The reason why the leaders of various sects gathered here was because they had ordered the sword from Feng Yunlie. Therefore, Shen Qianfeng sent someone to find the accounts of Baijian Villa first, and returned them to everyone according to the amount registered above, and the remaining silver was temporarily sealed in the warehouse for future use.
After getting the money, all the heads of the families breathed a sigh of relief. After all, not every sect is as rich as Zhuiying Palace, and this fee is really not a small amount. It would be best if it could be recovered.
After interrogating the servants in the villa one by one, it was discovered that most people didn't know about the puppet. The sword-casting kiln in the south was a forbidden area of the Baijian Villa. Only a few people could enter on weekdays. The other servants and maids would be scolded if they approached a little. As Feng Yunlie's confidant, the housekeeper Feng Zhu was naturally the one who knew the most inside information. Unfortunately, he probably knew that he would have no way to survive if he did too many bad things, so he bit his tongue and committed suicide when he was thrown into the dungeon.
"Good deeds will be rewarded and evil deeds will be punished." Oliver sighed as he watched the secret guards carry his body away, "If I had known this would happen, I would not have done it in the first place."
"I chose the path back then, and now I have to bear the consequences." Ye Jin walked back, "Go back," too lazy to look at these things anymore. "
"Would you like to go to the front hall and have a look?" Oliver followed him, "Everyone is discussing something."
"Why are you interested in these things?" Ye Jin looked puzzled. What was so interesting about seeing a bunch of martial arts masters making a fuss?
Oliver scratched his nose.
"Young Master is not interested in the affairs of the martial arts world." The secret guard explained promptly, "He just wants to go see the Palace Master." He hasn't seen her for a whole day, he must miss her very much. My wife is simply infatuated with him.
Ye Jin despised, "Look at your potential."
Oliver said angrily, "You helped big brother stew at noon---"
"I didn't!" Ye Jin was angry and turned around and went back to the room leisurely.
Oliver trotted to keep up. His sister-in-law was so hypocritical.
In the small courtyard, Huang Daxian was helping little Phoenix mix rice. Mu Hanye said affectionately to the side, "Ah Huang will definitely help me give birth to one in the future."
Wong Tai Sin's hands shook and the bowl almost fell to the ground.
"Chirp!" Little Phoenix suddenly opened his eyes wide, worried!
Fortunately, Wong Tai Sin stabilized the situation in time.
Furball breathed a sigh of relief, raised his head and chirped vigorously---hungry.
Wong Tai Sin put the bowl on the table, and the fur ball immediately pounced on it and started eating seriously. He didn't need anyone to coax him at all. He was very well behaved.
Mu Hanye looked forward to it eagerly, "Are you hungry?"
"Hungry." Wong Tai Sin's stomach was indeed growling.
Mu Hanye immediately seized the opportunity and said evilly, "I will definitely do my best to feed you."
Wong Tai Sin: ...
Oliver:...
Ye Jin:...
"Haha, let's go first." Shen Xiaoshou pulled his sister-in-law and wanted to leave.
"No way!" Huang Daxian quickly held him back, and finally a savior came, "How about we have dinner together?"
Mu Hanye said dissatisfied, "I just want to feed Ah Huang alone."
Oliver was so shocked that he was fuming. He originally thought that Asher had a bad taste, but he didn't expect that there is always someone better than him.
"Ah Huang..." Mu Hanye was still calling affectionately.
Ye Jin couldn't stand it any longer and dragged Huang Daxian and Oliver out of the yard.
I knew I shouldn't have agreed to let this weirdo live in Baijian Villa!
"You are still the best." The courtyard suddenly became empty, and Mu Hanye poked the fur ball's head.
Although he didn't know what happened, Maoqiu was very fond of him, so he opened his short wings generously, and black beans' eyes were filled with "If you want to touch it, I won't refuse, but you can't touch it for too long because I still want to eat" or something like that.
Mu Hanye scratched it, "I really want to take you back to the desert."
"Then I will fight you tooth and nail." Asher stepped in from the door.
"Chirp!" Maoqiu threw himself into his father's arms affectionately.
