I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 20 There's definitely something strange about this.

"kill?"

Chen Ming was taken aback for a moment, then said urgently, "You can't say things like that. I'm a law-abiding citizen. You can't slander good people out of thin air."

"Upholding the law and obeying public duty?"

Wang Yangming sneered, "You were in jail just over a month ago for committing a crime, and you still dare to call yourself a law-abiding citizen? I think you're a repeat offender."

Chen Ming shook his head vigorously, "I was framed. The adults only need to investigate to find out."

Wang Yangming shouted sternly, "Today I am investigating your murder of Xiao Lin. Confess honestly! Otherwise, you will have to go to the Six Doors prison to confess."

Chen Ming's expression changed. "It seems you've made up your mind to pin this crime on me. We have no grudge against each other, why would you frame me? Do you think I'm easy to bully?"

Wang Yangming put on a stern face, "I am not targeting anyone. Whether you have committed murder or not, you know in your heart. Confess yourself and you will suffer less. In prison, those people are not as easy to talk to as I am."

In the past two weeks, he hadn't found many useful clues. However, based on his experience and intuition, he knew that the murderer must be Chen Ming.

It's a very simple line of reasoning: if it were one of Xiao Lin's other enemies who killed him, they would definitely leave their names behind to announce that their great revenge had been achieved.

Instead of faking suicide.

The only person with such a motive, who has recently clashed with Xiao Lin, and who has the ability to kill him, is Chen Ming.

Unfortunately, the other party handled it too cleanly.

Unable to find any evidence, Wang Yangming decided to go directly to his door. He was determined to take him down today, no matter what.

As long as he confesses, no one can find fault with him.

Wang Yangming believed that Lord Zhao would be very satisfied with this generous gift.

Lord Zhao is new to the city and needs to establish his authority.

Huo Chengkun, as a respected elder of the city, was highly virtuous and had many disciples. Moreover, he had never opposed the Six Doors, making him an excellent target for establishing his authority.

He had inquired about it; this Chen Ming was a sparring partner for Huo's disciples at the Huo residence. He wasn't Huo Chengkun's personal disciple.

Dealing with this person won't provoke too much hatred from Huo Chengkun.

However, to outsiders, Chen Ming was also an instructor in the Huo family, and taking him down would be tantamount to damaging the Huo family's reputation.

This would achieve the goal of establishing authority without offending Huo Chengkun too much.

He's practically the perfect person to establish authority!
……

"grown ups!"

At that moment, Chen Rui, who had been eavesdropping outside, rushed in and exclaimed excitedly, "There must be some misunderstanding here! I swear on my life, my brother would never kill anyone!"

Wang Yangming didn't even glance at him, only staring at Chen Ming, raising his chin, his tone icy, "Did you hear that? Your brother is trying to protect you, so I have no choice but to arrest him too. If you don't want to implicate your family, you'd better confess now. I might let him go."

"you--"

Chen Rui never imagined that this constable from the Six Doors would use him to threaten his younger brother. Shocked and furious, he was speechless for a long time.

Chen Ming straightened his slightly hunched back, staring directly at the constable from the Six Doors, his gaze gradually sharpening. "Are you sure you want to break ties with me?"

Wang Yangming seemed disdainful until he heard a "crackling" sound coming from the man's body. His expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed, "Bones and muscles are resonating? You've reached the ninth rank?"

How can this be?

So shocked was he unable to control his facial expression, which instantly became extremely ugly.

what?
Erlang has reached the ninth rank?

Chen Rui, who was filled with shock and anger, froze on the spot upon hearing his words, looking at his younger brother in disbelief.

……

After struggling with his conscience, Wang Yangming ultimately chose to leave.

He was also a ninth-grade cultivator, and he believed that with his own strength, he was capable of taking down Chen Ming.

However, it is not advisable to rashly forge a deadly feud before figuring out the other party's background.

"Strange, wasn't it said that this kid had mediocre talent and couldn't even stay in the Huo family? How did he suddenly become a ninth-rank martial artist?"

What's even stranger is that if he had such strength, how come he was imprisoned a little over a month ago?

As long as he reveals his cultivation level, would Jin Yuansheng's boss dare to treat him like this?

