My bathroom leads to the celestial realm.

85. Murder to silence witnesses

In the back room of Qianlu Fuye, seven corpses were lined up in a row.

Manager Pan and Deng Yuzhou sat on either side of him, their faces ashen.

Xu Yan sat to the left of Manager Pan, looking relaxed.

There was also a slender, long-fingered black-clad monk at the scene, examining the corpses on the ground one by one.

After a long while, the black-robed monk finally finished reading.

Deng Yuzhou asked impatiently, "Fellow Daoist Liang, what was the result?"

Liang Qian cupped his hands and said, "Young Master Deng, Manager Pan, of the seven people, three were pierced through the heart by flying swords, one had his internal organs shattered, and another was split in two. As for the last two... if I am not mistaken, they should have died from the backlash of some secret technique."

"Backlash?"

"Indeed!" Liang Qian nodded. "As for which kind of secret technique it is, I must admit my limited knowledge and cannot discern any clues."

"That's enough, thank you for your help, fellow Daoist."

"Of course."

After seeing Liang Qian off and collecting the body, the three of them sat down again.

Deng Yuzhou's expression was unfriendly: "Does Fellow Daoist Xu think these thieves were sent by my Deng family?"

Xu Yan took a leisurely sip of tea: "When did I say that?"

"Then what do you mean by calling me here?"

Xu Yan put down his teacup: "Although these thieves weren't sent by your Deng family, they are connected to Qianlu Island. Tell me, should I have brought you here?"

"What?" Deng Yuzhou jumped to his feet. "Impossible!"

"What's impossible about it?" Xu Yan's voice rose a few decibels. "Why don't you just keep a low profile and make your fortune quietly? Why do you have to make it known to everyone? Now look what's happened, everyone's eyeing me. I just want to focus on my cultivation, I don't want to get involved in this mess!"

Deng Yuzhou's gaze turned icy: "You, surnamed Xu, if you dare to spout nonsense again, don't blame me for turning ruthless!"

Xu Yan threw the recording bead on the table: "If you don't believe me, see for yourself!"

After saying that, he handed another piece to Manager Pan: "Uncle Pan, there are two groups of people in total, and the other group is Wei Shuofang's men. Why don't you handle it yourself?"

Manager Pan nodded: "I will definitely give you a satisfactory explanation!"

"That's not necessary." Xu Yan shook his head. "If you have a deep friendship with Wei Shuofang, then let's just let this matter rest."

The implication is that, out of respect for you, this matter can be let go; but if our relationship isn't close enough, then an explanation is necessary.

Manager Pan understood, and Deng Yuzhou naturally understood as well. He snorted coldly, wanting to ask: "Isn't my face enough for Second Young Master Deng?"

Neither of them spoke again, but instead picked up the recording bead and examined it carefully. Then they discovered that Xu Yan had given it to the wrong person.

Xu Yan wasn't embarrassed at all. These things didn't have labels, so how would he know which one was which?

The little incident eased the serious atmosphere somewhat, but after Pan and Deng saw the contents of the photo pearl, their expressions turned rather unpleasant.

Deng Yuzhou said in a deep voice, "Fellow Daoist Xu, you have some skill!"

These two people are under a secret spell; they will lose their lives if they reveal who is behind it. However, Xu Yan has a way to make them talk, which makes him wary.

If it falls into this kid's hands, wouldn't we lose all our secrets?

Xu Yan feigned nonchalance: "Hey, I don't have that kind of ability. It's just a life-saving trick given to me by my elders. I only resort to it on these two people when the situation is really serious!"

Deng Yuzhou thought to himself: I'd never believe you!

Although Manager Pan didn't speak, he was also pondering how much of Xu Yan's words were true and how much were false.

Xu Yan pressed her advantage: "Well, I've given you the evidence. When are you going to give it back to me?"

Deng Yuzhou remained defiant: "The authenticity of this pearl is indistinguishable; I, Deng, still need to examine it carefully!"

