Passing Through by Deception

Scar Lord's cousin!

Tu Kui, Hall Master of the Blood Blade Sect's Execution Hall!

It was like a bolt from the blue in Lin Nan's heart, but outwardly, he remained perfectly composed.

"Wh... what?! Scar Lord is dead?!"

He ground his teeth, and his eyes nearly spat fire.

"Who exactly was the killer? How dare he murder my good brother Scar Lord? I wish I could drink his blood and devour his flesh!"

His voice was so impassioned that even Headmaster Xie and Tu Kui were moved.

"I do know who the killer is."

Tu Kui was not swayed by Lin Nan's emotions. Instead, he stared fixedly at every expression on his face.

He knows?

Impossible. If he knew, he would have said it outright long ago.

He's trying to trick me!

In the flash of an instant, countless thoughts raced through Lin Nan's mind, yet he remained calm and continued to look as though he were gritting his teeth in fury.

"Who is it?!"

"It's you! You're the one who killed Scar Lord!"

Tu Kui gave a cold laugh.

"Me?!"

Lin Nan's eyes widened in disbelief as he blankly pointed at Tu Kui.

"Master Kui, if you refuse to tell me who the killer is, then so be it. But why accuse me like this? Everyone knows that Scar Lord and I shared a bond as enduring as the sun and moon!"

"Heh..." A trace of mockery appeared at the corner of Tu Kui's lips.

"Not a bad performance."

"I really am not the killer!"

"Unfortunately, I've already found proof that you committed the murder. Before Headmaster Xie today, I can guarantee that if you admit it, I can spare your life. Let me ask you one last time..."

Tu Kui enunciated every word. "Did you... kill my cousin, Tu Scar?"

He found evidence? No, that's impossible.

Lin Nan's eyes instead became unusually calm. Looking directly into Tu Kui's eyes, he replied,

"I did not kill him!"

Tu Kui fell silent for a moment, his eyes locked onto Lin Nan's expression, afraid of missing even the slightest detail.

At this point, Headmaster Xie also sensed that something was amiss between the two of them. Intentionally or otherwise, he stepped in front of Lin Nan.

Several breaths later.

"Impressive."

Tu Kui applauded with both hands, a hint of admiration appearing on his face.

"Headmaster Xie, congratulations on gaining another fine disciple. Since my cousin's death has nothing to do with your martial school, I shall not disturb you any longer today."

"Hall Master Tu, you are too polite. Someone, see Hall Master Tu out!"

Tu Kui gave Lin Nan a meaningful look, then followed a disciple toward the martial school's entrance.

As Tu Kui left, the weight hanging over Lin Nan's heart finally dropped away.

He had won the gamble!

If Lin Nan had still merely been an ordinary inner disciple, Headmaster Xie might not necessarily have intervened in this matter.

But now that Lin Nan had displayed his talent, Headmaster Xie could not simply stand by and ignore it.

As for evidence?

Did evidence even matter much to Tu Kui and him?

Besides, if Tu Kui truly had evidence, he would have acted long ago. Why waste his breath? Still, while open spears were easy to dodge, hidden arrows were hard to guard against. He would have to keep a low profile these coming days.

Headmaster Xie seemed to see Lin Nan's concern.

"For the time being, stay at the martial school these next few days."

A bitter smile appeared on Lin Nan's face. "But this disciple's seven-day residency has already expired."

Headmaster Xie smiled faintly. "Whether it has expired or not, is that for a Fortune and Prosperity Hall disciple to decide, or for me, the headmaster?"

Only then did Lin Nan awaken as if from a dream. He hurriedly clasped his hands and bowed.

"Thank you, Headmaster Xie!"

On the streets of the eastern part of the city, long avenues crisscrossed as carts and horses came and went.

Several Blood Blade Sect disciples walked slowly down the middle of the street, while pedestrians on both sides hurriedly lowered their heads and kept far away.

"Master Kui, could this Lin Nan truly not be the killer?" a black-clad disciple asked curiously.

It was his first time seeing Tu Kui, his boss, so patient as to stroll through the streets.

"Does it matter whether he is the killer?"

Tu Kui held a booklet in his hand, his gaze gradually turning cold.

"Twenty years old. He broke through the Blood and Qi barrier two months ago, yet he is already at the third level of Blood and Qi. Compared to the death of that trash Tu Scar, I'm more curious about the secret Lin Nan is hiding behind him."

As he spoke, he turned his head and gazed from afar at White Snake Martial School, his eyes carrying a trace of wariness.

