Why Did They Have to Use Ingenious Craft? (8000)

The suggestion was quite bold, but it stirred something within him, as if he were inclined to do so.

If we follow Butler Chen's advice and fabricate evidence against Xu Bai Xu Bai, arresting him first and then releasing Xu Bai after declaring the evidence false, we can at least dampen Xu Bai arrogance.

Moreover, there are no drawbacks. As the prefect of this place, it is perfectly reasonable for him to arrest people after discovering evidence.

The evidence is false, and it requires a relatively normal process to prove it. Before that, Xu Bai needs to be arrested.

Even if the matter goes to His Majesty, he has only acted in accordance with the law, and His Majesty has no reason to blame him.

"In your opinion, what reason do we need to arrest him?" Prefect Tong asked.

He had already decided to do it, and the more he thought about Xu Bai's arrogant attitude before, the angrier he became.

Little did people know that the reason Xu Bai was so arrogant was entirely because of his own problematic attitude. If his attitude had been correct, Xu Bai would have cooperated properly.

In this world, there are some people who feel they are never wrong and that others are always at fault. But once someone does something bad to them, they will shift all the blame onto others.

"I must teach him an unforgettable lesson, let him know the humiliation I suffered today," the Prefect Tong himself.

In Tao Tu Mansion, he has always been unscrupulous, especially when it comes to those gangsters and warriors, and he looks down upon them.

He believed that Xu Bai was also a member of the martial arts world, but he had just gotten lucky.

Now that he was made like this by a gangster, of course he was not convinced, and this dissatisfaction, under the instigation of Butler Chen, had begun to breed the idea that he must take revenge.

"Sir, it's actually quite easy to find a reason. We can just say we've found a witness, then grab any death row inmate from the prison and trick him into thinking we'll release him if he agrees to testify." Butler Chen began to devise a plan. "We'll just lock him up for a few days and let him suffer a bit. Then we'll say the evidence is wrong and that the death row inmate can be killed directly, so there's no way to prove anything."

Upon Prefect Tong pondered for a moment, then finally nodded in agreement.

"You go and get this done for me, and you must keep your mouth shut. Under no circumstances can you let this get out."

"Yes!" Butler Chen replied, then left immediately. "I'll go and make arrangements for the death row inmates."

The Prefect Tong nodded and said nothing more.

Butler Chen did indeed go out to arrange the death row inmates. After settling them in, he left the Prefectural Office and walked along the street until he arrived at a secluded residence. He entered through a particularly inconspicuous door.

As soon as I pushed open the door, I smelled a strange fragrance. I walked through the room and went straight inside, where a woman was sitting, wearing only a thin veil.

"Master, everything has been arranged. Xu Bai may face imprisonment, and that will be the best time to make a move." Butler Chen hunched over, not daring to look at the woman in the light veil before him.

The woman in the light veil didn't even turn her head; she just stared at the bronze mirror on the dressing table, applying the finest rouge to her face before speaking in a gentle voice.

"The woman next to him, and the person wrapped in black this morning, are particularly strange. We must separate them, or the plan will fail."

"Master, we really can't be sure of separating them." After hesitating for a long time, Butler Chen finally spoke slowly, "If Xu Bai is determined to take both of them with him, then we'll have no choice but to let them both stay in jail."

After those words were spoken, the room fell silent, as still as a stagnant pool.

The woman, draped in a light veil, put down the rouge in her hand and stood up from the stool. The veil swayed in front of her chest, revealing glimpses of something.

"If it's really impossible to separate them, then forget it."

Butler Chen hummed in agreement and respectfully accepted.

"Oh, right." The woman in the light veil seemed to have thought of something, and her full red lips parted slightly. "You take this thing and use it to do your job. You must do it cleanly and without leaving the slightest trace."

A square Wooden Box was placed on the ground, reaching about knee height.

"Just press that button on the Wooden Box, and Wooden Box will explode into countless fragments. People will be pierced through by these fragments, becoming riddled with holes," the woman in the light veil explained in detail.

"I will arrange for a trusted assassin to use this box," Butler Chen replied.

Before he could continue, the woman in the light veil shook her head, pointed her slender finger at Butler Chen, and her tone changed from gentle to full of murderous intent. "You may not understand, it is only appropriate for you to take action, and I will only send you alone."

