Li Ya'er looked confident on the surface, smiling warmly, but inwardly, he was truly sweating bullets.
In terms of motive, the Li Family indeed had reason to strike and assassinate Meng Zhao to silence him. But that was only motive. Setting that aside, anyone even slightly intelligent and capable of judgment would know that assassinating Meng Zhao would bring the Li Family harm and no benefit.
Still, he truly did not understand Meng Zhao's character. Though Meng Zhao appeared not only peerless in martial arts but also worldly-wise, courteous, and aware of when to advance or retreat, his reputation now resounded far and wide, unmatched by anyone.
If he had developed an arrogant and conceited temperament, then even if the Li Family had not done it, he might still hold a grudge against them.
By raising this matter now, Li Ya'er was testing Meng Zhao's views and attitude toward the assassination.
Meng Zhao pondered for a moment before replying,
"Of course, there are targets of suspicion. Most likely, it is some force—or several forces—within Lingwu City.
"As for the Li Family, after my battle with Brother Li, I believe Senior should understand my martial arts very clearly. If they wanted to assassinate me, sending only those two assassins would have been far from enough. Therefore, the true culprit should be someone else."
Should be? Li Ya'er fell into thought. If Meng Zhao had truly ruled out the Li Family's involvement with absolute certainty, he should not have used the words "should be," but "must be." Still, on further consideration, it was perfectly normal for Meng Zhao to retain a trace of suspicion.
After all, there was currently no evidence proving that the Li Family had not participated in this matter. A proper degree of caution was necessary.
"Good. Young Master