Legend of Zhan Zhao

Chapter 10 An Unintentional Hint
"Huh! I'm finally back!"

Inside the monk's quarters, Chen Xiuhan jumped onto the bed, rolled around a couple of times without any regard for his image, and looked as if he had been relieved.

Zhan Zhao got into bed, and his brows relaxed.

People aren't physically tired, but the shock of poisoning and death inevitably leaves them mentally exhausted.

"brother!"

As he sat cross-legged practicing his internal energy, Chen Xiuhan looked around and, seeing that there was no one else in the monks' quarters, quickly approached him: "Do you think I should go out and avoid this place for a while?"

Zhan Zhao asked, "What are you worried about?"

"I did have a direct confrontation with Hu Xiba a few days ago. What if we can't find the real culprit in the end? What if... what if..."

Chen Xiuhan didn't finish speaking, his worry was already evident on his face. He finally sighed, "What an undeserved disaster!"

"Given Hu Xiba's character, he must have offended quite a few people in the temple. The extent of your conflict with him is not enough to warrant the use of the Five Immortals Sect's deadly poison to kill him."

Zhan Zhao believed that this person was not the murderer and was willing to vouch for him, but in order to protect the other party's self-esteem, he did not take full responsibility directly. Instead, he comforted him, saying, "Don't forget, I was the one who clashed with Hu Xiba first that day. If the temple is to suspect anyone, it will suspect me first."

“Brother, you’re quite capable. I could tell. Just now, the abbot of Guanyin Temple, Master Jiewen, was looking you over with a very gentle gaze!”

Chen Xiuhan said with a wry smile, "I'm no good. I've only been at Daxiangguo Temple for half a year. Let alone compared with those who grew up in the temple, I'm not outstanding even among the novices!"

A figure suddenly popped into Zhan Zhao's mind: "Do you know a novice monk who calls himself 'Dingyi'?"

"That idiot?"

Chen Xiuhan's face grew even more bitter, as if he felt a sense of shared sorrow: "Of course I know! Everyone knows!"

"Some say that this man had been a novice monk in the temple for twenty years, but was unable to be formally registered as a monk, so he fell ill. From then on, he called himself 'Dingyi' to everyone he met, thinking that he had a Dharma name! How pathetic..."

"Some say he practiced some kind of divine skill, went mad from practicing it, and became what he is now, mingling among us novices, while the senior monks in the temple are waiting for him to recover! Do you believe it? I certainly don't! But many novices are willing to believe it!"

The reason for believing is obvious.

Because the term "madness" implies despair, while "going mad" at least leaves a glimmer of hope for recovery.

'Wouldn't someone like that, if they went to extremes, come to hate the temple?'

Zhan Zhao pondered for a moment, then looked at his roommate and couldn't help but ask, "If that's the case, why did you still choose to enter Xiangguo Temple?"

"There's no way around it. It's always this difficult to learn superior martial arts. Other schools are also very strict."

Chen Xiuhan shrugged: "Take Shaolin Temple for example. They mostly accept the sons of tenant farmers from the foot of the mountain. They need to have a clean family background and be devoted to protecting Buddhism. The competition among disciples is extremely fierce. The status of monks is far lower than that of monks from Daxiangguo Temple. Most importantly..."

At this point, his tone became fervent: "The martial arts of Shaolin Temple are all available at Xiangguo Temple! And the unique skills of Xiangguo Temple are beyond the reach of Shaolin!"

"Oh?"

Zhan Zhao was surprised.

The first moment of Buddhism truly gathered all the techniques of various Buddhist schools?

That's impressive. No wonder so many people are desperate to get in.

They'd rather frantically roll around than leave the temple.

Chen Xiuhan was equally invigorated, clenching his fist and shaking it: "I must master my skills and rise above others to great heights! I will definitely overcome this undeserved disaster!"

But next.

As the monks began questioning each of them, Chen Xiuhan's straight back bent again. When the chests and cabinets were searched, he was even more apprehensive, fearing that they would find a bottle of poison that did not belong to him.

Not only him, but everyone else in the monastery was drenched in sweat.

"What did the disciplinary monk ask?"

"I don't know, I was really scared, so I just answered without really knowing what I was saying..."

"Liu Defu next door was questioned the longest. He's the son of a rice merchant from Kaifeng and a local bully. He came out looking like he'd lost his parents; he must have been dealt with!"

"Never mind him, it seems they're investigating Shanxi and Huguang..."

"Phew! It has nothing to do with me! It has nothing to do with me!"

in this process.

Zhan Zhao was also questioned, and his chests, cabinets, and sword were thoroughly searched.

He assisted in solving the case because Jiewen secretly recommended him to Zen Master Chihong, who also secretly arranged it through telepathy.

It's impossible to make a big fuss and let everyone know about it.

Oh, someone died at Daxiangguo Temple, and they actually want a young novice monk who just entered the temple to solve the case?

