Chapter 693: Wuxia: Archrivals Can Also Become Lovers 27

Mu Huaizhi looked at Jin Chen and nodded.

It seems the Inspector is not a traitor.

That is among these nine people.

Jin Chen pulled someone to sit down, exchanged a few glances with the person opposite, then slowly turned his gaze to the Inspector.

"Those seven children were rescued from the temple, and the monks in that temple are all members of the Earth Evil Palace."

"Furthermore, after our careful investigation, we found that atop the temple there is a bamboo hut."

When the bamboo hut was mentioned, Mu Huaizhi clearly heard two people's breathing become irregular.

He glanced over warily, his hand resting on the sword hilt.

It was actually Blade Four of the Great Blade Sect and Jue Wu of the True Martial Sect.

Jin Chen fell silent for two seconds, gave the two a half-smile, and said, "What, Senior Blade Four, do you have something to say?"

Blade Four shook his head, body unmoving, "Please continue."

"Yes, Young Hero Jin, then what?" the Inspector also urged him to hurry with the explanation; this is a crucial breakthrough.

"Then I will continue."

Jin Chen suddenly rose, adjusted his cuffs, walked to the main seat and clasped his fists, "That bamboo hut is full of coffins, all containing the corpses of young children."

"Moreover, there are hanging coffins bound with hemp rope, and inside them are Blood Demon Children."

The Inspector, who had risen, slumped back into his seat, his official hat askew, "Dead… they're all dead!"

He had been an official for decades, yet had never seen anything so strange.

How am I going to explain this to the townsfolk now!

"What is a Blood Demon Child?"

Blade Elder hurriedly asked, leaning forward, eager to know the truth.

Jin Chen paused slightly, looking at the tense Blade Four, "Senior, why not ask the person beside you?"

"What do you mean?"

Blade Elder instinctively glanced at Blade Four beside him.

The next second, Jin Chen shifted instantly, kicking at Blade Four's legs—which he intended to use to counter—from an extremely strange, tricky angle.

Then he flicked out his sleeve-blade, slicing toward his face.

On the other side, Mu Huaizhi had already subdued Jue Wu, the hilt of the Jade Hilt Dragon sword resting against his neck, and spoke coldly.

"Struggle any further and you die."

This scene happened too fast; nobody expected it, and there was no time to react.

"Sure enough, it's a human skin mask."

Jin Chen held the torn-open human skin mask and tossed it disdainfully to the ground.

Unknown what adhesive was used; when cut, it bled profusely, but the person's true face was not hard to discern.

Under Mu Huaizhi's sword, Jue Wu's human skin was also torn open, his shoulders and thighs slashed, leaving him unable to escape.

"What! What is this!"

Everyone rose to their feet; Blade Elder turned pale with shock, staring at his own "Fourth Junior Brother."

"This is a fake Blade Four?!"

Jin Chen: "That's why you've been unable to uncover anything for days—someone has been meddling; whatever you could find would be suspicious."

The fake Blade Four's martial arts were bizarre; even after being exposed, he showed no panic, broke free from Jin Chen's grasp, picked up a blade, and seized the Inspector as a hostage.

"Get out of my way, all of you!"

His voice also changed, becoming sharp and piercing, "Otherwise I'll kill him."

"Ah… save… save… save… me!"

The Inspector's face turned white with fright.

Jin Chen retreated indifferently, "Please go ahead."

"We cannot let him go!"

Several sturdy men urged forward to seize the person, but before they could find an opening, they saw the fake Blade Four just escorting the Inspector out of the open door, and the next moment he seemed to lose his soul, becoming lost in the suddenly chaotic courtyard.

Fang Xun slowly stepped in, smiling as he helped the Inspector to his feet.

"The Heavenly Mechanism Palace's third secret formation—today he either begs for mercy so I can hear it, or he will entangle himself to death within this formation."

No wonder we didn't see those two come in just now!

