36: Chapter 36 Inferences and Reactions from All Parties

"That's not right!"

After hearing Old Red Leaf's conclusion, Tan Tian recalled what he knew and immediately became suspicious, raising an objection. Then, he further questioned: "According to the accounts of the surviving witnesses at the scene, it can be confirmed that the assassin was a man."

"And this governor remembers that there are no men in Yihua Palace."

"Even if it were Yihua Palace, the only ones among them who could defeat director Liu are Yao Yue and Lian Xing."

"Given the behavioral styles of those two, if they wanted to kill director Liu, they wouldn't hide their identities."

As he finished speaking, his expression changed, and he said in a low voice, "Could it be that you are deliberately fooling me because I just took office?"

Old Red Leaf hurriedly denied it: "Of course not. Just listen to my analysis."

Tan Tian didn't speak, quietly waiting for what came next.

Old Red Leaf began his analysis: "First of all, according to what you said, director Tan, if nothing unexpected happened, the mysterious expert who killed director Liu and the one who repeatedly disrupted director Liu's cultivation plans a month ago should be the same person."

Tan Tian nodded; he felt the same way.

Old Red Leaf continued: "And looking at the opponent's motive, I believe he likely did not want to see director Liu master the Remote Energy Absorption Skill."

"Because the result of his constant interference was that director Liu's cultivation plans were frustrated."

Tan Tian thought about it and found that it was indeed the case.

Old Red Leaf's words continued: "Then why would he obstruct director Liu from mastering the Remote Energy Absorption Skill? I believe it is highly likely that once director Liu succeeded, it would have a negative impact or even pose a threat to him."

"And we both understand that director Liu's purpose in exhausting his efforts to practice the Remote Energy Absorption Skill was to go a step further and surpass Lian Xing and Yao Yue."

"Once he succeeded, the one most affected would be Yihua Palace."

"Therefore, I speculate that Yihua Palace must have learned of director Liu's intention to practice the skill, feared they would be threatened, and specially sent someone to disrupt things. Finally, seeing that the death of three out of the five yang experts still couldn't dispel director Liu's thoughts, they stepped in to kill him."

Tan Tian pondered for a while before raising the old question again: "But isn't it true that there are no men in Yihua Palace? How do you explain that?"

Old Red Leaf said: "This involves an old matter of Yihua Palace..."

He stopped halfway, while Little Red Leaf beside him grinnned and made a hand-rubbing gesture for money.

Tan Tian understood instantly: "How much?"

Little Red Leaf said: "Ten thousand taels will do."

Tan Tian: "..."

He wanted to curse, but thinking that he still had to rely on them and that future cooperation was unavoidable, he ultimately held back and honestly handed over the money.

After collecting the money, Old Red Leaf briefly recounted the grievances between Jiang Feng and Yihua Palace from over a decade ago.

Once the story was finished, Tan Tian squinted and said: "You mean that mysterious expert is the child that Yao Yue and Lian Xing took back then?"

Old Red Leaf nodded slightly: "Correct."

"Only through the meticulous cultivation of Yao Yue and Lian Xing for over a decade could he possess such high Martial Arts."

"Furthermore, based on what you said about director Liu being no match for that mysterious expert, I guess the Martial Arts the opponent used was not the legendary Remote Energy Absorption Skill, but the Legacy Martial Arts practiced by Yao Yue of Yihua Palace—the Wedding Dress Divine Skill!"

"Since Yao Yue intended to meticulously cultivate that child, she would certainly pass on the Wedding Dress Divine Skill to him."

"This also matches up."

Tan Tian nodded; the more he thought about it, the more he felt it was likely the case, and then he felt a bit of a headache.

Because he didn't dare go to Yihua Palace.

Although he had temporarily taken charge of the Eastern Depot, he was clear about his own level, especially regarding Martial Arts. His current Martial Arts level was at most equivalent to an average Sect Head level figure in the Jianghu. Going to Yihua Palace to arrest someone with this level was no different from seeking death.

Not to mention that mysterious expert, Yao Yue and Lian Xing were notoriously fierce and had dominated the entire Martial Forest for many years.

