Chapter 78: The Ancestor’s Belated Rebellion (Part 5)

Aren’t clothes with built-in defense and automatic cleaning standard in this world?
Why was she always wearing ordinary clothes?
Was she, their revered ancestor, not worthy of such things?!
“Ancestor, we do have them, but… you change three times a day. We don’t have that many.”
At first, they had only prepared a few sets of enchanted robes.
But they soon discovered that this ancestor was quite diligent about changing clothes and disliked wearing anything that had already been worn.
Where were they supposed to find so many robes?
In the end, they had to settle for ordinary garments…
“If you don’t have enough, make more.”
“Ancestor, enchanted robes require formation inscriptions, and formation masters are rare these days…”
Formation masters were highly sought after on the continent, cherished by every sect. No one would waste such talent just to make clothes!
So the few sets they had managed to produce already showed considerable wealth.
Ling Qiong recalled the setting: spiritual energy was scarce, many skills had been lost.
Alas.
To be treated like this as an ancestor—what a pity.
Sipping her water, Ling Qiong asked, “There’s a mountain behind the Tianqing Sect. What’s inside it?”
Jiang He looked puzzled. “What mountain?”
Ling Qiong dipped her finger in water and sketched a few lines on the table. “It’s shaped like this. There seems to be a tower inside.”
You just wandered around and stumbled into someone’s forbidden ground?
“Ancestor, you went there?”
“Yes.”
“Did anyone see you?”
“I… don’t think so.” Ling Qiong thought for a moment, then nodded with certainty. “No one saw me.”
Jiang He breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good. That place is the Tianqing Sect’s forbidden ground. You can’t just go there, and please don’t tell anyone you did!”
Ling Qiong blinked, head tilted. “How do you know it’s forbidden?”
Yuelu Manor had always been gathering intelligence from all the sects, so it wasn’t surprising. Besides, Tianqing Sect’s forbidden ground wasn’t exactly a secret—it was well known on the continent.
“That’s where the Tianqing Sect’s Demon Suppression Tower stands. It imprisons all sorts of monsters and demons,” Jiang He explained.
Still uneasy, Jiang He pressed, “Ancestor, you’re sure no one saw you over there?”
Ling Qiong shrugged. “No one.”
Jiang He relaxed a little.
After all, this was the Tianqing Sect. If anyone saw their ancestor wandering near the forbidden ground, and rumors started that she had ulterior motives, things could get troublesome.

Night fell.
The mountains sank into darkness, resembling wild beasts lurking in the night.
Yet, one peak shone with lights and echoed with noise, as if something had happened.
The commotion spread, and lights gradually lit up on the neighboring mountains.
“Ancestor, Ancestor…”
Jiang He knocked at the door, waking Ling Qiong from her sleep.
Ling Qiong, grumpy from being awoken, looked annoyed. “What is it?”
“Ancestor, something’s happened.”
Ling Qiong yawned. “I’m not the one in trouble. Why wake me?” She started to lie back down.
“Someone died,” Jiang He said.
Ling Qiong jolted upright. “Who died?”
“Do you remember Cheng Tinghan, whom you met at the sect gate?”
Ling Qiong clearly remembered and looked slightly surprised. “She’s dead?”
Jiang He nodded. “Her senior brother noticed she was missing. When he found her… she was dead.”
Ling Qiong asked Jiang He to bring her clothes, her expression unreadable—perhaps curiosity, perhaps excitement. “Let’s go have a look. Hurry up.”
Jiang He was speechless.
Couldn’t she at least pretend to be dignified?
She was the ancestor, after all!
Cheng Tinghan’s body had been placed in the square.
Since the formal funeral would take place the next day, many people remained at the Tianqing Sect.
With rumors spreading, more and more people gathered at the square.
“Young Master Jiang He is here!”
Jiang He, holding a lantern for Ling Qiong, drew everyone’s attention. The crowd parted to let them through.
“That’s the young lord they found?”
“Judging by Jiang He’s attitude, it must be…”
“So good-looking?”
Whispers floated through the crowd.
With the crowd making way, Ling Qiong easily approached and saw Cheng Tinghan’s corpse.
Cheng Tinghan was covered in blood, but her body was shriveled and grotesque, a frightening sight even in such a setting.
Ling Qiong stopped, refusing to go any closer.
Someone beside the body called to Jiang He, “Young Master Jiang He, come take a look.”
“I’ll go check, Young Lord,” Jiang He said, addressing Ling Qiong as “Young Lord” in public to avoid trouble.
Jiang He was known not only as Yuelu Manor’s liaison but also for his outstanding medical skills—he could serve as a coroner when needed.
Cheng Tinghan’s body bore few external wounds; the mottled bloodstains seemed deliberately smeared.
Jiang He found two bite marks at the back of Cheng Tinghan’s neck.

Cheng Tinghan had died after all her blood and spiritual power were drained, and there were also signs of poisoning.
“Poisoned? How could she be poisoned? What kind of poison?”
A young man beside Cheng Tinghan pressed urgently.
Ling Qiong vaguely recalled he had followed Cheng Tinghan earlier—he was likely her senior brother.
Jiang He frowned slightly and said nothing.
The senior brother grew anxious. “Young Master Jiang He, you know what poison it is, don’t you? Who killed my junior sister?”
He had only been careless for a moment, and now this—how could he ever forgive himself, or explain to their master, who had only one daughter?
Who could have done this to his junior sister?
“Young Master Jiang He, please speak plainly,” urged the third elder, who was presiding over the scene.
He then raised his voice to calm the crowd. “Since this happened in our Tianqing Sect, we will get to the bottom of it.”
With the elder’s reassurance, Jiang He sighed and looked around the crowd.
Those under his scrutiny looked uncertain; some confused, some nervous, some edging away.
His gaze quickly settled on a young woman.
“Miss Die, you should be very familiar with this poison.”
Ling Qiong looked at this Miss Die and recognized her as the one who had quarreled with Cheng Tinghan at the sect gate.
“They had a conflict before. I even saw them fighting earlier.”
“My, could she really be so ruthless as to kill someone here?”
“No matter the conflict, it’s not worth going this far… To kill, and in such a gruesome way? What kind of hatred must there be?”
Miss Die swayed gracefully out of the crowd, showing no sign of panic.
“I was the one who poisoned her.”
She admitted it openly, meeting the curious stares around her.
“But the poison isn’t fatal. Young Master Jiang He should have realized that.”
Jiang He nodded in the face of everyone’s questioning gaze. “It’s true. The poison isn’t deadly.”
Cheng Tinghan had died because her essence and blood had been drained.
“Why did you poison my junior sister?” the senior brother demanded, unable to remain calm. “Was her death your doing?”
Miss Die twirled a lock of hair around her finger. “It was just to teach her a little lesson.”
After entering the Tianqing Sect, their lodgings were adjacent, so they often ran into each other.
Cheng Tinghan had attacked her first—was she not allowed to retaliate?
There was no such rule on this continent!