Chapter 52: Framing and Shifting Blame

The fight and screams upstairs immediately stirred up the entire inn.

This flower-picking thief was a member of the Yandang Sect, with audacity that knew no bounds; unfortunately, Niu Wanrou was even more ferocious than the heavens.

The flower-picking thief was caught red-handed, so the Yandang Sect people naturally had nothing to say, wishing they could immediately wash their hands of the matter; they even paid quite a bit of silver taels. Lu Dage knew the Yandang Sect had always been a loose sand, and with their superior numbers at the moment, he didn't pursue it further, simply ending the thief's life with a light spear thrust, leaving the corpse for the Yandang Sect to dispose of.

Only then did the entire inn slowly quiet down; aside from the flower-picking thief who died somewhat unjustly, the only one harmed in the whole affair was that unlucky runaway bride.

Early the next morning, the Yandang Sect people, perhaps too ashamed to face Wu Chengyu and the others again, set off in unison before dawn had even broken.

Wu Chengyu and the others finished breakfast and set out once more.

Perhaps Wu Chengyu had been too excited the previous night and slept restlessly; once in the carriage he instead grew drowsy. After who knows how long, he was suddenly shaken awake by He Zhiyu. He Zhiyu pointed beneath the low table, where a small bundle had appeared — inconspicuous, unknown when someone had placed it there; none of them had noticed it when boarding.

Wu Chengyu reached out and picked it up, immediately understanding in his heart; the bundle carried that woman's scent.

Upon opening the bundle, inside were shockingly a book and an iron token.

The book was several dozen pages thick; the title read "Thousand Mechanism Hand," with a line of small characters: "Yandang Sect Leader's Secret Transmission." Flipping through it, he learned this was the Yandang Sect's exclusive martial art; the name looked rather formidable, but in reality it was a method specifically for training the hands.

The Yandang Sect specialized in small street businesses, emphasizing quick hands and eyes, nodding and bowing, striking suddenly while pouring tea or handing water. Cultivating this art could greatly enhance the hands' dexterity, and it also came with illustrated demonstrations of a set of Small Capturing Hand — a close-range attacking palm technique.

With Wu Chengyu's shallow martial arts foundation, he could tell this secret manual was no peerless divine skill, nor did it have the function of the Bibo Palm Technique as a foundational palm art for training hand-eye-body-footwork; it was more a kind of hand application. In Huang Yaoshi's eyes it would surely be regarded as a mere trifle, not worth mentioning.

The Yandang Sect truly did not count as a proper martial arts sect; that such martial arts could even be called the Sect Leader's Secret Transmission.

As for that token, it was naturally the Sect Leader Token — rhombus-shaped, with cloud patterns on the edges. One side bore the three characters "Yandang Mountain" and some mountain-and-river pattern lines; the other side read "Sect Leader's Personal Arrival."

Only this token was forged of pure iron, with ordinary materials and rather crude workmanship — it really didn't look like what a sect leader's token should be.

Wu Chengyu held the token and weighed it a few times, shaking his head with a wry smile, thinking to himself that such a sect, crude and shallow, could still have an inheritance in the Laughing Proudly era; it seemed bottom-tier sects sometimes had more vitality.

But then again, that runaway bride suffered a big loss last night; originally it was just a prank to scare Wu Chengyu, but now she had turned vicious, directly framing him.

This move could be called ruthless and merciless; Wu Chengyu immediately felt a great calamity descending, cold sweat breaking out all over.

A martial sect's Sect Leader Token and secret manual being stolen — this was equivalent to a blood feud of destroying the clan; no sect would let it rest, a storm of blood and rain was inevitable.

Even if the Yandang Sect's martial arts weren't high, last night there were seventy or eighty of them; if they swarmed, Wu Chengyu and his group would surely suffer.

How did such huge trouble come out of nowhere? Especially since his original intent was to play the hero saving a beauty; a good play turned into a mess. Wu Chengyu's intestines were green with regret now; ever since leaving Gushan County, nothing had gone smoothly, crises everywhere.

