A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 450 Strange Death
Chen Shanmeng has been in charge of the Dali Temple for many years and has seen all kinds of strange cases. To be honest, the position of Dali Temple Chief is not something that everyone can hold. But at this moment, a frown appeared between his brows.

The broken part of the stirrup was covered with dense small holes, which were thinner than a hair.

Such densely packed and fine holes can only be made by using extremely precise internal energy.

Moreover, masters of the inner breath realm can never do this. Because the inner breath cannot be so fine. However, the true qi and the vital energy can do it. As long as they have achieved the realm of subtlety, they can make such a small hole on the stirrup.

Chen Shanmeng had already reached the state of great perfection in the realm of true qi, and he could also make such a small hole. Because true qi is much more delicate and dense than internal breath, which is why true qi can force out poison.

Assuming that it was a master in the True Qi Realm or the Yuan Qi Realm, and he made such densely packed small holes on the stirrup, what was his purpose?
Chen Shanmeng's face was solemn, and he couldn't figure out the connection for a while.

It can't be that the purpose is to make Li Shensi look bad while hunting, right?

Chen Shanmeng looked up at Li Shensi again. Li Shensi was sitting under a big tree to rest. His deputy had just taken a water bag and gave him some water to drink. His pale face seemed to have recovered a little, but he was obviously still very depressed.

Chen Shan walked over and asked slowly, "Master Li, with your skills, even if the stirrup suddenly broke, you wouldn't fall off the horse. What happened just now?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shensi's face was blank for a moment, and he just looked up at Chen Shanmeng in a daze. It seemed that if Chen Shanmeng hadn't mentioned it, he would not have remembered what happened just now.

"Just now... at the moment when the stirrup broke, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my head, as if something had pierced into my brain..."

"Sudden stabbing pain?"

Chen Shanmeng was secretly shocked, took a breath of cold air, his eyes moved, and he thought to himself: "Could it be a spiritual technique!?"

He took a few steps back and looked around. There were steep mountains, dense forests, rustling leaves, and no human figure in sight.

"An assassination attempt?" He was almost certain that the small hole in the broken stirrup in his hand must have been made by a master in the Yuanqi realm, or even a master in the Qixi realm!

Li Shensi had only been in office for two months, and how did his predecessor Zhu Shizhong die!

This is obviously another political assassination between two forces!

Chen Shanmeng is worthy of being the Dali Temple Minister. He can peel off the silk from the cocoon and his logical thinking is closely linked.

At this moment, his eyes flickered and thoughts in his mind were surging like waves.

Since the master hiding nearby had already used the soul technique, why didn't he kill Li Shensi just now? Although Li Shensi looked pale and listless, he seemed to be fine.

Chen Shanmeng suddenly felt as if he had glimpsed a whirlpool, which was getting deeper and deeper...

He suddenly let out a long sigh. Since it was a political vortex of fighting between two sides, he couldn't get caught up in it.

He did not originally belong to either side's camp. Since what he was doing was not an ordinary case but a political vortex of fighting between the two sides, it would be better for him not to intervene.

In the past few years, both he and the mansion master Wang Maochun have been pursuing a strategy of not getting involved in either. Not only can they protect themselves, but also the mansion master's office and the Dali Temple will not be in chaos. No matter how fierce the fight between the two sides is, at least Shenyun Mansion will not be in chaos. This is also the reason why both sides can tolerate it and he and Wang Maochun have not expressed their opinions.

Chen Shanmeng put the stirrup back on the horse. He didn't plan to care about this matter anymore. After putting the stirrup back, he walked to Ge Hengtai and Jiang Zhuoyun. The two stood there, looking at Li Shensi who was sitting under a tree not far away with some unfriendly eyes.

As soon as Chen Shanmeng walked over, Ge Hengtai said, "How is it? Sir Chen, did you find anything unusual?"

Chen Shanmeng shook his head and said, "Let's hand over the broken stirrup to the Privy Council for self-examination later!"

Ge Hengtai said: "With his physique, he leaped wildly and shot more than a dozen big guys. It's not surprising that he broke a stirrup!"

Chen Shan looked at Ge Hengtai calmly with his eyes covered, but said nothing.

