Chapter 45: The Revelation

"An invisible man? Are you suggesting the Embroidered Bandit is an invisible man?" Lu Xiaofeng frowned and asked.

Yu Liancheng nodded: "The Wang Mansion is heavily guarded; you experienced this yourself not long ago, did you not?"

Lu Xiaofeng's brow furrowed slightly: "True, not even a fly can get into the Wang Mansion's treasury."

Yu Liancheng said: "A fly cannot, but an invisible man can, because people can often see a buzzing fly, yet they cannot see an invisible man."

"Absurd! How can a person be invisible?" Jiang Zhongwei struck the ground heavily with his cane and let out a cold snort.

"Indeed, could it be that someone can perform the sorcery of invisibility?" Jin Jiuling also frowned.

"Wrong, there are many ways to be invisible; it is not sorcery." Yu Liancheng poured himself a cup of tea: "A bubble merging into the sea, a cup of wine poured into a vat of wine—they are effectively invisible, because others can no longer see them, much less find them. People are the same."

"This case, which seems complex, is actually very simple. In fact, you may already have suspicions about the culprit, but because he is already 'invisible,' you cannot suspect him, nor do you dare to."

Everyone pricked up their ears; they were first-class figures in the martial arts world, not only not stupid, but very clever. Although Yu Liancheng's words were somewhat like a riddle, they gave them a vague sense of realization.

Only Jin Jiuling's gaze flickered suddenly.

Lu Xiaofeng's eyes flashed with brilliance: "Good lad, continue."

"I have said enough; next, let my half-disciple speak to you." Yu Liancheng picked up his teacup and took a sip.

"Hee hee, this matter is really very simple. Little uncle, you are too slow; you still haven't figured it out."

Shangguan Xueer said in a voice both cute and clear: "Let me ask you, if the Embroidered Bandit wants to enter the Wang Mansion, he must have the layout of the Wang Mansion, and he must also have the key to the Wang Mansion. Am I right?"

Lu Xiaofeng nodded.

Shangguan Xueer said: "Then this person must be someone close to General Manager Jiang, so he could steal the key. He must also be a man of the Imperial Court, and one who holds great power, to be able to get his hands on the Wang Mansion's map."

Lu Xiaofeng nodded again.

Shangguan Xueer said: "Are there many such people?"

This time, Lu Xiaofeng shook his head: "There are not many such people."

Shangguan Xueer looked at Jiang Zhongwei and said crisply: "I heard you practice the Thirteen Guardians Hard Qigong and the Iron Sand Palm."

Jiang Zhongwei nodded.

Everyone knew that he had cultivated the Thirteen Guardians Hard Qigong to a very profound level, and it was difficult for anyone to injure him.

But it was not difficult for him to injure others, because his Iron Sand Palm had reached ninety percent proficiency, enough to split monuments and crack stones, or crush rocks into powder.

Shangguan Xueer said: "Can you tell us how the Embroidered Bandit defeated you?"

Jiang Zhongwei's face showed pain and fear: "At that time in the treasury, I struck the Embroidered Bandit with my Iron Sand Palm, but my palm went numb, as if I had been stung by a bee, and the power in my palm suddenly vanished without a trace. Then, a flash of cold light, and my pair of eyes were ruined by him."

Two moves.

One move to break Jiang Zhongwei's hard qigong, one move to ruin his eyes.

Everyone present was horrified; some of them had seen Jiang Zhongwei in action and reckoned that even if they went all out, it would take at least thirty moves to achieve such a result.

Could the Embroidered Bandit's martial arts have reached such a terrifying level?

Shangguan Xueer said: "Actually, unless hard qigong is cultivated to a miraculous level, there is always a 'soft spot.' That spot in the center of your palm is your soft spot. Even you yourself did not know of this subtle soft spot, but the Embroidered Bandit knew. Therefore, he must be very familiar with you and must have seen you strike many times."

The crowd was suddenly enlightened.

True, that must be it. Otherwise, to break the hard qigong Jiang Zhongwei had practiced for decades in one move without knowing the soft spot would be too terrifying.

"So that's how it is, so that's how it is." Jiang Zhongwei kept muttering to himself.

Shangguan Xueer looked at the owner of the Huayu Pavilion, Hua Yifan, and said: "I heard that the Huayu Pavilion lost seventy volumes of priceless calligraphy and paintings."

Hua Yifan's face was sorrowful, and he nodded: "That is correct."

Shangguan Xueer said: "Since these paintings are priceless, you must have been very careful and cautious in keeping them."

Hua Yifan nodded again.

Shangguan Xueer said: "So the place where you hid the paintings was very secret, and not many people knew about it."

Hua Yifan smiled bitterly: "One could count them on one hand, but those people would never do such a thing."

Shangguan Xueer finally turned her gaze toward Chang Mantian of the Zhenyuan Escort Agency: "Head Escort Chang, when your agency escorted those eight hundred thousand taels of silver, you must have been very careful and cautious too. Apart from the escorts, not many people should have known."

"You are wrong." Chang Mantian shook his head.

"Where am I wrong?" Shangguan Xueer was startled.

Chang Mantian smiled bitterly: "Eight hundred thousand taels of silver is simply too much. Apart from me and a few senior brothers, even the accompanying escorts and guards did not know what this cargo actually was."

"I see. But sometimes, the more careful one is, the easier it is to make a mistake."

Shangguan Xueer pursed her lips and smiled, revealing a charming air: "Alright, the questions my master asked me to ask have been asked. I imagine you all have the answer in your hearts to some extent. I can give you one more hint: the Embroidered Bandit is on this third floor, right among you."

After these words, the entire third floor became lively; everyone whispered and murmured, their gazes vaguely looking toward a certain direction on the third floor.

Jin Jiuling put down his teacup and smiled bitterly: "Even I am starting to suspect that I am the Embroidered Bandit."

Yes, Jin Jiuling perfectly fit all the conditions above.

He was the world's number one divine catcher and a man of the officialdom; it would not be difficult for him to get the Wang Mansion's map.

He had been friends with Jiang Zhongwei for decades; it was very possible for him to steal the treasury key from Jiang Zhongwei or discover the soft spot of Jiang Zhongwei's hard qigong.

Furthermore, he was an expert in identifying antiques and paintings and was an old friend of Hua Yifan. Whenever Hua Yifan obtained exquisite paintings, he would inevitably ask Jin Jiuling to appraise them.

Although the escorting of silver by the Zhenyuan Escort Agency was a secret, it would be a simple matter for Jin Jiuling to learn of it. The head of the escort agency might even take the initiative to greet him and ask for his help in keeping an eye on things.

Combining these clues, the identity of the Embroidered Bandit seemed tailor-made for him.

In fact, there were many clever people in the martial arts world; perhaps some had already seen the clues in Jin Jiuling.

But Jin Jiuling was the world's number one divine catcher, and the Embroidered Bandit case had been handed to him by the Imperial Court to handle.

No matter who was suspected, he could not be suspected.

In this matter, he himself was an "invisible man."

Yu Liancheng, who had been sipping tea, put down his cup and said coldly: "Correct, you are the Embroidered Bandit."