Daqin arrests alchemists, what does it matter to me as a qi refiner?

"Yes, Master!"

Xu Fu immediately bowed slightly to Yang Ling, then disappeared from the spot in a flash.

When he appeared again, he was already standing at the place where Duanmu Yu had stood before, carrying the old man's body.

Yang Ling walked into the thatched hut and removed the rope from the corpse's neck.

He gently unfolded and arranged it, then put it aside and looked at Ziying and said, "The purpose of this rope is to create the illusion of hanging oneself!"

The murderer's intention was to let someone who might come to investigate find it, and then associate it with the folk custom of hanging food on the beams, and thus infer that the old man committed suicide.

Although those young men from coroner families were not well-trained, they were smart and thus they naturally came to the conclusion that the murderer wanted.

If they had arrived earlier, there would have been no obvious corpse spots on the dead old man's body by then, and this inference would undoubtedly be very reasonable.

However, the murderers themselves might not have expected that their disregard for the matter would cause the investigation to be delayed for so long.

With the appearance of corpse spots, the tiny knife wound on the old man's neck was also noticed, and thus the traces of crime deliberately left by the murderer lost their persuasiveness.

Yang Ling nodded to Ziying. After confirming that Ziying fully understood his intention, he put the rope aside and pointed to the small knife wound on the old man's neck.

"What kind of weapon do you think caused this damage?" Yang Ling stood up and asked Ziying.

Ziying involuntarily took a step closer and observed the tiny blade more carefully. Then he frowned slightly and speculated, "I know very little about weapons, but such a small blade is obviously not caused by a big knife. It is more like a hidden weapon, such as a silver needle or some other despicable method."

Ziying was young and had never practiced martial arts, so he was not familiar with these things, but he still had some basic common sense, so his guess was not off the mark.

"You guessed right, this is indeed a hidden weapon, and it is a hidden weapon unique to Southern Xinjiang." Yang Ling said, he deliberately paused, looked up at Duanmu Yu, and continued: "If I'm not wrong, this hidden weapon should be called..."

"Ninety-six-leaf bone-dissolving needle!" Yang Ling slowly said the name of the hidden weapon.

"Ninety-six-leaf bone-dissolving needle? What is that?" Ziying heard the name of this hidden weapon for the first time and looked at Duanmu Yu curiously and asked.

Duanmu Yu pursed his lips slightly, with a hint of helplessness in his eyes. However, under the gaze of Yang Ling and Ziying, he had to explain: "The shape of the ninety-six bone-dissolving needles is like a willow leaf. After piercing the skin, it will only leave a willow-leaf-sized wound, but ninety-six needles will be dispersed under the skin and pierce all parts of the body, killing people instantly."

"Such a powerful hidden weapon!" Ziying couldn't help but gasp when he heard it.

"This hidden weapon can be fatal even to practitioners. If it is blessed with spiritual power, it can even cause a person to die slowly in extreme pain. The death is similar to death by suffocation, and there is no abnormality on the surface."

Xu Fu had also heard of this hidden weapon. He glanced at Duanmu Yu and continued, "This hidden weapon is only found in southern Xinjiang. Because of its great power, it has long been strictly prohibited by the Duanmu family. Now it appears again..."

The meaning of Xu Fu's words was very clear. The problem was most likely within the Duanmu family. After all, the person who could make the ninety-six-leaf bone-dissolving needle could only exist in the Duanmu Mansion.

"This matter has nothing to do with me. I can swear a great oath!" Feeling Yang Ling's gaze, Duanmu Yu hurriedly raised his hand to prepare to swear.

Yang Ling did not stop him. After watching Duanmu Yu swear an oath, he raised his eyebrows and said, "Master Duanmu, please take us to see the Duanmu clan member who can make the ninety-six-leaf bone-melting needle!"

The real cause of death of the old man has been found out, and the next direction of investigation will be to follow the clues of the ninety-six-leaf bone-dissolving needle.

"Yes, sir!" Duanmu Yu immediately nodded in agreement when he heard that.

At this moment, he just wanted to return to the city as soon as possible. If he had not met Ziying by chance yesterday, he would not even have interfered in the affairs of the old man outside the city.

He naturally didn't know the cause of the old man's death, but in order to prove his innocence, he also wanted to go home as soon as possible.

The Ninety-Six-Leaf Bone-Dissolving Needle was indeed the secret of the Duanmu family, and its manufacture had been strictly prohibited many years ago. The old gentleman of the Duanmu family had not manufactured such a hidden weapon in recent years.

When Yang Ling, Duanmu Yu and others found the old man, he was fishing in his own yard.

The old man's fishing method was quite peculiar; other people's hooks were curved and had bait on them, but his hooks were straight and empty.

