A clear objective

The Chai family members guarding the door made way, and Li Lingsu pushed open the half-open door, revealing the scene inside.

In a small house, two rows of stiff corpses stood, their heads now removed and lying on the ground, where they had once worn hoods.

Between the two rows of corpses were Chai Xing'er and three clan elders: one with thinning hair, one with a burly build, and one with a missing arm.

"Are these the Iron Corpses?" Li Lingsu shifted her gaze to the beautiful married woman in a light blue dress.

The latter was also looking at him, her eyes like clear autumn pools, carrying a hint of tenderness and a touch of displeasure. "Why did you come here?"

"I heard someone broke into the cellar last night, so I came to check it out."

Ignoring the scrutinizing gazes of the three elders, Li Lingsu walked to Chai Xing'er's side and smiled, "Nothing's missing, is it?"

Chai Xing'er shook her head and turned to the three clan elders, saying, "The fact that the thief was able to sneak into the Chai residence at night without alerting the guards or disturbing the clansmen watching the cellar shows that he knows the Chai residence's environment and defenses very well."

An elder with thinning hair pondered, "Does Xing'er mean that Chai Xian did it?"

"Who else could it be but him?" Chai Xing'er retorted with a sneer.

The burly elder muttered to himself, "Removing all the zombies' hoods, he's probably looking for someone. Who is he looking for?"

The one-armed elder said calmly, "Xiao Lan has been missing for many days. Does he think she's dead and turned into a walking corpse? This kid has truly lost his mind."

Just as Chai Xing'er was about to speak, she caught a glimpse of Li Lingsu standing in front of a corpse, silently scrutinizing it.

The corpse had clear features and appeared to be around thirty years old; it must have been a handsome and extraordinary man when he was alive.

He is my husband.

Chai Xing'er said calmly.

Li Lingsu hummed in agreement, raised her hand and pinched the male corpse's shoulder to confirm that it was an iron corpse.

"My three uncles."

Chai Xing'er glanced at the three elderly people.

The elders nodded slightly and left the room for the time being.

After the wooden door closed, Chai Xing'er walked to Li Lingsu's side, stood beside him, calmly looked at the male corpse, and softly said:

I rarely talk to you about him.

"I don't want to know."

Li Lingsu turned and left.

"Li Lang."

Chai Xing'er grabbed his hand, her small hand icy cold, and her tone became somewhat urgent as she said, "It's not what you think."

Before Li Lingsu could speak, she explained in rapid succession:

"Back then, when my elder brother and he went out on business, they encountered an enemy's revenge. He was seriously injured and his life hung by a thread. In order to save his life, my elder brother turned him into an iron corpse, which allowed him to escape the calamity and escape back with his men."

"After I found out about this, I had a fight with my older brother, and then I ran away from home to clear my head. Not long after, I met you."

"It's not because I still have feelings for him that I turned him into an iron corpse and kept him by my side."

Li Lingsu paused for a moment, then said, "I believe you."

"Myolie Chai's ex-husband died at the hands of Chai Jianyuan and was turned into an iron corpse."

In the inn, listening to Li Lingsu's "report," Xu Qi'an felt as if he could smell a melodramatic family soap opera.

This further increases the likelihood that Myolie Chai is the mastermind behind it all.

Although her ex-husband was seriously injured and on the verge of death, and if he could not break the deadlock, being killed would be the only outcome, he ultimately died at the hands of Chai Jianyuan and was even turned into an iron corpse.

Well, the fact that he could be instantly transformed into an iron corpse means that Chai Xing'er's ex-husband was at least a sixth-grade copper-skinned iron-boned being. Chai Jianyuan's enemies must be cursing him under his breath for turning him into an iron corpse.

After finally taking one down, it revives with full health in a different way.

"Find out about her ex-husband from the elders of the Chai Lineage."

"That's it?" Li Lingsu frowned.

"Um!"

Xu Qi'an took a sip of tea and nodded.

Li Lingsu remained silent for a few seconds, then said helplessly, "If she really is the mastermind, what will you do?"

Xu Qi'an looked at him. "Brother murder, repeated murders, a capital offense!"

Li Lingsu's expression immediately turned somewhat unpleasant. After a long silence, she said in a deep voice:

"I will cripple her cultivation, take her back to the Heavenly Sect, and never let her leave the mountain for the rest of her life. If you wish to kill her, you can try killing me first."

He cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, then turned and left.

"Tsk tsk, this Holy Son of the Heavenly Sect is quite interesting."

Mu Nanzhi laughed and said, "You use the goal of transcending emotions to attract so many women, but isn't your ultimate aim to forget them? It seems you've fallen for every single one of them."

"That's why the Heavenly Sect needs to recall counterfeit and substandard products. The Holy Son is following Evil Dao, "Xu Qi'an Qi said with relief.

Under the table, Mu Nanzhi gently kicked him and teased, "You charming and amorous Xu Yinluo, if you were Li Lingsu, and such a confidante of yours committed a serious crime, what would you do?"

Xu Qi'an thought about it carefully and said, "If it's that confidante named Mu Nanzhi who has made a serious mistake, I will definitely handle it officially."

"What did you say!"

Mu Nanzhi was furious, making a fierce expression as if she wanted to tear Xu Qi'an to pieces.

But the next moment, her anger was replaced by embarrassment. Her face flushed, and she spat out, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Who is your confidante? Shameless!

Thump, thump, thump. They stomped on his insteps under the table.

After she finished venting her anger, Xu Qi'an said:

"I was just giving Li Lingsu a perfunctory answer, just dumping some tasks on her. For us, investigating the case isn't really important; obtaining the dragon's aura is the key."

The case isn't urgent; Chai Xian has been wrongly accused for so long anyway, he doesn't care about a little more time. But the monks Jingxin and Jingyuan are also in Xiangzhou, it's like having a tiger right under your nose.

