Legend of Zhan Zhao

Chapter 106 High martial arts skills mean you can do whatever you want.
'Compared to recruiting wandering knights whose backgrounds are unknown, the Great Xiangguo Temple is much more reassuring.'

"It's a royal temple, and the foremost ancient temple in the world, teeming with masters. Why go to such lengths when it's so close?"

"Taking advantage of this murder, let's invite this master to oversee things. Then, on the occasion of Madam's Buddhist worship, we can offer incense frequently. Once we establish a solid relationship, the safety of the Pang family will be guaranteed for a long time."

Pang Ji silently adjusted his strategy, his tone extremely sincere.

"This humble monk is here and will naturally protect your household."

Zhan Zhao returned the greeting with his palms together, without refusing.

Although he was responsible for protecting the Pang family's safety, he still had a strange feeling about it.

But at this stage, it is indeed the best approach.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Master!"

Seeing Pang Ji breathe a sigh of relief, Zhan Zhao continued, "Ding Chen's body needs to be collected and placed properly. Please do not enter this crime scene again to avoid destroying any clues."

"Of course! Of course!"

Pang Ji immediately instructed his servants to prepare a room to temporarily house the body, and then humbly asked, "Is there anything else you need, Master?"

Zhan Zhao looked at the listless Luo Shijun: "May this humble monk ask Master Luo a question?"

Pang Ji's eyes flickered slightly, and he sighed softly, "My brother-in-law has always been a man of great loyalty and affection, and he treats his close followers as brothers. Now that he has suffered such a misfortune, he must be feeling extremely distressed. If he has acted inappropriately, I hope you will forgive him, Master."

He had a premonition that Luo Shijun was probably involved in this case.

This was foreshadowed.

But when Zhan Zhao came before Luo Shijun, his first question still made the other man pale: "Isn't the Xiyan Flower quite rare?"

"What are you saying, Master?"

Luo Shijun's expression changed at first, but he quickly regained his composure and said in a sorrowful tone, "If the Xiyan Flower were not so extremely rare, my close attendant, who is also Master Dingchen of your temple, would not have suffered such a calamity. The murderer was clearly after the Xiyan Flower!"

That's strange.

Zhan Zhao looked at the brocade box in his arms: "When Benefactor Luo was talking with this humble monk earlier, he kept the brocade box tightly in his arms. Is your Xiyan Flower still in the brocade box?"

Luo Shijun's hand trembled slightly as he said helplessly, "It's still here."

Zhan Zhao asked, "Then where did the Xi Yan flower that the murderer stuck in the victim's chest come from?"

Luo Shijun said in a dry voice, "While the Xiyan Flower is indeed rare, there is more than one. It seems that the murderer also possessed this flower and was resentful that we first publicized its miraculous effects, which is why he killed Master Dingchen..."

Zhan Zhao said, "Then the murderer inserted the flower he brought into the victim's chest, just to vent his anger, not caring that the precious Xiyan flower would be tainted with the ominousness of murder?"

Luo Shijun: "..."

Stop asking, stop asking.

It's impossible to make it work.

"There are two major questions now."

Zhan Zhao concluded: "Firstly, if the murderer truly came to steal the Xiyan Flower, they should have targeted Luo, who was carrying the brocade box at the time, but instead attacked the guard Ding Chen."

"Secondly, the murderer killed Dingchen and then placed another Xiyan flower in his heart—this action clearly has a deeper meaning. I wonder if Benefactor Luo can understand the mystery behind it?"

Luo Shijun could only shake his head: "I don't know what the mystery is. I only know that the murderer killed someone, and since you are a fellow disciple of the deceased, Master, you should avenge him!"

"I will."

Zhan Zhao gave him a deep look, then turned to Pang Ji, who was listening beside him and whose expression was also not good: "Benefactor Pang, do you know that the deceased had been invited to meet many people before his death?"

Pang Ji frowned: "Who did you see?"

Zhan Zhao then recounted in detail the general activity trajectory of the deceased Ding Chen that night.

"Is there such a thing?"

Pang Ji had no idea that the deceased had gone out four times before his death, and the people he met were not ordinary people.

The deaths of monks from the Daxiangguo Temple at the Pang residence are already a serious matter; if the visiting dignitaries are also implicated…

Pang Ji knew he couldn't let things continue like this, so he turned to Luo Shijun and said, "Brother Ziheng, is there anything you want to say to me about the Yan Hua incident?"

Ziheng was Luo Shijun's courtesy name. It had been a long time since anyone had addressed him that way. He was taken aback, met Pang Ji's gaze, and then felt a chill run down his spine.

Pang Ji stared at him quietly, his eyes revealing an undeniable authority.

Luo Shijun was startled, his heart filled with both shock and anger: 'Whose side are you on? You've turned against me after just a few words from this monk? No matter what, I'm your brother-in-law!'