It was noon when they returned to Duanmu's house and found the old man's house. The old man was holding a fishing rod and a pipe in his mouth, and seemed to be taking a nap, looking particularly leisurely and comfortable.

Yang Ling stood aside and did not go forward to disturb them.

Xu Fu and Duanmu Yu seemed quite active, vying to step forward and wake the old man up.

"Uncle Hong, wake up quickly, we have something to talk to you about!" Duanmu Yu was one step faster than Xu Fu, walked to Duanmu Hong, patted the back of his hand gently, and said, "Please get up quickly!"

Although Duanmu Hong had lived in seclusion in the Duanmu family for many years and had never seen outsiders or left the house, the news that Yang Ling was invited to the Duanmu Mansion had already spread throughout the mansion.

Duanmu Hong was naturally no exception, but he had never been interested in news and changes in the outside world. No matter who came, he was equally indifferent.

Because of this, when Duanmu Yu interrupted his lunch break because of Yang Ling, he seemed quite dissatisfied and sat up with a bad look on his face.

"What do you want from me?" Duanmu Hong glanced at Yang Ling and the others, his voice revealing impatience.

Yang Ling did not speak, but threw the ninety-six bone-dissolving needles he had taken out of the old man's body before leaving in front of Duanmu Hong.

Duanmu Hong holds a prominent position in the Duanmu family. After the revival of spiritual energy, his cultivation has reached the seventh level of the human realm. He is an important figure in the Duanmu family, so he is usually not polite to younger generations like Duanmu Yu.

Yang Ling looks young, similar to Duanmu Yu. Although he is famous, Duanmu Hong still regards him as the same generation as Duanmu Yu.

Therefore, when the ninety-six bone-dissolving needles were thrown in front of him, he felt a little dissatisfied, because in the Duanmu family, he had never been treated so frivolously.

Duanmu Yu saw that Duanmu Hong was a little unhappy, and immediately stepped forward and said with a smile: "Uncle Hong, this is the 96-leaf bone-dissolving needle we found in a corpse. It looks very new. Except for you, no one in Southern Xinjiang can make this kind of hidden weapon. We want to ask..."

"No one in southern Xinjiang can make this kind of hidden weapon, so you suspect that I made that corpse?" Duanmu Hong interrupted Duanmu Yu. He was already angry, and when he heard Duanmu Yu's suspicion, he became even more furious.

"You misunderstood, Uncle Hong!" Duanmu Yu had long anticipated such a result, so he was not surprised to hear Duanmu Hong lose his temper. Instead, he walked over more patiently and said with a smile: "We just can't find any clues, so we want to ask you if you know who else can make this kind of ninety-six-leaf bone-dissolving needle?"

Duanmu Yu asked the question very tactfully, leaving enough face for Duanmu Hong.

But Duanmu Hong did not appreciate it, he felt offended.

"I know nothing! If you are here as a guest, drink your tea and leave quickly; if you are here to cause trouble, get out as soon as possible!" Duanmu Hong said, pushing the tea on the stone table forward and speaking coldly.

When he said this, he seemed to glance at Yang Ling intentionally or unintentionally.

Xu Fu and Duanmu Yu both noticed this, so Yang Ling naturally couldn't have failed to see it. It was precisely because he saw it that he sneered and turned away.

Seeing this, Xu Fu immediately followed.

"Did this ninety-six-leaf bone-dissolving needle come from you?" Yang Ling threw the ninety-six-leaf bone-dissolving needle in Duanmu Yu's hand in front of Duanmu Hong and asked coldly.

Duanmu Hong had already sat down. He thought that if he said something harsh, these people would be taken away by Duanmu Yu.

However, he overestimated Duanmu Yu's influence this time.

Yang Ling was never someone who could be easily influenced by anyone. Even though Duanmu Yu was a genius that had never appeared in the entire southern border, or even in the entire world, he was not arrogant enough in front of him.

"Do I have to answer just because you ask me? Who do you think you are? Do you still want to... Duanmu..." Duanmu Hong showed a sarcastic look on his face and was about to retort.

However, before he could finish his words, he felt an unmatched pressure coming upon him.

Duanmu Hong did not see Yang Ling make any movement, but he suddenly felt difficulty breathing and his brain quickly became congested with blood, as if he was about to suffocate to death.

Duanmu Yu was so frightened that she dared not speak, and Duanmu Hong was unable to move. He could only beg for mercy from Yang Ling with his eyes.

He had never met such a powerful person before, who could control his life and death without him even moving the slightest bit.

Such people, strictly speaking, have transcended the scope of humanity.

"Can you answer now?" Yang Ling looked at Duanmu Hong coldly and asked indifferently.

"Okay, I say!" Feeling Yang Ling's pressure, Duanmu Hong immediately nodded and said, "I haven't made the Ninety-Six-Leaf Bone-Dissolving Needle recently, but..."

