The person who sent the letter was Gao Yuan, the senior brother of Liuhemen.

Zhao Lin was shocked in his heart, why did the senior brother write a letter to himself?

With Master Zhu Huaishan here, Gao Yuan should not contact him alone, unless there is something particularly serious, and even Master has to hide it.

Besides, I just received Master's letter a few days ago, and this letter followed back and forth.

No matter how you look at it, you can feel that there is an unusual meaning in it.

Zhao Lin grabbed the letterhead, his fingers were slightly white, and for some reason, he didn't want to open the letter.

"The letter was delivered correctly, right?" Seeing that Zhao Lin was stunned, the servant asked out loud.

"That's right, it's mine. Thank you for your hard work. ”

Zhao Lin smiled, sent away the servants, turned around and walked into the courtyard, sat down in front of the steps, and slowly opened the letter.

The first sentence that caught his eye made his heart tighten suddenly: "Senior Brother Zhao, Master died of a violent illness yesterday......"

Master is dead!

Zhao Lin couldn't believe his eyes, staring at the first few words, his eyes didn't blink.

Didn't Master say a few days ago that he was in good health and would come to Yanzhou next year, why did he suddenly die?

There was confusion in his mind, and after a while, he picked up the envelope on the ground, and the inscription read: Qinghe County, Liuhemen, Gao Yuan......

That's right, it's Big Brother.

Zhao Lin rubbed his temples and moved his gaze back to the letter.

There was not much content in the letter, only a few words, Gao Yuan said that the master died of a violent illness, and the brothers were taking care of the aftermath.

Let Zhao Linjie mourn and change, there is no need to rush back, it is important to cultivate in Xingyun.

Zhao Lin flipped through the letter and read it several times, and his heart was extremely confused.

Although the master is old, after all, he is a martial arts practitioner, and his body is also tough, so it stands to reason that it is not a big problem to live for another ten or eight years.

Could it be that Master is lying to himself, but he is actually dying and doesn't want to be distracted?

Thinking of this, Zhao Lin returned to the room, took out the letter that Master had written to him last time, and read it carefully.

I want to read between the lines about the dying will, or the last words and the like.

However, there is no such thing.

"No, there's no need for Master to lie to me."

Zhao Lin looked at the name of the senior brother on the letter, and frowned.

Senior brother is a well-mannered and considerate person, is it possible that in order to cultivate in Xingyun Sect with peace of mind, he deliberately did not tell the truth?

If Master did not die of illness, then who could be the murderer?

The remnants of the Leopard Gang?

Zhao Lin shook his head.

The leaders of the bandits are all dead, and all that is left are ordinary minions, and the master's cultivation is there, and he can't even get close.

Conflict with other sects?

It's also unlikely, the master has a calm temperament, and he won't go into battle in person when he encounters this kind of thing.

Besides, there are rules between sects, even if they smash the field with fists, they will not attack an old man.

Everyone has an old day.

Zhao Lin thought about it and thought about several possibilities, but he still couldn't accept the reason for the violent illness.

The sun was shining, and his body was warm, but he felt gloomy in his heart, and the master's voice and smile flashed in his mind.

"No, I've got to go back and figure this out!"

"If Master is really sick and dies, it's fine, if someone harms him......"

Zhao Lin gritted his teeth, got up suddenly, and strode out the door.

……

Water Mirror Department, Retreat Room.

"What? Do you want to take a leave of absence? ”

Elder Shui Jing's face was stunned, and he was stunned for a while before he said, "Where are you going?" For how long? ”

"Respond to the state, as short as a month, as long as ...... It shouldn't take more than two months. ”

Zhao Lin said in a deep voice.

"It's Dabi in two days, why do you want to leave at this time? I remember that your family was brought to Yanzhou, what else can you do? ”

Elder Shuijing was a little speechless, he originally expected Zhao Lin to compete for a ranking for the Shuijing Department when he was in Dabi.

"My master has passed away." Zhao Lin's face was sad.

"Ah, this ......"

Elder Shui Jing was silent, not knowing what to say for a while, and only after a while did he say, "Let's mourn." ”

As he spoke, he reached out and patted Zhao Lin's shoulder as a sign of comfort.

"I am a martial artist, and I am not informal. Spring is not mentioned for the time being, and it doesn't hurt to miss the first year, but now you have one foot on the threshold of the triple qi realm. ”

"Cultivation is at a critical juncture, and the old man suggested that the funeral matter can be postponed for a while, and it is not too late to go back when the cultivation reaches the third level of the qi realm. I believe that your master has a spirit in heaven, and he will not blame you. ”

"Besides, aren't there other senior brothers in your sect?"

Shui Jing persuaded bitterly.

"Elder, the disciple must go back."

Zhao Lin's voice was not loud, but his tone was extremely firm.

