Datang: Hiding private money, exposed by Xiao Sizi

So...normally speaking, the body that the fake Zhao Xianye got should be Tianji's, and he had no doubt about it.

But why is the corpse now someone else's?
Moreover, he died not long ago?

Shen Lian's eyes turned, he looked at the pale, terrified fake Zhao Xianye, and said: "Don't rush to praise me, don't you want to know... why the corpse you got was supposed to be Tianji's, but now it has become someone else's?"

The fake Zhao Xianye was stunned.

He looked at Shen Lian, as if trying to read Shen Lian's thoughts from his expression.

But what made him feel powerless was that Shen Lian could see through him at a glance, but he could not judge Shen Lian's thoughts at all.

He took a deep breath and shook his head: "I don't know."

"I always thought that the corpses I got were all from Tianji. I don't know why they were replaced."

Shen Lian asked: "When did you bring Tianji's body here?"

The fake Zhao Xianye was disheartened, knowing that he had completely lost. He also wanted to know why his arrangements had problems with the corpse besides Shen Lian.

So he did not hide it, and said: "I dug it out from Tianji's tomb seven days ago."

"After digging it up, have you seen his body?" Shen Lian asked again.

The fake Zhao Xianye nodded, "Of course, I also need to make sure I have recruited the right person."

"The results of it?"

The fake Zhao Xianye thought about it, then shook his head, "I don't know. At that time, I thought it was Tianji, but now... I'm not sure anymore."

Shen Lian thought for a moment, then pointed to the corpse on the ground and said, "Do you know this person?"

The fake Zhao Xianye thought for a moment and said, "He looks a bit like a servant of the Huan Mansion. I seem to have seen him before, but I don't remember him clearly. After all, he is just a servant and is not worthy of me to remember him."

Shen Lian narrowed his eyes and said, "This corpse died about a day ago, which means that there was a corpse in the coffin at the beginning, but I don't know if it was Tianji's."

"Later, the corpse in the coffin disappeared, and the person who was suspected to be a servant of Huanfu was disguised and replaced as Tianji's corpse..."

"So, where's the original body?"

Shen Lian muttered to himself: "Also, who... replaced the person?"

This is quite interesting!

Shen Lian's eyes sparkled and there was a smile on his lips. He looked as if he had encountered an interesting prey, which aroused the hunter's rare interest.

Although I don’t know how Tianji’s body disappeared, nor do I know who replaced Tianji’s body...

But there is no doubt that the people who did these things are definitely not in the same group as the fake Zhao Xianye.

Similarly, he is not in the same group as Beichen.

In other words... while he was fighting with Beichen, there were other people behind Beichen who were also dealing with Beichen.

And Beichen, perhaps, doesn’t even know the existence of this person?

If the goal is simply to make Tianji's body disappear, there is no need to find a replacement. After all, it is not easy to find a replacement.

But that person found a substitute and changed his appearance. If it weren't for the blood that betrayed this person, Shen Lian might not have known that Tianji's corpse was fake.

So, the reason for going through so much trouble... maybe it's because they don't want people to know that Tianji's body has been replaced, and they don't want people to know about this person's existence.

So the purpose... is to help Yin Beichen?

Or maybe, he didn't want Beichen to know of his existence, because Beichen... might be able to guess that person's identity?

Xu Gou and the others looked at Shen Lian, their eyes changing again and again, they all held their breath and concentrated, not making any noise to disturb him.

Although they didn't know that Shen Lian's thoughts had already shifted to Beichen, they also knew that something that could make Shen Lian think so seriously must be very important.

After a while, Shen Lian regained his composure.

Glancing at the fake Zhao Xianye on the ground, he raised his lips and said, "After this stone chamber, there is another road. Where does this road lead to? What arrangements have you made?"

The fake Zhao Xianye shook his head, looking extremely desperate.

"I don't know. The order I received was just to stay here, so after I learned about the situation in the palace, I waited here for you to come. I don't know anything else."

Shen Lian took a close look at the fake Zhao Xianye.

He could see that the fake Zhao Xianye did not lie.

