Chapter 48: Going up the Stone Platform
Chapter 48: Going up the Stone Platform
Mrs. Zhu was stunned at first, but when she realized what Tian Lin meant, she rushed forward and lifted the straw mat.
The corpse wrapped in the straw mat had white hair, and the flesh was shriveled and stuck to the bones. How could it look like Han Li?
It took her a while to recognize him before she could hold back her tears and said, "How could this be Brother Han? He has returned home and must be living well at home now."
Tian Lin didn't say anything, but just uncovered the clothes on the back of the corpse.
He brushed the scar on the body with his left hand and confirmed again: "This is indeed Brother Han's body."
"Where was Supervisor Han's body found?"
Mrs. Zhu did not deny Tian Lin's guess, but grabbed the hand of one of the errand disciples.
The errand disciple cried out in pain and withdrew his hand.
Fortunately, Tian Lin was quick-witted and relieved the force of Han Li's falling body, and put Han Li back to the ground lightly.
"Mrs. Zhu, this body was sent here by the Qian family. How would we know where he died?"
The errand disciple whose hand was pinched cried out in pain, but another errand disciple seemed smarter. He said:
"I did ask the Qian family, and they said the body was found in Qinghe County, near Lin'an Bridge in Lin'an County."
Tian Lin frowned and thought of the merchant inexplicably.
He put away the dagger and said to Mrs. Zhu, "Brother Han's death is a bit strange, and he was born in Lianshui Peak of Yaoyue Sect. I think we should take him to Lianshui Peak for the stewards to see."
Mrs. Zhu wiped her tears and said to the two errand disciples, "You two, go to Lianshui Peak together."
The two errand disciples didn't earn a penny, and now they have to carry the corpses, they are both miserable.
One of them said, "The Qian family's cargo hasn't been unloaded yet."
Mrs. Zhu ignored their little thoughts and said:
"With so many people here, who can't come to unload the goods? Pick up two baskets of water chestnuts and send them to Supervisor Tian later. Now you two help carry Supervisor Han's body to Lianshui Peak."
The group of four walked towards Lianshui Peak. When Mrs. Zhu and two errand disciples reached the mountainside, they ran into the second steward with a big belly.
The second steward was waving a fan, followed by a white-faced servant in Taoist robes.
He recognized Tian Lin and laughed, "Xiao Tian, you've come just in time. I was just about to tell you that from now on, the Shuiling Mine in the Mining Institute should be sent to me instead of to Lao San."
Tian Lin said yes, and reported to the second steward, "I wonder if you still remember Han Li, sir?"
The second steward did not have a good impression of Han Li, and frowned and said, "Didn't I give him a pass?"
Tian Lin asked the two errand disciples to put the straw mat on the ground, pointed at it and said, "Supervisor Han was a member of the sect, but he was killed."
The second steward was furious. He closed his fan and slapped it on his palm, saying, "Who is so bold as to kill someone from Yaoyue Sect? Do you want to die?"
Then he turned to look at Tian Lin and said:
"But why did you bring him to me? We only have one law enforcement disciple in Lianshui Peak, and he doesn't do detective work. Instead of bringing him up the mountain, you might as well bring two bags of water spirit ore to honor me."
Mrs. Zhu, who was standing by, had a flushed face and lowered her head, not daring to say anything.
Tian Lin said: "Han Li's death is too strange. He was a master at the Grandmaster level and had no rivals in Lianshui Peak. But looking at his body, there is not a single injury on his body - who could kill him without any injury? And make his flesh and blood disappear?"
The second steward frowned and said, "Are you testing me?"
Tian Lin was speechless for a moment. At this time, the servant behind the second steward scolded Tian Lin:
"My master has already said not to bother him with these trivial matters. The Law Enforcement Hall is responsible for catching the thief. You can take the body to Yuechi Mountain to file a complaint."
Yuechi Mountain is the residence of inner disciples and a place that only cultivators can set foot on. How could Tian Lin dare to climb Yuechi Mountain with a corpse?
Fortunately, the mountainside is not small, but the office is not big.
Master Shang's voice sounded, "Why do you want to climb Yuechi Mountain?"
The second steward saw that it was Young Master Shang who came and said angrily, "You pretty boy, are you following me to get information for the third brother?"
Young Master Shang ignored the second steward and squatted in front of the straw mat and lifted it up.
He took one look at the skinny corpse and frowned, "This looks like the Blood Cult's method."
"Blood Cult?"
Several of Tian Lin's errand disciples did not react, but the second manager, a cultivator, had the biggest reaction.
He took two steps back and then asked Manager Shang, "Are you saying that the evil ways of the Blood Cult have appeared in Lin'an County?"
Master Shang touched Han Li's body expressionlessly and said:
"It is indeed the method of the Blood Cult. They cultivate blood qi, so they do not need five-element spirit stones to cultivate. They do not distinguish between natural spirit roots and false spirit roots. They all use human flesh and blood to refine blood pills."
"Many people know that the Blood Cult uses blood pills to practice, but no one has ever seen the corpse of a Blood Cult member after refining the blood pills. How did you associate Han Li's corpse with the Blood Cult?"
Tian Lin looked at the second steward in surprise and found that this "fat pig" was sometimes very smart.
But Tian Lin's attention was more focused on Master Shang at this time, because when he heard "Lin'an Bridge", he thought of the mine.
