Chapter 25

Brother, I don’t recognize that dharma name—I’m just Laughing Maitreya. The former Fat God Lord was a traitor of Shaolin, once a Mang Jin Gang of the Shaolin firewood monk. When he committed another evil deed, he met me, and I slew him. I accidentally found the Fat God Lord’s mask on him, so I returned to discuss it with my brother… The Twelve Zodiacs are utterly wicked; they will surely become a great threat to the martial world.

“This firewood monk learned our Shaolin martial arts, making it convenient for us to impersonate him and infiltrate the Twelve Zodiacs.”

“Over these past few years, I’ve uncovered many clues about the Twelve Zodiacs and was preparing to find an opportunity to eradicate them all at once. Unfortunately, the identity of the Dragon Head has always been extremely secretive—I’ve never gotten near him.”

“When the Twelve Zodiacs attacked the Four Seas Hall, I prepared for exposure. Only four Zodiacs were openly involved: myself, Old Golden Rooster, Foolish Ox, and Big Tiger—we’ve all been wiped out. Originally, the Rising Sun God Lord was supposed to join us, but the Mist-Riding God Lord, that venomous snake, seems to have vanished. Since no one could take his task, the Dragon Head gave it to that dog.”

“But we didn’t know each other’s missions!”

“So that means at least one—or even several—Zodiacs are still lurking within our ranks?” Qian Chen stroked the frame of the Celestial Umbrella and smiled faintly: “Then what are we waiting for?”

“We must recover the heads!” Qian Chen whispered.

“Brother Qian, what did you say?” Kang Qiandeng hurried over, eyes wide.

Qian Chen felt a wave of discomfort: “I’m only fourteen—or fifteen! I’m still a child. You, a ‘youthful’ swordsman in your twenties or thirties, call me brother?”

The group returned to the Five Lakes Hall. By now, Qian Chen’s status had changed: as the fourth Grand Master among the righteous heroes to reveal his cultivation base, his achievements were outstanding, his power astonishing, and his standing now equal to Hong Sihai and Master Kongming.

The group had repelled the Twelve Zodiacs’ first assault, eliminating the Zodiacs of Tiger, Ox, Rooster, and Pig—already a great victory.

But upon returning to the Five Lakes Hall, the first task was to purge internal traitors.

Four Grand Masters, including Qian Chen, stood before Liang Dou’s corpse. Nearby lay the mangled heads of the Quick-Tongue Brothers. All righteous martial artists wore solemn expressions.

Four corpses lay in the center of the Five Lakes Hall. Nearby, the heads of the Ghost-Eater God Lord and the Gladiatorial God Lord were offered before their spirits. The Fat God Lord had pulled the Dawn God Lord from his sack and was torturing him for clues about the other Zodiacs.

The Dawn God Lord gritted his teeth, staring darkly at Laughing Maitreya, then burst into laughter.

“Fat God, you know as well as I do—our identities are kept secret from each other. If you want to uncover the real identities of the other God Lords, go ask the Dragon Head!”

“We will find the Dragon Head and utterly destroy your Twelve Zodiacs!” Hong Sihai stared into the Dawn God Lord’s eyes. “But what I want to know is… how exactly did my sworn brother die?”

The Dawn God Lord laughed wildly: “Ask Fat God! He was the one who captured Bi Tongtian with me, then handed him over to that perverted gladiatorial bastard—he suffered terribly! Ha… ha…” The Dawn God Lord laughed until he choked, and the furious Hong Sihai gripped his shoulder, crushing the bone beneath his fingers.

The Dawn God Lord wept and screamed in pain, yet still roared with laughter.

Master Kongming quickly intervened: “Grand Master, I swear on my life that Kongxu, though infiltrated among the Zodiacs, would never commit such an act. This man has made up his mind and possesses unyielding willpower—torturing him is useless.”

“Indeed, Grand Master… don’t ruin your own spotless reputation for this beast!” others urged.

Someone added: “This man is stubborn to the end—kill him and use his head to consecrate the banner! It will honor the spirits of those who perished in this battle.”

But Qian Chen said: “Since he refuses to reveal clues about the other Zodiacs, let’s use the clues we have to investigate. The killer of Master Liang Dou must be a traitor among us—a Zodiac hiding his identity. We’ve already accounted for the timeline of Master Liang Dou’s death. Only three people had the capability to ambush and kill him without an alibi.”

