Tumor Sword Immortal

Chapter 41 is not quite right.

Inside the city, at the general's residence.

Xie rested for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, then picked up his sword again, went down to the courtyard, and began practicing the sword techniques taught by Professor Pei Xia.

Born into a family of military generals, he practiced martial arts from a young age and had already reached the Zhen Gang Realm by his early twenties. If he were placed in the sects of Beishi City, he would be considered a young genius.

Especially since he was exposed to it from a young age and had family members to train with, he always felt that he was better than others when it came to actual combat.

But recently, his confidence has slowly begun to fade.

Holding the sword, he thrust, sliced, chopped, slanted, and flicked... The sword techniques Pei Xia taught him seemed ordinary and unremarkable. When he first mastered them, he felt they were nothing special and even didn't want to practice anymore.

But as he patiently practiced and drew his sword a hundred times, he found the technique increasingly profound and terrifying.

A sword, a three-foot blade, and a human hand, with only five fingers, can only be manipulated and changed to the limit of its power.

Pei Xia's swordsmanship, however, seemed to be the foundation upon which all these sword techniques converged.

This is somewhat like the military swordsmanship taught by my father when I was young, which evolved from basic skills into various combat techniques.

Pei Xia's version, however, is more concise and also more difficult.

Such a foundation-building method can be considered the basis for survival in any sect.

But that person actually taught it to everyone in the academy's martial arts arena so easily and for free.

To be fair, if it were me thanking myself, I probably wouldn't be so magnanimous.

Thinking of this, a sense of frustration arose again, and his attention was not focused, causing the tip of the longsword in his hand to tremble.

"Tsk."

A smacking sound came from the other side of the wooden fence of the house.

Xie put away his sword and turned to see a middle-aged man with a short beard shaking his head while holding a teacup: "Don't practice martial arts when your mind is not at peace. I've told you this since you were a child. If you're not doing it right, it's better not to practice at all. The more you practice, the more mistakes you'll make."

Faced with the rebuke, Xie dared not refute, and could only lower the tip of his sword and reply, "Father is right."

Xie Zu is the most powerful military officer in Da Ling today, and also the strongest cultivator in Bei Shi City in recent years, as well as a military strategist in the four realms.

When people think of this general who dominated the battlefield throughout his life, they unconsciously imagine him as a burly and powerful man.

In reality, Xie Zu was not tall; he was almost a head shorter than his three tall and upright sons.

He wasn't particularly large; he could only be described as lean and strong.

At home, he usually wears only thin, loose-fitting clothes, which makes him look rather thin.

"However, your swordplay is truly masterful. Where did you learn it?"

Xie lowered his head and said, "Academy."

“Impossible,” Xie Zu said without even thinking. “These sects in Beishi City are good at making money by attracting attention, but when it comes to cultivation methods, they are all fancy and unrealistic. They can’t come up with simple and useful techniques like this.”

“It’s really an academy, taught by a new martial arts teacher named Pei Xia,” Xie said, pursing his lips, and added, “He’s Prime Minister Pei’s son, the one who just returned to Beishi City a while ago.”

Xie knew that his father didn't value him, and revealing Pei Xia's identity would make him feel inferior to the others.

But Xie Huan is a straightforward person. He may not like Pei Xia, but he has nothing to be ashamed of about losing.

Xie Zu held his teacup, and the expression on his face showed that he still seemed a little unconvinced.

"Is Pei Xia's child about your age?"

"It should be one or two years younger."

"I remember he'd only been gone for about ten years?"

"Yes." Ten years isn't enough, is it?

Because he was Xie Zu, and his illustrious reputation was earned through his own hard work, he understood all too well that behind this simple swordplay lay a profound sense of returning to one's roots.

Seeing that his father seemed quite interested in Pei Xia, Xie hesitated for a moment before saying, "The academy is closed today, how about Father goes to the academy with us tomorrow?"

Xie Zu waved his hand and then placed the tea in his hand on the railing: "I'll leave the water here, you can drink it when you come back."

After saying that, the military strategist Xue Zhenguo lifted his clothes, climbed over the courtyard wall, and jumped out, his voice carrying back from afar: "I'm going to find this little Pei to measure my strength."

……

Xiao Pei didn't want to have his hands measured; he felt something was off.

Ever since he returned from the palace, he has been sitting on the long steps outside the mansion gate, head down, lost in thought.

Xu Shangxin stood right next to him.

Pei Xia had already told her older brother about Pei Xi.

Xu Shangxin regarded Pei Xi as her biological father, and Pei Xia felt it was necessary to explain the truth about his death to Xu Shangxin.

This directly led to Xu Shangxin also falling into an endless silence.

He died from a pre-existing illness; it was his fate. Although it was sad, all the survivors could do was to be strong.

But murder brings a completely different state of mind.

It took Xu Shangxin a long time to calm down the complex thoughts churning in her mind. She looked down at Pei Xia sitting on the steps and asked, "The Princess said she would severely punish the murderer, right?"

"Yes, she said so."

Pei Xia rubbed her temples.

"Phew..." Xu Shangxin nodded several times. "Thanks to you this time."

"Thanks to me for what?"

"Thanks to you for solving the case. It's truly unexpected that someone would commit murder after death."

These words made Pei Xia's already furrowed brows furrow even deeper: "Why couldn't you think of that?"

Xu Shangxin looked at him, puzzled: "Why is there a reason? I just can't figure it out."

"No, this is essentially logical reasoning, deducing from one possibility to another. If something is overlooked, it must be some kind of illusion or misconception."

"The method of freezing blood can greatly narrow down the scope of suspicion, and almost all those in the know believe it is the Northern Barbarians, not the Holy Palace, simply because the Holy Palace's identity provides a natural cover."

"It's not that their methods of killing after death were particularly sophisticated; it's the preconceived notions that influenced their methods."

“I am an outsider. I haven’t been back to Beishi City for many years. I have no bias against the Zhangsheng Palace. So when I feel that the suspicion of the Northern Barbarians has diminished, I will naturally turn to them and try to crack the Zhangsheng Palace’s alibi, rather than obsessively trying to find out if the Northern Barbarians committed the crime.”

Pei Xia spoke very quickly; his pace wasn't meant for others to hear, but rather as if he were talking to himself, trying to explain his doubts.

Xu Shangxin could only weakly ask, "What is... a filter?"

"but."

Pei Xia paused, looked up at Xu Shangxin, and then quickly looked past her shoulder towards the towering Luoshen Peak.

"But Princess, does she truly have a deep-rooted trust in the Holy Palace? If conditions allowed, would she really not doubt the Holy Palace?"

Luo Xian must be aware that the Holy Palace has overstepped its bounds, and as the one in a superior position, she cannot afford not to be wary of the Holy Palace.

"If she can do it, then among all the officials in the court, is it my turn to play this logic game?"

Reality isn't a novel; you can't just find some nobody who, with only a bit of cleverness, gets entrusted with important tasks by big shots.
Putting everything else aside, Chao Cuo, the Left Chief of the Insect and Bird Division and the head of intelligence, how could he possibly be a fool to have reached his current position?
Not only is his reasoning logical, but he is also far superior to Pei Xia in solving cases and catching criminals!
(End of this chapter)