Pang Ji treated him like a servant, and ultimately, he was a powerful backer. At least he maintained a consistent stance with the outside world. Luo Shijun never expected that being interrogated by this abstinence master would be bad enough, but even Pang Ji would come to interrogate him.

'good chance.'

Zhan Zhao then used Pang Ji's influence to interrogate Luo Shijun, beginning to sense the most subtle emotional fluctuations in him.

This is an ability he acquired after learning the Heart Sword Divine Technique and combining it with the Six Hearts Clarity Technique.

The former is a secret art of the mind, and the latter is the foundation of mental cultivation.

With their combined efforts, they can't read minds, but as long as the target's martial arts skills are inferior to his, they can see through the fluctuations in their emotions perfectly.

Having high martial arts skills means you can do whatever you want.

At this moment, Luo Shijun's emotional reaction was revealed with extreme clarity.

He was filled with shock when he first saw Ding Chen's body.

Then, while waiting for others to arrive, he turned to worry and fear.

Now it has turned into anger, hatred, and a deep...regret?
'Pity?'

Why the regret?

Zhan Zhao felt a sense of wonder.

Pang Ji interrogated Luo Shijun for the sake of the Pang family's safety and reputation, while Luo Shijun felt that as a relative, the other party was not helping his own people, so he was naturally very angry.

When anger accumulates to a certain degree, it will naturally lead to hatred. It is not surprising that Luo Shijun also hated Pang Ji at this time.

But what about regret?

Luo Shijun's emotions were continuous within a short period: anger, resentment, and then regret...

It's a pity that the planned things didn't go as expected?

Something related to Pang Ji, something that should have allowed him to vent his anger?

"Alas! I truly do not know who the murderer is! The Pang residence is my sister's home! Today is also her birthday! If I had known, how could I have allowed such a thing to happen on this day?"

Just then, Luo Shijun, facing Pang Ji's questioning, spoke with an air of innocence and sorrow: 'Liar!'

Zhan Zhao immediately made a judgment.

But if this is a lie...

'Wouldn't Luo Shijun have originally planned to commit murder at the Pang residence tonight?'

'On his sister's big birthday?'

'But before he could even make a move, the other murderer killed Ding Chen first?'

If that's true, it's no wonder this person felt shocked, terrified, and regretful.

That's truly despicable.

Madam Pang had previously treated this brother with genuine affection and utmost care.

Is this how Luo Shijun repays his beloved sister?
"With such an elder brother, my wife may be implicated in the future; we must make plans as soon as possible!"

Pang Ji, unlike Zhan Zhao, was not skilled in martial arts. He directly verified the authenticity of the testimony by observing the fluctuations in his emotions.

But Pang Ji was well aware of the treacherous nature of human hearts.

No matter how sincere Luo Shijun's expression was, it seemed extremely hypocritical to him. He was certain that the other party knew a lot of things, but was unwilling to reveal even a little bit.

Pang Ji's patience with this man dwindled further, and he said to Zhan Zhao, "Master, it seems Brother Ziheng truly is unaware of the situation..."

Zhan Zhao clasped his hands together: "In that case, this humble monk will seek other clues!"

Luo Shijun bowed: "May the master capture the real culprit soon, to comfort Master Dingchen's spirit in heaven!"

The three exchanged glances, then silently looked away, each with their own agenda.

After questioning the other party involved in the case, Zhan Zhao followed Pang Ji around the mansion, inspected the guards, and returned to his guest room. He saw Jie Xian waiting for him and immediately asked, "Senior brother, what is the specific identity of the deceased?"

Jie Xian sighed softly: "Ding Chen is not a monk burdened with karmic burdens, but rather a contact person for monks burdened with karmic burdens, the Cloud Board Monk."

Zhan Zhao was not surprised. He had previously felt that this person's martial arts skills were not up to par, and it turned out that he was not the main person, but he did have close ties with the karmic monks: "Which karmic monks is this person in contact with?"

Jie Xian said, "The monk from Yunnan who is burdened with karmic debts, whose Dharma name is Jie Shu, is known in the martial arts world as the 'Flower Monk'."

Zhan Zhao was somewhat surprised: "A monk among flowers?"

Could it be that this person also attracts attention and unwanted attention?
Jie Xian explained: "This junior brother's real name is A Luoye. He comes from the Five Immortals Sect in Miao territory. He has been obsessed with flowers and plants since childhood, and is especially good at grafting different species. He does not like the usual methods of using poison, and often uses flowers instead of Gu. At that time, he was ridiculed by his fellow disciples as a 'flower maniac'."

"So this is the flower garden."

Zhan Zhao suddenly realized.

