Although Jiang Xin was killed due to persecution, such a disgraceful incident would naturally be kept as secret as possible, so they would definitely claim she died of illness and hold a funeral to bury her body, in order to cover up the truth.
Therefore, after Li Tan stored the soul jade into the Hua Tower, he immediately headed straight to the ancestral cemetery of the Lin family together with Tang Leyin.
The ancestral cemetery of the Lin family was located on a small hill near the Lin mansion. The cemetery was surrounded by thick walls and guarded by heavy guards. However, the term “heavy guards” mostly referred to guards with cultivation levels of the early to middle stages of the Mortal Realm. For experts daring enough to infiltrate the cemetery, these guards were nothing significant; their main purpose was to serve as a show of force and to scare off petty thieves. The real guardian was said to be an expert at the Immortal Realm.
The Lin family’s ancestral cemetery resembled more of a fortress than a tomb. Guards patrolled the walls with torches, displaying extremely tight security. Even an expert at the Immortal Realm couldn’t sneak in unnoticed. This showed the formidable foundation of the Lin family, one of the three major families.
Due to the late hour, the guards at the Lin family’s ancestral cemetery had slightly relaxed their vigilance. At this moment, under a large tree within the walls of the cemetery:
“Master Li, do you know the exact location of Jiang Xin’s tomb?”
Under the thick shade of the tree, Tang Leyin asked calmly.
Li Tan pondered for a moment, rubbing his chin before replying.
“Although I’ve never been here, the layout of the Lin family’s ancestral cemetery should be similar to mine. Let’s just pick a random tomb and check the year of death on the gravestone, then we can follow the clues to find the right one.”
Tang Leyin didn’t seem to doubt his words at all and nodded.
“Then I’ll trouble you to lead the way. Be careful when we leave; preferably, we shouldn’t attract any attention.”
“These little guys are not worth mentioning. They can’t possibly detect us. Just pay a little attention to that Immortal Realm guardian who watches over the cemetery.”
“Alright, dawn is approaching, so let’s not waste time. Let’s go.”
After saying this, Tang Leyin followed Li Tan out from under the tree. They disappeared into the darkness with strange movements. No sooner had they left than a patrol team passed by the spot where they had been hiding.
“Passed away in the 18th year of Tian Shu, passed away in the 20th year of Tian Shu,” Li Tan muttered while reading one of the gravestones on a tombstone cluster that had been artificially flattened on the hill. “These people all died more than fifty years ago. Jiang Xin committed suicide thirty years ago, so she should be buried around here. Let’s move forward a bit.”
“Shh! Someone’s coming, hide quickly!”
Tang Leyin gave a warning and swiftly moved aside, and Li Tan immediately followed suit.
Throughout their journey, they skillfully avoided all the patrol teams. Tang Leyin thought it was partly due to luck, but in reality, Li Tan had already observed their movements in advance with his spiritual sense.
As the two continued forward, the dates on the gravestones became increasingly older. Soon, they reached the 50th year of Tian Shu.
“It should be around here. Let’s split up and search. I’ll take this half and you take the other.”
“Okay.”
Tang Leyin responded and started examining the left half of the gravestones, while Li Tan was responsible for the right half.
However, after searching meticulously for a long time, even having to evade patrol teams three times, and with the sky already turning pale at dawn, they still couldn’t find Jiang Xin’s gravestone.
“This doesn’t make sense. Could it be that the Lin family didn’t even allow Jiang Xin to be buried in their ancestral cemetery?”
Tang Leyin voiced her confusion.
“No.”
Li Tan decisively rejected this possibility and added, “If they didn’t build a tomb for her, it would attract the attention of other factions. If the matter of the martial arts technique was exposed and led to condemnation, it would not be worth it.”
“But there really isn’t her gravestone here. It can’t possibly be elsewhere.”
Tang Leyin frowned.
Li Tan: “Why is there no grave for Jiang Xin? Could it really be as Leyin said, that they were so heartless?”
Just as he was beginning to waver, Li Tan coincidentally overheard the conversation of distant guards.
