Chapter 692: Thief

"Is it really me?"

Being pointed at, Tang Zhao was stunned for a moment, thinking only:

Why, am I suspicious?

Am I even suspicious?

Where am I suspicious?

Oh...

I am a little suspicious.

Tang Zhao's appearance was naturally somewhat eye-catching, but one could say it was just his natural looks and it didn't hinder anyone else; however, if someone truly knew their stuff, they could discover his extraordinary aspect.

That was the hidden and immense nature of his strength.

He usually kept his edge restrained, just like an ordinary person; logically, a Sword Guest whose realm did not reach his would not notice anything unusual. But this Town Guardian might have a special Sword Intent, or perhaps his long-term combat intuition was outstanding, and coupled with the fact that Tang Zhao did not deliberately use Sword Art to conceal himself, the clues were discovered.

Once his strength was discovered, one had to consider: an outsider with abnormally formidable strength and refined, youthful looks, suddenly appearing at a banquet, standing alone behind the stage, scrutinizing the whole scene with an expressionless face—isn't that suspicious?

If you added some lighting and background music, it would even be a bit supernatural, wouldn't it?

Tang Zhao also found it amusing; he shook his head, smiled, and walked out.

Then he discovered that he was the only one who found it amusing.

Everyone looked at him with strange eyes, and Che Lin's gaze was particularly grave.

At this moment, someone on the viewing platform called out: "Zhao—"

They only said one word before stopping abruptly; perhaps someone had stopped them.

Tang Zhao knew who was calling him, but he didn't look back; now was not the time to attract that kind of attention to Sui Dage.

Furthermore, Yue Lai was also very nervous seeing Tang Zhao and wanted to go forward to explain, but the moment he moved, several pairs of eyes glared over—they were all people from the Land Inspection Department.

His fellow sect member pulled him back and shook his head slightly, meaning: Don't move; these people from the Land Inspection Department are a separate faction and don't give our Yanyun Sword Sect any face, don't go looking for trouble.

Yue Lai stopped moving, thinking: I'm not looking for trouble, I'm afraid you all are.

Seeing Tang Zhao arrive before him without making any dangerous moves, Che Lin said politely: "Che Lin of the Land Inspection Department greets this Excellency. May I ask why you have come here?"

"Excellency" can be a general term, or it can be an honorific exclusive to a certain type of person—that is, a Sword Hero. Che Lin was testing him.

Tang Zhao smiled: "Official Che, there is no need to guess. I, Tang, am just passing by while visiting a friend, and happened to attend this event. As for a sword, I naturally have not brought one, nor do I need to. The Town Guardian naturally understands this principle."

He admitted his identity as a Sword Hero.

Che Lin's expression almost couldn't hold: his previous probe was actually just a casual test. He was a bit suspicious, but deep down he didn't really believe someone so young could be a Sword Hero, so he thought he might have been overthinking. In his mind, this young man should have had impressive strength, but was most likely a Sword Guest; the fact that he couldn't see through him was likely due to the other party's special Sword Intent. Therefore, he first made a casual probe, waiting for the other party to deny it, then to start a conversation and incidentally sound out the other party's background.

As it turned out, Tang Zhao admitted it.

Che Lin only felt uncomfortable all over.

The overall strength of Youzhou was not yet comparable to Yunzhou, and even in Yunzhou, a Sword Hero was a big figure like a Patrol Envoy who could suppress a whole prefecture. In Youzhou, even within the government, Sword Heroes were rare, because the lord of a prefecture could not keep such experts under control. Che Lin, this Town Guardian, was also a figure in his own right, but he didn't have many opportunities to face a Sword Hero directly.

Suddenly encountering such a person, Che Lin was momentarily at a loss.

And apart from him, few people noticed that Tang Zhao had admitted his identity, because the horizons of the crowd were not enough to touch upon matters of that realm, nor did they know what "Excellency" referred to.

Yue Lai breathed a sigh of relief; it was fine now, and if there was trouble, it wouldn't be Tang Zhao's trouble.

At this time, he also noticed several people looking at him, their gazes even strange. He coughed lightly and said in a low voice: "A friend I made before. Back then, he was still just a Sword Guest."

He said it as if he and Tang Zhao had grown up together.

Tang Zhao said again: "I have also never seen the sword of your esteemed office."

Che Lin blurted out immediately: "That is natural; I have never doubted you, Excellency."

Whether he doubted him before or not, in any case, he could not doubt him now.

After a pause, he then asked: "Then, Excellency, do you suspect anyone?"

Tang Zhao said: "Actually, I also wanted to help catch someone just now, but later I saw that this official was more proficient than I am, and you have already called out the people I suspected, so there is no need for me to make a fool of myself." He glanced at the cold-faced person behind the stone pillar, but found that the other party had already entered the crowd, behaving normally, and didn't seem so suspicious anymore.

Che Lin breathed a slight sigh of relief and turned to the two people called out earlier: "It seems my suspicions were correct. Excellency Tang also suspects you; could this still be wrong?"

Among these two, the woman was still very calm, but the old man who had been watching the show revealed a panicked look; clearly, being pointed out by Tang Zhao made him nervous, while the woman had deeper schemes—or perhaps one of them was an insider and the other was not.

The old man raised his hands and said: "You two, don't suspect without cause. I am just eating a meal while passing through. Although I really don't know the host and am just here to freeload and satisfy my cravings, didn't you not stop me earlier? Not stopping me before, but treating me as a thief now, that doesn't make sense, right?"

The woman also said: "Exactly. The Land Inspection Department has such great prestige; this prestige should be used inside the Demon Cave. Why make things difficult for us, these peaceful and good commoners?"

