Chapter 454: The Strange Death

Chen Shanmeng has been in charge of the Dali Temple for many years; what kind of strange and bizarre cases has he not seen? To tell the truth, the position of Minister of the Court of Judicial Review is not one that just anyone can hold, but at this moment, his brows were knitted into a 'chuan' character.

The broken part of the stirrup was covered in dense, tiny holes, and those holes were finer than a strand of hair.

Such dense and slender tiny holes could only be made by using internal energy refined to the peak of precision.

Moreover, a master of the Inner Breath Realm could absolutely not do it. Because, Inner Breath cannot yet achieve such slenderness. However, both True Qi and Qi Refining can achieve it; as long as one has attained the realm of Entering Micro, one can make such tiny holes on a stirrup.

Chen Shanmeng was already at the Great Perfection of the True Qi Realm; he could also make such tiny holes. Because, True Qi is far more slender and dense than Inner Breath, which is also why True Qi can force out poison.

Assuming it was some master of the True Qi Realm or Qi Refining Realm who made such dense tiny holes in this stirrup, then what was his intention?

Chen Shanmeng's expression was grave, unable to fathom the connections for a moment.

It couldn't just be to make Li Shensi look bad during the hunt, could it?

Chen Shanmeng raised his eyes to look at Li Shensi again. Li Shensi was sitting under a large tree resting, and his deputy had just brought a water bag to give him some water. His pale complexion seemed to have recovered slightly, but his spirit was clearly still very listless.

Chen Shanmeng walked over and asked in a slow voice, "Lord Li, with your skill, even if this stirrup suddenly broke, you shouldn't have fallen off the horse. What exactly happened just now?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shensi's expression was blank for a moment, and he just looked up at Chen Shanmeng in a daze, as if he hadn't even remembered what happened just now until Chen Shanmeng brought it up.

"Just now... at the very moment the stirrup broke, there was a sudden, intense stabbing pain in my skull, as if something had pierced into my head..."

"A sudden stabbing pain?"

Chen Shanmeng was secretly shocked, drew a cold breath, his eyes shifted, and he thought to himself: "Could it be a Soul Technique!?"

He stepped back a few paces and looked around; rugged mountains and dense forests, the rustling of leaves—where was there any sign of a person?

"Was there an assassination?" He could be almost certain that the tiny holes in the broken part of the stirrup in his hand were definitely made by a master of the Qi Refining Realm, or perhaps even a master of the Qi Cyclone Realm!

Li Shensi had only been in office for two months, and how did his predecessor, Zhu Shizhong, die!

This was clearly another political assassination between two opposing factions!

Chen Shanmeng was worthy of being the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review; peeling the cocoon and drawing the silk, his logical thinking was interlinked.

At this moment, his eyes flickered, and the thoughts in his heart churned like a tide.

Since that master hiding nearby had already used a Soul Technique, why didn't he kill Li Shensi just now? Although Li Shensi was pale and listless, he seemed to have no major issues.

Chen Shanmeng suddenly felt as if he had caught a glimpse of a whirlpool, being stirred deeper and deeper...

He suddenly let out a long sigh; since it was a political whirlpool of two sides fighting, he could not get trapped in it.

He originally did not belong to the camp of either side. Since the matter before him was not an ordinary case, but a political whirlpool of two sides fighting, it was best for him not to intervene.

For these past few years, both he and Prefecture Master Wang Maochun had been following a strategy of not taking sides. Not only could they protect themselves, but the Prefectural Office would not be in chaos, and the Dali Temple would not be in chaos. No matter how fiercely the two sides fought, at the very least, Shenyun Prefecture would not fall into great disorder. This was also the reason why both sides could tolerate the fact that he and Wang Maochun never stated their positions.

Chen Shanmeng put the stirrup in his hand back onto the horse; he no longer intended to manage this matter. After putting the stirrup away, he walked over to Ge Hengtai and Jiang Zhuoyun. The two were standing there, looking at Li Shensi, who was sitting under the tree not far away, with somewhat unkind expressions.

As soon as Chen Shanmeng walked over, Ge Hengtai spoke up, "How is it? Lord Chen, did you discover any abnormalities?"

Chen Shanmeng shook his head and said, "Hand the broken stirrup over to the Privy Council for their own investigation later!"

Ge Hengtai said, "With his physique, plus the continuous wild galloping and shooting over a dozen large game, what is so strange about snapping a stirrup!?"

Chen Shanmeng looked at Ge Hengtai with a calm expression but did not speak.

