One person said: The essence of Wuhou Qimen lies not in Qimen, but in Wuhou.

Zhang Zhiwei stopped and nodded slightly, the sleeves of his Taoist robe fluttering gently in the night breeze.

He waved his hand, his tone calm and polite, but every word conveyed the composure and confidence of a sect leader: "No need for formalities."

Guests are always welcome, and the Celestial Master's Mansion should treat them with the utmost courtesy.

Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Dou, who traveled all the way from Shanghai. We apologize for any shortcomings in the hospitality provided by the Celestial Master's Mansion.

Since this is a work-related matter, our Celestial Master's Mansion will naturally cooperate fully and will not shirk its responsibilities.

After saying this, Zhang Zhiwei didn't exchange any more pleasantries. He turned around, stepped over the threshold of the woodshed, and entered the small room illuminated by the stark white emergency light.

Dou Le followed closely inside, standing at the entrance, not going in too far, maintaining a proper distance.

Upon seeing Zhang Zhiwei enter, Rong Shan and Zhang Lingyu immediately stood up, quickly stepped forward, and bowed in unison, saying, "Master!"

Both of their voices carried a degree of self-blame and heaviness.

Zhang Zhiwei raised his hand to indicate that the two didn't need to say anything more. He pressed his hand lightly in the air, a very small movement but with an extremely clear attitude.

He didn't look at his two apprentices; his gaze bypassed them and landed directly on the corpse lying flat on the ground.

He walked to the body and stood still, the hem of his Taoist robe hanging on the ground.

He kept his head down, only glancing at it briefly—a very thin and fast golden light flashed in his pupils, which had been tempered by a hundred years of cultivation, like a shooting star streaking across the night sky, gone in an instant.

Then he spoke.

His tone was calm and even, as if he were stating a simple objective fact, but every word was as precise as if a scalpel had cut through the skin to reach the lesion: "With a long needle—piercing the Baihui acupoint. The long needle is extremely fine, leaving no trace in the flesh and making no sound when it enters the bone."

In the blink of an eye, the breath ceases, and after the breath is cut off, the needle is shattered by the practitioner's internal force and remains inside the skull.

There were no visible wounds on the surface of the body.

To be able to do this much, you're a ruthless character.

Upon hearing these words, Dou Le's pupils contracted sharply.

He didn't go over to look at the body or make any comments. Instead, he took out his phone, typed Zhang Zhiwei's exact words into the message box, and pressed send.

The message was sent to Zhao Fangxu.

Then he stood there holding his phone, waiting.

Rong Shan and Zhang Lingyu stood behind Zhang Zhiwei, both with grim expressions.

Rongshan's head drooped even lower than before, his hands clenched into fists hanging down on either side of his Taoist robe, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force.

Zhang Lingyu maintained her aloof expression, but the skin around the red mole on her forehead was slightly red, clearly indicating that she was not as calm as she appeared.

They spent half a day examining the body in the woodshed but found nothing. The master, however, saw the cause of death at a glance.

This disparity is shameful enough, but what's even more shameful is that this criminal died right under their noses.

Zhang Zhiwei did not speak again.

He turned and walked up to Dou Le, but didn't say anything. He just stood there quietly, watching Dou Le look down at his phone.

Dou Le's phone screen lit up, and a new message popped up. The sender was Zhao Fangxu.

He glanced quickly at the line of text on the screen, then locked his phone, looked up, and gave Zhang Zhiwei a polite and gentle smile without any sharpness.

"Master, I have reported the situation on the ground and your judgment to the leadership."

The leadership believes that since the person is dead and there is strong suspicion of homicide, and there is no way to verify the facts, the matter needs to go through formal procedures.

After all, the suspect has not yet been interrogated or identified, and has not yet faced legal judgment. The relevant determination work needs to be studied by higher authorities before a decision is made.

The incident happened suddenly, and the leadership needs time to assess the situation.

Please, Elder Celestial Master and all the Taoist priests, rest first. I will come to visit again tomorrow morning, and there should be further news then.

Zhang Zhiwei's expression remained unchanged after hearing these words.

He was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly, with that signature calm and composed smile on his face.

When he spoke, his tone was calm and polite, with a touch of sincere concern and the thoughtfulness of a host towards a guest: "Thank you for your hard work, Manager Dou."

They came all this way, and didn't even have time to eat.

Why don't we stay on the mountain today and not go down? The Celestial Master's Mansion may be simple, but it has guest rooms. Have you eaten yet?

Dou Le paused for a moment, then a grateful and warm smile bloomed on his face.

He clasped his hands in a fist salute again and said in a slightly embarrassed but sincere tone, "Thank you for your concern, Master. Thank you for taking me in."

We arrived in such a rush, taking a taxi all the way up the mountain. We didn't even have time to eat or drink much water.

I'm actually a bit hungry—then I'll gladly accept your offer.

"I apologize for troubling you, Elder Celestial Master."

Zhang Zhiwei nodded, then turned to Zhang Lingyu behind him and instructed, "Lingyu, take Manager Dou to the guest room."

Have the kitchen heat up a few dishes; don't neglect the guests.

Zhang Lingyu stepped forward in response, slightly turned to the side, and made a standard Taoist gesture for guiding people, palm up, arm slightly bent, her tone still cool but considerate and proper: "Manager Dou, this way please."

Dou Le bowed to Zhang Zhiwei again, then followed Zhang Lingyu through the moon gate. The sounds of footsteps and conversation gradually faded away, finally disappearing on the other side of the courtyard.

Zhang Zhiwei stood at the door of the woodshed, watching Dou Le's figure disappear into the darkness where the moonlight couldn't reach.

The smile on his face slowly faded the moment he turned away, replaced by a deep, thoughtful solemnity.

He remained silent for a long time, the mountain wind causing the hem of his Taoist robe to flutter slightly, and the moonlight casting deep and shallow shadows on his wrinkled face.

Rongshan stepped forward, bowed his head, and his voice was filled with unresolved self-blame and a sincere plea for punishment: "Master, it is my fault for failing in my duties. I did not protect the suspect well, nor did I guard against the assassination attempt by the mastermind behind the scenes, which has brought shame to the Celestial Master's Mansion."

Please punish me, Master—I will have no complaints.

He paused, looked up at Zhang Zhiwei's silent face, and asked again, his voice even lower than before, carrying a sense of helplessness and anger as if he had been cornered: "Master—what should we do now? It seems the people in the company won't let this go."

Dou Le was reporting the whole time, never putting down his phone, and every word he said was directly reported to his superiors.

The company leadership probably already knows everything.

Zhang Zhiwei stood with his hands behind his back in the moonlight, looking up at the moon in the night sky, which was half-hidden by clouds, and remained silent for a long time.

Then he spoke, his voice not loud, but each word conveyed a kind of clarity and desolation that came from being pushed to the limit: "What to do? Good question—this is truly a dilemma for your teacher. I don't know what to do either."

He looked down at his shadow, which stretched long in the moonlight, and a bitter smile appeared on his lips.

That smile was exactly the same as when he was in Tian Jinzhong's room, only it was a bit more bitter: "It's embarrassing to tell anyone."

A cultist from Quanxing impersonated a Taoist priest from the Celestial Master's Mansion on Longhu Mountain and bullied tourists and students at the foot of the mountain for half a month—and no one noticed.

We finally caught him, and just as we were about to interrogate him, he died in the woodshed of our Celestial Master's Mansion.

Suicide out of guilt, or murder to cover it up? Go tell the world that our Celestial Master's Mansion knows absolutely nothing about this, that it has nothing to do with us—do you think they'll believe that?