"Who! Who did this?!" An incredibly furious howl spread across the entire cave system. The voice belonged to Dan Yangzi. This was the first time he had been angered to this extent.
Dan Yangzi hadn't really been angry when some of the disciples tried to escape, nor was he angry when Li Huowang had demonstrated that he was literate. But this time, he was truly furious.
The atmosphere within the Zephyr Temple became oppressive—to the point that even the oil lamps on the walls were dimmer than usual.
Under Dan Yangzi's command, everyone gathered in the large hall where the disciples had their morning classes.
The air was filled with the stench of blood—Dan Yangzi had already killed some of the people who had arrived earlier, their bodies strewn across the floor.
Killing people often helped Dan Yangzi calm down, but this time, it wasn't nearly enough.
Splat!
Something fell to the ground. At that moment, everyone saw that it was something akin to a head entangled with a mass of bloody organs.
It was the very same head that had been placed above the vase Li Huowang had broken. Now that she was truly dead, her cheeks had dulled in color; however, her eyes still revealed the fear she felt right before death.
"Who?! Who did this? Who entered my room without my permission while I was refining pills?!"
Dan Yangzi's voice was low but deadly, like a lion ready to pounce. "You'd better come clean! If you do, I'll give you a swift death! If I have to find you myself, then I'll make sure you suffer so much that you'll be begging for death!"
The entire cave fell silent—regardless of whether it was the guiding drug ingredients, the assistants, or the official disciples. None of them moved.
"Still staying quiet? Fine! Then I'll ask each and every one of you! Chang Ming, Chang Ren, what were you doing while I was refining pills?"
Chang Ming and Chang Ren were the disciples with swords on their backs. "Master, both of us were following your orders and guarding the entrance to the Zephyr Temple. We never left our post!"
Dan Yangzi approached them and observed their expressions. Just as Chang Ming and Chang Ren began to break into cold sweats, Dan Yangzi slowly turned toward the person beside them. "Xuan Yuan! Where were you?"
Meanwhile, Li Huowang, who was standing beside Xuan Yuan, knew that his turn was coming. Though nervous, he had to stay calm.
Stay focused! As long as he doesn't notice anything off about me, I win!
"Xuan Yang! Your turn! What were you doing after you delivered the guiding drug ingredient to me?"
The moment he heard this, Li Huowang immediately gave the answer he had already prepared. "Master, I went back to the Preparation Room to prepare the ingredients we'll need for the next pill we refine!"
"Is that so?" Dan Yangzi slowly walked over, his bloody stench and oppressive aura causing Li Huowang's body to stiffen to its limit.
No wonder the rest of the disciples were sweating so much.
Time passed ever so slowly. Under the intense pressure, the beads of sweat on Li Huowang's forehead grew larger.
Suddenly, he felt the pressure weaken. Just as he thought he had succeeded, Dan Yangzi's voice rang beside him. "Did any of you see Xuan Yang go into the Preparation Room?"
Li Huowang turned to see who he was addressing and saw that Dan Yangzi had already approached the guiding drug ingredients. He was asking them!
"Think carefully before you speak. If any of you can help me find the culprit, I'll immediately send you back home—and even give you some money."
The moment he said this, several of the guiding drug ingredients were shocked. They wanted to go home, to leave this horrible place.
"Master, Senior Li was indeed with us." Feeling the situation was about to spiral out of control, Bai Lingmiao immediately replied.
Dan Yangzi stared at her. "Oh? And what about the rest of you?"
At this point, Puppy looked visibly conflicted but excited. He clenched his teeth and stepped forward. "Master! Let me tell the truth! Xuan Yang didn't come to the Preparation Room even once! The culprit must be him!"
The moment Puppy said that, Xuan Yin smirked, nearly laughing. His face, which had initially been pale with fear, now looked much better after realizing he might survive the day.
Meanwhile, Dan Yangzi turned to look at Li Huowang before approaching Puppy. Suddenly, he slapped Puppy across the face. "Bullshit! Xuan Yang personally delivered a guiding drug ingredient to me! How could he do that if he never went to the Preparation Room? Are you trying to die?"
Puppy was visibly shaken. He fell to his knees, tears covering his face as he kowtowed. "No! I was wrong! I was tempted by greed and lied!"
Still expressionless, Dan Yangzi continued staring at the horror-struck Puppy. Then he suddenly turned around and looked at Xuan Yin. "Why were you smiling just now? Were you happy that Xuan Yang was getting framed?"
The moment he said this, Xuan Yin couldn't stop his body from shaking. The pressure coming from Dan Yangzi was immense.
As Dan Yangzi slowly walked toward him, Xuan Yin grew more and more nervous—so much so that those around him could tell something was off.
When Dan Yangzi was finally standing directly in front of him, Xuan Yin could no longer bear it. He collapsed onto the ground as a yellowish liquid slowly spread around him. "Master! I didn't want to do it! It was Disciple Zheng Kun who forced me!!"
The moment Xuan Yin said that, Zheng Kun suddenly snarled and launched himself toward the cave exit like a jaguar.
"To think it was you!" Dan Yangzi huffed. At the same time, a clear ringing sound rang out as he swung his right hand. A single bronze coin fell to the ground, rolling and spinning like a top.
Zheng Kun was nearly out of the cave system when Dan Yangzi raised his right foot and stomped the ground. His cloth shoe kicked up a pillar of dust.
Crack!
The bronze coin split into five fragments and exploded. However, it wasn't just the coin that split—Zheng Kun himself was torn apart as well.
All four of his limbs were ripped off, just like the coin.
Yet even without limbs, the bloody Zheng Kun was still alive. He crawled desperately toward the exit, like a maggot.
"My dear disciple! You followed me the longest! How could you?! I should've known—you were the only one who could have disarmed the restrictions I placed in my room!" Dan Yangzi stomped on Zheng Kun's head, preventing him from crawling further.
"Master! I'm... I'm sorry! Please spare me! I don't even have any limbs now! I'm nothing but trash! Master, when the monks from the Righteous Monastery were chasing us, we only escaped thanks to my two brothers' deaths! Please reconsider!"
Dan Yangzi slowly increased the force of his foot, causing Zheng Kun's suffocated face to be buried completely in the ground, silencing him.
"My dear disciple! Did you know I always knew what you were thinking? You and your brothers were nothing but ingrates!" Dan Yangzi spat out those words and stomped down one last time!
At that moment, Zheng Kun's head exploded under the force of the stomp. Blobs of blood and tissue flew everywhere—some even splattering onto Li Huowang's face.