Qin Shi Ambitious

Page 77

"Yes," Lu Wei nodded slowly, his eyes slightly vacant, as if lost in memories: "But Tian Zhong's death is an unsolved case. At the time of the incident, I was of low status and did not see the scene immediately. Even after a thorough investigation within the Gonggong Hall, we found nothing."

"Does Master Zhu think this case is related to Tian Zhong's death?" Tian Hu had a deeper impression of that night. At that time, he and his elder brother Tian Meng devised the scandal of Kuiwei Hall. Tian Zhong was also one of the participants, but an accident suddenly occurred.

Later, my older brother also had an accident...

"They do look alike, don't they?" Zhu Jia looked up in response to Tian Hu's question, pacing back and forth as usual. "If Tian Zhong could possibly have been killed in a single blow by an assassin far stronger than him..."

"But Brother Zhou He has been in seclusion since last year. Even after Brother Lu Wei returned, he couldn't get a chance to visit him. So who could gain Brother Zhou He's trust in the dead of night, approach him with weapons, and suddenly launch an attack..."

"If this murderer wasn't someone Brother Zhou He trusted, then even a chivalrous leader couldn't have killed him so instantly!"

“That’s right.” Tian Hu nodded in agreement after hearing this analysis.

"In the past three years, both a hall master and a general manager of the Gonggong Hall have been assassinated. If this was done by the same person or the same organization, then they must have a deep-seated hatred for the Gonggong Hall..."

Lu Wei's face visibly darkened. He looked up, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and addressed the two men before him: "Master Zhu, Master Tian, ​​you are the only people in Daze Mountain whom I can absolutely trust. If the murderer's target is indeed the entire Gonggong Hall, then I am very likely to be the next target..."

“I hope you two can hand over those trusted disciples of Master Zhouhe to me for interrogation and investigation.”

"As for the internal affairs of Gonggong Hall, I will investigate it thoroughly!"

"Brother Lu Wei, please accept our condolences. It is our duty to be here when the leader of the Xia clan is gone and the other three hall masters are also absent!"

Zhu Jia and Tian Hu accepted the offer with clasped hands and then took their leave.

After watching the two figures leave, Lu Wei stood quietly for a while before returning to the crime scene once more.

As he watched, the white sheet on the ground suddenly twitched...

Then, Zhou He's corpse slowly sat up...

Chapter 99 Qiu Chan

"At his age, he still has to act alongside young people. Xia Kui is really too demanding."

Zhou He raised his hand and lifted the white cloth from his face. At the same time, the bookshelf behind him moved automatically, revealing a secret passage.

A robust middle-aged man emerged from inside, carrying a corpse in his hand. The corpse's clothes were exactly the same as Zhou He's, and even their appearances were somewhat similar. However, upon closer inspection, it was clear that this was a completely different face.

"This concerns the survival of our farming family, so please take this trouble."

The middle-aged man threw the body on the ground, and Zhou He, feeling unlucky, covered himself with the white sheet that had been covering him. The two worked together quite skillfully, showing they were experts in the funeral industry.

"The master's acting skills are much better than those of the actors in last year's New Year opera troupe, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to fool the Zhu family and Tian Hu."

Lu Wei stepped forward and placed the white cloth under the corpse's feet: "When I first saw it, I thought you guys were taking your act for real."

"I'm not the head of the hall anymore."

Zhou He twisted his body to relax his stiff muscles, looked at the two people in front of him, and chuckled softly with satisfaction: "You two are the ones who are truly happy~"

"Master Lu Wei, and Master Tian Meng!"

In his pupils, he saw another person who, along with the steward, had cleaned up the corpse's flaws—it was none other than 'Tian Meng's' face...

...

The investigation into the murderer of Zhou He, the leader of the Gonggong Hall, has been deadlocked from the very beginning: there are no eyewitnesses and the murder weapon cannot be found.

But someone spread the rumor that the night before Master Zhouhe was assassinated, he had his disciple deliver two bowls of lotus seed porridge to him, and that the unknown person who drank the lotus seed porridge with Zhouhe was the murderer!

This one rumor led to two more rumors.

The first person to say that the murderer was Lu Wei, the chief steward of Gonggong Hall!

After Zhou Hetang finished his seclusion, he was overjoyed to learn that Steward Lu had returned. He invited him to the hall to discuss the succession. However, Steward Lu had become extremely arrogant by this time and could not suppress his petty thoughts. As a result, he accidentally revealed that he was the murderer who killed Steward Tian Zhongtian three years ago.

