Tumor Sword Immortal

Chapter 72 A Man of Both Words and Deeds
Therefore, based on speculation, this is probably how it happened.

Li Tan first hired the Chang Le Escort Agency at great expense, then disguised himself, put on an iron mask, locked himself in shackles, and handed himself over to Feng Changhai.

Judging from Feng Changhai's familiarity with the journey and Li Tan's trust, Chang Le Escort Agency may not have taken on similar jobs for the first time.

After reaching the snow summit, the caged cart was secretly transported to the ice pool. Xu Chengfeng, in order to satisfy his own desires, had already spread the method to break the restriction. Li Tan only needed to keep an eye on things along the way.

Then, in the ice pool, Xu Chengfeng saw the ghost woman chained up. He naturally didn't think she was any expert. When he began to guide the ice veins, Li Tan suddenly attacked and killed him.

Using the jade pendant again, he sent Xu Chengfeng's body back to the bedroom, then returned to the ice pool, dropped the teleportation artifact, broke the restriction, and left.

This explains why the ghost woman disappeared and when Li Tan climbed Nest Mountain.

Senior Sister Li's hand holding the sword trembled slightly, and her long hair fell down, obscuring half of her face.

Lifting her gaze from the shadow of her long hair, she stubbornly declared, "What a joke! The reason I didn't go to Shoubi that morning was simply because I wasn't feeling well. How would a member of the Zuoshan Sect know about ice pools, jade pendants, or restrictions?"

She raised her head again: "Besides, besides Sect Leader Xu, didn't my fellow disciples from the Well Gang and my junior brother Sun also suffer a terrible fate?"

The Well Gang cultivators and Sun Tingfeng were both transferred from the guesthouse on Xu Chengfeng's orders. Without this, the assassins would not have been able to succeed.

But the question is, when did Xu Chengfeng transfer people, who were transferred, and where were they transferred? And how did Li Tan find out about this?
"You knew everything because you were an accomplice."

Pei Xia's confident voice echoed in the empty sect hall: "If I'm not mistaken, this idea of ​​assassination, sealing off the mountain, and eliminating dissidents was yours to Xu Chengfeng, wasn't it?"

As Li Tan said, matters concerning the Ice Pool Secret Realm, teleportation artifacts, and even the old sect leader's personal hobbies should be kept secret from outsiders.

Her plan was so meticulously crafted that it could not possibly have been a spur-of-the-moment decision.

For example, even if the Ghost Woman knew Xu Chengfeng's hobby beforehand, how could she guarantee that Xu Chengfeng would have someone else escort him to the ice pool as he always had?

Therefore, she must first find a reason to approach Xu Chengfeng and find a way to make him act according to her plan.

This is difficult because she has to prepare two plans, which are complementary and each needs to be properly developed.

The "appearance" was not perfect and could not fool Xu Chengfeng.

The word "里" is not appropriate; it's impossible to escape punishment after committing murder.

"The full picture of this plan is that someone anonymously sent a ghost woman up the mountain under the pretext of celebrating a birthday. Of course, the self-disciplined Sect Leader Xu had no idea about this."

"On the day of the longevity ceremony, the great formation was activated, and then the old sect leader was assassinated and injured. Immediately afterwards, corpses with claw marks appeared one after another. At this time, the matter of the ghost woman was revealed, thus focusing the suspicion on the ghost woman."

"According to the original plan, Xu Chengfeng is of course alive. As long as he is in charge, Xueyan Sect will not really do its best to search for the so-called ghost woman within the great formation."

"In this way, once everything is over, the ghost woman sent by the mysterious man will kill all those who harbor disloyal intentions for Xu Chengfeng, and this ghost woman will disappear without a trace."

Xu Chuan, standing beside the palace gate, looked astonished.

Only then did he understand why Xu Chengfeng had a kill list all along.

He pointed at Li Tan: "So, the one who killed for the sect leader was actually you?"

Li Tan's breathing became heavier and heavier, her chest heaving beneath her pale yellow dress.

