There Must Be Something Fishy Going On

"Murder?"

Chen Ming froze for a moment, then said urgently, "You can't just spout nonsense like that. I'm a law-abiding citizen. You can't slander a good man out of thin air."

"Law-abiding?"

Wang Yangming sneered. "A little over a month ago, you committed a crime and were thrown into prison, yet you still dare call yourself a good citizen? I'd say you're a habitual offender."

Chen Ming shook his head hard. "I was framed. All you need to do is investigate, my lord."

Wang Yangming shouted sternly, "What I'm investigating today is the matter of you killing Xiao Lin. Confess honestly! Otherwise, you can explain yourself in Six Doors' prison."

Chen Ming's expression changed. "It seems you've already made up your mind to pin this crime on me. We have neither grievance nor enmity between us. Why are you framing me? Do you think I'm easy to bully?"

Wang Yangming put on a grave expression. "This official is not targeting anyone. Whether you killed him or not, you know in your own heart. Confess yourself and spare yourself the pain of flesh and blood. Once you reach the prison, those people won't be as easy to talk to as I am."

Over the past half month, he had found few useful clues. Yet based on experience and instinct, he knew the murderer had to be this Chen Ming.

The reasoning was simple. If one of Xiao Lin's other enemies had killed him, they would certainly have left their name behind and declared that their great vengeance had been repaid.

Rather than disguising it as suicide.

The only person with such a motive, who had recently developed a grudge against Xiao Lin, and who possessed the strength to kill him, was Chen Ming.

Unfortunately, the other party had handled things too cleanly.

Wang Yangming could not find any evidence. Since that was the case, he had simply come to Chen Ming directly. He had made up his mind that no matter what, he would take him down today.

As long as Chen Ming confessed, no one would be able to find fault with it.

Wang Yangming believed Lord Zhao would be very pleased with this grand gift.

Lord Zhao had only just arrived and needed to establish his authority.

As one of the city's old hands, Huo Chengkun was highly respected and had many disciples. Moreover, he had always refrained from opposing Six Doors, making him an excellent target for establishing authority.

Wang Yangming had made inquiries. This Chen Ming served as a sparring partner for Huo's disciples at Huo Manor. He was not even Huo Chengkun's personal disciple.

Dealing with him would not incur too much hatred from Huo Chengkun.

Yet in the eyes of outsiders, Chen Ming was still an instructor of Huo Manor. Taking him down would be the same as shaving away Huo Manor's face.

It would both achieve the goal of establishing authority and avoid offending Huo Chengkun too deeply.

He was simply the perfect candidate for establishing authority!

"My lord!"

At that moment, Chen Rui, who had been eavesdropping outside, rushed in and said excitedly, "There must be some misunderstanding here. I guarantee with my life that my younger brother would never kill anyone!"

Wang Yangming did not even glance at him. He merely stared at Chen Ming, raised his chin, and said coldly, "Did you hear that? Your brother wants to shield you. I can only arrest him too. If you don't want to drag your family down with you, confess now. I can spare him."

"You—"

No matter what, Chen Rui had never expected this Six Doors constable to use him to threaten his younger brother. Shocked and furious, he was unable to speak for a long while.

Chen Ming slowly straightened his slightly bent back. Staring directly at the Six Doors constable, his gaze gradually sharpened. "Are you sure you want to tear all pretense of friendship apart with me?"

Wang Yangming seemed dismissive at first, but when he heard a series of crack-crack-crack sounds coming from Chen Ming's body, his expression abruptly changed. "Tendons and bones ringing in unison? You've entered the Ninth Rank?"

How was that possible?

The shock was so great that he could not control his expression. In an instant, his face turned incomparably ugly.

What?

Erlang had entered the Ninth Rank?

Chen Rui, who had been filled with shock and anger, froze upon hearing those words. He stared at his younger brother in disbelief.

After struggling inwardly for a while, Wang Yangming ultimately chose to leave.

He was also a Ninth Rank martial artist and believed his own strength was enough to take Chen Ming down.

However, before figuring out the other party's true background, it was unwise to rashly forge a deadly feud.

"Strange. Didn't they say this boy's aptitude was mediocre, that he couldn't even remain at Huo Manor? How did he suddenly become a Ninth Rank martial artist?"

