Chapter 94

As the saying goes, those who walk different paths cannot make plans together. Zhang Weihua and Li Xunhuan are not on the same path. They can be friends or related by blood, but Zhang Weihua will definitely not become Li Xunhuan’s disciple or a close associate. He will even keep a certain distance and not get too close.

Li Xunhuan also realized this, knowing that Zhang Weihao had his own ideas and could not be persuaded by him in a few words. If he continued to talk, they might fall out.

Moreover, he asked himself honestly, and he knew that the other party really understood him, was too familiar with him, and he did indeed have such a bad habit, so he had ruined Lin Shiyin, the woman he loved most, by pushing her into a fire pit.

However, Li Xunhuan still felt that it was inappropriate for Lin Shiyin to be with Zhang Weihao. Even if they had a relationship for some reason, it was still wrong, given their different generations.

Of course, this is Li Xunhuan’s opinion. After all, Long Xiaoyun is his sworn brother, not Zhang Weihao’s sworn brother. They don’t know each other at all, so there is no difference in seniority. He likes to call Lin Shiyin “Auntie” because “Auntie” is more relatable. The one who is green is “Little Green Scholar”.

Li Xunhuan’s servant, Tie Chuanjia, quickly cleaned up the Guiyun Manor, which was littered with corpses. Li Xunhuan himself was probably the one who cleaned it up. Zhang Weihao was already being generous by helping him reclaim his ancestral property. He couldn’t possibly have to do the dirty and tiring work of cleaning up the ground himself, could he?

“Lin Xian’er is gone.”

“Of course I’ll leave. I didn’t kill her, and I can tell she’s quite skilled in martial arts. If I’m not mistaken, she’s the real Plum Blossom Thief.”

Li Xunhuan was very surprised and said, “The Plum Blossom Bandit is a woman? That’s impossible.”

“There were two Plum Blossom Thieves. The first Plum Blossom Thief was highly skilled in martial arts and a womanizer, which once caused a great uproar in the martial arts world. However, decades later, another Plum Blossom Thief stirred up trouble, but we can rule out the previous generation of Plum Blossom Thief because he was already old enough to die, and his natural condition would not allow him to commit such crimes.”

As for why the Plum Blossom Bandits existed, it’s naturally because powerful figures needed vast sums of money to operate, and the best way to acquire such wealth was through arson, murder, and looting. This was clearly not something one person could do alone, so there was a key figure orchestrating it all, and that person was Lin Xian’er.

Li Xunhuan himself had returned to the martial arts world because of the Plum Blossom Bandit, so he had naturally done his research. He immediately thought of something and continued to ask, “Is there any connection between the Embroidered Bandit and the Plum Blossom Bandit?”

“It’s irrelevant, otherwise the people from the Dragon Guard Manor would have arrived long ago. One is taking a slow and steady approach, while the other is going to drastic measures; they’re clearly not the same group. The Embroidered Bandit is obviously just trying to make one last big score and use the opportunity to shift the blame and get away with it. So he committed two major crimes and deliberately shifted the blame to the Plum Blossom Bandit. He probably already knew who the Plum Blossom Bandit was and was deliberately leading the blame-shifting.”

The Embroidered Thief is none other than Jin Jiuling, the top constable of the Six Doors and a good friend of Lu Xiaofeng. This guy is a lay disciple of Shaolin and the junior brother of the honest monk. He is a very intelligent master who enjoys material things very much and spends money like water. However, his income is seriously disproportionate to his consumption, and he has no way to collect so much dirty money. So he simply cries “stop thief” and uses his identity as a constable to cover up his crimes as a great thief.

Stealing the 800,000 taels of gold from the Dragon Guard Manor and Wan Sanqian, blinding the chief steward of the Prince’s Mansion, and stealing several treasures from the Prince of Pingnan’s Mansion—isn’t this going too far, forcing both the legitimate and criminal worlds to frantically hunt him down? It’s obvious he’s trying to shirk responsibility and escape.

Zhang Weihao was very familiar with this move.

In the entertainment industry of later generations, the best way to suppress a scandal or rumor is not to clarify or explain, but to directly expose other hot events or other celebrities’ scandals and gossip, using new scandals and gossip to overshadow the popularity of one’s own scandal and gossip.

So after discovering that the Plum Blossom Thief was causing a great uproar and uncovering some clues, Jin Jiuling immediately used the “Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell” tactic.

After all, he is the top official in charge, and all first-hand information goes through him. It would be too easy for him to manipulate things, guide or mislead people.

This is the same principle as Lin Xian’er, Long Xiaoyun, and their group joining forces to shift the blame onto Li Xunhuan.

It can only be said that Jin Jiuling’s methods were more sophisticated and professional, while Lin Xian’er and her group ultimately had limited intelligence and their methods were too crude.

Li Xunhuan suddenly understood and made a new decision. He directly asked Zhang Weihao, “Is Lingyu planning to return to the capital to report the good news?”

“Of course, that’s how things are at home. Besides, I’ve been studying abroad for almost three years now, so it’s time for me to come home and visit.”

“Then let’s set off together.”

Zhang Weihao nodded; he had already guessed that Li Xunhuan would most likely travel with them.

After all, he and his cousin Li Manqing eventually had to resolve their differences, but it was unclear how they would ultimately resolve such a deep-seated hatred.

Frankly speaking, without considering the protagonist’s halo, Zhang Weihua doesn’t think highly of Li Xunhuan. After all, once you reach a certain level, you don’t care about right or wrong.

In terms of alignment and ability alone, Li Xunhuan is no match for Li Manqing. If it comes to finding political allies, hypocrites like Li Manqing are far more reliable than saints like Li Xunhuan.

Who would seek out saints and gentlemen as political allies? If you’re honest and upright, why are you playing politics?

After a short day of rest, the two carriages set off together, one after the other.

Li Xunhuan originally wanted to go first, but was refused. Zhang Weihao didn’t like being left behind, especially since Li Xunhuan’s carriage was really slow; he had a history of road rage.

Before they had traveled for two days, as they approached Beihe Town, they were suddenly stopped by a very beautiful female swordswoman dressed in white.

Baoding is not far from the capital. In modern times, with highways, it is less than 170 kilometers away. However, in ancient times, there were no highways, so the actual distance was about 800 li (approximately 400 kilometers). Even with well-developed transportation and official roads, it would normally take at least four days to travel by horse-drawn carriage.

Zhang Weihua, who was driving, recognized the person as soon as he saw her. She must be Xue Keren, the younger sister of Xue Family Village, the sister of Xue Yiren, the number one swordsman in the world, who was originally Xue Caiyue.

The names of the three Xue siblings are all very distinctive: Xue Yiren, Xue Xiaoren, and Xue Keren. Xue Keren is an original character created for the TV series, drawing inspiration from Xue Caiyue in “The Legend of Flying Daggers” and Xue Keren in “The Sword of the Three Young Masters” and “The Legend of Chu Liuxiang”. After all, Xue Biqing was originally set as a descendant of Xue Yiren, but in the world of Ming Zong, he became her biological father.