Chapter Thirty-Five: Right and Wrong

Within the private chamber, the wind abruptly ceased, and the murderous intent dissipated in an instant.

Shangguan Chuci’s sword strike came without the faintest warning—like the horn of an antelope hanging from a branch, leaving not a trace to follow. Yet it was as if a slender embroidery needle had pierced through a thousand layers of brocade, striking precisely at the single loose thread.

With a soft sound, blood suddenly bloomed.

Qian Dahai’s mountain-like body jolted stiff, and as he looked down, he saw that the vital point at the center of his chest had been stabbed an inch deep by a blade as clear as autumn water.

The fiendish, savage expression on his face froze at once, replaced by shock and utter disbelief.

He had reached the realm of Manifest Divinity; the vital points of his body had long been tempered to the strength of iron walls. With the murky currents shielding him, no ordinary flying sword could have harmed him in the slightest.

Judging by the aura exuded by this handsome young lord, her cultivation was, at most, in the Ember-Wielder stage—how could she possibly have seen through to the fatal flaw of his technique at a glance?

The thought barely formed before the foul current of blood and coin that wove about his body, like a burst bladder, faltered in an instant.

Han Lin and the seven guards, all seasoned warriors, were overjoyed at the sight, preparing to seize the moment and close in, intending to capture this fiend in one fell swoop.

At that very moment, the sound of the inn’s front door downstairs creaked open.

A figure slipped in through the gap, as if hoping to pass unnoticed, yet almost every eye in the room fell upon him at once.

The newcomer wore coarse clothes, his frame slightly thin, his face still carrying a hint of youthful inexperience. But his eyes were deep as night, as if they could absorb all the murderous intent and strangeness filling the room.

It was Lu Chenyuan.

No sooner had he entered than his attention was seized by the earth-shattering scene above.

He saw the innkeeper Qian, chest drenched in blood, and the sword that had dealt the blow held in Shangguan Chuci’s hand.

Their eyes met, and Shangguan Chuci, too, was taken aback.

She had calculated for every trick and treachery, but never had she expected that Lu Chenyuan would burst in at such a perilous moment!

What sort of man was Qian Dahai?

In the flash of a thought, his mind spun through a hundred stratagems. He saw Lu Chenyuan, caught the flicker of astonishment on Shangguan Chuci’s face, and a desperate hope for survival was instantly born.

Truly, Heaven always leaves a way out!

He disregarded the wound on his chest, abruptly wrenching himself backward to free himself from the sword, releasing a wretched and piercing scream as he hurled himself toward the stairs, shouting at the top of his lungs:

“Lu, my boy! The innkeeper’s about to die! Hurry and save me!”

Seizing this moment, his obese frame rolled across the floor with surprising agility, dodging Han Lin and the others’ encirclement. Scrambling, he pointed at Shangguan Chuci and wailed to Lu Chenyuan:

“Don’t let this pretty-faced lord deceive you! They’re in league with those foreign vagrants!”

“That so-called ‘Jade of the Bright Moon over the Sea’ is just bait, a trap they set for traveling merchants like us! All the missing guests in this inn—they were betrayed and murdered by these people! I… I stumbled on their scheme by accident, so they want to silence me!”

His words blended truth and falsehood, pushing all blame from himself and pouring a bucket of filth over Shangguan Chuci.

Shangguan Chuci’s brows arched in fury. Proud of her wit, she had never suffered such slander in her life.

Fearing Lu Chenyuan would believe him, she cried out anxiously,

“Brother Lu! Don’t listen to a word he says! This Tide-watching Inn is a den of thieves! Qian Dahai is not only a fiend of the Murky Current cult—his true target is you!”

In that moment, two sides hurled accusations, and right and wrong became impossible to distinguish.

Lu Chenyuan stood silent on the lower floor.

His gaze swept over the scene, noticing that most of the private chamber doors were tightly shut; a few cracked open just enough for their occupants to secretly observe.

The truly formidable guests had all gone to the Listening Tide Pavilion. At this time, anyone staying near Wanmin Shoals who possessed a measure of skill would not dare involve themselves in such muddy waters.

He was not surprised by the other guests’ reactions.

His eyes fell on the evil aura yet lingering about Qian Dahai, and his gaze sharpened.

Qian, feeling his gaze, panicked and called out,

“Lu, look! Look at the state I’m in—not man, not ghost! They forced this on me! They want my life. If I hadn’t risked damaging my own spiritual core and forcibly driven my secret technique, I’d already be dead beneath their swords!”

Shangguan Chuci let out a cold laugh:

“Brother Lu, do you believe him? Look again at that reek of coin and blood wafting from him—is it something forced out of him, or has it seeped into his very bones?”

Lu Chenyuan paid them no heed, only gazing calmly at Qian Dahai, thinking to himself,

“The evil aura on him is identical to that of Master Li from the abandoned dock—without doubt, they are of the same sect.”

No sooner had the thought taken shape than he felt a pang of inexplicable pain in his heart.

If only Qian Dahai truly were a good man, and not a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Lu Chenyuan sighed inwardly, turning his gaze to the anxious Shangguan Chuci. Though she was indignant, the guards behind her stood in a well-ordered formation, clearly protecting her at the center—trained and disciplined.

Just then, his eyes caught, by chance, a subtle shadow on the beam of the second floor.

Within that darkness, a faint human figure was hidden!

Merged with the shadows, only his extraordinary senses, coupled with a beast-like instinct for murderous intent, allowed him to notice it at all.

Though not a trace of aura leaked out, Lu Chenyuan sensed that the person’s focus was locked firmly on Qian Dahai, like a drawn bow ready to strike—a top-tier master, beyond doubt.

“So that’s how it is…”

In that instant, clarity dawned in Lu Chenyuan’s mind. “This Lord Chu truly has powerful connections—so this is her hidden card.”

His thoughts spun rapidly. “Qian Dahai is a wolf, but this Lord Chu is a tiger.”

“If I rashly take sides in today’s game, I’ll be no better than a lamb thrown to wolves, at everyone’s mercy. In this chaos, only by seizing the initiative can I take control of my own fate.”

With that, his mind was made up.

His expression calm, he quietly drew from his robes the very boning knife that had just taken a life, slipping it into his sleeve unnoticed.

Only then did he raise his head to meet the tangled gazes from above, and spoke in a clear voice,

“Innkeeper, come stand behind me.”

Joy exploded in Qian Dahai’s eyes.

Han Lin and Xiahou Pan, meanwhile, were thunderstruck, their faces bewildered.

Lu Chenyuan ignored their reactions and continued,

“As for today’s matter, I will judge what is right and wrong. Since we have crossed paths, I shall see justice done for you.”