Chapter 49

“What do you mean by that?”

“There were many people, but only you had the scent of ‘Choonjong’ on you.”

Meng Podu’s gaze pierced through me. Despite his intimidating pressure, I didn’t back down and stared right back at him.

Would I really be intimidated by this level of pressure?

I’ve faced far greater pressure on the battlefield countless times.

Without showing any signs of unease, I shrugged as if I had no idea what he was talking about.

“I don’t know how the scent of Choonjong got on me. Is there anyone else besides me?”

“No.”

“I don’t recall doing anything that could leave the scent of Choonjong on me.”

Exactly where did it come from?

No matter how hard I tried to recall, it simply didn’t come to mind.

Although the number of people I’ve come in contact with has been extremely limited, providing almost no possible candidates…it definitely wasn’t anyone from the Hainam Sword Sect. And there’s no reason the jeweler would deliberately leave the scent of Choonjong on me.

When exactly did it happen?

“Are you really sure you don’t remember?”

Hey, you can threaten all you want, but I’m not scared. If you want to intimidate me, try holding a blade to my neck instead.

“I have no memory of it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Feel free to think I’m the culprit if you like, but there are three reasons why I absolutely couldn’t be the perpetrator.”

At my words, Meng Podu looked at me with interest, clearly curious about what I was about to say. Without delay, I began explaining my reasons for why I couldn’t possibly be the perpetrator.

“First, when the Black-Clad Person was perched on the roof waiting for an opportunity, I was together with a martial artist from the Hainam Sword Sect.”

“Hainam Sword Sect…aren’t you pretending to be one of them?”

“Don’t we have martial artists from the Sichuan Tang Family as well? Their comrades can verify that they are indeed from the Hainam Sword Sect. I trust that you wouldn’t think the Hainam Sword Sect, a member of the Nine Sects and Eighteen Factions, would be involved in this.”

If I were to demonstrate the Hainam Sword Sect’s unique martial arts right now, there would be no denying their authenticity.

Martial techniques are rarely leaked outside their respective lineages, and since they are a harmonious blend of internal energy practices and fighting styles, they provide one of the most reliable ways to verify someone’s identity.

As such, Meng Podu had no choice but to nod in agreement with my first point.

Although power could be used to suppress the truth, it would only tarnish the reputation of the Hainam Sword Sect. No matter how significant the case might be, making a mistake would surely have serious repercussions on the person responsible.

Naturally, without any other alternative, Meng Podu reluctantly agreed, to which I presented my second point.

“Secondly, being a foreigner, I didn’t even know there was a treasure in this city.”

“To pull off something major, doesn’t one need preparation? We’ve been traveling from Hainan to Hubei, so there was no time physically for me to prepare for this incident.

If you need concrete proof, check with the丐帮(Gai Bang). They can confirm our innocence.”

“That’s quite impressive Han. You must’ve worked hard to learn it.”

“I studied diligently.”

Though this was a gift of possession, I couldn’t expect him to understand, so I brushed it off while moving on to my third point.

“I…cannot use ‘lightness art’ (轻功).”

“Lightness art…you’re not able to use it? I heard you were an extraordinary martial artist.”

Meng Podu looked at me doubtfully. But I just shook my head and clarified his confusion appropriately.

“I was a cavalryman and therefore never learned lightness art.”

“You were a soldier.”

“It was a long time ago. So, is my suspicion cleared?”

“Um…yes. I thought the case would be solved easily, but I was pressuring an innocent person. My apologies.”

“However, there’s one thing you should know. Do you have any suspicions at all?”

I don’t have any suspicions either.

Given that the people who physically interacted with me were only the jeweler and Hye-ryeong.

…No, thinking about it, there could be more suspects than I thought.

With so many people around, someone could easily brush up against me unnoticed while I’m walking on the street.

“Last night, the night market was open, and the streets were packed with people. It wouldn’t be hard to get the scent of Choonjong on me. If you question everyone at the night market, you might find others who have the scent.”

Though it’s a bit embarrassing, Hye-ryeong was clinging to me so much that I could hardly pay attention to anything else.

“Hmm…this is troublesome. However, it’s unclear why only you have the scent of Choonjong. If the purpose was to confuse the investigation, there was no need to limit it to you.”

