A half incense stick ago.

Qin Gengyun left his residence, slipped into the darkness, and silently arrived at the east side of the courtyard where the female disciples resided.

Since Fang Xue was currently the temporary master of Qinhe Garden, the disciples’ accommodations were arranged by her. Qin Gengyun had previously inquired discreetly about the room where Ruo Mei lived.

Qin Gengyun fluttered to the roof of the row of houses on the east side, extended his divine sense, and entered one of the rooms.

His divine sense was long and slender, considered half a talent superpower, but usually, his fighting style was straightforward and forceful, so the divine sense was rarely utilized.

Unexpectedly, he now used it to peek into a woman’s room.

It’s not that he intended to do anything disgraceful; he simply wanted to investigate Ruo Mei’s identity.

His divine sense entered the room below, where Ruo Mei lived with a female disciple from Danxia Peak.

But at the moment, there was only one person on the bed; Ruo Mei was not there.

Qin Gengyun controlled his divine sense to search the room, but he did not find Ruo Mei’s presence anywhere.

He retracted his divine sense, looked around, and suddenly saw a small figure turn a corner in the corridor and enter a room. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

It was Ruo Mei.

What is she doing this late at night?

Qin Gengyun flashed to the door of the room Ruo Mei entered.

He waited for a moment, made sure no one was around, and again extended his divine sense. Inside was a screen, and behind it came the sound of splashing water.

Is Ruo Mei taking a bath?

Qin Gengyun hesitated for a moment, then heard a cold voice from inside:

"Who?!"

Qin Gengyun quickly withdrew his divine sense, intending to leave, but paused, swiftly turned, and pushed the door open to enter. Inside came a low exclamation from Ruo Mei:

"Is that a senior sister?"

Qin Gengyun gritted his teeth, walked to the screen, and looked at the faintly visible delicate figure in the bath barrel behind, saying:

"Junior Sister Ruo, it’s me."

"Ah?!"

An abruptly stopped exclamation came from inside. Ruo Mei covered her mouth, the water splashing loudly, clearly startled, and said in a panic:

"Senior Brother He, what do you want to do?"

Qin Gengyun said gently, "Junior Sister Ruo, don’t misunderstand. I came to find my sister, but mistakenly entered the wrong room."

"You, you came to find Junior Sister He, how did you end up in the bathhouse?"

Ruo Mei’s body sank into the barrel, only a small head was visible, her voice trembling slightly.

Qin Gengyun said, "I’m sorry, Junior Sister Ruo, I’ll leave immediately."

Although he said this, his feet didn’t move. After waiting for a moment, Ruo Mei timidly said:

"Senior Brother He, why haven’t you left yet?"

Qin Gengyun gave a slight smile, suddenly said, "Junior Sister Ruo, actually, I came here to find you."

"You, you came to find me?" Ruo Mei sank further, her small mouth almost submerged into the water.

Qin Gengyun chuckled, "Junior Sister Ruo, at the Outer Sect Competition that day, you said you liked me. Coincidentally, I actually like you too. Why don’t we become Taoist companions?"

"You said..."

The voice inside suddenly turned cold for an instant, then switched back to a soft tone:

"What are you saying, Senior Brother He, don’t make fun of me."

Qin Gengyun looked inside through the screen, "I’m not joking. I’m serious. Junior Sister Ruo, we are both body cultivators. Becoming Taoist companions, we can refine our bodies together, cultivate together, and pursue the Great Dao together. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?"

Inside, there was silence for a long time before speaking again, "Are you speaking sincerely?"

Ruo Mei’s voice trembled a little, as if frightened, or as if suppressing some emotion. The water in the bath barrel splashed as if moving without wind.

Qin Gengyun suddenly felt a chill, but he confidently replied:

"Of course it’s sincere, Junior Sister Ruo. If you’re willing, I’ll come in right now, and we can start body refining together!"

Without waiting for Ruo Mei’s response, Qin Gengyun lifted his foot to walk into the bathhouse.

Now that Ruo Mei had washed away the bloody scent, if he could get closer, he’d be able to smell whether she had the scent of his wife!

Moreover, he deliberately said that to test her reaction.

And Ruo Mei’s reaction was indeed suspicious!

"Ah?! No!"

Seeing Qin Gengyun about to come in, Ruo Mei let out a startled cry.

"Something’s wrong, something happened!!"

At this moment, a piercing scream came from outside, Qin Gengyun turned around in surprise, and with a splash, Ruo Mei had already jumped out of the bath barrel, dressed mid-air.

And she distanced herself several zhang away from Qin Gengyun.

"You..."

Qin Gengyun was about to speak when urgent knocking came from outside:

"Junior Sister Ruo, are you inside? Are you alright?!"

Ruo Mei’s eyes turned red, looking aggrievedly at Qin Gengyun, she softly said:

"Aren’t you leaving?"

Qin Gengyun disappeared from the bathhouse with a flash of his body, Ruo Mei’s eyes flickered before she responded to those outside:

"I’m inside, what’s the matter?"

A choked voice came from outside, "Senior Brother Chen, Senior Brother Chen is dead!!"

Moments later.

On the west side of the courtyard, in the room of a male disciple.

Everyone gathered there, faces filled with grief and anger, some female disciples even covering their mouths, sobbing softly.

On the bed in the room, Xiyue Peak’s steward disciple Chen Yuanqi lay with eyes wide open, and a large hole in his chest, beside him another male disciple had also been pierced through the chest.

The two had clearly been dead for a long time, the blood had stained the entire bed red, even the bluestone bricks on the ground turning into glaring scarlet.

"Senior Brother Chen..."

"Senior Brother Lin!"

Besides Chen Yuanqi, the other deceased was an Inner Sect Disciple from Heaven-Reaching Peak. The two were considered the core members of the Zhenyang Sect disciple team, their status only slightly below Wei Wan.

They held considerable prestige among the disciples, yet on the first day at Yunling Town, they suffered a tragic death on the spot.

Moreover, none of them had even seen the murderer who killed them!

Wei Wan had a grim expression, her pale hand clenched into a fist, slightly trembling. After a moment, she asked, "Who discovered it first?"

"It was me." An Outer Sect Disciple from Heaven-Reaching Peak replied, face ashen:

"I came to seek guidance from Senior Brother Lin on cultivation issues, I kept knocking but got no response from outside. I smelled blood, hurried inside, only to find..."

As he spoke, his eyes reddened, everyone else looked desolate and terrified, their fear increasing.

Mo Xiaolan looked at the wounds on the chests of the two deceased, her face pale, nodded at Qin Gengyun.

Qin Gengyun let out a breath, then said:

"Senior Sister Wei, the wounds on Senior Brother Chen and Senior Brother Lin are the same as those three senior brothers, it should be that beast!"

"What?!"

"Was it done by that sixth-grade demonic beast?"

"It actually knows how to stealthily assassinate?!"

Hearing Qin Gengyun’s words, everyone was even more shocked, Shi Ying pointed at Qin Gengyun angrily and said:

"The situation is unclear now, don’t spread alarming rumors!"