"It's just talk." Mu Hanye said with a smile, "I'm afraid no one in this world would dare to snatch Mr. Shen's favorite."
"Where's that wooden box?" Asher asked. He had been busy dealing with things in the Sword Worship Villa these two days and didn't take a closer look.
Mu Hanye took it out from the house, "Brother Qin is probably going to be disappointed. I looked over it dozens of times. This thing is indeed an ordinary wooden box."
Asher hugged Maoqiu in.
"Chirp!" Little Phoenix was very dissatisfied and jumped out hard - it was hard and not comfortable at all.
"It seems there's really nothing inside." Asher flicked the fur ball's head, "otherwise it wouldn't have no reaction at all."
That's right! The secret guards nodded collectively. Our young palace master can even find the pearls under the twelve quilts. He is very smart, which makes it impossible for the palace master to hide his private money.
"Do you still have this ability?" Mu Hanye laughed and hugged the little phoenix into the box again, with a particularly mean hand.
"Chirp!!!" Maoqiu became even more unhappy. After jumping out, he saw that Mu Hanye was going to hug him for the third time, so he simply raised his little paws, jumped up and stepped on the box.
The wooden box broke into pieces with a loud crash and turned into a pile of slag.
Maoqiu squatted in the ruins with a domineering look, looking down on everyone.
Everyone present was silent for a moment.
"That's good now. I can see it more clearly." Mu Hanye laughed dumbly, "It is indeed just a pile of wood."
"Why did Mu Hanye get an empty wooden box in a critical moment?" Shen Qianfeng was puzzled.
"Maybe he has already discovered that there is something fishy going on." Mu Hanye said on the side.
"Impossible." Shen Qianfeng shook his head. "If he had already discovered it, he should have just pretended to be unaware when Asher led his men into the villa. Why would he have gone out of his way to get an empty box? Not to mention that before that, Baijian Villa had been forging swords day and night, and it was obvious that they were still thinking about delivering the swords as soon as possible."
"When Feng Yunlie saw the empty wooden box that day, he didn't show any surprise." Asher said, "Nine out of ten times, he already knew that the box was empty."
"The more I talk about it, the more dizzy I get." Mu Hanye shook his head, "All the things in Qi Jue's country combined are not as complicated as this one."
"Feng Yunlie has not said a word since he woke up. It seems that he plans to grit his teeth and hold on." Shen Qianfeng said, "Like Feng Zhu, he knows that he will inevitably die, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to cooperate. Come out with the truth."
"I am very good at torture." Mu Hanye volunteered.
Asher said, "The Shadow Chaser is better than you."
"What are you good at?" Oliver originally came back to ask them if they wanted to eat, and asked casually after hearing this.
Asher smiled faintly and said, "We are discussing how to influence Feng Yunlie with love."
Mu Hanye praised, "Brother Qin is really kind-hearted."
"Brother Mu, you don't have to give in too much." Asher said shamelessly, "Thank you."
"How can we use love to persuade such a person? He has harmed so many people." Oliver said angrily, "In addition to the puppets, there are still 20 to 30 people whose lives and deaths are unknown. Ten deaths is not too much."
"Ling'er is right." Asher said, "Let's adjust our thinking now and put the people first." So when it comes to coaxing the wife, if Palace Master Qin comes second, I'm afraid no one would dare to do so. First.
After everyone had dinner, the secret guard came to report that several thugs had taken the initiative to confess what they knew in order to save their lives.
The Sword Worship Villa has made a living with swords for generations, so the skill of sword-making has become the biggest secret. The ancestors of the Feng family have personally forged swords for generations. Only ten high-quality swords are produced every year, and the price will rise again and again, attracting the whole world to pursue them. But in Feng Yunlie's generation, he felt that it was not necessary to abide by the ancestral precepts, not to mention that there was obviously a lot of money in front of him, and there was really no reason not to take it, so he thought of using puppets to make swords.
"But where did he learn the Soul-stealing technique?" Oliver still didn't understand. It wasn't an ordinary Kung Fu, and there were people teaching it everywhere if one wanted to learn it.
"Soul-taking* is just a general term for this evil skill. In fact, there are many kinds." Asher said, "There is a book in the secret compartment of Fengyunlie's study, which talks about the art of sword puppet."
