coobybook Chapter 41 Queen of Heaven
Chapter 41 Queen of Heaven
At noon, a gentle breeze swept past the entrance of the mortuary, and a figure in red strode in. Dressed in red, she carried a sharp sword, her movements agile and spirited, her eyes sharp and resolute, her expression stern. Her sword-like gaze swept over everyone present, and they were all silenced by her invisible authority.
Immediately afterward, an elderly monk slowly approached. He wore a colorful robe, held prayer beads in his hand, and had a kind and solemn face. His steady steps inspired awe, like a towering mountain, yet his compassionate spirit imbued his countenance with a holy and all-encompassing quality. When people met his gaze, it was as if they were seeing the Buddha; their hearts instantly felt liberated from the world and purified.
Finally, a strange man carrying a puppet appeared before them. His figure was elusive, as if he had merged with the shadows. The puppet trembled slightly on his back, exuding a mysterious and eerie aura.
The three appeared abruptly before everyone like divine soldiers descending from the sky. Their powerful aura was like Mount Tai crushing an egg, or like a storm sweeping over everything. For a moment, everyone was stunned and speechless.
Upon seeing Cui Chou standing at the door confronting a group of juniors, the red-clad female swordsman's almond-shaped eyes widened, and she spoke sarcastically:
"Cui Chou, have you no shame? You bully a bunch of kids all day long. If people who don't know the truth see this, they'll think our martial arts world is full of cowards who prey on the weak!"
With Qin Lu of the Taibai Sect, Xuanzhen of the Shaolin Sect, and Mu Yin of the Tiangong Fortress, coupled with the sound of the Heaven and Earth Drum, Cui Chou had a bad feeling.
He didn't show it on his face, but when he saw an acquaintance coming up and cursing him, his demeanor suddenly changed. His eyes instantly sharpened and boiled with murderous intent, but his words carried a hint of tenderness, as if he were flirting with a lover.
"Miss Qin, since you care so much about my face, why don't you come up and touch it yourself to see if it's soft or hard?"
Spurred on by this murderous intent, Qin Lu's eyes also blazed with fighting spirit, and she retorted without forgetting to speak:
"If you're so capable, don't hide. Let my Crimson Flame Sword touch you!"
"Amitabha, Benefactor Qin, please stop your nonsense. We must attend to important matters. Lord Cui, as the Commander, you bear the heavy responsibility of overseeing and protecting the martial world. Now, someone has used the sect's token to strike the Heavenly Drum, indicating that another calamity is about to befall us, threatening the entire martial world. Come with us and see who dares to gamble the fate of their entire sect and demand that our Martial Soul Hall intervene. Whether this matter truly concerns the survival of the martial world will become clear in a single glance."
Seeing that the two were about to fight again, Master Xuanzhen had no choice but to act as a peacemaker and spoke up to persuade them.
The two men gave each other a look of disdain, but both agreed with the old monk's words and dropped the matter.
"Lord Cui, who...who exactly are these people? What Heavenly Drum? What is the life or death of the martial world?"
Seeing Cui Chou and the three others about to enter the mortuary, Jia Shidao, who was clueless about the situation, hurriedly ran forward and couldn't suppress his curiosity to ask.
Cui Chou himself was still bewildered by what he saw, let alone the fact that he always hated explaining things to men. He merely glanced at Jia Shidao with a half-smile before silently walking inside.
As the drums of heaven and earth sounded, Wang Zhizhong, having received notification from those inside, ceased his obstruction. He approached several martial arts elders, bowed, and then led the way.
Liu, the clerk beside Jia Shidao, quietly tugged at his sleeve, noticing that the master had turned to look at him. Liu glanced around to make sure no one was nearby, then stealthily approached Jia Shidao and whispered:
"Lord Jia, I have heard a legend. It is said that before the great hero Yuan retired from the martial world, in order to ensure that the martial world would remain united after his departure and avoid internal strife, he founded an organization called the 'Hall of Martial Spirits.' It is said that the Hall of Martial Spirits has twelve members, each selected by one of the eleven top organizations in the martial world. The great hero Yuan's sworn brother, Bo Qianqiu, the master of Dongwu Island, serves as the hall master. Normally, these people do not interfere with each other. However, if any martial arts sect senses any signs that threaten the safety of the entire martial world, they can use the token left by the great hero Yuan to strike the Heavenly Drum. Once the Heavenly Drum sounds, the Hall of Martial Spirits must send people to investigate and fully participate in the matter."
