The note was opened, and the Martial Monk immediately widened his eyes: "This is... Master's handwriting."

As soon as he spoke, the rest of the Martial Monks and the disciples behind the old Monk swarmed over to see what was written on the note.

"In the month of Jiaxu, on the day of Dingyou, at the hour of Xinyou, a distinguished guest will arrive with a pendant. Whatever the guest requests shall be granted."

Someone quietly read out the contents of the note.

Lin Zhiyan looked utterly confused, completely unable to understand what the first half meant.

At this moment, the Martial Monk who had spoken with the old Monk earlier approached Lin Zhiyan and explained: "Master is saying that on the lunar calendar September 29th, between five and seven in the afternoon, a distinguished guest, which is you, will arrive with his pendant to find us.

I assume you can understand the latter part, which simply means that we will fulfill all your requests."

Lin Zhiyan looked blankly at the time; it was six forty-five in the evening, perfectly within the five to seven window.

This gave her a feeling of being astounded, not expecting such foresight from a wise person in the world.

"Hahahahaha!"

The old Monk suddenly burst into laughter, saying: "Now understand, don't you? This lady benefactor has shown a flaw; she is the murderer who harmed Brother Abbot!"

"But, Master Uncle, isn't this indeed the Abbot's handwriting?" a puzzled disciple asked.

The old Monk chuckled softly: "Without this note, I wouldn't be certain, but it is precisely this note that exposes her identity as the murderer.

Think about it, if it wasn't her and her accomplice who forced Brother Abbot to write the note, how could it have come so perfectly timed?"

The disciples began whispering among themselves.

"Yes, it must have been that they forced the Abbot to write the note ahead of time and then made it in time."

"I think so too; how could the Abbot possibly give the pendant to someone casually?"

"You're only seeing the surface; even though the murderer is identified, how did the murderer know that the Abbot's pendant could command his disciples?"

"Do you mean someone in our temple leaked the information?"

"It's not impossible..."

The discussion grew lively, even reaching suspicions of internal betrayal.

The old Monk naturally took all this in, but he had no intention of stopping it, letting the disciples brainstorm and weave conspiracies.

Lin Zhiyan was amused, looking at the Abbot who wore a face full of certainty; she couldn't help but think of a phrase: those who wrong you know your innocence better than yourself.

At this moment, the other party must be secretly delighted, right?

"Everyone, stop for a moment; let me say a few words," Lin Zhiyan spoke.

Her voice wasn't loud, but the monks obediently stopped their discussion, evidently eager to see how Lin Zhiyan planned to defend herself in the face of such "irrefutable evidence."

Watching everyone look at her, Lin Zhiyan wasn't the least bit nervous and flashed a smile, staring directly at the old Monk: "According to your reasoning, my friends and I forced the Abbot to write this note; then it stands to reason that we're the ones who hung it up, right?"

"Isn't that obvious?" the old Monk chuckled.

Lin Zhiyan nodded: "Okay, first question, a heavy rainstorm hit earlier, with strong winds too, so why didn't the bamboo tube fall off?"

The monks exchanged looks among themselves, unable to provide an answer.

After waiting a moment, Lin Zhiyan continued: "Second question, just now, a gust of wind blew the bamboo tube down, so do any of you think I have the ability to command the weather?"

The monks were again dumbfounded, and their eyes collectively turned to the old Monk.

The old Monk remained expressionless and said: "What you're talking about are all objective conditions, but I can infer what you're thinking.

After the storm, you and your accomplice figured that the bamboo tube left in the tree would surely be blown down.

When the rain stopped, the monks cleaning the courtyard would certainly spot the bamboo tube and discover the note inside.

Hence, you decided to come over at this moment, as your absence made it more convincing and easier to believe."

Pausing for a moment, the old Monk continued: "When you reached the temple gate, you deliberately acted surprised about Brother Abbot's passing, further diminishing suspicion, then found excuses to enter.

And the reason you knocked out two monks of my temple wasn't to save a friend hastily but to avoid missing the seven o'clock timing, lest all your preparation be in vain.

But when you reached the backyard, you found the bamboo tube on the tree hadn't fallen, yet you felt you couldn't let it fall yourself, so you simply revealed the pendant snatched from Brother Abbot to fool the backyard disciples and then planned to escape through the back wall.

Following that, it would be simple; if I hadn't appeared in time, you would have already vanished."

This analysis and deduction left everyone stunned.

Lin Zhiyan thought that with the old Monk's imagination, it would be a waste not to write detective novels.

At this point, she no longer planned to stay and argue, intending only to ask one last time, bringing along any Martial Monks she could. If she couldn't, she wouldn't waste more time.

However, before Lin Zhiyan could speak, the Martial Monk with the largest head among them spoke first: "Brothers, we've heard Master Uncle's analysis, which sounds reasonable..."

Lin Zhiyan helplessly smiled.

Alright!

No need to even ask this time.

But before he could turn away, he heard the other party change the subject: "But, what I want to say is, this note wasn't written by Master under duress!"

The words were spoken with firm confidence, as if he had no doubt.

Lin Zhiyan's action paused, and the smile on the old Monk's face froze and then gradually faded away.

"Why are you so sure?" the old Monk's tone was low: "Did you witness Brother Abbot writing this note yourself?"

The Martial Monk with the large head shook his head: "I didn't see Master write the note himself. As for why I'm so sure, it's simple—I know Master's skill.

More certain is that if someone forced Master to break his vows and eat meat, he might submit, but forcing him to write, that's absolutely impossible!"

The Martial Monks echoed in agreement: "Senior Brother is right, absolutely impossible!"

"So you all are determined to follow the murderer who killed Brother Abbot, your Master?" The old Monk's face wrinkled with anger.

The Martial Monk with the large head replied: "Master Uncle, please refrain from speaking unwarrantedly. Also, I ask you, Brothers, to think: if Master was truly forced to write the note, would he not alter his handwriting a bit?"

The monks looked at each other, feeling at a loss for words.

And the old Monk retreated two steps in anger, nearly fainting.

"Follow me!" Lin Zhiyan commanded deeply, then flipped and leaped over the high wall.

The Martial Monks quickly grabbed the long sticks outside their residence and followed suit, their movements remarkably agile.

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