Duke Lu left because he was in a hurry to report the newly discovered clue to the Emperor.
Monk Duhai stopped the trial for the same reason.
Since the case was related to the Zhongzhou School and Prince Jing Xin, it was no longer up to these people to decide how to proceed with the trial.
The officials of Taichang Temple and the Pure Heaven Bureau and the representatives of various sects left Taichang Temple in tandem.
Ōzawa and other sects were gloating over their misfortune, and Kunlun and other sects were worried. Most of the smaller sects wished they hadn't shown up that day.
Zhang Yi 'ai couldn't leave, so he was brought to a wing room of Taichang Temple.
Monk Duhai sat on a futon outside the door, meaning that he was guarding the room personally.
Seeing the sunlight coming in through the window, Zhang Yi 'ai thought of many things.
He had left Cloud-Dream Mountain many years ago, and the sceneries and people on the mountain had become unfamiliar to him. In comparison, he was more familiar with the people and events in Zhaoge City, and he was more familiar with his identity as the chief commander of the Pure Heaven Bureau than anything else.
He was also familiar with the smell of the wet tung paint on the windows of the wing room.
All the buildings of Taichang Temple were rebuilt on the ruins, supervised by him personally. It only took him seven days to finish the work.
The door of the wing room was pushed open, and Yue Qianmen walked in.
Zhang Yi 'ai felt surprised. It was reasonable for Yue Qianmen to come to see him, but why didn't Monk Duhai stop him?
"The Master is willing to respect the reputation of the Zhongzhou School and agree to let me persuade you to tell the truth."
Yue Qianmen said this while looking at Zhang Yi, the expression in his eyes extremely cold.
What he intended to express was completely different from what he had said.
Zhang Yi 'ai asked expressionlessly, "Big Brother, what do you want to say?"
Yue Qianmen's eyes grew even colder, as he retorted soundlessly, "Are you crazy? How could you get the Palace of the Prince involved? "
"I'm doing my job as an official in Zhaoge City, but you people ask me to work for you all the time …"
Zhang Yi 'ai continued while staring into his eyes, "Later, you asked me to help you send people to the Fiend Prison. Have you ever considered my situation?"
As soon as he opened his mouth, Yue Qianmen's face turned terrible, his eyes turning cold as he motioned for Zhang Yi to shut up.
Yet, Zhang Yi 'ai had no intention to stop, as he continued, "The people you sent to the Fiend Prison have caused such a big trouble. Do you expect me to take all the blame?"
Yue Qianmen couldn't bear it anymore. He shouted angrily, "Do you know what you are talking about?"
Zhang Yi 'ai looked into his eyes and said calmly, "If the death of the Dragon God is related to that person, do you know what it means?"
Yue Qianmen pushed the door open and walked out. He glanced at Monk Duhai who was sitting on the cattail hassock. He knew that Monk Duhai had heard everything and left in anger.
Monk Duhai opened his eyes slowly and said, "I'll remember all of this."
Zhang Yi 'ai walked to the door, lifted the front of his robe and sat on the threshold, saying, "Thank you for your hard work, Master."
…
…
That night, Zhaoge City, which had just calmed down, was in turmoil again.
The hooves of the magic army echoed like thunder in the town, and the streets shook restlessly, as if the Fiend Prison had encountered another mishap.
The lights of the Pure Heaven Bureau were ablaze. The officials didn't sleep all night, sorting out the files and starting the investigation.
All the clues found by the officials pointed to a certain place. Therefore, hundreds of Immortal Guards surrounded that place.
Prince Jing Xin's residence.
…
…
Taichang Temple was as tranquil as usual last night. It seemed to be an ordinary day in the morning.
Zhang Yi 'ai had breakfast with Monk Duhai after washing up. There were two bowls of millet porridge and three thin vegetarian cakes. The only difference was that Zhang Yi had half a salted duck egg.
Besides the two of them, the first person to come to Taichang Temple was not Duke Lu or the representatives of other sects, but Yue Qianmen again.
