Tumor Sword Immortal

Chapter 68 The Secret Realm of the Ice Pool
"I really don't know anything."

Xu Chuan couldn't help but glance again at the sect leader's gruesome corpse on the bed. He took a deep breath and looked at Xu Zhuofeng: "The sect leader went back to his dormitory this morning and locked the door. He hasn't come out since."

Pei Xia carefully parted the wounds on Xu Chengfeng's body to check their depth, then asked without turning her head, "What about the assassin?"

Xu Chuan didn't know Pei Xia and didn't dare to answer.

Only after Xu Zhuofeng gestured to him did he lower his voice and say, "It was the sect leader who instructed us to release false information."

really.

"Were those two from the Well Gang and the Left Mountain Sect secretly transferred out on Xu Chengfeng's orders?" Pei Xia asked again.

Xu Chuan looked at the thin young man beside the bed with surprise.

How come he seems to know everything?

Nodding, Xu Chuan replied, "Yes."

"When did he give the order? Was it after he went back to his room?"

"No, it was secretly instructed when we left the arena. We were just told to go and call for help at the appointed time."

"Besides those two, who else?"

"There are five more..."

As Xu Chuan spoke, he took out a rolled-up piece of thin paper from his belt and handed it over.

Pei Xia opened it and saw that there were seven names in total, including Sun Tingfeng, two of which had been crossed out.

Pei Xia raised her eyebrows and looked at Xu Chuan: "Isn't this true? There's someone from each of the seven vassal sects at the top?"

“…Yes,” Xu Chuan glanced at Xu Zhuofeng cautiously, his voice lower, “and they are all people who are dissatisfied with the main family and have said they want to start their own businesses.”

Pei Xia folded the paper, walked up to Xu Zhuofeng, and patted his chest: "Judging from this, Xu Chengfeng must have noticed that after you left the Palace of the Holy Master, the subordinate sects have been making strange moves. So he wanted to take advantage of this birthday celebration to seal the great formation under the pretext of an assassination attempt, to make an example of you."

Xu Zhuofeng's face was terribly gloomy, and invisible streams of spiritual energy swirled around him: "Our Xueyan Sect is a prestigious and righteous sect. How dare you plot murder for status and fame?!"

Xu Zhuofeng is the highest in the Xueyan Sect in terms of cultivation, seniority, and prestige.

Especially since Xu Chuan was someone he had personally promoted, seeing Xu Zhuofeng's anger, he knelt down without saying a word: "Uncle-Master, please calm down. We were just following the sect leader's orders to tell people to leave the guesthouse. We don't know who the killer was."

Xu Zhuofeng was furious. He raised his hand and smashed the expensive gold-lacquered wooden table beside him into pieces: "Bullshit! You're more of a beast than the one who actually did it, not even wanting to wield the knife yourself!"

These words left Xu Chuan speechless, and he could only lower his head tightly.

In fact, the Xu brothers, Xu Mou and Xu Chuan, were also very resistant to Xu Chengfeng's actions.

Perhaps because they had never held power, the two men had a stronger sense of江湖 (jianghu, the world of martial arts and chivalry) about them. They felt that killing was acceptable, but there was no need to go to such lengths and use "assassins" as a pretext.

Any vassal state that wants to establish its own power should just go through a few rounds with them, and let them see who's truly superior.

"Alright, alright, Lao Xu, calm down first."

Pei Xia gestured with her chin toward the corpse on the bed: "The main culprit is dead, so things aren't that simple."

According to Xu Chuan, Xu Chengfeng finished giving instructions early in the morning and returned to his bedroom. He never appeared again after that. Therefore, the earliest possible time of Xu Chengfeng's death was before noon today.

Pei Xia then asked Xu Chuan, "Have you heard any fighting sounds coming from the bedroom?"

Xu Chuan knelt on the ground and pondered for a moment: "No."

"Sure?"

"That's confirmed. I've been guarding the sect leader all day."

"Was there any other noise?"

"No, it's been very quiet."

Pei Xia turned to look at Xu Zhuofeng: "Isn't this wrong?"