The threat is far too great.

He had made a pact with the spirit of the pagoda: it was forbidden to use it against Buddhist School disciples, but it was allowed to protect itself, such as by retreating into the pagoda and using it to escape.

In other words, Xu Qi'an can at best maintain his undefeated record, but lacks the strength to fight head-on.

Under such circumstances, if Chai Xian were to meet Jing Xin and the others face to face, the fact that Chai Xian is the host of the dragon energy would absolutely not be kept secret.

Since the Buddhist School entered the Central Plains to collect dragon energy, they must have a way to identify the host of the dragon energy.

Therefore, what's truly urgent isn't the case itself, but finding Chai Xian.

"By the way, how's the nine-colored lotus root cultivation going?"

Mu Nanzhi gave a proud "humph," turned her head to the side, and raised her chin. "Within three months, it will be fully mature, and in another three months, it will produce lotus seeds."

As expected of the reincarnation of the Flower Goddess, progress is quite fast. The lotus seeds aren't urgent; let's cut the lotus root and give it to that old scoundrel from the martial arts alliance to help him break through and reach the second rank. Xu Qi'an nodded in satisfaction and added:

"In a few days, the Imperial Advisor might come to see me; she has some business to attend to. I might have to leave with her for a few days then."

Upon hearing this, Mu Nanzhi turned her head and frowned. "What?"

"It's about getting things done."

"Um?"

"It's just about getting things done, didn't I tell you?" Xu Qi'an lowered his head and drank his tea.

Mu Nanzhi looked at him suspiciously and muttered, "So mysterious. Just tell me what it is. She's not someone you can easily get along with, but I have an excellent relationship with her and can mediate between you two."

"Ah, this, Your Highness, let's try this after we've all gotten to know each other better," Xu Qi'an casually brushed off, then changed the subject.

I'm going out for a bit.

Xu Qi'an changed into an ordinary cotton robe and left the inn.

He planned to instigate Chai Xian to confront Chai Xing'er at the Demon Slaying Conference. Chai Xian would definitely not appear in True Person, but would most likely manipulate walking corpses. However, there are distance limitations to manipulating walking corpses.

Given Xu Qi'an's current range of perception of dragon energy, he only needs to ride the Floating Pagoda to look down from the air and easily find Chai Xian's hiding place.

Chai Mansion.

Buddhist School the courtyard where Buddhist monks stayed, Chai Xing'er took a sip of tea, put down the teacup, and turned her head to say:

"Master Jingxin, we hope you can step forward to uphold justice at tomorrow's Demon-Slaying Assembly and call on righteous people to join forces to eradicate Chai Xian, this ungrateful wretch."

Zhangzhou was one of the granaries of the Great Feng. Although there were some poorer places like Xiangzhou, the area was generally well-off.

It is well known that the more prosperous a place is, the weaker its people tend to be in combat. The poorer and more inhospitable a place is, the more likely it is to produce unruly and treacherous people.

In addition, the imperial court attached great importance to Zhangzhou's grain-producing areas and deliberately suppressed Jianghu forces and prevented the birth of large-scale Jianghu gangs.

As a result, Martial Dao in Zhangzhou has never flourished, and fourth-rank masters are extremely rare.

"We, who have been traveling through the Central Plains, are deeply saddened by the recent events in Xiangzhou."

Jingxin said slowly, "It's a pity that the Great Feng Dynasty forbids Buddhist School from spreading its teachings, which has led to constant natural disasters and man- Great Feng calamities, causing immense suffering to the people and widespread displacement."

The two monks standing beside him put their hands together and chanted a Buddhist prayer in a low voice, as if to say that this was the truth.

If the Great Feng had allowed Buddhist School to spread in the Central Plains earlier, the world wouldn't have become so turbulent.

After chatting for a few more minutes, Chai Xing'er took her leave.

Jingyuan said, "This case is quite suspicious. Chai Xian's actions are contradictory. Senior brother, could you use the precepts to question Chai Xing'er?"

"You also suspect it's her?" Jingxin smiled.

"Investigating cases is not difficult for us. Xu Qi'an is known as a genius at solving cases in Great Feng, but he only uses strange and ingenious tricks," Jingyuan said proudly.

Jingxin nodded, and then said:

"If we were to question Chai Xing'er now, and she is the one who killed the person, what should we do? If she has already taken control of the entire Chai household, then our actions would be tantamount to making enemies of the Chai household. If we are to question her according to the rules, we should do so at tomorrow's Demon-Slaying Assembly."

"Furthermore, I will not act rashly before I have met Chai Xian. You should all remember this."

Seeing that the young monks seemed to understand but mostly looked confused, the martial monk Jingyuan laughed and explained to Jingxin:

"What Chai Xing'er said earlier about Chai Xian's inexplicable and rapid progress in cultivation is quite interesting. I was eager to have my senior brother test him with the precepts so that I could find out the reason."

"If what she said is true, then Chai Xian is very likely the host of dragon energy. But if she is lying, now is not the best time to fall out; tomorrow will be a better time."

Following his memory, Xu Qi'an arrived at the small village, and then at the house where Chai Xian had hidden the previous night.

The men in the family had gone out to work. In the yard, a young woman was hanging clothes to dry, and a girl of about ten years old was picking vegetable leaves.

The mother and daughter were somewhat nervous and wary upon seeing the unfamiliar visitors.

The young woman hesitated for a moment, then said in slang, "Who are you looking for?"

Xu Qi'an asked, "Can you speak Mandarin?"

I would say I learned from the village scholar.

The little girl said with a hint of pride.

She was wearing a worn-out cotton-padded coat with many patches on it, and her complexion was somewhat sallow, probably due to malnutrition.