Begin your practice with the crane-shaped stance.

Chapter 87 Fire (3rd Update)

After leaving Lonely Moon Peak, Xia Dong embarked on his journey back to Lin Yuan Prefecture City alone.

Along the way, the mountain breeze brushed his face, and his thoughts raced.

He calculated the time; Zhao Ting should be preparing to go to the Qin residence to pay respects to Master Qin at this moment.

The two were already in the same boat. With such a big change happening, he had to meet up with Zhao Ting to see if this well-informed centurion could find any clues.

As for Qin Wan, now that she has handed over her belongings to Master Guyue, she has completely fulfilled Master Qin's last wish and also severed ties with the secular Qin family.

She didn't want to go back to that house, so Xia Dong naturally didn't say anything.

To be fair, with Master Qin dead, the young masters and mistresses of the Qin family probably already harbored resentment towards Qin Wan, their beloved adopted daughter, and might not even welcome her back to divide the family property.

As an outsider, Xia Dong had neither the status nor the right to interfere in the feuds and family affairs of a wealthy family.

Moreover, it's clear that Master Qin had already made proper arrangements for this.

However, as he faced the wind, Xia Dong's eyes gradually became deep and mysterious.

Deep down, a persistent thought had been lingering in his mind.

Master Qin committed suicide by poisoning himself, and his body was immediately cremated—the whole process was too swift and too clean.

All of these shocking details were Qin Wan's side of the story.

"Why----"

Xia Dong sighed silently in her heart.

He thought about it again and again, and he felt that there were too many illogical and inexplicable aspects to Master Qin's death and that empty grave.

It was as if an invisible black hand was secretly controlling everything.

But Xia Dong quickly suppressed these distracting thoughts.

In this world where power belongs to oneself, conspiracies and tricks are ultimately futile; only one's own cultivation is the foundation of one's existence.

Investigating cases is a laborious and karmic task, so let Zhao Ting, who is in official robes, handle it.

If Brother Zhao has the energy and the inclination, let's wait for him to find out the results before making any decisions.

Having figured this out, Xia Dong quickened his pace.

It was already noon when we arrived in the city.

Under the blazing sun, Xia Dong arrived at the bustling street where the Qin residence was located with practiced ease.

However, as soon as he turned the corner, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, startled.

The once magnificent and imposing Qin family mansion has now been reduced to a charred ruin.

Wisps of pungent smoke still rose from the ruins, and the air was filled with a strong smell of burning.

A large number of Eagle Wolf Guards dressed in flying fish robes solemnly moved in and out of the ruins, sealing off the entire scene.

Xia Dong frowned and quickly stepped forward.

He stopped a fellow Eagle Wolf Guard officer who was on guard duty on the perimeter, and decisively showed his captain's badge to identify himself.

The captain looked down and quickly said, "It's Commander Xia. Commander Zhao is nearby. Please follow me, sir."

Led by the captain, Xia Dong arrived at a private room in a teahouse that had been temporarily requisitioned on the street corner.

Pushing open the door, one sees Zhao Ting sitting behind a desk with a furrowed brow, flipping through several files.

Hearing the noise, Zhao Ting looked up. When he saw that it was Xia Dong, his tense face visibly relaxed, and he immediately got up to greet her.

"Xueyi, I'm so glad you're alright!" Zhao Ting grabbed Xia Dong's arm, looked her up and down, his voice filled with undisguised fear. "I heard that you and Fellow Daoist Qin hurriedly left the city last night, fearing that you had also fallen victim to the Wusheng Sect. Now that I see you back safe and sound, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief!"

Xia Dong thanked Zhao Ting for his concern, then pointed solemnly to the charred remains of the Qin residence outside the window and asked in a deep voice, "Brother, what about the fire at the Qin residence—? Where are the rest of the Qin family?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ting's face instantly darkened, and a deep sense of apprehension and fear flashed in the depths of his eyes.

He lowered his voice and gritted his teeth, saying, "The fire was definitely set by the Wusheng Sect demons. As for the main relatives of the Qin family, we compared them with the corpses we dug out of the ruins, and they were all servants, so the number doesn't match up."

Nine out of ten pampered young masters and mistresses of the Qin family have been kidnapped. These wicked people's methods are truly terrifying; they dared to set fire right under the noses of the prefectural city's garrison and then silently abduct an entire family!

The atmosphere inside the private room of the teahouse was unusually somber.

Zhao Ting picked up the teacup on the table but didn't drink it. Instead, he frowned and briefly recounted the inside story of the Qin family's case to Xia Dong. At the end, he deliberately lowered his voice and revealed an extremely important secret.

"Xueyi, the most troublesome part of this case is not the Wusheng Sect." Zhao Ting's eyes darkened slightly, and his fingers tapped lightly on the table. "That noble person in the capital, before setting off, not only instructed the Thousand Households to pay close attention to the Qin residence, but also specifically requested that he stay at the Qin Garden after arriving in Linyuan Prefecture."

