The astonishment in Tao Zhi's eyes was no less.
I said nothing and showed no other expressions. Old Gong truly has the skill, as he even made arrangements for his backup.
Wu Bing indeed does not know about Xu's family.
He now realizes that Xu Nuo has died, and during this time, He You Tian, Old Gong, and I have been subtly implying that all the blame lies on Ma San's shoulders.
This shows even more clearly that behind the Xu family, there is a person in the shadows.
This confirms that this person is unrelated to Wu Bing.
Could it be that Ma San is the real culprit? He might have taken away Xu Fayin and Xu Nuo, as well as Qu's soul?
For a moment, I couldn't find an answer, but ultimately, the result in front of me wasn't too bad.
Wu Bing's last drop of blood must have been damaging his heart meridians.
As for the Master, I don't know what this means to him, but for those who study Daoism, a blocked heart causing vomiting of blood will lead to the birth of heart demons.
The heart demon is not just terrifying when facing the Three Demons' Labyrinth, but it also hinders progress in one's spiritual cultivation every day.
The elder numbered Ten Twenty Three went forward to collect the cadaveric skin and the fetus of darkness, wrapping it up with cloth once more. Tao Zhi walked over to the second elder's side, helping to support and assist Wu Ling.
"Appearances vary, senior brother," Si Yan suddenly said.
Her eyes scanned over Wu Ling with a look of aversion, more so without concealment.
I'm not sure if Si Yan noticed something and deliberately acted upon it, or if she merely felt an innate aversion.
The exposed expression made the second elder's face embarrassed, and the Ten Twenty Three elder also seemed somewhat uncomfortable.
"The incident, Wu Ling is indeed unaware of it, and his relationship with the woman is purely accidental. Once Wu Ling wakes up, he will certainly give you an answer." The second elder spoke in a deep voice.
"Second elder, you're overestimating it. Si Yan doesn't need any answer; I have no relationship with Wu Ling at all. It's just that I find his words don't match his actions or the things he does, and it makes people feel disgusted. I won't be deceived by him, and I don't want other sisters or elders in the sect to be deceived by him either. I hope the elders will not take sides on this matter." Si Yan's tone was very cold.
"……" The second elder's awkwardness and helplessness finally became evident.
……
There was a minor incident before going up the mountain. Xu Jin received a phone call, saying that the people of Ming Fang were about to arrive.
Two days on Mount Si Gui, we chased the lama for more than half a day, and spent half the night fighting and tidying up. It took another day to come back. Including the time Wu Ling and the second elder spent at his house, the seven days we initially spoke of had already passed by more than half. The arrival of the people from Ming Fang wasn't too early after all.
The second elder immediately gained momentum. He asked the Ten Twenty Three elder to arrange the disciples to carry Wu Ling first to the mountain, accompanied by Tao Zhi. They planned to follow us and Wu Ling to pick up the dead bodies of the Daoists, then proceed to the mountain together.
I won't speak much about it.
Si Yan still hasn't left, remaining by my side.
Of course, under Xu Jin's reminder, we left behind quite a number of disciples, only the ones carrying Wu Ling left.
The group waited at the town entrance for about two hours, and then a long line of cars arrived.
The people who got off were still a few familiar faces, and I couldn't quite remember where I had seen them at Ming Fang.
Every car was loaded with wrapped-up cadavers in white cloth, tightly bound.
Xu Jin went to communicate with them, and they then presented a single piece of paper, counted one cadaver, and allowed the disciples from Mount Si Gui to lead one out.
In the end, the number of cadavers was 39, with some not recovered.
This is sufficient to show that my parents indeed dug many graves back then, and some of the cadavers were even taken from around Mount Si Gui. This made the faces of Elders Twelve and Thirteen alternate between dark clouds and gentle skies, yet they couldn't possibly be angry at me.
The number of disciples in the Four Rules Town was not enough, so Xu Jin directed the people from Ming Fang to help carry the bodies up the mountain. This process goes without saying.
It was not until after noon the next day that we finally returned to the mountain gate.
Elders Twelve and Thirteen arranged the disciples to carry the bodies up to the Qingzhen Hall, and told the second elder to go to the Lingguan Hall, saying they would be there shortly.
The second elder coughed once and then said, "It's unnecessary for you to follow me. I'll rest at the Lingguan Hall on my own. Considering the time, people from various Daoist temples will arrive in one or two days. We need to make sure we are well-rested in order to properly welcome them."
"Second elder brother, you're still playing dumb while understanding the situation. Indeed, Si Yan and the others returned safely, indeed, the two lamas are dead, and indeed, you have done some meritorious work. But can merit and demerit really cancel each other out? How many people died in Four Rules Town? How many disciples died at the mountain gate?" Elder Twelve looked deeply at the second elder and shook his head. "You had better go directly to see Senior Brother One; he's waiting for you at the Lingguan Hall. Little junior brother, you should also go with them."
"You!" The second elder widened his eyes and looked at Elder Twelve.
Elder Thirteen remained silent.
I breathed out slightly in relief.
It can be seen from many aspects that the second elder is frantically trying to cover up the incident involving Four Rules Mountain, he has made many attempts, and indeed, he has managed to delay it until just before the arrival of the Daoist priests from various temples.
I feel that this will make it very difficult for He You Tian.
But I didn't expect He You Tian's attitude to be so firm!
For the past few days, he hasn't shown any signs of softening or finding it difficult!
The second elder's expression gradually turned ominous, and he walked straight towards the Lingguan Hall.
Elders Twelve and Thirteen followed Xu Jin and the others.
I and Si Yan followed the second elder.
We didn't get too close. The second elder's mood was not as calm and composed as before, with more ups and downs, I'm afraid he will jump the wall.
Shortly thereafter, we arrived at the Lingguan Hall.
There is a forest outside the Lingguan Hall, which looks verdant and lush.
At this moment, the trees were covered with white silk threads, exuding a sense of oppression and deathly silence.
Outside the Lingguan Hall, many bodies were lying on the ground.
In fact, I have seen many corpses throughout my life, but looking at the corpses of Four Rules disciples makes me feel stuffy and oppressed, hard to conceal.
He You Tian was facing away from all of us. He was kneeling.
Kneeling with his back towards us, facing the statue inside the Lingguan Hall.
By his side, there were many elders who had also knelt down and had not yet stood up.
There were many disciples in the hall who had been standing for a long time, and their faces were all pale and fatigued without exception.
The number of bodies was approximately twenty to twenty-seven, with the bodies of the lamas in the front.
The lamas who were brought back by us had already been sent here beforehand.
The second elder's expression changed, tightening up greatly, his eyelids kept twitching, and his eyes radiated confusion and unease.
"This... How is this possible? Could there have been an encounter with enemies at the mountain gate? Could there be hidden lamas? Clearly... There should only have been a few disciples killed, at most a dozen or so, how could there be so many?!"
"This... Impossible!"
The second elder's tone was full of heavy suspicion and a slight tremble, he shook his head violently as if he thought what he saw was an illusion.
Si Yan's tears burst forth.
I closed my eyes and fell to the ground with a loud thud!
He You Tian stood up, turned around, but looked at the second elder, saying nothing, his expression was only cold and dead silence.
"You seem to be aware of the losses at the mountain gate, but have you not thought that the injured disciples might have died from their wounds? These lamas also released a large amount of poison."
"Older brother, I heard that the disciples who went up the mountain earlier said that you think you have accomplished something? Is that true?" He You Tian asked without a tone.
