The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

Indeed, scraping away Xiaoyuer's code, which led to Tie Xinlan's arrival, is a clue that can be followed.

After all, if it weren't for Chu Luren, Xiaoyuer and Tie Xinlan would be confirmed as Tie Wushuang's accomplices!

Even before that, when Tie Wushuang hosted a banquet for two镖联 (bodyguard alliances) and they all ended up being poisoned, Xiaoyuer helped him capture the bribed cook and obtain the antidote.

Although he failed to unravel the behind-the-scenes manipulator, he at least prevented the two镖联 (bodyguard alliances) and Tie Wushuang from suffering even greater losses. Therefore, many people know that he is on Tie Wushuang's side—which indirectly makes Tie Wushuang's case even more convincing.

"At most three days," Chu Luren said.

"What?" Little Fish didn't understand.

"Yaoyue could appear in Changsha at any time, within three days at most. If you can't find anything, leave immediately!" Chu Luren reminded him.

Upon hearing the name Yaoyue, Xiaoyuer clenched his fist, looking somewhat unwilling.

After all, although Yaoyue wasn't the direct murderer, she could be considered the instigator of his parents' deaths, and she even sent a pretty boy to hunt him down...

However, Xiaoyuer also understood that he was no match for Yaoyue, and even... if "Brother Chu" saw Yaoyue, he wouldn't be on his side, would he?

"Then two days it will be. If I still can't find anything by the day after tomorrow, I'll leave immediately tonight!" Little Fish doesn't make any promises; the best strategy is to slip away when necessary.

If it weren't for Xiaoyuer, Chu Luren would have thought that he couldn't have "solved the case" and should have used his best methods first—to take down Jiang Biehe and his son Jiang Yulang. As for the methods of the crime, he could slowly extract a confession. If he couldn't come up with a feasible plan, he could just take off some parts every day!

Hmm? It strangely reminds me of Man'anji from the original work…

Chu Luren shook his head. He was punishing evil and promoting good, how could he be compared to the Mongol Tartars!

When they arrived at Hua Wuque's room again, Lianhua was indeed complaining, but she quickly lowered her head when she saw Chu Luren enter.

However, Hua Wuque indeed trusted Xiaoyuer completely. When Chu Luren pushed the door open and entered, he even heard Hua Wuque say to Lianhua, "Regardless of what Young Master Chu is like, I believe Xiaoyuer wouldn't harm me. He must have come to find out the truth of this matter..."

When Chu Luren pushed the door open and walked in, Hua Wuque, He Lu, and Lianhua were all stunned. Lianhua lowered her head guiltily, fearing that Chu Luren would pursue the matter of her tattling. He Lu, on the other hand, mustered her courage and scolded... no, suggested, "Young Master Chu! Why didn't you knock before you came in?"

"Sorry, sorry, I'm used to it. I thought the Mingyu Gong would definitely hear my footsteps, and I forgot that Wuque usually 'doesn't listen' to anything." Chu Luren quickly apologized, after all, he was a mature and polite person in the martial arts world.

The more Hua Wuque pondered these words, the more awkward they seemed—"The Mingyu Skill must listen for footsteps, so it doesn't knock? What exactly are you used to? How did you get used to it?"

Just then, the servants who brought the food came over.

Chu Luren's eyes lit up and he said, "The food is here! Let's act out the scene where Wuque was poisoned earlier, make sure it's a perfect recreation!"

As he spoke, he took the food out of the food box and placed it on the eight-immortal table in the room. He then pulled over three stools and had He Lu play Tie Wushuang and Lian Hua play Jiang Biehe...

By the time it was completely dark, Chu Luren had learned almost everything that had happened—at least on the surface!

Even though Chu Luren specifically asked, Hua Wuque was quite certain that Jiang Biehe and Tie Wushuang had no contact whatsoever.

Chu Luren did not stay at the Duan family's villa that night. Although he did not stand on ceremony with them and treated them as if they were at home, staying there at this time would inevitably give the impression that he was taking sides among the martial arts figures in Changsha.

So Chu Luren went to the neutral place—Qunyu Academy!

I spent the whole night looking at information about Duan Hefei and Zhao Xiangling.

Early the next morning, Chu Luren made a special trip to Diling Manor to question Bai Qiong and Liu Qin as well...

Chapter 837 The Only Possibility

The following evening, Chu Luren met with Xiaoyuer again, this time at a restaurant.

Chu Luren told Xiaoyuer what he had found out...

