Chapter 231: The Suspicion Formation
As soon as Zhao Ji stepped out of the palace gate, he spurred his horse and galloped towards Hanguang Temple.

When they arrived, they saw that the area within several miles around Hanguang Temple had been blocked off tightly by layers of guards from Yulin Guards and Qianniu Guards, like a solid wall.

Most of the officers and soldiers on the road knew Zhao Ji, a familiar face of the Qianniu Guard, and let him pass.

When they arrived at the gate of Hanguang Temple, they happened to see Di Renjie, Li Yuanfang and Ruyan rushing out with quick steps, as if they had important things to do. They met Zhao Ji unexpectedly.

Zhao Ji stopped everyone and asked knowingly, "Sir, have you found anything in Hanguang Temple?"

Seeing Zhao Ji coming, Di Renjie hurriedly said, "Chengyuan, you came at the right time. Yuan Fang brought accurate information from Liuzhou. Shan Ling is going to assassinate His Majesty at Hanguang Temple tomorrow."

"How is the situation between you and Jianzhi? What did His Majesty say? Should we cancel our trip to Hanguang Temple tomorrow?"

When Zhao Ji heard this, his face looked strange. He leaned close to Di Renjie and whispered something, telling him about the two Zhang brothers.

After hearing this, Di Renjie rarely lost his composure and stomped his feet involuntarily, attracting surprised looks from people around him.

"Huan Bin!" Di Renjie suddenly raised his voice, like a bell, not allowing any arguments. "In addition to getting rid of the Qianniu Guards, order the Yulin Guards to enter the temple as well! This office must thoroughly investigate the Hanguang Temple! Catch the assassin!"

Huan Bin quickly agreed, and after giving an order, the soldiers rushed into the Hanguang Temple holding torches.

Inside the Hanguang Temple, the abbot and the monk Jingkong were puzzled to see that the people who had just left the temple had returned, and brought a large group of people with them.

The abbot immediately stepped forward to stop them, "Hey, Mr. Di, what's going on? This is a peaceful place for Buddhism, and your Majesty will be visiting tomorrow. How can such a large army disturb the place?"

Huan Bin had a stubble on his face and showed no mercy: "Master Abbot, a body was found in your Hanguang Temple earlier, and now there is an assassin hiding in the temple, waiting for an opportunity to assassinate Your Majesty. Are you going to protect the assassin?"

The abbot was so shocked by this accusation that he was almost speechless.

Seeing this, Di Renjie shouted at Huan Bin to leave: "General Huan, please do not be rude! Master Abbot, there is an assassin in the temple, and the soldiers are rude. It is inevitable that they will offend. I hope you will forgive me."

Jingkong quickly came out and agreed: "Please, sir, I have confined all the monks in the fourth side hall and prohibited them from moving around, so that you can investigate in detail!"

Zhao Ji glanced at Jingkong. He was dressed like a monk, but he had a sinister temperament. He was worthy of being the old head of the inner guards.

"Okay, thank you Master Jingkong. Hmm!" With a wave of his hand, Di Renjie and the soldiers behind Huan Bin were divided into small teams of several people and began a carpet search in the temple.

Di Renjie took the lead, followed closely by Zhao Ji and others, and strode into the main hall.

"Here, here, over there! On the beam! Don't miss any clues!" Huan Bin's voice echoed in the hall.

The Qianniu Guards quickly spread out throughout the hall and searched everywhere.

Di Renjie stood in the center of the hall, his eagle eyes quickly taking in the scenery inside the hall.

Then, he turned his gaze to Zhao Ji. Di Renjie and Li Yuanfang both knew that Zhao Ji had sharp senses, and if someone was hiding, he would definitely not be able to sense him.

Zhao Ji shook his head, looked left and right, then looked up, and then shook his head: "It shouldn't be here."

Huan Bin also came to Di Renjie and said, "Sir, we have searched everywhere, but we didn't find any assassins!"

Suddenly, a sound of Buddhist chanting came from outside the palace. Di Renjie looked up and said, "General Huan, where is the Buddhist chanting coming from?"

Huan Bin quickly replied, "Lord, Jingkong said that the monks are all in the fourth side hall. They practice every once in a while. I think the sound came from there."

"But when the emperor goes to pay homage, he usually stops at the Maitreya Hall in the third hall. She would not go to the fourth hall, so I think there is no need to check there."

Zhao Ji frowned when he heard this: "General Huan, what nonsense are you talking about? Doesn't the assassin have legs? Can't he run from the fourth to the third?"