"What is it?" Oliver frowned.
"This villa was built by Feng Yunlie's ancestor. There are precious swords everywhere. You can imagine how obsessed he is with it." Asher said, "And he still feels that this is not enough, so he has studied this evil Kung Fu so that he can be reborn to forge swords after his death." Oliver felt a chill on his back.
"This sword puppet technique was originally used to teach how to make a dead person forge a sword." Asher said, "According to the teachings of the Feng family's ancestors, every owner of the manor must transform into a sword puppet to forge a sword for nine days after his death, and then throw himself into the furnace to sacrifice the sword and disperse his soul."
Oliver shivered involuntarily, and Ye Jin felt numb in her heart.
"Originally, no matter how much trouble it caused, it was considered the family affairs of Baijian Villa, and others should not interfere." Asher said, "It's a pity that Feng Yunlie was too greedy. Not only did he refine innocent people into sword puppets for him to control, he also used living women to sacrifice to the sword. This end is his own fault."
"Can those people be saved?" Mu Hanye asked.
"We can only try our best." Ye Jin said, "Some times take too long, and I'm not 100% sure."
"Now the rest of the things have been roughly resolved, and only some follow-up matters remain." Shen Qianfeng said, "The remaining two questions are the whereabouts of Xuan Haiyu and whether Feng Yunlie is related to Zhou Jue."
"The remaining two are also the two that are the most troublesome." Ye Jin said, "Feng Yunlie is obviously a dead pig now and is not afraid of boiling water. If he is tortured to extract a confession, he will probably die. We still fetch water from a bamboo basket."
"I always feel that Xuan Haiyu is still in the villa." Asher said, "Why not search it again?"
"That's fine." Shen Qianfeng nodded, "We search again, and if we still find nothing, we can only temporarily seal the Sword Worship Villa and take Feng Yunlie to the royal city." If we don't find anything, it's better to take someone to see Chu Yuan. It’s better to be empty-handed.
On the second day, the secret guards really started a carpet search again, almost turning up the ground. Oliver stayed in the side yard to help Ye Jin. It was indeed not an easy task to cure dozens of puppets. During the acupuncture process, from time to time someone sat up and screamed unconsciously, and then lay down again. Oliver was a little frightened at first, but later he got used to it, and even helped his sister-in-law to press the person back.
The secret guard's eyes were filled with tears. How could my wife be able to do such rough work? It really makes me feel sorry for her and I really want to drag her away by force.
"Chirp." After Maoqiu woke up, he felt a little bored, so he jumped up and down to find Oliver. As a result, he happened to encounter a sword puppet and screamed like a corpse. Suddenly, all the hair on his body exploded, and he rolled and crawled into Oliver's arms. --- Terrified.
"It's okay." Oliver didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"...啾." Maoqiu was extremely weak.
Is it that serious? Oliver rubbed it, carried it out of the courtyard to find Asher.
"Chirp." The fur ball trembled and raised a paw.
Oliver squeezed comfortingly.
Maoqiu closed his eyes slightly.
Oliver took the initiative to feed it a piece of beef.
The fur ball spread its wings again.
It's not over... Oliver was so angry and funny that he threw it high into the sky.
As a result, because the ball of fur did not observe the environment beforehand, it was hit by a branch and deviated from its direction and flew forward.
Oliver stretched out his hands and watched as his son hit the ground with a "thud".
"...啾." Maoqiu's heart was broken.
Oliver quickly picked it up. He had obviously learned how to fly, but why did it still fall and fly a little?
"Chirp." The furry little ball's expression looked very sad.
Oliver knew that he was in the wrong, and just as he was about to leave, he heard some noises around him, so he frowned and squatted on the ground.
The several secret guards who were responsible for protecting him looked at each other, not understanding what was going on.
Oliver stretched out his hand and called them over.
"Sir." The secret guard stepped forward, "What's the matter?"
"It seems like there is some movement underground." Oliver said in a low voice.
The fur ball also opened its mouth and made a mysterious little "chirp", just like its mother.
