Wish Fulfilled, Bai Xiaosheng

"Impossible... impossible..."

A faint voice drifted in from beyond the wall. Lu Xiaofeng started and leapt onto the wall, only to see a desolate figure rapidly vanishing into the distance.

Li Xunhuan!

His body swayed, and he seemed to be in poor condition, yet his speed did not slow in the slightest. It was as though he were desperately fleeing from something.

Lu Xiaofeng hurried after him, but ultimately failed to catch up. He turned and returned to Zhou Ming's courtyard.

Inside the courtyard, Zhou Ming was drinking alone, unable to hide the smile on his face.

"You did it on purpose!"

Lu Xiaofeng said irritably, "What bullshit deduction? It was all fake! Your only purpose was to say all that so Li Xunhuan could hear every word and be provoked by it!"

"That's right!"

Zhou Ming shrugged. "Obviously, that was my purpose."

"You..." Lu Xiaofeng gnashed his teeth in fury. "You made up so many lies just for that? Do you know what Madam Long would do if those things got out?"

"Don't worry. What happened tonight is known to you, me, and Li Xunhuan. So long as you and I keep our mouths shut, Li Xunhuan surely won't talk nonsense either. Besides, my little lies were merely built around the Plum Blossom Thief case. As long as you solve it and expose the Plum Blossom Thief's true face, won't that settle everything?"

"Hmph!"

Lu Xiaofeng snorted coldly and turned to leave.

Zhou Ming did not care. He raised his cup and took a satisfied sip. "Chun Hua, get me some more peanuts."

"Yes..."

Chun Hua smiled. "It seems Young Master is in a very good mood."

"Of course I am."

Zhou Ming laughed.

Earlier, he had not known exactly where Li Xunhuan would stand after arriving, so he had simply left marks all around the entire courtyard.

Because of that, he had been able to observe every change in Li Xunhuan's expression from nearly every angle, without a single blind spot.

Especially at the final moment, when Zhou Ming spoke of the four most important people in Lin Shiyin's life and her tragic fate, Li Xunhuan had revealed an expression deeply tangled with regret, self-reproach, and grief-stricken indignation.

Had Lu Xiaofeng not been right there at the time, Zhou Ming would have loved nothing more than to rush before Li Xunhuan and mock him to his face.

That expression!

That expression!

This is the expression I wanted to see on your face!

Afterward, Li Xunhuan had completely lost his reason over the matter, repeatedly muttering "impossible," which drew Lu Xiaofeng's attention before he fled.

"What a pity..."

Zhou Ming still felt a trace of regret. His mark ability did not have a function for recording footage.

Something like that could only be watched once.

What a shame!

That night, Zhou Ming slept sweetly and had dream after dream.

The next day, the sky was overcast.

Thick black clouds covered the entire heavens and earth.

"It's going to snow," Zhou Ming said as he looked at the sky.

Under such weather, another renowned figure of the martial world arrived at Xingyun Manor.

Bai Xiaosheng!

To speak of Bai Xiaosheng, one first had to mention the weapons ranking.

Its full name was the Exotic Weapons Ranking. It was a list Bai Xiaosheng had created to rank all manner of unusual weapons other than blades and swords.

Though it was called a weapons ranking, it actually ranked martial artists who wielded weapons.

And since it was the Exotic Weapons Ranking, all the martial artists listed on it used strange and unusual weapons.

Old Man Tianji, ranked first, wielded the Tianji Rod. Shangguan Jinhong, ranked second, wielded the Dragon Phoenix Rings. Ranked third was Li Xunhuan, whose weapon was the flying dagger.

The Songyang Iron Sword, ranked fourth, wielded the Heavy Sword.

Further down the rankings were all sorts of unusual weapons, including halberds, whips, crutches, xiao, and more.

Besides that, Bai Xiaosheng had four categories he refused to rank.

First, he did not rank demonic path experts, because he did not wish to make them famous.

Second, he did not rank female experts, because he favored men over women.

Third, he did not rank experts outside the Ming State, because he lacked such an extensive intelligence network.

