Chapter 232: Trouble!

However.

When he arrived at Hero Tower and inquired about the situation, the answer he received was that the rumors about Chen Mu killing Zhang Tieli had appeared extremely abruptly, as if they had sprung up from every corner overnight, spreading at great speed, with origins nearly impossible to trace.

Hero Tower currently had no definite information pointing to anyone either.

Chen Mu's heart sank slightly — the person behind the scenes had covered their tracks very cleanly.

Alarmed within, yet on his face he put on an even angrier look. In the main hall on the first floor, before a crowd of martial artists, he slammed the table with a sudden crash, stood up, and shouted sharply.

"Shameless scoundrels! Hiding in the dark to spread rumors and sully the innocent!"

"If you have any guts, step out and face this official head-on!"

"Using such despicable tricks — truly a contemptible little person!"

After finishing his tirade, wearing an expression of furious frustration mixed with helplessness, he flung his sleeves and stormed out of Hero Tower.

Chen Mu's little performance, as it landed in the eyes of Hero Tower's crowd, sparked yet another round of discussion.

"Look at Inspector Chen's reaction — doesn't seem like an act, does it? Could he really have been framed?"

"Hard to say. Maybe it's all just a show for us?"

"I don't think so. He was so angry he cursed in public. If he'd really done the killing, why bother?"

"Hmph, who knows. These big shots — their minds run deep…"

"…"

The rumors fermented throughout the state city for an entire day. Only when night fell did Yu Shoujiang return, travel-worn, to the Zhenwu Division to report back to Chen Mu.

"Reporting to my lord, this subordinate found out! The ones spreading the rumors are a small gang in Chengxi called the 'Blood Blade Society.'"

Found them?

Chen Mu's face lit up with joy, and he pressed, "And the people?"

At this, Yu Shoujiang paused, lowered his voice, and said, "This evening, this subordinate led men to the Blood Blade Society's base, intending to bring their leader back for questioning. But we were too late…"

"Everyone inside the base — the Blood Blade Society's gang leader included, over fifty people in total — were all killed! Not a single survivor left!"

Bang~!

Chen Mu slapped the desk to splinters. The teacup and teapot on the table fell to the floor, tea splashing everywhere.

"Bastards!"

"The mastermind behind this — how brazen!"

"Yu Shoujiang, I order you to investigate through the night every person and faction connected to the Blood Blade Society! No matter who you find, report to this official immediately!"

Chen Mu issued the order in a furious voice.

"Yes, my lord!"

Yu Shoujiang cupped his fist in salute, responded, turned, and strode away.

On his face, the same fury surged up, eyes spitting fire.

Framing Chen Mu for killing Zhang Tieli.

This was no longer a matter concerning Chen Mu alone.

It was the face of every single person in the Zhenwu Division!

Compared to the outside, hardly anyone inside the Zhenwu Division believed Zhang Tieli's death was Chen Mu's doing.

It was simple — if Chen Mu really wanted to kill Zhang Tieli, he could have done it openly and aboveboard.

A gang organization like that was already deeply entangled with ordinary commoners; any charge at all would have given him grounds to send troops and wipe them out.

There was simply no need to sneak in at night and ambush them!

……

Yu Shoujiang once again stepped out through the Zhenwu Division's main gate.

Chen Mu was no less busy. He walked out of the main hall, called over a Zhenwu Division guard, had the man lead the way, and headed to the Blood Blade Society's base.

Officially, it was to look for clues; in truth, to collect cards.

With a face full of "fury," he finished collecting the cards, cursed some more, and returned to the Zhenwu Division.

Sitting alone in the main hall, he checked the cards.

Eleven Inner Strength cards, seven Skill cards, three Power cards, two Memory cards — the rest were either Stamina cards or Energy cards.

Chen Mu's target was the Memory cards, to see if he could find any clues in the memories of the Blood Blade Society's members.

Unfortunately, after "browsing" through both Memory cards' full life memories, there was no useful information.

Spreading the rumors about Chen Mu killing Zhang Tieli was indeed the Blood Blade Society's doing — ordered personally by the gang leader himself; everyone else didn't know who the mastermind was.

