It really didn’t take that many servants to save a woman. Zhao You not only brought the shovel but also brought several servants. He volunteered and said: “Lin Shaoqing, what do you want to do? Let us do it!”

For this kind of physical work, it was better to leave the matter to them. Looking at the few servants rolling up their sleeves, Lin Fei hesitated for a moment, nodded, pointed to the hosta flower bed in front of him, and said: “Dig up the flower bed and see if there is anything underneath.”

Zhao You immediately nodded in agreement.

Lin Fei then led Liu Yuan and Wei Fu back to the front hall. They hadn’t carefully examined the hall before; they only felt that the damaged Buddha statues inside made what should have been a majestic and sacred place inexplicably eerie and ominous.

Lin Fei walked around the empty hall and approached the damaged Buddha statue. He looked up at the broken deity before him.

After looking at them, he didn’t speak for a long time.

Wei Fu and Liu Yuan on the side followed his gaze without knowing why but saw nothing except something eerie and strange.

At that moment, Lin Fei spoke up, “If we consider the entire Chang’an City as a square talisman, they must have taken Han Jun’s body to Zhuang Meiniang’s study, indicating that they see this study as a pivotal point on the talisman. There are numerous talismans drawn with the study as the focal point, considering the heinous acts of the murderer, they might be talismans like soul-binding talismans or resurrection talismans. If it’s a resurrection talisman, it would lead to a densely populated residential area, where there are too many prying eyes, making it unsuitable for such clandestine activities. Therefore, a soul-binding talisman is the most likely.”

Lin Fei explained the reason why he came to this Qiude temple: “If it’s a soul-binding talisman, the end would point to this deserted temple, and there are rumors of ghosts and spirits nearby. Others would be afraid to approach, making it the most likely scenario.”

Wei Fu and Liu Yuan only just realized at this moment: no wonder Lin Fei headed straight to the temple as soon as he arrived!

“I checked the history of Qiude Temple. Since the last abbot of Qiude Temple, Jing Xin, passed away six years ago, this place has become a deserted temple, and there are rumors of it being haunted.” Lin Fei said, “These rumors of being haunted started with Jing Xin’s death.”

Wei Fu and Liu Yuan’s hearts jumped when they heard these words, and they blurted out without even thinking: “Then Jing Xin was also killed by the murderer?”

“That’s not true!” In response, Lin Fei shook his head and said, “Jingxin knew martial arts, but his health was not good and he died of illness.”

“It’s just that after he died of illness, within a few days, someone smeared blood on the temple walls.” Lin Fei said, “Once places like temples are haunted, they are more frightening than ordinary homes.”

This was the origin of the haunting of Qiude Temple. As for why the masters, Taoist priests and dancing shamans invited to do the exorcism couldn’t catch the ghosts… …

“I don’t know if those masters, Taoist priests, and those who perform great dances are really capable,” Liu Yuan understood, “but it’s humans who do evil, and those methods of dealing with monsters and ghosts are useless.”

Lin Fei glanced at him, nodded, and said: “That’s about it. I also checked the past of this master named Jingxin before he became a monk, and unexpectedly discovered something…”

Before he finished speaking, he heard a voice coming from the flower garden. There was a cry like a ghost crying or a wolf howling.

The shouts of “Lin Shaoqing” and “Lin Shaoqing” kept ringing.

Liu Yuan and Wei Fu subconsciously glanced at the back door of the Buddhist hall leading to the flower garden: Were these tall and powerful guards? How old are you, but when you are scared, you only know how to call for “Lin Shaoqing”? Are you so timid?

Lin Fei did not continue talking when he heard the shouting, he took Liu Yuan and Wei Fu to the direction of the flower garden.

After arriving at the flower garden, Liu Yuan and Wei Fu, who had previously said in the Buddhist hall that “the guards are timid”, were also stunned when they saw the scene in front of them.

Countless rotting corpses were dug out of the flowerbed, and the stench filled the air.

The moon-white hosta flowers were absorbing the nutrients from the decaying corpse, displaying a haunting beauty, but little did anyone know what lay beneath…

Liu Yuan boasted that he had stayed in Dali Temple for so long and had seen a lot of corpses, but this was the first time he saw such a ghastly sight that made people churn in their stomachs.

Covering his mouth to resist the urge of retching, Liu Yuan looked at Lin Fei who had pulled out a piece of handkerchief from somewhere and covered his mouth and nose: “Lin Shaoqing, this…”

“Send for Wu Bucai!” Lin Fei frowned as he looked at the corpse in front of him. “Verify the age. If the age matches up, then those reported missing at the Chang’an Prefecture yamen should be among the deceased here.”

……

……

The silver light danced like silk before her, but the icy touch against her wrist told her that it wasn’t just any silk— it was a deadly weapon capable of inflicting mortal wounds at any moment.

Jing’an struggled to hold the dagger, and the soft blade passed her face to face again, creating a bloody gash.

“My martial arts skills are not very good, just like a three-legged cat.” the girl said before she made a move. A layer of mist appeared in her bright eyes, as if she was on the verge of tears, feeling aggrieved, scared, and anxious. “If you won’t spare my life, please at least let me have a chance.”

But the three-legged cat skill the girl talked about made her find it extremely difficult. Jing’an looked at the girl in front of her, her previously charming eyes filled with venom: “This little girl is really good at lying!”

As she kept the soft blade at bay to prevent the woman from approaching, the girl earnestly said, “I’m not lying! I really only have mediocre skills. It’s just that you seem to have a misunderstanding about your own abilities!”

Didn’t Jing’an tell her about the “bald donkey”? What she learned was just some self-defense skills, so she could only bully ordinary people who didn’t understand martial arts.

Previously, Jing’an had targeted weak scholars who didn’t understand martial arts, and every time she was successful. The success without exception made Jing’an overestimate herself, thinking that she was some great master.

If Liang Hongjin were to come, she was afraid it would only be a matter of two fists. Facing her, Jing’an could only do a few moves.

Therefore, people still had to recognize themselves and listen to the advice of others.

She probably didn’t dare to trust Jing’an completely. The person who taught her martial arts taught her how to use a dagger. This was a weapon that could only be used at close range. Compared with the soft sword that can be used with ease, Jing’an obviously required much more effort than she did.

Looking at Jing’an who was gradually losing strength in front of her, Wen Mingtang subconsciously touched her belly: It seemed that it was good to have a good breakfast and have enough physical strength.

Looking at Jing’an who was beginning to gasp for breath, Wen Mingtang touched the paper bag in her sleeve pocket.

Amidst the pepper scattered all around, with a “bang”, the dagger slipped from her hand, and Jing’an fell to her knees, her hands bound behind her back.

The sensation of pepper in her nose and mouth was truly uncomfortable. Jing’an, with her face covered in pepper, tightly shut her eyes, tears streaming down uncontrollably. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but as soon as she inhaled the pepper, it triggered another round of uncontrollable sneezes, preventing her from uttering a word.

After a fight, the clouds cleared and the rain stopped, and the sky became bright again. Unfortunately, Jing’an, who had her eyes tightly closed at this time, could not see anything.

She could only hear the crisp and sharp voice of the girl behind her: “Hey! I heard from Tangyuan that Lao Yuan likes pepper, so I specially ground some to bring to Lao Yuan. Now I have to go back to the kitchen and prepare it again.”

(End of chapter)

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