Starting with a blind date with a female constable, you acquire the Nine Swords of Dugu.

The night was as dark as ink, and the moonlight was silvery white.

The bell tower of Yunqi Temple rang, its echoes slowly dissipating in the night breeze, sinking into boundless silence.

Gu Guanqi and Fang Cunxin walked quickly along the bluestone path towards the Medicine Master Hall, one after the other. Their footsteps were so light that they made almost no sound on the damp stone slabs. The night wind rustled through the bamboo forest, concealing their figures in the swaying bamboo shadows.

The Medicine Buddha Hall is located in the northwest corner of the temple, a secluded courtyard rarely visited. The two passed through a moon gate and saw a hall standing in the night.

A small, thin figure huddled at the foot of the stone steps in front of the hall, leaning against the stone lion, hugging his knees with both hands, curled up as if trying to hide himself in the shadow of the stone lion.

"Huihai!" Fang Cunxin walked over quickly and squatted down.

The young novice monk suddenly raised his head.

"Miss Fang... Miss Fang..." Huihai's voice trembled, her eyes darting around as she looked at Gu Guanqi with some hesitation.

Seeing his appearance, Fang Cunxin reached out and pressed his shoulder, whispering, "Don't be afraid, this is Brother Gu, my good friend, someone I can trust."

Huihai took a few deep breaths to steady himself. He raised his head, his gaze shifting between Fang Cunxin and Gu Guanqi's faces several times, and finally said in a trembling voice:

"Miss Fang, Master... Master was killed by Senior Brother Huiming!"

Fang Cunxin's hand tightened, and her brows furrowed sharply: "What did you say?"

Huihai's eyes reddened, tears welling up, and he said, "Two months ago... that night, I got up to use the outhouse and passed by Master's meditation room. I heard some noise inside. I... I peeked through the crack in the window..."

His voice was very low: "I saw Senior Brother Huiming feeding Master medicine. During that time, Master was seriously ill, and it was mainly Senior Brother Huiming who took care of Master. But after taking the medicine, he started to convulse, his whole body trembled, and he vomited a lot of black blood."

"And then?" Fang Cunxin's voice turned somber.

"Then Master died." Huihai wiped away a tear. "But the next day, Brother Huiming told everyone that Master died of illness. I felt something was wrong, but I didn't dare to say anything."

Fang Cunxin and Gu Guanqi exchanged a glance, and both saw a hint of seriousness in each other's eyes.

"You said that Zen Master Jiuye was killed by Huiming, do you have any evidence?" Fang Cunxin hurriedly asked.

"Miss Fang, please listen to me first," Huihai continued, "On the third night after my master died, I tossed and turned and couldn't sleep. I was filled with fear. I felt that I had let my master down. He was murdered, but I didn't dare to avenge him. So I thought of offering incense to my master, and then I went to the mourning hall."

His voice began to tremble, his whole body shaking, as if he were back in that terrifying night: "Then, I saw that my master, who was already dead, had come back to life and was biting and tearing at my brother Huineng, who was keeping vigil. I was so scared that I hid in the bushes, and I watched with my own eyes as my brother Huineng was drained of blood and turned into a dried-up corpse!"

Fang Cunxin's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Master... no, that was a monster. He's not Master anymore," Huihai's voice was filled with fear. "His whole face was gone. He had no features, just a huge mouth. I hid in the flower bushes, afraid to make a sound. Just then, Senior Brother Huiming appeared. The monster obeyed Senior Brother Huiming and obediently went into the coffin and lay down."

He suddenly grabbed Fang Cunxin's arm, gripping it so tightly his knuckles turned white: "Miss Fang, what I'm saying is true! Master... he's become a monster, a blood-sucking monster!"

Fang Cunxin patted the back of his hand, her voice steady: "Don't panic, tell me slowly. What happened next?"

Huihai took a few breaths and continued, "Later, I found a chance to sneak back to my room. The next day, I heard from Brother Huiming that Brother Huineng had left the temple overnight to go on a rampage. Many people saw Brother Huineng leave, but I knew that the Brother Huineng who left was a fake. The real Brother Huineng was murdered, but I dared not say it. I was afraid that no one would believe me if I said it, and I would be harmed by Brother Huiming instead."

Fang Cunxin turned to look at Gu Guanqi, who asked, "You mean someone disguised themselves as Huineng and left the temple?"

"Yes," Huihai continued, "Later, in just a few days, all those martial monk brothers left the temple to go on adventures. Those people must have been killed just like Brother Huineng. Then someone disguised themselves as them and left the temple without arousing suspicion. The truth is that they were all killed by Brother Huiming. Not only those brothers, but also many of the pilgrims who came to stay during this period, many of them came in and never left."

Later, I noticed that Brother Huiming went to Pilu Pavilion almost every day. I secretly went there and discovered that he was raising two monsters there, exactly the same monsters that had sucked Brother Huineng's blood. He must have captured all the brothers and pilgrims to feed to the monsters!

Huihai looked at Fang Cunxin and said nervously, "Miss Fang, please believe me, please trust me. I beg you, can you take me away? I want to leave, but I'm afraid that Senior Brother Huiming will notice something is wrong. I can't find a chance to leave the temple. Can I leave tomorrow by hiding in your goods?"

"Take me away, Miss Fang, please, save me! I really don't lie to you, those two monsters are in the Pilu Pavilion, there are two coffins there, and the monsters are inside!"

As Huihai spoke, he knelt down on the ground.

Fang Cunxin placed her hand on the gun barrel, looked at Gu Guanqi, and said, "Brother Gu, I want to go to Pilu Pavilion to find out what's going on!"

