120: Chapter 120 Clues

The raised hand paused in mid-air before being casually lowered.

The unfathomable smile on Mr. Know-It-All's face did not fade; he simply picked up the bowl of coarse tea before him and took a gentle sip, his movements remaining composed.

It was as if he were not sitting at a dusty roadside tea stall, but in some elegant garden, savoring the finest spring tea.

Hong Shao and Qing Luo's bodies tensed instantly.

Positioned to his left and right, they subconsciously moved closer to Chen Fan, their hands already resting on the hilts of the swords at their waists.

They remembered this man.

Back at the courier station in Jiangzhou City, it was he who had seen through Master Luo's identity with a single word.

And now, he had appeared here again like a ghost.

A coincidence?

No one would believe that.

Chen Fan did not move, merely gazing back calmly across the distance of several yards.

This man calling himself Mr. Know-It-All didn't possess a shred of a Martial Artist's aura, yet he always managed to exert an invisible pressure on others.

It was the feeling of being seen through, as if everything was within his grasp.

It was very unpleasant.

“Since you're already here, why not come over and have a bowl of tea before leaving?”

Mr. Know-It-All spoke. He didn't raise his voice, yet those words clearly pierced through the surrounding clamor, delivered accurately into the ears of the trio.

Leading his horse, Chen Fan began to walk.

He didn't choose to leave, but instead walked straight toward that corner.

Hong Shao and Qing Luo exchanged a glance; though filled with wariness, they followed him closely step by step.

Chen Fan sat on the bench opposite Mr. Know-It-All, casually tying the horse's reins to a nearby hitching post.

He did not speak.

Mr. Know-It-All didn't mind either. He lifted the ceramic pot covered in tea stains and filled the empty bowl in front of Chen Fan with murky tea.

“The scenery of Cuiwei Mountain last night must have been quite nice, I presume?”

Mr. Know-It-All's opening remark caused Hong Shao and Qing Luo's hearts to sink again.

He really did know everything!

Chen Fan picked up the tea bowl but didn't drink, merely tracing the rough rim with his fingertips.

“Who exactly are you?”

Hearing this, Mr. Know-It-All laughed.

“I am who I am—just a storyteller who loves to listen to stories and loves to tell them.”

He paused, his startlingly bright eyes fixed on the pale mask on Chen Fan's face.

“It's just that last night's story was a bit bloody. The people of the Huai Party have never been clean in their dealings; they always like to leave behind a few loose ends.”

The Huai Party.

This was the second time Chen Fan had heard this name.

The first time was from the mouth of Shangguan Yun.

He still didn't speak, just listening quietly.

Mr. Know-It-All seemed to enjoy this feeling of controlling the pace of the conversation as he continued of his own accord.

“They have a team specifically for handling dirty work called the ‘Shadow Hounds.’ Once these Shadow Hounds catch the scent of blood, they will never stop until the end. Not only will they kill the target, but they will also completely erase everyone who has ever been involved with the target from this world.”

He extended a finger, dipped it in a bit of tea on the table, and tapped lightly.

“Friends, family, even a dog you once fed.”

These words were spoken casually, yet they sent a bone-chilling cold through the two sisters nearby.

Hong Shao felt a chill down her spine. This seemingly frail scholar was more terrifying than any Jianghu bandit she had ever met. It wasn't the sharpness of a blade, but a viper-like coldness that made one's hair stand on end.

Chen Fan finally reacted.

He looked up, the eyes visible through the mask filled with calm.

“Why are you telling me this?”

This question was the key.

When someone is being unusually kind, they must have an ulterior motive.

This Mr. Know-It-All had appeared before him time and again, revealing all sorts of secrets.

What exactly was his goal?

The smile on Mr. Know-It-All's face grew even richer.

“Because I am very interested in you.”

He leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice.

“A Chen Jinzhong who died on the Tianchi Mountain arena, a Chen Fan who wrote world-shaking poems in Xiushan Prefecture, and then there's the Jade-Faced Asura before me, who has stirred up the winds and clouds of Jiangzhou.”

“Don't you find it very interesting?”

As these three names were spoken one after another from his mouth, Chen Fan's hand holding the tea bowl tightened almost imperceptibly.

Once again, he felt the sensation of being completely seen through.

Just how much information did this Mr. Know-It-All possess?

How far did his intelligence network spread?

Could it be that he had already sensed his greatest secret?

No, impossible.

Something like Substitution Rebirth was far too inconceivable; it exceeded the cognitive scope of this world's martial arts.

At most, he had merely used that terrifying intelligence capability to detect some clues between these identities, discovering coincidences that ordinary people could not understand.

Therefore, his attitude toward him was not one of total insight, but curiosity.

He treated him as an interesting riddle worth studying.

Having realized this, the slight ripple in Chen Fan's heart returned to tranquility.

As long as the core secret wasn't discovered, nothing else mattered.

He was merely a traveler, always prepared to welcome the next stage of his life.

And even if he were discovered, it wouldn't be a major issue.

He would never die; he would only reincarnate infinitely.

No one could kill him unless he himself no longer wished to live.

“I don't understand what you're talking about.”

Chen Fan's reply was crisp and direct.

Mr. Know-It-All didn't expose him either, merely letting out a hearty laugh.

“Whether you understand or not isn't important.”

He stood up, took a few copper coins from his robe, and placed them gently on the table.

“I've paid for the tea; consider it a small parting gift for a friend.”

He straightened his faded green robe and turned to leave.

After taking two steps, he seemed to remember something and suddenly stopped, looking back.

This time, he didn't look at Chen Fan, but cast his gaze toward the north, in the direction of the Imperial City, Chaoge.

“By the way, there's one more thing I forgot to tell you.”

“The Huai Party doesn't have many allies in the Jianghu, but every single one of them carries immense weight.”

He said eerily.

“For example, that Vice Alliance Leader Qingxuan of the Righteous Alliance. I've heard that what he likes doing most is ‘pruning.’ Pruning those ‘flowers and plants’ that are disobedient, grow crooked, or stand in his way.”

“Brother Luo, the journey to Chaoge is long. I hope you... take care.”

After saying this, he didn't linger, turning to blend into the crowd coming and going on the official road. In the blink of an eye, he vanished without a trace.

Before the tea stall, only the silent trio remained, along with that bowl of tea that had never been touched from beginning to end.

Daoist Priest Qingxuan.

The third-rank Great Grandmaster on Tianchi Mountain who could make tens of thousands of Martial Artists struggle for breath with his presence alone.

Chen Fan's fingertip lightly brushed over the rough rim of the bowl.

The wind suddenly picked up.

It blew through the leaves of the old Scholar Tree, making them rustle loudly.