"Master, it's not that Qi'er isn't helping you. How could Qi'er stand by and watch the Imperial Dragon Villa annex Snow Peak?"
"It's just that before I came, Qi'er had already pleaded with Elder Brother Yinlong, but..."
Xue Qi hesitated to speak, slowly lowered her head, revealing a look of shame.
Even without finishing, seeing Xue Qi's expression, Han Chengze knew the outcome and couldn't help but sigh.
This couldn't be blamed on Xue Qi.
After all, he had caused too much trouble with Yinlong before. It was normal for Yinlong not to help now.
Thinking this, he grumbled inwardly, it seemed he had to bear everything himself in the end!
"Wait!"
Perhaps there was still a way!
Han Chengze's mind flashed, as if he remembered something.
He had previously contacted the Imperial Dragon Villa, hoping to invite the God of Death. The Imperial Dragon Villa had already responded, saying that the God of Death had agreed.
If the God of Death could arrive in time, then the struggle would be between Changsun Lingxi and the God of Death, and Snow Peak would be safe.
However, so many days had passed, where was this God of Death?
Thinking of this, Han Chengze sighed again.
He couldn't track the God of Death's whereabouts. The only thing he could do was to stall, hoping the person would arrive in time.
...
Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong...
In the early morning, as the sun just rose, a series of sonorous bell tolls echoed from Snow Peak, a total of eighteen times.
Ye Cangtian, who was cultivating in his room, was awakened by the sonorous bell tolls. Just as he was feeling curious, he sensed the commotion within the pavilion and quickly walked out of the door.
He saw Xue Qi and Bing Yao already dressed and ready to leave.
Seeing the anxious expressions of the two women, Ye Cangtian quickly stepped forward and asked, "What does this bell sound mean?"
Xue Qi turned to look at Ye Cangtian and then briefly explained.
Under normal circumstances, the ancient bell of Snow Peak would never ring. Once it rang, it meant something major had happened to Snow Peak.
Furthermore, the urgent ringing of the Snow Peak bell for eighteen times had two meanings.
Firstly, it was an enemy attack, and all disciples of Snow Peak should be ready for battle.
Secondly, it was to summon all the strong individuals within Snow Peak to convene for a meeting in the main hall! The matters usually discussed were related to enemy attacks.
Enemy attack?
Ye Cangtian raised an eyebrow and then said, "Can outsiders participate in such a meeting?"
Upon hearing this, Xue Qi understood Ye Cangtian's meaning.
She was silent for a moment, then said, "There have been no outsiders participating before, but there is no explicit rule prohibiting it. If Elder Brother Yinlong wants to go, then let's go together."
"Good!"
Ye Cangtian nodded, then gave a meaningful glance to Ye Zhenghao.
The two understood each other and followed the two women directly to the main hall.
...
The Main Hall!
When the four of them rushed to the main hall, the hall was already filled with people, all of whom were the strong individuals of Snow Peak.
Amidst their commotion, there were whispers, and they had no idea what was happening.
A moment later, a sound of footsteps was heard. Looking up, they saw Peak Master Han Chengze had arrived at the main seat. Everyone quickly cupped their fists and bowed.
On the other side, Han Chengze also saw Ye Cangtian and Ye Zhenghao at first glance, and his gaze instantly flickered, but in the end, he said nothing.
However, all of this was seen by Ye Cangtian.
Could it be that Han Chengze believed the major event happening at Snow Peak was related to him?
While Ye Cangtian was contemplating, Han Chengze finally spoke.
"Everyone, I know you must be very curious as to why I rang the ancient bell to gather you all here. Now I will tell you!"
He paused, and seeing all eyes below were cast upon him, he continued, "Snow Peak has reached its most critical moment. We must mobilize all our forces, otherwise, it will be difficult to overcome this crisis!"
"Peak Master, what exactly is the crisis? Stop keeping us in suspense and just say it!"
A Snow Peak expert with a rather impatient temper, seeing Han Chengze still dragging on, urged him on.
As this person spoke, the other Snow Peak experts also began to urge him on. They were all anxious, and the Peak Master was still playing coy. Who could stand it?
"Alright!"
Han Chengze looked at everyone's anxious expressions and said helplessly, "Since everyone is anxious, I will tell you all and see what everyone thinks. Come!"
As Han Chengze's voice fell, four guards slowly carried a stretcher into the main hall.
There seemed to be a corpse on the stretcher, but it was covered from head to toe with a white cloth.