Upon hearing this, Master Zhou was furious and immediately ordered the removal of Steward Lu from his position and the selection of a replacement. However, Steward Lu was a wicked man. While pretending to kneel and beg for mercy, he suddenly attacked and murdered Master Zhou, just as he had done three years earlier when he killed Steward Tian.

The first rumor concerns the death of the previous head of the Gonggong Hall and is rife with conspiracy theories. The second rumor, however, concerns the abolition of the head of the previous one...

The second rumor explicitly states that the murderer was Zhou Zhang, the former head steward, who was expelled from the farmhouse for harming his fellow disciples!

Whether it was Master Zhou He this time or Steward Tian Zhong last time, it was Zhou Zhang who killed them, and his purpose was simply revenge!

This rumor is presented with great conviction: Zhou Zhang, as Zhou He's grandson, was the undisputed heir to the hall master four years ago. However, due to the righteousness of Steward Tian Zhong, who exposed his true colors, Hall Master Zhou He resolutely put aside his own family ties and personally abolished Zhou Zhang's martial arts and expelled him from the peasant family.

From that time on, Zhou Zhang harbored deep resentment towards Gonggongtang and the entire Nongjia, vowing to destroy the entire Nongjia in his lifetime!

So he went into hiding, first using his familiarity with Daze Mountain four years ago during the autumn harvest festival to ambush and kill Manager Tian, ​​and then this time, feigning a reunion with the soon-to-retire Master Zhouhe, he seized the opportunity to ambush and kill his own grandfather...

Such a villain is truly not human!

These two rumors were not mentioned by anyone within the Gonggong Hall, but they had a considerable following in the other five halls...

"Brother Lu Wei, rest assured, I have strictly forbidden the disciples of Shennong Hall from discussing such absurd rumors." Zhu Jia comforted Lu Wei in the mourning hall of Gonggong Hall: "At the Autumn Harvest Conference, I will report to the chief of the heroes again to thoroughly investigate the source of the rumors and clear your name."

Tian Hu lit incense and respectfully placed it in front of Zhou He's coffin. Then he went to the steward, who was dressed in white, and patted him on the shoulder: "Someone is maliciously targeting our peasant family. The more this is the case, the more we must not let them succeed!"

Wearing a yellow mask, Zhu Jia looked at Tian Hu in surprise, never expecting such words to come from his mouth.

Noticing the old fox's gaze beside him, Tian Hu snorted coldly, straightened his back, and crossed his arms: "We farmers may fight amongst ourselves, but we must never let outsiders take advantage of the situation!"

"That's well said!" Zhu Jia said with a joyful expression.

"Master Steward, the two hall masters, the most urgent matters now are, firstly, to inform the leader of the chivalrous sect about this matter, and secondly, Master Steward, you must hold the succession ceremony as soon as possible to stabilize the morale of the people!"

Lu Qing stepped forward, also dressed in white, and urged him to proceed with a worried expression.

"The disciple sent to inform the leader has already been dispatched; as for the successor..."

Lu Wei's expression hardened: "This matter is not urgent."

"The succession arrangement was originally scheduled for June, but there are still two months left. The Seven Star Pearl Grass required for the succession still needs to be distributed by the Chief of Heroes, and not all the hall masters have returned, which is not in accordance with the ceremony."

"Finding the killer is the most important thing!"

"Yes"

Upon hearing this, Lü Qing immediately withdrew. Zhu Jia, realizing it was his turn to speak, quickly followed up:

“Brother Lu Wei, while finding the murderer is important, it is even more important to stabilize the hearts of the people in Gonggongtang right now.”

"The earth is rich in resources and Shennong is immortal. Brother Zhouhe certainly wouldn't want the entire Gonggong Hall to be in turmoil because of his passing."

In fact, Zhou He hadn't been involved in much of the affairs for three years. After Lü Qing arrived, Lü Qing took over most of the management. Therefore, when news of Zhou He's assassination spread, although the Gonggong Hall disciples were all shocked and furious...

But after the initial shock and anger, they went back to doing what they were doing.

Zhou He's existence is more about providing a 'name', and after he bestows the 'name' upon Lu Wei, the source of this 'name' is provided by Lu Wei.

“Brother Zhu is right.” Steward Lu calmly gazed at the coffin not far away, seemingly convinced. He nodded and was about to say something more when suddenly, a figure walked in through the door, causing him to frown deeply…

Tian Hu, who had been watching the two perform with his arms crossed, was also startled by the person who entered. He was first stunned, then delighted, and finally seemed to realize something and became angry. He rushed forward aggressively, and the Tiger Soul Sword at his waist hummed.

