Plum Blossom Silver Needles, Red Leaf Small Inn

Most of the Jianghu travelers were kept outside the room.

Only a small number were allowed inside to inspect the situation.

Lu Xiaofeng lifted the corpse's shirt at the chest, revealing five silver needles arranged in the shape of a plum blossom.

The five needles themselves were also quite unusual, each surface engraved with an intricate plum blossom.

"Plum Blossom Thief?"

Lu Xiaofeng looked at the frightened man nearby and asked, "What did you see earlier?"

The man said, "I... I shared this room with Brother Li. I got up in the night just now, and when I came back, I saw a man in black kill Brother Li with a wave of his hand..."

"Hm? So the killer only just left?"

"Y-yes..."

Bai Xiaosheng said, "If that is the case, we may still be able to track down the killer."

He immediately went to the doorway and addressed the crowd. "Everyone, whether the person who acted just now was the Plum Blossom Thief or not, he has undoubtedly committed murder. He has not gone far, so perhaps we can find some clues.

I, Bai Xiaosheng, ask that you form pairs and spread out at once to pursue him. Perhaps tonight will be the night we capture the Plum Blossom Thief!"

The crowd immediately grew excited. If they could capture the Plum Blossom Thief, they would become famous throughout the Jianghu at once—and they might even marry Lin Xian'er, the Number One Beauty of the Martial World.

Who would not want such a wonderful thing?

They promptly scattered, intending to give chase.

Yet after searching, they found nothing at all.

With no other choice, they returned and reported to Bai Xiaosheng.

Bai Xiaosheng did not seem to care. He merely nodded.

But Lu Xiaofeng suddenly asked, "Did anyone search outside the manor?"

"Yes! I went east and searched three or four li beyond the manor!"

"I went south and searched two or three li as well."

"And me—I went north..."

After listening to them, Lu Xiaofeng continued, "Then did any of you find any clues outside the manor? With such heavy snow today, any trace should have shown up in the snow."

"Th-this..." Everyone shook their heads.

Bai Xiaosheng smiled. "It seems Young Hero Lu has already noticed. In such heavy snow, the person who acted, having fled in alarm, left no traces outside the manor. Either his lightness skill has reached the level of leaving no trace upon snow.

Or... he never left the manor at all. In other words, he is within this manor—he may even be among everyone present!

He never fled at all!"

"What? The Plum Blossom Thief is among us?"

"It must be Li Xunhuan!"

"Impossible. All of us came here together just now, and Li Xunhuan was right in front of me. It could not have been him!"

"Could the Plum Blossom Thief have accomplices?"

"It might not have been the Plum Blossom Thief at all..."

Everyone began talking at once, though they also watched one another warily.

Lu Xiaofeng said, "Regardless of the true identity of the person who acted tonight, it is clearly too late to pursue him now. Brother, you said you saw that person strike. Then... how could you be certain he was the Plum Blossom Thief?"

The man revealed an embarrassed expression. "Actually, I could not be certain. I was simply desperate at the time, and in order to draw the attention of those nearby, I shouted it out."

The crowd was left rather speechless.

They had thought it was the Plum Blossom Thief, but it turned out this fellow had simply shouted at random.

Yet Bai Xiaosheng was examining the wounds on the corpse. "The vital point was struck, and he died in a single blow. With such methods... although this little brother shouted randomly, there is indeed a strong possibility that the killer was the Plum Blossom Thief."

Lu Xiaofeng asked, "Did the previous victims also have these Plum Blossom Silver Needles left in their chests?"

"No. When the earlier corpses were discovered, there were only five bloody marks. Presumably, the Plum Blossom Thief took the needles away."

Lu Xiaofeng frowned. "So many people have gathered within this manor to capture the Plum Blossom Thief. The killer obviously knew that. Moreover, two people shared this room, and he could have been discovered at any moment... Why did the killer insist on acting at this time? And why did he have to target this man?"

In the Jianghu, martial arts had ranks, and so did status.

People like Zhou Ming and Lu Xiaofeng had been assigned separate courtyards.

But the two men in this room had shared an ordinary room, which was enough to show that their status was truly low.

In fact, that was indeed the case.

Of the two men staying in this room, one was a reporter for the Jianghu Monthly Report—the survivor, named Wang Yuan.