"Due to a mishap with the Gu Flower, the pollen was scattered by the wind, causing a large number of disciples of the Five Immortals Sect to be poisoned and nearly die. They were expelled from the sect and later went north to the Central Plains, where they were ordained as monks at my Great Xiangguo Temple..."

Jie Xian explained it in great detail.

The monks who bear burdens are indeed full of talented individuals.

The most troublesome aspect of the Five Immortals Sect's deadly poison has always been the lack of a conventional antidote.

Instead, it requires the Five Immortals Sect members to cultivate internal energy techniques, combined with their unique methods, to expel the poison.

Some of the most potent poisons are beyond their own resistance; only by cultivating the sect's supreme secret manual, the "Five Spirits Heart Sutra," can they achieve immunity to all poisons in the common sense.

Therefore, the most direct way to judge how powerful a member of the Five Immortals Cult is is to see if his fellow disciples can cure the poison.

If even fellow disciples can't cure the poison he's given, then he's truly formidable, the most outstanding poison master.

Jieshu, the "Monk Among Flowers," is among them.

“Jieshu sends back the most seeds to the temple every year, and many of them have been cultivated into flowers that are famous in the capital.”

"At the same time, he also sent seeds back to the Five Immortals Sect every year. Although he was expelled from the sect, he still cared about the Five Immortals Sect."

When Jie Xian mentioned the other party's relationship with the Five Immortals Sect, his tone indicated that he did not mind.

Daxiangguo Temple is indeed tolerant in this regard and does not require monks who have become monks later in life to sever ties with their original sect.

For example, Gu Lin's true home is definitely Yunqi Manor, and he doesn't care about the temple. He won't hinder Qi Yun's comings and goings at all.

This attitude, on the contrary, won over many monks who had become monks halfway through their lives, making them willing to serve the temple.

Zhan Zhao actually felt that a tolerant but not permissive atmosphere was more conducive to enhancing the cohesion of the sect than deliberately creating a competitive environment for talent selection.

Putting all that aside, once we figure out the deceased's identity, let's look at their connections: "Dingchen is the Cloud Board Monk of 'Flower Monk' Jieshu. Jieshu loves to tend to flowers and plants, while Dingchen has recently been inexplicably hanging out with Luo Shijun. Luo Shijun has also suddenly produced a rare flower called 'Xiyan,' which is said to have the effect of preserving eternal youth..."

Zhan Zhao said in a deep voice, "Could it be inferred that the true owner of 'Xi Yan' is likely Jie Shu?"

Jie Xian's expression turned serious: "That's very possible. This matter is of utmost importance. We must not let this rare flower fall into the hands of someone who doesn't know the truth."

Jie Shu was from the Five Immortals Sect. The flowers and plants he cultivated were not as beautiful and charming as they appeared on the surface. They might even be poisonous flowers that could poison a large area.

Are Luo Shijun and Ding Chen playing with fire?

Zhan Zhao said, "My original plan was to go straight for the target, take Ding Chen back to the temple first, and someone else could act even faster..."

"The murderer killed Dingchen and stuck the Xiyan flower in his heart, a striking and chilling sight..."

"The murderer's motive may have been to prevent others from being misled into believing in the efficacy of the Xiyan flower, thereby serving as a warning to others!"

Jie Xian frowned: "Junior brother suspects Jie Shu of murder?"

"It's just a preliminary guess—"

Zhan Zhao said, "Perhaps when Jie Shu was cultivating the Xi Yan Flower, he mentioned its effects of slowing down aging and restoring youthful appearance, but he did not explain its toxicity. Ding Chen secretly kept this in mind and became greedy. Not long ago, he stole the Xi Yan Flower and cooperated with Luo Shijun to make huge profits."

"When Jie Shu arrived tonight, he found that Luo Shijun was already at the banquet, proclaiming the miraculous effects of Xi Yan Hua. In just one night, noble ladies from the capital came one after another to inquire about it. One can imagine how many ladies from the capital will flock to it when the news spreads tomorrow."

"At this point, simply taking back the Xiyan Flower would not be effective, so Jieshu killed Dingchen and inserted the Xiyan Flower into his heart."

"This is why, even though Luo Shijun was holding a brocade box containing Xiyan flowers, the murderer used a different Xiyan flower to commit the crime."

"The murderer was the owner of the Xiyan Flower."

Jie Xian nodded slowly as he listened: "No wonder Junior Brother is capable of serving as a Divine Constable in the Six Doors. This analysis is indeed reasonable, but..."

Zhan Zhao continued, "But there are two things that don't seem right."

"Firstly, is Jie Shu's lightness ability so high that I cannot catch up with him and he disappears without a trace in an instant?"

"Secondly, Dingchen only stole flowers, which is not a capital offense. Would Jieshu, who likes to play with flowers and plants, kill so indiscriminately?"

(End of this chapter)