Jiang Zhuoyun, who was standing beside Ge Hengtai, crossed his arms over his chest and said in a tone that was neither salty nor bland, "Lord Li Shensi, I'm afraid he has some chronic illness, right? Otherwise, it's just snapping a stirrup, how could he fall off the horse and end up like this?"

Upon hearing this, Ge Hengtai raised his eyes to glare at Li Shensi, who was resting under the tree not far away, and said coldly, "If you're sick, don't try to be a hero! Look at this mess, it's disturbed us so we can't hunt to our heart's content."

Ge Hengtai was quite fond of hunting and indulging his passions; Li Shensi's incident had indeed disturbed his interest.

Chen Shanmeng, however, smiled and said, "This doesn't matter! There are still two days tomorrow and the day after, Lord Ge can still ride to his heart's content."

As Chen Shanmeng spoke, he looked toward Li Shensi with deep eyes, thinking to himself: Does Lord Li really have a chronic illness?

He felt that Jiang Zhuoyun's suggestion also had a certain rationality, but with his intuition from handling criminal cases for many years, this was only a superficial rationality.

Superficial rationality is usually not the truth, but rather a fog.

Just now, at the moment Li Shensi screamed and fell off his horse, the soldiers who were originally surrounding the rhinoceros all rushed toward the unconscious Li Shensi.

That huge gray rhinoceros took the opportunity to rush into the dense forest.

It was startled and its speed was very fast, fearing that it would be caught up by those people behind it again.

With such a sturdy body, the rhinoceros running at high speed was simply like a high-speed tank.

Just at this moment, a figure flashed not far in front of the rhinoceros.

It was actually Duan Rong, who had leaped down from the nearby tree canopy.

The place where Duan Rong landed was only four or five feet away from the rhinoceros, and the rhinoceros was running at high speed. The sharp black horn on its head flashed with cold light, and it looked like it was about to pierce Duan Rong's abdomen.

Duan Rong, however, flicked one hand, and without any visible movement, he had already tightly gripped the sharp black horn on the rhinoceros's head.

The huge rhinoceros, running at high speed, paused and stopped in front of him, plowing two deep pits in the ground in front of Duan Rong, turning up soil that buried Duan Rong's feet.

The moment the rhinoceros was held down by Duan Rong, Duan Rong's sleeve shook, and a handful of Medicine Powder was scattered into the mouth and nose of the huge gray rhinoceros. In just an instant, the huge gray rhinoceros collapsed to the ground, motionless.

Duan Rong suddenly bent down and reached out, lifting the huge gray rhinoceros with one hand, and then his whole body drifted away like flying snow or falling leaves, disappearing into the depths of the dense forest...

The huge rhinoceros held in Duan Rong's hand seemed as light as nothing.

Meanwhile, the hunting ceremony had already ended.

Led by the honor guard, the crowd, carrying the harvest from the Autumn Hunt, marched in a grand procession toward the Heavenly Altar at the mountain peak.

Li Shensi was still pale and listless; his Divine Soul was injured, how could it be so easy to recover?

He could no longer ride a horse and had to be carried on the back of his deputy.

Ge Hengtai sat on his horse, looking at Li Shensi with a disdainful expression.

When the crowd reached the top of Wuji Mountain, the sound of horns at the Heavenly Altar had already started; those were the horns of preparation. Half an hour later, the Sacrifice to Heaven ceremony would begin.

Around the Heavenly Altar, there was a circle of heavy-armored guards with swords.

Outside the heavy-armored guards, there was another circle of soldiers holding long spears.

Outside the two layers of guards were the common people, packed densely and connected in a sheet, covering almost the entire mountain-top platform. Especially near the Heavenly Altar, it was the most crowded, like a beehive. Toward the outermost edge, it was slightly looser, but the people there were already not far from the edge of the cliff; if they crowded and pushed any more, someone might fall off.

Seeing the hunting team coming up from the hunting grounds on the mountainside, the crowd of onlookers cheered. When they saw the carts and carts of large game behind the honor guard and the officials, the cheers resounded even more through the mountains and fields.

As the hunting team came up, officials from the Prefecture Government Office immediately came over to take away the carts of game, preparing to arrange them in batches on the Heavenly Altar.

Atop the Heavenly Altar stands a massive incense burner, and at this moment, three tall, clear incense sticks are already inserted into it. On the bronze table before the incense burner, all kinds of fruits have been laid out.

But these fruits are merely secondary offerings, not the primary ones. The primary offerings are the prey freshly shot within the hunting grounds.