Jiang Zhuoyun, who was standing beside Ge Hengtai, crossed his arms and said in a neutral tone, "Lord Li Shensi, I'm afraid you have some chronic illness. Otherwise, it's just a broken stirrup, how could you fall off the horse and end up like this?"

Hearing this, Ge Hengtai raised his eyes and glared at Li Shensi who was resting under a tree not far away. He said coldly: "If you are sick, don't show off! What a mess! It disturbed us and we couldn't enjoy hunting."

Ge Hengtai was quite fond of hunting, and the incident involving Li Shensi really disturbed his interest.

Chen Shanmeng smiled and said, "That's not a big deal! There are still two days tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, and you can still ride as much as you want, Lord Ge."

As Chen Shanmeng spoke, he looked at Li Shensi with deep eyes, and thought to himself: Could it be that Lord Li really has a chronic illness?
He felt that Jiang Zhuoyun's suggestion had some rationality, but based on his years of experience in criminal law, he felt that this was only superficial rationality.

Superficial rationality is usually not the truth, but a fog.

Just now, at the moment when Li Shensi screamed and fell off his horse, the soldiers who were originally surrounding Rhino nearby all ran towards the unconscious Li Shensi who had fallen off his horse.

The huge gray rhino took the opportunity to rush into the dense forest.

It was frightened and ran very fast, fearing that it would be caught up by the people behind it.

The rhinoceros has such a majestic body that when it runs at high speed, it is just like a high-speed tank.

At this moment, a human figure flashed not far in front of the rhinoceros.

It turned out to be Duan Rong who jumped down from the nearby tree canopy.

Duan Rong landed only four or five feet away from the rhinoceros. The rhinoceros was running at high speed, with the sharp black horns on its head flashing a cold light, and it was about to pierce Duan Rong's abdomen.

Duan Rong just flicked his hand, and without any movement, he had already tightly grasped the sharp black horn on the rhinoceros' head.

The huge rhinoceros, which was running at high speed, suddenly stopped in front of him, plowed two deep pits on the ground in front of Duan Rong, and turned over the soil to bury Duan Rong's feet.

The moment the rhinoceros was held down by Duan Rong, Duan Rong shook his sleeves and a ball of medicine powder was sprinkled into the mouth and nose of the huge gray rhinoceros. In just a moment, the huge gray rhinoceros collapsed to the ground, motionless.

Duan Rong suddenly bent down and reached out his hand, lifted up the huge gray rhino, and then the whole person floated away lightly like flying snow and falling leaves, disappearing into the depths of the dense forest...

The huge rhinoceros was held in Duan Rong's hand as if it were nothing.

And here, the hunting ceremony has ended.

Led by a guard of honor, the crowd marched in a mighty procession to the Temple of Heaven on the top of the mountain, carrying the harvest from the autumn hunt.

Li Shensi was still pale and in low spirits. His soul was injured. How could it be so easy to recover?
He was no longer able to ride a horse and had to be carried on the back of his deputy.

Ge Hengtai sat on his horse, looking at Li Shensi with contempt.

When everyone reached the top of Wuji Mountain, the horn at the Temple of Heaven had already sounded. That was the prepared horn. Half an hour later, the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven would begin.

The Temple of Heaven was surrounded by a circle of guards armed with swords and in heavy armor.

Outside the heavily armored guards, there is another circle of soldiers holding long spears.

Outside the two layers of guards, there was a huge crowd of people, almost covering the entire mountaintop platform. Especially near the Temple of Heaven, it was the most crowded, like a hornet's nest. At the outer end, it was a little loose, but the people there were not far from the edge of the cliff. If they continued to crowd and shove, someone might fall off.

When they saw the hunting team coming up from the hunting ground on the mountainside, the crowd cheered. When they saw the large number of prey carts behind the guard of honor and the officials, the cheers became even louder.

As soon as the hunting team arrived, officials from the provincial government came over to take away cartloads of prey, preparing to display them in batches at the Temple of Heaven.

There was a huge incense burner on the Temple of Heaven, with three tall and fragrant incense sticks already inserted into it. The bronze table in front of the incense burner was already filled with various fruits.

But these fruits are only accompanying offerings, not the main offering. The main offering is the freshly shot prey in the hunting ground.

