Chapter 122

“Okay, I agree!”

When Ye Gucheng saw that Ximen Chuixue had agreed, he was stunned for a moment before nodding in agreement as well.

Although he has returned to his original path, this time he does not intend to get involved in those messy affairs, but only to reach the pinnacle of the purest swordsmanship.

If he could, Lu Xiaofeng would have loved to stop the duel, since both of them were his friends. But he knew he couldn’t stop it. No matter the outcome, one of them was destined to die by the other’s sword, and the one who survived would most likely reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship and become a true god of the sword.

Just when many people thought it was over, Jin Jiuling suddenly stood up and asked, “I wonder if I am qualified to take a divine weapon from Young Master Lingyu?”

“You’re not qualified, you’re not worthy!” Zhang Weihao didn’t even glance at Jin Jiuling before closing his Peerless Sword Box.

Jin Jiuling, who was always fawned over and respected by both the legitimate and criminal worlds, was instantly humiliated by Zhang Weihao’s arrogant and contemptuous tone, and became genuinely angry.

He didn’t think he was inferior to Ximen Chuixue.

Yes, Ye Gucheng is truly no match for him. Whether before or now, he could never be Ye Gucheng’s opponent.

That move, “Flying Immortal from Beyond the Heavens,” was impossible to dodge. He wasn’t Zhang Lingyu, and couldn’t withstand such an exaggeratedly invincible sword technique. Once hit, he would surely die.

As a friend, Lu Xiaofeng also felt that Zhang Weihao’s words were a bit too arrogant. Jin Jiuling was his friend and should not be slighted or neglected like this.

Lu Xiaofeng immediately stepped in to smooth things over, saying, “Old Jin’s swordsmanship is very strong. I’ve seen it before. Why don’t you take a look?”

“No need to look. My sword doesn’t distinguish between black and white. Whether you’re from the underworld or the legitimate world, you’re qualified to challenge me to a sword duel. But there’s only one kind of person who isn’t worthy: beasts.” Zhang Weihao said, looking directly at Jin Jiuling with disdain. “You think you’re hiding it well? You’re just good at pretending. But the longer you pretend, the more unconscious habits will betray you. It’s just that the people you usually meet have a filter on you, so even if they notice, they won’t suspect you. Am I right, Jin Jiuling, the Embroidered Bandit?”

Upon hearing Zhang Weihao’s words, everyone except Shangguan Haitang was extremely surprised. Yue Lingshan and the others even gripped their sword hilts and moved further away from Jin Jiuling.

Moreover, Ye Gucheng and Ximen Chuixue had their sights set on Jin Jiuling, ready to take down this master thief at any time.

“What are you talking about? Am I the Embroidered Thief?”

“There are three people here who have reached the state of oneness with the heavens and man. Brother Ye and I can see the changes in your heart rate right now. Brother Ye can testify to this. Your heart is beating very fast and you are very nervous. Although it cannot be seen from your expression, your mind is already in turmoil.”

Ye Gucheng nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly, “I should have realized it was you. You were there that night, and one of the first to appear. You’re friends with Steward Ren, and you’re very familiar with his martial arts and the defenses that night. You were a participant yourself. Sure enough, you are the Embroidered Thief.”

Ye Gucheng and Lu Xiaofeng were both there that night, but they couldn’t find the Embroidered Thief. Ye Gucheng even suspected Lu Xiaofeng, who was very skilled in lightness skills, which led to the test with that sword. Now that Zhang Weihai said this, Ye Gucheng instantly realized how Jin Jiuling committed the crime that night.

Having been a participant himself and being very familiar with Ren Zhong’s martial arts, after stealing the Prince’s treasure and blinding Ren Zhong, he immediately hid the treasure in the Prince’s mansion and then transformed himself into the Chief Constable.

In other words, the murderer didn’t escape at all; instead, he joined the pursuit and even took the opportunity to move the stolen treasures out of the palace. Naturally, he appeared and disappeared without anyone noticing.

“Being suddenly accused like this, what’s wrong with my heart pounding? Anyone would feel terrified if they were targeted by so many experts at the same time.”

“Then how do you explain the way you look at Xue Bing? Lu Xiaofeng is your friend, right? But when you look at his woman, you seem to want to strip her naked. You even look at the woman next to me the same way.”

Of course, lust is a man’s nature, but a man who easily develops lustful thoughts towards the women of his closest friends should not be underestimated in terms of his character. After all, I happened to meet one before, and that guy was also known in the martial arts world as a paragon of benevolence and righteousness.

Of course, none of these are the most important things. The most important thing is that your consumption is seriously mismatched with your income. I know better than you how much money it would cost to make the clothes you are wearing. This is not something a minor official like a constable can afford.

Although you are an expert in appraising treasures and judging horses, there are many experts in this field in the world, and most of them are concentrated in the capital. As the chief constable who is mainly stationed in the capital, how can you have so much time to go treasure hunting and find bargains?

Moreover, the intelligence network of the Dragon Guard Manor didn’t find out that you had picked up any big bargains. Someone who is willing to spend several taels of silver on clothes cannot possibly only have a few thousand or tens of thousands of taels of silver in assets.

After all, you have more than just this one piece of clothing. Most of these clothes are disposable and won’t be worn many times. You’d probably spend tens of thousands of taels of silver on clothes every year.

Zhang Weihua’s words made everyone present even more suspicious of Jin Jiuling. If he really spent tens of thousands of taels of silver a year on clothes, then Jin Jiuling’s income and consumption were indeed seriously mismatched.

Even if he has excellent appraisal skills and is good at judging horses, there aren’t that many bargains waiting for him to find. This is just a side job, not his main job. He doesn’t have that much free time to search for treasures all over the world.

“Evidence? We in the Six Doors always need evidence to arrest people. Empty words are not enough to convict me, nor can they label me the Embroidered Bandit, based solely on these guesses. It was the Marquis who ordered you to do this, wasn’t it? What a clever scheme.”

Upon hearing Jin Jiuling’s words, Lu Xiaofeng hesitated again. Considering that Zhang Weihai had just returned from the Dragon Guard Manor with Shangguan Haitang, it wasn’t impossible.

Zhang Weihao’s eyes turned blood red again, and the shape of his pupils changed, becoming completely different from before.

In terms of appearance, the regular Sharingan has three separate tomoe, while the Mangekyou Sharingan connects the tomoe together, presenting a blade-like shape.

Although different Mangekyou Sharingan have slight differences in the shape of the tomoe, they are all roughly similar to a kaleidoscope, hence the name Mangekyou Sharingan.