In the vast space on the Heavenly Altar behind the incense burner, empty bronze tables are set out, and the clerks and bailiffs of the Prefecture Government Office are moving prey from the hunting carts and carrying them to the bronze tables behind the incense burner.

Meanwhile, Prefecture Master Wang Maochun is making a final check of the various preparations for the ceremony; aside from the primary prey offerings, all other items are in place. Zhu Zhengfu stands at Wang Maochun's side, though his mind seems elsewhere, his eyes constantly scanning the surroundings. He has long known what Duan Rong intends to do at this Autumn Hunt Sacrifice to Heaven Grand Ceremony.

As soon as the hunting party arrived, he searched everywhere, but he never saw Li Shensi among the ranks of officials. He wonders to himself: has Duan Rong already made his move?

Just then, he sees Chen Shanmeng, Ge Hengtai, and Jiang Zhuoyun walking toward them.

Upon seeing the three of them approach, Wang Maochun immediately goes to meet them, smiling: "Three officials, I see the prey is abundant; surely the three of you have also had a bountiful harvest today!"

As Wang Maochun speaks, he sweeps his gaze over them and asks in confusion: "Eh, why do I not see Official Li Shensi? Didn't I hear him say he wanted to outdo Official Chen on the hunting grounds and take first place among the civil officials?"

Chen Shanmeng's expression changes slightly, and he says: "Prefecture Master, Official Li has had a bit of an accident."

"An accident?!"

Upon hearing this, both Wang Maochun and Zhu Zhengfu are startled! Especially Zhu Zhengfu, who, upon hearing the word "accident," thinks that Li Shensi must already be dead.

Chen Shanmeng says: "While hunting on the grounds, Official Li Shensi accidentally fell from his horse and was unconscious for a time."

"Fell from his horse and was unconscious for a time?" Wang Maochun and Zhu Zhengfu both repeat in surprise.

Their reactions appear similar, yet their thoughts at this moment are completely different.

Wang Maochun feels that an accidental fall from a horse is understandable; after all, it is hunting, and they are in the mountains and forests, so it is normal for some accidents to occur. But Li Shensi is a Martial Artist of the True Qi Realm Fourth Layer; how could a mere fall from a horse lead to something as serious as being unconscious for a time?

What Zhu Zhengfu thinks is the exact opposite. He is surprised that it was merely a fall from a horse and a period of unconsciousness. Is the man not dead?

Just then, the Deputy has already carried Li Shensi over on his back.

The Deputy squats down, Li Shensi gets off his back, and he cups his hands to greet Wang Maochun and the others.

While returning the salute, Wang Maochun looks at Li Shensi and sees that his face is pale and his eyes are listless.

Chen Shanmeng says: "Prefecture Master Wang, Official Li has had an accident and his spirit seems somewhat lacking. The rituals of the Sacrifice to Heaven are quite cumbersome, and I worry that Official Li will not be able to hold up."

Wang Maochun's expression is also grave, and he says in a low voice: "It is already too late to make adjustments. In a while, when the ceremony begins, we shall help Official Li more and remind him often."

Chen Shanmeng turns his head to glance at the Heavenly Altar, seeing that the bronze tables behind the incense burner are now filled with prey—tigers, wolves, bears, and leopards—pressed into the central positions on all sides.

Chen Shanmeng sighs slightly: "That is all we can do."

Li Shensi then trembles slightly in the mountain wind and cups his hands again: "I trouble you, fellow officials!"

Their discussion pauses, and before long, a deep, melodious horn sounds once more.

The civil and military officials then return to their respective positions according to the previously designated spots.

Prefecture Master Wang Maochun and the One Command Four Ministers stand at the very front of the civil and military officials; at this moment, they are already holding the three clear incense sticks given to them by the bailiffs.

Atop the mountain peak, the clear smoke curls and is scattered by the mountain wind!

As the horns and drums sound, the ritual officer's sharp voice pierces the clouds!

"Heaven creates all things to nourish man!"

"Kneel!"

The civil and military officials, holding the three clear incense sticks, kneel down in unison!

"Offer incense!"

There are three waves of incense offering in total; the civil and military officials still hold their incense, but Prefecture Master Wang Maochun and the One Command Four Ministers have already stepped forward in unison, walking up the stone steps toward the Heavenly Altar.

The incense in their hands is offered on behalf of all officials and the common people!

There are three waves of incense offering, each with its own significance. Every time, they must insert the incense in their hands into the incense burner atop the Heavenly Altar; this is the ritual!