Huan Bin was used to playing dumb, and he didn't expect Zhao Ji to be so venomous. Fortunately, he was thick-skinned and played dumb to the end: "Oh, General Zhao is right!"

Seeing this, Ruyan chuckled and whispered to Li Yuanfang, "This Huan may appear honest on the surface, but he is actually treacherous!"

Di Renjie also had some understanding of Huan Bin's character. He was a third-rank official who had reached the highest position in the government. It would be fine if he pretended to be simple, but who would believe him if he pretended to be a fool?

"Let's go and take a look at the fourth side hall!" Di Renjie turned and walked out of the main hall. Zhao Ji, Ruyan and others followed him and the group went to the side hall.

In the side hall, the sound of Sanskrit lingered in the air, and hundreds of monks sat closely together, chanting the Diamond Sutra.

The uniform monk robes and the mixed voices are dazzling and difficult to distinguish.

Many monks had no Zen nature at all. When Di Renjie and his group came in, they were immediately thrown into disarray and began to salute.

Only a small number of people remain unmoved by any impulse, concentrate their attention, and recite the scriptures non-stop.

The abbot and Jingkong saw Di Renjie and the others coming again, and hurriedly came forward to greet them: "Master, do you have any instructions?"

Huan Bin did not wait for Di Renjie to speak before he said, "Tell them to stop chanting!"

Before he finished speaking, Di Renjie gently waved his hand to stop him, saying gently: "No need, everything remains the same."

The monks continued to recite, and Zhao Ji and Di Renjie looked around and soon found one whose lip shape didn't match.

Zhao Ji thought about Di Renjie and nodded.

Di Renjie then turned to Ruyan and said, "Ruyan, where is Xiaomei's wooden sign?"

Ruyan was stunned when she heard this. She didn't understand why Di Renjie mentioned the wooden sign at this time, but she quickly took out the wooden sign and handed it over.

Di Renjie took the wooden sign and said, "I remember you once told me that all members of the Snake Spirit Organization carry a snake-shaped wooden sign? Is that right?"

"That's right." Ruyan affirmed.

Just at this moment, Li Yuanfang led people to carry a headless corpse into the hall and placed it heavily on the ground. This scene instantly shocked the entire side hall.

All eyes were focused on the frightening headless male corpse.

The chanting gradually faded away, and then finally disappeared. The hall suddenly fell silent, and all eyes were fixed on the headless male corpse.

Di Renjie walked to the center and said, "Masters, this morning the Qianniu Guards found the headless body of a monk in the back garden of the temple, and the murderer is sitting among you now!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the monks were in an uproar and looked at each other, with fear and confusion intertwined on everyone's face.

The abbot was also shocked and his eyes involuntarily turned to Jingkong, who was in charge of the monks.

"You! Stand up!" Zhao Ji's voice pierced through the air like a sharp sword, pointing directly at a monk sitting in the darkest corner. The monk was shocked by the sudden roll call, his face was in a panic, and he looked around helplessly.

The monks around him quickly distanced themselves from him as if they were avoiding the plague god, and their eyes were filled with surprise and scrutiny.

When Jingkong saw that it was Fa Neng, he was immediately shocked and came out to defend himself: "Master, you must have made a mistake. How could Fa Neng be the murderer?"

The abbot's gaze lingered on Fa Neng for a moment, but he said nothing. He just lowered his head silently, mumbling scriptures.

Zhao Ji understood immediately that this Fa Neng was most likely an inner guard, which was why the attitudes of the abbot and Jingkong were so different.

Di Renjie stared at Fa Neng coldly with his eyes like lightning: "Whether it is true or not, we will know it after a test! Please recite the Diamond Sutra in Sanskrit once."

Fa Neng stood up slowly, his face pale, like a student who was suddenly called upon and faced a test from his teacher. He hesitated for a long time but was unable to utter a single syllable.

Di Renjie sneered and turned to look at the abbot beside him: "Master Abbot, I didn't expect that among the monks welcoming the emperor this time, there are actually some who can't chant in Sanskrit. This can really be regarded as a sham!"

The abbot clasped his hands together, closed his eyes and sighed: "Amitabha, good, good!"

Jingkong became more and more anxious, and hurriedly said: "This, this is absolutely impossible!"

As he said this, he turned to Fa Neng and said, "Fa Neng, you are usually one of the best in the temple at reciting sutras in Sanskrit. Why did you make a fool of yourself today?"

