Shen Fu's palm throbbed with pain, cold sweat continuously beading on his forehead, until he could barely grip his sword.
He had originally planned to head to the back mountain to find some rare flowers or herbs to eat while absorbing some mana on the side. Who would have thought that he'd barely walked a short distance before running into Jiang Lin and Yin Congyue, who were rushing out from the front hall in a panic.
Jiang Lin spotted him as well and hurriedly led Yin Congyue over to him, his face full of anxiety. "Uncle-Master, why are you here? Did you run into Fengyuan?"
Shen Fu hadn't expected these two youngsters to still be awake when dawn was nearly breaking. Feeling like a thief caught in the act, he could only force himself to stay calm and say, "N-no, I didn't see him. What's wrong?"
Yin Congyue crossed his arms and frowned at him, then turned to look at the back mountain before asking, "Where are you going? You're not thinking of running away, are you?"
Shen Fu cleared his throat and made up something on the spot: "It was too hot in the room, so I came out for some fresh air."
Yin Congyue's mouth twitched. "It's snowing like this and you're telling me your room is hot? Are you trying to fool a three-year-old?"
Shen Fu glanced at his slightly baby-faced features and thought to himself, well, that's exactly what I'm doing—fooling a child.
He clasped his hands behind his back and put on a deep, thoughtful expression. "What would a kid like you understand? When adults say hot, it doesn't just mean temperature."
Yin Congyue didn't understand, his delicate face scrunching up as he turned to look at Jiang Lin. "What is he babbling about?"
Jiang Lin didn't understand at first either, but then he noticed that Shen Fu's footprints led from his room, and his clothes looked somewhat disheveled. Connecting this with the fact that they still hadn't found a separate room for Ji Yanzhi…
Then it didn't take much to figure out where Ji Yanzhi had slept that night, and now Shen Fu had come out to cool down with his clothes in disarray…
Jiang Lin couldn't help but feel the world darken before his eyes. He took several seconds to calm himself before speaking. "Uncle-Master, you… you should still exercise some restraint."
"?" Shen Fu had no idea what he was talking about.
Jiang Lin seemed unwilling to dwell on the topic, so he said with a red face, "It's good that you're fine. We just went on patrol and discovered that Senior Fengyuan had gone missing. We thought he might have snuck out to cause trouble for you, so we rushed over."
"Fengyuan? I haven't seen him."
The moment Shen Fu finished speaking, the Blood Trace on his arm erupted in excruciating pain, each pulse feeling like it was violently tearing at his fragile blood vessels.
Pain of this intensity could only mean one thing—Ji Yanzhi was in mortal danger.
Shen Fu cursed under his breath and grabbed Jiang Lin's shoulder with one hand. "Earth-Shrinking Technique. Take me back to the bedchamber. Now!"
Shen Fu rarely spoke with such urgency. Jiang Lin didn't understand what was happening, but seeing him like this, he immediately complied.
"Xiao Yue, grab hold of me." Jiang Lin called out, and upon sensing Yin Congyue obediently clinging to him, he immediately formed the hand seal for Earth-Shrinking Technique.
The moment they entered the hall, Shen Fu snatched Jiang Lin's sword and charged forward. His speed was so fast that before Jiang Lin and Yin Congyue could even react, Ji Yanzhi was already collapsing into Shen Fu's arms, covered in blood.
The two finally snapped back to their senses and flew forward, flanking Fengyuan on either side to restrain him.
Yin Congyue glanced at the sword that had shattered into powder on the ground, then looked up at Shen Fu, his brows furrowing slightly.
Shen Fu held Ji Yanzhi with one arm while his other hand trembled too much to grip the sword, so he casually tossed it back to Jiang Lin.
He had exerted too much force just now, leaving his entire arm numb. Fortunately, he had made it in time—if he'd been even one second later, both he and Ji Yanzhi would have died here together.
He looked up at Fengyuan, only to catch a flash of confusion in the man's eyes that quickly transformed into intense hatred—and that hatred wasn't directed at him, but at the Ji Yanzhi in his arms.
Shen Fu was just about to wonder why when he heard Yin Congyue speak coldly: "Fengyuan, what the hell is wrong with you? The Immortal Alliance sent you here to assist me with the investigation. What do you think you're doing?"
Upon hearing this, Fengyuan immediately masked the excess expression on his face, already having formulated his words in an instant. He gave a slight bow, and when he spoke, his tone had sunk low: "Young Master, Ji Yanzhi was once Cheng Ping's personal disciple. Cheng Ping always treated him well, yet now he's become someone else's furnace cauldron. I was merely concerned about whether he might be under some kind of coercion, so I came to question him."
