She immediately swallowed the rest of her words.

Shao Mingyuan said nonchalantly, “We’ll need to continue investigating to find clues. Miss Li, have you recovered your strength?”

“Much better.” Qiao Zhao didn’t understand why Shao Mingyuan was asking this.

“Then let’s go out together and take a look.”

The two walked out of the room together.

Qiao Zhao walked beside Shao Mingyuan, watching him approach the long-dead culprit and crouch down to examine him carefully.

Nightmarish memories surged up, and she turned her head to look outside.

The gate of Shuying Nunnery was wide open, and she could faintly hear voices and footsteps getting closer—this was news reaching Dafu Temple, with more monks being sent over.

This small nunnery, which seemed mysteriously incomparable to countless people in the capital, seemed to have its veil of mystery that had shrouded it for years lifted in an instant.

Qiao Zhao sighed softly.

Since her rebirth, her days had become increasingly thrilling and dangerous, with hardly any peaceful moments.

Monks poured in, and Shao Mingyuan straightened up, protecting Qiao Zhao as he made way for these monks.

After all the monks had entered, Shao Mingyuan opened his palm and said in a low voice: “Miss Li, look at this.”

Qiao Zhao immediately looked and appeared slightly surprised: “This is—a tooth?”

“Yes, with poison hidden inside.”

Qiao Zhao’s expression immediately changed: “So this person was some kind of death warrior?”

Shao Mingyuan nodded hesitantly: “In my view, this person was not a qualified death warrior. Uh, perhaps he had been disguised as a mountain dweller for so long that he forgot his own identity.”

A qualified death warrior should not be disturbed by external things, yet he had personally witnessed this man attempting to assault Miss Li—

Thinking of this, Shao Mingyuan felt both relieved and terrified.

It was fortunate that this man wasn’t a qualified death warrior; otherwise, by the time he arrived, it would have been too late.

With Qiao Zhao’s intelligence, hearing Shao Mingyuan say this, she pondered briefly and understood his meaning; her face couldn’t help but grow warm.

Perhaps it wasn’t that this man was unqualified, but that she had provoked him too much.

Now thinking about it, suggesting that this man had been kicked into becoming a eunuch—it would be strange if he hadn’t been furious.

But—

Qiao Zhao couldn’t help but glance at Shao Mingyuan.

A few days ago, the capital was buzzing with rumors that Marquis Guanjun was impotent, and even she had heard about it.

Although from a physician’s perspective she couldn’t see anything wrong with Shao Mingyuan, how had he managed to remain unmoved by such degrading rumors?

Could it be that he had some hidden ailment that even she couldn’t detect?

Qiao Zhao’s gaze discreetly swept over Shao Mingyuan.

Shao Mingyuan instinctively felt that the girl beside him was looking at him strangely.

He had the feeling that Miss Li had misunderstood something.

The young general couldn’t figure out what, so he handed the tooth to Qiao Zhao: “Miss Li, please keep this safe.”

Qiao Zhao looked strange: “Keep it safe?”

Shao Mingyuan’s expression remained calm: “I know nothing about medicine, but I’ve heard that medicine and poison are inseparable. Please see if Miss Li can analyze what kind of poison was hidden in this person’s tooth. If we can determine what kind of deadly poison it was that could kill instantly, we might get some clues about which faction this person belonged to.”

“Alright.” Upon hearing it was serious business, no matter how disgusting Qiao Zhao found it, she didn’t refuse. She took out a handkerchief and wrapped the tooth carefully.

“This isn’t the time for much talk. Let’s go inside.”

The lead monk had already arranged all matters.

Some monks continued searching Shuying Nunnery, some explored the surroundings of the nunnery, and others were responsible for handling the funeral arrangements for the murdered nuns.

“Master, Shuying Nunnery is no longer safe. I would like to take Miss Li back to Dafu Temple. Would that be convenient?” Shao Mingyuan asked.

The lead monk said, “Although the temple has guest rooms for pilgrims to rest, we’ve never had female pilgrims stay overnight in the temple. However, beside the bamboo grove outside the temple’s west gate, there’s a row of bamboo houses built for female guests to stay temporarily.”

“Good, then I’ll move out of the temple to look after Master Jingxi and Miss Li.”

With one sentence, Shao Mingyuan tied Qiao Zhao and Jingxi together.

The lead monk naturally had no objections: “This humble monk will send two martial monks to protect them together with the Marquis. Amitabha, we only hope to find Master soon.”

After that, the entire Dafu Temple became busy, and a heavy, oppressive atmosphere shrouded this century-old famous temple, making many monks who had just experienced the landslide unable to meditate peacefully.

Qiao Zhao walked out of the bamboo house.

Shao Mingyuan stood beside the verdant bamboo, his white robes whiter than snow, his person clear as bamboo, showing not the slightest trace of killing aura.

“Is Master Jingxi asleep?” Hearing light footsteps, he turned around.

Qiao Zhao walked to his side and nodded gently: “Mm, Master Jingxi seems to have injured her brain after the heavy blow, with some memory loss. She’s taken calming medicine and is already asleep. When she wakes up, she might remember more clues.”

Shao Mingyuan leaned against the green bamboo in silence for a moment, then asked: “Can a physician accurately determine whether memory is lost?”

Qiao Zhao laughed: “How could that be possible? The human brain is the most complex area, and it’s not like we can cut it open to look. How could we be certain whether memory is lost? General Shao’s meaning is—”

She looked back and lowered her voice even more: “Master Jingxi might be pretending?”

“Whether Master Jingxi is pretending, I can’t be certain, but the culprits specifically left her as the only survivor. There must be a special reason. I have a feeling that if we can solve this puzzle, we might be able to trace the culprits’ identities.”

Qiao Zhao nodded: “That’s right, and there’s also that wound on Master Jingxi’s neck. This shows that the culprit initially intended to kill her, too. What reason made the culprit change his mind?”

“Yes, what reason made the culprit change his mind?” Shao Mingyuan gazed toward Dafu Temple and said softly.

He was already tall, and Qiao Zhao, standing beside him, appeared even more petite, having to look up to see the expression on his face.

Noticing the girl looking at him, Shao Mingyuan lowered his head: “What else has Miss Li discovered?”

Qiao Zhao cleared her throat: “Does General Shao think Dafu Temple is unsafe?”

Shao Mingyuan showed a faint smile: “It’s not that Dafu Temple is unsafe, but rather that until the truth comes to light, nowhere is as safe as being by my side.”

Qiao Zhao twitched the corners of her mouth.

What thick skin!

Shao Mingyuan originally meant nothing by it, but the girl’s reaction made him feel awkward. He coughed lightly and explained: “In my heart, Dafu Temple indeed cannot be cleared of suspicion. Now that the mountain paths are blocked, isolating Dafu Temple and Shuying Nunnery from the world, those culprits might very well be hiding in Dafu Temple. However, there’s one thing I still can’t figure out.”

“What can’t General Shao figure out?”

“The path from Dafu Temple to Shuying Nunnery has always been exposed to everyone’s view. If the culprits brought Master Wumei to hide in Dafu Temple, how did they avoid everyone’s sight?”

“There’s another path.” Qiao Zhao’s expression immediately became serious. “Little Xuanjing told me—there’s another route from Dafu Temple to Shuying Nunnery!”