Lin Zhiyan stepped into the temple gate, two monks lay unconscious at the entrance.

She regretted not jumping over the wall directly, overestimating the monks' bottom line.

From the way these two monks acted, it was clear that they wanted to keep the martial monks in the temple, even falsely claiming the Abbot had bestowed them, to use this power for themselves.

After all, the Abbot had passed away, leaving no evidence behind as long as they held the pendant, they could say whatever they wanted.

But on second thought, this phenomenon was quite normal; if monks were truly detached from desires, there wouldn't have been the incident with the monk sent by the "Enemy Temple," who borrowed all the drums and then damaged them.

As Lin Zhiyan proceeded, she undoubtedly became the most striking presence.

Although the temple provides lodging for pilgrims, special clothing is required, and Lin Zhiyan's extraordinary appearance naturally attracted attention.

Relying on her memory, she arrived at the backyard where two bare-chested martial monks stopped her: "Stop right there! This area is off-limits to outsiders."

Lin Zhiyan wasted no words, directly showing the pendant: "Familiar with this?"

The two martial monks exchanged a glance, surprised: "How did it come into your hands?"

Lin Zhiyan patiently explained the whole story, and the two martial monks nodded in realization. One of them asked, "What would you like us to do?"

"Follow me, I'll explain in detail on the way." Lin Zhiyan put away the pendant and walked towards the depths of the backyard.

The two martial monks followed behind her, quickly summoning the other monks to explain the situation.

In Lin Zhiyan's view, going out through the main gate would surely encounter obstacles. Though not necessarily dangerous, time would inevitably be wasted.

And at this moment, time is the most precious thing not to waste!

However, just as she prepared to lead the monks over the wall, the sound of swift footsteps emerged, as many people hurried towards them.

"Stop!" A voice full of authority sounded from behind.

Lin Zhiyan turned around to see an old monk draped in a kasaya, his face with wrinkles everywhere, looking at her angrily.

"What are you trying to do?" The old monk chastised the martial monks: "The Abbot said your duty is to protect the temple, now you're leaving without permission?"

A monk with a significantly larger head stepped forward, saying: "Peace, Elder Uncle, this benefactor holds Master's pendant, naturally we follow her orders."

The old monk snorted coldly: "Pendant? Tell me, did the Abbot ever inform you about gifting the pendant to anyone?"

"No, he did not."

"On the day the Abbot passed away, he received several visitors, including the female benefactor with the pendant. Now the Abbot has just been cremated, and she comes with the pendant; could it be such a coincidence?"

"What do you propose, Elder Uncle?"

"Given such coincidence, I have reason to suspect this female benefactor and her friends deceived the pendant from the Abbot, or forcibly took it, using your strength for some covert purpose."

With these words, the martial monks turned to look at Lin Zhiyan standing against the wall and waited for her to speak.

Lin Zhiyan's gaze sharpened as she realized that unless she could prove herself, taking the martial monks away would be impossible.

Realizing this, she suppressed her anger, saying: "What evidence do you have to prove that the Abbot's death is directly related to us?"

"Benefactor, never did I say the Abbot's passing was related to you," the old monk's tone intensified: "Since the benefactor mentioned it, could she be guilty, having truly harmed the Abbot?"

"You!" Lin Zhiyan couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed, sensing the other had set a trap for her.

If Xiao Feng were here, he could surely counter his arguments, right?

Usually, it wouldn't be apparent, but now Lin Zhiyan suddenly thought Xiao Feng never seemed to meet a match in verbal disputes.

But now's not the time to think about this.

"Looks like you've taken over the temple's management?" Lin Zhiyan asked.

"Correct!"

"So, could I also suspect you of harming the Abbot to seize power?"

"Nonsense!" The old monk replied righteously: "Indeed, I can't provide direct evidence that you harmed the Abbot.

But setting aside the Abbot, how do you explain knocking out two of our monks?"

Lin Zhiyan furrowed her brows, how to explain?

This indeed presents a problem.

Should she say she was framed for killing the Abbot and acted in anger?

That would be handing the opponent a perfect argument, as the old monk would certainly retort: If innocent, why resort to violence?

"My friend is in great danger, waiting for my rescue, time is critical, and your two monks kept obstructing me, leaving me no choice but to knock them out." Lin Zhiyan responded.

The old monk nodded, posing the next question: "Alright, explain why the Abbot gave you the pendant."

Lin Zhiyan took a deep breath, saying: "The Abbot did not give it to me, but to my friend, perhaps because he found him extraordinary."

The old monk said lazily: "That's just your side of the story unless you can prove that the Abbot indeed gave you the pendant, otherwise please return it to the temple."

Lin Zhiyan's eyes flashed coldly, thinking they've gone in circles to return to the original question, what was the point?

Looking at the time, from entering the temple till now, fifteen minutes had passed, and if things continued at this rate, taking the martial monks away was uncertain.

This made Lin Zhiyan anxious because according to Lu Yao, the people from the Devil's Concentration Camp should reach the mountain top in ten minutes, excluding factors like slippery mud; it wouldn't exceed twenty minutes.

Yet she hadn't even moved, stuck arguing endlessly with the old monk.

Just as Lin Zhiyan prepared to issue an ultimatum, a gentle breeze stirred, scattering a few withered leaves from the large tree.

That wasn't the main point.

What truly caught everyone's attention was a small bamboo cylinder dropping from the tree.

"Snap!"

The sound was soft, unnoticed unless no one spoke.

"What is this?" A martial monk walked over, picked up the small bamboo cylinder, pulled out the plug, and took out a rolled-up note.

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