The vast space on the Temple of Heaven behind the incense burner was filled with empty bronze tables. The clerks and runners of the provincial government were unloading prey from the hunting cart and carrying it onto the bronze table behind the incense burner.

Meanwhile, the mansion master, Wang Maochun, was taking a final look at the preparations for the ceremony. Except for the main sacrifice of the prey, all other items were already in place. Zhu Zhengfu stood beside Wang Maochun, but his mind seemed a little distracted, and he kept looking around. He already knew what Duan Rong was going to do at this autumn hunting ceremony.

As soon as the hunting team came up, he looked around, but he didn't see Li Shensi among the officials. He wondered in his heart, could it be that Duan Rong had already made a move?

At this moment, Chen Shanmeng, Ge Hengtai, Jiang Zhuoyun and others were seen walking towards this side.

When Wang Maochun saw the three men coming, he immediately went over to greet them and said with a smile, "My three lords, I see that the prey is plentiful, I believe that you three must have had a good harvest today!"

Wang Maochun glanced around and asked in confusion, "Hey, why didn't I see Lord Li Shensi? I heard him say that he wanted to beat Lord Chen in the hunting field and get the first place in the civil service!" Chen Shanmeng's face changed slightly and said, "Master, Lord Li had an accident."

"Accident?!"

Wang Maochun and Zhu Zhengfu were both shocked when they heard this! Especially Zhu Zhengfu, when he heard the word "accident", he thought Li Shensi was dead.

Chen Shanmeng said: "Lord Li Shensi accidentally fell off his horse while hunting in the hunting grounds and was unconscious for a while."

"He fell off his horse and was unconscious for a while?" Wang Maochun and Zhu Zhengfu repeated in surprise.

Their reactions seemed similar, but the thoughts in their minds were completely different.

Wang Maochun felt that he could understand the accidental fall from the horse. After all, it was hunting in the mountains and forests, so it was normal to have some accidents. But Li Shensi was a warrior at the fourth level of the True Qi Realm. How could he fall from the horse and fall into a coma so seriously?

Zhu Zhengfu was thinking the exact opposite. He was surprised that he had only fallen off his horse and fainted for a time? Was he not dead?
At this moment, the deputy came over with Li Shensi on his back.

The deputy squatted down, and Li Shensi got down from his back and greeted Wang Maochun and the others with a fist salute.

While returning the greeting, Wang Maochun looked at Li Shensi, only to see that his face was pale and his eyes were listless.

Chen Shanmeng said, "Master Wang, Lord Li had an accident and seems to be a little weak. The rituals of the Heavenly Sacrifice Ceremony are quite complicated. I am worried that Lord Li will not be able to hold on."

Wang Maochun's eyes were also solemn, and he said in a low voice: "It's too late to adjust now. When the ceremony starts later, let's help Lord Li and remind him more."

Chen Shanmeng turned his head and glanced at the Temple of Heaven. He saw that the bronze table behind the incense burner was now filled with prey, including tigers, wolves, bears and bears, which were placed in the middle of the four directions.

Chen Shanmeng sighed slightly and said, "It can only be like this."

Li Shensi then trembled slightly in the mountain breeze, clasped his fists again and said, "Thank you all, gentlemen!"

They paused for a moment during their discussion, and not long after, a powerful and melodious horn sounded again.

All civil and military officials then returned to their respective positions according to their previously designated locations.

The palace lord Wang Maochun and one official and four ministers stood at the front of the civil and military officials. They already had three lit incense sticks given to them by the yamen runners in their hands.

On the top of the mountain, the clear smoke is blown away by the mountain breeze!

As the trumpets and drums sounded, the ceremonial officer's sharp voice resounded through the sky!
"All things are created to nourish man!"

"kneel!"

Civil and military officials held three incense sticks in their hands and knelt down in unison!
"Incense!"

There were three waves of incense burning in total. The civil and military officials were still holding the incense in their hands, but the palace lord Wang Maochun and one officer and four ministers had already walked in unison, holding incense, stepping on the stone steps and going up to the Temple of Heaven.

The fragrance in their hands is offered on behalf of all officials and common people!
There were three waves of burning incense, each with its own meaning. And every time, they would insert the incense in their hands into the incense burner on the Temple of Heaven. This was a courtesy!

