Deduction of His True Identity

Liu Qingqing thought for a moment, but still refused. "Let's forget it. I don't intend to become a legendary assassin."

For some inexplicable reason, Si Ming thought he heard someone sneeze.

Chapter 161 The True Form of Deduction

"So, you're planning to depart by boat the day after tomorrow?"

At the dinner table, Yao Bilian asked.

Si Ming, "Yes, after all, the headquarters of that cult is located on Thousand Leaves Island in Donghua Commandery. According to intelligence gathered by our informants, they seem to be planning a large-scale event recently."

Yao Bilian nodded, showing no sign of worry. "Simply calling it a cult makes it seem very troublesome, but adding the word 'gang' makes it sound like a bunch of rabble. If we call them lawbreakers, it's like they're stripped naked and waiting for you to do their thing—utterly pathetic."

"... It sounds reasonable, but coming from you, it just doesn't feel right."

Yao Bilian revealed a refreshed expression, gave a thumbs up, and said, "A woman who knows how to unleash her full combat power can at least withstand the strength of five chickens. So when we call someone incompetent a 'battle weakling,' we're actually saying that he's not even as good as a normal woman."

Murong Wu wore an expression of understanding. "Oh, I see. But my sister is very powerful. She can easily defeat five hundred chickens, let alone five."

Yao Bilian wanted to laugh, but after noticing the look Murong Qing gave her that seemed to say, "If you open your mouth again, I'll shove a spear into your mouth and out the other side (her own interpretation)," she obediently shut her mouth.

Lu Mao brought out a pot of mutton soup from the kitchen and placed it on the table, saying, "There are only half a month left until the Spring Festival. Will you be able to make it home for the New Year?"

"I don't know. Maybe we can strike right at the Yellow Dragon of the cult as soon as we get to the island, capture the cult leader, and come back. Or maybe we won't find an opportunity and will have to sneak in disguised as believers, testing our patience. After all, the Spring Festival is the time when people are most likely to let their guard down."

Murong Wu asked reluctantly, "Sister, can't you come back to celebrate the New Year with us?"

Murong Qing gently stroked her younger brother's head and said, "I'll try to come back as soon as possible. If I really can't make it in time, I'll send you a greeting card. Be good and don't cause trouble for everyone."

Murong Wu nodded understandingly, forcing a smile, and said, "I'm fine, sister, don't worry. I've learned to take care of myself. Your safety is more important. If you can't come back in time, don't send any greeting cards. I won't be happy if people find out I sent greeting cards."

"Aaaaaah—I can't take it anymore!"

Yao Bilian hugged Murong Wu tightly, holding him close to her chest, her face full of infatuation. "So cute and well-behaved, so strong and sensible, where did you come from, little fairy? Be my little sister, I'll take care of you for the rest of my life!"

"But... but I'm a boy... I can't breathe..."

Murong Wu, who had not yet entered puberty, had no feelings of 'it's both heaven and hell,' only the thought that he was being squeezed too hard.

"Stop, you old hag!" Ying Zhou rescued Murong Wu from the "ball restraint" and scolded, "Don't you know how old you are? You want to be someone's older sister? You're more than qualified to be an aunt!"

Yao Bilian curled her lip. "That Ying kid has been quite arrogant lately. Is it because he has a girlfriend that he's gotten cocky and thinks he can look down on us single people?"

Upon hearing this, Ying Zhou's face darkened, turning almost as black as charcoal. He snorted, then, without eating, threw down his chopsticks and left the table to return to his room.

"Hey, it was just a joke, there's no need to get so angry. I'll apologize, okay?"

Yao Bilian was quite puzzled. Ying Zhou used to have a terrible temper and often gave people the cold shoulder, but he had softened a lot recently. Although he was still not sociable, at least it was within a normal range. He was like the quiet person in a small group. People were not very willing to get to know him well, thinking that he did not know how to communicate with others, but they also acknowledged that he was a member of the team.

Si Ming sighed and said, "This is indeed your fault. Haven't you noticed that he hasn't gone on any dates in the past few months?"

Yao Bilian wasn't naive when it came to relationships; she immediately realized something was wrong. "What happened? Did they break up?"

Si Ming shook his head. "That girl also perished in the last demon tide attack. I discovered this while investigating the missing persons information of my classmates."

The girl who confessed her feelings to Ying Zhou and pursued him relentlessly, even becoming his girlfriend, turned out to be Xia Guanxue's younger sister. After discovering this, Si Ming couldn't help but marvel at how small the world is and how unpredictable life can be.