That would not only put pressure on Zhan Zhao personally, but the Daxiangguo Temple itself would also easily become a laughing stock.

Therefore, everything was done in secret.

The disciplinary monks, who were also investigating, naturally treated him the same way. Zhan Zhao faced the situation calmly, hoping for progress as soon as possible.

It is a pity.

After two days of frantic searching, on the second night after the incident, Jiewen's disciple Dinghai hurriedly arrived outside the monks' quarters.

Hearing his footsteps, Zhan Zhao knew it wasn't good news and pushed open the door to go out.

"Junior Uncle, something terrible has happened!"

Sure enough, the round-faced monk pulled him aside and whispered, "So far, none of the novices who attend morning prayers have shown any motive or made any move, and no poison has been found either! Are we not being careful enough?"

Let's abandon any wishful thinking!

Instead of offering words of comfort, Zhan Zhao said in a deep voice, "Although we cannot completely rule out the possibility of a revenge killing, judging from the current trend, it is most likely the latter situation: indiscriminate poisoning."

Hu Xiba is hated, and Cheng Ruoshui's father committed a bloody crime and has now become a notorious villain. If the murderer was targeting them, the case would be easier to solve, as there would be clues to follow.

But now, the direction of the investigation into the motive has failed, and the scope of suspects has been directly expanded.

All the monks in the temple are suspects to varying degrees, and even to exaggerate further, the possibility that the murderer sneaked into the temple and poisoned the monks cannot be ruled out.

This makes the search much more difficult.

Dinghai said with a mournful face, "I'm afraid the murderer will strike again. Besides putting the poison in the tea, could it be put in other food or drink?"

Zhan Zhao said, "The temple is on high alert right now. Even if the murderer wanted to poison us, he would choose to lie low for the time being. But you can't guard against a thief forever. There will always be times when you're less vigilant. We must find this person as soon as possible."

"Master said the Six Doors are already getting restless; if the poisoner isn't caught soon, those constables will get involved!"

Dinghai knew there was still external pressure, and asked anxiously, "Junior Uncle, can the range of suspects be narrowed down any further?"

'Start with motivation?'

'No, we need to change our approach!'

After a moment's thought, Zhan Zhao said, "I do have another question—if the murderer were to poison indiscriminately, why would they want to poison two people at the same time?"

Dinghai said, "The more poisons people use, the more panic will be created within the temple!"

Zhan Zhao said, "If we're going to create panic, we might as well just poison more people and kill four or five or even more. That would undoubtedly have a greater impact."

"yes……"

Dinghai thought for a moment and said, "So the amount of poison is limited and we can't use it indiscriminately?"

The "Corrupting Marrow Elixir" from the "Five Immortals Sect" is a rare and highly poisonous substance.

If the murderer wanted to poison many people, he would need that much food to squander.

But this explanation still failed to convince Zhan Zhao: "If the amount was small, why didn't the murderer just put it in one teacup, using a larger dose to ensure the victim's death? If that were the case, I wouldn't be able to save Cheng Ruoshui's life either..."

Dinghai pondered for a moment, then stammered, "This humble monk...this humble monk does not know..."

Either use a large quantity of poison to create a shocking spectacle of murder;
Either use less poison, sparingly, to ensure a lethal effect.

Two poisons, that's really a bit of a mixed bag.

Therefore, Zhan Zhao said, "Why not start from this angle and investigate thoroughly?"

"Yes!"

Dinghai remembered it well, bowed, and turned to leave.

"what happened?"

Back in the monks' quarters, Chen Xiuhan immediately came over.

“I have a past connection with Dinghai, and he just told me some things.”

Zhan Zhao selectively recounted the progress of the case, reassuring his roommate: "It now appears that the poisoner is not at the scene, but rather someone outside."

"Phew! That's good! That's great! We're no longer suspects!"

Chen Xiuhan first breathed a sigh of relief, but after thinking for a moment, he smiled bitterly and said, "But this way, it will be difficult to catch the murderer! As long as this person doesn't show up, the temple will never have a peaceful day! Not to mention the unpalatable tea, we'll have to be on tenterhooks no matter what we eat!"

"There's no other way, let's be careful until the case is solved."

Zhan Zhao echoed, then suddenly his gaze sharpened: "Wait! You just said... the tea... was hard to swallow?"

"Isn't that right?"

Chen Xiuhan, puzzled, said, "Only you, brother, could drink that bowl of pungent tea in one go. We all swallowed it slowly; the tea was really awful. But we had to finish it all before morning class ended. Some people just chugged it down..."

"I understand!"

Zhan Zhao had already climbed onto the bed, preparing to meditate and practice his martial arts, but at this moment he floated down, his sword-like eyebrows relaxed, and his eyes were bright: "No wonder the murderer insisted on poisoning two people, so that's what happened!"

(End of this chapter)