Chapter 64: Evidence

Chapter 64: Chapter 64: Evidence

When Luo Qingya stepped forward, every gaze in the crowd immediately shifted toward her. Sui Sui’s eyes brightened the moment he saw her.

Sister Qingya had finally come to the rescue.

"You want evidence? Isn’t the evidence already right in front of you?" Luo Qingya said calmly.

She raised her sword and pointed it directly toward the abbot and the monks. In the next instant, a powerful sword intent erupted from her body and swept toward the coffins. The force was so fierce that dust and debris were sent flying, while the nearby monks scrambled backward in panic.

They were only Qi Refining cultivators, while Luo Qingya was already in the early Golden Core Stage, the gap between their cultivation realms was very enormous, so just the pressure from her sword intent was enough to make them feel as though an invisible blade was pressing against their throats.

"Since you want evidence so badly, then I’ll give you your evidence." As her voice fell, the dust slowly settled.

The crowd stared toward the coffin that had been struck by her sword.

Its lid had been completely torn apart, revealing the body inside.

At first glance, it appeared to be an ordinary corpse dressed in funeral garments. But when the people standing closest to the coffin looked more carefully, they noticed something strange about its exposed surface.

The texture was wrong, it did not resemble flesh at al, but rather It looked like wood.

"This... this is..." One of the people nearest to the coffin stumbled backward, his face turning pale. He pointed at the body with a trembling finger before finally shouting, "It’s fake! This is a fake body!"

His words instantly sent the crowd into an uproar.

"What?"

"How can the corpse be fake?"

"Then what have they been cremating all this time?"

The family members who had come to see their loved ones off were especially shaken. You Bo’s mother and wife, already overwhelmed by grief, could not withstand the shock and almost fainted on the spot if it were not for the help of the other people.

The solemn funeral atmosphere was completely shattered. Cries, accusations, and frightened whispers erupted from every direction as everyone stared at the monks with suspicion.

Amidst the chaos, Sui Sui folded his arms and looked toward the abbot with undisguised smugness. "How do you explain yourself this time, old geezer?"

"This is still not enough evidence!" the abbot retorted. "How can everyone be certain that you didn’t plant this here just to frame us?"

Although he spoke with righteous indignation, his heart had already begun to sink. Things were developing in the worst possible direction, and if the temple’s secrets were exposed, they would be as good as dead.

Still, he refused to admit defeat.

As long as there was no concrete evidence proving the temple’s involvement, he could simply deny everything. No matter what accusations were thrown at him, he would insist that they were nothing more than baseless slander.

The monks who had been forced back by Luo Qingya’s sword intent had also recovered their footing. Seeing their abbot’s reaction, they quickly gathered around him and began supporting his claims.

"Yes, that’s right! This proves nothing!"

"They could have deliberately planted the fake corpse!"

"Young cultivator, you cannot accuse our temple without evidence!"

Luo Qingya looked at them calmly, seemingly unfazed by their desperate attempts to defend themselves.

"Is this still not enough?" A faint smile appeared on her lips. "Then bring them in."

The moment those words left her mouth, the abbot’s expression stiffened.

For some reason, an intense sense of unease suddenly rose in his heart.

A moment later, several cultivators from the Vermillion Moon Pavilion walked over from the side. Two young monks were bound between them, their hands restrained behind their backs as they were brought directly before the crowd.

The moment the abbot saw them, the blood drained from his face.

Those were the two monks he had ordered to secretly move the corpse earlier.

"How dare you!" the abbot immediately shouted, forcing himself to remain composed. "What is the meaning of this? Why have you tied up two of my disciples?"

His voice was louder than necessary, as though he could drown out the unease in his heart by sheer force.

Luo Qingya glanced at the two captured monks before looking back at him.

"When we were searching the area earlier, we happened to come across these two monks," she explained. "They were behaving suspiciously and struggling to carry something heavy toward the back of the temple."

She paused deliberately, allowing the surrounding crowd to absorb her words. "At first, we thought they might have been stealing something valuable from the temple, so we followed them."

Luo Qingya’s gaze gradually sharpened as she looked directly at the abbot. "However, what we found after following them was far more interesting than anything we expected."

