"Mr. Yue, every word I said is true. I truly did not deceive you..." Lin Zhennan said with utter sincerity.
Yue Buqun stared fixedly at Lin Zhennan, trying to detect even the slightest irregularity in his expression.
Yet no matter how he looked, Lin Zhennan maintained that same expression, without a trace of guilt.
Seeing this, Yue Buqun began to waver.
Could Lin Zhennan be telling the truth? Did he really hire a Minor Grandmaster for ten thousand taels of silver?
It sounds unbelievable, but Lin Zhennan's expression does not seem false. Besides, he probably does not have the nerve to deceive me...
After pondering it for a while, Yue Buqun ultimately chose to believe Lin Zhennan.
"Chief Escort Lin, please forgive Yue for my earlier lapse and offense." Maintaining the image of the Gentleman Sword, Yue Buqun took the initiative to apologize to Lin Zhennan.
The Mount Hua Sect Leader, Gentleman Sword Yue Buqun, had actually taken the initiative to apologize to him. Lin Zhennan felt greatly flattered and did not dare act arrogantly. He immediately replied, "You honor me too greatly, Mr. Yue. This matter is indeed strange. If I had not experienced it myself, I fear I would not have believed it either."
Yue Lingshan and Lao Denuo heard their conversation clearly, and both were stirred by it.
Lao Denuo in particular hid deep shock beneath his seemingly honest face.
When did such an expert appear in the martial world...
I wonder whether this man's existence will disrupt Master's grand plan to unite the Five Great Sword Sects.
Lao Denuo silently plotted to himself.
However, the master in his thoughts was not Yue Buqun, but Mount Song Sect Leader Zuo Lengchan.
That was right—Lao Denuo was actually an undercover agent.
Publicly, he was Yue Buqun's second disciple; secretly, he was Zuo Lengchan's third disciple.
At Zuo Lengchan's command, he had infiltrated the Mount Hua Sect to monitor Mount Hua and Yue Buqun's movements for him.
Now that he had heard of a mysterious swordsman being hired by Lin Zhennan for ten thousand taels of silver to kill Yu Canghai, Lao Denuo's thoughts became active.
He felt that this matter was far from trivial and needed to be reported to Zuo Lengchan.
I will find an opportunity later to send this matter to Master by carrier pigeon.
Having made up his mind, Lao Denuo did not reveal the slightest abnormality. He continued standing silently at the side like part of the scenery.
By this point, Yue Buqun and Lin Zhennan had already chatted for some time.
Lin Zhennan ordered his men to bury Yu Canghai and the others where they lay, then invited Yue Buqun to the Fuwei Escort Agency as a guest.
Yue Buqun still had the Bixie Sword Manual and that mysterious swordsman on his mind, so naturally, he did not refuse.
He followed Lin Zhennan back to the Fuwei Escort Agency and stayed the night.
That night, Yue Buqun secretly searched the Fuwei Escort Agency from top to bottom.
Unfortunately, he found neither the Bixie Sword Manual nor any news of the mysterious swordsman.
Morning came on the second day.
Yue Buqun and his group still had to leave for Mount Heng to attend Liu Zhengfeng's Golden Basin Hand-Washing Ceremony.
He could only temporarily abandon his search for the Bixie Sword Manual and make plans for later.
Of course, before leaving, he also agreed to Lin Zhennan's request and accepted Lin Pingzhi as his disciple.
Naturally, Yue Buqun was not acting out of kindness. He accepted Lin Pingzhi as his disciple solely because he wanted to use him to dig out the Bixie Sword Manual.
Once everything was ready, Yue Buqun led several disciples toward Hengyang City at the foot of Mount Heng.
Likewise, Lao Denuo had already sent news by carrier pigeon to the Mount Song Sect the previous night that the Nameless Swordsman had slain Yu Canghai.
However, the first person to receive the letter was not Zuo Lengchan himself, but Tang Ying'e, the Sixth Protector among the Thirteen Protectors and Mount Song's deputy sect leader.
