Chapter 373: 87 Concluding Part 2

Chapter 373: Chapter 87 Concluding Part 2

Hoping for the other party to overturn Shangguan Xiao’s conviction was also impossible.

They wouldn’t allow the investigation team to remain in Datong Prefecture for several months, slowly overturning and reexamining the case.

Even if they agreed, the whole Datong Prefecture’s bureaucracy wouldn’t agree!

Dragging it out a few days to keep the Green-faced Ghost from being implicated was all Bian Jingru could do in the end.

Inside the dormitory, Li Fei sat in a chair, closed his eyes, and forced himself to calm down.

He began to go over the entire matter bit by bit:

Zhang Zongyang was murdered, it was found to be related to Western spies, Iron Blade Sect was sealed off, the investigation team arrived at Datong Prefecture, Iron Blade Sect was wiped out…

A moment later, Li Fei suddenly opened his eyes:

“The ultimate goal of the person behind the scenes definitely wasn’t just to retaliate against Teacher; they must have had other motives. But the destruction of the Iron Blade Sect should by no means be taken lightly. What if the Iron Blade Sect itself was also one of the targets?”

Li Fei realized that he had neglected the annihilation of the Iron Blade Sect because he had focused all his attention on the incident of Shangguan Xiao being imprisoned.

He subconsciously felt that the Iron Blade Sect was implicated, and made a scapegoat.

But if the person behind the scenes had spent more than a decade meticulously planning this trap, would they really overlook such an important variable as the Iron Blade Sect?

Such a Martial Arts Sect as the Iron Blade Sect and Gu Xianfeng being a Martial Arts Master in his own right, if one were to talk about influence and value, they were actually much stronger than Hao Yi is now!

“What if the Iron Blade Sect and Gu Xianfeng were also one of the main targets of the person behind the scenes?”

Li Fei tried to switch his perspective.

Thinking this way, he suddenly realized that many things were interconnected:

He had received a mission from the Inspection General Office to ‘fish’ out Wuda’s special-grade lecturer, Chen Xiang.

He then discovered that Chen Xiang was colluding with Western spies and tried to kill him through a martial arts school.

And that martial arts school belonged to the “Sword King’s” influence.

That was how the Iron Blade Sect officially got involved with the Western spies.

After that, Zhang Zongyang was assassinated, and it was found that his body bore the residues of “Exotic Beasts” from the Western Countries.

The Iron Blade Sect had just gotten involved with Western spies and then Zhang Zongyang died related to those spies, leading to the Iron Blade Sect being sealed off…

Li Fei felt a chill on his back as he thought this through.

If all these inferences were correct, it meant that from the very beginning, he had fallen into the opponent’s chess game!

The person behind the scenes had been planning for over a decade. By the time Li Fei arrived in Datong Prefecture, the endgame of this chess match was actually approaching.

And Li Fei had become the first move of the opponent’s endgame.

“To ensure the Iron Blade Sect got involved, two people are key…”

Li Fei suddenly stood up, walked to the desk, and picked up the phone to call Lu Mengyang:

“I need to see Xia Huan, now!”

…

More than an hour later, Li Fei arrived beneath a teahouse in a dark gold “Qilin”.

Because the investigation team members were at the Inspection General Office at the time, Xia Huan had chosen to meet Li Fei outside.

Li Fei was quickly led into a private room where he met Xia Huan.

“Lord Xia, the special-grade lecturer from Wuda who tried to assassinate me, Chen Xiang, is he still at the Inspection General Office?”

Li Fei got straight to the point as soon as he walked in the door.

Xia Huan was taken aback, not understanding why Li Fei suddenly brought this up.

However, now that Li Fei was a person even the Garrison Commander sought to win over, he naturally was very courteous in his response:

“He is.”

“What were the results of the initial investigation?”

Li Fei continued to inquire.

Xia Huan had previously stated that he would give him an explanation, but it had come to nothing afterward.

Xia Huan coughed and looked at Li Fei, “Chen Xiang has been very tight-lipped and hasn’t revealed any useful information. As for other suspects, because they are all lecturers from Wuda, it’s not convenient for us to investigate directly, so we haven’t found out anything so far.”

“I would like to know the information of all the other suspects, and additionally, I’d like to meet with Chen Xiang.”

Li Fei made his request.

If both the Iron Blade Sect and Gu Xianfeng were targets of the person behind the scenes, then Chen Xiang was a key person in this scheme.

Because it was Chen Xiang who unveiled the connection between the Iron Blade Sect and the Western spies.

