Chapter 664

He sprinted all the way, not daring to look back. He repeatedly jumped from roof to roof. Facing a high-ranked powerhouse for the first time, Xu Qi 'an's heart was still haunted by intense fear.

If the Jinlian Taoist priest had not sacrificed himself to save him, he would have died in the next round. He would not have had the time to cast the spells in the Spellbook.

Even with the help of the Jinlian Taoist priest, the spells in the Spellbook would not have been able to compete with the opponent.

Xu Qi 'an had never felt that kind of heart-wrenching fear.

"Who's there?"

Two night watchmen standing on the roof noticed the black-robed Xu Qi 'an. One of them pulled out a standard-issue changdao, while the other took down a gong.

"It's me." Xu Qi 'an took off his hood and took out his gold medal.

"Your excellency Xu …"

Xu Qi 'an was now an influential figure in the night watchmen yamen. First, two Jinluo were "jealous" because of him, and then there was the dispute of Zhu Yingong being beheaded.

There was no one in the yamen who did not know him.

Xu Qi 'an put away his gold medal and coughed violently. There was a fishy taste in his throat. He said in a low voice, "Count Pingyuan's residence was attacked by assassins. I was ordered to investigate the case and ran into the assassins.

"Assassins are dangerous. Don't act rashly. Hurry up and warn them!"

Count Pingyuan's residence was attacked by assassins again … The two gong guards looked at each other and immediately noticed Xu Qi 'an's bloody purlicue and slightly trembling arms.

They solemnly took out a copper tube as thick as a baby's forearm from the leather pouch at their waist. They gently twisted the fuse between their fingers and ignited it.

Whoosh …

A dark red line of fire rose into the sky with a shrill whistle and exploded in the sky.

Seeing this, Xu Qi 'an was relieved. "I'll go back to recuperate. You wait here for backup. If you meet someone in a black robe … Not including me, remember to avoid them."

"Yes."

At this moment, Xu Qi 'an saw an orange cat standing on the roof in the distance. Its deep eyes were staring at him.

… Taoist priest, where did you get this cat from? I knew you would be fine. Xu Qi 'an once again exhaled, then leapt up and down the roof, while the orange cat casually followed behind him.

"Taoist priest, I completely lost the will to fight just now," Xu Qi 'an said guiltily as he stopped in a quiet alley.

He believed that with the Jinlian Taoist priest's shrewdness, he would have escaped faster than he did.

The orange cat spoke in a tired tone, "Taoist priest, running is an instinctive reaction. The difference between you and me is greater than the difference between a cat and a worm."

Daoist priest, is this really a good analogy … Xu Qi 'an glanced at the orange cat.

"If I'm not wrong, he's the Sealed Artifact that's suppressed in Sang Po," Xu Qi 'an said as he took out some medicine and gauze to bandage his wound.

"If I'm not mistaken, he is the Sealed Artifact suppressed under Sampo," Xu Qi 'an said as he took out some medicine and gauze to bandage his wound.

"Why do you say that?" Taoist Priest Golden Lotus was shocked.

"On the day of the explosion of the Mountain River Temple in Yongzhen, the three hundred imperial guards who were patrolling the area were all killed. Their deaths were exactly the same. They were all mummified," Xu Qi 'an said in a low voice.

Daoist Golden Lotus was enlightened. After a moment of silence, he said, "Then you guessed wrong. The one sealed under the Sang Po is not the first supervisor."

"I know. I have a vague guess, but I need to verify it." The Initial Supervisor wouldn't kill a nobody. Count Pingyuan's son was terrified before he died. He seemed to recognize the black-robed man … Unless the person who killed the Imperial Guards was the one who sneaked into Sampo to blow up Yongzhen Temple. But this possibility has long been denied. It's impossible for a master to sneak into Sampo … Xu Qi 'an sighed.

"I know. Furthermore, I have a vague guess, but I need to verify it"

The orange cat nodded, then said: "My Yin Spirit is heavily damaged, so I'll most likely fall, so I need you to help I with something"

"Please tell me, Taoist priest" Xu Qi 'an was still worried about how to repay him for saving his life.

"Help I find Luo Yuheng and ask for a Soul Gathering Pill" the orange cat spoke in human language.

"Luo Yuheng?" Xu Qi 'an asked in confusion.

"Taoist priest Renzong, she can be considered I's junior sister" the Jinlian Taoist priest replied.

Taoist priest, your position in the Earth Sect is quite high … the great Taoist priest Renzong is your junior sister … a mature Daoist nun? Xu Qi 'an was a bit troubled: "Do you have any keepsake?"

"Just give her the Earth Book" the orange cat showed a human-like wry smile: "As for whether or not I can take it, that'll depend on her mood"

Depends on her mood? Xu Qi 'an had a blank expression on his face.

"Renzong and Tenzō are like fire and water, the relationship between the Earth Sect and the other two sects isn't exactly tense, but it's not exactly friendly either" the orange cat explained.

You Taoists are a bit too much … a love-hate family, huh? Xu Qi 'an nodded: "I'll give it a try tomorrow"

The orange cat nodded: "Hm, I'll come find you tomorrow"

…

Jiang Lu Zhong crouched in the yard with a grim expression, holding a small piece of meat in his hand. The meat was very dry, almost like dried meat that had been ground into powder.

There was a thin layer of brown powder on the ground.

Several dozen gongs had surrounded Count Ping Yuan's manor, while 7-8 silver gongs were helping to investigate. When they arrived, Count Ping Yuan's manor had already been destroyed. Not a single member of Count Ping Yuan's family, including his servants, survived.

The corpses all died the same way, like dried meat that had been dried for many years.

Ten thousand alpacas were running around Jiang Lu Zhong's manor, he was also the one on duty when Count Ping Yuan was killed.

