Chapter 257: August
In the early morning of the second day of August, a strange sight of the sun and the moon joining together and five planets in a line appeared in the sky above Xijing City. It seemed as if it was destined that something big would happen that day.

In the early morning, the sky was covered with dark clouds and the sun and moon were dim.

The sky seemed to be preparing for a thunderstorm, with thunder rumbling in the sky like the roar of a tiger or a dragon, and gusts of wind in the air like sharp swords.

Today in Xijing Prefecture, both the weather and the people's hearts are depressing and suffocating.

In the morning, people from the six major sects, led by Luo Tianjin and Xuan Ming, broke into Xijing Prefecture in a mighty manner and headed straight for Qin Prefecture in the north of the city.

Strangely, the Xianwang Mansion and the six major sects did not encounter many obstacles along the way as expected. On the contrary, they had a smooth journey and arrived directly in front of the Qin Mansion as if they were in an empty place.

What was even more surprising was that the gate of the Qin Mansion was wide open at this time, and there was no one inside or outside the gatehouse, as if there was no defense at all.

After seeing this scene, the people who were originally full of vigor and courage became suspicious and worried.

Disciples from the Xianwang Mansion and the six major sects gathered in groups of three or five outside the Qin Mansion. They all stopped and no one dared to step forward rashly.

At this moment, within a radius of dozens of miles from the Qin Mansion, the streets and alleys were empty, every household had their doors closed, every shop was shut, and even a chicken or dog could not be found.

A few days ago, the people in the city had heard rumors that on the second day of August, there might be a large-scale bloodbath in Xijing Prefecture. By then, the land west of the Yellow River would be littered with corpses and rivers of blood. This matter was spread by word of mouth, and became more and more mysterious.

Therefore, in order to protect themselves, the people in the city either stayed indoors and turned a deaf ear to the rumors, or moved away from this troubled place with their families.

"This……"

Xuanming cast a hesitant look at Luo Tianjin and said hesitantly: "What does this mean? Does Qin Ming want to play an empty city trick in front of us?"

Before he finished speaking, a burly man with a strong build suddenly walked out of the Qin Mansion. It was Qin Da.

Facing the large numbers of disciples from various sects who were eyeing him covetously, Qin Da remained indifferent, showing no fear or the slightest sign of panic.

He put the knife on his shoulder, looked around at everyone with disdain, and said coldly: "Everyone, my master invites you!"

After saying that, Qin Da glanced around fiercely again, then turned around and went into the mansion without any hesitation.

"Now that we are here, let's make the best of it! Go ahead!"

After hesitating for a long time, Luo Tianjin finally made up his mind, and then disciples from Prince Xian's Palace and the six major sects poured into the Qin Mansion one after another.

The crowd walked through the house and courtyard, but did not see a single living creature.

If it weren't for the luxurious courtyard and the clean and tidy environment, Luo Tianjin and others would have thought that this was an abandoned house.

After about a cup of tea, a huge martial arts field with a radius of several hundred meters appeared in front of everyone.

In the martial arts field, more than a thousand men led by Qin Ming, Jin Fuyu, Teng Sanshi, Lu Tingxiang and Tang Yuan had been waiting here for a long time.

Luo Tianjin and Xuanming led the crowd and when they were about 20 to 30 feet away from the other side, Xuanming waved his Zen stick, and everyone immediately stopped and stood opposite Qin Ming and his group, confronting each other.

Bai Shuang, who was standing next to Lu Tingxiang, had a strange look in her eyes when she saw Liu Xunyi in the crowd opposite her. But before Liu Xunyi could make eye contact with her, Bai Shuang quickly shifted her gaze elsewhere, as if she was deliberately avoiding him.

At this moment, dark clouds covered the sky, blocking out the sun, strong winds blew, and flags fluttered.

Both sides looked at each other with eagle eyes and wolves' gazes, like tigers surpassing dragons, with bows and crossbows strung, swords unsheathed, staring at each other with murderous intent.

A fight was about to break out, seemingly just a breath away.

"You are here after all." Qin Ming was the first to break the silence, his voice as cold as ice.

