing for the prison official. The most important thing was to resolve the conflict between Qiao Manor and Yan Manor satisfactorily without anyone else dying.

While retrieving the notes, the prison official secretly slipped Azure Dragon Town's Year Chronicle to Lu Feng. Since Lu Feng had warned him not to reveal his identity, the two behaved normally in front of Jiang Ruoyun.

After reading the coroner's notes, Lu Feng found no useful clues. What was recorded in them was basically identical to Qiao Xue'er's account of Yan He's death, without the slightest anomaly. Yet the more it was like this, the more unusual it seemed.

"I need to make a trip to Yan Manor and examine Yan He's body. Could the prison official send someone to accompany us?" Lu Feng asked.

"Yue An, accompany these two and cooperate with them," the prison official ordered.

Yue An still had quite a few matters to handle and seemed rather unwilling. But after hearing a whispered message as faint as an ant's breath from the prison official, Yue An shuddered all over. At once, he became exceptionally respectful toward Lu Feng, nodding and bowing as though ready to obey every command.

Lu Feng smiled faintly, very satisfied with Yue An's change in attitude. Naturally, he knew the prison official would not be foolish enough to reveal his identity. He must have said something else that benefited Yue An.

"Do you not think the prison official is acting a little strange?" Jiang Ruoyun quietly asked Lu Feng.

"Is he? Perhaps he also wants to settle this troublesome matter as soon as possible," Lu Feng said vaguely, muddling through the question.

Yan Manor was likewise one of the one official and eight manors of Azure Dragon Town. Unlike Jiang Manor, Yan Manor was united within. There was only one manor lord, and the deceased Yan He had been that manor lord's own grandson.

Although Yan He's parents had also given him a younger sister, Yan He was still Yan Manor's only heir. His death had dealt Yan Manor a tremendous blow. No wonder Yan Jiang, the nearly hundred-year-old manor lord, had been so furious that he had nearly stormed straight into Qiao Manor.

Yan Manor was now steeped in mourning. White mourning streamers and lanterns filled the eye wherever one looked, and the sound of weeping rose without cease. Though Yan He had usually been lazy, lecherous, and a rogue, he had treated his family and subordinates well, and he had enjoyed fairly good relations within the manor.

"When you speak later, be more polite. Do not provoke Old Master Yan's anger," Yue An cautioned. After all, no one would likely agree to having a coffin opened for an autopsy without warning.

Lu Feng and Jiang Ruoyun nodded, knowing this trip would not go too smoothly.

Yue An spoke to the two servants standing at Yan Manor's gate. "Please announce that Yue An of Prison Manor requests an audience."

Before long, a middle-aged man hurried out to receive them. His face was ashen and his expression despondent. He looked lifeless, without the slightest hint of a smile, and even his voice was pale and weak. "Lord Yue, please come in." He made a welcoming gesture.

Jiang Ruoyun had met this middle-aged man once before and knew that he was Yan He's father, Yan Zhengchi. Seeing him changed from his former sturdy, imposing self into someone so haggard and aged filled her with emotion.

The group slowly entered Yan Manor's main hall. A large character for "Mourning" hung in the center of the entrance hall. Weeping women and children knelt all around, while a gold-inlaid sandalwood coffin rested in the middle, engraved with a Rebirth Painting.

Lu Feng and the other two accepted the incense and candles handed to them by Yan Manor's servants, then stepped forward to offer incense according to custom. The dead were to be respected. No matter how unpleasant a person had been in life, once dead, all grievances were gone.

After offering incense, Lu Feng slowly rose. At Yue An's signal, he addressed the most imposing person in the crowd. "Manor Lord Yan, there may be another mystery behind Young Master Yan's death. Could you allow us to open the coffin and examine him once more, lest he suffer an injustice with no voice to cry out?"

Bang! The chair beside Old Master Yan shattered beneath a single palm strike, spraying wood chips in every direction. His colorless face was filled with fury as he glared at Lu Feng and shouted, "The dead are already gone! How can you open the coffin and disturb his rest? Get out..."

As Old Master Yan's words fell, everyone around them glared at Lu Feng and the others with hostility, as if they wanted to flay the three of them alive.

"Old Master Yan, please calm your anger. We will leave at once," Yue An said. He was skilled at reading the room, and immediately tugged on Lu Feng's arm to signal that they should go.

"We bear no ill intent. We only wish to clear Qiao Xue'er's name." A glint flashed through Lu Feng's eyes. Without the slightest fear, he spoke again.

At the mention of Qiao Xue'er, Old Master Yan's rage surged. He shouted, "Qiao Xue'er killed my He'er with conclusive evidence, and she confessed at the scene. It is only right that she be buried with He'er..."

As he spoke, a pale white wave of qi spread from his body and charged straight toward Lu Feng and the other two.

"Watch out!" Lu Feng shouted.

The three of them were swept away by the wave of qi and hurled backward, tumbling four or five meters away. Old Master Yan's strength was plain to see. If he had wanted to kill them, it would have been as easy as turning his hand over.

Lu Feng was the most shocked of all. He had once walked the path of Martial Dao, so how could he fail to recognize the aura Old Master Yan had released? He was absolutely an expert who had opened all seven souls and reached the Spirit Gathering Realm, and even among those in the Spirit Gathering Realm, he stood at the very peak.

"Get out!" Old Master Yan roared furiously.

"Let us leave first and discuss it further afterward," Jiang Ruoyun said softly. Under the current circumstances, it was clearly impossible to examine Yan He's cause of death. If not for the sake of Prison Manor's reputation, they likely would not have been allowed to leave so easily.

If the open way would not work, they could only try the covert way. But after witnessing Old Master Yan's strength, how could a covert approach be easy? Yet the autopsy was necessary. Otherwise, Yan He's true cause of death could never be uncovered.

"Sorry to have made Brother Yue come all this way for nothing," Lu Feng said gratefully after leaving Yan Manor.

"Not at all, not at all. It was a small matter. If you need anything in the future, just come to Prison Manor and find me. But I am afraid the autopsy cannot be done. You have seen Old Master Yan's temper," Yue An said, still somewhat shaken. He then bid Lu Feng and Jiang Ruoyun farewell and left.

Jiang Ruoyun dusted the dirt from the hem of her clothes and said, "Why do we not go find Brother Tang first? We have delayed for so long. If he finds out that Sister Qiao is in trouble, things could go badly."