He really didn't know the arrangements behind it.

Shen Lian retracted his foot and glanced at those fake yamen runners. When these yamen runners were glanced at by Shen Lian, their hearts turned cold.

Shen Lian said at this time: "Be smart and let us tie you up, you can still live a few more days, otherwise today, you will be buried with these corpses."

Upon hearing this, the faces of the yamen runners turned extremely pale.

They looked at the fake Zhao Xianye lying on the ground unable to move, then looked at the smelly corpses on the ground, then looked at the guarded and vigilant Xu Gou and others, and finally... they looked at this young man who was like a devil and so smart that it made people despair.

Finally, with a bang, someone threw the weapon down.

"I surrender, don't kill me!"

If one person gives up, it won’t be a surprise for the others to follow.

Before long, these people surrendered one after another and were soon tied up.

The same is true for the fake Zhao Xianye.

They were tied up like dumplings, just like when Qin Wenyuan and the others came in before, they were all tied up tightly.

If it weren't for the corpses scattered all over the ground, Xu Gou would have thought that everything that just happened was just a dream.

Shen Lian glanced at the tied-up Zhao Xianye and the others, raised his lips and said lazily: "Just pray that your people will not kill you to silence you. At this time, being taken to the Dali Temple may be the best outcome for you."

Upon hearing this, the fake Zhao Xianye and others trembled all over.

Before they could speak, Shen Lian yawned and said, "Let's go, continue."

Just like the two levels he had passed before, Shen Lian's expression was still calm and relaxed.

Xu Gou glanced at these people and couldn't help but lower his voice and asked, "Master, are we just going to leave them here like this? Will anything happen?"

Shen Lian glanced at Xu Gou: "What's the matter?"

"Will they escape?"

"escape?"

Shen Lian sneered: "We already know their identities, and they are of no value. Escape? Do you think those guys would do such a worthless thing? Killing them is a hundred times easier than helping them escape."

"Will they be killed?"

"Just kill him." Shen Lian's expression did not fluctuate at all.

Xu Gou was startled: "Master, you don't seem to care about their life or death?"

Shen Lian didn't respond, but his attitude was already very clear.

"Then why didn't the young master just kill them directly, but took the trouble to tie them up, and then send someone to take them away?"

Xu Gou doesn't think Shen Lian is someone who likes trouble.

Shen Lian said calmly: "If he is dead, it means that there is someone following us and monitoring us, or..."

Shen Lian paused, and scanned the stone room with his eyes. The dim light in his eyes made Xu Gou feel a little cold. Then Shen Lian retracted his gaze and said with a smile: "...Let me know something."

"If they are not dead, they still have value. If we take them to the Dali Temple, some news will spread."

At this point, Shen Lian's eyes flashed, and he smiled maliciously: "Although that person may be hostile to Beichen, since he did all this a day ago, but did not take any action to remind us, it can only mean that he may not have any good intentions towards me."

"In that case. That person is afraid that Beichen will know about it, so I won't let him have his way." He suddenly laughed and said with ill intentions: "Isn't it fun to watch a dog fight a dog?"

When Xu Gou heard Shen Lian's words and looked at his smile that gave people goosebumps, he couldn't help but shrink his neck.

He just felt that his young master was now... so insidious!
But when he thought that those who were schemed against by his young master were not good people, he stopped thinking about it.

"okay."

Shen Lian said no more: "We have been delayed here for a long time, don't waste any more time, open the door."

The Dog and the Snake looked at each other, then put their hands on the door and exerted force suddenly.

The stone door suddenly made a harsh sound and was slowly opened.

And everything was just as Shen Lian expected. Behind the stone door was a pitch-black passage.

Sishe frowned and said, "The main hall of this Fantasy Palace is really far away. Are they going to take us across Chang'an?"

When Shen Lian heard Sishe's complaints, he couldn't help but smile.

He snapped his fingers and said calmly, "Let's go. Haven't you heard that sharpening the knife does not delay the chopping of wood? Haven't you heard that slow work produces fine work? Maybe the main hall of the Illusion Mansion is worth such a long journey?"

