Chapter 77 Clues
"I……"
Just as Zuo Mingzhu was about to explain, Xiu Chuqi finally couldn't listen anymore and forcefully interrupted their conversation.
"By the way, Miss Zuo, didn't you come here to interrogate me?"
"How did it suddenly become you confessing your true feelings to him?"
"Don't forget why I crippled his martial arts; you're the one who should be asking that question!"
Zuo Mingzhu paused in wiping away her tears, finally remembering the purpose of her trip.
She suddenly looked up at Xue Bin.
"Xue Lang, was your martial arts really crippled because you harassed Miss Xiu?"
Xue Bin's anger suddenly subsided.
Even someone as charming as him has a heart full of sincerity.
These two genuine feelings were tied to Zuo Mingzhu, the daughter of his family's enemy. If it weren't for these two genuine feelings, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths to orchestrate this absurd scheme of possession and resurrection.
But his sincerity was far too cheap. Any beautiful woman could easily shatter the facade beneath, revealing its cheap and fragile nature.
Seeing Zuo Mingzhu's persistent desire for an explanation, Xue Bin felt a surge of anger.
Some people, feeling guilty, will humble themselves and try to please others, hoping to get them to let the matter drop. Others, feeling guilty, will put on an angry face, making the other person wonder if they shouldn't have brought it up.
This is called being enraged out of shame.
That's how Xue Bin is right now.
He angrily shouted at Zuo Mingzhu, "Are you still fretting over such a trivial matter? Do you even care about me anymore?"
"My martial arts skills have been crippled by this woman, and you're not worried about me at all?"
Zuo Mingzhu is indeed a hopeless romantic.
Her father only had this one daughter, but he only thought about raising her to marry off, never considering grooming her to be the next head of the family.
But precisely because she only had this one daughter, Zuo Mingzhu was always pampered and raised with great care, so it was impossible for her not to have her own pride.
Seeing her lover betray her and then turn around and accuse her, Zuo Mingzhu looked at Xue Bin in shock, as if she had never truly known him.
Wiping her tears away fiercely, Zuo Mingzhu took a hairpin from her bosom and threw it on the ground.
The once exquisite hairpin fell to the ground and broke into two pieces.
"Since you have betrayed me, then I don't need this token of our love!"
"From this day forward, we shall be like this, our ties severed!"
Zuo Qinghou, who had been worried about his beloved daughter for a long time, was overjoyed to see this.
"Good, good, good. She can take it and let it go. That's my precious daughter, Zuo Qinghou."
“Mingzhu, don’t worry, your father has already arranged a marriage for you with the young master of the Ding family. I guarantee he will be a thousand times better than this Xue Bin.”
"Father, I don't..."
"Enough!"
Xue Yiren roared angrily, finally unable to bear this melodramatic plot any longer.
"Do you still remember why you've come here today?"
Showing off her strange encounter, she said quietly, "Isn't it just that your son was unfaithful and harassed a respectable woman, was crippled in martial arts, and then the aggrieved parties gathered together to argue about right and wrong?"
Xue Yiren paused for a moment.
That's really true.
He glared fiercely at his dejected and useless son, feeling that he had never been so humiliated.
Taking a deep breath, Xue Yiren turned to look at Xiu Chu's extraordinary encounter: "Although Bin'er was in the wrong first, isn't it a bit too ruthless of you to cripple someone's martial arts with your attack?"
"I understand."
Showing off his extraordinary encounter, he nodded, indicating that he understood Xue Yiren very well.
Before Xue Yiren could even show a hint of relief, she continued speaking.
"Although Xue Bin attacked ordinary people who didn't know martial arts, used the Xue family's reputation to harass respectable women, and deceived young girls' feelings, he was still a good boy."
“How could I be so harsh on a ‘good boy’? I should at least give him dozens of chances to turn back and reform himself.”
"As for how many more victims emerge during this period, who cares?"
"Who told them they didn't have a father who was known as the world's greatest swordsman to back them up?"
He then looked at Xue Yiren and asked sincerely, "Don't you agree, Master Xue?"
"you……"
Xue Yiren had never been 'insulted' like this before.
The sword, which had been hidden in its sheath, was drawn, its tip pointing in the direction of the extraordinary encounter.
"How dare you, you brat?"
