“Tell us!” Siao Tieying shouted.
The woodman lowered his voice: “I… I…, there was a man two days ago who found me. He told me to say these things. As long as I said as he did, he’d give me a hundred silver!”
“What kind of man? How did he look?” He scoffed.
The woodman contemplated for a moment: “He’s in his thirties…and…and he’s tall and thin! He looked gentle..”
“Forget about it. There’s no point asking.” Siao Tieying waved his hand and scoffed: “A hundred silver. Did you think it was that easy to earn a hundred silver? I’m afraid you might have earned the money but lost your life. Whatever. Go home. Go be a nice woodman and don’t even think about easy money. It’s just a disaster waiting to happen.”
“Understood! Thank you, Master! Thank you!” The woodman looked as if he got his amnesty. He knocked his head on the floor a few more times.
“Is there anything you’d like to add, Protector Song Siwen?” Siao Tieying turned and stared at Song Siwen. He coldly said: “There’s someone who wants to harm Chu Li by framing him. Such treacherous intent!”
Song Siwen gazed upon the woodman. He was scared to the point where cold sweat began to roll down his face.
Siao Tieying sneered: “But the funniest things is, high Protectors from the Imperial House were actually played by a man from the wilds! The Royal House has really lost face! I even chased him all the way back here!”
Song Siwen was also extremely angry.
What Siao Tieying said was like a slap in his face. His skin heated up. He hated the fact that he was unable to slap Siao Tieying to death.
Siao Tieying was unwilling to give up. He sneered: “You should thank me. If this really went to the King, you’d probably have been excused from your posts as Protectors of the Imperial House.”
“Heh. Thanks, Master Siao!” Song Siwen sneered.
Siao Tieying stared at him and scoffed: “You don’t know what’s the best for yourself.”
“Then who did it, Master?” Song Siwen changed the topic: “This man must’ve harbored quite the hatred toward Chu Li.”
Siao Tieying explained: “The Temple of Tempest and Hu Ren Public House. It was probably Hu Ren Public House who did this. The monks from the Temple lacks any form of intelligence. They rarely resorted to tricks like this.”
“Chu Li offended the Hu Ren’s Public House?”
“Don’t you know about the relationship between my Public House and Hu Ren Public House?” Siao Tieying said in a bad manner: “They wanted to seize the advantage every chance they had but failed because Chu Li had thwarted them twice. They must be rolling in their beds in anger since they can’t possibly remove him from the equation and make their life easier.”
Song Siwen slowly nodded. They double-checked the information before they came. Both Public Houses were in quite the heated feud with each other.
Siao Tieying sneered: “Lu Yurong doesn’t care about anything. If it weren’t for her being a woman, I would’ve killed her already.”
Song Siwen showed a slight smile.
It was not that Siao Tieying did not want to kill her, it was more to the fact that he cannot kill her.
Lu Yurong almost never left her Public House. Her stratagems are brilliant and the Protectors around her are very strong. She even almost succeeded in killing the Second Lady of the Yi Public House.
Siao Tieying scoffed: “You’re just being used by Lu Yurong!”
Song Siwen and his men were extremely angry. They were almost tricked. Such an easy trick and he actually fell for it. To make matters worse, he was tricked by a woman!
Chu Li was lying on a short couch under the Glory’s Will tree. The sunset dyed the small courtyard a bright orange. He squinted his eyes and sensed the spiritual energy of the Glory’s Will as well as the spiritual energy of the Perishable Touch.
Glory’s Will had an unstoppable vigor but the Perishable Touch was just as deadly. It continuously engulfed the vigor to strengthen itself.
The spiritual energy of the Perishable Touch seemed like it had a life of its own. It was subdued in the morning but was active at night.
The spiritual energy of the tree was active during the day and even more so at night. It absorbed sunlight during the day and the moonlight during the night. The daylight strengthened it and the moonlight assisted in its growth. In comparison to the spiritual energy of Perishable Touch, he senses were getting more and more delicate.