In short, nothing was found and there was nothing suspicious. So far, if we don't consider personal feelings, it's obvious that my friend is lying!

Then Chu Luren asked Xiaoyuer expectantly, "Did you find evidence that Jiang Biehe erased the code?"

"Sigh, I couldn't find it." Little Fish sighed.

Tie Xinlan looked at him strangely from the side and said, "Weren't you trying to have some fun all day?"

Little Fish: ...

Chu Luren: !!!

Although it's unclear what kind of activity Xiaoyuer is "finding fun," it's obvious that no investigation is underway!

"Ahem, what I mean is, there definitely won't be any evidence left, so there's no need to investigate." Little Fish tried to brush it off.

"So what? Why don't you stay and wait for Yaoyue to come?" Chu Luren squinted, as if considering keeping him.

"Is Yue coming?" Tie Xinlan exclaimed in surprise.

Little Fish wasn't afraid at all, as if it didn't think Chu Luren would actually do that.

“Haven’t we already made the biggest discovery? If there’s no other explanation, and it wasn’t Tie Wushuang who did it, then there’s only one possibility…the poison was put on Tie Wushuang by the person who searched him!” Xiaoyuer said solemnly.

"No, the people searching us are disciples of the Yihua Palace, it's impossible..."

"Is it lotus dew or lotus flower?" Little Fish interrupted Chu Luren's promise and asked for details.

“It was Lotus. He Lu was taking care of Que'er at the time and was already panicked.” After Chu Luren finished speaking, he looked at Xiao Yu'er’s goosebump-covered expression and said, “But how could it be Lotus? Putting aside the motives and whether she was afraid of being skinned alive by Yao Yue, if it were her, would Que'er not have noticed her unusual emotions?”

Xiaoyuer didn't ask why Chu Luren called Hua Wuque such a disgusting name, but instead continued with the important matter: "Could the Yihua Palace's 'Mingyu Gong' be used...?"

“Yes! The Mingyu Gong can naturally calm the mind, but what they practice is not the Mingyu Gong at all, but a simplified version of the Yihua Internal Skill. There are no abnormal mental states.” Chu Luren denied Xiaoyuer’s speculation.

After listening to Chu Luren's words, Xiaoyuer paced back and forth a few steps, and then asked, "When that kid was unconscious from the poison, the body search hadn't even started yet. By the time the body search began, he already needed Helu to take care of him!"

"Yes, what's wrong?" Chu Luren didn't understand what he meant.

"In other words, Hua Wuque only felt that Lotus didn't show any unusual emotions before the body search began, but he had already lost consciousness when the search started," Xiaoyuer put it another way.

Chu Luren frowned and said, "Doesn't this prove her innocence? Could it be that she discovered the poison while searching Jiang Biehe, and then 'spur-of-the-moment' decided to frame Tie Wushuang?"

"Did she search Jiang Biehe first?" Xiaoyuer asked back.

Chu Luren thought about what Lotus and Helu had said before, and then nodded and said, "Indeed, it was Jiang Biehe who first suggested searching people, and then Tie Lao agreed. Jiang Biehe was searched first."

"In other words, it's entirely possible," Xiaoyuer said seriously.

"Really? Lotus... no, no disciple of the Flower Palace would dare to do such a thing, would they?" Chu Luren had no idea what he was talking about.

"Women, they do what they want, especially when it involves someone they like, they don't care about the consequences at all." Xiaoyuer repeated what she had said to Tie Xinlan before, with a meaningful tone.

Chu Luren was speechless for a moment...

Actually, Xiaoyuer felt something was off about her yesterday!

Upon seeing herself, she paused for a moment before saying that she was Tie Wushuang's accomplice.

The pretty boy has been "hunting" him down. Normally, he shouldn't think that he poisoned or framed Tie Wushuang.

At that time, Xiaoyuer had some doubts about her...

"You mean, she... has fallen for Jiang Biehe?" Chu Luren asked incredulously.

"Not necessarily! Although that pale-faced old man may seem gentle and refined, and very good at charming young girls, the women of the Flower Palace usually see men as great enemies and threats, but in reality, they are the easiest to be seduced by men... especially pretty boys!"

Upon hearing this, Chu Luren tentatively asked, "Are you talking about Jiang Feng?"

Little Fish: ...

"I'm talking about Jiang Yulang!" Xiaoyuer looked at Chu Luren with a face full of disgust.