The key was that the dead members had also been killed by the gang leader himself, who had brought ten strangers and done the deed with his own hands!

And in the end, the gang leader was killed too.

This fellow had first silenced his own people, only to end up silenced himself!

The whole thing was a case with no living witness.

The trail had gone cold.

……

The rumor of "Chen Mu killing Zhang Tieli," like a plague, spread rapidly outward from Zhenzhouzhoucheng. In just two days, even a hundred li away, the Hidden Sword Palace nestled among the mountains, had caught wind of it.

On the martial training ground.

The Hidden Sword Palace's disciples one after another stopped their daily training, gathered in small clusters of three or five, whispering to each other, faces full of shock and excitement.

"Hear about it? That Chen Mu, ranked thirtieth on the Hidden Dragon List, killed someone in Zhenzhoucheng!"

"Really? He's an Inspector of the Zhenwu Division — how could he act so wantonly?"

"Who knows? They say it was because the other party didn't fawn over him to his satisfaction, so he wiped out the whole family!"

"I don't think so. For Chen Mu to make the Hidden Dragon List, how could he be such a brainless fool? Someone must be framing him!"

"Hmph, you can know a man's face but not his heart! The Hidden Dragon Ranking only judges battle records, not character! I bet he's just relying on his overwhelming strength and doing whatever he pleases!"

"Exactly. He's so young yet already holds a high position — it's only natural he'd get a swollen head and do something out of line…"

"…"

The disciples buzzed with discussion. Some, judging rationally, refused to believe it; others were half-convinced, half-doubting; and a few who had long been jealous of a heaven-chosen talent like Chen Mu were now all the more certain, declaring with conviction that it was Chen Mu's doing, their tones not lacking in schadenfreude.

It wasn't only ordinary disciples — even the current Sect Master of Hidden Sword Palace, Chen Liping, along with several elders, had gathered in a side hall at this moment, discussing with Solemn Countenance.

"There's something strange about this matter."

A white-haired, white-bearded elder stroked his beard and said thoughtfully, "Although that boy Chen Mu is young and brash, and acts with a high profile, based on his trip to Wudicheng, he is no reckless fool. What good would it do him to sneak-attack and kill a gang's vice leader who was desperately trying to curry favor with him in the middle of the night? He'd only be inviting trouble onto himself."

"Quite right."

Another elder, thin-faced and gaunt, nodded in agreement. "This looks more like someone deliberately framing him, trying to redirect the trouble onto Chen Mu, or perhaps wanting to use Chen Mu's hand to provoke conflict between him and the Blazing Sun Gang, and even other factions."

Sect Master Chen Liping sat upright in the main seat, his gaze deep. "The key isn't whether Chen Mu is the murderer, but what the person behind the scenes actually wants to do. Chen Mu has just arrived in Zhenzhouzhoucheng and is already being schemed against like this — who exactly has he offended? This pool of water, it seems, is deeper than we imagined."

The several elders were trading remarks, analyzing various possibilities, when a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the hall.

A fair-featured female disciple ran breathlessly into the great hall, not bothering with etiquette, and reported in a panic.

"Sect Master! Elders! This is bad! Senior Brother… Senior Brother has gone down the mountain!"

What?!

Chen Liping rose abruptly, and the several elders also changed color at the same instant.

Hidden Sword Palace's Senior Brother was precisely Chen Liping's only son, and also the most outstanding disciple of the younger generation in Hidden Sword Palace — Chen Ze!

Chen Ze was twenty years old, already at the Seventh Stage Innate cultivation, with extremely high sword Dao talent. Toward Chen Mu, a fellow heaven-chosen of similar age who had already shaken the world, he had always harbored a desire to compare himself, one might even say a bit of an obsession.

He had long declared publicly that he would surely find a chance to compete with Chen Mu.

Hearing now that Chen Mu was caught up in a "murder" scandal, with Chen Ze's impulsive and stubborn temperament, he would certainly be heading straight for Zhenzhouzhoucheng!