He skimmed the letter a few times before losing interest, with no intention of showing it to Zuo Lengchan.
He did not believe a single word of its contents.
Lin Zhennan had spent ten thousand taels of silver to hire a swordsman to kill Yu Canghai? What a joke.
Yu Canghai's martial arts were formidable. Even he did not dare claim certain victory against him.
How could someone like that be so easily killed?
"The undercover agent senior brother arranged is far too unprofessional. Once the matter at Mount Heng is settled, I must advise senior brother to replace him with someone else in Mount Hua."
After muttering a few casual remarks, Tang Ying'e tossed Lao Denuo's letter aside.
About sixty li south of Hengyang City lay a small county called Hengnan County.
At dusk, the setting sun gradually sank.
A tall man dressed in fitted black clothes, with a ring-pommeled saber hanging at his waist, entered Hengnan County.
This man was Su Chen, who had hurried here from Fuzhou.
"I will rest in Hengnan County tonight, then set out for Hengyang City early tomorrow morning."
After murmuring to himself, Su Chen headed toward an inn in the county seat.
As he walked along the bluestone road, a burst of conversation drifted from a roadside tavern. Su Chen could not help slowing down and listening closely.
"Hey, have you heard? Master Zhao joined forces with the heads of the Wang, Lin, and Chen families and gathered ten thousand taels of silver to place a bounty on a flower thief."
At the words "a bounty of ten thousand taels of silver," Su Chen's eyes lit up. His already slowing steps came to a complete halt. He stood at the roadside and carefully listened to the people in the tavern.
"Good heavens, ten thousand taels of silver? I could work for ten lifetimes and never earn that much money. Those masters are usually stingy as hell, so why are they willing to spend so much silver to put a bounty on a flower thief this time..."
"Because that flower thief ruined the daughters of those masters, then left a message saying he would pluck the Zhao family's delicate flower tonight. Master Zhao was enraged by this, so he came forward and joined the other families in putting up the bounty."
"Where did you hear such secret news? Are you just making things up to fool us?"
"If I am lying, I am your grandson. My second granduncle's little grandson works as a gardener at the Zhao Residence. He was the first to discover the note that flower thief left behind. Later, he secretly told me, and that was how I found out."
"Let us assume you are telling the truth, but surely a mere flower thief does not warrant a bounty of ten thousand taels. Those masters are usually on good terms with the county magistrate. Why not simply ask him to send a few constables to catch the flower thief?"
"You think the county magistrate did not send anyone? I heard that flower thief is a martial artist who comes and goes like the wind, called something like Tian Boguang, the Lone Walker of Ten Thousand Miles. He is incredibly formidable, and none of the constables the county magistrate sent were his match. Remember when the county magistrate sent constables out of town to suppress bandits a few days ago, and they suffered terrible casualties? That was because of this very matter..."
As Su Chen listened from the side, he could not help mocking it in his heart.
People always complain that in martial arts, fantasy, and immortal-hero worlds, roadside bystanders are the strongest intelligence network. They seem to know a bit about every secret. Seeing it today, the reputation is well deserved. I really wonder where they get so much confidential information...
Still, jokes aside, Su Chen had already pieced together the course of events.
So it is that lecher Tian Boguang.
That bastard may be lustful and despicable, but his martial arts are indeed not weak. Even against a Minor Grandmaster like Yu Canghai, he could probably contend evenly. Ordinary people truly are no match for him.
His lightness skill is especially impressive, and his methods are underhanded. In a real fight to the death, he would probably be even more troublesome than someone like Yu Canghai.
But since he ran into me today, he can count himself unlucky. Those ten thousand taels of silver are mine to earn.
Su Chen was quite confident in dealing with a mere Tian Boguang. Without giving it much more thought, he decided to take on this job worth ten thousand taels of silver.
After listening for a while longer, he figured out the location of the Zhao Residence.
Then Su Chen drew his saber and headed toward the Zhao family residence.
Before you continue