As if seeing through his thoughts, Little Red Leaf smiled and said: "Is director Tan troubled by the matter of capturing the assassin?"

Tan Tian didn't speak, which was taken as silent admission.

Little Red Leaf immediately understood and continued: "Actually, this matter isn't hard to solve. Yihua Palace is not to be trifled with, but a masked assassin isn't hard to find."

Tan Tian had been in the Eastern Depot for many years and instantly understood that Little Red Leaf was telling him to just pick anyone to turn in.

He had already thought about this, as the Eastern Depot did this often; it was a standard operation.

The problem was that the implications this time were a bit large; it would be deceiving the Emperor, and once the matter was exposed, there certainly wouldn't be a good end. Additionally, that mysterious expert was also an unstable factor; if something went wrong and provoked the opponent to come to his door, he wasn't sure he could resist.

However, if he really went to Yihua Palace to arrest someone, there was an equal risk of losing his life.

In the end, Tan Tian only said: "this governor has his own considerations. I have other matters to handle, so I will take my leave first."

After Tan Tian left, Little Red Leaf asked Old Red Leaf: "Uncle, how do you think he will act?"

Old Red Leaf said: "He'll do as you suggested, because he has no choice."

"It's true that the Eastern Depot is powerful, but after all, Tan Tian is not Liu Xi. If they provoked Yao Yue and Lian Xing, Liu Xi could rely on his Martial Arts to maneuver a bit and then rely on the Black-Clad Arrow Squad for self-protection. But Tan Tian's Martial Arts are far inferior; once he faces Yao Yue or Lian Xing, he probably wouldn't even last three moves."

Little Red Leaf nodded, then asked in confusion: "Speaking of Yihua Palace, Uncle, do you really believe that mysterious expert is that child from back then?"

"According to the timeline you just mentioned, that child is at most seventeen or eighteen years old now. No matter how Yao Yue and Lian Xing cultivated him, it's impossible for him to easily kill Liu Xi, who has practiced the Absorbing Qi Technique for many years and absorbed heaven knows how many people's Martial Arts."

"Furthermore, Yao Yue and Lian Xing have dominated the Martial Forest for years. Given Yihua Palace's overbearing and aggressive nature, it's unlikely they would kill Liu Xi just because he wanted to practice the Remote Energy Absorption Skill."

"Even if they wanted to kill him, they wouldn't deign to hide their identities."

Old Red Leaf lowered his eyes and said: "Actually, I'm not sure either. As you said, there are many suspicious points in this matter."

"But from the information currently available, he is the only person I can think of."

“Then if this is wrong, then Tan Tian...” Little Red Leaf spoke halfway, his meaning implied.

Old Red Leaf said nonchalantly: "It doesn't matter if it's wrong. After all, I said beforehand that I wasn't 100% sure. Tan Tian is not like Liu Xi; if he wants to fully control the Eastern Depot and even achieve something, he will have to rely on our Red Leaf Pavilion in the future. Therefore, even if something goes wrong with this matter, he wouldn't dare turn against us."

"That's true." Little Red Leaf smiled and nodded.

Old Red Leaf said: "Flip through the records again to see if we can further confirm the identity of that mysterious expert. The sudden emergence of such a great expert who can kill Liu Xi—if his identity can be confirmed, the value will be extraordinary."

Little Red Leaf felt the same way.

Thus, the two of them began searching through the records again.

...

Following the Red Leaf Pavilion, the Murong Family also received the news of Liu Xi's assassination and death.

Murong Wudi, who had just been used as a tool by Liu Xi, felt greatly relieved and cheered in his heart that Liu Xi had died well. Immediately after, he was also wondering who killed Liu Xi and how he should handle his relationship with the Eastern Depot in the future.

Liu Xi was dead, but he wasn't the only one in the Eastern Depot who knew about the connection between him and Liu Xi.

Should he find a way to eliminate those who knew the truth and completely wipe clean his relationship with the Eastern Depot?

Sharing similar thoughts were the other surviving Martial Forest experts who had participated in the plan to capture the five yang experts at that time.

Besides these "involved parties," another person with a deep connection to Liu Xi also had other intentions.

That person was currently known as—Jiang Biehe!