“Tomorrow is the anniversary of the former patriarch’s death. The current patriarch may come anytime, so all of you must be extra vigilant!”
“Could it be over there?”
Li Tan couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise. Tang Leyin was startled and without hesitation grabbed him and quickly ran away. Fortunately, they were far away and didn’t attract the guards’ attention.
“Master Li, did you find something?”
As soon as they were certain no one was around, Tang Leyin asked.
Li Tan nodded, but his face didn’t show the joy of solving the problem. Instead, he looked worried, his brows tightly furrowed, and his answer was uncertain.
“There’s only the underground palace left to check.”
“The underground palace? Master Li, do you mean the tombs of the Lin family patriarchs through the generations?”
“Exactly.”
“But is it even possible for her to be there? Unless she was the principal wife, she wouldn’t have the qualification to be buried there.”
“That’s exactly what I don’t understand. Anyway, let’s go and have a look first. The weather will get colder soon, and if we don’t go now, we’ll miss the chance.”
Since there was no other possibility, Tang Leyin still agreed with Li Tan’s idea, as she also didn’t want to return empty-handed.
The underground tomb of the Lin family was not constructed for a single individual, but rather for successive generations of family heads. Typically, only the family head was granted the privilege of burial there after passing. Under exceptional circumstances, certain illegitimate descendants who had rendered significant contributions to the Lin family, or direct descendants with outstanding achievements, might also be interred within. Beyond these exceptions, no other scenarios permitted burial in this sacred space.
At this moment, within the cemetery, two guards at the entrance of the underground palace were swaying on their feet, completely unaware that two people had already sneaked in right under their noses.
Inside the long corridor, only a few oil lamps were struggling to emit weak light, making the surroundings extremely dark.
Li Tan walked ahead, using his spiritual sense to watch for any potential traps, his expression indifferent.
Tang Leyin followed closely behind, occasionally glancing curiously at the murals on the corridor walls, her eyes sparkling with interest.
“I suppose these murals are telling the story of how the Lin family rose to prominence,” Tang Leyin remarked.
Li Tan gave the murals a bored glance and said with a sneer, “Thirty years ago, the Lin family was nothing more than an obscure small clan. Later, they managed to become one of the three major families by seizing the Panlong Fist. What’s there to look at? These are all shameless lies that exaggerate their achievements.”
“Is that really the case?” Tang Leyin looked up at the murals again, her voice tinged with doubt.
“It seems something is wrong,” Li Tan asked, puzzled. “What seems wrong?”
Pointing at the murals, Tang Leyin replied, “These murals don’t seem to mention anything that happened thirty years ago.”
Frowning slightly, Li Tan turned his gaze to the murals.
“This one should be from fifty years ago, and this one from a hundred years ago,” Li Tan muttered, increasingly puzzled as he realized the murals indeed made no mention of anything from thirty years ago.
Tang Leyin quickened her pace slightly, walking up to Li Tan’s side, and said slowly, “What do you think, Master Li?”
Li Tan lowered his head, rubbing his chin in thought before answering, “Perhaps the former patriarch of the Lin family was ashamed to record and document such events.”
“But someone who would kill others to seize treasures wouldn’t have such scruples, right? Conversely, someone who would have such scruples probably wouldn’t commit such vile acts as killing others for their treasures.”
“Miss Tang, are you trying to say—”
“Exactly, I think there’s something suspicious about Jiang Xin’s case.”
Li Tan looked from the murals to Tang Leyin and said gravely, “These murals alone can’t prove anything; it’s all just speculation. Anyway, let’s put this matter aside for now. First, we need to take Jiang Xin’s remains, and later we can question the Lin family about the details. It’s only been thirty years, so there must still be some eyewitnesses alive.”
“Yes, I was thinking the same.”
Tang Leyin smiled at Li Tan and then ran ahead.
“Be careful!”
Li Tan quickly followed. The corridor fell silent again, the flame of the oil lamp gently flickering, casting dim light that illuminated the murals.
Suddenly, footsteps were heard again at the entrance of the corridor, and they were quite noisy, clearly indicating there was more than one person.
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