Reborn as Murong Fu: This Time I'm the Protagonist

Chapter 527 The Ming Cult Appears Again
Murong Fu led his men to the guesthouse, but they were stopped by the guards at the entrance as soon as they got close.

"Martial law is in effect here. No unauthorized personnel are allowed to enter. Lord Murong, please return."

Tong Guan stepped forward and shouted, "How dare you! His Majesty has already issued an imperial edict appointing Murong Jiedu as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, giving him full authority over the case of the Liao envoy. Now disperse!"

As he spoke, Tong Guan took out the imperial edict and read it aloud. Upon hearing this, the guards hurriedly bowed and made way for him.

Murong Fu waved his hand and said to Tong Guan, "Please wait here for a moment, Eunuch Tong. I'll go in and check the situation."

After saying that, Murong Fu directly removed the seal of Kaifeng Prefecture, pushed open the heavy door with one hand, and with a creak, the door closed automatically behind Murong Fu, as if locking away some unspeakable secret.

As an observer with a pseudo-God's-eye view, Murong Fu already had a general idea of ​​the true culprit's origins, but who it was still needed to be determined through on-site investigation and finding clues. As for how to find out in the end, and how the Song and Liao sides would argue their case, that was no longer his concern.

The walls of the guesthouse were very high, a full fifteen feet tall, almost as high as the walls of a small town. Ordinary thieves would have a hard time even scaling the walls, let alone escaping the guesthouse's tight security. Due to the death of the Liao envoy, a major event that affected diplomatic relations between the two countries, the guesthouse was now empty, appearing somewhat desolate and forlorn.

It had rained last night, and the ground was still a bit damp. Murong Fu glanced around briefly but didn't see a single footprint.

The roads of this era were far inferior in quality to the concrete pavements of later generations. Even the so-called stone slab roads would leave only faint traces if an ordinary person walked on them. It is reasonable to assume that there were other people in the guesthouse when the incident occurred last night, and that there must have been a period of chaos after the Liao envoy was killed. There should have been many traces left behind, but now they have all been washed away completely by a heavy rain.

"A dark and windy night is the perfect time for murder and arson. And with the rain falling, even if Song Ci were born a hundred or eighty years earlier and came here, he probably wouldn't be able to do anything." Murong Fu chuckled self-deprecatingly.

"Let's go to the crime scene first," Murong Fu thought.

A short corridor led to the room where the Khitan envoy had stayed the previous night. Murong Fu gently pushed open the door, his movements so soft as if he were afraid of disturbing the wandering spirits inside.

This was a large room, measuring three zhang square, and because it was unfurnished, it appeared even more empty.

The wall was adorned with calligraphy by Cai Xiang of the previous dynasty, its elegant and refined style clashing sharply with the oppressive and eerie atmosphere of the room.

The Khitan envoy's body lay on the red pine floor, covered with the embroidered red silk quilt with gold flowers that the Honglu Temple had given him when he entered Song territory. His head was tilted to one side, as if he had been killed in his sleep and had not suffered any pain.

The Khitan envoy who had stirred up trouble at the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet yesterday was now just a cold, lifeless corpse, which gave Murong Fu a sense of unreality.

There was no blood or signs of a struggle at the scene, which is perfectly normal in a martial arts world full of incredible skills. Any renowned master could do it, so this was most likely the work of a martial arts expert. The only question is, which school or sect was involved?
Murong Fu threw off the quilt, took out a silver needle, and gently inserted it into the throat of the deceased's body. When he took it out, the blood that came out with the silver needle was light red.

"There are no signs of poisoning, ruling out the possibility of poisoning."

This silver needle was retrieved from Ding Chunqiu's corpse when Murong Fu killed him. This old poison master spent his entire life wielding poisons, possessing an incredible arsenic repertoire; in this regard, no one in the world could rival him. Ordinary silver needles could only detect some highly toxic arsenic compounds, with little effect. This specially made silver needle, however, could detect all the rarest poisons in the world, even those supposedly colorless and odorless toxins. "If it wasn't poisoning, it most likely eliminates an inside agent."

Murong Fu flicked his fingers twice, then lifted the clothes covering the deceased's chest. His eyes narrowed instantly; he saw a deep red palm print on the deceased's chest, with a noticeable indentation of about half an inch.

"The Mighty Vajra Palm of the Shaolin School?"

Murong Fu laughed heartily: "Xuan Ci, Xuan Ci, you've really fallen into my hands this time. I'm going to find a way to get rid of this cancerous tumor that is Shaolin Temple."

With a flick of his sleeve, Murong Fu turned the corpse over, placed two fingers on its back, and channeled a stream of pure true energy into the deceased's meridians under his control.

Murong Fu's control over true qi has now reached a level of perfection that is almost transcendent and profound. Under Murong Fu's control, the condition of the meridians in the body of the deceased is almost transparent.

After a moment, Murong Fu sneered: "As expected, it's a frame-up, a clumsy tactic. On the surface, it looks like they're using the Vajra Palm, but in reality, they're using the Phantom Yin Finger, a vicious martial art specifically designed to trick people."

Murong Fu discovered that the deceased's heart meridian had been injured by a faint, chilling finger force—this was the true fatal wound. The Vajra Palm strike was merely a follow-up attack after the deceased's breath had ceased.

"A clumsy attempt to frame someone. But which master from the Ming Cult is trying to frame Shaolin?"

To be able to master the Illusionary Yin Finger Technique to such a level that it can kill without leaving a trace, and to be able to simulate the palm force of the Vajra Palm, the answer to this martial arts quality is obvious. Others may not know, but how could Murong Fu not know now?

The Great Shift of Heaven and Earth! And not some two-layered Great Shift of Heaven and Earth, the kind you just play around with.

It allows one to extract techniques from other martial arts schools and use them for one's own purposes. The higher one's internal strength, the easier it is to do so. Often, one can become more proficient than a master who has specialized in one martial art for decades, yet the result is often superficial. This is the characteristic of the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth.

It's just unclear whether the one who made the move was the Ming Cult from the Western Regions or the Ming Cult from the Central Plains.

Murong Fu sneered: "These restless fellows from the Ming Cult are really eager for chaos to engulf the world."

It doesn't matter; Murong Fu has no intention of revealing the truth. Since it seems to be the work of the Shaolin sect, it's a good choice to make these annoying bald monks disappear completely, which can be considered as eradicating a malignant tumor for the world.

Half a day later, Murong Fu opened the door and walked out under the gaze of hundreds of eyes.

"Eunuch Tong, I am now aware of the whole story. I will now go to the palace to see the Emperor and report this matter. Also, please take my imperial envoy's token to the Imperial City Guard and request that the experts there replace the Imperial Guards guarding the gate and take over this area."

(End of this chapter)