He seemed to be afraid that Yang Ling would think he was lying and punish him again, so he took a breath and continued: "I am not the only one who can make the Ninety-Six-Leaf Bone-Dissolving Needle. When I made it..."

Ms. Tian worked closely with me. From the design of the drawings to the selection of materials for the 96-leaf bone-dissolving needle, every step was inseparable from her careful guidance. When I encountered difficulties, she also lent a hand and helped me overcome the difficulties. It can be said that she is the real creator of the 96-leaf bone-dissolving needle! "

Facing Yang Ling's sharp gaze, Duanmu Hong felt under tremendous pressure and wanted to tell him everything.

In front of a strong man like Yang Ling, he didn't dare to hide anything.

He even felt that if Yang Ling wanted to find out more, he would probably stop at nothing.

But fortunately, for the sake of the two families' face, Yang Ling did not do so.

Duanmu Hong's guess was not wrong, Yang Ling did have such ability.

However, directly snooping into other people's memories requires the use of talismans, and will cause irreparable harm to the person being spied on.

Such means will undoubtedly completely tear apart the harmonious relationship between the Duanmu family and him.

The Duanmu family treated him like a distinguished guest, so naturally he was unwilling to act like this.

"Who exactly is Miss Tian?" Yang Ling frowned and turned his gaze to Duanmu Yu who was standing beside him.

When Duanmu Yu mentioned Miss Tian, ​​his expression seemed a little complicated, as if he had something to hide.

"The Tian family, are they a farming family?" Xu Fu interrupted and asked doubtfully, "Your Duanmu family seems to be the Mohist family, right?"

"Mohist school? Agricultural school?" Yang Ling's thoughts drifted back to the "The Legend of Qin" he had watched in his previous life.

In this world, he had never met anyone from the Mohist or Agricultural school, and once thought that they were just fictions in anime.

“Master, you don’t know that there are many extraordinary people in this world. They each formed their own teams and acted chivalrously and bravely, thus giving rise to the legend of a hundred schools of thought. The leader of each school was respectfully called a Master, and thus the names of the Hundred Schools of Thought spread like this.” Xu Fu explained to Yang Ling the origin of the Hundred Schools of Thought.

Although Yang Ling knew that this was not the true origin of the various schools of thought, this was not the time to dwell on these things, so he did not say much.

"Lord Xu Fu, the rumors you heard seem a bit confusing." Duanmu Yu glanced at Xu Fu, wanting to say something but was interrupted by Duanmu Hong.

"Sir, Miss Tian has left the Duanmu family for many years. What she did has nothing to do with the Duanmu family. Please don't vent your anger on us." Duanmu Hong said, and he actually knelt in front of Yang Ling, pleading with a solemn expression.

Duanmu Yu looked at Duanmu Hong's actions and understood. He sighed and explained, "Miss Tian was raised by our Duanmu family after the Tian family was destroyed. My father kept her with him because she was young and helpless. We always regarded her as a family member, but she chose to leave southern Xinjiang when she was ten years old."

"She left when she was ten?" Yang Ling asked curiously, "Then how many years did she leave?"

"If you count carefully, it has been ten years." Duanmu Yu answered without hesitation.

Yang Ling could see that the Duanmu family's attention to Miss Tian had not diminished with the passage of time.

He did not point it out, but just greeted Xu Fu and turned to leave Duanmu Hong's house.

"Uncle Hong, I'll take my leave first." Duanmu Yu felt uneasy, worried that Yang Ling had noticed something, so he hurriedly chased after him.

"Okay, go and explain it clearly..." Before Duanmu Hong finished his words, Duanmu Yu's figure disappeared from his sight.

The Tian family and the Mo family were old friends. In Yang Ling's memory of his previous life, they had joined hands to fight against the tyrannical Qin.

However, in this world, the Tian family suffered a devastating disaster.

After returning to the house, Yang Ling picked up his brush and drew a portrait of Rong'er. Xu Fu and Duanmu Yu followed him in. Xu Fu praised Yang Ling's painting skills, while Duanmu Yu's expression changed slightly, with a trace of worry in his eyes.

"Is this the Miss Tian?" Yang Ling handed the portrait to Duanmu Yu and asked pretending to be ignorant.

Duanmu Yu was surprised at how Yang Ling could easily draw Rong'er's portrait, but he did not show it. "How could Rong'er be Miss Tian?" Xu Fu also asked in confusion.

"Rong'er?" Duanmu Yu did not answer Yang Ling's question, but turned to Xu Fu, "Is she still called Rong'er now?"

"How do you know Rong'er?" Xu Fu said this and suddenly realized something was wrong, and turned to look at Yang Ling.

Yang Ling remained silent, and only replied to Duanmu Yu indifferently: "She is indeed Rong'er, but as to whether she is your Rong'er, it is still unknown." (End of this chapter)