Showing off his extraordinary encounter, he looked at Xue Yiren, whose name had turned red, with surprise, and spoke in a calm tone.
"What does Master Xue mean by this?"
"I was just telling the truth, even if my words were a bit sharp. You didn't have to draw your sword and attack a young girl like me, did you? Isn't that a bit too ruthless?"
The boomerang struck Xue Yiren squarely. Zuo Qinghou burst into laughter upon seeing this.
"Xue Yiren, is this all the magnanimity you have? You can't even listen to the truth from a young girl?"
Xue Yiren: "..."
Xue Yiren did not answer, but the red name above his head became even brighter.
Xue Yiren had a nickname in the martial arts world: Blood-Clad Man.
The fact that he has made such a name for himself shows that he has never been a soft-hearted person.
A dazzling sword light struck, but Xiu Chuqi, who had already activated his martial arts assistant, met it head-on without flinching.
As expected of the world's number one swordsman, even wielding a dragon carp polished with dragon blood, it took him more than four minutes of scraping and rubbing to finally defeat it.
Seeing Xue Yiren lying on the ground, looking utterly hopeless, Xiu Qiyu stepped forward, picked up the fallen object, which was a sharp sword called Zhaodan.
"Zhaodan Sword: The sword worn by the ancient powerful ruler Wu Ding."
It's not a pendant, it's just a collectible.
He wouldn't mind showing off his extraordinary encounter. He could take it home and give it to Kunyu Xuanjing; he would definitely like it.
Xue Honghong burst in at that moment and saw her elderly father lying on the ground, now wielding the Zhaodan Sword. Her pupils contracted.
"stop!"
Showing off his extraordinary encounter, he turned around and looked at Xue Honghong, whose health bar was almost completely depleted.
"You've already finished fighting, why are you telling me to stop now?"
Xue Honghong then realized that although Xiu Chuqiyu was holding the Zhaodan Sword and looking down at Xue Yiren on the ground, the actual distance between them was three or four body lengths. It was impossible for Xiu Chuqiyu to kill Xue Yiren from such a distance.
She finally breathed a sigh of relief, and her tone softened.
"The reason I invited you here is to find out what happened at the restaurant that day, not to harm you."
“Please, young lady, show mercy and spare the Xue family. I am willing to give you half of the Xue family estate.”
Showing off an extraordinary encounter made my eyes light up.
Is this even possible?
No wonder this update included a change that made the martial arts assistant automatically stop when an NPC is seriously injured; it turns out there was a hidden side quest behind it!
Showing off one's serendipitous encounter inevitably brings a sense of relief.
Fortunately, she didn't insist on killing the NPCs after they were seriously injured and fell to the ground; otherwise, wouldn't she have lost a lot of income for nothing?
No matter how much money you drop, it can't possibly be more than what you get from the quest, right?
"You unfilial daughter, what are you doing?"
Xue Yiren's weak voice rang out: "Our Xue family has no members who wag their tails and beg for mercy from the enemy!"
Xue Honghong wasn't going to tolerate him. She stood up and told the steward to bring the silver notes.
“Father, you’ve forgotten that I was married off to the Shi family a long time ago. In a way, I can’t really be considered a member of the Xue family anymore.”
The steward hesitated for a moment, then, seeing that although the master was glaring at the young lady, there was no sign of death on his face, he turned and ran into the accounting room.
"You wretched girl!"
Xue Yiren angrily rebuked.
"Yes, yes, I am a wicked girl." Xue Honghong stepped forward to help Xue Yiren up, and when she passed Xue Bin on the way, she didn't forget to kick him.
"You're not as good as your good-for-nothing son, who easily got himself into such big trouble."
He then forcibly helped Xue Yiren up and pressed him into a chair. Only then did he turn to look at Xiu Chuqiyu.
The butler then ran back with the gold notes.
"Young Miss, this is all the money in the manor."
Xue Honghong took the thick stack of gold notes and handed them to Xiu Chuqiyu. "Although the Xue family has some ancestral property, it is inconvenient to sell. This silver is all the cash the Xue family has, so I'm giving it to you, young lady. Please forgive the Xue family."
Showing off his extraordinary encounter, he took the thick stack of gold notes and discovered that it contained a full 100,000 taels of gold, equivalent to ten bricks. His eyes lit up immediately.