Even stranger, if he possessed such strength, how could he have been thrown into prison a little over a month ago?

If he revealed his cultivation, would the owner of Golden Source Commerce dare treat him that way?

The more Wang Yangming thought about it, the more something felt wrong.

There had to be something fishy going on.

Chen Estate, main hall.

Chen Rui looked at Chen Ming and asked somewhat hesitantly, "You really... entered... the Ninth Rank?"

"Brother, don't spread this matter around for now."

Chen Rui's breathing became rapid. Trembling, he asked, "You... mean... you really are Ninth Rank...?"

"Yes."

After receiving that confirmation, Chen Rui's eyes reddened. "Ancestors above, the Chen Family has finally produced a martial artist..."

As he spoke, he staggered toward the rear courtyard. Judging by his appearance, he was likely heading to the ancestral hall to tell their parents and ancestors' spirits in heaven of this news.

Chen Ming had originally wanted to remind him of a few things, but seeing him like this, he could only shake his head inwardly and let him go.

Only then did he have time to think about what had happened today.

"Logically speaking, Six Doors generally doesn't interfere in vendettas within the martial world. Old Ghost Xiao was a lowlife loan shark. If he died, then he died. Why was this Wang fellow biting down and refusing to let go?"

He searched through the original owner's memories and found that he had never known this Constable Wang before. He had not even heard of him, much less formed any grudge with him.

There was definitely something suspicious here.

A sense of urgency rose in Chen Ming's heart. "This Wang fellow is a hidden danger after all."

When Chen Ming arrived at Huo Manor, he was two quarter-hours later than usual.

Huo Manor was brimming with festivity that day, and every servant wore a delighted expression.

Only then did he remember that today was the day Wen Zehao had come to Huo Manor to present the betrothal gifts.

Two days ago, Huo Qianqian had just celebrated her sixteenth birthday. By custom, she could now marry.

It was said that Huo Manor had been exceptionally lively on the day of her coming-of-age ceremony, with many guests invited.

However, it had nothing to do with him. That day, as usual, he had gone to Deng Manor in the afternoon and had not attended the ceremony.

When he reached the training grounds, the students were training by themselves. Neither Fifth Senior Brother nor Third Senior Brother was there.

That made sense. With the groom's side coming to present betrothal gifts, they naturally had to be present as members of the bride's family.

Originally, the students had only been training lazily. With no one supervising them, many were merely going through the motions.

The moment Chen Ming arrived, they immediately grew tense. One after another, they began training with the force of tigers and the wind of dragons, not daring to slacken in the slightest.

During this period, he had already established his authority among the students. It had been forged through strength, and no one refused to accept it.

He did not waste time either. "Who's first today?"

The students immediately began clamoring. "Senior Brother Chen, on such a fine day, we still have to do this?"

"Exactly! Seventh Senior Brother has come to propose marriage. Don't you want to go watch the excitement and soak up some good fortune?"

"Senior Brother Chen, when are you getting married?"

"Shut up."

Chen Ming's loud shout suppressed their voices. "As the old saying goes, a fist must never leave the hand, and a tune must never leave the mouth. Skip practice for one day and your hands and feet grow slow; skip two days and you lose half of it. Those who practice martial arts must never slacken for even a single day."

Seeing how strict he was, the students did not dare ramble further. They quieted down and, as usual, stepped forward one by one to spar with him.

By the time the sparring ended at noon, Chen Ming had still not seen Hong Mingquan, so he left first. It would not be too late to ask tomorrow.

That afternoon, he still went to Deng Manor to serve as a sparring partner for Deng Ziyang and his group of younger brothers.

Soon, the day passed.

Early the next morning.

At nine in the morning, Chen Ming arrived at Huo Manor on time, only to discover that the atmosphere was somewhat strange today. The servants' faces no longer held any joy.

He did not pay it much mind. When he reached the training grounds, he saw Hong Mingquan and Zhang Mingyu sitting in the pavilion as usual, drinking tea. However, both of their expressions were somewhat grave.

His instincts told him something had happened.

Chen Ming hesitated over whether to walk over, when he saw Zhang Mingyu wave him over.

He went over and sat down. Before he could ask, Zhang Mingyu sighed. "You weren't here yesterday. Something major happened in the manor."

He asked carefully, "What major matter?"

"Junior Sister... isn't getting married anymore."