Chapter 764: Forging Swords into Plowshares (10)

The Xiao Lin family's dragon maid.

「Where is safety? Surely the armory, such an important place, shouldn't have any golden guardians stationed at the entrance or surveillance cameras installed? 」

Xiao Lin wasn't shocked that the armory's demonic sword was stolen; rather, the security of Gong Zao Si is just too unreliable! Even in Tuo Er's world, everyone knows you put a guard dragon in front of treasure chests or gold and silver jewels, right!

「"Surveillance cameras... are they like a magic for remotely spying on people?" Tuo Er wondered doubtfully, "Could someone have secretly destroyed the footage? Like a hacker such as Yin Lang, they could easily do that, right?"」

「"No... Yin Lang couldn't be involved. The problem is, besides Yun Li, it seems no one else has a motive to steal the sword; only Yun Li has a motive but would absolutely never steal it." Xiao Lin closed his eyes and analyzed seriously, "Moreover, Gong Zao Si had no fighting at midnight; otherwise the fight would surely draw attention, huh... then there's only one possibility——"」

Xiao Lin snapped his eyes open, his tone ninety percent certain.

「"It's Master Gongshu shouting 'catch the thief' while being the thief!"」

「"Huh?"」

「"What's wrong? Tuo Er, you think something's off, huh?"」

「"No, that's not it." Tuo Er touched his face, "Just feel that your answer, Xiao Lin, is rather stream-of-consciousness."」

——

「"While helping Yun Li look for evidence of innocence, Xing Shun examined the sword sheath used as evidence. The sheath's exterior was completely intact, with no signs of violent forced opening, but when she opened it, she found several rose petals scattered inside."」

「"These few streaks of extremely eye-catching red seem to be deliberately announcing their presence to whoever inspects the inner sheath."」

「"In that case, the answer instantly changed from a multiple-choice question to a single-choice one."」

「"I found this in the crevice at the bottom of the sword sheath."」

「"Xing handed the rose petals he found to Da Hao, who also scratched his head in bewilderment: "Rose... petals? Uh... probably I overlooked them during the search. How could this be in the sword sheath?"」」

「"I don't know. But I know, the knight escorting the treasure sword always leaves a trail of rose petals that are hard to sweep clean wherever he goes."」

「"Regarding this habit of Yin Zhi, Pam on the train practically has the right to speak."」

「"Although the evidence points to Yin Zhi, Da Hao still finds it hard to understand—not to mention how he took the sword away from Gong Zao Si, or why he brought it along after returning the treasure sword; finally, why did he leave this petal in the sheath?"」

「"Ask Yin Zhi, not me."」

「"I know." Yun Li raised her hand and said, "It was the Lone Cloud Sword that freed itself from the sheath. That Pure Beauty Knight merely opened the clasp to help it escape."」

「"Don't joke, how could a sword possibly escape on its own?" Pawoer instinctively denied. 」

「"What, you've never seen a flying sword?"」

「"... I, I only heard in legends that Mika Qiwasha can fly; even if we concede that, why would that Pure Beauty Knight do such a thing?"」

「"I already said, it's a demonic sword forged with Suiyang; surely this sword controlled Yin Zhi! Perhaps he was already controlled before reaching Luo Fu."」

——

Qin's Moon: Tian Xing Jiu Ge

In the Zilan Xuan Elegant Room, fragrant incense wafted softly.

「"It's actually that Pure Beauty Knight... interesting."」

The starlight of the sky canopy shone on the bronze wine cup in Han Fei's hand, reflecting his delicate eyebrows and eyes. He and WeiZhuang each guessed the culprit was the envoy and Yin Zhi, never expecting that WeiZhuang would win.

Across the table, WeiZhuang stood holding his sword in the shadows, his whole body like an ice sculpture, expression icy: "You lost."

"Alright, alright, WeiZhuang brother... I accept the loss, just one more drink." Han Fei shook his wine cup, a faint smile on his lips, "But I never thought this Pure Beauty Knight could also be controlled by the demonic sword; I assumed those walking the Pure Beauty path would have more exceptional minds... well, I underestimated this sword."

"My lord, this is indeed a heroic sword; I don't think it would behave like a petty villain like other demonic swords." Purple Maiden lightly smiled, "The Pure Beauty Knight helps others for joy in the galaxy and never asks for reward; why are you and Yun Li so certain that Lone Cloud controlled Yin Zhi? Couldn't it be that Yin Zhi was moved by Lone Cloud's heroic deeds and willingly stepped in to help him out of trouble?"

Han Fei, upon hearing this, also repeatedly patted his head: "What the Maiden said is correct; I was muddle-headed. As long as Yin Zhi touches this Lone Cloud sword, the Suiyang residing in the sword blade would just shout 'Pure Beauty Goddess Idelira, unmatched beauty,' and Yin Zhi would surely help him escape trouble. I never expected this Lone Cloud sword to be so spirited, able to run out of the sheath on its own."

"Suiyang itself is a kind of demon we cannot comprehend." Purple Maiden's brows slightly lowered, her eyes flickering with a hint of longing and curiosity, "If this heroic sword could be grasped by the lord, could he lead Han to dominate the Seven States?"

Han Fei slowly set down his wine cup: "Hehe, Maiden, you've asked the wrong question."

「"Oh?"」

"If I grasp Lone Cloud, then who helps Han dominate the Seven States—me, or the Suiyang controlling me?"

——

"Everyone found the docking spot of the Bygone Era Rarely Found ship, right in the corner of the Star Raft Sea Dock. Everyone quickly rushed over and discovered Yin Zhi sitting in a chair, back to everyone."

"Rather than saying they found Yin Zhi, it's more like Yin Zhi found them."

「"Ladies and gentlemen, I've been waiting here for a while."」

Yin Zhi slowly rose and walked toward everyone.

「"Pure Beauty Knight, you stole the Lone Cloud Sword, right? Put it down—you have no idea how dangerous that demonic sword is."」

Yin Zhi did not agree with Yun Li's view: "Danger? In my humble opinion, the true danger forever lies in the hand that wields the weapon."

「"So the rose petals were deliberately left by you?"」

「"Exactly. As a knight of Idelira, I swear to live humbly and find joy in simplicity, and I despise theft—so to honor my promise to Lord Lone Cloud and uphold my knightly oath, I had no choice but to leave the rose petals."」

「"This left Yun Li feeling dazed: "What, what do you mean?"」」

「"I promised to help Lord Lone Cloud's request; it wanted me to take it away from the Immortal Vessel. As the one who pulled it from the stone tablet, moved by its purity, I cannot fail it. I cannot stay in the armory to persuade the craftsmen, nor do I wish to take the treasure sword like a thief. Therefore I left a small token of my identity, hoping to speak openly with everyone."」

「"Now Yun Li understood: "No matter what you say, you still want to take the demonic sword away from the Immortal Vessel and give it to me!"」」

「"Initially, it was Lord Lone Cloud's purity that moved me, making me willingly join the caravan on the journey to return the sword... but unfortunately, Lord Lone Cloud's homeland is not its ideal destination; a Pure Beauty Knight ought to see things through from start to finish."」