"And what did you find out?" Yin Congyue said.
Fengyuan stared hard at Ji Yanzhi for a moment, but Ji Yanzhi merely clutched his wound and met his gaze with indifference.
Seeing the two of them locked in a battle of glares, Shen Fu felt a bad premonition rise in his heart.
What exactly had Ji Yanzhi done to make Fengyuan draw his blade against him? If it were merely about defecting to Xuanji Mountain and becoming his furnace cauldron, Fengyuan would never go to such lengths over that.
The only possibility was—he also suspected that Ji Yanzhi was the one who had acted in Li Family Village, and had come to interrogate him.
But if he had suspicions, he could simply ask directly during the day when everyone was present. Why resolve it in private?
Unless… there was some secret that couldn't be spoken aloud.
Shen Fu looked down and saw Ji Yanzhi's face pale as paper, looking up at him in agony. "Master, I… I'm bleeding."
"…" Shen Fu raised his hand and lightly tapped his acupoint, temporarily staunching the bleeding.
What was it? What could make Fengyuan go to such extremes against him, even wanting to kill Ji Yanzhi…
Right, the Divine Power Legacy!
In the original novel, Cheng Ping had tried many methods to extract the Divine Power Legacy from Ji Yanzhi's body, including but not limited to turning Ji Yanzhi into his furnace cauldron and cutting open a mortal's spiritual root while they were still alive.
But exposing Fengyuan and Cheng Ping's crimes was something that happened later—had it already come to light now?
A strong sense of unease surged from the depths of his heart, and sure enough, the next second Shen Fu heard Fengyuan speak coldly: "Question him… the one who killed Cheng Ping may be someone else."
The moment Fengyuan said this, Shen Fu was stunned. He hesitated for a moment before looking down at the person in his arms, only to find Ji Yanzhi pale-faced, his innocent eyes staring unblinkingly at him, blood still flowing from the side of his neck, the bright red spreading from his collar and soaking a large area.
Noticing Shen Fu's gaze, Ji Yanzhi slowly furrowed his brows. "Master, it wasn't me. I didn't do it. He's framing me."
"…" Shen Fu didn't know what to say, because he suspected Ji Yanzhi too.
Seeing that Shen Fu didn't respond, Ji Yanzhi's eyes immediately reddened with grievance. "If even Master doesn't believe me, then this disciple truly has no way to defend himself. I can only die to prove my innocence."
With that, Ji Yanzhi actually took the initiative to undo the acupoints Shen Fu had sealed for him.
"What are you doing?" Shen Fu grabbed his hand, only to discover that Ji Yanzhi's palm had also been cut, blood gushing out.
Held by Shen Fu, Ji Yanzhi didn't cry out in pain, only stubbornly meeting his gaze, as if the moment Shen Fu dared to say a single word of disbelief, he would immediately spill blood on the spot.
Shen Fu's temples throbbed. After a moment of internal struggle, he still reached out and pulled the person into a tight embrace. "I believe you, then. Let's stop the bleeding first."
With that, Shen Fu tore off his own sleeve and used the strip of cloth to temporarily bind the wound.
Beside them, Jiang Lin glanced at Shen Fu twice with the corner of his eye and couldn't help but speak up: "Uncle-Master, your clothes…"
But Shen Fu didn't seem to care. "It's fine."
By now, the sky was faintly brightening. Yin Congyue looked at the mess scattered everywhere and could only suggest taking everyone to the Hall of Miraculous Prescriptions first to await judgment.
By the time the group arrived at the Hall of Miraculous Prescriptions, Xie Jiuzhang, who had just lain down to sleep, had already received word and, with dark circles under his eyes, summoned all the elders of the Immortal Alliance.
On the way, Jiang Lin applied medicine to Ji Yanzhi, but Ji Yanzhi still clung to Shen Fu like he had no bones, impossible to peel off.
Jiang Lin tried several times to remind him, but seeing that Shen Fu didn't seem particularly resistant either, he ended up saying nothing.
Perhaps this was just how furnace cauldrons interacted with each other?
Only Shen Fu knew how helpless he felt right now.
Ji Yanzhi pressed against him, smearing blood all over him. The Blood Trace, perhaps sensing that this was Ji Yanzhi's blood, twitched excitedly the whole time.
He wanted to push Ji Yanzhi away, but every time he created a little distance, Ji Yanzhi would cling even tighter, whether deliberately or by accident unclear.
Even though every movement made him tremble with pain, Ji Yanzhi still insisted on sticking to Shen Fu. With no other choice, Shen Fu had to carry the person into the Hall of Miraculous Prescriptions.
