Stay vigilant for four sweeps, there is no one in sight.
The phone fell to the ground, the screen broke, displaying the phone book, and the number has not been dialed.
But this sudden change of events still makes it impossible to linger here for long.
I hesitated slightly but did not immediately retreat. I crouched down and tore the cloth off the man's body, quickly wrapping it around the broken end of his wrist, pressing down on the blood vessels. The bleeding stopped.
Drawning a sword, I quickly scraped several times at the ground soil and fallen leaves, covering the bloodstains. Then, I lifted the man and walked to the nearest room I had visited earlier.
After entering, I will use my means to wake him up.
His face was filled with pain, and his gaze at me was tinged with a touch of terror. He was about to scream in agony.
I raised the copper sword, the tip of the blade pressing against his throat. He shuddered and dared not make a sound. Only small beads of sweat continued to roll down his forehead.
"Did Ding Rui pu really die?" I asked in a deep voice.
"What kind of person are you!" His forehead veins bulged with each word, his gaze shifting slightly, but his answer was unrelated.
After spending a long time with Lao Gong and encountering many other gentlemen, I know that this person is thinking of some kind of plot.
The copper sword was driven further in, piercing his skin, and another bead of blood oozed out.
"Grandma... she did indeed die suddenly... Don't kill me..." His voice trembled as he said, "The Ding family has always done good deeds and charities, supported justice, and has never had enemies. If you kill me, all the temples on the roads will not let you off. My grandma was well-connected with a large number of gentlemen... From the celestial realms to the infernal realms, you can't escape!"
I furrowed my brow again, but I did not pay attention to his threats. Instead, I asked, "What about the county of Yundu before that? Did the Ding family commit any murders or causing harm in Jianyang? Why did you move from Jianyang to Yundu?"
My words directly revealed everything.
The young man's face went numb, and his gaze at me was even more filled with shock.
"Who are you? You... you are Luo Xian Shen!? No, no, Luo Xian Shen is not like this!"
His words made me even more heart-stirred and alarmed.
He actually knows who I am and knows what I look like.
This means that the Ding family has been quietly paying attention to me.
Yes! Since Ding Rui pu dared to take away the body of the old Qin, he must have precautions. I am a disciple of the old Qin, and they will definitely be careful.
Then, could it be that the man we encountered at the foot of the mountain had also recognized my presence long ago?
Then, Ding Rui pu's death, is it really just a coincidence?
She should have known that I came before she died!
The thoughts in my mind raced rapidly, understanding the problem at hand. It still came back to the same question, is Ding Rui pu really dead?
The gentlemen of Yutai Dao and Wangjie Dao should have already reacted if Ding Rui pu was pretending to be dead...
"Are you really Luo Xian Shen?" The young man's forehead was dripping with sweat.
"Where is old Qin's body?" I no longer denied it and asked directly.
But the young man's eyes looked confused and uneasy: "What did you say? The corpse of Qin Weizi? I don't know..."
"Wasn't he dead a long time ago? Grandma told us to try our best to avoid any further connection with you. You are a disciple of Qin Weizi. The entanglement between her and Qin Weizi ended a long time ago. She was just afraid that Qin Weizi would never be satisfied even after death, and she wanted to drive us Ding family into complete despair and have you come and kill people..."
My pupils shrank once more.
Is it only because of this reason that he is afraid of me?
At this moment, the time point is not right. Whether he lies or not, without Lao Gong's presence, I cannot tell.
"Luo Xian Shen... the things from years ago, we were not involved in. You were not involved in it either. It was the entanglement between Qin Weiwei and Grandma, their personal grudges. Ding family paid the price back then. Today, you have indeed become the little master of the four norms mountain, with a reputation that extends far and wide. There is no need to harm our Ding family or become an enemy with yin-yang masters! Moreover... Grandma passed away yesterday. The light of life is extinguished. Why should the hatred of ancestors continue to this day?" The young man was still trying to explain to me while enduring pain.
The things we are talking about are completely different.
"Where is Ding Rui pu's room?" I asked again.
The young man trembled and said how to get to the current room.
Just as he finished speaking, I lifted my other hand and struck him on the forehead with a palm.
The young man fell limply to the ground. I silently watched for about a minute, my mind in turmoil.
To kill him...
Ding Rui pu killed the woman of the old Qin, and engaged in secret disputes with the old Qin. She is a despicable person with deadly and cruel methods.
Have the rest of the Ding family committed any evil?
If this person has not committed any wrongs, even if no one knows that I resorted to violence, the righteousness in my chest would not allow me to do so. It would be disrespectful to Master Swordsman's teachings and nurturing.
If I leave him alive, my secret entry here will be exposed.
After much thought, I narrowed my eyes and came up with a plan.
I took out a blank yellow paper and quickly drew a talisman, covering it over the young man's head.
This is not a Dao symbol, but a symbol of the witch.
