Chapter 517 -516: Murder in the Secret Room_1

Lu Yang and his party successfully arrived at Mr. Song’s residence without much difficulty.

Lu Yang politely knocked on the door. The door was answered by a young gentleman with no signs of cultivation; a mortal. He looked pale and had dark circles under his eyes, likely due to a lack of rest.

“Who might you three be…” the young gentleman asked, eyeing Lu Yang and his companions apprehensively.

“We three are disciples of the Immortal Sect, invited here by Mr. Song to resolve an issue regarding a painting.”

“Disciples of the Immortal Sect!” The young man’s eyes widened. The Song Family had sought the help of the Immortal Sect without much hope, yet the esteemed Immortal Sect had actually sent someone!

“I am Lu Yang, and these are my junior sisters, Tao Yaoye and Lan Ting.”

...

“Lu Yang?! The unbeatable Lu Yang of the Golden Core Stage?!”

Upon hearing Lu Yang’s name, the young man was even more surprised. Although he was just a mortal, he was from a wealthy family and knew a few things about the Cultivation World. Over the past three months, Lu Yang’s name was mentioned more than any other cultivator.

Furthermore, the widespread promotion by Daoist Buyu had made Lu Yang’s name incredibly well-known.

To the Cultivation World, Lu Yang was known as the top cultivator of the mid-stage Golden Core, but to the young man, he had simply heard that Lu Yang was the top cultivator of the Golden Core Stage.

To him, there was little difference between the mid-stage Golden Core and the Golden Core Stage.

“I am Song Tian. Welcome, esteemed cultivators. Please, come in,” said Song Tian, inviting the three of them inside without showing any discourtesy.

From Song Tian’s introduction, Lu Yang learned that Mr. Song’s full name was Song Jinju. Song Tian was his eldest son. As Mr. Song was getting on in years, the Song Family’s business was mainly being handled by Song Tian. He had learned about Lu Yang from his friends who practiced cultivation, and was sure that all the stories told in storytelling sessions were true.

In addition to Song Tian, Mr. Song also had two other sons and one daughter. The second son was named Song Qing, a scholar. The third son was named Song Qi, a wastrel who did nothing all day, to the frustration of Mr. Song. The young daughter was named Song Lian’er.

Lady Song had passed away from illness five years prior.

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

“Esteemed cultivators, you must save our Song Family. That painting is eerily strange, a haunting object. I haven’t been able to get a proper night’s sleep. The painting is definitely haunted. We’ve moved house twice, and it somehow always follows us,” Song Tian desperately said upon meeting Lu Yang’s party. He had been living in fear for the past few days, but their arrival seemed to alleviate his anxiety.

Song Tian invited Lu Yang’s group to take the top seats in the hall and had a maid pour tea for them. He called for the housekeeper to fetch Mr. Song from the study.

Song Tian then went off to gather the rest of the family.

After these recent events, the Song Family had been living in a state of constant anxiety. The fact that disciples from the Immortal Sect were taking action allowed them to finally rest easy.

Lu Yang picked up his tea cup and drained half of the hot tea in one gulp without flinching at the boiling temperature.

Hot water was nothing to him, he had used boiling water to bathe before he began his cultivation.

Setting down his cup, Lu Yang casually said, “There is a strong Yin Energy in the Song Family house.”

Tao Yaoye nodded, “Indeed, and it’s quite dense. There must be a demon creature hiding in the Song Family house.”

Although this was the case, judging from the concentration of the Yin Energy, it posed no threat to the three of them.

The three of them had sharp senses and heard the Song siblings approaching from afar, talking as they walked.

“Brother, I don’t mean to criticize you, but we’ve already invited so many cultivators to our house. Every one of them left empty-handed. What makes you so sure this time will be different?” The speaker was disrespectful, most likely the third son, Song Qi.

“Third Brother, do not speak nonsense. These guests Brother invited this time are disciples of the Immortal Sect, nearly on par with the imperial court. They are true immortals, and dealing with a mere demon creature would be as easy as catching something within their reach.”

Judging from the tone, it was probably the second son, Song Qing.

“Additionally, didn’t you hear what Brother said? One of the cultivators who came this time is Daoist Lu Yang. Even if you are usually irresponsible and idle, you should have heard the storytelling session about the ‘Legend of the Dao Sect’. As far as I know, the author of the book is the master of the Immortal Sect, a peerless expert in this world. Although the events she describes seem incredible, they must be true!”

“Stop flaunting your so-called knowledge, second brother. You haven’t even passed the imperial examination to be an entry-level scholar yet. Father has been angry with you several times, saying that you’ve just been wasting your time with books. Have you forgotten?”

“You!”

“Let’s hope they can successfully remove the painting. Ever since Zhou heard about our family’s situation, he doesn’t dare to casually meet me.” This voice was a bit timid, undoubtedly the youngest sister, Song Lian’er.

“Young sister, you still haven’t severed ties with that guy? Have you forgotten what Father said about him? That man is worthless. He speaks sweet words, but he isn’t really interested in you. He’s just after our family’s fortune!”

“Listen to your second brother’s advice and end things as soon as you can. If father finds out that you’re still in contact with Zhou, he’ll beat you so hard he’ll break your legs!”

“No, Zhou loves me!”

“Alright, we’re about to meet the Daoist. Let’s all act accordingly, especially you, Song Qi. Don’t make a fool of yourself in front of the Daoist, or Father won’t spare you!”

The Song siblings chatted as they arrived at the hall.

Lu Yang finished off the rest of the tea in his cup with a gulp. Just what he needed to clear his palate from the dumpling taste.

The interpersonal relationships within the Song Family seemed quite complicated.

The Song siblings arrived, and just a glance from Lu Yang was enough for him to match them to the voices of their earlier conversation.

He had already met the eldest son, Song Tian.

The second son, Song Qing, was the one dressed in the scholars’ robe, looking neat and tidy with one hand rested on his abdomen.

The short one with the disgruntled face was the third son, Song Qi.

The one who could not meet Lu Yang’s eyes and looked fearful was the youngest daughter, Song Lian’er.

“Greetings, Daoist.”

Song Tian had quite an authority in the family, and when he warned the younger siblings to behave, no one dared to act recklessly in front of Lu Yang, not even the third son, Song Qi.

“Has Father not arrived yet?” Song Tian was puzzled, it should have been time for their father to arrive.

While Song Tian was puzzled, a figure burst into the hall, gasping for breath, “Young Master…It’s terrible!”

Song Tian helped the housekeeper up, a sense of foreboding rose inside him, “What’s wrong? Where is Father?”

“Master is dead!”

“What?!”

The Song siblings were taken aback in unison, and the youngest sister, Song Lian’er, nearly fainted.

Even Lu Yang and his two companions did not expect that they would hear about the death of the very person they were supposed to meet!

“Let’s go check it out!”

Being the eldest brother, Song Tian quickly stabilized himself and asked the housekeeper to lead them to the study.

The door to the study was closed. The housekeeper brought everyone to a window at the side of the study. The window had a large hole in it, and they could see Mr. Song lying on the floor inside, surrounded by a pool of blood, showing no signs of life.

As the housekeeper helped everyone climb through the window, he explained, “I went to the study to get the master, but no matter how much I called, there was no answer. The doors and windows from the inside were locked. This was the master’s habit, he felt it gave him a sense of security. I had a bad feeling, so I broke the window and entered. As soon as I entered the room, I saw the master lying on the floor.”

Tao Yaoye and Lan Ting exchanged glances. The case appeared to be the typical locked-room murder mystery, as the door was locked and no outsider could have gotten in.

Lu Yang kept silent, not revealing what he was thinking.