The Palace of Prince Jing Xin was surrounded by the magic army, but nobody dared stop him from leaving.
Yue Qianmen was the guest of the Palace of Prince Jing Xin, so he knew that Bulao Lin had used the assassination of Zhao Layue to threaten the Palace of Prince Jing Xin to send a letter to the Fiend Prison.
To put it more precisely, this matter could only be carried out with Yue Qianmen's consent.
The Fiend Prison was the true body of the divine dragon. To say nothing of the weakened Bulao Lin, even a more powerful force couldn't do anything to it.
And he really wanted to know the content of the letter Bulao Lin sent to the Fiend Prison. As such, he agreed to the action of the Royal Teacher Liang after receiving the letter from the Immortal.
Yue Qianmen didn't take it seriously; but unexpectedly … the divine dragon was dead!
And it was evident that some people in the Imperial court and the Cultivation circle wanted to connect the death of the divine dragon with that letter.
No! They had already connected the death of the divine dragon with that letter. The fact that the magic army surrounded the Palace of Prince that very night was the proof.
Yue Qianmen came to Taichang Temple before anybody else because he wanted to talk to Monk Duhai in advance to salvage the situation.
The morning sunlight was dim, and the birds hadn't yet risen. The eaves of Taichang Temple formed a strange shadow in the back garden.
Monk Duhai and Yue Qianmen stood in the shadow, talking softly.
"This is the truth of the matter. That person is indeed someone on Bulao Lin's side. We wanted to investigate something, but we couldn't find out anything. In the end, we had no choice but to send him to the Fiend Prison."
Hearing this, Monk Duhai fell silent for a long time.
Yue Qianmen's intention was clear. Since the Zhongzhou School couldn't find out anything, they had no choice but to send him to the Fiend Prison to be eaten by the Old Dragon. In doing so, they would be able to obtain some information.
This behavior was against the orthodox way, and it would be harmful to the reputation of the Zhongzhou School if it was known by others. Yet, he admitted it frankly. Anyone would think that it was the truth.
Yet, Monk Duhai didn't think so. He said calmly while looking at Yue Qianmen, "A monk doesn't lie; but it doesn't mean that we are easily deceived."
Yue Qianmen said with a terrible expression, "It is indeed the truth."
Monk Duhai asked Yue Qianmen in Silence, "You said that person is dead and not the one who escaped from the Fiend Prison. Do you have any proof?"
Yue Qianmen's expression was terrible. The prisoners of the Fiend Prison had suffered great casualties, and many of them didn't even have their corpses left behind. Where could he find any proof?
Yue Qianmen asked icily, "Are you going to get to the bottom of this, Master?"
Though the Guocheng Temple had a long history and profound resources, the Zhongzhou School had a higher status in the Cultivation circle and in Chaotian, and the relationship between the two schools had always been good.
The Zhongzhou School didn't hesitate to expose their own dirty linen and gave a perfect answer; but Monk Duhai didn't accept it. What was going on?
Monk Duhai said calmly, "The matter isn't clear yet; so we have to keep investigating."
Yue Qianmen exclaimed angrily, "The divine dragon is already dead. We don't even want to get to the bottom of it; why do we still have to investigate?"
"I told Chief Commander Zhang yesterday that the Old Dragon turned into the Fiend Prison and died in the earthquake. This is no longer the affair of the Zhongzhou School. Though you people don't want to get to the bottom of it, it doesn't mean that the matter is over. Elder Yue shouldn't have forgotten that Zen Master had promised the King Of The Underworld that he would get to the bottom of this matter. "
Monk Duhai said while looking at him in Silence, "A monk … doesn't lie."
Yue Qianmen stared at him intently, and turned to leave without saying anything more.
…
…
The morning sunlight grew brighter, and the fog in the forest dispersed. The representatives of various sects and the officials came to Taichang Temple again.
Without any pleasantries, Duke Lu told them the news that they wanted to know the most.
"The Emperor is furious and demands that the truth of this case must be found out."
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