I defeated the saint with a parry.

"Since you all believe this matter is related to the Li family, then let's go and take a look together."

After Xu Huaixu finished speaking, he disappeared, leaving only the words: "You are no match for the person behind the White Snake. If you find anything, send me a message immediately."

Zhang Li exclaimed excitedly, "My goodness!! The garrison commander said we can find him if we're in danger!!"

He patted Xu Ling and jumped up and down excitedly.

"Senior brother, tone it down a bit. Is it really necessary?"

"Junior Brother Xu, you don't understand. Lord Xu is known as the cultivator in Great Chu who has the best chance of becoming a saint, and is also the most likely to sit in the position of chief commander. As long as he is in Fancheng, Fancheng will be the safest place in Kangzhou, without exception."

"How could I not be excited by such a powerful figure?"

It feels really great to have a powerful figure supporting you.

Xu Ling followed the white snake's trail underground and found an altar similar to that of Peach Blossom Village within the space where the white snake had coiled. There was no hanging coffin of the evil god here, but there were several dried corpses of teenagers and demons, as well as a pool of blood that smelled of medicine.

The blood pool is very large, so the white snake can rest and recuperate here.

There was also a passageway here. Xu Ling and Zhang Li followed the passageway together and arrived at an underground river.

"Brother Zhang, I also encountered a similar altar and underground river in Taoyuan Village, which is dozens of miles away."

Zhang Li asked in surprise, "Is it also a snake demon?"

Xu Ling shook his head: "He's an evil cultivator who went from a mortal to a spiritual cultivator overnight."

Zhang Li finally recognized the person and asked, "Is this the one you killed?"

"Exactly." Xu Ling pondered, "Now that I think about it, after I killed that evil cultivator, the entire village was submerged by the underground river and turned into an inland lake. I didn't even do the cleanup work and missed a lot of clues."

Zhang Li asked, "Can you determine the direction of Taoyuan Village?"

Xu Ling pointed north, and in that direction, the underground river passage was open. Zhang Li took the opportunity to fly out, rushing out without looking back: "Wait for me here. I'll go over there with all my might. If this place leads to Peach Blossom Village, then it will prove that these two things are connected."

An hour later, Zhang Li returned to Li Family Village, still covered in damp clothes: "I actually managed to find Peach Blossom Village. The scenery there is quite beautiful. The entire lake is surrounded by peach groves. Once the period of demonic calamity is over, I can take some young lady on a spring outing."

Zhang Li's smile faded: "These underground waterways are interconnected. If you hadn't pointed me in the right direction, I probably would have gotten lost. When the officials come later, make sure they search the entire waterway and get a map."

Xu Ling asked, "What do you think the person behind this is motive?"

Zhang Li pondered for a moment, looked at Li Family Village in front of him, and slowly said, "Li Family."

Xu Ling nodded in agreement. Although Zhang Li might seem unreliable, his thinking was on the same page as Xu Ling's. Such a teammate deserved praise: "The person behind this either has a grudge against the Li family or is cooperating with them to do some shady things in Fancheng."

Zhang Li asked, "Is Li Xi's death related to this?"

"Very likely." Xu Ling nodded: "The reason we took the road to Peach Blossom Village was because we were forced to change our route by a group of demons. Now it seems that the person behind it all may have deliberately led us that way."

Zhang Li continued, "And Li Xi's return to the Li family makes it easier for certain people to take action."

"Exactly."

After the officials from the yamen arrived to clean up the mess, Zhang Li gave them some instructions, and then the two of them went to the Li residence together.

The Li family was already holding a funeral, and the atmosphere inside was very tense. Now, the eldest daughter, who had just returned home, had suddenly died, casting a shadow over everyone's hearts.

This was Xu Ling's first impression upon arriving at the Li residence.

Li Xi lived in the west courtyard where the women of the Li family lived. Because of her special status, she was given a separate courtyard, so the people living there were not complicated.

Xu Ling and Zhang Li were led in by the steward of the Li family. They didn't see any important figures from the Li family along the way. It wasn't until they arrived at Li Xi's courtyard in the West Wing Garden that they met Li You, who shouldn't have been there.

"My lords," Li You said as if he were seeing them for the first time, "my grandfather was too heartbroken and has gone back to recuperate. My father is not in Fancheng, so I am the only one who can receive you."

Rest and recuperation?

That old man's cultivation level was already extraordinary; unless he suffered a qi deviation, he wouldn't need to recuperate.

I'm afraid the old man didn't want to deal with it, so he found Li You instead.

Xu Ling cupped his hands in greeting to "Young Master Li": "Please trouble you to take us to the scene."

"Please!" Li You stepped aside to lead Xu Ling inside, dismissing the servants.

Such disgraceful things are best left unseen by as few people as possible, unlike ordinary families where everyone can enjoy watching the spectacle when something happens.

In the Li family, anyone who dares to speak or look inappropriately will be dealt with long ago.

Li You pushed open the gate to the courtyard: "I had planned to come and pay my respects to my aunt this morning, but I didn't expect to encounter something like this."

"My aunt died inside the room, while her old servant collapsed in the courtyard, apparently struck by a weapon when he came to fetch people in the morning."

"Although this courtyard is for the women's quarters, this gate leads directly to the front courtyard and other areas, separating it from the other courtyards in the West Wing Garden." He pointed to the gate they had just entered through: "My aunt prefers quiet, so this was her own choice."

Xu Ling's gaze fell on the old man's corpse in the courtyard.

Hello!

He had thought Hou Le was a master, but he never expected that after just one night apart, he would be in such a state.

Is it true that it's easier to dodge a spear in the open than to guard against an arrow in the dark, or is the person behind the scenes truly all-powerful?

Xu Ling glanced at Hou Le and found no obvious external injuries on his body, nor any trace of the demon in the courtyard.

There were no traces of monster fur, footprints, or even signs of a fight.

Seemingly aware of what Xu Ling was looking at, Li You calmly said, "My grandfather came to see it once. He specifically used his supernatural powers to search for the killer's aura, but he found nothing."

Li You's eyes turned sinister: "The murderer was able to come and go freely in my Li residence and avoid the senses of the guards and my grandfather. He must have practiced some kind of special technique."

"An assassin?" Zhang Li pondered for a moment. "Is it Jin Yulou's unique movement technique, the Yin-Yang Path?"

Xu Ling's predecessor had also learned about this assassin organization.

Jin Yu Lou is both an assassin organization and an intelligence organization, and they even have business with the demon race.

If the Demon Suppression Division has the most powerful intelligence source in the open, then Jin Yulou is the most powerful one in the shadows.

The Yin-Yang Path technique is unpredictable and mysterious, said to allow the use of ghostly soldiers for travel, which is why the assassins of Jin Yu Lou can kill without leaving a trace. The problem is, this technique is only known to the most skilled assassins, and only the core lineage has the opportunity to learn it. To be able to kill someone in the Li residence, even a Jin Yu Lou assassin, must possess considerable skill.

Xu Ling: "Let's go inside and take a look."

inside the house.

Li Xi lay on the bed, looking more like she was sleeping than lifeless.

The face was somewhat unfamiliar, but you could still see some resemblance to the one you'd seen before. It seemed that the Li west you'd met before was indeed an imposter.

The colorful morning light shining through the glass window fell right on the bedside. The once-young Master Li's fair skin, now devoid of color, shimmered with a strange hue in the morning light.

"Like Hou Le, there were no signs of struggle."

It was as if both of them had died in a dream.