Butler Chen was slightly taken aback, then lowered his head and remained silent.

Clearly, when it comes to such a life-or-death topic, anyone would choose to remain silent.

After all, the terror between life and death is something that ordinary people cannot overcome. Now that the other party wants him to go to his death, this approach has put him in a dilemma.

"Think of your wife, children, and elderly parents. If you do this, I will ensure they have enough to eat and wear for the rest of their lives. I mean what I say, after all, you have no other choice." The woman in the light veil slowly walked up to Butler Chen Butler Chen, lifted his chin with her fair fingers, and spoke in a gentle tone.

Butler Chen closed his eyes, and after a long while, he finally opened them again and nodded firmly. "This humble servant will definitely do as Master says and complete the task."

He had no choice. The seed had been planted in his mind, and the desire for his death was merely a thought of his master. But if he could die in order to fulfill his duty, his wife, children, and elderly parents would be treated well. This was the only choice he had.

"Go," the woman in the light veil said, lowering her hand.

Butler Chen hugged the Wooden Box, gritted his teeth, and turned to leave.

After Butler Chen left, the woman in the light veil returned to her dressing table, looked at her stunningly beautiful face in the bronze mirror, and murmured to herself.

"I'm not like those fools who only know how to kill with brute force. Sometimes killing doesn't require brute force, but skill."

Xu Bai didn't know what happened next, and two or three days passed in the blink of an eye.

He didn't know what had happened recently, but the other party had remained silent, as if they had suddenly disappeared.

However, he was also well aware that as long as he had not yet reached the Capital City and was still in the Pottery Earth Prefecture, the other party would definitely take action; the only difference was in what method they would use.

These past few days, out of boredom, I've spent my time, apart from eating, grinding through the Nameless Saber Scripture Manual in the inn of the Pottery Earth Prefecture.

Normally, grinding through progress bars is a particularly tedious task, but fortunately, Ye Zi is here to make that tedium interesting.

"Young master, please tell me again. Tell me about what happened in that county town."

Ye Zi sat next to Xu Bai, placed Xu Bai's calves on her thighs, and gently massaged them while speaking in a coquettish tone.

In the past few days, when he had nothing to do, Xu Bai would chat with Ye Zi about his past, mostly about interesting things.

These amusing stories might become tiresome for others after a while, but Ye Zi never gets tired of them.

After Xu Bai found out the reason, he also felt that Ye Zi was a pitiful person.

In the Ye Family, even the direct descendants are treated like commodities; as long as someone is interested, the commodity will be sold.

In order for these goods to be noticed by others, in addition to usual etiquette and a well-mannered personality, one must also be proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting.

Every Ye Family, from birth to death, is treated like a commodity and given away; they are not allowed to step out of their rooms even once.

Therefore, they have never learned about the various interesting things in the world; they only know how to recite some famous poems and learn various skills.

In Xu Bai's view, this kind of experience was extremely pitiful, and he took advantage of this time to tell Ye Zi about it every day without getting tired of it.

Xu Bai Ye Zi listened with great interest. Whenever Xu Bai Xu Bai about to stop talking, she would massage his shoulders and legs, trying to appease him and encourage him to continue.

"Alright, that's enough for today," Xu Bai said helplessly.

It wasn't that he didn't want to continue, but rather that the progress bar of the Nameless Saber Scripture in his hand was about to reach its limit.

Ye Zi wasn't an unreasonable person. She could occasionally act coquettishly, but when something really happened, she was very sensible. After hearing that Xu Bai didn't want to continue, she gently said "oh" and continued to massage Xu Bai's legs with her head down.

Xu Bai turned his head and stared at the Nameless Saber Scripture in his hand.

The progress bar was still growing rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, when the last gap was filled, the progress bar finally reached its full length.

Pale blue smoke appeared, transforming into lines of text that reassembled before my eyes.

Before long, the text became clear, and Xu Bai was able to see the contents.

[You studied the Nameless Saber Scripture and comprehended the Armor Piercing Twenty-Four Steps (incomplete).]

Looking at the name, he already understood that it was another movement-type skill. After all, the Nameless Saber Scripture had become a standard in his mind, a relatively complete sword technique that included a variety of complementary skills.