“Maybe they wanted to divert attention. My appearance stands out, and they might have judged that it would buy them more time.”

Truthfully, that’s the only explanation I can think of. If a merchant sprinkled the Choonjong scent, it would have been on Hye-ryeong too.

“Hmm…you’re more intelligent than I thought.”

“That’s flattering. So, may I leave now? It’s been proven that I’m not the culprit?”

“Have you ever considered working together on this case?”

“I’m just a martial artist.”

“You are smarter than typical martial artists. They often overemphasize martial abilities at the expense of intelligence.”

“Alright, I’ll leave then.”

“Wait, why not give it a try? I’ll pay you well.”

Hmm.

It’s not a bad proposal for me. The connection to an official in a Guanxi-driven society like China holds substantial power. Building this sort of relationship could help me later on if something goes wrong.

There’s no guarantee I won’t run into more troubles like this one in the future, so maybe it’s time to establish some ties with official circles.

“Let’s work together.”

“Thank you.”

—————————-

“Are you done with all the questioning?”

After the questioning ended, I sat opposite Meng Podu who was sitting and sighing in the corner and grabbed the handle of the teapot.

It’s still warm. Pouring myself a cup, I sniffed the tea as I looked at Meng Podu.

“Yes. Nothing significant was uncovered. But the trail of Choonjong ends here. How could this have happened?”

“Well, isn’t it obvious? The thief knows the treasure contains the scent of Choonjong.”

“That’s right.”

In a quiet corner of a restaurant, Meng Podu and I contemplated together.

After half a day of intense questioning, not a single viable suspect had emerged. To catch the culprit, we would need either a new perspective or a new clue.

And there was only one conclusion in my mind.

“Meng Podu, we need to review from the very beginning. What exactly was the treasure Lord Jang displayed?”

“The treasure, you mean?”

“Yes. If it’s not confidential, please enlighten me as well. Without knowing what the treasure is, it’s hard to make any inference.”

“Ahh…you didn’t know. The treasure Lord Jang exhibited…was the secret manual left behind by Mu Yeong Sin Tu.”

“Mu Yeong Sin Tu?”

Realizing my confusion upon seeing my puzzled look, Meng Podu explained further.

“Ah, you wouldn’t know about Mu Yeong Sin Tu. He was a famous thief who made a name for himself decades ago. Renowned for his unpredictable lightness art and unparalleled skill in stealing anything, he was infamous.

While some people called him a noble thief, he was just a thief in the end.”

“Mu Yeong Sin Tu…did that name appear in the original work?”

Honestly speaking, I couldn’t recall. I don’t remember every detail of the original work. And wuxia novels often have similar elements, making them easy to mix up.

To put it bluntly, if a character gets the title ‘Sword King’, it’s hard to tell what work it comes from, and you could probably gather over a thousand characters with that title from different wuxia novels.

“He’s a thief…”

“According to rumors, he stole treasures from the royal family, unmatched in his thievery. But he then suddenly disappeared. Lord Jang had somehow acquired this manual Mu Yeong Sin Tu left behind and intended to sell it.”

Some plot points are starting to come together.

“Perhaps we should investigate Mu Yeong Sin Tu.”

“However, as he’s a figure from decades ago, it’s uncertain if any useful information still exists…”

That’s true.

This isn’t the 21st century where information is accessible so easily, and finding data from decades ago would be no small feat. Even if records remained, they would likely be fragmented, requiring considerable time to assemble.

After taking a sip of tea from the table, I continued.

“Meng Podu, let’s get straight to the point. Did you question Lord Jang?”

“Question Lord Jang?”

His expression suggested that my words didn’t make much sense to him. I explained my thoughts:

“Perhaps the manual of Mu Yeong Sin Tu itself could be the key to this case. It’s necessary to find out how Lord Jang came into possession of such a manual.”

Upon reflection, there were many questionable aspects here.

How did the thief know about the Choonjong scent?

Why was the Choonjong scent only on me?

How did Lord Jang obtain a manual that had been presumed lost for years?

All three points were tied to Lord Jang. It was just an intuition, but we wouldn’t get any clues here. We needed to meet Lord Jang.

As I stood up, I said:

“Let’s go see Lord Jang.”

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