"Someone's dead?"
Seeing this scene, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became tense.
For someone to be carried out by Han Chengze in front of everyone, this deceased must have some identity, at least a significant position in Snow Peak.
If such a person were assassinated, it would indeed be a major event.
The next moment, at Han Chengze's signal, the guards slowly lifted the white cloth, revealing a rather handsome face.
"This..."
Upon seeing this, Xue Qi and Bing Yao covered their mouths, their eyes wide with surprise.
The person who had died was none other than the two women's third senior brother, Zong Luan!
Also, upon seeing Zong Luan's face clearly, all eyes in the hall turned to Xue Qi.
It was well known in Snow Peak that Xue Qi and Zong Luan had been rivals for countless years, and they were definitely enemies. Now that Zong Luan was dead, Xue Qi was the most suspected person.
It seemed someone was trying to stir up trouble!
Seeing this, Ye Cangtian muttered in his heart.
He knew better than anyone what Xue Qi had been doing these past two days.
Since Xue Qi was not the murderer, the true killer of Zong Luan most likely intended to frame Xue Qi, thereby provoking him to act and oppose Snow Peak.
"The villain has taken my disciple's life. This hatred is irreconcilable. No matter who it is, I will make them pay a heavy price!"
The Peak Master's eyes were filled with killing intent. Although his affection for Zong Luan was far less than that for Xue Qi, Zong Luan was, after all, his disciple.
He absolutely could not watch his disciple die unjustly and let the real killer go unpunished.
Saying this, he scanned everyone present, his gaze lingering slightly on Ye Cangtian and Ye Zhenghao.
"Everyone, the other party came to Snow Peak and killed my disciple, surely they have a secret that cannot be revealed!"
"Perhaps it is a major operation targeting Snow Peak!"
"Therefore, I have gathered you all here, on one hand, to thoroughly investigate this matter and find the mastermind behind it, and on the other hand, to assess the opponent's intentions and do our best to defend!"
The Peak Master's voice rang out again. After a stir among the crowd, they accepted this explanation.
Although many people felt the Peak Master's words were somewhat exaggerated, after all, the deceased was the Peak Master's disciple.
Therefore, even if the Peak Master was seeking personal revenge and making a big fuss, it was understandable.
The next moment, several medical practitioners from Snow Peak came forward from the crowd and briefly examined the cause of Zong Luan's death.
After a short while, one of the medical practitioners stood up. He cupped his fists and bowed to the Peak Master and everyone else before stating his judgment.
Zong Luan had countless wounds on his body, indicating that he was tortured to death.
There were two fatal wounds on Zong Luan's body.
The first was on his neck, a scar caused by a sharp weapon. The wound was deeper than that of a normal long sword, leading to the assumption that it was a knife wound.
The second was that Zong Luan's chest was caved in, and his heart was directly crushed. It was caused by a blunt weapon, slightly larger than a fist, suggesting a fist-glove attack.
These, along with the other injuries, were basically consistent with a large saber and fist-gloves. Therefore, it was preliminarily estimated that Zong Luan was killed by two people.
A large saber and fist-gloves?
Upon hearing this judgment, everyone's eyes turned to Ye Zhenghao.
In the ruins, there were not many people who used fist-gloves as their weapons, and most of those few were in the Blazing Fire Courtyard.
Therefore, they immediately thought of Ye Zhenghao. As for the other saber wound, it was undoubtedly Yinlong.
"No! Impossible!"
Feeling everyone's gaze fixed on Ye Zhenghao and Yinlong, Xue Qi and Bing Yao immediately stepped forward, standing in front of them.
Xue Qi quickly said, "Since Elder Brother Yinlong and Brother Zhenghao arrived at Snow Peak, they have been with us the entire time. They could not have had the opportunity to attack Zong Luan. Xue Qi and Bing Yao can both testify to this!"
"Yes, yes, yes."
Bing Yao repeatedly nodded in agreement, saying, "We were together during the day, and at night we stayed in Senior Sister Xue Qi's pavilion. They had absolutely no opportunity to commit the crime!"
"I think you don't have the right to be witnesses!"
As soon as the two women finished speaking, a Snow Peak expert stepped forward and directly raised a challenge.
He looked at the two women and continued, "As everyone knows, Xue Qi and Zong Luan are mortal enemies, and Bing Yao has just had a conflict with Zong Luan. If I were to say that you wished Zong Luan dead, it wouldn't be an exaggeration, would it?"