What if he had backed down at the time he received the task to kill Li Fei?

What if he hadn’t chosen to leverage the martial arts school’s power to kill Li Fei, but had acted on his own instead? (Note 1)

So Li Fei was certain that Chen Xiang must be a key figure!

“This…”

Xia Huan hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement, “Alright, once the investigation team leaves the Inspection General Office, I’ll take you there.”

Now that Bian Jingru was actively courting Li Fei, he had fewer reservations.

“Many thanks, Lord Xia!”

Li Fei gave a bow to the other party.

“Hahaha, Xiao Fei, no need to be so polite. After all, you could be considered one of our own at the Inspection General Office.”

Xia Huan laughed as he worked to close the distance with Li Fei.

Unfortunately, Li Fei was not in the mood for pleasantries with him, as he continued to inquire:

“Where is Master Qi Yiming from the Righteous Law General Institute now?”

Originally, it was this master, who specializes in tracking and who had forged the Tracking Magic Tool, who felt something resembling the presence of Exotic Beasts on Zhang Zongyang’s corpse. That’s why Datong Prefecture concluded that the killer must have been one of the Western Country’s otherworldly assassins.

Qi Yiming’s reputation had echoed through Feng Province for several decades, and he was famous even in other provinces. Occasionally, government officials from other provinces would request his assistance with cases, so nobody doubted his conclusions.

Plus, logically, apart from Western spies, who else would be demented enough to kill a Sitting Official?

The Western spies had the most motive.

Thus, the case logically linked Zhang Zongyang to the Western spies, and then to Iron Blade Sect.

But Li Fei had learned a portion of the truth last night from Feng Sanniang. Considering her level of hatred for the Zhang Family, would Feng Sanniang miss out on an opportunity to kill someone like Zhang Zongyang?

Li Fei felt that this woman would likely choose to do the deed herself, personally pushing the Zhang Family into the abyss for the satisfaction of her revenge.

And if it was Feng Sanniang who killed Zhang Zongyang that night, then the tale of the Western otherworldly assassin was nothing but a fabrication.

Then the conclusion Qi Yiming had originally drawn was problematic!

“Master Qi Yiming?”

Xia Huan was taken aback, “He was borrowed by the provincial city to work on a case over a month ago, and hasn’t returned yet.”

Li Fei narrowed his eyes.

Now he was almost certain that his speculation was correct, and all that was left was to meet Chen Xiang.

Xia Huan, after all, was in intelligence, and from Li Fei’s questions, he also sensed something amiss.

“Could there be something wrong with Qi Yiming? Then wouldn’t the case of Zhang Zongyang have been misled from the beginning…?”

Xia Huan’s expression flickered uncertainly.

In the elegant room, neither of them continued speaking, each immersed in their own thoughts.

After waiting for over thirty minutes, a subordinate from the Inspection General Office knocked and entered, informing Xia Huan that the investigation team had left the Inspection General Office.

“Let’s go, I’ll take you there now.”

Xia Huan said to Li Fei.

So the two quickly rose and left the teahouse.

About fifteen minutes later, Li Fei’s ‘Qilin’ entered the Inspection General Office.

Xia Huan led him into the dungeon, and they came to Chen Xiang’s cell.

“Open it.”

Xia Huan commanded directly.

When the cell door was opened, the person inside also stirred, sitting up from the ground.

At this moment, Li Fei could hardly recognize that the man before him was the same special-class instructor who had taught him wrestling and grappling.

Chen Xiang wore a prison uniform filthy with grime and blood, with hardly a patch of unmarred skin on his body.

This Refining Strength Martial Master at the Qi Change Stage Peak now appeared as weak as an ordinary person.

When Chen Xiang saw Li Fei, he was startled.

“Teacher Chen.”

Li Fei stepped into the cell, approached Chen Xiang, and then suddenly drew out the Ghost Slash Blade.

This action startled Xia Huan behind him, who quickly shouted, “Xiao Fei, what are you doing? Put the knife away!”

Li Fei ignored Xia Huan, placing the Ghost Slash Blade against Chen Xiang’s neck, and looked into his eyes, seriously saying:

“My time is running short, so I’m only going to ask the next question once. If you don’t answer, I will kill you right now!”

…

Note 1: When I wrote the plot about Chen Xiang intending to kill Li Fei, some readers questioned why he had to trick Li Fei into going to the Martial Arts gym to do it, when it would have been more convenient to take action outside. Now, an explanation is provided.

In the future, when you encounter similar plots, don’t be in a rush to criticize; what if it’s a foreshadowing?~