Just as he was about to nod, Xue Honghong across from him handed out another martial arts manual.
“I saw that the young lady was holding two swords, and her swordsmanship was very similar to that of Gongsun Da Niang from the Tang Dynasty. I have a manual of the ‘Changge Feihong Sword’ created by Da Niang here, which I will give to the young lady as an apology.”
He excitedly accepted the manual, showing off his extraordinary encounter and looking at Xue Honghong with extreme satisfaction.
So what if the model isn't good-looking? It's because she has a beautiful heart!
He patted Xue Honghong on the shoulder with satisfaction and nodded, showing his admiration: "You're very good."
"Since I've already accepted your gifts, then I'll wipe the slate clean of my grudges with the Xue family."
"From now on, I'll walk my sunny path, and you can walk your narrow bridge."
Having successfully resolved the matter at Xuejiazhuang and even earned ten bricks, he was quite satisfied with his extraordinary encounter.
The group left Xuejia Village and returned to the Zuo family. After a lively meal, Chu Liuxiang found Xiu and recounted his extraordinary encounter.
What are your plans next?
"Me?" Showing off her adventure, she glanced at the main quest with zero progress: "I should probably continue searching for clues about the assassin organization."
Chu Liuxiang nodded: "In that case, would you like to travel with me?"
I've already raised my favorability with Chu Liuxiang enough to be both a close friend and a chivalrous companion. There's no need to necessarily act alongside him when I want to share my adventures.
However, it's always good to have another person help.
Showing off his extraordinary encounter, he nodded: "Okay."
Do you have any thoughts?
Chu Liuxiang touched his nose: "I would like to ask you to leave your soul again and go to a place to gather some information."
Showing off his extraordinary encounter, his eyes lit up: "You have a clue?"
Chu Liuxiang shook his head: "It's not exactly a definite clue. It's just an idea."
Although Chu Liuxiang himself wasn't entirely sure, Xiuzhu's extraordinary encounter showed his complete confidence in him.
He's the main character!
There will always be clues wherever the protagonist goes.
Therefore, he agreed without hesitation when it came to showing off his extraordinary encounter.
"Okay, let's go right away."
"Go now?"
Chu Liuxiang looked up at the bright moon in the sky: "It's so late, why don't we rest for a bit and go tomorrow?"
Showing off his extraordinary encounter, he shook his head as expected.
It's been shown countless times in TV dramas. Whenever the protagonist learns something, even if they act immediately, they might encounter the villain sabotaging the clues.
Should we rest for one night and go tomorrow?
By then, you won't even be able to eat shit while it's still hot!
The words may be rough, but the principle is sound.
Chu Liuxiang was amused by the description of her extraordinary encounter, but after laughing, he realized that what she said made sense.
Chu Liuxiang, a seasoned veteran of the martial world, naturally understood the importance of speed in warfare. The two reached an agreement and, without further delay, immediately headed out of the city.
Showing off her extraordinary encounter, she stood outside the dilapidated temple and looked at Chu Liuxiang.
"This is the clue you were talking about?"
Chu Liuxiang touched his nose: "Of course."
"Don't underestimate this place. I've specifically inquired about it. Although it's dilapidated, it's not far from the Songjiang Prefecture city wall. For those who have nowhere else to go, it's the most complete place to stay in this area."
As he spoke, he raised his chin, indicating that he was showing off his extraordinary encounter, and looked into the dilapidated temple.
Inside the dilapidated temple, a bonfire was burning, and a group of beggars, each with their own shabby house, were huddled together for warmth.
"So you wanted to use them to gather information." Showing off his unexpected encounter, he understood.
"But why isn't there a Beggars' Sect here?"
Chu Liuxiang laughed loudly: "Of course the Beggars' Sect exists, but how can an ordinary little beggar join the Beggars' Sect? There must be some threshold."
"So that's how it is."
Show off your amazing adventures and learn new knowledge at the same time.
She didn't ask Chu Liuxiang why he didn't seek help from the Beggars' Sect. Even someone as oblivious to the power dynamics of the martial world as her knew that spying between different sects was a grave taboo. Even if everyone else did, it was absolutely forbidden to reveal it in front of those who weren't disciples of their own sect.
She had no connection with the Beggars' Sect in this world, so it was impossible for them to reveal this kind of information to her.
