Chapter 44: Woyun Lou

There were not many people on the third floor, but every one of them was a renowned bigwig in the Edo.

For instance, Mu Daoren, Gusong Jushi, Hua Manlou...

Lu Xiaofeng was also on the third floor.

He sniffed the faint floral fragrance carried by the breeze, standing by the third-story window, overlooking the lake and mountains, yet he had absolutely no mood to appreciate the scenery.

"Does the 'Invisible Man' really exist?"

He held a cup of wine in his hand, his gaze revealing a hint of contemplation, yet he still looked somewhat bewildered, and he poured the wine in his cup into his sorrowful gut in one gulp. Two days had passed quickly, and he still hadn't uncovered the truth about the Embroidered Bandit.

As for the riddle-like "Invisible Man" mentioned by Yu Liancheng, it left him even more utterly baffled.

Just then, Lu Xiaofeng heard a soft sigh from Hua Manlou beside him.

Hua Manlou was not a person who liked to sigh; on the contrary, he was full of love for life.

Lu Xiaofeng couldn't help but ask, "What are you sighing about?"

Hua Manlou said, "I am sighing at why I am a blind man."

Lu Xiaofeng's face turned cold; they were very good friends, and even without Hua Manlou finishing his sentence, he already knew what he meant.

"That kid might not really know the identity of the Embroidered Bandit, and I might not necessarily be shaved bald."

"You will definitely be shaved bald." A figure in white walked up from the second floor, cold and arrogant, as if he were the accumulated snow on a distant mountain; it was the White Cloud City Lord, Ye Gucheng. He said coldly, "Yu Liancheng is not a person who likes to lie. Without absolute certainty, he would not have let us come to Woyun Lou."

"Regardless of who wins or loses your bet, everyone is quite interested in a bald Lu Xiaofeng."

Waving his fan, the dashing Jin Jiuling also walked up, smiling, "If you want to become a monk, you can go find my senior brother. He will definitely be very happy, and perhaps he will even prepare a table of Vegetarian Feast to treat you well."

His senior brother was Kugua Dashi, one of the Four Great Divine Monks, whose skill in cooking Vegetarian Feast was world-renowned, and he had always had a special fondness for Lu Xiaofeng.

Before long, six more people arrived in the small building.

In reality, among these six, only three were truly capable of coming up to the third floor.

It was only because these were three blind men, so they needed to be supported.

Jin Jiuling's body stiffened for a moment; he naturally recognized these three.

These three men's eyes were the ones he had blinded.

The three of them were the former General Manager of the Wang Mansion, Jiang Zhongwei; the master of Huayu Pavilion, Hua Yifan; and the deputy chief escort of the Zhenyuan Escort Agency, Chang Mantian.

With the arrival of these three, the atmosphere stagnated.

Because they had all become blind men, blind men with sorrowful faces.

Not every blind man was as optimistic as Hua Manlou.

Lu Xiaofeng and the others did not find it appropriate to laugh heartily in front of these sorrowful blind men.

As time gradually passed, there were already over ten people on the third floor.

The appointed time had arrived, and Yu Liancheng, dressed in black with a smile on his face, finally appeared.

"To think he is actually so young."

On the third floor, someone sighed. They had never seen Yu Liancheng before, but they had already heard many of his deeds, each one a major event that shook the Edo.

Yet they truly had not expected him to be so young.

Lu Xiaofeng, Ximen Chuixue, and their ilk were all famous bigwigs in the Edo and were also quite young, yet they were already around thirty years old.

The "Three Heroes and Four Beauties" of the Emei Sect were considered the youngest and most outstanding generation in the Edo, yet they were already in their twenties. Yu Liancheng, however, looked to be no more than eighteen or nineteen.

Moreover, the reputations of the two could not be mentioned in the same breath; even if ten "Three Heroes and Four Beauties" were added together, they would absolutely not be more prominent than one "Jade-Faced Divine Sword."

Everyone knew that his sword technique had already reached the pinnacle, and even Ximen Chuixue had been defeated by his sword.

There were also those who said that he had sparred with Ye Gucheng and had gained the upper hand.

Although there was no evidence for this matter, everyone knew that he was a peerless swordsman, and his martial arts cultivation was not inferior to anyone else's.

And he was still so young.

Given time, it was not impossible for him to vie for the title of the number one expert in the Central Plains.

"Two little nephews, how are you?"

His half-disciple Xue'er was also following behind his backside, grinning as she greeted Lu Xiaofeng and Hua Manlou, though her habit of taking advantage of others could not be changed.

Yu Liancheng sat on a stool, swept his gaze across the third floor, and clapped his hands, laughing, "The people who should have come have all arrived."

The Nanwang Shizi cupped his hands toward Yu Liancheng: "Master Yu, I wonder if, as stated in the invitation, you have already learned the identity of the Embroidered Bandit and will reveal it today."

"Exactly." Yu Liancheng nodded.

The Nanwang Shizi said: "Then please, Master, speak plainly."

The Nanping Wangfu was also one of the victims.

The former General Manager of the Wang Mansion had been blinded in both eyes, and eighteen hu of pearls had been lost from the mansion's treasury.

The Wang Mansion was wealthy and influential, so this loss didn't count for much, but it brought shame to the mansion. Moreover, the fact that the Embroidered Bandit could easily enter and exit the Wang Mansion and steal eighteen hu of pearls proved that there was a mole inside the mansion.

And had the usurpation plot they were planning been exposed?

However, Yu Liancheng was also involved in the usurpation plot, and he was still calm and composed, so it seemed the Embroidered Bandit did not know of this confidential matter.

"No rush. Even if I say who the Embroidered Bandit is now, without evidence, it is just empty talk." Yu Liancheng waved his hand, his gaze turning toward Jin Jiuling, which immediately made his heart jump.

Fortunately, Yu Liancheng did not point him out as the Embroidered Bandit, but just laughed: "This matter was originally the responsibility of the Six Fan School; I am merely an outsider. If the Six Fan School can investigate the true culprit, naturally there is no need for me to be meddling here."

Jin Jiuling shook his head and smiled bitterly: "This Embroidered Bandit case is indeed the responsibility of the Six Fan School. It is just a pity that the Embroidered Bandit's methods were too clean; I haven't investigated anything and have already handed this matter over to Lu Xiaofeng to handle."

Yu Liancheng laughed: "Little Chicken Lu, don't forget our bet; this is already your last chance."

Lu Xiaofeng's intelligence and wit had long been famous in the Edo, and he was highly skilled in martial arts with friends all over the world. Therefore, everyone knew that no matter how thorny an issue was, as long as it was handed to Lu Xiaofeng, he would definitely handle it perfectly.

But now, Lu Xiaofeng could only smile bitterly and rub his nose: "I haven't investigated it yet; today, I will listen to your nonsense first."

Yu Liancheng chuckled: "You'll only know if the nonsense stinks after smelling it, but your hair and eyebrows will not have a single strand left today."

"Wait until you find the Embroidered Bandit before you say that." Lu Xiaofeng snorted coldly: "Where is Xue Bing? Didn't you say she would also appear today?"

"No rush. When it is time for her to appear, she will naturally appear." Yu Liancheng said calmly: "Lu Xiaofeng, do you know why you have never been able to find the culprit?"

Lu Xiaofeng said irritably, "It's not like he could be an Invisible Man."

The three words "Invisible Man" that Yu Liancheng had Hua Manlou bring to him haunted him like a curse, but other than draining his mental energy, they had no effect at all.

Yu Liancheng nodded, "Correct, that is the Invisible Man. And this Invisible Man is among you all."