The Inspector's legs went weak; he trembled as he sat up, the shock in his eyes not yet faded.

The fake Jue Wu was also cut down by the Jade Hilt Dragon sword.

Jin Chen patted Blade Elder's shoulder, "Senior, please mourn; Senior Blade Four has likely already been killed."

Blade Elder had not yet come to his senses; only after Blade Two helped him sit did he gradually react.

"No wonder…"

The True Martial Sect members looked at the corpses on the ground and suddenly understood, "No wonder our plans were always thwarted—there must be a mole inside!"

Only then did Jin Chen reveal the matter of the Blood Demon Child and the blue clothing.

After listening, the Inspector consulted with the other members of the two sects and still entrusted Jin Chen and his companions to investigate the ancient manor.

They had no objection either, after all, handling others' clues always leaves some discrepancies.

It would be better to investigate ourselves quickly.

——

At noon, the Inspector informed the townspeople, telling them not to wait any longer, and repeatedly promised that the heroes would soon find the true culprit, giving everyone an explanation.

Actually, after so much time, the townsfolk could roughly guess some; the seven children who returned last time had only gone missing not long ago.

And their child has been missing for so long...

But guessing the truth is one thing; hearing it firsthand and having evidence is another.

The sorrow that had been bottled up for so long finally burst forth, and the whole Yunshu Town was shrouded in weeping and the rising white lanterns.

Paper money fluttered on the street; Sang Ning, having finished gathering the silver scraps, emerged holding a cloth bundle, and as soon as she stepped onto the street she saw a familiar figure vaguely in Zhengkou.

He sucked in a breath of cold air, covered his head with the cloth bundle, and ran toward the Governor's Office.

"Jin brother——!"

The few people discussing inside the cool pavilion heard the sound and all hurried to the courtyard gate to look.

"Jin brother! The silver scraps you wanted!"

Sang Ning ran until she was out of breath, placed the silver scraps wrapped in a handkerchief on the stone table, and slumped down hiding behind Jin Chen.

"I, I want to go…… study medicine! If someone comes looking for me later, just say…: I never came."

Sang Ning rested both hands on Jin Chen's arm, her bun-like face scrunched up.

"You understand!"

Jin Chen: "I understand what, ah……"

He suddenly realized, it seems that person who came to find someone has arrived.

"I understand, go ahead."

Sang Ning scrambled to her feet, cautiously glanced at the courtyard gate, then ran off like a thief toward the back.

"Everyone: ……"

Fang Xun raised his eyebrows again, teasingly looking at his close friend.

That indescribable melancholy in Mu Huaizhi's heart welled up again.

"What are you talking about?" he asked Jin Chen.

Jin Chen hadn't yet had a chance to answer when he heard Sang Ning's sharp scream again.

Everyone turned their heads again, watching helplessly as Sang Ning ran back.

"Jin——brother——"

His face went pale, he ran back and hid behind Jin Chen.

And this time someone else came with him.

The youth wore a woven brocade green robe, his handsome face like white jade, exuding noble grace, his manner elegant, and in his hand he held an exquisite folding fan that he occasionally flicked.

The jade pendant at his waist and the folding fan are symbols of his identity.

Fang Xun frowned strangely, "Jiang Zhu Wu, how did he come here?"

Dao San snorted, "What a bunch of good fellows, the Four Young Masters of the Jianghu have all gathered here."

Aside from Mu Huaizhi and the other two, this Clear Sky Sect Guest Elder Jiang Zhu Wu is the last of the Four Young Masters of the Jianghu.

A single Phantom Jade Fan is the finest hidden weapon today; though young, he has been honored as a guest by the Clear Sky Sect's sect leader, and he even declared that he would henceforth be the sole candidate for sect leader.

"A Ning, hear me out."

Jiang Zhu Wu reluctantly closed his fan, stared at Jin Chen, "Sorry to trouble you, please move."

Jin Chen snorted, "I refuse."