Prefecture Master Wang Maochun and the One Command Four Ministers, six people in total, dressed in neat official robes, slowly stand upon the Heavenly Altar; Li Shensi's footsteps are noticeably unsteady.

The six stand upon the Heavenly Altar!

At this moment, the watching commoners all look up at the Heavenly Altar.

They see the vastness of Heaven and the insignificance of man!

The ritual officer's sharp voice calls out again: "Kneel again!"

Following this, a deep horn sounds.

The six kneel down again amidst the melodious sound of the horn!

When they rise from their knees, they are to step forward and insert the incense in their hands into the burner.

Just as the six of them are prostrate on the Heavenly Altar, a massive black shadow suddenly flies up from the cliff on the other side of the altar!

Wuji Mountain has a gentle southern slope, but its northern side is a precipice.

The Heavenly Altar on the mountain peak faces south, with the steep cliff directly behind it.

That massive black shadow suddenly flies up from below the cliff and lands on the Heavenly Altar.

This strange and eerie scene is seen by all the watching commoners.

Although the six are on the Heavenly Altar, they are all prostrate, and they do not see the massive black shadow as it flies in.

"Bang!"

As the six kneel there, they hear a loud crash!

The massive black shadow that flew from the cliff actually smashes into the bronze incense burner on the Heavenly Altar before everyone's eyes, knocking the huge bronze burner over.

The incense ash inside the burner spills out instantly, and as the mountain wind howls, the entire Heavenly Altar is suddenly shrouded in what looks like clouds and mist.

Amidst the swirling smoke and ash, a massive black shadow stands proudly on the Heavenly Altar; it is that huge gray rhinoceros!

In the instant the smoke swirls, two flickering points of firelight flash through the dense, cloud-like haze.

One point of firelight sinks into the center of Li Shensi's brow just as he lifts his head. The other point of firelight sinks into the head of the gray rhinoceros.

At this moment, the entire Heavenly Altar is deathly silent; as the smoke clears, one can see that the eyes of the massive gray rhinoceros are blood-red, flashing with a bloody light.

This is the effect of the Medicine Powder Duan Rong sprinkled earlier; besides causing unconsciousness, Duan Rong had mixed in some medicine to make the rhinoceros's eyes burst with blood.

At this moment, the rhinoceros's eyes are terrifyingly red.

That rhinoceros stood there, its crimson gaze sweeping over the crowd.

If it were a normal wild rhinoceros, would it not be panicked and charging about at this moment, seeing itself surrounded by a dense throng of humans?

Yet the rhinoceros before them, under the gaze of the dark, pressing crowd, seemed not the least bit flustered; instead, it possessed an air of looking down upon the world, leisurely shaking its head.

Then, it suddenly turned its head, its crimson eyes fixing upon Li Shensi.

Li Shensi also stared blankly at it.

"Roar!"

The gray rhinoceros suddenly let out a great cry at Li Shensi; the rhinoceros's thick and resonant voice was like a broken drum, very harsh and unpleasant to the ear.

But Li Shensi suddenly walked forward in a daze, and the mountaintop fell into a deathly silence.

Wang Maochun and Chen Shanmeng both sensed something uncanny and called out softly behind him, "Lord Li!"

Li Shensi stopped blankly and slowly turned around; at this moment, his eyes were hollow as if they held nothing, and he suddenly twisted his face, clawing his official robe to shreds at his chest with both hands, leaving ten bloody marks, and then, like a madman, he looked up to the sky and screamed, "Li Shensi! Die! Die! Die!"

He screamed and suddenly turned, and by the time the third "die" left his lips, he had already leaped from the north side of the Heavenly Altar and jumped into the abyss.

The previously deathly silent Heavenly Altar immediately erupted with cries of alarm!

Just at this moment, that gray rhinoceros glanced at Wang Maochun and the others, and among the remaining five people, not a single one dared to move for a time.

That rhinoceros's crimson eyes, shimmering with blood-colored light, actually looked at them with a gaze full of cold disdain.

That was absolutely not the look of a rhinoceros!

"Roar!"

Just at this moment, that gray rhinoceros suddenly let out a roar toward the crowd that was crying out in alarm on one side of the Heavenly Altar.

Instantly, the crowd fell into chaos, with countless people trampled to death or injured!

At this moment, that gray rhinoceros suddenly turned and ran wildly, also leaping into the cliff from the north side of the Heavenly Altar.

The chaotic mountaintop once again fell into a deathly silence...

(End of this chapter)