Chapter 591 - Winning a Thousand Miles Away from the War Room
Chapter 591 - Winning a Thousand Miles Away from the War Room
The next morning, as Lian Chengbi and Shen Bijun, refreshed and glowing, stepped out, the first news they heard was of Zhao Wuji's death.
"Zhao Wuji is dead. When did this happen?" Lian Chengbi asked.
"Two days ago," Li Yibian, the Double Knife, reported. "Zhao Wuji's body was found in a forest outside Xuzhou, along with the bodies of Chen Ba, the Fierce Wind Blade, and Huang Yunfei, the Cloud Swallow."
Lian Chengbi furrowed his brows. "Chen Ba and Huang Yunfei, I've heard of them. They're quite famous in the jianghu as well."
"Chen Ba is the master of the Fierce Wind Manor in Huaibei, and Huang Yunfei is a lone swordsman from southern Lu. Both are well-known for their chivalry in the jianghu," Li Yibian explained.
Lian Chengbi nodded. The reputations of these two were far worse than Zhao Wuji's, and their martial arts skills were surely inferior as well.
"Are there any suspected culprits?" Lian Chengbi inquired.
"Yes, the culprit has been identified," Li Yibian replied solemnly, nodding. "It's Xiao Eleven!"
Lian Chengbi: "..."
Shen Bijun exclaimed in shock, "That's impossible! Xiao Eleven should be..."
She stopped halfway through her sentence, noticing Li Yibian's confused expression. Shen Bijun hesitated, then let Lian Chengbi continue, "When my wife and I returned from the Northwest, we received news of Xiao Eleven's whereabouts. He should be in the Northwest region at this time."
"I see," Li Yibian said, understanding. "Then it's possible that someone else framed Xiao Eleven. After all, no one actually saw him commit the crime this time."
"If that's the case, why do you still suspect him?" Shen Bijun asked.
"Because Xiao Eleven left a message next to Zhao Wuji's body," Li Yibian explained. "A layer of bark was scraped off the tree next to the body, and the words 'Zhao Wuji doesn't have much wealth, he deserves to die, left by Xiao Eleven' were carved into it."
Shen Bijun was speechless and exasperated. Was this too hasty a conclusion?
"Does this prove that Xiao Eleven killed Zhao Wuji?" Shen Bijun asked, incredulous.
Li Yibian shook his head and then nodded. "Zhao Wuji is a famous hero from Hebei. His 81 styles of the Infinite Sword Technique have few rivals in the jianghu. There aren't any notorious bandits in that area who could easily defeat him and Chen Ba and Huang Yunfei together.
Only Xiao Eleven's whereabouts are unpredictable. A month ago, he killed Feng Nanqiu, a hero from Luoyang, and with his martial arts skills, he could have taken on Zhao Wuji and the other two as well.
Xiao Eleven never conceals his actions. After killing Hero Feng, he even sang his unique little tune as he left. This time, no one witnessed the killing of Zhao Wuji and the others, so leaving a message is within reason."
Shen Bijun was left completely speechless, while Lian Chengbi burst into laughter.
"That makes sense, it really does," Lian Chengbi chuckled. "Xiao Eleven is not only highly skilled in martial arts but also arrogant in nature. He often acts without reason, and he could have been in the vicinity. So, from any perspective, Zhao Wuji and the other two must have died by his hand, right?"
Li Yibian nodded in agreement. "Exactly."
Shen Bijun sighed softly, unable to hold back. If she hadn't known the inside story, she might have suspected Xiao Eleven as well.
Because, aside from him, there didn't seem to be any other likely suspects.
However, knowing that Xiao Eleven was often framed and that the culprit was likely to be the Heavenly Sect, and considering that Zhao Wuji was also a member of the Heavenly Sect...
Wait, if Zhao Wuji was part of the Heavenly Sect, why would they kill him?
...
After Li Yibian left, Shen Bijun asked Lian Chengbi the same question.
"Because Zhao Wuji invited me to a banquet, but in the response from the Heavenly Sect, he probably didn't mention the matter of Ge Shu's treasure."
Lian Chengbi nodded. "That's most likely the case. Moreover, they were probably friends of Zhao Wuji, whom he approached to discuss his plans."
Shen Bijun followed Lian Chengbi's train of thought. "But he never expected the news to spread so quickly... Uh... This news, could it be..."
Lian Chengbi smiled and nodded.
Shen Bijun was speechless. "I never thought Zhou Ziming would be so loose-lipped."
"You'll understand what Zhou Zhigang is like if you spend more time in Jiangnan," Lian Chengbi said with a laugh.
"So, Zhao Wuji and the other two were killed by the Heavenly Sect because they intended to betray them," Shen Bijun deduced.
Lian Chengbi nodded. "That must be the case."
"Killing two birds with one stone—eliminating traitors and warning the others?" Shen Bijun exclaimed, impressed. "What a formidable strategy!"
"Indeed," Lian Chengbi agreed. "With Zhao Wuji's death, everyone in the Heavenly Sect must know that he was one of them, and that a powerful figure in the sect took action."
"Do you think this matter will be suppressed?" Shen Bijun frowned and asked.
"How is that possible?" Lian Chengbi laughed. "Human hearts are unpredictable. The Heavenly Sect attracts talents with blackmail and money, but while they can quickly gather a large number of experts, they also have to bear the drawbacks of such actions."
...
"Ge Shu's treasure? In the hands of the Heavenly Sect?"
"Didn't you say that it was you who told Lian Chengbi about Ge Shu's treasure?"
"Yes!" Feng Siniang was stunned for a moment, then gritted her teeth. "Lian Chengbi is such a jerk! He heard about Ge Shu's treasure from me, and he knew that the Heavenly Sect had the treasure from Tu Xiaotian, yet he didn't tell us?"
Yang Kaitai licked his lips, not daring to speak.
Xiao Eleven watched Xie Tianshi walking on the street, his brows furrowed and his mind seemingly in turmoil. "But by leaking the news at this time, aren't we focusing our attention on Xie Tianshi?"
"Oh?" Feng Siniang immediately realized the implication and broke into a smile. "I never thought Lian Chengbi's cleverness would be his downfall. His slip of the tongue in Jinling actually did us a small favor. If Xie Tianshi meets with the leader of the Heavenly Sect because of this, won't we win our bet?"
Yang Kaitai stammered, "Would Lian brother make such a mistake?"
"Hmm?"
Feng Siniang and Xiao Eleven looked at each other.
"That's true," Feng Siniang agreed. "Lian Chengbi is not an honest gentleman. He's got at least eight hundred schemes running through his mind. If he didn't want to let something slip, how could he possibly do so at the gathering?"
"Could he have done this on purpose? But why?" Xiao Eleven asked, then laughed at his own joke. "Was it to help us win the bet?"
"Brother Lian is a sincere and honest man. He would never harm anyone. He might have genuinely wanted to help us," Yang Kaitai said.
Feng Siniang blinked, wondering if Lian Chengbi was truly so kind-hearted that he couldn't bear to see Xiao Eleven framed and wanted to help him save face.
Xiao Eleven glanced at Yang Kaitai. Though he seemed unintelligent, he was sincere and had good judgment. He wouldn't speak without reason. Could Lian Chengbi have truly wanted to help him?
Regardless of Lian Chengbi's intentions, his actions, even from afar, had indirectly aided them.
This favor would be remembered!
(End of Chapter)
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