—

A few hours earlier, Luo Qingya and the disciples of the Vermillion Moon Pavilion had searched the area around the temple but failed to find any useful leads. Although Lin Fan had confidently claimed that they had already identified the culprit, Luo Qingya was not willing to simply take his word for it. Until there was concrete evidence, she would rather investigate the matter herself.

With that in mind, their group entered the temple and continued searching for clues.

It was not long before they noticed two monks carrying a large, heavy wooden container. The two appeared to be struggling under its weight, their movements somewhat hurried as they headed toward the rear of the temple.

Seeing this, Luo Qingya approached them.

"Fellow cultivators, that looks rather heavy. Do you need a hand?"

The two monks immediately shook their heads. "There is no need to trouble yourself, Cultivator Luo. We can handle it ourselves."

Their refusal was not particularly strange, so Luo Qingya initially decided to let the matter go. She had only taken a few steps away, however, when a faint and unmistakable odor drifted into the air.

She stopped and her brows furrowed slightly as she turned her head toward the two monks.

That smell...It was faint, but she knew it well enough.

The unmistakable scent of a corpse.

Luo Qingya’s gaze followed the two monks as they continued toward the back of the temple. Her expression gradually became more serious.

If she remembered correctly, there was only one funeral scheduled for today.

Could the body they were carrying be You Bo’s?

But the funeral was not supposed to begin until tonight. Under normal circumstances, the deceased should have remained in the coffin room until the ritual began. Why would the monks suddenly move the body somewhere else, especially in such a shabby container?

The more she thought about it, the stranger it seemed. "Something isn’t right," Luo Qingya murmured.

She immediately made a decision. "Continue searching inside the temple. See if you can find anything suspicious."

After giving the other disciples their instructions, she turned to Luo Qingxue. "Qingxue, we’re following them."

Luo Qingxue nodded and quietly followed her elder sister. The two kept a careful distance from the monks, concealing their presence as they tracked them toward the back of the temple.

"What are we going to do if they notice us?" Luo Qingxue whispered.

"First, find out where they are going," Luo Qingya replied, her eyes remaining fixed on the two figures ahead. "Those two are clearly hiding something. We will know what to do once we find out what it is."

On the other side, Sui Sui and Yizhou were also following the two monks. The pair of monks had moved quickly after leaving the coffin room, forcing Sui Sui and Yizhou to spend some time locating them. Fortunately, the faint scent of the corpse still lingered in the air, allowing Yizhou to trace their trail before they disappeared completely.

The two monks eventually returned to the back of the temple. After looking around to make sure no one was watching, they stopped before an old, weathered door half-hidden behind the surrounding trees and entered.

Sui Sui narrowed his eyes as he watched the door slowly close behind them. He then turned toward Yizhou and gave him a questioning look.

Yizhou understood immediately. After briefly observing the surroundings, he gave a small gesture toward the door.

They should go in.

Sui Sui quietly followed him, though he could not help glancing at the gloomy surroundings as they approached. After everything they had already discovered inside the temple, he had a feeling that whatever was behind this door would not be anything good.

"What should we do once we’re inside?" Sui Sui whispered.

Yizhou glanced at the darkening sky before answering in his usual calm manner. "Find out what they are hiding. The day is already coming to an end, and the funeral will begin soon. We don’t have much time."

Sui Sui nodded and was about to follow him inside when he suddenly caught sight of two familiar figures nearby.

"Sister Qingya? Sister Qingxue?" he called softly, his voice carrying a hint of surprise.

Luo Qingya and Luo Qingxue had also noticed them. Luo Qingya gave a small nod before explaining, "We followed those two monks here. They were acting suspiciously, so we decided to see where they were going."

Sui Sui’s eyes lit up. "So you noticed them too?"

"We noticed them carrying something heavy," Luo Qingxue added quietly. "My sister thought it was strange, so we followed them."

Hearing that they were after the same people, Sui Sui immediately looked at Yizhou. The latter gave a slight nod, apparently seeing no reason to refuse their help.

"Then let’s go together," Sui Sui said.

The four of them entered the old door and followed the monks through a concealed passageway. Before long, the path descended beneath the temple and opened into a hidden underground chamber.

After descending several flights of stone steps, they suddenly heard voices coming from somewhere ahead.