Sishe and others were holding torches. When they heard that Qin Zu was coming, they did not delay any longer and went straight into the passage.

The sound of people's footsteps quickly faded away.

Soon, nothing could be heard.

The fake Zhao Xianye was tied up. After hearing no sound, he hurriedly said to the others: "Quick, find a way to untie me. Let's hurry up while Shen Lian and the others leave. If we don't escape now, we will never be able to escape in the future."

When the others heard what Zhao Xianye said, they all gathered together.

Although they were tied up tightly, because there were so many of them, they could still get together and find a way to untie the fake Zhao Xianye first. As long as one person could get away, the others could also escape.

Seeing the rope gradually loosen, the fake Zhao Xianye showed a smug look on his face: "Shen Lian, you didn't expect that the reason I was so obedient was not because I was afraid of you, but because I had hope of escaping."

"When you come back, you won't be able to find me anymore. I've already left for the heavens, and you won't be able to catch me in your lifetime—"

…………

boom!
At this moment, a loud collision sound suddenly sounded in the stone chamber.

Because the voice sounded so abruptly, it directly interrupted the fake Zhao Xianye's words and also stunned everyone else.

"what sound?"

"Where's the sound coming from?"

Everyone was subconsciously confused.

boom!
At this time, another voice sounded.

Everyone was prepared and this time they found where the sound came from, and they looked over there quickly.

And then the next moment--
"What!?"

"This……"

"The coffin, the coffin is moving!"

Someone suddenly yelled.

I saw that the coffin that had just contained the fake Tianji's corpse... actually moved.

It wasn't just the coffin lid that was moving, it was the entire coffin that was moving.

These people were completely terrified.

The fake Zhao Xianye's eyes also widened suddenly, his face filled with fear.

The coffin moved before because he was controlling the corpses, so he was not afraid at all.

But now, now he has no control!

So, this sound, what is going on?

Bang!

At this moment, the coffin without a lid was suddenly blown away and hit the wall directly, making a loud bang.

This voice seemed to ring in their hearts, causing their entire bodies to tremble.

Then, they saw a figure slowly emerging from under the coffin.

The next moment after seeing this figure, the pupils of the fake Zhao Xianye's eyes suddenly shrank, and he was terrified to the extreme: "You...you...you..."

puff!

Before he finished speaking, a head with a look of extreme fear soared into the sky.

Then a cold light flashed.

Soon, the ground was covered with blood.

Several heads rolled on the ground with faces full of fear.

A blood-stained knife was taken away by this figure.

He glanced at the passage where Shen Lian and others left, then turned around and strode towards the passage where Shen Lian and others came from.

There was no sound from the stone chamber behind him.

In the dark passage.

Shen Lian and his group were walking slowly forward. The passage ahead was dark and there was no end in sight, making it impossible to tell how long the passage was.

After walking in the dark passage for so long, Sishe and the others had completely lost their sense of direction. They didn't know which direction they were going, nor did they know what time it was.

The dark passage and the constant movement made them seem to have forgotten the concept of time.

Fortunately, they didn't feel particularly hungry now, so they could roughly estimate that it was not yet bright outside.

At this moment, the snake's footsteps suddenly paused.

He said, "Did you hear any noise?"

"What?" The Dog looked at the Snake in confusion.

Sishe frowned slightly, he turned his head and looked back, behind him it was already pitch black, he could not see anything.

He said: "I seemed to hear some shouting coming from behind us."

Upon hearing this, Xu Gou and others subconsciously looked back.

Behind me, it was pitch black. I couldn't see or hear anything. It was as if something horrible was lurking in the darkness.

When they thought of the words of the Snake again, their hair almost stood on end.

"Snake, did you hear it wrong?" said the Dog: "I didn't hear anything!"

The other shadow guards also shook their heads.

"Did I hear wrong?" Si Snake frowned.

He looked at Shen Lian, only to see that Shen Lian did not stop walking and continued to look forward calmly.

Although Shen Lian did not turn around, he seemed to know that Si She was looking at him. He then slowly said: "There was indeed some sound."

(End of this chapter)