Xuanming said: "The Qin family slaughtered eleven monks from my Shaolin. As the abbot of Shaolin, how can I not seek justice for them from the Qin family?"

"Justice? Humph! Are you qualified to talk about the word 'justice'? There is no evidence for this matter, but you framed my Qin family. How dare you talk to me about justice?" Qin Ming said angrily, "Xuanming, I don't want to argue with you because you are a monk, but don't take advantage of your age and be ungrateful. Shaolin lost the 'Xuanshui Xiajuan', and we still haven't found out the truth. When will you give me justice?"

"If I have no evidence, I will never accuse you of killing innocent people!"

Xuanming's face was as gloomy as water. He stabbed the ground with his Zen stick, instantly smashing a piece of bluestone into pieces. At the same time, he shouted, "Bring Wujian!"

With the sound of rustling footsteps in the crowd, Wujian, who had just recovered from a serious injury, walked slowly forward with the support of Wuchan and Guoshan. His face was pale, his eyes were filled with fear and anger, and he seemed to be still immersed in the haze of that night in Xuzhou.

"Wujian, tell us everything you saw and heard in Xuzhou Shande Building in front of all the heroes!" Xuanming ordered, "There is no need to hide anything, and there is no need to have any reservations!"

"Yes!" Wu Jian agreed, then turned to stare at the cold Qin Ming with eyes full of resentment, and said faintly, "I saw it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears. Master Yuanji's uncle was cut into pieces, and Brother Wuguan's head was chopped off and thrown into the well. All of this... was done by the people of the Hexi Qin family!" "Hiss!"

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar in the martial arts field. Even Tang Yuan and Teng Sanshi, who were standing next to Qin Ming, couldn't help but show a look of suspicion on their faces.

"Little monk, don't take advantage of your status as a monk to speak nonsense!" Qin Er's eyes turned fierce and he cursed, "If you dare to talk nonsense, I will cut off your tongue..."

Seeing this, Lin Fangda's face darkened immediately, and he quickly said, "If you weren't guilty, why are you yelling? What? Are you afraid of being exposed, so you dare to do it but not take responsibility for it?"

"Shut up!"

Qing Feng taught, "Things must be solved one by one. Don't be panic or impatient. Right and wrong, good and evil, black and white, everything will be investigated thoroughly. What's true can't be false, and what's false can't be true. What's more, there are so many martial arts masters here today, how can you youngsters be so presumptuous?"

"That's right!" Teng Sanshi said in a deep voice, "Listen to what the little monk has to say first, then you can start arguing."

Jin Fuyu smiled slightly and said in a gentle manner: "Young Master, don't panic. Just tell me what you see. As long as you are not making it up, no one will embarrass you today."

Wu Jian cast an anxious look at Xuan Ming. Seeing Xuan Ming nod at him, he mustered up his courage, thought for a moment, and spoke again: "June 19th is the day when Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva attained enlightenment. On that day, my uncle Yuan Ji, my senior brother Wu Guan, and I were invited by Xuzhou layman Li Xian to give a lecture at Xuzhou Deshan Building, and then..."

As everyone listened quietly, Wu Jian recounted the tragedy that occurred on June 19th in Deshan Building in Xuzhou in a clear and orderly manner.

When everyone heard what the man in black said when he was killing Yuan Ji, their faces changed, some were surprised, some were horrified, some were terrified, some were suspicious, in short, everyone had their own thoughts.

After a while, Wujian finished his narration. Xuanming walked forward slowly and asked loudly, "My fellow donors, I dare to ask you, is there anything unreasonable or fabricated in what Wujian said just now?"

The head of Kongtong Sect, Zhong Limu, chuckled and said, "It's well-reasoned and flawless. If he hadn't experienced it himself, how could he have said it so perfectly?"

"Master Zhongli is wrong." Lu Tingxiang frowned and shook his head slowly. "Although Master Wujian's words are very logical and well-founded, he was unable to clearly see the face of the man in black from beginning to end. How can he conclude that the murderer is from the Hexi Qin family based on their conversation?"