The people inside had clearly been waiting for a while. When they saw the group enter, they all turned to look.
Yin Congyue and Fengyuan led the way, Jiang Lin followed closely behind, while Shen Fu, with a human-shaped accessory hanging off him, walked the slowest.
"Young Master summoned us so urgently—could there be important matters to discuss?" One elder had clearly just woken up, his shoes on the wrong feet.
Shen Fu glanced at him and dragged Ji Yanzhi with difficulty as he walked deeper into the hall.
Hearing the voices, Xie Jiuzhang wearily lifted his eyelids. Since founding Xuanji Mountain, he hadn't been this exhausted in a long time.
Last night, Jiang Lin had been unable to withstand Yin Congyue's relentless questioning and nearly exposed the fact that Shen Fu had visited Li Family Village on the night of the incident. It was only thanks to Xie Jiuzhang's timely arrival that they barely managed to cover it up.
And just after he'd sent the two away and wanted to sleep, he'd been called over for a meeting.
His blurry gaze fixed on Shen Fu, and he was briefly startled to see the blood all over him, but quickly realized it wasn't Shen Fu's own blood, and relaxed.
"Congyue, what do you mean by saying the real culprit is someone else?" Xie Jiuzhang spoke, exhaustion seeping through his voice.
Yin Congyue pushed Fengyuan forward. "He said it. Ask him."
Everyone's gaze fell on Fengyuan, who unhurriedly straightened his collar before speaking: "During our exchange just now, I discovered that there is no mana fluctuation within Shen Fu's body."
One stone stirred a thousand waves. The hall instantly erupted into chaos, and even Xie Jiuzhang nearly slid off his seat in shock.
"Fengyuan, have you lost your mind? The mana residue on the Spirit-Binding Rope clearly points to Shen Fu. If he has no mana, then explain how the Spirit-Binding Rope came to be like that!"
Someone in the crowd spoke up, though it was unclear who.
Shen Fu was stunned too. He hadn't expected that with that single strike just now, Fengyuan had already detected that he had no spiritual root.
But… why would he say that? The fact that he had no spiritual root was something he and Xie Jiuzhang had tacitly agreed to keep quiet about, planning to observe the situation and only use it to prove his innocence if no other solid evidence could be produced in the end.
Though saying it now wasn't a big deal, Shen Fu still felt that something was off.
Before he could think it through, Fengyuan spoke again. "There is indeed residual mana on that rope, and it does point to Shen Fu. But what I want to say is—the Spirit-Binding Rope points to the last person who used mana on the deceased. Have you all considered the possibility that this mana's aura was tampered with?"
The Hall of Miraculous Prescriptions, which had been buzzing with noise, fell silent in an instant.
Yin Congyue was the first to react. "Do you know what you're saying?" he asked.
A flicker of calculation passed through Fengyuan's eyes as he looked up at Xie Jiuzhang, whose expression was as heavy as water from his seat at the head. "Of course I do. I believe everyone present has heard of our Sect Leader Xie Jiuzhang's illustrious achievements, haven't they? Aside from him, there is no one else in the entire cultivation world who could accomplish such a feat."
With that, Fengyuan withdrew his gaze and let it fall lightly on Yin Congyue. "As for this matter, isn't your Yin family the most familiar with it? Your uncle back then—"
"Enough!" Yin Congyue barked. "The affairs of the Yin and Xie families are none of your business to meddle in. What exactly is your motive for slandering people like this?"
"Congyue." Seeing that Yin Congyue was about to lose control, Xie Jiuzhang immediately spoke up to stop him.
The air grew eerily quiet, and the expression on everyone's face was exceedingly grave. It seemed everyone knew what Fengyuan was talking about—except Shen Fu.
Only after hearing this did Shen Fu recall what Ji Yanzhi had told him earlier: Yin Congyue was also Xie Jiuzhang's nephew.
He looked down at Ji Yanzhi in confusion. The person in his arms either had been staring at him the whole time or happened to look up at that very moment—the instant their eyes met, Ji Yanzhi squeezed out a well-behaved smile.
"Does Master not know that Sect Leader Xie was once an attendant to the leader of the Immortal Alliance? But later, something happened and they had a falling out."
"What happened?"
"To put it simply, Sect Leader Xie used a spell to alter his own aura and lure down the Heavenly Tribulation, causing the destruction of the Alliance Leader's homeland. No one survived except Yin Congyue."
Shen Fu's eyes flew wide open at the revelation. "Wh—what did you say?!"