282 Frame-up (1/2)
Chapter 282: Frame-up
Translator: TransnEditor: Transn
Gu Shenwei kicked a piece of wood with the tip of his foot toward the pillars that were a few steps away.
Lianye rushed toward the sound. Gu Shenwei waited for him to pass and immediately stabbed him with his blade. He then raised his left hand and mercilessly chopped down on the thick neck of the monk.
He only learned the basics of acupoint kung fu, so he did not dare to use it on those Internal Strength experts, such as Lianye. All he could do was to stab him first and knock him out.
In the house, Lianhua's body was lying on the bed. Half of his face was stained with blood, which made this monk appear less gracious and more ferocious.
A small incense burner was lying in a pool of dark blood at the door. This was the crime scene as well as the murder weapon.
Master Lianhua just died a few moments ago, and the Black Blood Flag mounted on the wall of the courtyard unmistakably indicated that the murderer wanted to frame the Dragon King.
Gu Shenwei found two ropes in the utility room next to the main hall. He tied up the two fainted monks respectively. He then brought the abbot to the bedroom and took Lianye to Lianxin's bedside.
Lianye faintly woke up and deathly stared at the Dragon King, muttering, ”Why? Why have you killed my senior brother?”
”Will your eyes get better?” Gu Shenwei aimed the saber at the monk to prevent him from suddenly breaking the rope.
”My eyes?” Lianye seemed to have forgotten that he had been blind for some time. He then thought for while and said, ”My eyes are fine, why did you come back? Do you want to kill me? Do it then.”
”There is a Black Blood Flag on the wall. Do I still need to kill?”
”You, you...” Lianye's mind was a little confused. ”Then why did you come back?”
”I just arrived. Master Lianhua was not killed by me.”
”It was you!” Lianye roared. He struggled and the rope tied around him made crisp sounds of tearing, but it also touched the wound on his waist which made him scream in pain.
”I don't want to kill you, but you better stop moving.” Gu Shenwei pointed the saber closely at the chest of the monk, ”Now tell me, what exactly was going on.”
”What do you mean? You came to see our senior apprentice. He was so happy he invited you into the house for a chat and told me to guard outside. But ... but ... you started an argument and then you pounded senior brother to death...” Lianye sorrowfully said. He then fearlessly sat up, ignoring the blade which was pressing against his body.
Gu Shenwei slightly withdrew his saber. ”Did you see me at that time?”
”I did.”
”But you were blind back then!”
”It was you killing the senior apprentice that blinded me! When you first came, I was perfectly fine. I saw you pretty clearly that time, and it was exactly who you are now. Dragon King, Yang Huan, I will never let you off, and neither will the Four Truths Temple. There are so many masters in the world. Don't think that just because you had once stayed in the Golden Roc Fort that it makes you powerful.”
The more the monk said, the more excited he was. Thus Gu Shenwei hit his mouth with the side of the blade. ”You heard me talking at that time?”
The monk was stupefied, ”What tricks are you playing at? How would I dare to listen to your talk with the senior apprentice?”
”Didn't you see 'me'? Did 'I' talk to you?”
Lianye became more and more confused, and his voice gradually weakened. ”No, you nodded at me. I recognized you, so I called senior apprentice to come out.”
Gu Shenwei took a step back. ”Let's talk about something else. What's with Linghua giving those lectures? Are you willing to help a liar?”
”Senior apprentice is not a liar!” Lianye roared angrily again. With a kaboom, he broke free from the tightropes. Barely moving his body, he had already rushed in front of the killer.
But the killer moved faster than him. Before the monk even said a word, Gu Shenwei had already shot out of the room and jumped over the wall.
This was an elaborate frame-up.
Gu Shenwei was deeply disturbed. He was not afraid of being framed, but the culprit was obviously familiar with his appearance and was knowledgeable about all of his whereabouts. This man even knew what he was thinking, thus he was able to stay a step ahead of him to kill Lianxin.
This must have been done by a former acquaintance.
Gu Shenwei had several candidates in mind, but everyone had no motive to kill Lianye: The enemies of Maid Lotus were Golden Roc Fort and the Dragon King, who have nothing to do with the monk; The enemy of the Golden Roc Fort was the Great Snowmountain. If those killers were able to guess the whereabouts of the Dragon King, then they would definitely make a direct attack. There was no need to play such complicated games.
Gu Shenwei felt uneasy when he thought that there might be a spy who knew him well and could completely conceal their presence.
He made several circles on the lonely and unoccupied streets of the North City, like a ghost who only appeared on a moonlit night and was searching for his long-lost body.
On several occasions, he suddenly turned back on the same route but he still didn't find anything. If there was a spy, then the spy seemed to be invisible.
Dawn had not yet come, but the news of Saint Lianhua's death had spread throughout Jade City. The Dragon King immediately became the target of public criticism. The sorrow and anger had overwhelmed the fear. Although Great Snowmountain still wanted to negotiate for peace, the machetemen and the vast majority of residents of the city would not support it.
The favorable atmosphere created by Gu Shenwei's painstaking efforts had turned into the most unfavorable testimony overnight. Even if there were no survivor or Black Blood Flag at the scene, after these days of killing, everyone assumed that the murderer must be the Dragon King. Except for him, who else would dare to kill anyone in the North City? Not to mention that the victim was a saint monk.
Gu Shenwei was looking for the real murderer that killed Lianhua. If Lianye was unwilling to cooperate, then he had to proceed from another way.
He didn't like being spied on or being impersonated. Darkness was his friend and he didn't want to share it with the others.
Boss Mo, who cooperated with the monk to swindle the wealth of machetemen, should know something.
Fortune Tavern was a small shop where there were only three tables. Most of the guests could only stand while they drank and picked some salty peanuts as wine dishes. Boss Mo once mentioned that this was his stronghold.
Gu Shenwei changed his appearance again. He invited a macheteman for a drink. After drinking two bowls of wine, he managed to acquire information about Boss Mo's residence from him.