Shui Jing sighed helplessly, it's not good to persuade again, after all, he is also half of Zhao Lin's teacher, and if he persuades him again, it is equivalent to telling Zhao Lin that he doesn't need to respect his teacher.

"Okay, I'll explain it to you about Chunbi."

"You leave the sect temporarily, try not to delay your cultivation, I will ask the Medicine Pavilion to send the daily cultivation medicine over in a while, and you can take it on the way."

"But you can only prepare a month's worth of medicine at most, you try to go and come back quickly."

Zhao Lin nodded heavily and said gratefully, "Thank you, Elder for your success." ”

Elder Shuijing bowed slightly, and asked, "When are you going to leave?" ”

"Without further ado, the disciple will leave tomorrow."

"Then go early and come back early, don't worry about the sect."

……

In the early morning of the next day, Zhao Lin carried his burden and left Yongning City.

He went home yesterday afternoon and told his parents that he was going to go far away, but he did not mention the death of the master, and only said that he would do something for the sect and that he would not come back in about a month.

When he came to the carriage and horse shop in the south of the city, he bought a yellow horse for fifty taels of silver.

Yanzhou is located on the frontier, and horses are relatively cheap, but he bought not a horse pulling a cart, but a retired stagecoach who is good at running, and the price is two or three times more expensive.

Yingzhou is in the southwest of Yanzhou, Zhao Lin beat the horse all the way, the horse was too tired to run, so he found a place to sell it cheaply, and then bought a new horse on the road.

In a hurry, you can no longer worry about money.

The smell left on the human body can generally be retained for three to five days, and under special circumstances, it can be stored for more than ten days or even longer.

Zhao Lin was not sure about the cause of his master's death, and if he wanted to track down the murderer, he might have to use his sense of smell, and the sooner he arrived at the scene, the better.

In mid-March, the grass grew and the warbler flew outside Qinghe County.

On the official road leading to the west gate, a tall young man walked with a dusty face.

"I didn't expect that after more than half a year, I would come back here."

Zhao Lin looked at the familiar city gate and sighed to himself.

I walked from Yingzhou to Yanzhou for a month, but it only took ten days to come back, in addition to eating and sleeping, most of the time was in a hurry, which can be described as a day and night.

rushed back in such a hurry, but Zhao Lin did not go directly to Liuhemen, but bought a coarse cloth dress and a white sweat towel at the ready-to-wear store.

Later, he bought dark bead powder at the gouache shop and applied it to his face to make his face darker, and then went to Qingchun Street, where Liuhemen is located.

After changing his clothes and putting a sweat towel on his shoulder, ordinary people will only think that he is a husband from the dock when they see him.

Zhao Lin didn't want others to know that he was back, at least until the truth was found.

Today's Liuhemen is much more deserted than in the past, and there are only a few apprentices in the courtyard who are practicing listlessly.

Standing not far from the street, Zhao Lin, who was secretly observing, frowned slightly.

With his current ear, he could hear the entire street.

After listening to it for a while, I found that there were very few people in Liuhe Gate, and the senior brothers were not there.

I'm a little worried, can't the senior brothers also have an accident?

"Xiao Fan, do you see that my move is right to open the bow left and right, why do you always feel awkward?"

"Brother Huang, I started later than you, why are you still asking about me?"

"Isn't it like the senior brothers have all gone out of the city to hang their filial piety, who else can I ask......

Zhao Lin breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed that he had thought too much, so he waited for the return of the senior brothers with peace of mind.

Near noon, three men and one woman walked briskly on the side of the street.

The four men were all dressed in sackcloth, with white cloth wrapped around their heads, and their expressions were solemn, and they only walked with their heads bowed.

Led by the senior brother Gao Yuan, followed by the second senior brother Fu Guangming, the fourth senior sister Zhang Ying, and the sixth senior brother Qian Chengfei.

"Why aren't the third senior brother Yuan Cheng and the fifth senior brother Chu Liu here?"

Zhao Lin was puzzled, but he didn't directly step forward to interrogate, watching them pass by in front of him.

Until the truth is ascertained, no one can get out of it.

"Senior Brother, is there any news from Senior Brother Yuan?"

Qian Chengfei suddenly asked.

Without waiting for Gao Yuan to answer, Fu Guangming's face became gloomy, and he said coldly: "What fifth senior brother?" Chu Liu's beast is also worthy of ......"

Gao Yuan turned around and stopped: "Let's go back and talk about it, don't let others listen to the joke." ”

"Yes."

Fu Guangming and Qian Chengfei responded at the same time.

The four of them hurriedly entered the Liuhe Gate, and the door slammed shut.

Zhao Lin was stunned for a long time and didn't move.

The information revealed in just a few sentences has allowed him to guess a rough idea.

Master's death is ...... with the fifth senior brother Phew, Chu Liu is related!

A wave of anger rose in Zhao Lin's heart.

Master can be said to be benevolent to Chu Liu, no matter what mistakes he makes, he is not willing to give up.