The mine was actually not far from Lin'an Bridge, and many miners died in the mine every day, and their bodies were thrown down the mountain behind.
Tian Lin used to think that Manager Xu was too stingy, so he was reluctant to give up the two bowls of porridge.
Later, because he had killed many people, he felt that human life was not so valuable. So there was nothing to be surprised about when people died in the mine.
But if you think about it carefully, no matter how worthless human life is, there is no need to let the miners urinate blood and die because of two bowls of porridge. It would be like intentional murder.
Tian Lin did not associate it with the Blood Cult at first, but he remembered that Manager Xu said there was a big secret in the cave of the mine;
I also remember that Mr. Shang from the Shang family in Lin'an County was a master of the fourth level of Qi Refining. Given Han Li's martial arts level, how could a non-Qi Refining master kill him so easily? Moreover, he died near the Shang family.
"Second Steward, you won't suspect that I killed Han Li, right? You know, I have been staying in the office for the past two days and have not left the house." The Second Steward frowned, then sneered, "I'm afraid you are a member of the Blood Cult. I heard that the evil ways of the Blood Cult are best at bewitching people."
Master Shang smiled when he heard this and said, "The Blood Cult coming to Lin'an County is a big deal. I'm going to take Han Li's body to Yuechi Mountain. Second Steward, why don't you come with me and help the people from the Law Enforcement Hall to interrogate me?"
The second steward's face changed, he brushed his sleeves and turned away, "I'm too lazy to go to that crappy place, you can go if you want. I have something else to do, so I won't accompany you today."
After he finished speaking, he turned around and really left.
Young Master Shang said to the two errand disciples, "You two will accompany me to Yuechi Mountain."
The two errand disciples looked miserable, how could they dare to say no?
Looking at the figures of Master Shang and the two errand disciples going away, Tian Lin and Mrs. Zhu also went down the mountain.
Mrs. Zhu asked Tian Lin, "What should we do with Brother Han's body?"
Tian Lin said expressionlessly: "The person is dead, why bother with the corpse?"
Mrs. Zhu was a little dissatisfied when she heard this. When she reached the foot of the mountain, she said to Tian Lin:
"I'll have someone bring you some water chestnuts later. As for the blue dragon fish, I'll have someone send it to your kitchen to cook for you tomorrow."
After she left, Tian Lin went back to his room and took out a book Han Li gave him to read.
But he flipped through the book and still had no idea what was written on it.
He put the book down, looked at the sky outside which was already dark, and then turned his gaze towards Wendao Mountain.
The mountain was pitch black, and only the pavilion could be vaguely seen.
But the figure under the pavilion could no longer be seen, only the Taoist bell hanging in the pavilion could be seen.
There was a trace of confusion on Tian Lin's face. Han Li was dead. Besides feeling sad, he also felt lonely.
"He didn't die when he was seeking immortality, but died on the way home."
"From now on, I have one less friend!"
Tian Lin sighed, wiped his eyes, and withdrew his gaze from the bright moon.
With a "click" sound, he threw the dagger he bought aside and put the dagger he gave to Han Li back on his belt.
He did not wait for Mrs. Zhu to bring the water chestnuts, but directly took his sword and strode towards the Wendao Mountain.
On the mountain, there were only Old Man Gou and Bai Ye.
Bai Ye asked him, "Mrs. Zhu said she would treat you to a delicious meal the other day, so you were late today, right?"
Tian Lin said, "No, someone brought Brother Han's body back today, so we were delayed."
The old man Gou, who was sitting at level 95, was stunned. He couldn't help but stand up and asked, "What did you say?"
Tian Lin didn't explain any more and he went up to the 96th floor first.
After he stepped onto the ninety-eighth floor, Bai Ye couldn't help but ask, "Are you going to climb the last stone staircase today?"
Tian Lin once considered waiting until he had cultivated his true Qi before climbing the stone steps.
And coincidentally, today I found the water chestnut fruit that can replenish the earth's spiritual energy.
But Han Li's corpse made Tian Lin somewhat alert, that is, to become an outer disciple, one cannot rely on true qi.
It might be okay at normal times, but today there was a commotion in the Blood Cult, and I became an outer disciple too quickly, so I must be interrogated.
Therefore, it is safer to wait until you obtain the status of an outer disciple before refining true qi.
As for whether there will be danger?
"In my opinion, it would be better to wait for two days."
Old Gou tried to persuade Tian Lin again, but Tian Lin said:
"Han Li said that only a small number of people died on the ninety-nine stone steps. Most people failed because of their determination.
I have waited for two days and two days. I have waited long enough. If I wait any longer, even if I am strong enough, my determination will only weaken day by day. "
At this time, even Bai Ye advised Tian Lin: "You are very talented, so there is no need to rush."
"I'm in a hurry. I can't afford to slow down even for a day or two on my cultivation journey! Before I entered the mountain gate, I once advised an old man to wait until next year before trying the Immortal Staircase.
But he told me that he didn’t have much time. Now I think about it, although I am only a teenager and look much younger than him, I don’t have much time to practice compared to those who were born in a family of immortal cultivators. ”
If you don’t take the last step, how can you know whether you are strong enough?
If you always want to wait for two or three days, you will end up becoming an old man.
If you rely on the fact that you are still young, you think you can wait!
Not only did I lose my courage, but I also lost my will.
Ten thousand years is too long, he only wants to seize the day!
As he spoke, Tian Lin stepped onto the first stone platform.
(End of this chapter)