"Then you'd better hurry." Xu Yan poured himself another cup of tea. "I've never been a very patient person. If you're in a rush and drag this out too long, we'll just part ways. You go your way, and I'll go mine!"

Just as Deng Yuzhou was about to explode, Manager Pan quickly jumped in to mediate: "Hey, hey, it's not that bad, it's not that bad!"

He first cupped his hands to Deng Yuzhou: "Young Master Deng, there are many disciples on Qianlu Island, and it is inevitable that there are some unworthy disciples who are envious of the Deng family. It would be good to investigate them carefully when you get back, so as to prevent any accidents from happening in the future."

Deng Yuzhou snorted coldly, his attitude was not good, but he accepted this statement.

Manager Pan then said to Xu Yan, "Mo Ting, I know you almost met with disaster, and I feel indignant. Although this matter is related to the Deng family, it was not instigated by them. Why ruin our harmony?"

Xu Yan sat up straight: "Uncle Pan, it's not that I'm petty, but as you can see, they're all after the talisman business. To put it bluntly, it doesn't matter to me who I cooperate with, but I don't know if it's the same for you."

Deng Yuzhou immediately slammed his fist on the table: "You surnamed Xu, how dare you threaten me!"

"How is this a threat?" Xu Yan shrugged. "The business belongs to everyone. It's going too far to make me bear all the risks alone."

Deng Yuzhou wanted to speak, but Xu Yan didn't give him a chance: "Also, Young Master Deng, after causing such a commotion last night, not a single person came out to see what was going on. Did you really not notice, or were you pretending not to notice? Is this huge Immortal Pavilion, with so many cultivators, all dead? Tell me yourself, does this have anything to do with your Thousand Heron Island?"

Deng Yuzhou was immediately rendered speechless.

This is the Immortal Workshop under the jurisdiction of Qianlu Island, and one of the most important sources of revenue for Qianlu Island. Although cultivators are not obligated to defend their territory, they are still required to maintain the order of the Immortal Workshop.

Otherwise, if order is disrupted, who would dare to do business here?

If you manage it during the day, do you no longer need to manage it at night?

There's no such saying!

This point is indeed undeniable. Although Deng Yuzhou was unconvinced, he was already wavering in his heart. He was too ashamed to stay any longer, so he simply flung his sleeves, turned around, and walked out.

Just then, a waiter rushed over and nearly bumped into Deng Yuzhou, who was so frightened that he apologized repeatedly.

Young Master Deng is arrogant and proud. He has provoked him for no reason. Isn't he just asking for trouble?

Deng Yuzhou had no interest in arguing with his colleague, so he snorted and turned to leave.

But then the shop assistant's voice reached his ears: "Master, a shop assistant from the Wei family has come to report a death. They say Manager Wei died suddenly last night..."

Qu Yuzhou darted back in one stride: "Who did you say died?"

The shop assistants were dumbfounded: "Manager Wei! Manager Wei!"

"Which Manager Wei? Wei Shuofang?"

The waiter nodded hurriedly. "Yes, yes, it's Wei Shuofang, Manager Wei!"

"Hehe!" Deng Yuzhou's face was devoid of any smile. "Farewell!"

After saying that, he turned and left.

Xu Yan's mind raced: This Manager Wei is actually a black glove?

"The water in here is much deeper than I imagined!" Manager Pan looked at Xu Yan. "Mo Ting, you're not hiding anything from me, are you?"

Xu Yan sighed, "From the time I came here until now, what has happened that you haven't noticed?"

Manager Pan remained silent for a moment, then said after a moment's thought, "With Manager Wei's death, the trail goes cold... The person behind this has a ruthless heart and incredibly vicious methods!"

He sighed, "Mo Ting, I'm afraid I'll never get justice."

"It's alright." Xu Yan stood up. "If you don't want anyone to know, then don't do it in the first place. I'll trouble you to keep an eye on things for me."