Legend of Zhan Zhao

Chapter 13 A sudden turn of events
"How could it be him? How could it be?"

On the way back to Mingguang Hall, Dinghai kept muttering to himself.

As the investigation progressed, the monk Dingjue, who preached the Dharma, unexpectedly became a suspect.

This was completely unexpected for the young monk.

Not only was Dinghai stunned, but Chen Xiuhan was also dumbfounded, and Zhan Zhao had not expected this development either.

But when the initially overlooked suspect came back into view, and considering the details of their previous encounters, he had another question:
When Dingyi's identity was revealed, Dingjue was greatly surprised. He was clearly unaware that among the novices listening to the lecture, there was a real monk silently observing and assessing their academic performance...

Why wasn't Dingyi's true identity revealed to Dingjue, the Dharma-teaching monk?

Faced with this question, Dinghai scratched his head and said in a low voice, "Junior Uncle, I don't know."

"That's fine."

Zhan Zhao instructed, "Next, bring your master and Dingyi out. Don't alert Dingjue yet. We can't suspect our neighbor of stealing the axe; we need to gather further evidence."

"understand!"

Dinghai nodded and went ahead.

Zhan Zhao and Chen Xiuhan waited silently outside Guanyin Temple, and soon Dinghai led Jiewen and Dingyi out.

"You've made another discovery?"

Jiewen was questioning the six novices who hadn't touched the tea when he saw his disciple arrive in a hurry. Instead of being surprised, he was pleased, but after seeing the expressions on their faces, he became somewhat serious: "What exactly happened?"

Dinghai, who hadn't dared to speak before, now said in a hoarse voice, "Dingjue... Senior Brother Dingjue... there might be a problem!"

Jiewen's pupils contracted: "Concentration?"

Zhan Zhao looked at Ding Yi, who had an excellent memory, and began to ask, "Was the tea served to the lecturing monk Ding Jue also taken from the table?"

Dingyi replied, "Yes."

"Does Dingjue drink tea?"

“The monks in the temple know the benefits of the ‘Five Sufferings Elimination Soup’. In order to increase their vitality, they will naturally drink the tea soup. They will definitely feel that the monks are preaching the Dharma, and drinking tea is also intended to guide the novice monks who are listening to the lecture.”

At this point, the crucial question arises: "At the time of the incident, the sermon had just begun. Did Dingjue drink the tea in his hand?"

"No."

"You didn't even touch it?"

"Not a single bite."

Is this normal?

“Junior Brother Dingjue usually drinks a few sips of tea before starting his sermon, but there were indeed a few days when he was in a gloomy mood and didn’t drink any tea…”

"So this alone doesn't prove anything?"

"I cannot explain."

"So, after the poison takes effect, what should be done with the bowl of tea in your hand?"

At this point, Dingyi paused slightly before slowly saying, "Junior Brother Dingjue was just picking up his teacup when he seemed to freeze. He subconsciously drank the tea in the bowl before rushing to the rescue."

Is it strange?

"Looking back now, it really is strange!"

As the two exchanged questions and answers, the expressions of the bystanders gradually changed.

According to Dingyi's recollection, six of the novices did not touch the potentially poisoned tea, thus becoming prime suspects and are currently being interrogated in the courtyard.

In fact, there were seven people present at the time.

However, everyone subconsciously excluded the monk who was sitting cross-legged on the high platform and preaching the Dharma.

Ironically, the one that was excluded now perfectly meets the selection criteria!

A sharp glint flashed in Jiewen's eyes, and his Buddha-like face revealed an unprecedented solemnity: "It was actually him..."

Dinghai's face was filled with disappointment, and his body swayed slightly: "How could it be a preaching monk? A preaching monk committing murder?"

Dingyi sighed softly and put his hands together: "Demons all arise from the mind, and Bodhi cannot save those who are attached to their own desires."

Chen Xiuhan shrank back, wishing he hadn't heard anything.

The monks in the temple poisoned and murdered a novice monk—this is a huge scandal!

However, the next moment, Jiewen took a deep breath and took the initiative to explain a question: "Junior brother, weren't you just wondering why Dingjue, as a Dharma-lecturing monk, didn't know Dingyi's identity?"

"It's very simple, we deliberately kept it from him because..."

"Dingjue is actually a member of the Six Doors!" "Huh?"

The people present were stunned once again.

This unexpected turn of events was truly surprising.