"They should be merging soon," Xu Bai thought to himself.

Sure enough, just as I was thinking about it, new words resurfaced.

[Mergeable options found, currently in process.]

[Armor Piercing Twenty-Four Steps (Incomplete) + Movement-Armor Break Second Revolution = Movement Breaking Three Turns.]

[Merger successful.]

After the pale blue text reappeared, it quickly disappeared, transforming into a complex stream of information that entered Xu Bai's mind.

The latest properties panel has appeared.

[Name: Xu Bai]

[Realm Level: Fourth Rank Loose Cultivator.]

[Chess Saber Four Styles (Tier 6): Max Level.]

[Inverted Purple Firmament Gale Wind Yin Yang Break (Tier 6): Max Level.]

[Returning Wind Flowing Snow (Tier 5): Max Level.]

[Movement Breaking Three Turns (Tier 5): Max Level.]

[Cosmic Shift (Tier 4): Max Level]

[Vajra Heart Demon Body (Tier 4); Max Level.]

[Strengthening Kidney Gathering Art (Tier 5): Max Level.]

[Hundred Poisons True Explanation (Tier 3): Max Level.]

[Ingenious Craft Puppet Technique (Tier 6): Max Level]

[Undying Body (Fragment) (Tier 5): Max Level.]

[Comprehension: Max level.]

He reached the fifth level Movement Breaking Three Turns stages, making a qualitative leap in all aspects. His speed, endurance, and agility all improved significantly.

This was a good thing, but Xu Bai frowned.

He discovered something quite interesting: the number of existing Nameless Saber Scripture.

There are still seventeen copies of the Nameless Saber Scripture, but the skills he has gained from them can be divided into three types.

Mental techniques, physical techniques, and sword techniques.

His mental cultivation technique is at the sixth level, his movement technique is at the fifth level, and his sword technique is also at the sixth level. Although he has incorporated other skills, he still has a full seventeen manuals! According to the legend of the Nameless Saber Scripture, after collecting all the parts and comprehending the contents, one can directly enter the first-grade realm.

Seventeen books.

If one were to comprehend all of them, it would be far more than just a first-grade technique. Even if one could barely reach the first grade in terms of mental cultivation, how many Nameless Saber Scripture Manuals would it take? Even if Xu Bai exaggerated his calculations, let's say five manuals.

Of the remaining twelve books, five are for sword techniques and six are for body techniques.

What about the other one?

Most importantly, this is still Xu Bai's exaggerated calculation. If it weren't exaggerated, he would have even more left over.

"Could it be... there are new supporting skills?" Xu Bai thought to himself, and his excitement grew.

Sometimes, you have to find something to strive for, and now that he has made a new discovery, he is naturally very motivated.

"Continue!"

Thinking of this, Xu Bai took out another book and continued working on the progress bar. He handed one of the books to Ye Zi and said, "Burn it."

Ye Zi blinked, obediently took the book from his hands, found the brazier, and burned the book that Xu Bai had already finished working on.

Destroy the evidence. In this world, even the causes and effects have come out, and there are all sorts of feng shui. Who knows, we might be able to deduce something from the book he's already finished writing. Burning it to ashes is the safest option.

The room smelled of burning.

After the book in front of her turned to ashes, Ye Zi got up and massaged Xu Bai's shoulders.

She enjoys doing these things, though of course, it depends on the person.

Back then, when Xu Bai protected her from behind, she felt that she was much better than the other sisters.

Now, she no longer resists the arrangements her family has made for her.

While pinching him, Ye Zi also sized up Xu Bai.

Time passed by unnoticed, and before we knew it, it was afternoon.

Just then, Xu Bai was about to put down the Nameless Saber Scripture in his hand and take Ye Zi out for a stroll and a meal when there was an unexpected knock on the door.

"Who?" Xu Bai frowned. Could it be someone from the Prefectural Office who came looking for him at this time?

As it turned out, he was right; a trembling voice came from outside the door.

"Lord Xu... please come with us."

The voice trembled, clearly indicating extreme fear of Xu Bai.

Xu Bai raced.

The Fourth-Rank Puppet standing guard stepped forward and opened the door.

Outside the door, a yamen runner stood obediently, and even trembled when the door was opened.

