Chapter 38

Mount Taishan Sect elder Gao Ling has been feeling uneasy for the past few days.

The Sect Leader's direct disciple went into demonic deviation while practicing, her internal Qi went wrong and broke her heart pulse, and she died in the quiet room. Her family hadn't even seen the body before she was buried in a hurry, and the sect was in an uproar.

This female disciple was beautiful, had excellent Wu Gong, and a kind personality; she had quite a reputation in the sect and had a good relationship with her.

At first, she thought it was this matter that disturbed her state of mind.

But she used internal cultivation, sat in meditation to adjust her state of mind, and after a few days, there was still no improvement. Her heart felt stuffy, as if a mountain rain was about to come, pressing her so hard she couldn't breathe.

She wanted to go down the mountain to Taian City to walk around and get some air; maybe there would be improvement.

Gao Ling is forty-five years old this year and is a famous female expert in the Qilu region. When she was young, she had a strong personality and hated evil like an enemy, killing many evil people in the Jianghu, and her reputation was not small.

It's just that she never married in her life, and after she got older, her personality gradually became gentle, only practicing Wu Gong and teaching disciples in the sect, so not many people know her now.

She disguised herself, went down the mountain alone, and found a tavern in Taian City to eat.

Halfway through the meal, Gao Ling heard a few Jianghu people at the next table, who were drinking and chatting about Jianghu anecdotes with great interest.

"A few days ago, the Embroidered Uniform Guard found trouble with the Mount Taishan Sect... did you go to see it?"

"Saw it, saw it, good guy, originally thought Fei Junxuan was the end of it, who knew Zuo Lishan would come down the mountain to fight himself, and still didn't win!"

"Who exactly is that Embroidered Uniform Guard? Everyone has been asking for the past few days, and there is no news at all. When did the imperial court hide a supreme expert? Even Sect Leader Zuo is not his opponent; I really don't know how he practiced."

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard came to the door single-handedly, and the Sect Leader came down the mountain himself and didn't win; the Mount Taishan Sect is going to suffer."

"Originally thought of coming to see the excitement of the Five Mountains Alliance meeting, but in this situation, it's better for us to stay away. The imperial court's eagles and dogs strike hard and heavy; don't get us all involved."

"Yes, yes. Life is the most important."

Several people didn't avoid others and chatted wantonly.

When Li Miao came to find trouble with Fei Junxuan, he was swaggering through the city, intending to make it known to everyone. Fei Junxuan was forced to go to the restaurant to buy food and come back; the Jianghu people present at the time all saw it.

And the fight between Zuo Lishan and Li Miao the next day, the Jianghu people were near the Mount Taishan Sect and had to give Zuo Lishan some face, so they didn't go up to watch, just looked from a distance.

They didn't see Zuo Lishan's injuries and didn't know how miserably Zuo Lishan lost. But his back as he fled in embarrassment, these people all saw clearly.

This matter was already known to everyone in Taian City.

Gao Ling was anxious, no longer cared about hiding her identity, and walked directly to the table with her sword.

"Tell me in detail about what you just said."

"Who the hell are you!?"

In her anxiety, Gao Ling didn't speak politely, and her tone was not good. One of the Jianghu people felt uncomfortable and looked up at Gao Ling with a mixed attitude.

It was a coincidence; Gao Ling hadn't walked in the Jianghu for many years, her reputation was still there, but not many people recognized her. Coincidentally, this one recognized her.

This person felt familiar at a glance, and after looking carefully, his face stiffened, revealing an awkward smile: "High... Heroine Gao..."

They were gossiping behind people's backs, not to mention being caught by the main person, and it was a character they couldn't afford to offend.

This person knew he was in the wrong, plus Gao Ling's Wu Gong was far higher than theirs, so he spoke softly and told Gao Ling in detail about what happened in the past few days.

The more Gao Ling heard, the more frightened she became.

Fei Junxuan's life and death unknown?

Embroidered Uniform Guard came to the door?

Sect Leader lost?

Why did no one in the sect mention these things?

She suddenly knew the reason for her panic these past few days—Zuo Lishan hadn't appeared for several days. His female disciple died strangely, but her family didn't have any movement.

Zuo Lishan's few confidants hadn't been seen for several days, and the group of disciples responsible for purchasing in Taian City didn't know where they had gone.

She vaguely sensed that something was wrong, but couldn't form a concrete concept. Under the uneasiness, her internal Qi was agitated and couldn't be calmed down.

The top priority is to return to the sect to check Zuo Lishan's situation. He hadn't appeared for several days; was he seriously injured?

Gao Ling stood up, didn't care about riding a horse, directly used light-body techniques with all her strength, and returned to the Mount Taishan Sect rapidly.

Back in the sect, she also knew she couldn't make a sound, directly found the small courtyard where Zuo Lishan lived, and knocked on the door heavily: "Sect Leader!"

"Gao Ling requests an audience!"

"Sect Leader!"

There was no response in the room.

This is not the time to pay attention to etiquette; Gao Ling gritted her teeth, kicked open the courtyard door, and walked quickly toward the main room.

She pushed the door and entered; there was no one in the room.

Gao Ling turned around in the room; the Mount Taishan Sect is on the mountainside, usually windy, and there were some fallen leaves rolled in from the window, it seems no one has lived there for two or three days.

She searched around and found some women's clothes; she brought them to her face and looked, they looked familiar.

It was the dead female disciple's; Gao Ling had seen her wear them, how could they appear in Zuo Lishan's bedroom?

Gao Ling remembered some bad rumors she had heard before, her face changed, she put the clothes back in the distance, and closed the cabinet door.

Master-disciple illicit affair, against human ethics.

If such a thing happened to the Mount Taishan Sect Leader, if it spread out, the people of the Mount Taishan Sect would be afraid to lift their heads in the Jianghu in the future.

However, this is not the time to care about this matter.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard came to the door with great fanfare, Zuo Lishan disappeared after being defeated, and the Mount Taishan Sect was already on the verge of disaster. Must first pass the current matter, and then discuss other things later.

Gao Ling turned and walked toward the quiet room where Zuo Lishan practiced.

Zuo Lishan has practiced internal cultivation in the quiet room every morning for more than ten years, and everyone in the sect knows this habit of his.

Gao Ling walked to the door of the quiet room, held her breath, and listened carefully to see if there was any sound inside.

She was afraid that Zuo Lishan was inside using internal Qi to warm his injuries, and if she rushed in, it would not be good if Zuo Lishan went into demonic deviation.

Gao Ling listened for a while, there was no breathing sound inside, it should be empty.

Only then did she push the door and walk in.

As soon as she entered the door, Gao Ling smelled a strong smell of blood.

The quiet room is not big, the walls were built thick for soundproofing, and there were no windows, the smell accumulated inside and didn't dissipate for a long time.

Gao Ling looked carefully with the sunlight outside the door.

In a corner of the quiet room, there was a piece of dried blood on the ground, which had turned black and had been there for some time.

Next to the blood was a broken floor tile, and next to the floor tile were some fragments, looking like a jar.

Gao Ling walked up and picked up a fragment, which was heavily stained with blood. She reached out and wiped it, picked up a strand of long hair from the dried blood, which was still stained with some minced meat.

Just at this moment, she heard footsteps in the courtyard behind her.

(End of chapter)