Wu Chengyu wanted to throw the items out the window immediately, but alas he had discovered them too late; just then he heard noisy quarreling ahead. He lifted the curtain and looked — it was the Yandang Sect disciples who had set off early.

For some reason they had split into two factions at this moment, shouting at each other, faces red and ears crimson, ready to come to blows at any time. Needless to say, they must have discovered the Sect Leader's Token missing and were mutually accusing each other. Wu Chengyu knew throwing away what he held now was already too late.

"The token and manual were lost on your watch, so you bear the responsibility; none of you think you can deny it."

"Dream on; maybe you lot wanted to seize the Sect Leader's Position and deliberately stole it from us."

"Slandering! Or maybe you hid it yourselves, wanting to be Sect Leader — just say so, no need for such underhanded deeds."

"…………"

Neither side yielded, arguing until faces flushed and necks thickened; a few had murderous looks in their eyes and had already drawn sabers. Even Lu Dage trying to borrow a path through, speaking nicely and harshly alike, they paid not the slightest heed.

At this moment a slightly hoarse voice interjected: "Last night at the inn it wasn't just us Yandang Sect people; these people stayed there too, and they had a dispute with our brothers — maybe they stole it."

That one sentence shifted everyone's attention onto Wu Chengyu's group. Niu Dajie instantly drew two four-edged copper maces, glaring fiercely and shouting: "What does the Yandang Sect have worth us stealing? Don't falsely accuse good people; we're not easy to provoke."

People accustomed to petty trade know best how to read expressions; they clearly knew Niu Dajie's group was truly not to be trifled with, especially Niu Dajie's leopard-head-ringed-eyes appearance. They uniformly turned their heads back and continued cursing at each other.

And the one with the hoarse voice, clearly stirring the pot between the Yandang Sect and Wu Chengyu's group, immediately drew everyone's gaze.

A short, stout figure, utterly unremarkable in a crowd; the person beside him didn't seem familiar with him either. Wu Chengyu suspected that although they claimed to be a sect, most didn't know each other normally, merely gathering for the temple fair — they might forget each other completely the moment they turned around.

However, his height and build were roughly similar to last night's runaway bride; although he looked bulky with dark skin, Wu Chengyu's eyes instantly spotted the many flaws on him: the skin on his neck and face were distinctly black and white, the beard stuck on sloppily, and his eyes were extremely similar to last night's woman's.

Most importantly, the scent on this person was also close to that woman's — clearly the woman in disguise. In the Jin Daxia world, disguise techniques existing is not surprising.

Seeing the Yandang Sect people completely ignoring Wu Chengyu's group and continuing their own quarrel, that person couldn't help growing anxious.

"Have you forgotten? The Yandang Sect's supreme art, Thousand Mechanism Hand, was stolen along with the token; it concerns the sect's secrets — you can't let any suspicious person go."

Just then, a Yandang Sect disciple beside him suddenly patted his shoulder; he turned and shockingly saw another copy of Thousand Mechanism Hand produced.

That Yandang disciple was quite forthright: "Brother just joined our Yandang Sect, right? This Thousand Mechanism Hand we practically have one per person; the one in the Sect Leader's hands is the original edition, so it serves as the Sect Leader's Token. Everyone knows this stuff; if Brother doesn't, take it and learn yourself."

Thank you SONE Gudu Langying for the reward.

Yesterday a friend said to let the protagonist develop a bit more before going out to cause trouble; I agree with this point, but everyone's arrangements differ. The protagonist staying in Gushan, there's really not much to cultivate; on the way back I arranged the Quanquan scriptures, and there's a surprise waiting at home, so only returning home is the true start of cultivation.

I also know I've written too much of this segment, but I've already written more than half; in a few more chapters this journey home will be finished, and then it's the growth life at Wu Family Slope.

Still, many thanks for everyone's support; yesterday's harvest was truly full; hope today has good results too.

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(Chapter End)