Since Xu Bai, they have learned a lot and now they only feel fear towards Xu Bai.

"What is it?" Xu Bai asked, frowning.

The constable said timidly, "Lord Tong said... he has found a witness and asked you to come over as soon as possible. We came here specifically to invite Lord Xu."

As I said before, Xu Bai is a very meticulous person.

If someone treats me with respect, I will treat them with even greater respect.

The constable was now very respectful, so Xu Bai wouldn't make things difficult for him. And like last time, he hadn't killed him, which was already considered showing mercy.

"Lead the way." Xu Bai put the Nameless Saber Scripture back into his pack, slung it over his back, and then stood up, speaking calmly.

Is there evidence?

He is now very curious about what evidence there is.

The constables breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that Xu Bai hadn't gotten angry. They didn't linger there and quickly led the way.

Xu Bai, accompanied by Ye Zi and the Fourth-Rank Puppet, quickly left the inn, navigated through streets, and arrived at the Prefectural Office.

When he first stepped into the Prefectural Office Prefectural Office, he saw that a grand display had already been set up inside. In the main hall, two rows of yamen runners stood holding stern rods.

Between the two rows of yamen runners stood an ordinary-looking man, Xu Bai. As he walked in, he naturally attracted everyone's attention. When he reached the center of the hall, a loud slap was heard coming from Prefect Tong's place.

"Lord Tong, is it really necessary to make such a big fuss?" Xu Bai asked with interest.

Having been in this industry for so long, he had never been interrogated in the lobby before, and he found it quite novel.

"How dare you!" Prefect Tong slammed his hand on the table and said, "Xu Bai, I called you here because I found out that you are connected with the disappearances of those family members. Now, straighten out your attitude."

"On what grounds?" Xu Bai pointed at the ordinary-looking man next to him and said, "Is this person all the evidence?"

"Investigating a case requires both a witness and physical evidence. Although there is only one witness right now, Xu Bai, you must stay in the Prefectural Office until the truth comes out." Prefect Tong with a smile that contained a hint of satisfaction.

At this moment, the man who had been standing to the side finally spoke, feigning panic, pointing at Xu Bai, and shouting, "Sir, it's him! That's the man I saw!"

Xu Bai: "..."

This acting is absolutely absurd.

He was quite certain that the man had not been there that night; all those people were dead and there was no way they could have left any survivors.

"You should know very well the consequences of giving false testimony. I am also an official of the imperial court. You used false testimony to frame me. Don't you know what will happen?" Xu Bai said calmly.

The ordinary-looking man suddenly felt a little timid because he was slightly afraid when he heard Xu Bai say that he was an official of the imperial court.

"If you lie and frame my young master, I will make sure you never leave here alive." Ye Zi's beautiful eyes were cold. "Tell me everything you know. I want to see how you make up a flawless story."

She was furious and wished she could tear the man in front of her to pieces.

The ordinary-looking man stammered, but still managed to recount the whole story.

Xu Bai heard this and his brows furrowed slightly.

Ye Zi wanted to speak, but Xu Bai stopped her from continuing.

"Now that you have so-called witnesses, what do you want to do with me? Is it just to throw me in jail?" Xu Bai stared directly at the Prefect Tong and said.

Prefect Tong nodded and said, "Of course, Lord Xu can rest assured that you will not be harmed before then, you will only lose your freedom."

"Let's go." Xu Bai turned around and walked directly towards the cell without offering a single word of explanation.

The Prefect Tong slightly surprised. He had thought there would be a very heated debate, and he had even prepared many backup plans. But he did not expect that Xu Bai would not argue at all and would just turn around and leave.

I don't know why, but what should have been a satisfying scene suddenly made me feel a bit angry, and even a bit frustrated.

It's like you've laid a trap, waiting for the other person to fall into it, but they just stroll around leisurely, as if they're on vacation.

But things have come to this point, like an arrow already on a bowstring, there's no turning back.

Prefect Tong waved his hand and said, "Take Lord Xu away. Wait, Lord Xu, these two cannot come with you."

These two naturally refer to the Fourth-Rank Puppet and Ye Zi.

Xu Bai turned his head and said, "Who made that rule? Did you make that rule? Am I already a confirmed criminal?"