"This is ridiculous! How could Yan Gongsheng's death be related to the safety of the martial arts world!"
No, no way! Jia Shidao feigned surprise, but his mind was in turmoil. How could their plan have been discovered by these martial arts practitioners...?
"Lord Jia, please rest assured. I remember that this drum cannot be sounded casually. Back then, Master Yuan was also worried that the Spirit Hall would be used by those with ulterior motives to suppress dissent. He specifically warned us beforehand that if anyone in the Spirit Hall were to discover that someone was abusing their power for personal gain and indiscriminately striking the Heaven and Earth Drum, the entire sect would face pursuit from the eleven top organizations behind the Spirit Hall!"
Fei Xi sat cross-legged in front of Yan Gongsheng's corpse, her hand supporting her chin. Yan Gongsheng's case was nothing special, but to the person behind the Crimson Tent, the Qingcheng Sect and Yan Gongsheng were no different.
If the other party's subordinates could kill Yan Gongsheng to silence him, Jia Shidao could use this as an excuse to use his junior brother as a stepping stone, and even the entire Qingcheng Sect could become a victim in that person's power struggle.
The moment Fei Xi saw Lord Jia at the Crimson Tent Courtyard, she knew that this matter could not be resolved peacefully.
Since a peaceful resolution is impossible, let's just make a big scene!
In her previous life, Fei Xi didn't know much about that person, but she had witnessed Gu Mingfeng commit suicide at the gates of the imperial city to save that person's life.
That person was Lu Mingyue, the eldest daughter of Lu Wenhe, the founding emperor of the Hua Dynasty, the eldest princess of the Hua Dynasty, the first wife of Prince Rui, and the biological mother of Gu Mingfeng!
Princess Lu Mingyue was unwilling to become a pawn for her father to win over important officials. She longed to ascend the supreme throne like her father and become the ruler of the world.
If we disregard the other party's methods, Fei Xi naturally admires the eldest princess's ambition. However, the methods this eldest princess used to rise to power were far too cruel and despicable.
For men navigating the officialdom, fame and fortune are the eternal goals they pursue. But the fastest ways to corrupt a capable person, besides drugs, are through sex.
Although Lu Mingyue was a princess, she didn't actually wield much power. Without sufficient incentives, it would be extremely difficult to persuade men in high positions who held significant power to serve her.
So, this princess took a different approach, using drugs to control a group of stunningly beautiful women and using them to drag down one important court official after another.
Of course, controlling a man solely through female beauty is no easy feat. But once a person's morals are broken, the pursuit of women inevitably leads to rampant corruption and wrongdoing. It was precisely these incriminating facts handed to the princess that allowed her to successfully drag some court officials onto her side.
However, the princess in her previous life perished too quickly, and no one knew exactly how many court officials were on her ship.
At least before seeing Lord Jia at the Jiangzhang Courtyard, Fei Xi really didn't know that Jia Shidao was also on the ship.
Since Jia Shidao was the eldest princess's man, she would not entrust her junior brother's fate to such a person.
"Master Xuanzhen, Senior Qin, Senior Mu, Lord Cui, you've arrived!"
Hearing the noise, Fei Xi got up, went outside, and greeted the four people.
"Amitabha Buddha, young benefactor, was it you who had the Heaven and Earth Drum sounded?"
"It's the junior."
"Did your elders teach you the rules of the Heaven and Earth Drum? Do you know the consequences of striking the Heaven and Earth Drum?"
“This junior understands. If I utter a single careless word today, the Qingcheng Sect is willing to bear all the consequences. I would like to ask Master Xuanzhen to come with me and take a look at these two corpses.”
The two corpses in front of them had been disemboweled, a gruesome sight. To avoid leaving these laymen confused, Fei Xi stood aside and explained directly to them what she had found on the two corpses.
"You mean, this young girl was given a strange medicine that made her unable to live without a man before she died, and this old man was given a deadly poison that could cause people to suddenly die as if they were sick? Little girl, I don't understand, what does this have to do with the safety of the martial arts world?"
"I wonder if any of you seniors have heard of a rapidly rising martial arts organization called 'Deer Cry' in recent years? Their leader calls himself 'Empress of Heaven'."