Che Lin sneered: "Whether you are good commoners, one test will tell—" He suddenly drew his sword and moved forward, slashing down at the old man's head.

Everyone only felt a flash of Sword Light before their eyes, and the Sword Qi had already pierced toward the old man. In their hearts, they all cheered: "What a fast sword!"

Only Tang Zhao could see: It's not fast enough!

Che Lin's sword speed was only the speed of a martial arts expert, not the speed of a Sword Guest. Ordinary Sword Guests, even without using Sword Art or Sword Control Art, would be faster than this. This should just be a test for the old man.

As the sword reached his body, the old man retreated rapidly, barely dodging it. It seemed clumsy, but looking closely at his movement technique, he clearly still had strength in reserve.

Che Lin pursued with his sword. In the small space, one chased and one dodged, just like a cat catching a mouse. Che Lin's sword moves were indeed one after another, very spectacular, and the old man's movement technique was like a ghost; the battle looked intense.

However, a strong person like Tang Zhao could see that this was not intense, because it was not a battle between equals.

The old man was not a Sword Guest; his strength could not possibly go back and forth with Che Lin. Che Lin also saw this, and each sword was faster than the last, bit by bit forcing the old man to his limit, just to see where his bottom line was.

Finally, the old man let out a loud cry and was slashed in the chest by a sword. With a "rip" sound, although it didn't disembowel him, his clothes were slashed to pieces; his upper and lower garments split open, revealing his skin.

With his clothes no longer intact, the odds and ends he carried could not be kept either. His belt, waist pouch, and the like scattered to the ground in an instant, even his shoes split open. In the blink of an eye, he was stark naked. The old man let out a cry, ran a few steps barefoot, and with people all around and the Land Inspection Department forcing him with swords, he couldn't find clothes and could only drag over a stool to cover his body.

Laughter erupted all around. The old man felt even more ashamed and wanted to rush out, but the surroundings blocked him from leaving, watching him as if watching a monkey show.

Just as he was at a loss, he saw a blur before his eyes, and an object flew over lightly. Upon catching it, it was actually a robe. He was overjoyed, wrapped it around himself, and bowed repeatedly: "Many thanks to the kind person for helping me. I, Ma, am deeply grateful."

The surroundings suddenly quieted down, and no one laughed anymore.

Che Lin looked at Tang Zhao with a complex expression, thinking: Such a young Sword Hero, it turns out he has this kind of personality.

The only one who could help the old man after Che Lin made his move was, of course, Tang Zhao.

Apart from giving the old man a robe, Tang Zhao just watched indifferently. Che Lin didn't know if he was very dissatisfied, but he couldn't be wary of him and do nothing, so he lowered his head to look at the things the old man had dropped.

Actually, Tang Zhao was also looking. He swept a glance and saw a Cunshu Art Tool; it was a leather pouch. Because the Art Tool carried the flavor of Sword Art, it was easy to identify.

However, Tang Zhao could tell at a glance that this was not an Art Tool for holding a sword, but merely a Talisman Art tool, and of a rather crude make at that. Even the White Jade Disciples ranked near the bottom at Zhuoyu Villa could make something better than this. An Art Tool of this grade could not possibly hold a sword.

However, Tang Zhao did not give him the clothes only after confirming his innocence; from the very beginning, he had been repulsed by this act of deliberately humiliating a person.

Che Lin flipped open the clothes, and only after confirming there were no hidden layers did he pick up the leather pouch, glance at the old man, and say, "I've taken it out."

The old man calmed down and sneered, "You were even putting on a show of asking for my permission—"

Of course, Che Lin had no intention of seeking his opinion; he was simply informing him. If Tang Zhao had not been by his side, he would not have even bothered to inform him. He immediately used his sword to slice open the outer skin, and the bag disintegrated on the spot, with its contents spilling all over the floor with a clatter.

Most of them were everyday items for eating and wearing, just like a travel pack, without the slightest shadow of a sword, but...

Che Lin's gaze sharpened as he used the tip of his sword to lift an object, which turned out to be a gold hairpin inlaid with jade; one look and it was clearly a woman's item. On the ground, there were also pearl necklaces, coral bracelets, jade thumb rings, and other precious jewelry, a dazzling array that must have been worth a thousand gold.

"You really are a thief!" Che Lin sneered, "Where did you steal these things from?"

The old man said, "On what grounds do you say it was me..."

Then someone said, "Big Brother, that is mine!"

A girl dressed in gold and silver emerged from behind and said loudly, "This is my bead string! You old thief, to think you stole my things!"

Immediately after, a female guest said, "Ah, my jade hairpin is gone!"

A chorus of exclamations erupted in the main hall, all from people who had checked their belongings after being reminded and realized they had lost something. No one had expected to lose things while attending a banquet at a wealthy family in Kuan Cheng.

Che Lin laughed in anger and glanced at Tang Zhao, his meaning being: what is there to sympathize with regarding such a person?

Tang Zhao slowly shook his head: Could it be that you knew he was a thief before you acted? If he were not a thief, would you have let him go?

Che Lin said, "The old thief has some nerve, actually stealing into my home."

The old man did not show any panic; instead, he said loudly, "It is you I am stealing from! Che Lin of the Land Inspection Division, you wicked bastard. I had already earned enough money and had long since washed my hands of this, but it was you who caused my family to be destroyed and my loved ones to die, so I tracked you here to bring you misfortune. Stealing your things to make you lose face is a small matter. Even stealing your head would not satisfy my hatred!"