On the contrary, these unaffiliated beggars are well-informed and have no sect restrictions. As long as they are given enough benefits, they can naturally get the information they want.
Thinking of this, Xiu Chuqi followed Chu Liuxiang into the dilapidated temple.
The once empty, dilapidated temple, where only a few beggar children were burning firewood for warmth, suddenly fell silent when two brightly dressed people entered.
After a moment, the beggars pushed and shoved each other until they finally pushed out a representative.
"Who are you? This is our territory. What business do you have here?"
Chu Liuxiang was always good at dealing with people, and seeing that Xiu Chu's extraordinary encounter showed no intention of speaking, he took the initiative to step forward.
"Don't be nervous, we mean no harm."
As he spoke, he took out a silver ingot from his pocket and handed it to the little beggar in the lead.
"I just wanted to get some information from you."
Such a large silver ingot, weighing a full ten taels, immediately made the eyes of all the little beggars present light up.
At this point, they disregarded their previous politeness and began to chatter amongst themselves: "What kind of information do you want to find out? We'll tell you everything we know."
Hearing the satisfactory answer, Chu Liuxiang smiled and asked, "I'd like to ask you, do you know which area in Songjiang Prefecture has the most people who die violent deaths?"
"It wasn't an accidental death, but rather someone murdered him."
"ah?"
Upon hearing this request, the little beggars in the dilapidated temple were stunned, and they all couldn't help but stare wide-eyed at Chu Liuxiang and the two who had shown off their extraordinary encounter. Their eyes were practically overflowing with suspicion.
The little beggar who had taken the silver quickly stuffed it back into Chu Liuxiang's hand and pulled his companion back several steps.
"I don't want your money anymore. Just leave. We don't know anything."
Chu Liuxiang hadn't expected their reaction. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly heard a whooshing sound.
Looking back, it turned out that Xiu had drawn her ever-present sword and was unleashing a pink sword aura outwards.
A tall man dressed in black jumped out from the shadows.
"As expected of someone who could defeat Xue Yiren, the number one swordsman in the world, you were able to detect my presence even before I got close."
Showing off her amazing encounter, she rolled her eyes.
If she couldn't notice such a large red-named enemy constantly approaching her, wouldn't she be blind?
She never bothered with talking nonsense to red-named monsters; she opened the martial arts assistant and started attacking.
However, this red-named monster seemed unusually cautious.
They were already quite far from Xiu Chuqiyu and the others, and after taking a hit from Xiu Chuqiyu's sword, they decisively retreated a large distance, just out of Xiu Chuqiyu's attack range.
"It's too far, I can't reach it."
A system notification sound I hadn't heard in a long time rang out, and I immediately regretted showing off my unexpected encounter.
"If I had known it was another red-named monster that could run away, I would have waited for it to get closer before attacking."
Thinking this to himself, his hands moved swiftly. He showed off his extraordinary encounter three times and then chased after Nie Yun.
Seeing the two fighting further and further away, Chu Liuxiang was about to chase after them when he suddenly heard a series of thuds behind him.
"not good!"
Chu Liuxiang turned back to the dilapidated temple, helped up the little beggar who was the leader, and found that his face was bluish-purple, obviously poisoned.
"Miss Xiu, stop chasing! He's poisoned us. Saving people is the priority!"
Hearing Chu Liuxiang's shout, although it was a pity to lose such a special red-named monster, he still turned around and ran towards the dilapidated temple without hesitation.
Seeing this, the man in black seized the opportunity and fled in a flash.
Back in the dilapidated temple, Chu Liuxiang was taking the pulse of the little beggar.
She doesn't have the skill to diagnose pulses, but that's okay, she can cheat.
Clicking on the little beggar's character status and showing his adventures, I was sure to see a poisoned buff.
Now it's time for our omnipotent Dissolving Power to make its appearance.
They took out the Dissolving Power Powder from their backpacks and gave it to Chu Liuxiang. The two then separately administered it to the little beggars. In just a moment, the little beggars, who had been on the verge of death, opened their eyes again, and their bluish-purple complexions returned to normal.
"Thank you for saving me, hero."
Although young, the little beggars had experienced the harsh realities of life from a young age, and none of them were foolish. They quickly realized that it was Xiu Chuxiang and Chu Liuxiang who had saved them.
