Chapter 391 - 221: The Way of the Grandmaster, Resistance in Jinling

Chapter 391: Chapter 221: The Way of the Grandmaster, Resistance in Jinling

"Let’s go."

Qin Zhenyang picked up his luggage and said in a deep voice.

The group left the docks and queued to enter through the towering city gates of Jinling Prefecture. Inside, they were met with a bustling, endless stream of people and the ceaseless cries of vendors, giving them a profound sense of Jiangnan’s prosperity.

Map in hand, they fended off numerous offers from guides and innkeepers along the way, finally arriving at the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect’s courtyard, tucked away in an alley in the city’s west end.

The courtyard wasn’t large, nor was it in a prime location, but it was near a major thoroughfare. In Jinling Prefecture, where land was worth its weight in gold, having such a quiet and elegant residence was fitting for the Cloud Mountain Sword Sect’s current standing.

If the Sword Sect were to grow stronger in the future, it would be quite suitable to purchase the neighboring house on the main street.

As Xie Yuan was mulling this over, the courtyard’s main gate opened. A middle-aged man in the Sword Sect’s white robes came out to greet them, clasping his hands in a salute to Qin Zhenyang:

"Martial Nephew Qin, you’ve arrived! It must have been a long journey. Please, come in and rest."

This middle-aged man, who had a short beard and a somewhat dark complexion, was the courtyard’s current acting steward, Yu Wensheng.

Qin Zhenyang returned the salute.

"Thank you for your trouble, Master Yu."

Under Yu Wensheng’s guidance, the group settled in. They first had some tea. After Yu Wensheng instructed the kitchen to prepare a meal, servants led them to their respective rooms. Qin Zhenyang and Xie Yuan exchanged a glance, and the former spoke up:

"Master Yu, about Master Wang’s body..."

Yu Wensheng’s expression darkened.

"It’s still in the side room. We were waiting for you. We haven’t even been able to lay him to rest."

Qin Zhenyang sighed softly.

"This matter is too important. We had no choice but to inconvenience Master Wang."

Yu Wensheng waved his hand dismissively.

"Don’t say that! This was so sudden, who could have expected it... Martial Nephew Qin, you must find the real killer and avenge Senior Brother Wang!"

Qin Zhenyang nodded seriously.

"I will."

After speaking, he and Xie Yuan stood up and followed Yu Wensheng to the side room.

Yu Wensheng looked with some surprise at this disciple he had never seen before. ’He’s coming along too?’ He’d just heard the introductions; the others were here to compete, but he had no idea what Xie Yuan was here for...

Just as Yu Wensheng was lost in thought, a hurried voice called out:

"You’re going to see Master Wang? Let me come too!"

It was Ning Zi, who had rushed over from her room.

On the journey, they had all heard about what happened here and knew that Xie Yuan, unlike them, had come specifically for this matter.

She glanced at Xie Yuan and pouted.

"When Master Wang was on the mountain, he even taught me some Swordsmanship... Two heads are better than one. A mere junior brother might not be able to figure anything out on his own."

Xie Yuan, naturally playing the part of a dutiful disciple, offered no opinion. The others had no objection either.

「In the side room.」

Yu Wensheng opened the door, and a white mist formed from the cold air drifted out. Although it was early autumn, the room was filled with mystic ice to preserve Wang Zhiyi’s body, making the temperature extremely low.

The group bowed solemnly toward the coffin and lit sticks of incense before silently gathering around to look.

A middle-aged man with a shrewd-looking face lay in the coffin. His body seemed to have shrunk somewhat, making him appear a size smaller.

His face seemed frozen in a grave, cautious, and slightly guarded expression. His body was clean, with few signs of a struggle. There was just a small, bloody hole in his chest that pierced straight through, staining the front of his robes with a large patch of blood.

"When we found Senior Brother Wang, it was already the next morning. He was lying face down on the floor of his study. A sword had pierced his chest from behind, shattering his heart meridians and killing him instantly."

Yu Wensheng said, his voice heavy with sorrow.

"There was no sound at all?"

Qin Zhenyang asked in a low voice.

"None. I asked everyone in the courtyard, and no one heard a thing. A servant only saw Senior Brother Wang go into the study, but he didn’t come out the next day."

Yu Wensheng’s brow was tightly furrowed.

The signs were not hard to read; Xie Yuan and the others could see that the situation was just as Yu Wensheng had described. Judging from the expression frozen on Wang Zhiyi’s face, it was the look he had right before he died. A single sword thrust through the chest had killed him instantly, leaving him no chance to react or resist.

Given Wang Zhiyi’s peak Second Transformation Realm strength, what kind of expert must his enemy have been? It was likely something an ordinary Third Transformation Realm master couldn’t accomplish. It would take at least an expert like Qin Zhenyang, who was on the verge of becoming a Grandmaster, and even he couldn’t guarantee he could kill Wang Zhiyi without giving him a chance to react.

A Grandmaster? Or something else?

Qin Zhenyang subconsciously glanced at Xie Yuan, only to see him still scanning Wang Zhiyi’s body. He remained silent for a long moment. Only after both Yu Wensheng and Ning Zi had also turned their quiet gazes on him did he slowly speak:

"The killer was likely an acquaintance."

Yu Wensheng sounded slightly disappointed.

"Yes, we thought of that as well. For Senior Brother Wang to have his back to someone in the study and be struck down without any defense, it must have been someone he knew."

Most people could see that.

Xie Yuan nodded.

"But their relationship probably wasn’t very close. Otherwise, Master Wang wouldn’t have looked so guarded and tense."

Both Yu Wensheng and Ning Zi frowned slightly. Ning Zi asked, somewhat puzzled:

"If their relationship wasn’t close, doesn’t that contradict your earlier conclusion? Given Master Wang’s shrewdness, it’s unlikely he would have easily shown his back to a casual friend who appeared in his study late at night. But he did, and his expression was indeed wrong..."

Her voice trailed off, unable to make sense of it.

Yu Wensheng was also frowning. He had felt something was off before, but now that Xie Yuan had pointed it out, he immediately saw the contradiction.

Before they could think it through, Xie Yuan glanced at Qin Zhenyang and continued:

"Therefore, I speculate that this ’friend’ was someone Master Wang knew but was not close to, or someone he felt shouldn’t have been there, who then appeared suddenly to discuss a matter of importance with him."