The secret guard leaned down to the ground, and sure enough he heard a clanking sound coming from the ground.
"Really?" Oliver asked.
"I will escort you back first." The guard said solemnly, "There is someone below."
It was rare to see the secret guards so serious, Oliver also became nervous, and covered his eyes with his short wings to show that he was also very weak - so he is worthy of being born by an actor, with natural acting skills.
"Is there anyone?" Asher was also shocked when he heard about it.
"Yes." The secret guard said, "I didn't hear it during the search a few days ago. Today, I accidentally discovered it when the young master passed by."
"This is probably Feng Yunlie's last move." Asher said, "Let's go and take a look first."
A few crows stood on the dead branches. After seeing the crowd coming, they spread their wings and flew away, leaving behind a string of hoarse cries.
"Why did Ling'er come to a place like this?" Asher frowned.
"I know I was wrong." The secret guard said in a low voice, "Seeing that the young master and the little phoenix were having fun, I did not go forward."
"Don't let this happen a second time." Asher said coldly.
"Yes." The secret guards all took the order. Shen Qianfeng sighed, "I don't love you so much."
"The world is dangerous, and I won't let him go to any strange place alone." Asher said, "This is not called pampering, it is called taking it for granted."
Mu Hanye nodded and said affectionately, "Yes, I feel the same way towards Ah Huang."
Wong Tai Sin turned a deaf ear.
Mu Hanye sighed in disappointment.
"This is it." The secret guard removed the dead branches and leaves on the ground.
Asher squatted on the ground and listened for a moment, but did not notice anything unusual.
"There was indeed a sound just now." The secret guard said, "and it was quite loud, otherwise you wouldn't have heard it."
"In addition to the underground cave where the sword puppets are imprisoned, there should be a secret room under the Baijian Villa." Asher said, "I just don't know where the entrance is."
"Originally we planned to let those sect leaders leave first, but now it seems we have to keep some." Shen Qianfeng said, "Even if it can't be of much help, it's better to stay around the villa and guard it in case there is a secret passage leading outside the mountain."
The secret guard said, "I heard the sound just now, it seems that they are forging swords."
"Are you still forging swords at this moment?" Asher frowned.
"There are only two possibilities. First, the people below knew that Feng Yunlie was in trouble and wanted to forge a good weapon to save him; second, they have always been isolated from the world and had no idea that something had happened at Baijian Villa, so they were still forging swords as usual." Shen Qianfeng said, "Based on Feng Yunlie's personality, I guess it's the first one."
"I'm afraid it's another sword puppet." Asher shook his head. "In any case, we need to find the entrance to the secret room first. There's no need to tell the public that we have made a new discovery. Let the disciples of each sect pay more attention to strangers, and then dig a deep trench around Baijian Villa to see if we can find the secret passage."
Shen Qianfeng nodded and ordered the secret guard to go handle the matter.
"The rest of the people tried their best to find the entrance to the secret passage." Asher said, "There is only one request, be sure not to alert the snake." After all, the people underground don't know who they are, so naturally the more unprepared they are, the better.
The secret guard took the order and left. Asher squatted on the ground and listened for a while, but there was still no movement.
"Could it be that Ling'er heard it wrong?" Shen Qianfeng asked.
Asher stood up and reprimanded sternly, "Ling'er will never be wrong."
Shen Qianfeng's head is buzzing, and so are you.
Oliver:...
"Why are you here?" Asher made an expression like "I just told the truth."
"I'm worried." Oliver said, "How's it going?"
"There is indeed a sound." Asher said, "But the entrance is a little hard to find, so I can only try my best."
"The people underground must be isolated from the world, so they are still making swords now." Oliver said, "After making swords, they always have to take them out. Even if we can't find the entrance, after a while, they will probably Take it out yourself."
Hearing this, Shen Qianfeng was about to say, "If the person who made the sword is a sword puppet, he will always wait for the master to go down and get the sword, and there is no way he can bring it up himself." Unfortunately, as soon as he opened his mouth and didn't pronounce the words, Asher said softly, "Ling'er is so smart."
Shen Qianfeng had no choice but to shut up.