Having lost one's living soul, I have lost some of my abilities. For example, I cannot use the Chilling Bell that can stop a person's soul for an hour and a half, as I have used up some of my lifespan. However, other simple abilities can still be used. The talisman and life number are not closely related, so they will not be affected.
With two fingers pressing down on the talisman paper, I pressed it against his occiput, and my fingers slightly curved!
A wisp of white mist emerged from his head.
The talisman paper curled up into a ball in an instant, absorbing that white mist within it.
A person has three souls and seven wits, with the life soul as the main one. By taking away his life soul, I will not kill him but only make him temporarily become a zombie without independent consciousness.
It's like what the old people in rural areas used to say about losing one's soul or being possessed. It means that when a person loses their life soul, they need to find it back in order to recover.
I collected the talisman ball and left the room again more cautiously, heading towards Ding Rui pu's room.
Soon, I saw a small bamboo forest in the backyard surrounding a solitary house.
It was more simple and quiet here. The door was open, and inside, there were only simple beds, with an old person's scent lingering in the air.
A quick glance showed that there was nothing suspicious here, and there was no way there could be a secret room...
This time, I came away completely empty-handed, and I could only temporarily leave the Ding family.
I turned back towards the front gate and did not enter. I just stood at the original location where I asked the sanitation worker for information, looking far into the distance at the main gate of the Ding family.
The sky was still blazing bright, and I felt a heavy oppression around me. It was as if I couldn't breathe at all.
At this moment, the front yard suddenly became agitated. Many people emerged one after another, stood by the side of the road, looking into the courtyard and discussing animatedly.
In just a few minutes, the main gate of the Ding family was tightly shut!
I knew that it should be because the young man was injured and had been discovered.
I did not hesitate any longer and returned to my place first.
The information I've gathered isn't small, and once Lao Gong comes out, he should be able to analyze quite a bit.
For a while, the seconds seemed like days, with another two or three hours until nightfall. It was extremely long.
So I crossed my legs in meditation posture and prepared to meditate and recover some of the consumed energy.
But something strange happened; no matter what I did, I couldn't calm my mind and focus. Even my thoughts were chaotic, and my heart was pounding wildly.
After trying three times without success, I realized that things were not as simple as they seemed.
Getting up, I walked over to the window and looked out.
At a quick glance, outside seemed very quiet, with hardly anyone moving around.
The inn I chose is very quiet, and even without an ID, I learned the experience from the methods used by Huang Si in Qianyang to find people.
But, this kind of quietness was still a bit too much.
I glanced in some directions and still saw vague figures in the shadows.
Without exception, they were all wearing Tang clothes!
The people from the Ding family, those fengshui masters, are now spying on me?
How are they able to do that!?
Keeping my composure, I quickly walked to the door and pushed it open.
The narrow corridor was dimly lit, and instead of going down the stairs directly, I walked up!
The top floor was a rooftop, with old residential buildings on both sides and behind.
My intention was to climb up to the rooftop of a side building, but I didn't want to be trapped.
To my surprise, there were five or six fengshui masters standing on each of the two rooftop terraces on both sides, and there were people behind as well!
The three groups of people were from the Ding family, led by Ding Mu.
People from the Yutai Dao have arrived.
And Xu Guan from the Wangjie Dao!
They three seemed to have known that I would go up, and without exception, their expressions were extremely cold.
The distance between the residential buildings wasn't far. Ding Mu was the first to speak, and his voice was clear and audible.
"Who are you and where do you come from? Why did you disguise yourself and infiltrate the Ding family? Why did you injure my son and capture his soul? Please surrender and come with us to answer for your actions!"
The other two parties also spoke, their voices reaching my ears.
"I am Tao Jiang from the Yutai Dao. Please surrender!"
"I am Xu Guan from the Wangjie Dao. Please cease your methods and stop struggling, lest you hurt yourself even more."
My face grew even more stern, and without sparing any attention to them, I abruptly flew forward!
"But you, as a gentleman, possess skills that allow you to deduce that I am here, that I will find them, and that you have blocked my path in advance."
Is that really the only way to go!
There are no residential buildings directly in front of me. As I flew out of the rooftop, I plunged down towards the ground below.
The ground below is not like the vertigo platform, but rather a cage-like area with protective netting.
I used the protective netting as leverage and fell to the ground in three quick moves.
This direction is where my previous room was. There are several positions in front where people are hidden.
I am not afraid of them in small numbers, and I am ready to leave!
But just then, a sudden and intense fluctuation of energy swept through me, and I saw an elderly man standing by the side of the road, whose identity I could not ascertain.
He held a bell in one hand and stumbled as he walked to me, taking steps at different positions.
The bell shook violently, emitting an ear-piercing sound that directly penetrated my eardrums. It felt like a needle piercing my head!
I groaned softly and tightly covered my head.
"Youngster, who gave you the audacity to enter the Ding family, to scheme, and to harm a member of the Ding family! Surrender immediately!" The old man's voice was particularly hoarse and carried a hint of deadly intent.
