I am dying of old age, and I have awakened to the character of longevity.

The Corpse Refining Hall?

Corpse poison?

The five words instinctively surfaced in Xie An's mind.

Suddenly, Xie An's heart, which had been leisurely and comfortable for a few days, was pulled taut by an invisible force.

The scene of the Plum Blossom Fiends besieging the Chen residence was still vivid in Xie An's mind.

Because of one Plum Blossom Fiend, the Chen residence was gone, the White Feather Hall suffered heavy losses, and even Wei Dian, who had trained into a master of the Heavy Mountain Saber, was forced to leave on horseback in despair.

What's more, the Plum Blossom Fiends were just small figures in the Corpse Refining Hall.

The real Corpse Refining Hall must be very terrifying.

Although Xie An had not witnessed the strength of the Corpse Refining Hall, the immortal treasure left by the old ancestor Li Changchun, and the grand massacre of bandits by Tang, the old master, a personal disciple of Li Changchun...

In addition to the repeated failures of the government and the garrison to suppress bandits, resulting in heavy losses...

All of the above... can provide a glimpse of the whole picture.

Thinking of this, Xie An suddenly became very vigilant, surveying his surroundings with his extraordinary senses. After finding nothing unusual, Xie An withdrew his gaze and re-examined Chen Yuan's body.

The tragic state of death made it difficult for Xie An to associate this corpse with the usually idle and enthusiastic Chen Yuan.

A good friend, gone just like that.

Even if Xie An's mind was stable and he took things lightly... at this moment, he felt very uncomfortable, a churning, nauseating feeling, and a hint of anger.

The murderer was too cruel.

It would have been one thing to not give him a quick death, but to make Chen Yuan's corpse look so terrifying, how could Chen Yuan's children bury him?

Not even letting him rest in peace after death.

After being stunned for a while, Xie An finally composed himself and asked Chen Lei beside him, "Hall Master Chen, has the corpse been moved?"

Chen Lei couldn't help but feel a lingering fear when he saw Chen Yuan's corpse, and his voice became a bit weak: "A disciple from my martial arts hall discovered the body. I was nearby at the time. When he came to report to me, I rushed over to take a look as soon as possible. I have not moved the body.

By the way, after Li He saw it, he immediately went to the county town to invite a coroner and report to the authorities."

Xie An nodded and didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he carefully examined the surroundings, trying to confirm whether this was the scene of the crime.

But soon Xie An was disappointed.

Because Chen Yuan's death was particularly strange, without leaving any clues. It was impossible to determine whether this place was the scene of the crime or whether the murderer had dumped the body here using ordinary methods.

And Chen Lei and Li Hongming and several others looked at Xie An with hopeful expressions, hoping that Xie An would discover something.

In fact, Xie An had not been practicing martial arts for a long time, and he didn't have much experience in dealing with such scenes. He might not even be comparable to Chen Lei, an old martial artist. But after all, Xie An had the title of Incense Master, so everyone felt that Xie An's experience must be far richer than theirs.

Having no clue, Xie An originally wanted to ask Chen Lei for his opinion, but when he looked up and saw Chen Lei's panicked look, he knew that it would be useless to ask. He simply returned to Chen Yuan's corpse and re-examined the body.

Since he couldn't determine the scene of the crime, he would start with the corpse.

There were no traces of struggle all over his body, so he should have been killed with one blow.

Immediately, Xie An began to carefully look for wounds on Chen Yuan's body.

Although Xie An was not a constable, he was a mystery enthusiast in his previous life, and he was once addicted to detective novels on Qidian Chinese Website. His basic logical reasoning ability was still online.

First of all, it cannot explain where all the blood in Chen Yuan's body went. In addition... if it was poisoning, no matter how powerful the poison was, it would be difficult to kill instantly. The deceased would at least struggle or seek help.

But the Chen Yuan in front of him was lying on the ground very "peacefully", without any signs of struggle.

If it was an ordinary deceased, finding a wound would not be difficult. But Chen Yuan's skin had turned black, and it had large areas of wrinkles, just like a dried corpse that had been dried for several years, making it very difficult to find a wound.