"With that old Xie around, we can't make a move. He was once a martial master, after all. Even though his Blood and Qi have weakened now, I fear only the sect master in the Blood Blade Sect can defeat him..."

"These next few days, keep a close watch on him. The moment that brat Lin Nan leaves White Snake Martial School, notify me immediately!"

Night fell, and the outer city lay dark and heavy as water.

White Snake Martial School, residence.

Lin Nan finished packing his things in the room. Looking at the jade talismans hanging all around the beams of the martial school, he felt somewhat more at ease.

"Finally, I can live at the martial school permanently."

The nerves that had been stretched taut for many days finally eased somewhat.

That was the benefit of revealing just enough of one's edge. If he kept hiding and enduring, it meant facing the dangers of the Blood Blade Sect alone.

But if he could display a certain amount of value, White Snake Martial School would naturally protect him.

At that moment, Lin Nan suddenly remembered something and hurriedly opened his bundle.

He took out a cloth coin pouch embroidered with the character "official." Pulling open its mouth and looking inside, Lin Nan could not help feeling disappointed.

"Pah, Peng Huo kept calling himself an 'Iron-Faced Owl Patrol,' but he's just a broke bastard!"

The coin pouch was utterly empty, save for a little over three taels of loose silver, leaving Lin Nan speechless.

After putting the pouch away, Lin Nan took the palm-sized bronze cup from his bundle.

The cup's surface was mottled bronze, uneven and pitted. It felt ice-cold in his hand, as if he were holding a block of ice.

Lin Nan picked it up and inspected it carefully. He found four patterns engraved on its body, but the writing was completely indecipherable, seemingly not from this era.

"The bronze cup was excavated from an ancient tomb in Withered Locust Village. It can refine Corpse Wraiths and condense Mysterious Yin Blood, but how exactly does it work?"

Lin Nan's heart stirred.

If he could create Corpse Wraiths himself, would that not give him a steady, inexhaustible source of Yin energy points?

When that time came, Tu Kui and the like would learn why flowers were so red!

With that thought, Lin Nan immediately grew excited.

However, he could not simply seize innocent ordinary people for experiments.

Even in these chaotic times, as a modern man, he had his own bottom line.

"But those utterly vicious evildoers fall outside that bottom line—like the Blood Blade Sect and the like..."

Just then.

The sound of a door opening came from outside.

Lin Nan hurriedly put away the bronze cup, hiding it inside the wooden cabinet, then stuffed cloth bags in front of it to cover it up.

Creak.

The door was pushed open, and Liu Feng staggered in reeking of alcohol.

The moment he entered, he collapsed onto the floor.

Lin Nan frowned. "Where did you go?"

"Drunken Spring Pavilion, listening to tunes in the pleasure quarters." Liu Feng gave a self-mocking laugh.

Lin Nan's mouth twitched.

Were those tunes proper?

Liu Feng sat at his own sleeping spot, staring through the window at the starless, moonless streets of the outer city, his face blank and lost.

After a long while, he finally forced out a sentence.

"Brother Lin, I don't want to practice martial arts anymore. I want to go home."

Slap!

Lin Nan suddenly swung a slap across Liu Feng's face. In an instant, the pain sobered Liu Feng up by seventy percent.

"Brother Lin, you..." Liu Feng stared at him in disbelief. He had never expected Lin Nan, his friend of so many days, to hit him.

"You're still so young, yet the moment you encounter a setback, you become this dejected. Are you worthy of the parents who sent you here?"

Lin Nan spoke calmly.

"What else can I do besides be dejected?"

Liu Feng shook his head, his eyes nearly red. "Today, I utterly disgraced myself before everyone in the martial school. What right do I have to remain here?"

"Then train hard. Train until you can tear apart the mouths of everyone who gossips about you. Naturally, no one will dare talk about you anymore."

Liu Feng's entire body trembled. Looking at Lin Nan's calm and composed expression, he seemed to finally understand the true reason Lin Nan had left him so far behind on the martial path.

"So that's how it is... So that's how it is..."

Lin Nan patted Liu Feng's shoulder earnestly.

"Listen to your brother on this. Matters of the heart are beyond your grasp. Training hard in martial arts is what truly matters. Back in my day..."

Liu Feng seemed to gain some understanding and quickly asked, "Brother Lin, could it be that you also suffered setbacks in love back then, and thus strove to grow stronger all the way until you attained your state of mind today?"

"No, I've never dated."

"..."