Wang Yangming felt increasingly uneasy.

There must be something strange about this.

……

Inside the main hall of the Chen residence.

Chen Rui looked at Chen Ming and asked hesitantly, "You really... entered... the ninth rank?" "Brother, don't tell anyone about this yet."

Chen Rui's breathing became rapid, and he asked in a trembling voice, "You...do...you...really...reached the ninth rank?"

"Yes."

Upon receiving an affirmative answer, Chen Rui's eyes welled up with tears. "With our ancestors above me, my Chen family has finally produced a martial artist..."

As he spoke, he stumbled and ran towards the backyard. Judging from his appearance, he was probably going to the mourning hall to comfort the spirits of his parents and ancestors in heaven.

Chen Ming originally wanted to give him a few more words of advice, but seeing him like this, he couldn't help but shake his head and had no choice but to let him be.

Only then did he have time to think about what had happened that day.

"Logically speaking, the Six Doors usually don't get involved in vendettas in the martial arts world. Old Ghost Xiao was a lowlife loan shark; he's dead, so be it. Why is this guy surnamed Wang so persistent in pursuing this?"

He searched through the original owner's memories and found that he didn't know this constable surnamed Wang before, had never even heard of him, let alone had any grudge against him.

There must be something fishy going on here.

A sense of urgency arose in Chen Ming's heart: "This guy surnamed Wang is ultimately a hidden danger."

……

When Chen Ming arrived at the Huo residence, he was 25 minutes later than usual.

Today, the Huo residence was filled with joy, and every servant's face was beaming with happiness.

He then remembered that today was the day Wen Zehao was coming to the Huo residence to propose marriage.

Two days ago, Huo Qianqian celebrated her sixteenth birthday, and according to custom, she is now old enough to get married.

It is said that the Huo family was very lively on the day of the coming-of-age ceremony, and many guests were invited.

However, this had nothing to do with him. That day, he went to the Deng residence in the afternoon as usual, but did not attend the ceremony.

When they arrived at the training ground, only the students were practicing; the fifth and third senior brothers were not there.

That's right. When the groom comes to present the betrothal gifts, the bride's family members should naturally be present.

Originally, those trainees were just practicing lazily. Without supervision, many of them were just going through the motions.

As soon as Chen Ming arrived, they immediately tensed up, practicing with great vigor and not daring to slack off in the slightest.

During this time, he had established his authority among the trainees. This was earned through his abilities, and no one could argue with that.

He wasn't going to waste any more time and asked, "Who wants to go first today?"

The students immediately became excited, "Senior Brother Chen, you're coming on such a great day?"

"Exactly! Your seventh senior brother is here to propose marriage. Don't you want to go and join in the fun and share in the joy?"

"Senior Brother Chen, when are you getting married?"

……

"Shut up, everyone."

Chen Ming shouted, silencing them, "As the old saying goes, 'Practice makes perfect. If you don't practice for a day, your hands and feet will become slow; if you don't practice for two days, you'll lose half of your skills.' A martial artist must never slack off for even a day."

Seeing how stern he was, the trainees dared not say another word. They quieted down and, as usual, took turns going up to spar with him.

……

Chen Ming hadn't seen Hong Mingquan by noon when the sparring session ended, so he left. He figured he could ask him again tomorrow.

In the afternoon, he still went to the Deng residence to be a sparring partner for Deng Ziyang's group of underlings.

Soon, the day was over.

……

The next morning.

At nine o'clock in the morning, Chen Ming arrived at the Huo residence on time, only to find that the atmosphere was a bit strange today, and the servants had lost their cheerfulness.

He didn't take it to heart and went to the training ground, where he saw Hong Mingquan and Zhang Mingyu sitting in the pavilion drinking tea as usual. However, both of them looked somewhat solemn.

His intuition told him that something was wrong.

Chen Ming hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to walk over, when he saw Zhang Mingyu waving at him.

He sat down, and before he could ask anything, he heard Zhang Mingyu sigh, "Something terrible happened in the manor while you were away yesterday."

He asked cautiously, "What important matter?"

"Junior Sister, she's not getting married."

(End of this chapter)