Three questions in a row left Prefect Tong speechless.

The Prefect Tong increasingly aggrieved, as if he had only made a fool of himself.

In the end, he still let Xu Bai take Ye Zi and the others to prison.

"Smack!"

The cell door was tightly shut.

After locking the door, the constables left immediately without lingering, running as fast as they could, as if they feared incurring Xu Bai's wrath if they stayed any longer.

"Young Master, Ye Zi doesn't understand why we don't argue. Actually, we can ask a lot of questions that the other person might not be able to answer." Ye Zi's fair face was filled with confusion, unable to figure out what Xu Bai was thinking.

It wasn't that she didn't trust Xu Bai; she was just extremely curious. After all, sometimes, when curiosity reaches a certain point, you can't help but want to investigate.

Xu Bai smiled, found a spot against the wall to sit down, leaned back against the wall, took out the Nameless Saber Scripture, and said, "You'll understand some things when you read on; I can't explain them to you now."

Now that things had come to this point, Ye Zi understood that this was not the time to talk about these things. Seeing that Xu Bai still looked relaxed, she felt relieved and went behind Xu Bai Xu Bai to continue massaging his shoulders.

"If something really happens, Ye Zi will cover your retreat," Ye Zi said softly.

Xu Bai laughed and said, "If something really happens, I won't need you to cover my retreat. Don't worry, everything is under control."

If it really comes to court, he has a hundred ways to find out that the person is lying, and he can even make the person admit it to his face.

But before that, Xu Bai considered something, something very important.

Just a few days ago, Prefect Tong still gritting his teeth and couldn't do anything about him, but in the blink of an eye, he came up with a trick and even found someone to impersonate him and create false evidence.

There's a problem here.

Either it was something that Prefect Tong up with after much thought, or someone gave him bad advice behind his back, making him do it this way.

If it's the first one, that's fine.

But what if it's the second option?

If it's the second possibility, then the person behind it is very likely the one who intercepted him.

Xu Bai wouldn't let this opportunity slip by, even if it was only a possibility; he wanted to see what tricks the other party was up to.

When the enemy is in the dark while we are in the light, the only option is to wait for the enemy to make a move and then counterattack accordingly.

As Xu Bai once said, there is no such thing as a perfect event in this world. As long as the other party makes a move, there will inevitably be loopholes, it's just a matter of how big or small they are.

The more times he makes a move, the more loopholes he creates, and the bigger those loopholes become, giving him an opportunity to exploit them.

"Don't worry." Xu Bai yawned and continued working on the Nameless Saber Scripture in his hands.

Time passed slowly, and before we knew it, night had fallen.

At this moment, the moon is bright and the stars are few, with few dark clouds in the sky. The moonlight shines down, casting a silvery glow on the dark earth and highlighting a sense of tranquility.

On this dark night, only the sound of the night watchman's gong rang out continuously; otherwise, the streets were completely silent.

Inside the Prefectural Office.

It was completely dark outside the cell, except for two lanterns that were lit.

By this time, Prefect Tong already asleep.

If it were according to Yun Zihai's habits, he would probably still be working late into the night at this time.

Everyone handles things differently, and everyone has different ambitions.

People like Prefect Tong are already quite old, and the chances of them climbing any higher are slim. So they might as well just stay in their little corner of the world and enjoy their leisure as long as nothing major happens. Naturally, they won't work hard and stay up all night.

At this late hour, they were already asleep, and there was even a faint snoring.

In his dark backyard, a figure was walking cautiously.

Butler Chen held the Wooden Box in his hands, his eyes revealing a resolute look.

Tonight will be the time for them to carry out their plan.

They didn't want to kill Xu Bai; in fact, now wasn't the best time to make a move, since they weren't absolutely certain of success.

If you don't kill Xu Bai, then kill the Prefect Tong.

This Wooden Box is an ingenious design; if it were to explode, it would resemble the numerous wounds on Xu Bai's Black Saber Hundred Rends.

And this was their plan—to frame someone.

Actually, this tactic had already been used before when the Purple Wood Prefecture was in power, but it was used very poorly.

The people of Chessboard Mountain calculated very accurately and used ingenious methods, but the cost was too low.