With Chu Liu's frivolous and lustful temperament, he can't stay in any sect.

"The master is above, the disciple is incompetent, and he hasn't caught Chu Liu's thief so far......"

Gao Yuan came to Zhu Huaishan's study alone, offered a stick of incense, and bowed to the tablet.

"It seems that the murderer is Chu Liu, and it has nothing to do with Senior Brother."

Zhao Lin knew it in his heart, called a child playing on the street, took out a few copper coins from his arms, and said gently: "Little brother, you can help me send something, this money will be given to you ......"

The child happily took the money and ran to the Liuhe door and banged on the door vigorously.

"Who are you looking for?"

When the apprentice opened the door, he saw a ten-year-old child, who thought it was a prank, and said impatiently.

"Give this to Senior Brother Gao."

The child handed over a letter.

The apprentice took it and took a look, only to see four words written on the envelope: Gao Yuan Qinqi.

"Who gave it to you?"

The apprentice asked, only to find that the child had no idea where he had gone.

"Strange ......"

The apprentice muttered, walked to the backyard, and happened to meet Gao Yuan coming out of the study, so he handed the letter over, "Senior brother, someone outside has sent you a letter." ”

"Who is it?"

Gao Yuan took the letter and asked casually.

"A kid ran away after delivering the letter."

Gao Yuan opened the letter, glanced at it, and his face changed instantly.

……

In a tea shop on Qingchun Street, Gao Yuan and Zhao Lin sat opposite each other.

"When did you break through to Qi Realm Duality?"

Gao Yuan's eyes could not hide his shock.

He didn't know that Zhao Lin had been hiding his strength at the beginning, but he remembered that Zhao Lin was still in the power realm when he left, and he had cultivated the same as himself for just over half a year, and the speed was simply beyond his imagination.

"Now is not the time to discuss this."

Zhao Lin waved his hand, stared at Gao Yuan and said, "Master is not violently ill, why didn't he tell me the truth?" ”

Gao Yuan sighed, "Yanzhou is thousands of miles away, it is not easy for you to cultivate in Xingyun Sect, I want to tell you the truth when the matter is done." ”

Zhao Lin grabbed the teacup and poured it violently, "Say, how did Master die?" ”

Gao Yuan lowered his eyes and said, "Ever since you left, Chu Liu has been asking me where you are. ”

A trace of remorse appeared on his face as he spoke, "Blame me for not holding back, I couldn't be pestered by him, so I told the master about sending you to Xingyun Sect." I think it was from that time that he began to hold a grudge against his master. ”

"I originally thought that when the master came back, he would definitely go to make a big fuss, but who knew that he was like he didn't know about it, and after a long time, I was relieved......"

Zhao Lin turned the empty cup in his hand and silently listened to Gao Yuan tell what had happened.

It turned out that on the second day of the second month of February, Zhu Huaishan called Chu Liu to the study to reprimand him for some reason.

"Have you done any hard work? Not to mention comparing with a few senior brothers and brothers, the apprentices in the front yard are all harder than you! ”

"Your little talent is also ranked first in Qinghe County, how old are you in Yingzhou?"

"If there is such a in the future, don't come......"

After a while, Chu Liu's voice also came out from inside.

"Why not work hard? I would have known what you taught a long time ago, obviously you were biased! ”

"Why are you so good to the mud legs surnamed Zhao, I have a double aura, why don't you send me to Xing to the sect."

"Why don't you give me a ......chance when I don't like you?"

The two had a big quarrel, Gao Yuan and Yuan Cheng didn't expect Chu Liu to dare to talk back to the master, they were stunned, and hurriedly went into the study to persuade the master to dissipate his anger, while reprimanding Chu Liu.

"Admit your mistake to Master!"

Chu Liu didn't listen at all, and walked out directly, threatening to never stay in Liuhemen again.

Zhu Huaishan was so angry that he trembled all over, and he wanted to rebuild the "family tree" on the spot and remove Chu Liu from the door.

Who knew that Chu Liu came back in the afternoon, not only took the initiative to admit his mistake, but also knelt outside the study and didn't get up.

He knelt down all afternoon, Zhu Huaishan finally relented, his anger disappeared, and he opened his mouth to let him in.

Chu Liu entered the study, and after a while, he came out of it with a spring breeze on his face.

Gao Yuan thought that the master and apprentice had reconciled, so he stepped forward and asked, "Old Five, has the master forgiven you?" ”

Chu Liu smiled and said "um", "Don't worry, Master is a little tired, don't disturb him." After saying that, he went out on his own.

A few disciples believed it and continued to practice in the backyard, but they waited until it was almost dark, and they still didn't see Zhu Huaishan come out of it.

Now they felt that something was wrong, and walked into the study together, and found that Zhu Huaishan had been dead for a long time, and a sharp knife was inserted in their hearts.

(End of chapter)