"You were certain that the Well Gang cultivators would be transferred out on time, so after killing Xu Chengfeng, you quickly returned and, as agreed, killed him by leaving bloodstains." "When the investigation came later, it was found that Xu Chengfeng died in the secret realm, the ghost woman was missing, and the Well Gang cultivators had bloodstains on their faces and died in the same manner as Xu Chengfeng. Therefore, all suspicion fell on the ghost woman."

Li Tan sneered: "According to what you're saying, even if the Snow Swallow Sect seals off the mountain and searches but can't find the Ghost Woman, they'll still investigate suspects sooner or later. Wouldn't I, who failed to watch Shoubi in time, still be the prime suspect? If I act like this, wouldn't I be shooting myself in the foot?"

Pei Xia waved her hand unhurriedly and said slowly, "Of course not, because you have other ways to clear your name."

Pei Xia walked to Sun Tingfeng's body and lifted the white cloth covering the Zuoshan Sect cultivator.

“Others may not notice it, but if they investigate carefully, they will find that Sun Tingfeng’s death was actually very strange.”

“First of all, he is different from the others on the list. The Zuoshan faction has had close ties with Xu Chengfeng over the years, and Sun Tingfeng himself has never shown any disloyalty. Why would Xu Chengfeng want him dead?”

"Furthermore, the Well Gang cultivator was the first one, and it's normal for Xu Chengfeng to order his transfer on time. But who could have predicted that Xu Chengfeng would arrange the transfer of all seven people at once?"

"In the killer's eyes, after the Well Gang cultivators, Xu Chengfeng was already a corpse and could no longer give orders. Yet the killer still went to the agreed location and killed Sun Tingfeng on time. Is that right?"

When Pei Xia finished speaking, she turned her gaze to Li Tan, trying to see if she was wavering in her eyes.

She did waver, and Pei Xia saw it, which made her sigh even more.

"I suspect that when you first proposed the plan to Xu Chengfeng, you meant to have Sun Tingfeng give false testimony, have him transferred out second, then get injured, and identify the murderer as the ghost woman, thereby dispelling other people's doubts and covering up the murder by using someone else to do the killing."

"You said that the Xueyan Sect's investigation of the ghost woman was detrimental to you because you were absent from the longevity meeting. Your excuse of being unwell is not very convincing. However, after Sun Tingfeng's death, you had a perfect alibi."

Li Tan looked at Sun Tingfeng, who was lying on the ground and had already died, and said in a trembling voice, "You said it yourself, I was in the inn at the time, and everyone can testify for me. How could I possibly kill Sun Tingfeng?"

Pei Xia gently stroked the deep bloodstains on Senior Brother Sun's face and sighed, "He committed suicide."

The entire hall suddenly fell silent.

Sun Tingfeng left the inn alone, and in a corner of the mountain gate, he slashed his face repeatedly before committing suicide.

Therefore, whether the murderer could foresee Xu Chengfeng's advance arrangements is irrelevant. Regardless of whether Xu Chengfeng was transferred or not, Sun Tingfeng would have left the guesthouse alone.

He used the same manner of death to frame the ghost woman, thus helping Li Tan obtain a complete alibi.

From then on, the Snow Swallow Sect could only chase after that non-existent phantom, and could never find the real culprit.

Pei Xia covered Sun Shixiong's white cloth again, stood up, and walked to Li Tan.

"The female sculptures in the ice pool are arranged in an orderly manner, but one of them is missing. I guess you took her with you when you left. The inn couldn't hold her, so she must have been buried somewhere along the way?"

"The ice veins are miraculous; they don't melt when exposed to light. If someone is determined to explore them, they should be able to dig some out..."

He saw Li Shijie's snowy cheeks puffed up from clenching her teeth; she had her head down and was trembling violently.

My gaze fell on the jade pendant at Li Tan's waist, on which was engraved a delicate character "睦" (mu).

Pei Xia said softly, "I've inquired. The female disciple of the Zuoshan Sect who was forcibly abducted by Xu Chengfeng is named Li Mu. She's your sister, isn't she?"

Li Tan finally looked up, her beautiful eyes misty with tears, looking both wistful and sorrowful: "No, she is my daughter."

(End of this chapter)