Xie An looked at it for a long time and couldn't find it, so he waved to everyone, "Those who are not afraid, come over and help, take a closer look at Chen Yuan's skin for any wounds. If we can find a wound, the cause of death will be easier to determine."

Li Hongming and Chen Lei naturally came over to help without thinking much, and they were not afraid of the terrible corpse.

Chen He pinched his nose, isolating the stench emanating from the dried corpse, and also came over.

He Chunli, who came with a crutch, showed a very frightened expression after getting closer and seeing Chen Yuan's tragic state. His whole body shrank tightly together, his face was extremely pale, and he instinctively took two steps back.

Xie An saw He Chunli's fear, "You are young and have seen few dead people, so you don't have to come over."

He Chunli did not continue to retreat, but braced himself, walked forward tremblingly with his crutch, "Shopkeeper Chen treated me well, especially in the year when my master was away, the shopkeeper took care of me many times. Now that the shopkeeper has suffered an unexpected disaster, I... I want to see if I can do anything."

"Then come over."

Xie An nodded appreciatively, then lowered his head to examine Chen Yuan's body.

It is said that there is strength in numbers, and that is absolutely correct.

Six pairs of eyes are much more efficient than Xie An's one pair of eyes.

The sharp-eyed Yu He immediately discovered something, "Look at the left side of the neck."

Xie An fixed his eyes and looked.

As Yu He used a dead branch to lift a wrinkled piece of skin on the left side of the corpse's neck, a row of imprints appeared faintly.

Yu He took the opportunity to analyze, "It should be that someone... something bit Chen Yuan's neck, then sucked all the blood from his body, and finally quickly turned him into a dark, dried corpse."

Hiss!

Everyone gasped and felt a chill down their spines.

Chen He was so frightened that he jumped up and down: "Something... it wasn't done by a person?"

Yu He's expression was calm, without any emotional fluctuations. She analyzed: "Although some evil Jianghu skills require sucking human blood as nourishment. But people eating human blood... wouldn't suck it so clean, and they couldn't do it."

Everyone felt that it made sense.

Although there is a large artery that transfuses blood at the neck of a person, biting through the carotid artery can suck a large amount of blood from others. But no matter how you suck it, it is impossible to suck people into dried corpses, even the skin color has turned black, and it emits a foul and unpleasant smell.

"Then, is it a demon causing trouble? Did the demons of Great Yin Mountain run out?" Chen He was so frightened that he fell to the ground with his butt on the ground, his voice hoarse.

And Chen Lei and Li Lao did not refute, and also showed horrified expressions.

Xie An began to ponder in his heart.

He had lived here for thirty years and knew that there were real demons and evil spirits in this world.

Among them, the older generation in Qingwu County passed down from word of mouth... saying that there were demons in Great Yin Mountain. Therefore, they strictly prohibited medicine collectors and hunters from Qingwu County... from entering the mountains at night.

No one knows what demons and evil spirits are lurking in this Great Yin Mountain, which spans eight hundred miles and serves as the border of the Great Qian Dynasty.

However, Xie An had never seen a demon in the thirty years he had lived in Wubridge Town.

Not only Xie An, but in fact, most villagers' understanding of demons came from their ancestors and they had never seen them with their own eyes.

Could it really be a demon?

But... the aura on Chen Yuan's corpse was clearly very similar to that of Wei Dian, who had been poisoned by Corpse Poison Pill.

Corpse Poison Pill...

Corpse poison is the key.

It was not a demon that killed Chen Yuan, but the corpse poison of the Corpse Refining Hall.

After all, Xie An always felt that the thing of demons was still too far away from him.

But why did the Corpse Refining Hall poison Chen Yuan?

Chen Yuan is neither a martial artist nor a Jianghu person, and has no Jianghu grudges. It is even more impossible to provoke the Corpse Refining Hall...

Excluding these possibilities, Xie An continued to open his mind.

Perhaps Chen Yuan's murder was not because of himself. But a coincidence appeared in the ancestral hall?

Thinking of this, Xie An became more certain of this judgment. He withdrew his thoughts, glanced at the people around him, and said: "Hall Master Chen, Li Lao. I estimate that the murderer should be the gang of bandits from Great Yin Mountain."