The Palace Master Wang Maochun and one official and four ministers, a total of six people, dressed in neat official uniforms, walked slowly up to the Temple of Heaven. Among them, Li Shensi's steps were obviously trembling.

Six people stood on the Temple of Heaven!

At this time, all the onlookers were looking up at the Temple of Heaven.

Right view: the sky is high and man is small!

The etiquette officer shouted again in a shrill voice: "Kneel again!"

Then a majestic horn sounded.

The six people knelt down again to the melodious sound of the horn!
When they kneel down and stand up again, they should step forward and insert the incense in their hands into the incense burner.

Just as the six of them were kneeling on the Temple of Heaven, suddenly a huge black shadow flew up from the cliff at the other side of the Temple of Heaven!
Wuji Mountain has a gentle slope on the south, but a cliff on the north.

The Temple of Heaven on the top of the mountain faces north and south, with a steep cliff behind it.

A huge black shadow suddenly flew up from under the cliff and landed on the Temple of Heaven.

This strange and bizarre scene was seen by all the onlookers.

Although the six people were on the Temple of Heaven, they were all kneeling on the ground. They did not see the huge black shadow flying over.

"boom!"

The six people were kneeling there, and then they heard a loud noise!
The huge black shadow that flew out from the cliff, in full view of everyone, hit the bronze incense burner on the Temple of Heaven, knocking the huge bronze incense burner down.

The incense ashes in the incense burner fell out in an instant, and the mountain wind whistled, and suddenly the entire Temple of Heaven was shrouded in clouds and mist.

Amidst the smoke, a huge black shadow stood proudly above the Temple of Heaven. It was none other than the giant gray rhino!
At the moment when the smoke was swirling, two flickering fireflies flashed by in the misty smoke that was like a thick cloud.

A little firefly sank into the center of Li Shensi's brows, who had just raised his head. The other firefly sank into the head of the gray rhino.

At this time, the entire Temple of Heaven was dead silent. When the smoke dissipated, only the huge gray rhinoceros' eyes were seen, glowing red with blood.

This was the effect of the powder that Duan Rong had sprinkled before. In addition to causing coma, Duan Rong also mixed some medicine into the powder that could make the rhino's eyes bleed.

At this moment, the rhino's eyes were frighteningly red.

The rhino stood there, sweeping its red eyes over everyone.

If it were a normal wild rhinoceros, wouldn’t it panic and run around when it saw itself surrounded by densely packed humans?
But the rhino in front of him, under the gaze of the dark crowd, did not seem to be panicked at all. Instead, it had an aura of looking down on the world and shook its head leisurely.

Then, it suddenly turned its head and stared at Li Shensi with its red eyes.

Li Shensi also stared at it in a daze.

"Roar!"

The gray rhino suddenly yelled at Li Shensi. The rhino's rough and powerful voice sounded like a broken drum, very harsh and unpleasant.

But Li Shensi suddenly walked forward in a daze, and there was deathly silence on the top of the mountain.

Wang Maochun and Chen Shanmeng both noticed something strange and whispered behind him, "Master Li!"

Li Shensi stopped in a daze and turned around slowly. His eyes were empty as if nothing was in his mind. His face suddenly twisted and he tore his official robe on his chest with his hands, leaving ten bloody marks on his chest. Then he looked up to the sky and shouted like a madman, "Li Shensi! Die! Die! Die!"

He shouted and turned suddenly, and when he said the third word "death", he jumped down from the north side of the Temple of Heaven and jumped into the cliff.

The Temple of Heaven, which was originally dead silent, suddenly burst into exclamations!
At this moment, the gray rhino glanced at Wang Maochun and the others, and for a moment, no one of the remaining five people dared to move.

The rhino's bloodshot eyes looked at them with indifference and contempt.

That is definitely not the look of a rhino!

"Roar!"

At this moment, the gray rhino suddenly roared at the crowd who were screaming on the side of the Temple of Heaven.

Suddenly the crowd was thrown into chaos, with countless people being trampled to death!

At this moment, the gray rhino suddenly turned around and ran wildly, jumping into the cliff from the north side of the Temple of Heaven.

The chaotic mountaintop fell into silence again...

(End of this chapter)