"Brother Xiaoyao, setting aside whether you're Han or from Dali, what did you mean by that Wolf Head Tattoo?" Though Qiao Feng already felt that what Master Zhiguang and the others had said was true, he still found it difficult to believe.
"Does Clan Leader Qiao have a wolf head tattoo on his body?"
"That's right!" When Qiao Feng heard Chen Feng ask, he immediately pulled open his collar, revealing a lifelike wolf head tattoo on his chest.
"So what if he has a tattoo? Who in the martial world doesn't have one?"
"Exactly! I've got a green dragon on my left and a white tiger on my right. Does that make me a Khitan, too?"
"I once heard my father say that the Wolf Head Tattoo was worn on the chest only by the men of Empress Dowager Xiao's clan in Liao Country," Chen Feng said confidently.
"Listen to that! Listen to that! This isn't just me, Quan Guanqing, slandering Qiao Feng. Someone else can testify to it! He, Qiao Feng, is a Khit—"
"So what?"
"Didn't Senior Zhao Qiansun just say that Han people aren't necessarily superior, and Khitans aren't necessarily worse than pigs and dogs?" Chen Feng cut Quan Guanqing off before he could finish.
"That's right. I did say that," Zhao Qiansun admitted.
"Khitans are worse than pigs and dogs! I once saw Khitans impale Han infants on their spears and toss them into the air for sport. Doesn't that make them worse than pigs and dogs?" A Beggar Clan Disciple in the crowd shouted in rebuttal.
"Have you ever seen a Khitan infant impale a Han infant on a spear and toss them into the air?" Chen Feng asked in return.
"What a ridiculous question! What infant is born knowing how to do that?"
"Exactly. No infant is born knowing anything. Man is born good by nature; his nature is much the same, but his habits make him different. Although Clan Leader Qiao is a Khitan, he was adopted by a Han couple and personally educated by a High Monk of Shaolin. After joining the Beggar Clan, he was personally groomed by Leader Wang."
"According to Master Zhiguang, Leader Wang knew all along that Clan Leader Qiao was Khitan, yet he still resolutely passed the leadership to him. And Clan Leader Qiao lived up to everyone's expectations. You Beggar Clan brothers know better than I do what he's done all these years. How can he be subjected to baseless suspicion merely because he's Khitan?"
"That's right. Clan Leader Qiao championed justice, helped the people, and was fair in all his dealings. We all have complete faith in him."
"Exactly. Clan Leader Qiao foiled the Khitans' schemes several times and killed quite a few of their heroes. So what if he's Khitan?"
"Right! There are Han people who betray their clan and country, too. So what if Clan Leader Qiao is Khitan? Clan Leader Qiao, I support you!"
"Clan Leader Qiao, I support you, too!"
"We support you!"
For a time, all the Beggar Clan Disciples present, except those from the Great Wisdom and Great Courage branches, began to rally behind Qiao Feng. His deeds over the years had been truly admirable.
Northern Qiao Feng, Southern Murong. That reputation made people look upon the Beggar Clan Disciples with greater respect whenever they traveled the martial world.
"Amitabha. 'Man is born good by nature; his nature is much the same, but his habits make him different.' These words, simple as a children's rhyme, express a profound truth about life. Young Master Xiaoyao is truly a man of great talent. I admire him," Master Zhiguang said.
Seeing that the Beggar Clan members were all defending Qiao Feng, Master Zhiguang wasn't bothered. His main purpose in coming was to prevent the identity of The Leader from being exposed.
"There's one other thing I find strange, something I simply can't figure out." While the iron was hot, Chen Feng prepared to bring out his biggest weapon.
"What is it that Young Master Xiaoyao can't figure out? Tell us, so everyone can hear," Elder Chen and the others said at once. They already admired Qiao Feng from the bottom of their hearts, and seeing Chen Feng take his side, they immediately chimed in.
"Deputy Leader Ma was entrusted by Leader Wang to keep a secret letter. That means he'd already considered the possibility of being murdered. Why didn't he hide the letter somewhere safe in advance and tell his wife and children about it?"
"He didn't have to tell them what it contained. He only needed to say that if he died an unnatural death, they should hand it over to an elder of the clan. Why was it only discovered when Madam Ma was sorting through his belongings?"
"Young Master Xiaoyao may not know this, but although Deputy Leader Ma and Madam Ma had been together for over a decade, they had no children. Perhaps he didn't tell her because he didn't want to saddle her with the burden of such a serious matter," Elder Xu said slowly in response to Chen Feng's question.
"How could that be?" Chen Feng had been waiting for just such a remark. He immediately raised his voice. "Madam Ma clearly had a child. How can you say she had none? Did the child die in infancy?"
"You're slandering me!" Kang Min was shocked by Chen Feng's words and hurriedly scolded him. "How can you make baseless accusations against my good name?"
Then she covered her face and wept, looking so delicate and pitiful that anyone would feel sympathy for her.
Though Qiao Feng resented Kang Min for framing him, he didn't want anyone to use the same tactics to clear his name. He said, "Brother Xiaoyao, Qiao Feng thanks you for speaking up for me, but you shouldn't make baseless accusations without evidence."
"Clan Leader Qiao, I swear on my life that Madam Ma definitely had a child," Chen Feng said with conviction. "My father was a traveling physician who treated people all over the land. In remote mountain villages where there were no midwives, he would help deliver babies himself. He once told me that a woman's bones are different if she's given birth. So I can say with certainty that Madam Ma had a child!"
"Since Deputy Leader Ma didn't know about this, did Madam Ma have an affair—with someone before her marriage or after it—and was Deputy Leader Ma murdered by her and her accomplice after he discovered the truth? After all, anyone could have done it as long as they first knocked him unconscious!"
This was returning a weapon with the same weapon. After all, Quan Guanqing had just slandered Qiao Feng by claiming that he might have learned the secret and tried to silence those who knew it.
Chen Feng thought this was a lethal weapon, but it wasn't. In the Song Dynasty, attitudes toward relations between men and women were still fairly open. Even if Kang Min had had a child, it wouldn't have prevented her from marrying.
But Kang Min had clearly concealed the truth and fabricated a lie to cover it up. That was how Chen Feng had hit the mark by sheer chance. After all, a woman who had lied about her past to marry the Deputy Leader of the Beggar Clan might have had other motives. It was certainly worth considering.
Bai Shijing, in particular, had been seduced by Kang Min and become her lover. He had even personally killed Ma Dayuan, and now he was trying to pin the blame on Qiao Feng.
Now that he'd heard Kang Min had concealed something so important, fabricated her background to marry a Deputy Leader, seduced him, the clan's law-enforcement elder, and was now plotting to force Qiao Feng to step down and frame him...
At the thought, Bai Shijing broke into a cold sweat. But with the arrow already on the string, he had no choice but to loose it. Retreat meant utter ruin; he couldn't afford to hold back.
With that in mind, Bai Shijing spoke:
"You swear on your life? Who do you think you are? Everything needs evidence. If one person swears on his life and another does the same, everyone could accuse everyone else of anything. Wouldn't the whole world be in chaos? Hm?!"
"He doesn't deserve it, but do I?" As soon as Bai Shijing finished speaking, a voice came from the distance. Three people parted the crowd and came to Chen Feng's side.
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