Chu Liuxiang shook his head: "I don't deserve your thanks. We're the ones who dragged you into this."
“If we hadn’t come here to investigate the case, you wouldn’t have suffered this undeserved disaster.”
You can't say that.
The little beggar who had been chosen earlier shook his head: "Since the man in black wanted to kill us to silence us, it means we must know something he doesn't want to reveal."
“Even if you hadn’t come today, he would have realized it one day, and then we would still have been unable to escape his clutches.”
"It is thanks to you heroes that you have come today that we have been given a way out."
In the firelight, a flame of anger seemed to ignite in the little beggar's eyes.
"We can only survive if we capture him before he attacks us again."
He then looked at the two women who had shared their extraordinary encounters and said, "Didn't you two heroes ask me before where in Songjiang Prefecture the most people died violent deaths? I do know a place that I can take you there."
"But you have to promise to save our lives."
Showing off his extraordinary encounter, he glanced admiringly at the little beggar: "You're quite clever."
"However, we can't ignore what you've said. If the men in black return, you'll be in danger."
"How about this, you take me to that place, and let Chu Liuxiang stay behind to protect the others, is that alright?"
"Chu Liuxiang?" The little beggar didn't answer immediately, but looked at Chu Liuxiang in surprise: "You're actually Chu Liuxiang?"
"Is it Chu Liuxiang, the master thief?"
Chu Liuxiang touched his nose, surprised that these little beggars had actually heard of his name.
"It's me."
Wow!
The little beggars in the dilapidated temple immediately erupted in excitement.
"Are you really Chu Liuxiang, the master thief?"
"I've heard that your lightness skill, 'Treading Snow Without Leaving a Trace,' allows you to steal from your target unnoticed even when surrounded by a crowd. Is that true?"
Although I've known Chu Liuxiang for a long time, this is the first time I've heard the title "Master Thief" in this adventure.
He seems to be very famous in this martial arts world?
Showing off her amazing encounter, she looked at Chu Liuxiang, who was surrounded by little beggars, as if she was seeing another side of him for the first time.
"I didn't expect you to be so popular?"
Before Chu Liuxiang could say anything, the little beggar spoke up, "Of course."
"The thief Chu Liuxiang only steals things that interest him, and he distributes all the loot to the poor or uses it for good deeds."
"Although our Songjiang Prefecture is far away, we have also received kindness from General Chu."
As he spoke, he tugged at his tattered cotton-padded coat: "This coat was given to us by Xiang Shuai. If it weren't for it, we would have frozen to death long ago."
After saying that, he looked at Chu Liuxiang again: "If you had revealed your identity earlier, Chu Liuxiang, we would not have refused. We would have taken you there immediately."
"Great job, Chu Liuxiang!"
Showing off his extraordinary encounter, he patted Chu Liuxiang on the shoulder: "I never knew you had this side to you."
Finding the "like" emoji, I showed off my serendipitous encounter and generously gave Chu Liuxiang a thumbs up.
"My admiration for you is as boundless as the flowing river." (Note 1)
Chu Liuxiang wasn't one to shy away from praise, but his reaction to showing off his extraordinary encounter was so exaggerated that even someone as thick-skinned as Chu Liuxiang couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.
"Don't join in the fun, don't forget we still have important business to attend to."
Showing off his unexpected encounter, he nodded knowingly.
She covered her mouth and chuckled, "Alright, I'll let you off this time."
He then turned to the little beggar and said, "Let's go. Our Chu Xiangshuai is sorry. Let's leave here quickly, or he'll get angry later."
With that, he grabbed the little beggar and used their double lightness skill to fly away.
"Aaaaaah, put me down!"
The little beggar had never seen such a scene before and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
"Stop yelling. If you keep yelling, what if you scare me and accidentally drop and kill you?"
"Waaah!"
The little beggar quickly shut his mouth and tried to cover it with his hand. But his body started spinning uncontrollably, and a large fan inexplicably appeared in his hand, making it impossible for him to cover his mouth.
Just as he was questioning the meaning of life, the voice of the extraordinary encounter rang out again.
"Alright, hurry up and give us directions, or we'll fly past you."
The little beggar glanced down in fear.
"We're flying too high, I can't see the buildings below, how can I give directions?"
"Just tell me the direction, and I'll handle the rest."
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