Of course not. Xu Chengfeng is at the Opening Mansion Realm. Even if he is arrogant and extravagant and has not fought with anyone for a long time, his cultivation level is still there. To kill him silently... it would have to be Xu Zhuofeng who did it.

Furthermore, while Xu Chengfeng's plan to make an example of someone is understandable, assigning all seven of them to Xu Chuan at once seems illogical. What if something unexpected happens?

Generally speaking, he should complete such a task once and give instructions once. In any case, Xu Chuan must have known about the fake assassination attempt, so there was no need to hide it.

Giving instructions all at once like this makes it seem as if Xu Chengfeng knows he won't be able to get away later.

Surely he couldn't have known he was going to die?
Faced with Pei Xia's question, Xu Zhuofeng simply sighed and shook his head: "I'm in a state of utter confusion right now, and I can't figure it out."

Pei Xia was also clueless at this point.

Based on the current clues, it seems that Xu Chengfeng colluded with someone early on, using a martial arts competition as an excuse to set up a protective formation around the mountain. He then pretended to be assassinated, using the excuse that "the assassin has not yet been caught" to seal off the entire Xueyan Sect. He then used orders from the main family or other means to kill those with disloyal intentions as a warning to others.

Judging from the deaths of the Well Gang monks and Sun Tingfeng, the latter part of the plan should be considered to have been successfully implemented.

But Xu Chengfeng's death has made the whole matter even more mysterious.

Pei Xia pondered for a while, and the only unusual thing was indeed the arrangement that Xu Chengfeng had made in advance.

He could only ask Xu Chuan, "What did Xu Chengfeng do before he went back to his room this morning?"

"Watching Subi."

"Gone?"

“No… uh,” Xu Chuan suddenly paused, “It seems that the sect leader hurriedly got up and went back to his room after hearing that a certain congratulatory gift had been delivered.”

He hurriedly got up and went back to his room.

Pei Xia's eyes lit up. Could this mean that Xu Chengfeng had made all the arrangements in advance so that he could properly admire and arrange this birthday gift that he cared so much about in the room?

But aren't the most precious gifts from each sect presented publicly on birthdays? What other gift could possibly make the well-informed Xu Chengfeng value it so much?
Pei Xia stared in shock at the five bloody marks on the old man's body.

He thought of the large cage-like vehicle covered with a black cloth that had been his constant companion on his journey to Nestlé Hill.

This old bastard, could he be...?

Is this possible? No way!

Pei Xia put her hands behind her back and began to look around the room.

No, no, no, the house was very clean except for the old man's body, and there were no signs of any bumps or knocks.

Moreover, with Xu Chengfeng's cultivation at the Opening Mansion Realm, even the Ghost Woman would most likely be no match for him—just kidding, if every Ghost could rival an Opening Mansion Realm cultivator, what would be the point of guarding Zhenhai Pass!

Of course, there are indeed differences in strength among the ghost race, and the top experts among them may not be inferior to martial arts grandmasters.

But if she were a ghost of that caliber, how could she be escorted all the way to Nestlé Mountain in just a few shackles?

“I may need some time to think about it.” Pei Xia looked at Xu Zhuofeng.

Old Xu nodded: "It's alright, I'll arrange for someone to help you in a bit. From now on, the entire Xueyan Sect will follow your orders until the murderer is found."

Xu Zhuofeng's words implied that he himself probably wouldn't be going back with Pei Xia.

Indeed, with Xu Chengfeng dead, someone had to take charge.

Considering that this was, after all, someone else's younger brother, Pei Xia could only clasp his hands in a fist salute and pat Xu Zhuofeng on the shoulder.

Xu Zhuofeng remained silent.

Only after Pei Xia and the others left did his expression gradually turn cold and stern: "What was that congratulatory gift you mentioned earlier?"

Xu Chuan shook his head: "This disciple does not know."

Xu Zhuofeng, recalling Pei Xia's fruitless search earlier, slowly exhaled and asked, "Where was it sent?"

Xu Chuan knew that the secret could be kept from Pei Xia, an outsider, but not from Xu Zhuofeng, so he could only answer truthfully:

"The Secret Realm of the Ice Pool"

(End of this chapter)