He was badly hurt and he was completely overwhelmed by the sheer power of the Glory’s Will. As he sensed the Perishable Touch, his understanding of the Scripture of Life and Death deepened. Life and death, perishing, growth. An amazing realization was slowly growing within his heart.
He felt as if he was close to the door of the Scripture’s second layer.
Xue pushed the door open and walked it. She sat next to Chu Li’s couch with a nice scent that followed her.
The sunset painted his fair face into the color of a rose. It was infatuating, red, pretty, and attractive.
“Master, Brother Jiang Kuai said he’s already finished what you asked him to do.”
Chu Li opened his eyes and nodded.
Xue curiously asked: “Master, what did you make Brother Jiang Kuai do?”
Chu Li smiled.
Xue asked, even more curious this time: “Mas–ter–!”
At this point, footsteps could be heard. Su Ru pushed the door open and walked in. She looked at Chu Li as she smiled: “Good news!”
Xue stood and bowed. She quickly asked: “What’s the good news, Chief?”
“Everything is finally over!” Su Ru closed her mouth and smiled: “That group of Protectors from the Imperial House have confirmed Chu Li’s innocence! He didn’t kill Zhao Zilai!”
“Thank God! Thank God!” Xue put both her palms together and let out a long breath. She quickly went to the pagoda and took a garden stool.
Su Ru elegantly sat on the stool as she smiled once more: “Thank god Lu Yurong had this plan. She found someone to frame Chu Li to corner him but Master Siao was able to get a hold of that person and break his lies in a few sentences!”
“Is Master Siao that great..?” Xue was surprised.
Su Ru smiled: “Was he ever not?”
“Master Siao is wise indeed…” Xue smiled.
Su Ru rolled her eyes at Xue and looked at Chu Li: “Now you can rest easy and cure your wounds slowly. Get well as soon as possible. Lady Siao has said that she wants to bring you along to look for the Blade of Thunder Guiding.”
“Has she found it?”
“Not yet.”
“Lady Siao wants to go?”
“Mmm. Lady Siao said that Master Siao needed to be in the Public House to keep watch. It’d be better if she went with you following her. You’d need to get well soon so we can make our move as soon as there’s news of Thunder Guiding!”
“…What’s the point of me butting in? Just let Lady Siao bring a few more Grandmasters, and that’s it.”
“Tell Lady Siao that.” Su Ru rolled her eyes at him and then smiled right after: “There are also times where Lu Yurong shoots herself in the foot. We have to thank for this time. It’s true that even the smartest of people will make mistakes out of their thousands of thoughts!”
Chu Li smiled and nodded: “We’ll really need to thank Lu Yurong this time.”
“Hmm, such a sinister woman! She must be infuriated for failing when she was so close!” Su Ru rolled her eyes at him. She stood up and asked: “Do you need any more spirit medicine..?”
Chu Li answered: “I don’t need any spirit medication. I’m slowly channeling spiritual energy to cure my wounds.”
“Very well then.” Su Ru stood up: “I shall take my leave!”
Xue quickly stood up to send her.
Xue returned to the couch and sat by his side. She fed Chu Li a piece of watermelon: “Master, what did you ask Brother Jiang Kuai to do..?”
Chu Li smiled and did not reply.
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll ask Brother Jiang Kuai. He’ll tell me.” She scoffed.
He smiled: “Don’t tell outsiders about this.”
“Of course!” Xue pounded on her plump chest.
Chu Li said: “It was actually nothing. I just helped Lu Yurong a bit.”
“You helped Lu Yurong…?” Xue’s beautiful eyes blinked in confusion. She was unable to make heads or tails of Chu Li’s statement. “How did you help her?”
Chu Li said: “I helped her find a witness.”
Xue’s eyes immediately widened. She pointed at Chu Li: “That witness…he was planted by you, Master!?”
Chu Li smiled.
Xue blinked her eyes once more. She thought for a moment and then shook her head: “Master, you’re really… you even made me worried for quite a long time! Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”
He smiled: “The heavens are better than humans playing prediction. What’s the point in telling before the dust has settled?”