The other was a spy from Red Leaf Small Inn—the dead man, named Li Zhen.

Neither of them was remarkable. Their identities were merely a little unusual.

The Jianghu Monthly Report was a publication distributed throughout the entire Jianghu. One issue was released every month, recording major events from across the martial world.

The Plum Blossom Thief case was the hottest matter in the Jianghu recently, so it was only natural for them to send a reporter.

As for Red Leaf Small Inn, its owner was the famed intelligence broker of the Jianghu, Mister Red Leaf.

It was said that there was nothing in the world that Mister Red Leaf did not know.

Naturally, his intelligence network spread across the land.

Both men dealt in intelligence, but there was a difference. One wrote reports to spread across the world, while the other sought out secrets and quietly stored them away. Anyone wishing to learn them could only pay a great price to buy them from Mister Red Leaf.

People like that were naturally not well liked.

Although the Jianghu Monthly Report and Red Leaf Small Inn were both famous, they had countless reporters and spies under their command.

That made these two seem even more ordinary.

So why had the Plum Blossom Thief risked so much danger to come specifically to kill this man?

Lu Xiaofeng began searching the corpse.

He had not done so earlier in order to avoid suspicion. After all, the killer was very likely someone inside the manor, and that naturally meant it could have been Lu Xiaofeng himself.

Thus, before this, no one had casually made any move here.

Now that everyone had returned, with countless eyes watching, Lu Xiaofeng finally began the search.

He quickly found a hidden pocket on the corpse. From it, he took out a folded piece of paper. When he spread it open, it was a map.

"This is... a map of our manor..."

Long Xiaoyun leaned closer to look and was immediately shocked.

Sure enough, the map depicted the buildings within Xingyun Manor, but most of them had been marked with a red cross.

Bai Xiaosheng said, "It seems this deceased man did not come merely to investigate the truth behind the Plum Blossom Thief. He was also looking for something else."

Long Xiaoyun sighed helplessly. "What could there possibly be in my manor worth Red Leaf Small Inn's attention?"

No one believed Li Zhen had his own separate agenda. They all assumed that Red Leaf Small Inn, standing behind him, had secretly instructed him.

But that was what was strange. As an intelligence-selling organization, Red Leaf Small Inn had reached such a level that, even if it were broken into ten pieces and one piece casually thrown down, it would be enough to crush Xingyun Manor.

What could Xingyun Manor possibly have that was worth their attention?

"What people of the Jianghu care about is nothing more than divine weapons and peerless martial arts... Hiss! Could it be that Xingyun Manor is hiding the secret manual of Little Li Flying Dagger?!"

"Th-that is very possible!"

"Impossible, right? Could Li Xunhuan really have just given away his martial arts... Hiss! It is very possible!"

"Yes, after all, he is Li Xunhuan..."

The crowd whispered among themselves.

But there were quite a few innate martial artists present, so they naturally heard every word clearly.

Long Xiaoyun's face darkened.

Seeing this, Bai Xiaosheng stepped in to smooth things over and had everyone search the room for other clues.

But this was a room in Xingyun Manor, and Li Zhen was only an outsider. Everything related to him was kept on his person; he would not have left it in the room.

Thus, there were no other clues.

Everyone could only begin studying the map again.

"Most places in Xingyun Manor have been explored and marked by him, except Cold Fragrance Lodge, Manor Lord Long's current residence, and the Li Family Ancestral Hall. Clearly, he had not achieved his goal.

Could what he was seeking be in one of these remaining places?"

"Could it really be Li Xunhuan's flying dagger art? Look at the remaining places. Setting aside the ancestral hall, Cold Fragrance Lodge was where Li Xunhuan used to live, while Manor Lord Long's residence..."

Li Xunhuan had no choice but to explain, "Everyone, although the Li family has produced both scholars and martial artists, our inherited martial arts are neither famous nor powerful. Only my flying daggers were taught to me by a senior of the Jianghu; they are not a family martial art."

Long Xiaoyun also smiled. "Look at my hands. Do they bear any signs of practicing hidden weapons? Surely you do not think I possess the flying dagger art, yet have not practiced it for ten years?"

No one could refute him, but at that moment, a voice suddenly rang out from the crowd. "You have not practiced it? Then has your wife?"