In the Purple Wood Prefecture, only some family members died, so how could they possibly put pressure on Xu Bai? What they need to do now is not those family members, but to kill the Prefect Tong.

The death of a high-ranking official, a prefectural governor, and the fact that Xu Bai was also involved in the matter, all of this would take on a different perspective.

When the investigation reveals that the wound is similar to Xu Bai's Black Saber Hundred Rends, Xu Bai will be unable to clear his name even if he jumps into the river.

By then, Xu Bai will be in big trouble even before they have to lift a finger.

This is the best method; it doesn't rely on brute force, but rather on skillful application.

The only price to pay is that Butler Chen will surely die, because this ingenious explosion is an indiscriminate attack.

The reason why Butler Chen was chosen to do it was because Butler Chen was considered a close confidant of the Prefect Tong magistrate, and thus had the opportunity to do so.

"Knock knock knock!"

Butler Chen arrived at the door and gently knocked.

After waiting for about a few breaths, the voice of the Prefect Tong came from inside the door.

Who is it?

The voice of the Prefect Tong carried a hint of irritation.

"Master, it's me." Butler Chen said in a low voice, "I just thought of another way to keep Xu Bai locked up for a few more days and help you solve your troubles."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the sounds of people getting dressed filled the room.

A moment later, the Prefect Tong arrived at the door, opened it, and frowned as he looked at Butler Chen.

"A few days of confinement is enough; there's no need to keep them locked up for longer."

After doing what happened at noon today, Prefect Tong still somewhat uneasy.

Although he knew he could no longer climb the ranks and had begun to give up, he was still a scholar, and it made him feel somewhat guilty for a scholar to do such a despicable and vile thing.

So tonight, he lay in bed, unable to sleep, until Butler Chen knocked on the door, at which point he quickly got up.

"Master, I know you've vented your anger, but Xu Bai's attitude this afternoon was still too rude. If we don't teach him a lesson, you'll lose face!" Butler Chen said respectfully.

He acted as if he were advising Prefect Tong on how to get a better reward.

Prefect Tong frowned, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Tell me, what is your method?"

"Master, look at this, this is the physical evidence." Butler Chen held up the Wooden Box in his hand and slowly approached the Prefect Tong.

With curiosity in his eyes, the Prefect Tong approached.

The distance was closing steadily, and Butler Chen silently counted in his mind, a fierce look appearing in his eyes.

There was a button on top of the Wooden Box. Just as the Prefect Tong had gotten to the closest angle, Butler Chen placed his hand on it and then pressed it down hard.

"Click!"

A faint sound rang out.

The surroundings were quiet, everything was as usual.

Butler Chen: "..."

Prefect Tong confusion, "What is this thing? Why does it make a clicking sound when I press it?"

Butler Chen was stunned, and, refusing to believe it, pressed the button again.

"Snap! Snap!"

The sounds kept coming, but the Wooden Box Wooden Box remained the same, making no sound at all.

"This... how is this possible!"

Butler Chen was dumbfounded.

At this moment, the Prefect Tong finally noticed something was wrong; he felt that the steward's expression seemed off.

"Let me see what's in your Wooden Box," Prefect Tong, extending his hand.

As Butler Chen saw the hand that Prefect Tong was extending, he suddenly raised the Wooden Box in his hand, preparing to throw it hard to the ground.

But the next moment, a gust of wind came from afar and chopped off his hands. The Wooden Box was not thrown heavily to the ground, but fell to the ground with gravity without being damaged.

"Ah!"

Butler Chen let out a scream and rolled on the ground.

The Prefect Tong looked surprised and turned to look at the darkness not far away.

Xu Bai, leading Ye Zi and the Fourth-Rank Puppet, emerged from the darkness and yawned.

"I could hear the sound of a machine ticking in prison. Of all the times, you shouldn't have chosen a machine!"

The voice was soft, tinged with regret.

"Xu Bai, how dare you escape from prison, it's simply..." Prefect Tong came to his senses and pointed at Xu Bai, preparing to question him.

"Smack!"

The next moment, Xu Bai slapped the Prefect Tong the face.

A fourth-rank official fighting a fifth-rank official—it was that direct. The Prefect Tong didn't even have time to react.

"Fool, from now on, if you dare to utter another word of nonsense, I'll send you to your grave."