Chapter 114: Another Murder Case in the Outer Sect

For a moment, Lingxiang felt extremely awkward. It was easy enough to dismiss Rendong just now, as she had given him a benefit, but how was she to brush off Long Qi?

She shifted her body, feeling entirely ill at ease; the books laid out on the table now seemed glaringly unbearable.

After all, she was an Elder of the sect; to be caught in such a compromising position was, in any case, rather wretched...

Just as Lingxiang was struggling with how to speak, Long Qi began to talk.

"The fan you made for him with your own hands?"

"Mm..." Lingxiang replied, looking somewhat puzzled. "Of course I made it myself. You can see the items on the table haven't even been tidied away yet."

This silly girl, could she not understand his underlying meaning?

Long Qi couldn't help but sigh: "Then why did you only make one for him and not for me? Could it be that you are biased to such an extent?"

Hm? Biased? When had she ever been biased?

"Do you think these fans are blown in by the wind? Just to make this one, I spent three Gathering Spirit Pills to acquire these materials; it's not something I can just make on a whim. Besides, this is a magical tool made for Rendong. You already have the Seven-Star Longyuan, what do you need a fan for?"

Hearing this, Long Qi stood up at once.

"But that was made by your own hands, and you just gave it to an outsider like him?"

An outsider?

"What outsider? He is my direct disciple, how is he an outsider? What is wrong with a master making a handy magical tool for her disciple!?"

Eh? Why was she defending herself like this? She was the master!

"I have never received anything made by your own hands, yet you made it so easy for him?"

"How was it easy for him? Why don't you trade your family heirloom Seven-Star Longyuan with him!" Lingxiang suddenly felt a surge of anger from nowhere, sat with her arms crossed, and turned her head away, refusing to look at Long Qi.

Long Qi stared at Lingxiang, and after a long while, he sighed: "You little girl, why are you so dense! Sigh..."

She was dense? What did he mean by she was dense?

Lingxiang was just about to retort when she saw Long Qi pick up a book from the table and look at her.

"I almost forgot about this. This book of yours..."

Lingxiang snatched it away, grabbed the other books on the table in a heap, and stuffed them all into her bedding.

"I... as a member of the Daoist Sect, it is only natural to research various types of books. Moreover, this concerns the cycle of life and death of mortals in Chenjian. So what if I am studying it?"

"Oh?" Long Qi narrowed his eyes, tugged at his robe collar, and slowly leaned toward Lingxiang.

Seeing this, Lingxiang wanted to retreat, but she was already sitting on the bed. In her heart, she felt like a rabbit whose ears had been caught: "You... what do you want..."

"Since you want to research, how can you only study books? Why not..."

Long Qi kept closing in. Seeing him reach the edge of the bed, Lingxiang hurriedly shrank back, but Long Qi had already braced one hand on the bed, and the two were now face-to-face, very close.

It was at this moment that Maidong hummed a little tune and entered the room.

"Lingxiang! What have you been doing these past few days that you can't show anyone, you even..."

The word "even" stuck in her throat for a long time without a follow-up. She saw her eyes widen, staring at the room, and her mouth dropped open so wide that three steamed buns could have been stuffed inside!

"Lingxiang! You! You actually went behind my back! And... and..."

Maidong's face flushed red; she couldn't get the rest of her words out, stammering as she pointed at Lingxiang. Long Qi had already fled like the wind, and no one knew what the two had said in the room later.

Just now, he had only wanted to scare Lingxiang; having such a thing caught in the act, how could he dare to stay in the room any longer!

He was also...

Extremely embarrassed!

Maidong asked questions all the way, annoying Lingxiang to no end. Even after she explained it to her, Maidong remained relentless, her mind filled with the vulgar tropes of those Chenjian storybooks.

"I told you there was nothing. If you keep digging like this, do you expect me to make up a story for you?" Lingxiang said to Maidong while walking briskly.

"Nothing? You two were already on the bed, and you still say nothing? Do you take me for a three-year-old child?" Maidong shot a glance at Lingxiang, then fell into her own infinite reverie.

Lingxiang was helpless. It seemed she would have to find a day to talk to the Sixth Senior Brother. A perfectly good disciple had been spoiled by him to this extent; would anyone want her in the future? Was she really expected to stay by his side and be a nun for the rest of her life?

As the two tugged at each other, they finally arrived outside Wuji Hall. Lingxiang finally breathed a sigh of relief; Maidong could not enter Wuji Hall without being summoned. This Eldest Senior Brother was also something—if he wanted to send a message, he could have just sent a Paper Crane Letter, yet he insisted on making this ancestor run to Xianyun Abode. She wasn't even his own disciple, yet he ordered her around as if it were only natural.

The various Elders were all in the hall, all with grave expressions. Lingxiang was puzzled; she had only taken Shoucheng out of the mountain gate in the middle of the night, could it be that she had broken another sect rule?

Hah~ she had broken so many sect rules since she was a child, she figured one more wouldn't matter!

Lingxiang walked onto the Hunyuan Platform and stood still, but the group of Elders remained silent. Shangqing Zhenren still had his eyes closed.

This was strange. Leaving the mountain gate in the middle of the night was at most a violation of the curfew; did they have to be so cold and stern one by one...

"Uh..." She tugged at the sleeve of Danzhu Zhenren beside her and asked in a low voice: "Eighth Senior Brother, what is going on? Why is everyone so serious?"

Danzhu Zhenren sighed, shaking his head to signal her not to speak, and to wait quietly for the Sect Leader.

Hearing him say this, Lingxiang had no choice but to pout and stand there waiting for Shangqing Zhenren to speak.

After waiting for a long time, before Shangqing Zhenren could speak, Qianyuan Zhenren cleared his throat and began.

"What do you fellow junior brothers think should be done about this matter?"

What? Lingxiang was completely bewildered. They hadn't even heard her defense yet, and they were already going to reach a verdict?

"This... I haven't even explained myself yet. For you Senior Brothers to convict me like this, I'm afraid it's not quite appropriate..." Lingxiang said with a guilty conscience.

Hearing this, Shangqing Zhenren opened his eyes and stared at Lingxiang, wondering what he was thinking. Fuyin Zhenren glanced at her and muttered to himself: Every time this Junior Sister broke a sect rule and was punished, it was always just a formality on the surface; when had she ever really been punished? He had received plenty of nagging from the Sect Leader Senior Brother because of this.

"Cough!" Qianyuan Zhenren cleared his throat: "Junior Sister has been in seclusion for the past two days and just arrived, so I'm afraid you don't know what has happened. On the second day after you went to the Ancient Bamboo Forest, another Outer Disciple was murdered."

"What?!" Lingxiang was shocked, "Another Outer Disciple died?"

Qianyuan Zhenren shook his head and sighed, and Chengxin Zhenren added: "The one who died this time is Yuanhui..."

Lingxiang was even more horrified upon hearing this. She had seen Yuanhui just a few days ago. That child was even younger than Wuyang, and she had practically watched him grow up. Small in stature, he was always smiling and never held grudges against anyone; how could he have been harmed by someone!?

"Senior Brother, you aren't joking, are you... Yuanhui grew up in the sect since he was a child and had never left the mountain gate. How could he have been murdered?" Lingxiang still refused to believe it. Who could be so cruel as to lay a hand on such a small child?

Zhaoming Zhenren heard this and angrily struck the railing of the Hunyuan Platform, cursing the beast and the like, his face full of regret.

That was the last disciple of the 'Yuan' generation. It was only because Yuanhui was too young that the various Elders had not taken him under their tutelage, intending to let him gain some experience first.

That child's disposition is truly excellent!