"Corpse Refining Hall?" Chen Lei blurted out.

Ordinary villagers only knew that a very powerful group of bandits was hiding in the Dayin Mountain. The government had failed to suppress them many times. Occasionally, when food was scarce in the cold winter, the bandits would come down the mountain to loot. But they didn't know where the bandits came from.

Chen Lei had been in charge of the Chen Family Martial Arts Hall for many years and was a martial artist himself, so he naturally knew.

Li Hongming was over eighty years old, so naturally, he also knew. "How did Hall Master Xie see that?"

Xie An didn't hide anything and told the truth, "My Blood Ridge Black Market's previous Hall Master, Wei Dian, was framed while besieging the Corpse Refining Hall's demonic person, Plum Blossom Freak, and was poisoned by the corpse poison pill. I remember the smell of that corpse poison, and it's six or seven parts similar to the smell on Chen Yuan's corpse."

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Hearing that it wasn't done by demons, Chen He finally calmed down a bit, but Chen Lei was extremely puzzled, "But Chen Yuan was just an honest pawnshop owner, how could he have provoked the Corpse Refining Hall's bandits?"

Xie An shook his head, "I'm afraid it wasn't Chen Yuan who provoked the Corpse Refining Hall, but the Corpse Refining Hall's evil cultists appeared nearby. Chen Yuan was on night watch that day... and happened to run into them."

Chen Lei and Li Hongming's faces turned pale, and they felt very uncomfortable.

Building an ancestral hall and it resulted in death.

How could they explain this to the vast number of villagers?

Should the ancestral hall continue to be built?

This not only concerned the souls of the ancestors of the entire Wuqiao Town but also concerned the reputation of their two biggest local gentry. If it wasn't handled well, something big would happen.

Xie An obviously saw the difficulty of the two, and said: "To avoid more deaths, this ancestral hall cannot be built. Now that the end of the year is approaching, use this as an excuse to ask everyone for leave and wait until after the new year."

Eh.

Chen Lei was very disappointed, "I was originally thinking of finishing the ancestral hall before the new year, so it wouldn't delay the villagers' annual festival. Now this... it can only be abandoned. I'll go and apologize to everyone later."

Li Hongming sighed, "This Wu Ancestral Hall is related to the ancestral peace of two or three thousand villagers. If the ancestral hall is not repaired for a long time, the villagers will be panic-stricken. Over time, there will be big trouble."

After speaking, Li Hongming suddenly bowed deeply to Xie An, almost pleading, "Hall Master Xie, you are the biggest big shot in our town. This reconstruction of the Wu Ancestral Hall is related to the well-being of tens of thousands of villagers. Please, Hall Master Xie, make the decision for the tens of thousands of villagers in Wuqiao Town."

With Li Hongming taking the lead, Chen Lei also realized this and hurriedly followed suit, bowing and bending over: "Hall Master Xie, 30,000 villagers are looking forward to the reconstruction of the Wu Ancestral Hall. Please make the decision for everyone."

Xie An didn't respond.

If it were an ordinary matter, Xie An would have done it for the sake of this land.

But this matter was related to the Corpse Refining Hall.

That was the force established by Li Changchun, and it was also a collateral branch of the former national religion, the Evergreen Religion.

Even Xie An, the so-called Big Hall Master, was not enough in front of the Corpse Refining Hall.

Xie An had a clear understanding of this.

Naturally, he was unwilling to wade into this muddy water.

What's more, they were repairing the ancestral hall, and he, an outsider, was really inconvenient to say much. It was easy to be criticized by tens of thousands of villagers, a thankless task.

Li Hongming saw Xie An's difficulty, exchanged a look with Chen Lei, and then said: "On the day of the Little New Year, Chen Lei and I saw Hall Master Xie's behavior at the entrance of Li's Pawnshop. You handled it properly, valued friendship and righteousness, and can be called noble and upright. That day, I went back and discussed with Chen Lei, wanting to add a great meritorious surname to the Wu Ancestral Hall, Xie. The merit stele and surname plaque have been engraved. We originally planned to find an auspicious day to visit Hall Master Xie and inform you of this matter. Unexpectedly, Chen Yuan's matter happened, which delayed it."