"Jiang Jinluo, there's another survivor in the manor" one of the silver gongs came out from the manor and loudly reported.

Jiang Lu Zhong's expression was grim as he entered the manor. His gaze scanned around and locked onto a frightened woman who was hugging a blanket with her snow-white shoulders exposed.

She was beautiful, but also a bit frivolous, currently looking at the night watchmen with a fearful gaze.

"Who are you?" Jiang Lu Zhong asked in a low voice.

"I, I'm Count Ping Yuan's concubine" the woman replied with a trembling voice.

"What did you hear? What did you see?" Jiang Lu Zhong asked again.

The woman had already learned what happened from the silver gongs who woke her up. This was also the reason why she was so anxious, worried about her own fate, but also glad that she was still alive.

The woman shook her head and obediently replied: "I was having sex with Da Lang at the time, then fell into a deep slumber …"

Jiang Lu Zhong observed her closely. The situation of a son taking over his father's business was also very common for concubines. In the current dynasty, high-ranking officials frequently took in concubines with a large age gap, so once their father died, these concubines would only have two choices: to work like servants, or to rely on the new heir.

Of course, this kind of thing would definitely be reprimanded in public.

But no one would take it seriously. Even if it was not advocated, they were too lazy to care.

"Let her put on her clothes and bring her back to the night watchmen's office," Jiang Lu Zhong finished speaking and walked out of the manor.

"Jiang Jinluo, we didn't find the body of Count Ping Yuan's son," a silver gong reported in a hurry.

Jiang Lu Zhong glanced at the brown powder in the yard, his gaze deep. "No need to look."

"Sir, there's a situation outside the window."

Hearing this, Jiang Lu Zhong came to the window facing the bedroom. He saw that there were two holes in the window paper, which allowed him to see the situation in the bedroom.

He glanced down and saw two shallow lines of plowed marks on the ground.

"Other than the murderer, there were others at the scene …" Jiang Lu Zhong pondered for a long time and asked, "Who first discovered the abnormality in Count Ping Yuan's residence?"

"The two gongs on duty."

"Call them over."

Soon, the two gongs were brought over.

Jiang Lu Zhong asked, "When you discovered the situation, were there any suspicious people nearby?"

The two gongs looked at each other. "We didn't find any suspicious people, and we didn't discover the case."

Jiang Lu Zhong was stunned and asked hurriedly, "If you didn't discover it … who?"

"It was Xu Qi 'an, the bronze gong."

"Xu Qi 'an …" Jiang Lu Zhong's eyes flashed.

…

After returning to the small courtyard, Xu Qi 'an fell asleep without taking off his clothes. Three hours later, he woke up naturally and sat cross-legged in meditation, breathing in and practicing Qi.

After two circulations, he opened his eyes in high spirits. Except for his pale face, he was in good condition.

He left the small courtyard and rode straight to the city gate.

At this time, there was still an hour before the city gate opened. There was no curfew in the outer city, and the restrictions on the city gate were very loose. With the golden token, Xu Qi 'an ordered the soldiers guarding the city to open the gate.

In less than two hours, he arrived at the Green Dragon Temple, which happened to be the time when the monks woke up for their morning prayers. The morning bell resounded between heaven and earth.

After tying up the horse, he followed the stone steps to the Green Dragon Temple. Xu Qi 'an received unexpected news.

"Abbot Coiling Tree went to the West Region?"

It was still the mellow Hengqing Supervision Superintendent. He said expressionlessly, "After you left that day, the abbot left. This time, I really don't know the reason."

… How much of a trauma do you have for me? Xu Qi 'an grinned.

Abbot Coiling Tree said that the duty of the Green Dragon Temple was to keep an eye on the Sealed Artifact under Sampo. That day, he had expressed his intention to go west.

I wonder if the old monk will take in a monkey as a disciple along the way. That would be interesting. Hehe.

"I would like to trouble you with something, Master." Xu Qi 'an's tone was amiable.

Hengqing Supervision Superintendent stared at him warily.

"I want to see Heng Hui's portrait. If the temple doesn't have it, please get someone to draw it immediately." Xu Qi 'an made his request.

Hengqing heaved a sigh of relief and said to wait for a while.

In the time it took to drink a cup of tea, he came out holding a scroll and handed it to Xu Qi 'an.

The latter took it and slowly unfolded it. In the scroll was a monk dressed in green. His facial features were handsome and his eyes were spirited. He was a man with excellent looks.

It really is him … Xu Qi 'an confirmed that the black-robed man from last night was Monk Heng Hui.

Even though his temperament had changed drastically, his facial features were still the same.

Monk Heng Hui of the Green Dragon Temple might have been involved in the Sampo Case. Number 6 Hengy Yuan also swore that his junior brother had been abducted by Yazi.

Based on the conversation between Count Pingyuan's son and the black-robed man last night, Xu Qi 'an immediately had a guess. He couldn't wait to verify it.

If not for his terrible condition last night and his urgent need for rest, he would have left the city overnight.

It's really Heng Hui. It's really Heng Hui … How can it be him? What does he have to do with the Sealed Artifact under Sampo?

From the looks of it, he's not the Initial Supervisor. No wonder the current Supervisor isn't anxious at all. He even pretended to be sick.

But if he's not the Initial Supervisor, what else could he be? The only possibility I can think of is that the Sealed Artifact is with Heng Hui.

A mere monk can't possibly be the mastermind of such a shocking case. There's someone behind him. The King of Zhenbei?

Xu Qi 'an left the Green Dragon Temple with heavy thoughts.

After returning to the capital and the office that keeps the night watchmen, he headed straight for the Loft of Grandeur. He wanted to tell the truth to Wei Yuan.