"I see……"

Zhan Zhao blinked and suddenly understood a lot of things.

"Dingjue entered the temple seven years ago. He seems to have a clean background, but he is actually a spy trained by the Xuanji Hall of the Six Doors!"

Now that things have come to this, Jiewen simply told the whole story: "Not long after he entered the temple, his identity was inadvertently exposed, but we did not alarm him. Instead, we arranged for him to practice in the temple. Three years ago, he became a Dharma lecturer at the Ksitigarbha Monastery, and he has been doing so ever since."

Zhan Zhao immediately asked, "Are the Six Doors outside the temple paying attention to this case?"

"Not bad!"

Jie Wen sighed softly: "Our Great Xiangguo Temple is the number one temple in the world. It opened its doors to the country and received offerings from the imperial family. Now that our disciples have been poisoned, the imperial court has to pay attention. This is no longer a simple matter of the martial arts world."

Unfortunately, the Six Doors' undercover agents were directly involved at the scene of the crime. If the case proved difficult to solve and the Six Doors intervened, the Great Xiangguo Temple would inevitably be in a passive position.

This is exactly what Jiewen was worried about.

That's why he previously recommended Zhan Zhao, who was also present at the scene, to Abbot Chi Hong of the Dizang Temple to solve the case.

At that time, the concern was that the Six Doors (a government agency) might take the opportunity to interfere in the case.

Little did they expect that the murderer might very well be a member of the Six Doors (a secret police agency).

As for the motivation.

Is it because I entered the Great Xiangguo Temple?

Zhan Zhao had some doubts, but after thinking about it carefully, he silently shook his head: 'That's unlikely to be the main reason.'

He had only been in the temple for ten days, yet the poison he used to commit the crime was the "Corrosive Marrow Elixir" of the "Five Immortals Sect," which could not have been obtained in such a short time. Moreover, his conflict with the Six Doors was not that serious.

Jie Wen didn't think it was because of the junior brother in front of him. He took a deep breath and slowly said, "The Six Doors have been plotting to extend their reach into my Buddhist sect for a long time..."

Dinghai was startled, and even Dingyi, whose expression had remained calm, couldn't help but darken his face.

With this case, will all the novice monks with extraordinary backgrounds be sent to the Six Doors for investigation?
By then, not only will Hu Xiba's crimes in Luzhou Prefecture, Shanxi, but also the unclear bloodbath involving Cheng Ruoshui's father in Xiangyang will be exposed by the Six Doors, and who knows how many other things will be involved...

"So!"

Chen Xiuhan couldn't help but exclaim, "The motive for this murderer poisoning people was to give the Six Doors a sufficient excuse to enter the temple for investigation?"

He paused, his words mostly sincere, but also a way of expressing his opinion: "I never imagined that the Six Doors, which enforce the law, would do such a thing. It's utterly appalling!"

The others also showed expressions of righteous indignation.

Something's not right!

Only Zhan Zhao, who revealed the truth, frowned.

In the early days of his career, at Yunqi Manor, he encountered a case. After solving the mystery, the murderer pointed directly to the Six Doors.

But the people of Yunqi Manor did not believe it, and the Six Doors were even less willing to admit it. They were so angry and embarrassed that they rushed forward to arrest him.

In the world of martial arts, reasoning is not done with words, but with swords.

When it came down to reasoning with him using a sword, even the Six Doors (a government agency) couldn't win the argument.

It was only after the intervention of the monk Chiyuan from Daxiangguo Temple that the two sides stopped fighting.

At the time, Zhan Zhao did not pay much attention to the Six Doors' members committing the crime.

It's inevitable that there will be lawbreakers within any law enforcement team.

Moreover, such people cause even greater harm once they commit crimes.

But one case could be a coincidence, but two cases in quick succession, so close together, is not so.

Especially this second poisoning case.

Indiscriminate poisoning, regardless of who the victims are, is not only extreme, but downright heinous!

"Whether Dingjue is the real culprit cannot be completely determined at present, but the arrest process cannot be carried out lightly."

Zhan Zhao suggested, "It would be best to take down the accomplices of the Six Doors as well, so as to ensure that this case will not be repeated and leave the other side with nothing to say."

"That's right! We can't let the perpetrators turn around and frame our temple!"

Jiewen nodded repeatedly, his expression full of entrustment, and said, "Junior Brother, I'll leave everything to you!"

(End of this chapter)