"Looks like I really did make a foolish mistake..." Yao Bilian stroked her chin and thought for a moment, "Never mind, I'll go apologize to him now."

Although she may seem shameless on a daily basis, moral integrity and character are two different things. She can distinguish right from wrong and never puts on airs. She apologizes when she does something wrong, even if the other party is a junior.

Murong Wu asked curiously, "Did that brother also lose his family?"

After thinking for a moment, Si Ming realized that this wasn't a secret worth hiding, so he briefly explained Ying Zhou's situation.

After listening, Murong Wu said with emotion, "He is much stronger than me. Although I lost my father, at least he loved me very much and I have many happy memories. Now I still have my sister to protect me, but he has nothing now... This brother is truly remarkable."

Murong Qing didn't know much about Ying Zhou's past deeds. Based on their interactions over the past few days, although she felt that he was aloof and difficult to approach, she thought it was just a matter of personality and had nothing to do with morality or character. There were also many similar unsociable classmates in the class, so she didn't have a bad impression of him. After hearing Si Ming's explanation, she had a sudden realization, and all the Anomalies things became clear.

"When I'm not around, you can learn from him how to become strong and independent. Never be alone with the administrator, and don't take what the administrator says to heart. They're just silly jokes from adults. You don't need to understand them now, and you won't need to understand them in the future. Just maintain polite communication with her. Never imitate her behavior; she's a bad example," Murong Qing urged hastily.

Murong Wu nodded as if he understood, then looked in the direction Ying Zhou had left with a look of longing.

Soon, urgent knocking echoed down the hallway, accompanied by shouts such as, "If you don't open the door, I'll strip naked and dance in the doorway!" and "If you don't accept my apology, I'll put up a sign explaining everything and walk around the streets so everyone knows my sincerity!"

Finally, after a shameless and almost relentless apology, Yao Bilian successfully invited Ying Zhou back to the table. Although he still had a dark expression, it represented a completely different meaning: no longer anger, but a sense of helplessness in the face of a rogue.

After the meal, Hongdou suddenly said, "Speaking of which, the uncle who used to sell breakfast at the school gate has disappeared. I even drew a picture to give him to repay his life-saving kindness, but I heard from other breakfast vendors nearby that he seems to have gone back to his hometown."

Murong Qing chimed in, "That's true. The girls have been mentioning it a lot lately. This uncle sells not only breakfast but also desserts. In the morning, he makes authentic Jianbing Guozi (Chinese crepes), but around noon, he switches to selling sweet Jianbing Guozi."

Si Ming asked, puzzled, "Sweet? What do you mean?"

Murong Qing recalled, "The steps were the same as making jianbing guozi, except the toppings were different. I used things like cream, fruit, and ice cream, which were quite popular with the girls. Sometimes they would sneak out of school during breaks to buy it. Although other stall owners tried to imitate it, their skills were lacking, and the taste was much worse. The girls all felt quite disappointed."

Lu Mao analyzed seriously, "Making something simple taste bad is no easy task. After all, there are only two or three steps involved, and the ingredients can't be varied much. At most, you can work on the cooking time and temperature. For customers to be able to taste the difference, his skills must be at least two levels higher than his peers. Moreover, from what you've said, this person is not only highly skilled but also very creative. This is a very important talent for a pastry chef. Daring to imagine and innovate, being willing to challenge tradition, and breaking the inertia of thinking are the only ways to create new dishes."

Si Ming pondered, "So, this person has connections?"

Lu Mao nodded and said seriously, "If I'm not mistaken, he should be a wandering chef who went out to train. There are many chefs like this in our Su Kingdom. They have hit a bottleneck in their Culinary Dao and feel that staying here will only lead to stagnation and prevent them from making breakthroughs. So they go out to train and seek inspiration, just like martial artists pursue breakthroughs in their martial Dao Realm."

"A reasonable judgment. I remember he was quite skilled in martial arts, which he probably learned to protect himself during his wanderings. Moreover, his fighting style was agile, and his speed was extremely fast, which is probably due to his frequent practice with a kitchen knife. His ability to attack vital points is similar to the skill of a Butcher Ding's Ox-Carving who dissects live ingredients. In this way, all the clues fit together."

Si Ming agreed, but suddenly felt an urge to burp. He opened his mouth, but couldn't quite manage it, and forced it back down, making a pained expression on his face.

"That feeling of wanting to come out but being unable to is really awful."

On the other side, Yao Bilian suddenly perked up, as if an antenna had sprung up on her head and was beeping alarms. Then she looked down at Si Ming's crotch.