Ling Tian Sword God

Chapter 758: Chapter 756: Piano Sound_1

After separating from Ling Yin and the others, Ling Chen followed Xuan Yu to the morgue of Hanmei Villa.

Upon entering the morgue, a pungent odor of corpses greeted them. Xuan Yu quickly raised her hand, pinching her nose. Laid orderly within the morgue were over a dozen corpses, all considerably young, seemingly disciples of Hanmei Villa.

On these corpses, there were no visible signs of injuries or traces of poisoning. Their deaths were profoundly mysterious.

”Several disciples of Hanmei Villa have been murdered in the past few days. Initially, it was just common disciples, but this time, even the Young Villa Owner has fallen victim.”

Gazing at the numerous bodies, Xuan Yu’s face grew graver. ”No wounds were found on any of the victims, but all of their Vital Energy was drained. Whoever was capable of this is undoubtedly no ordinary individual.”

”So you still insist that Shen Qianlang is responsible?”

Ling Chen couldn’t help but cast Xuan Yu a glance. The latter remained silent. Apparently, even they don’t believe Shen Qianlang possesses such an ability. They’re likely just looking for a scapegoat.

Hanmei Villa, renowned as a famous martial arts sect, had recently been plagued by the mysterious deaths of its disciples. Even the Young Villa Owner had been murdered, causing widespread alarm. If they couldn’t find the killer at this point, a crisis of trust in the higher-ups would undoubtedly arise among the disciples.

A prestigious martial arts sect unable to protect its own disciples. It just so happened that Shen Qianlang had walked into the line of fire, becoming the unfortunate scapegoat.

Without dwelling on this issue, Ling Chen started to examine the corpse of the Young Villa Owner, Mei Fang.

Based on Ling Chen’s initial observations, the body had been dead for no more than twelve hours, yet all the Vital Energy had completely dispersed, and the internal organs had all withered. This Vital Energy was absorbed before death rather than dissipating afterwards.

”Are all the other victims in the same condition?”

Ling Chen did not investigate each body individually and asked Xuan Yu directly. Many of the bodies were already emitting a rotten smell; there was no value in examining them.

”Yes, their manner of death is the same.”

As Xuan Yu gently nodded, Ling Chen immediately identified the core issue. This made her see him in a new light. Perhaps this man really can uncover some clues. For them and Hanmei Villa, this is naturally good news.

”None of them have a single wound on their bodies, yet their Vital Energy was extracted. These people, regardless of their martial arts skills, were all martial artists. If someone were to drain their Vital Energy, they would inevitably resist, and their bodies would show some signs of struggle.”

Ling Chen held his chin, pondering. ”However, there are no signs of resistance on their bodies. This only leads to one possibility.”

”What possibility?” Xuan Yu’s beautiful eyes narrowed slightly.

”They willingly offered their bodies, rather than being forced.”

A glimmer appeared in Ling Chen’s eyes.

”How is that possible? Who in their right mind would do such a thing...” Xuan Yu found Ling Chen’s conjecture absurd and completely unreasonable. She instantly lost the urge to continue listening.

Ling Chen, however, remained calm and composed, smiling as he said, ”If they retained their consciousness, then it would indeed be impossible. But if they were under some Illusion Technique, then that’s another matter...”

”Illusion Technique!”

Xuan Yu’s eyes widened, her left fist striking her right palm. She looked as if she finally understood.

That’s right! If they were under an Illusion Technique, then everything Ling Chen said makes sense.

Xuan Yu’s bright eyes lit up. This guy indeed has some real talent.

She was about to compliment Ling Chen, but then she reconsidered. He was already quite arrogant; praising him now would only make his ego swell. She resolved not to boost his confidence any further.

”What’s the point of knowing it’s an Illusion Technique? We’re still far from finding the real murderer,” Xuan Yu retorted dismissively.

”Yes, we are indeed far off, but at least we have a lead.”

Ling Chen’s train of thought didn’t break. He suddenly looked at Xuan Yu. ”Oh, right, has anything unusual happened in the Villa recently? Any abnormalities at all.”

”Unusual events... Let me think.”

Xuan Yu tapped her cheek with a slender finger, her pretty face thoughtful. ”If you mean strange people or unusual occurrences, then yes, there have been some.”

”For instance, a few days ago, the undergarments of the female disciples from our Yunmeng Pavilion began to vanish frequently. Our Sect Leader has been in seclusion for half a year, and we haven’t seen any sign of him; we don’t even know if he’s still in the Villa. Also, a female Elder, after a ten-month pregnancy, gave birth to a meatball. Isn’t that strange...”

”Stop, stop.”

Ling Chen couldn’t bear to hear any more. Xuan Yu was detailing all of Hanmei Villa’s Bagua; while these matters were indeed peculiar, they had no connection to their investigation.

”That’s not what I want to know. Think carefully, were there any other, more eerie events?” Ling Chen crossed his arms, his eyes slightly narrowed. ”Such as strange people, odd phenomena, or weird sounds...”

Xuan Yu pondered for quite a while before she responded:

”Speaking of strange people, Junior Ling Zhen’s movements have become increasingly secretive lately. Plus, he’s been quite high-profile, possibly because he thinks he’s about to become the successor of Hanmei Villa, which might explain his recent unrestrained behavior.”

”Ling Zhen? I’ve heard he’s the Villa Owner’s nephew,” Ling Chen mused. ”After Young Villa Owner Mei Fang’s death, did he become the biggest beneficiary?”

”Perhaps.”

Xuan Yu nodded. ”Although Master Mei had many direct disciples, they were all female; the only male disciples were Young Villa Owner Mei Fang and Ling Zhen. In Hanmei Villa, the position of Villa Owner has always been passed down to male heirs. According to the Villa’s old rules, even someone as exceptional as Senior Sister Miaoyin isn’t qualified to inherit the position.”

”In that case, Ling Zhen is indeed suspicious.”

Ling Chen pondered, a glint in his eyes. However, Ling Zhen is merely suspicious. Given his abilities, he probably isn’t capable of this. The one who cast the Illusion Technique must be someone else.

”Oh, there’s one more thing.”

Xuan Yu suddenly seemed to recall something. ”A few days ago, disciples from another courtyard kept mentioning that they would faintly hear very beautiful zither music at night. But then other disciples said they only heard it in their dreams, claiming that, in reality, no one was playing the zither in the middle of the night.”

”I initially dismissed it as nonsense from the disciples and didn’t pay it much attention. But thinking about it carefully now, I wonder if it might be related to the recent murders of our disciples.”

Upon hearing this, Ling Chen immediately slapped his thigh, a delighted expression appearing on his face. This is precisely the kind of lead I was hoping for!

”Let’s go! Take me to that courtyard immediately!”

With his intuition and experience in the Jianghu, he knew there was something fishy about this so-called zither music. It had to be connected to the recent events at Hanmei Villa.