Bi Xue Dan Xin Sword Du Zihuai, Zhao Cheng, Chief of Changfeng Escort Agency, and the Elder Statesman Li Qianqiu… At the time, the Quick-Tongue Brothers and the Eight-Residual Elder had not returned. Now that the Quick-Tongue Brothers are dead, only the Eight-Residual Elder remains… So there are four suspects.

Elder Wanshi frowned: “Though the Eight-Residual has a poor character, he encountered the Dragon Head alongside the Quick-Tongue Brothers. He couldn’t possibly have ambushed and killed Master Liang. His suspicion should be cleared.”

Qian Chen shook his head: “We’ll discuss this later.”

Earlier analysis indicated the killer must have possessed a divine weapon capable of piercing gang qi. The wound pattern on Master Liang’s body… how many such weapons exist?

At once, all eyes turned to the Elder Statesman Li Qianqiu. He remained silent, offering no defense.

Among the heroes, someone could no longer contain his fury—he roared and lunged to punch… Others rushed to restrain him. Master Kongming and Hong Sihai flanked Li Qianqiu on either side, yet he only offered a bitter smile.

But Qian Chen continued: “Wait— I never said Elder Li is the killer.”

The crowd turned again, astonished—eyes asking: Then what was all that nonsense about?

Qian Chen explained: “Imagine—if Elder Li were the killer, everyone knows his Spring-Autumn Pen can pierce gang qi. Didn’t Master Liang know that? Master Liang was fully aware of the weakness in his own gang qi—why would he allow Elder Li to stand behind him? Was Master Liang truly that careless?”

“Therefore, Elder Li’s suspicion is the weakest. The real killer must have concealed the true nature of his divine weapon.”

The crowd exhaled in relief. Someone close to Li Qianqiu scolded: “Elder Li, why didn’t you explain earlier? You caused us to misunderstand…”

Li Qianqiu hesitated long, but finally Qian Chen spoke: “Elder Li didn’t explain because he couldn’t. He may have sensed a trace of the killer’s identity—but couldn’t voice it.”

All eyes turned again to Li Qianqiu, who now nodded in agreement: “Master Qian sees with piercing clarity. Indeed, everyone knows my family’s divine weapon is a Judge’s Pen, and our family martial art is pen technique—but I’ve always loved spear techniques. After becoming a Grand Master, I integrated spear methods into my pen style.”

“When I saw the wound on Master Liang’s body, I sensed something… the killer used spear technique! Weapon wounds can be altered, but martial artists’ habits are ingrained in their bones—impossible to erase.”

“Short weapon… but used with spear technique,” Master Kongming nodded. “If Elder Li revealed this, the first suspect would still be himself. And his martial skill surpasses all others—he could have easily ambushed Master Liang.”

Now everyone understood.

Among the suspects, besides Li Qianqiu, the other two—Bi Xue Dan Xin Sword Du Zihuai and Chief Zhao Cheng—were immediately recognizable as spear users.

Zhao Cheng coldly said: “This is all your one-sided speculation…”

It’s simple to verify whether it’s one-sided,” Qian Chen whispered. “Just draw your divine weapon, the Setting Sun Spear, and prove whether it can pierce gang qi.”

Zhao Cheng spoke lifelessly: “Even if I concealed my weapon’s ability, it proves nothing. Many do this. Who in the martial world deserves absolute trust?”

“Indeed,” Qian Chen sighed. “Who in the martial world deserves absolute trust? Whether you admit it or not doesn’t matter—what matters is whether others trust you.”

Around Zhao Cheng, no one remained. The four Grand Masters—Master Kongming, Hong Sihai, Elder Wanshi, and Qian Chen—stood before, behind, left, and right, trapping him in the center.

Zhao Cheng sneered, gripping the shaft of his divine weapon, the Setting Sun Spear…

Qian Chen looked up and sighed. Why do people always refuse to accept the truth until it’s too late?

If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve handled things more elegantly! If he’d had even one-tenth of my caution, he wouldn’t be here now. Qian Chen suddenly missed Huang Yuhan. If he were still alive, he’d have spotted the flaw too. I wouldn’t be stuck performing alone, with no one to echo me.

Though the Twelve Zodiacs repeatedly committed major crimes, their modus operandi was always to kill every witness and burn all evidence…

Their counter-investigation skills were still weak indeed.