"Ah Hu, what's wrong!"

The person who entered spoke in a deep voice, and his eyes widened, instantly extinguishing Tian Hu's anger: "Big...Big Brother!"

The visitor was none other than...

"Tian Meng!" Zhu Jia exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the newcomer.

“I know you have many questions and are anxious, but please be patient and allow me to say goodbye to Master Zhouhe.”

As he spoke, Tian Meng took the incense from a disciple, bowed slightly three times, and then placed the incense sticks in the burner. His sharp eyes first turned to Tian Hu: "Ah Hu, come with me outside."

"Yes...yes!" Looking at those familiar gestures, Tian Hu felt a little strange, both surprised and delighted. But one thing he was sure of: this was definitely not the fake older brother from before!

Watching the Tian brothers walk out of the mourning hall, Zhu Jia nearly ripped the beard off his mask: "This isn't the same Tian Meng as before... but..."

He turned to look at Lu Wei: "Brother, what do you think?"

“This is strange.” Lu Wei’s furrowed brows relaxed a little. “Tian Hu is his brother. Let Tian Hu take a look first. We don’t need to get involved.”

"Don't forget, the Hero King will be back at this year's Autumn Harvest Festival!"

“That makes sense…” Zhu Jia nodded hesitantly.

After a while, the Tian brothers returned. Tian Hu visibly walked with a more imposing gait, his expression arrogant and smug, while Tian Meng's face remained solemn.

"Young Master Lu, please accept my condolences."

"Master Zhu, I am truly sorry for leaving without saying goodbye earlier."

"It's nothing, it's nothing." Squinting at Tian Hu's posture, Zhu Jia realized this was Sanada Takeshi. After a moment's thought, Zhu Jia decided, as Lu Wei had suggested, to remain still for the time being.

"We're all from the same farming family. I was initially worried about Master Tian Meng's safety, but now I'm overjoyed to see you return safely..."

"I am the eldest brother of the Tian family, so naturally I will be fine. It's just that Zhou Hetang Master... I wonder which villain is so vicious!"

When Tian Meng mentioned his eldest brother, Tian Hu, standing next to him, held his head high, exuding a fierce aura.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jia glanced at Lu Wei, who remained silent, and said, "This is not the place to talk. Let's go outside and chat."

"Don't disturb Brother Zhou He's spirit in heaven."

Sensing that the three had left, the steward gave Lü Qing, who was not far away, a look. The latter blinked and led his disciples out as well.

Late at night, the sky was covered with dark clouds, and it was highly likely to rain tomorrow. The moon and stars could not be seen all night, and the whole Dazeshan Mountain looked a little gloomy.

Lu Wei meditated and cultivated alone in the 'Zhou He' memorial hall, with only a row of small candles on the two walls for company.

With a loud bang, the door to the mourning hall behind him was pushed open a crack as thick as a person's width. A gust of night wind blew into the mourning hall through the crack, extinguishing most of the candles, leaving only the one above the steward's head still barely emitting a faint light.

A figure, appearing eerily sinister in the dim candlelight, suddenly stood behind Lu Wei.

"What should I call you?" Lu Wei didn't turn around, or even change his posture: "Tian Meng? Zhou Wen? Or Zhou Zhang?"

"I am now Qiu Chan, a killer of the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven) rank."

The expression of 'Tian Meng', who had appeared during the day, was unclear, but the young voice was obviously very different from Tian Meng's.

"How many fake Tian Mengs are you now? Xia Kui's plan for Luo Wang is truly progressing step by step."

Lu Wei opened his eyes, smiled gently, and didn't care that this was in front of the mourning hall.

"It should be the third, and also the last."

Looking at the unguarded back of the man, Tian Meng said calmly, "It's been many years. When I left, I imagined many possibilities for my future partners: Xu Qiu, Xu Sheng, or even Tian Zhong. But your situation is not too surprising."

"But I was somewhat surprised that the leader of the Xia clan arranged for you to become a spy for the Luo Wang."

Lu Wei recalled his first meeting with 'Zhou Wen' many years ago when he first went to the State of Chu, and his eyes flickered: "When Master Zhou He was here, I didn't ask too many questions. Now that Master Zhou He has gone to the Tomb of the Six Sages, I have many doubts."

“You can bring it up now. We are partners now. We have worked together before and it was very successful. I hope it will be the same this time.”