"That's right!" Tang Yuan agreed, "People have two lips, they can say whatever they want. It's really hard to pin the blame on the Hexi Qin family based on just a few words."

"Hmph!" Master Miao'an, the head of the Emei Sect, snorted coldly and refuted, "Since the man in black was ambushing at night, why would he blatantly reveal his appearance? In this way, wouldn't he be deliberately giving others a handle? What's more, in the conversation between the man in black and the monk Yuanji, the words 'Xuan Shui Xia Juan' appeared repeatedly. Obviously, the man in black's actions were all because Shaolin lost the 'Xuan Shui Xia Juan'. Let me ask, apart from the Qin family, who in the world would bear a grudge against Shaolin because of the 'Xuan Shui Xia Juan'?"

"Of course it's the Hexi Qin Clan." Zuo Hongxuan, the head of the Qingcheng Sect, sneered, "Has Palace Master Qin forgotten? Who was it that was shouting in the martial arts world a few days ago? Swearing to seek justice from Shaolin? This matter is known to everyone in the world. Palace Master Qin will not want to change his words at the last minute and refuse to admit it, right?"

Qin Ming's face darkened and he snorted angrily, "It is an indisputable fact that Shaolin lost the 'Xuan Shui Xia Juan'. To this day, I still feel resentful about it."

"So you admit it..."

Before Lin Fangda could open his mouth excitedly, Luo Tianjin's displeased look had already scared him back the next words.

Qin Ming said contemptuously: "Seeking justice is seeking justice, and killing is killing. These are two completely unrelated things. How can you make unwarranted assumptions and then link them together? If you say that my Qin family killed Shaolin disciples, then show us the real evidence. Don't just rely on some ambiguous statements and indiscriminately insist that it was my Qin family who did it."

Xuanming said angrily, "The Qin family killed a total of eleven monks, and several of them happened to be lucky enough to survive when they were slaughtered. Wujian is just one of them. If you want to hear it, I can call out all the surviving disciples and let them tell everyone one by one!"

"Wait a minute!" Jin Fuyu suddenly asked, "What did Master Xuanming just say? Among the eleven Shaolin monks who died tragically, many of them had witnesses?"

"Yes!"

"This is weird!" Jin Fuyu asked suspiciously, "How could such a coincidence happen in the world? If they were masked, they would have wiped out the entire clan, so how could they leave any survivors? If there were only one or two witnesses, maybe they could have gotten away with it, but if there were multiple witnesses... we would have to think about this matter more carefully."

"As I expected, none of these witnesses have actually seen the true face of the murderer." Tang Yuan sneered, "In that case, this is more like a conspiracy. Those so-called witnesses are just people left alive by the murderer on purpose, intending to frame the Qin family!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone present fell into deep thought. Even Xuanming was speechless for a moment, not knowing how to refute.

Seeing Jin Fuyu and Tang Yuan find out the suspicious points one after another, the anxious Liu Xunyi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"As the saying goes, if you catch a thief, you must seize the stolen goods; if you catch an adulterer in bed, if you don't have any real evidence, I hope Master Xuanming will not wrongly accuse a good person." Teng Sanshi's eyebrows were tightly knitted into the shape of a "川" character, and he nodded thoughtfully, "If there really is a traitor who instigated this, wouldn't it be unjust for Shaolin and the Qin family to go to war?"

"Master Teng, according to you, are the eleven monks of my Shaolin going to die in vain?" Xuanming asked back.

"Go find the murderer," Qin shouted angrily, "You don't have the ability to find the real murderer, so why do you put the blame on my Qin family? Is it because my Qin family is chasing you for the 'Xuan Shui Xia Juan'? Don't forget, the 'Xuan Shui Xia Juan' was also lost by your Shaolin disciples. You can't deny this anymore, can you?"

Qin Ming's eyes turned cold, and he asked aggressively: "Just now you have been accusing me of crimes, now it's my turn to ask you. When does Abbot Xuanming plan to return the "Xuanshui Xiajuan" that was lost by Shaolin?"

……

(End of this chapter)