Upon hearing this, Xia Dong felt a slight chill run down his spine.

Zhao Ting sighed, his face full of bitter smiles and helplessness: "But who could have imagined that such a major incident would happen to the Qin residence while the important person was still on the way? It was burned to the ground. Now, everyone in the Thousand Households Office will be implicated."

Then, Zhao Ting mentioned Qin Wan's situation: "After such a big case, we originally planned to summon all relevant members of the Qin family for questioning. But when the Qianhu Office checked the household registration records, they were shocked to find that Master Qin had already filed a record with the government, clearly stating that Fellow Daoist Qin was only his adopted daughter. Moreover, in terms of procedures, Qin Wan had long since severed ties with the secular Qin family."

Zhao Ting: "Fellow Daoist Qin has now completely severed ties with the world. Her only identity is an inner disciple of the Qixia Immortal Sect. This means that apart from having the surname 'Qin,' she has absolutely no connection to the Qin family. If we want to bring her in for questioning, even just for routine inquiries, we must first obtain the approval of True Person Guyue."

Xia Dong listened quietly, her mind racing with conflicting thoughts.

From the time Xia Dong's parents' graves were dug up to the time the Qin family was kidnapped and their mansion was reduced to ashes, only a few days have passed.

Not only Xia Dong, but even Zhao Ting, who was used to seeing all kinds of storms, was bewildered by the series of dramatic changes and couldn't help but feel a sense of absurdity, as if he were in another world.

Since Zhao Ting couldn't inquire about Qin Wan's affairs, he turned the conversation to Xia Dong: "Xueyi, what was the purpose of your hasty departure from the city in the middle of the night last night?"

Xia Dong remained calm and naturally picked out the things he could say: "Uncle Qin's sudden passing left Wan'er heartbroken. Entrusted by her, I escorted her back to Qixia Immortal Sect overnight."

At this point, Xia Dong paused slightly, then added casually, "When I arrived at Lonely Moon Peak, I also took the opportunity to meet with True Person Lonely Moon. She already knew about Master Qin's passing."

Zhao Ting asked in surprise, "You—you met Master Guyue? What was her attitude towards you?"

Xia Dong: "Not bad."

Zhao Ting naturally knew that Xia Dong, with his steady and reliable nature, would never boast about such things without a reason.

A casual "not bad" sounded like a deafening subtext to Zhao Ting!

For a figure as important as Master Guyue to condescend to meet a mere worldly martial artist, and with such a "good" attitude, can only mean one thing—Master Guyue has probably become Xia Dong's powerful backer!

Zhao Ting originally had many questions about the Qin family case that he wanted to ask Xia Dong, but under this strong suggestion, he swallowed them all.

His mind was filled with thoughts—

Then, Zhao Ting let out a long sigh: "Xueyi, this case happened in the prefectural city after all, and we've gathered all the necessary information. Let our colleagues in the prefectural city handle the rest of the troublesome matters. As the saying goes, 'Those who are not in a position should not meddle in its affairs.'"

Xia Dong naturally understood Zhao Ting's intention to back down, and immediately bowed and said, "I will follow your arrangements, elder brother."

"Alright, this place is unlucky, let's go!" Zhao Ting stood up magnanimously, not even bothering to look at the case files, and strode out of the teahouse with Xia Dong, completely forgetting about the mess at the Qin residence.

Standing outside the towering city gate of Lin Yuan Prefecture, Xia Dong stopped in his tracks, turned around, and gazed intently at the location of the Qin residence, looking past the bustling crowd.

Although the ruins were not visible through the layers of buildings, Xia Dong knew in his heart that the Qin family's unsolved case would most likely be quietly turned over in the open.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter whether the Wusheng Sect did it or not; the Wusheng Sect must be made to take the blame.

Otherwise, how could I explain this to the nobles in the capital?

Xia Dong frowned, and a cool breeze blew by, making his back feel slightly cold.

He was also keenly aware that if it weren't for Master Qin's arrangement, which gave him a powerful cultivator who was about to form his core as a temporary backer, he probably wouldn't have even gone to the Hundred Household Office. He would have already fled into the deep mountains and forests and run away without looking back.

.

There was nothing he could do; for him now, these things were like a natural disaster for an ordinary person—completely beyond his control.

Faced with an absolute disparity in strength, preserving one's life is the only wise course of action.

However, with the crisis temporarily dormant, Xia Dong's mind began to stir again.

Involuntarily, the image of the ancient jade slip that Master Guyue casually played with in the main hall came to mind.

What exactly did that jade slip contain?

It was astonishing that it could move a proud and arrogant Foundation Establishment cultivator, who had one foot in the Golden Core realm, to such an extent that he was willing to make such a significant promise.

However, Xia Dong knew very well that this kind of thing must be of great benefit to cultivation in order to make Master Guyue's heart flutter.

After all, for a great cultivator who is single-mindedly focused on attaining enlightenment, nothing is more important than cultivation.