Gu Guanqi nodded and said, "I'll go with you."

Fang Cunxin looked at Huihai and said, "Huihai, what you're saying is too outrageous. I can't believe you directly. I need to go and see for myself."

Huihai gritted his teeth, stood up, his thin body trembling slightly in the night wind. He took a deep breath and said, "I'll go with you, I'll lead the way!"

Immediately, Gu Guanqi and Fang Cunxin followed Huihai. However, after taking only a few steps, they saw several lanterns lit up at the end of the path ahead. The orange light swayed slightly in the night wind, making the shadows of the people appear longer and shorter.

Leading the way was Huiming, followed by two middle-aged monks. At the very back was a hunched figure, walking with faltering steps—the white-haired, lonely old man who swept the courtyard during the day.

Upon seeing Huiming, Huihai froze, his face turned deathly pale, and he began to tremble uncontrollably, his lips shaking so much that he could not speak.

He instinctively shrank behind Fang Cunxin, gripping her clothes tightly with both hands.

"Miss Fang," Huiming stepped forward, clasped his hands together, bowed slightly, and said calmly, "Why are you wandering around this temple so late at night instead of sleeping?"

Fang Cunxin calmly shielded Huihai behind her, clasped her hands in a fist and said, "Senior Brother Huiming, I couldn't sleep, so I came out for a walk and happened to run into Huihai, so we chatted for a bit."

Huiming noticed Fang Cunxin's actions, sighed, and said with a hint of helplessness and pity, "It seems that Miss Fang has listened to Huihai's nonsense."

Fang Cunxin shook her head and said, "I don't understand what Senior Brother Huiming is saying."

Huiming shook his head and said, "Miss Fang, there's no need to be so wary of me. I know Huihai is just saying that Master has become a man-eating monster, and that the junior brothers who left the temple were sucked blood by the monster, and things like that."

Fang Cunxin frowned and asked, "What do you mean by that, Senior Brother?"

Huiming said, "Miss Fang, sigh..."

Huiming sighed and said, "This is something that our temple is not comfortable talking about. After our master died, there was indeed a case of him coming back to life, but it was just a lingering breath, which is a normal phenomenon."

Huihai was young and had never seen anything like it before. It just so happened that he was on night watch that night, and he was so frightened that he developed hysteria. In recent days, he has often talked nonsense, saying that his master sucks blood and eats people. Many people in the temple have heard this.

However, his condition fluctuates, but overall it's not too serious. I've just arranged for someone to keep an eye on him, in case he gets lost. It was only when his junior brother, who lives with him, noticed he went out to get up in the middle of the night and didn't return that he came to tell me, so we came to find him and bring him back.

"No!"

Huihai suddenly poked his head out from behind Fang Cunxin, his voice sharp and urgent, tinged with sobs, "What I said is all true! You killed Master! You fed Master poison! Huineng and the others didn't die on their own, they were murdered! You even kept two monsters in the Pilu Pavilion, in the coffin..."

"Enough!" A middle-aged monk behind Huiming shouted sharply, stepping forward and glaring angrily. "Huihai, haven't you gone mad enough? Our master has already passed away. How can you, as his disciple, speak ill of him like this? You are simply unreasonable!"

Huihai trembled at the shout and shrank back behind Fang Cunxin, clutching her clothes tightly and shaking.

Huiming raised his hand to stop the monk, then turned to Fang Cunxin, clasped his hands together, and said gently, "Miss Fang, Huihai is currently delirious and his words are not reliable. This humble monk will take him back to rest first, lest he do something outrageous and disturb everyone."

As he spoke, he winked at the two monks behind him. The two monks stepped forward and reached out to pull Huihai away.

Huihai grabbed Fang Cunxin, pleading in a panic, "Miss Fang, please believe me, please believe me! I beg you, please help me, please help me..."

Fang Cunxin frowned, reached out to stop Huihai behind her, and looked directly at Huiming, saying in a deep voice, "Senior Brother Huiming, this..."

"Miss Fang," Huiming interrupted her, his expression still calm, but his voice deepening, "Miss Fang has been dealing with the Zhenshan Escort Agency at Yunqi Temple for many years. Do you not trust my character? I have followed my master since I was a teenager, how could I possibly harm him?"

Fang Cunxin was speechless for a moment. She had indeed known Huiming for many years. He was always steady and kind, and had a good reputation in the martial arts world. If Huihai hadn't said that, she would never have associated him with things like "killing her master" and "raising a monster".

"Senior Brother Huiming, it's not that I don't trust you," Fang Cunxin softened her tone, "it's just..."

"Very well, this matter was caused by my junior brother from the temple, so it's normal for Miss Fang to have doubts. Why don't you come with me to the Pilu Pavilion to take a look?" Huiming stepped aside, raised his hand and made a "please" gesture, his expression calm. "There are indeed two coffins in the Pilu Pavilion. They are the remains of ancestors sent by the people down the mountain to ask me to perform a ritual. They will be buried in a couple of days."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Fang Cunxin and Gu Guanqi, and then said, "Please, both of you."

Fang Cunxin turned around and glanced at Gu Guanqi.

Gu Guanqi nodded slightly.

"Alright." Fang Cunxin turned to Huiming, "Then I'll trouble Senior Brother Huiming to lead the way."

Huiming clasped his hands together, turned around, and left.

The two monks and the white-haired old man followed behind, while Huihai, pulled by Fang Cunxin, walked at the very back, trembling all over and his teeth chattering.