If Xiaoyuer hadn't known this guy was always like this, he probably would have tricked him a few times as revenge!

After Yan Nantian reappeared in the martial arts world, Xiaoyuer's background was no longer a secret. Incidentally, Hua Wuque would no longer be confused as to why his master and second master wanted him to hunt down Xiaoyuer.

But this didn't stop him from slacking off...

Little Fish didn't understand how Chu Luren had guessed about his dead father!

Then Chu Luren subtly pursed his lips and muttered silently, "I thought you were talking about me..."

Little Fish: ...

Having understood lip reading, Little Fish didn't want to dwell on the issue with Chu Luren. Instead, she reminded him, "If that's the case, then everything makes sense!"

Chu Luren still found it hard to believe, but... he did begin to have doubts in his heart.

If Lianhua was deeply in love with Jiang Yulang, and suddenly discovered evidence of poisoning the young master on her lover's father, she would surely be thrown into turmoil. It would not be surprising if she then took the opportunity to frame Tie Wushuang with this "evidence".

No one would doubt that the people of Yihua Palace would actually cooperate with Jiang Biehe...

"However, Lianhua was completely unaware of this beforehand. How dare Jiang Biehe be so bold? Isn't he afraid of being exposed on the spot?" Chu Luren was still somewhat incredulous. In his impression, Jiang Biehe was a cautious person.

To maintain her public image, she has lived frugally for so many years, which is the best evidence of that!

"The Jiangnan hero is cunning and seemingly cautious, but I can sense that he has an adventurous nature deep down. Not to mention, he also has an adventurous son."

Xiaoyuer saw through Jiang Biehe's true nature even more clearly. Chu Luren also thought back to when he was Jiang Feng's page, Jiang Qin, and even dared to conspire with the Twelve Constellations. He couldn't help but accept Xiaoyuer's words even more.

Moreover, Xiaoyuer then changed the subject, saying, "Besides, it's not like there's absolutely no room for maneuver. Wasn't that medicine bottle given to Jiang Biehe for safekeeping? It's hard to say when it will be replaced with the Yama's Midnight Powder."

Chu Luren nodded slightly—whether it was true or false, they had indeed explored a possibility.

“Jiang Yulang is also at the Duan family’s house. I’m going to find him!” Chu Luren stood up immediately.

“That’s right… Hey, wait! You’re not going to go and ask him directly, are you?” Xiaoyuer quickly stopped Chu Luren when he turned to leave.

"No, I'll castrate him, and then we'll see how Lotus reacts." Chu Luren wasn't going to resort to any empty threats.

Anyway, Jiang Yulang isn't worth pitying...

Chapter 838 Heredity

Chu Luren didn't have time to go find Jiang Yulang in the end. Firstly, Xiaoyuer stopped him, saying that he had a better way. Secondly... something happened in Changsha!

At this moment, Jiang Biehe was leading the guards and servants of the Duan family, trying to snatch someone out of Qunyu Courtyard...

The dignified hero of Jiangnan actually led a group to a brothel to snatch someone. Such a big commotion naturally attracted everyone's attention, and Chu Luren also received the news immediately.

While others were unaware of the reason, Chu Luren guessed that it was most likely that the courtesan of Qunyu Courtyard, who had issued a gag order, had made contact with Jiang Biehe!

Although Qunyu Academy is officially the external affairs agency of the Sun Moon Cult, most of its staff are not on the official payroll...

In a typical Qunyu Courtyard, there is usually only one steward and two or three confidants among the true disciples of the Sun Moon Cult, and there are more in important places.

Changsha is considered a relatively important county in southern Jingzhou, but most of the people working there are just ordinary, skilled women without official positions who only know that "their families may have connections with certain underworld organizations, but I don't need to worry about that; I just need to report what the customers say."

Therefore, the courtesan was later suspended from receiving customers under the pretext of illness, and her contact with outsiders was cut off.

Chu Luren wasn't sure whether they had reconnected later or whether the courtesan had been bribed from the beginning and was now preparing to forcibly bring her out to obtain that crucial confession!

When Chu Luren and Xiaoyuer arrived, they saw Jiang Biehe standing there with a solemn expression, saying, "Fellow martial artists, I know that this action is indeed reckless, but it concerns the true culprit who poisoned Young Master Hua, as well as the innocence of Master Tie. Today, I have no choice but to humbly ask the Qunyu Academy to release the person! No matter how much you ridicule me afterward, I, Jiang Biehe, will bear the consequences myself!"