Di Renjie raised the wooden sign in his hand high up: "Let me answer you, he is not Fa Neng, but a snake spirit spy! The one lying on the ground is Fa Neng! Just now when we searched the monk's room, we found the snake-shaped wooden sign he carried with him on his bed!"

Sure enough, the fake magician subconsciously stretched his hand towards the neck, but he immediately came to his senses and quickly put his hand down.

"Yuan Fang, take action!" Di Renjie shouted.

Li Yuanfang, who had been on full alert, shouted and jumped towards the fake Fa Neng.

However, Jia Fa Neng was well prepared. He tapped his toes lightly and his body quickly rose up like a top. He used the pillar to leap and actually broke the window frame and escaped from the hall.

Everyone hurriedly followed him out, only to see that Li Yuanfang did not take any action. Instead, he was surrounded by Yang Fang, Ren Kuo and several soldiers, and the fight was going on back and forth.

"It's not The Shining." Zhao Ji shook his head and made a direct judgment.

Ruyan stepped forward and said, "Let me try."

As she spoke, she leaped up and shouted, "Hand this thief over to me!"

Before she finished her words, Ruyan's figure turned into a gust of wind and approached Jia Fa Neng in an instant. With a flash of cold light, the dagger was unsheathed.

Jia Fa Neng was so busy fending off Yang Fang and the others that he couldn't dodge in time, and the dagger cut a long gash on his chest.

Jia Fa Neng was terrified and wanted to escape quickly, but Ruyan was faster. With a light somersault, she accurately cut off his retreat.

Ruyan's moves became faster and faster. The fake method could not block it left and right, but she was captured in no time.

Zhao Ji and Li Yuanfang shook their heads, this fake method was really not presentable.

Ruyan moved her wrist slightly, and the tip of the sword lightly raised, with just the right amount of force, to remove the fake Fa Neng's mask, revealing a strange face.

Huan Bin walked over quickly, opened his mouth and said: "Lord, it's really a disguise! He really doesn't have magical power!"

Ruyan said softly: "I have never seen the true face of the Shining either, but judging from this man's martial arts, he should not be the Shining."

Li Yuanfang's evaluation was also simple: "He is far inferior to Hu Jinghui and worse than Yu Feng."

Di Renjie nodded and said, "It seems to be just a bait to distract us."

"Which altar are you from? Where is Shining? What are your plans for tomorrow?" Ruyan put the sword on the fake Fa Neng's neck and asked directly.

Fake Fa Neng was startled and opened his eyes: "Who are you? How do you know about The Shining?"

Ruyan sneered and said, "To tell you the truth, I am the spirit - Su Xianer!"

Fake Fa Neng screamed: "Yes, it's you!"

Ruyan said, "Yes, it's me. I advise you to tell the truth, otherwise, I will use my methods to deal with you and make you live a life worse than death!"

The fake Fa Neng's expression changed immediately, and he explained: "I, I am a subordinate of the Six Altar Demon Spirit, my name is Duo Kui."

Ruyan was surprised when she heard this: "Oh, the demon spirit is here too?"

At this moment, something unexpected happened. Jia Fa Neng opened his mouth, but suddenly his body went limp, his eyes became unfocused, and he fell down.

Ruyan shouted, "Oh no! Shadowless Needle!"

Before he finished speaking, Li Yuanfang shot towards the pine tree beside the temple like an arrow, chasing the dark figure who released the hidden weapon.

The black shadow took cover from the shadows of the trees, soared into the air, and escaped into the second hall.

Zhao Ji's eyes turned red and his breathing became heavy. He clenched the sword with his fingers until they turned white, then turned and walked in another direction.

When arriving at the second hall, the originally clearly discernible black shadow suddenly disappeared out of thin air like a ghost, leaving only a lingering cold aura.

Li Yuanfang keenly caught the slight sound between the beams, stretched out his body, and jumped onto the beam like a flying swallow.

However, the black shadow had already cleverly escaped from behind the palace, but Zhao Ji, with his sword alone, blocked her way out.

"Xiaofeng, long time no see." His voice was low and complex, with some indescribable emotions.

The black shadow's chest rose and fell, and one could imagine the turbulent waves in her heart at this moment.

"You've been hiding for so long, you can't hide this time." Zhao Ji spoke again.

She chose to remain silent once again. Without saying a word, she used her lightness skills to flash and disappear into the night again.

Zhao Ji closed his eyes, took a deep breath, looked inside the hall, and flew after him...

(End of this chapter)