Even hybrid monsters have their day

"How exactly did Zuo Lengdan die? Did you really kill her?" Geng Miaowan's voice carried a chill she herself hadn't even realized. She couldn't be sure what she would do if they really had killed Zuo Lengdan.

“No, how could we have killed Zuo Lengdan?” Miao Renfeng didn’t speak up to defend himself, but Ershan quickly said, “My disciple Liu Qingzhi and the others were indeed by her side before she died, but I can swear that we absolutely did not kill her.”

Seemingly afraid she wouldn't believe him, Ershan paused for a moment before continuing, "Although humans have never formed a formal alliance with the demons of Phoenix Valley, Zuo Lengdan and we have an excellent, even allied, relationship in private. Through her, we learned many secrets of the demon and monster races, which allowed us to effectively strike at those two alien races. However, due to humans' prejudice against demons, we have always claimed that we obtained that information ourselves."

"If that's the case, then how exactly did she die?"

Besides Geng Miaowan and Xu Ruwen, only Miao Renfeng, Ershan, and Ershan's apprentice Liu Qingzhi were present. Xu Ruwen, of course, knew about Geng Miaowan's relationship with Zuo Lengdan. Although the other three did not know what their relationship was, seeing Geng Miaowan's insistence on knowing about Zuo Lengdan's death and the solemnity on her face, they vaguely felt that their relationship was not simple.

If this problem is not handled well, it could directly affect their relationship.

However, they genuinely did not know who killed Zuo Lengdan, and Miao Renfeng could only tell them the truth.

To their relief, Geng Miaowan's expression remained relatively calm, and she did not seem to distrust them. Finally, Miao Renfeng took a box from the back hall and handed it to her.

"This was entrusted to Qingzhi by Zuo Lengdan before his death. He made it clear that he wanted to deliver it to you personally."

Geng Miaowan lowered her eyes and looked down, her body trembling with shock. This box… wasn't it the one Zuo Lengdan had given her when he was injured? Was he telling her to take it to Dongfang Liancheng?

She remembered that Zuo Lengdan had told her that this contained Tianji Stone!

She thought the trail had gone cold, but she never expected that Zuo Lengdan had left her a way out before he died.

Geng Miaowan took the box with trembling hands, carefully cradling it in her palms. She examined it carefully several times, looking it over from all angles, confirming it was indeed the box. Only then did she look up at Miao Renfeng.

Did she say anything when she handed this box to you?

“Yes,” Miao Renfeng, who was over three hundred years old, acted like an obedient child in front of Geng Miaowan. He always answered every question. “She said she didn’t care whether the human world was destroyed or not; all she cared about was Geng Miaowan’s life or death. If Geng Miaowan is alive, we can give this to you, and perhaps there will be a glimmer of hope. If you are dead, then none of us will survive.”

These were pretty much Zuo Lengdan's exact words back then. Miao Renfeng hadn't thought much of it at the time, but now, rereading them, he felt a chill run down his spine. He sensed that when Zuo Lengdan said those words, even she herself wasn't sure if Geng Miaowan was still alive.

At the same time, she felt a sense of relief; thankfully, she had given the item to him. If she had mistakenly believed Geng Miaowan was dead and hadn't taken the item out, then…

He couldn't even imagine the consequences.

Although he had never opened the box to see what was inside, his intuition told him that what Zuo Lengdan had entrusted to Geng Miaowan with such solemnity and care must be something extremely important.

Geng Miaowan gently stroked the box, and seeing that Miao Renfeng seemed eager to know what was inside but too embarrassed to ask, she casually asked, "Have you ever heard of Tianji Stone?"

Since Miao Renfeng was entrusted to Zuo Lengdan before her death, Zuo Lengdan must have trusted him to a certain extent. In addition, based on her own interactions with him, she also felt that he was someone she could get to know better.

"Tianji Stone?" Miao Renfeng was puzzled at first, then his eyes widened suddenly. "Are you talking about the life-giving Tianji Stone of Buzhou Mountain?"

His expression clearly indicated that he knew about Tianji Stone, and Geng Miaowan nodded. "I wonder how much Sect Leader Miao knows about Tianji Stone?"

Miao Renfeng's hand, which was holding the chair, trembled slightly. It took him a while to recover from his extreme shock. Perhaps realizing he had been somewhat out of line, he straightened his expression and glanced at the box in Geng Miaowan's hand. His mind was elsewhere, but he said aloud, "Tianji Stone, I only heard a wandering master mention it once. I don't know the specifics."

Geng Miaowan gave him a meaningful look, which made him unable to look away before she spoke, "Since Sect Leader Miao doesn't know, that's fine."

At this moment, Xu Ruwen shouted in her mind, "I think this old man clearly knows something!"

Do you think I didn't notice?

Xu Ruwen: "..."

So, the group analyzed the current situation.

As the group emerged from the main hall, they passed by Yin Qianze's statue again. Geng Miaowan stood before the statue and said to Miao Renfeng, "Sect Leader Miao, may I have a word with you in private?"

Upon hearing her words, Ershan and Liu Qingzhi excused themselves before Miao Renfeng could speak, saying they had other matters to attend to.

It was late at night, and the vast training ground was deserted. A large, round moon overhead cast its silvery light upon the land. Under the moonlight, Yin Qianze's statue radiated a soft, warm glow, and coupled with the smile on his face, he resembled a kind and gentle old man.

"I wonder if Miss Geng has anything else to say to me?" Miao Renfeng reminded her when she hesitated to speak.

After thinking for a moment, Geng Miaowan told the truth about what happened to Yin Qianze back then.

It wasn't that she wanted to snitch on Yin Qianze because she couldn't stand seeing him being loved by the disciples of the Qingshan Sect. Rather, she felt that the old man had already repented before his death. He knew the harm his actions had caused to the Qingshan Sect, so if he knew that the disciples of the Qingshan Sect had been treating him as a hero because of a misunderstanding, he certainly wouldn't accept it.

After hearing her words, Miao Renfeng's expression went beyond shock. Over the years, he had wondered why Yin Qianze knew how to enter the secret chamber in the inner palace, but he had never suspected anything like this. (To be continued.)