"Someone’s there." Yizhou raised a hand, stopping the others.

The four immediately concealed themselves against the walls, sneaking inside.

A moment later, two familiar figures appeared at the end of the passage. The same two monks they had been following entered a dimly lit chamber, and besides them came another figure.

Unlike the other monks, who wore simple gray robes, the newcomer was dressed in a dark crimson kasaya embroidered with intricate golden patterns. A string of large prayer beads hung around his neck, and a jade ring gleamed on one of his fingers. His robes were immaculate, and his calm, imposing presence immediately set him apart from the others.

The moment Sui Sui caught sight of him, his eyes narrowed.

It seems this was the Abbot.

The three stood together inside the chamber, their voices low as they spoke.

"We need to process everything quickly," the Abbot said, his gaze sweeping over the coffins and containers stacked throughout the room. "Make sure nothing is left unfinished."

One of the monks hesitated. "But Abbot, there are too many this time. If we process all of them tonight—"

"Then you will work through the night." The Abbot’s voice was cold and impatient.

He walked over to one of the shelves and inspected several sealed bottles before continuing, "Everything must be ready by tomorrow. The goods will be collected then. I don’t want anything to delay the delivery."

The two monks hurriedly nodded. "Yes, Abbot."

"And be careful," the Abbot added. "Do not let anyone outside know what is being done here. If word gets out, none of us will be able to explain ourselves."

One of the monks quickly lowered his head. "We understand."

The Abbot gave them a final warning glance before turning toward the passage. "Finish it before dawn." With that, he left the chamber.

Sui Sui and the group remained hidden until the Abbot’s footsteps gradually faded into the distance.

Sui Sui glanced toward Yizhou and the latter gave him a subtle signal.

The moment the Abbot was far enough, Yizhou moved and his figure flashed forward.

Before the two monks inside could react, two precise strikes landed against their bodies.

Their eyes rolled back, and they collapsed to the ground without making a sound.

Luo Qingya immediately stepped forward and checked their breathing. "They’re unconscious."

"Good," Yizhou said, then the four of them finally entered the chamber.

The moment they stepped inside, Sui Sui’s expression changed.

Rows of coffins and bodies were arranged throughout the chamber, while strange rune inscriptions covered the walls and floor, forming the outline of an elaborate ritual site.

A few lit oil lamps flickered along the edges of the room, their weak flames doing little to dispel the dark, heavy aura that filled the chamber.

Nearby, several shelves were filled with bottles containing a dark red liquid, each one carefully sealed and arranged as though they were valuable materials.

Seeing this scene, Luo Qingxue’s face paled slightly and even Luo Qingya’s expression became serious as she surveyed the room.

"So this is what they were hiding..." she murmured.

Yizhou’s gaze swept across the chamber, lingering briefly on the bottles and records arranged throughout the room. His expression remained calm, but his eyes held a quiet interest as he examined the items.

Sui Sui, on the other hand, turned pale and raised a hand to cover his nose as the overwhelming scent filled the chamber.

The four quickly began searching the chamber and quickly they found far more than they had expected.

There were records detailing the names and identities of the deceased, notes regarding the collection and processing of the bodies, as well as documents recording transactions that had clearly been carried out over a long period of time. The sheer volume of records made it clear that this was not something they had started recently.

Sui Sui’s expression grew increasingly grim as he flipped through the documents. "They really have been doing this for a long time..."

Luo Qingya nodded, her expression hardening as she glanced over the stacks of documents.

"These records contain more than enough evidence for the City Lord’s Mansion to investigate them thoroughly and bring everyone involved to justice."

Yizhou carefully examined the documents one after another, looking for anything that might reveal who was behind the transactions.

However, after searching through everything they could find, there was still no clear connection to the Yaomei Pavilion.

Sui Sui frowned and asked in a quieter voice, "Nothing?"

"Nothing that directly connects them," Yizhou answered.

Luo Qingya noticed the two whispering to each other and glanced toward the rows of bottles.

"We should take these records and the evidence we found. The City Lord’s Mansion can deal with the temple afterward."

Sui Sui and Yizhou nodded in agreement.

Although they had not found the connection they were looking for, they had uncovered enough evidence to prove that the temple was involved in something far more serious than ordinary misconduct.

For now, that was enough.