Oh?

Xie An was greatly shocked and felt unbelievable, so he turned to look at Chen He.

Chen He said: "That's right. After Old Li and Big Brother left Li's Pawnshop that day, they discussed this matter with other local gentry. The merit stele and surname tablet have already been made."

Only then did Xie An determine that Li Hongming was not lying, and his heart skipped a beat.

Adding a great meritorious surname to the Wu Ancestral Hall.

This was a big deal.

You must know that the villagers in this world pay the most attention to ancestral inheritance, and fighting depends on which family has more men. Overall, they reject outsiders.

For example, during times of war and natural disasters, some foreign refugees would flee to this place and settle down. However, these outsiders mostly lived cautiously. If they accidentally provoked the interests of the local villagers, they would be collectively resisted by the villagers, and occasional fights would occur. Even if outsiders died here, their graves could not be built in conspicuous places, let alone enter the ancestral hall.

In general, it was difficult for outsiders to integrate into the local society. As for major events such as entering the ancestral hall, outsiders would not even dare to think about it.

Xie An didn't lack money or status now, and he had a promising future. He lacked nothing…

But entering the ancestral hall… really made Xie An a little tempted.

Especially when people get old, they value this matter more than young people.

Xie An was no exception.

If he could enter the ancestral hall, it would be justifiable for him to do things for the ancestral hall, and others would not criticize or obstruct him.

In addition, Chen Yuan was exposed in the wilderness… If the ancestral hall was not repaired, Chen Yuan's spirit tablet would not be able to enter the ancestral hall. This made Xie An feel uneasy. The deceased was gone, but the spirit tablet should always be sent to the ancestral hall for him, which would be considered a complete end to their twenty or thirty years of partnership.

After weighing the pros and cons, Xie An was very tempted, but on the surface, he still declined, "Old Li, this is not appropriate, right? I am, after all, an outsider, and the villagers are mostly repelled."

Li Hongming was eighty-seven years old and could tell at a glance that Xie An was tempted, and he was immediately overjoyed, "What's inappropriate about this? If the ancestral hall can be rebuilt this time, Hall Master Xie will be the first contributor. This is a great merit that benefits the ancestors, children, and grandchildren of tens of thousands of villagers. If I say a few more words for Hall Master Xie, no one will dare to refute anything.

What's more, Hall Master Xie is now in a high position and has great power. If you can enter the ancestral hall, you can better protect the people of Wuqiao. Everyone will be happy to see it happen, and they will like it even more."

Xie An declined, "Old Li, this matter is too important, it can't be done."

"It can be done, it can be done."

"…"

After repeated declinations, Xie An "reluctantly" cupped his hands and bowed, "Junior, I'll leave everything to Old Li."

Li Hongming breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly helped Xie An up with a smile on his face, "I can't afford such a great gift from Hall Master Xie. In that case, please take a look at how the ancestral hall matter should be arranged."

Xie An carefully weighed it and then said: "I think the ancestral hall can be temporarily suspended from renovation. On New Year's Day, I have to go to the Tang Family Fortress in the county. I will tell my two masters, Tang Qingyun and Tang Qingfeng, about this matter and then make a decision. What do you think, Old Li?"

Hiss!

Li Hongming and Chen Lei gasped at the same time.

They never expected that Xie An was going to the Tang Family Fortress for the New Year!

Tang Family Fortress!

Young people may not know what these three words mean.

But Li Hongming, who was eighty-seven years old, knew.

——If Zhengyang doesn't die, the blue sky will still be there, how dare the bandits cross the blue sky!?

That year, Li Hongming was just a teenager, seventeen years old. He heard that sentence that spread throughout Qingwu County.

It can be said that since then, Old Master Tang has become the blue sky in Li Hongming's heart, and it has not changed color until now.

Swish.

Li Hongming suddenly bowed deeply, "Hall Master Xie is valued by Old Master Tang and has a truly limitless future. This matter is entirely up to Hall Master Xie!"