Fourth, he did not rank experts above the Grandmaster realm, because he feared that a Grandmaster would strike and slap him to death in one blow.

Since ancient times, literature had no first place, while martial arts had no second.

Even with its four exclusions and its limitation to exotic weapons, Bai Xiaosheng's Exotic Weapons Ranking still sparked countless struggles among martial artists over its rankings.

For a time, it stirred up untold bloodshed and turmoil.

In any case, as the rankings spread, Bai Xiaosheng's name spread throughout the martial world as well, making him a prominent figure.

With such an important person arriving, everyone naturally gave him a lively welcome.

After the bustle had died down, at Cold Fragrance Lodge.

Lin Xian'er smiled charmingly. "Why have you come?"

Bai Xiaosheng's face was stern. "Why do you think? You've been making far too many moves lately, and you've become far too reckless! First, you stirred up trouble with the Golden Silk Armor and dragged Li Xunhuan into it. Now you've even drawn Lu Xiaofeng here... Are you truly not afraid of dying?"

"So you were worried about me."

Lin Xian'er smiled. "Don't worry, I made preparations long ago."

She then roughly explained her plan.

As Bai Xiaosheng listened, the severity in his eyes gradually faded. "Your plan is quite good. It seems I was simply too worried."

"Fine, I know you care about me. Since you came all this way, tonight... I'll let you do as you please..."

"You wanton vixen!"

A blaze of heat appeared in Bai Xiaosheng's eyes. With a flick of his hand, he extinguished the candle flame.

Things were heated on one side, but the atmosphere on the other was cold.

In Zhou Ming's courtyard, Lu Xiaofeng drank cup after cup of bitter wine, his face full of frustration.

"What's wrong with you? Tell me what's making you unhappy so I can be happy about it."

"At a time like this, you can still joke with me?!"

Lu Xiaofeng glared furiously at Zhou Ming. "Lin Xian'er was listening from the side last night too, wasn't she?"

"Mm... perhaps..."

"Do you know that today, many clues I investigated have changed? Things that originally pointed to Lin Xian'er are now all pointing to Lin Shiyin!"

Lu Xiaofeng roared, "At this rate, the real Plum Blossom Thief will completely escape, while Madam Long will be wrongfully accused!"

"Is that so? Then you'll have to work even harder. Only by finding irrefutable evidence as soon as possible and exposing Lin Xian'er's identity can you prevent Lin Shiyin from being falsely accused."

"You think I can't do it?"

Lu Xiaofeng seemed to have drunk too much. His face flushed as he stubbornly said, "Even without your help, Bai Xiaosheng arrived at Xingyun Manor today. With his assistance, I'll definitely find the evidence!"

"Bai Xiaosheng? Heh heh..." Zhou Ming sneered.

Lu Xiaofeng drained the wine in his hand, rose to his feet, and said, "Just wait!"

He then left the courtyard.

Zhou Ming curled his lips and looked up at the sky. Beneath the cover of dark clouds, the night had become even deeper.

The clouds grew ever heavier, concentrating the cold high in the sky, while the ground became slightly warmer instead.

But then, the chill that had accumulated for several days finally transformed into snowflakes filling the sky, descending from the heavens and scattering across the earth.

The snow began falling in the afternoon, with startling speed.

The moment a few flakes could be felt drifting down, the snow had already become great goose-feather flakes, falling heavily from the sky.

In less than two hours, the earth had put on a layer of white.

Under such harsh weather, most people could only stop all their activities.

Yet there were inevitably a few who, for their own purposes, continued to keep busy.

At midnight, the swirling snow finally stopped.

Peace finally returned between heaven and earth, only for a shrill cry to suddenly pierce the stillness of the snowy night.

"Murder!"

"The Plum Blossom Thief! The Plum Blossom Thief has appeared!"

"The Plum Blossom Thief has killed someone!"

Shadowy figures flitted through the darkness as martial artists used their lightness skills to follow the cries.

Inside a pavilion, beneath candlelight, a corpse had already fallen to the floor.

A blizzard!

A manor!

A dead man!

Looks like there'll be something entertaining to watch tonight, Zhou Ming thought.