"Let's go, let's go back first." Asher calmly took the little hand and walked back, "No matter how big the matter is, we have to finish our meal first."
"Yeah." Oliver was very obedient.
Watching the two people's backs gradually going away, Shen Qianfeng shook his head and turned to go back to the study to deal with things. Mu Hanye held Huang Daxian's hand and followed suit and said affectionately, "Ah Huang, what do you want to eat tonight?"
"Can you call me by a different name?" Wong Tai Sin said with a difficult expression.
"Okay." Mu Hanye said happily, "Queen."
Huang Daxian said bitterly, "Not even as good as Ah Huang."
"Madam is so picky." Mu Hanye complained.
"This isn't much better." Wong Tai Sin still didn't accept it.
"Empress? Zi Tong? Madam? Wife? My wife?" Mu Hanye fully demonstrated his Chinese proficiency. After thinking for a while, he added, "The child's mother."
Wong Tai Sin was exhausted and said, "Forget it, just pretend I didn't say anything."
"No, it's said, how can I pretend I didn't say it?" Mu Hanye said seriously, "Just like when we were in Qijue Palace, Xiaoyuan once said in person that he wanted me to appreciate the chrysanthemums, I must not forget it."
Huang Daxian's soul flew to heaven, "When did I say such shameless words?"
"Why didn't you tell me?" Mu Hanye looked at him as if he was a heartless man. "That day, a flower field appeared in the desert mirage, and Xiaoyuan personally promised to accompany me to appreciate the flowers."
Wong Tai Sin thought for a long time before finally remembering what happened, and said with tears in his eyes, "I'm talking about real chrysanthemums."
Mu Hanye nodded and said, "Of course it is true, otherwise it would not be useful."
Wong Tai Sin's life is worse than death, "Where are you looking at?"
Mu Hanye felt extremely regretful and turned her gaze back to his face, "Xiaoyuan still refuses to let me reward you?"
"Dream on." Wong Tai Sin gritted his teeth.
"Then I will continue to call you Ah Huang." Mu Hanye clenched his fists, very childishly.
Wong Tai Sin was exhausted, so he turned around and walked slowly back.
"Can't you even take a look?" Mu Hanye clung to him.
Wong Tai Sin trots.
Mu Hanye said in surprise, "Ah Huang is now willing to chase and play with me?"
Wong Tai Sin's knees went weak and he almost fell to the ground.
Mu Hanye hugged the person into his arms, his expression seemed very happy, "I caught him."
Wong Tai Sin: ...
Who can tell him whether this man can be saved?
Compared with Mu Hanye who was doing nothing, Asher and Shen Qianfeng were much busier. The Sword Worship Villa was so big that the entrance could be hidden anywhere, and if things had not come to a close, Asher actually did not want to make a sound directly. The ground began to be dug. After all, it was not yet certain whether there was a sword puppet underground. If a normal person made a sword, he would probably do something unpredictable after hearing the noise.
"I still haven't found it." Oliver sighed as he went to bed that night, "I don't know how long it will take."
"We have already searched half of the villa, and we should have results soon." Asher said, "If we really can't find it, we can only dig it up from the top. Anyway, no matter what, we will eventually know what is underneath."
"No matter who it is, it is definitely not voluntary." Oliver said, "Although there are sword madmen like the ancestors of the Feng family in this world, most of them are normal people. I don't believe there are people who are willing to spend all their time with the world just to make swords. Living in isolation in the dark underground."
"That's why I don't want to forcefully explode it." Asher said, "If there are people who are being coerced underneath, a forceful attack will definitely cause disaster to them."
"Yeah." Oliver pinched his chin, "Fortunately you came here, otherwise the people in this town would have to suffer for who knows how long."
"I just like to hear Ling'er praise me." Asher k!ssed his hand, "It's worth it no matter how tired I am."
"Then let me praise you again?" Oliver laughed.
"Okay." Palace Master Qin made an expression like a kindergarten child waiting for praise from the teacher.
Oliver hugged his neck and whispered in his ear.
Asher:...
"Learn from you." Oliver acted like a rogue and grabbed a handful randomly under the quilt.
Asher took a deep breath---it was getting more and more deadly.
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