Hundreds of people turned their heads simultaneously, and a momentary silence fell over the courtyard as three figures swiftly approached. One of them rushed to Master Hui Lü’s side. Seeing that there was still clear water in the cup in his hand, he let out a long sigh of relief: “Thank heavens, thank heavens, Song has arrived in time.”
Up in the tree, Jiang Ci noticed another twist in events and became greatly excited, leaning her body slightly forward. The man frowned and suddenly extended his left hand to pull her back. Jiang Ci quickly shifted her body to evade.
Seeing the tree branch sway slightly, the man felt annoyed. He noticed Pei Yan glancing in this direction, seemingly intentionally and regretted not killing the girl earlier to silence her.
With a cold expression, he suddenly made a “squeak squeak” sound from his throat. Jiang Ci listened carefully and found it extremely similar to the sound of squirrels in the ancient pines of Deng Family Village. She couldn’t help but cover her mouth and giggle.
Pei Yan’s gaze swept across the chrysanthemum garden and settled on the three newcomers. He stepped down from the stairs and bowed before one of them, saying, “It’s an honor to have Elder Shen Nong Zi grace our humble abode, Pei is truly flattered.”
Jiang Ci, who had been giggling at the man imitating squirrel sounds, was surprised to hear that the newcomer was the world-renowned physician “Shen Nong Zi.” She quickly turned to look.
Among the three who had arrived, two appeared to be in their forties. One was burly with thick eyebrows and large eyes, looking very imposing as he stood with his hands behind his back, coldly smiling at Pei Yan. The other was thin and rather short, with a pale face and no beard, and a round birthmark on his chin—the exact features rumored to belong to the famous physician “Shen Nong Zi.”
Behind the two stood a black-clad masked figure wearing a cloak that covered their entire body. As the night breeze blew, the cloak fluttered, accentuating their tall figure and creating an inexplicably eerie and mysterious atmosphere.
Pei Yan, with a beaming face, smiled at “Shen Nong Zi” and the man beside him, saying, “Master Song, Elder Cheng, it’s an honor to have you both here to drink this toast of gratitude. Pei is deeply flattered.”
The burly middle-aged man sneered, “Lord Pei, I’m afraid we’re the last people you want to see right now.”
Pei Yan frowned slightly, then relaxed his expression and smiled calmly, “I don’t understand what Master Song means by that. Please enlighten me.”
The Cang Mountain Sect Leader Liu Feng, who had always been on good terms with this “Dragon City Swordsman” Song Tao, quickly stepped forward when he saw Song’s cold attitude towards Pei Yan, saying, “Brother Song, although Lord Pei is no longer the Alliance Leader, but—”
Before Liu Feng could finish, Song Tao suddenly snatched the wine cup from his hand, turned, and handed it to Shen Nong Zi, saying, “Brother Cheng, I trouble you.”
Everyone’s hearts skipped a beat, and those who had already raised their cups to their lips quietly looked at the wine in their cups.
“Shen Nong Zi” Cheng Bujian brought the cup Song Tao had handed him to his nose and sniffed carefully. He then took out a porcelain bottle from his sleeve and poured a small amount of white powder into the wine cup. After a moment, he nodded and sighed, “It is indeed ‘Cultivation Dissipation Powder.'”
A commotion erupted as people hurled their wine cups to the ground. Some of the more impulsive ones even started cursing loudly.
All martial artists knew the potency of “Cultivation Dissipation Powder.” This drug had plagued the martial arts world for over a decade, causing countless people to gradually lose their martial arts skills. Fortunately, over a hundred years ago, the Martial Arts Alliance Leader Xie Xiaotian, along with Deputy Leader Pei Jun, joined forces to destroy all the main ingredients of “Cultivation Dissipation Powder”—the “Heavenly Fragrance Flower”—ensuring the safety of the martial arts world for many years.
Now, hearing “Shen Nong Zi” confirm that “Cultivation Dissipation Powder” had been added to the wine at Changfeng Manor, people were shocked and filled with doubts.
Song Tao turned to Pei Yan with an angry expression, “Lord Pei, you work for the imperial court to eliminate the martial arts forces, but did you have to resort to such underhanded methods?”
The various sect leaders exchanged glances and stepped forward, effectively surrounding Pei Yan. Seeing their leaders’ actions, disciples from various sects drew their weapons and formed several groups, encircling the people of Changfeng Manor.
Despite the sudden change in the courtyard’s atmosphere, with swords drawn and bows bent, Pei Yan remained unperturbed. He smiled elegantly, his long sleeves billowing as he effortlessly took the wine pitcher from his steward’s hands—the same one used earlier to pour wine for the sect leaders.
He calmly drank all the wine from the pitcher, then held the empty blue porcelain vessel upside down, slowly waving it in the air as he spoke gently, “Everyone, please calm down. To prove that I am not the one who poisoned the wine, I have drunk all of it to demonstrate my innocence. Let’s discuss this matter calmly.”
Seeing him drink the wine from the pitcher, the sect leaders exchanged uncertain glances, and the tense atmosphere eased slightly.
Pei Yan turned with a flourish of his sleeves and smiled, “I have always trusted Master Song’s character. Please, Master Song, explain the whole story. I believe our martial arts comrades can judge for themselves and give me a fair hearing.”
Song Tao was taken aback for a moment, then spoke loudly, “Very well. Since that’s the case, I will explain everything in detail. Please listen carefully, everyone, and discern the truth of the matter.”
On this August night, under the clear moonlight, hundreds of people stood silently in front of Changfeng Manor, listening intently to Song Tao’s account.
“About a month ago, I received a message from Yi Han, saying he would challenge Pei Yan tonight. Of course, I wanted to come and witness this battle, so I set out from Dragon City on the morning of the first day of August, heading north.
“On the night of the fifth of August, I was passing through the outskirts of Wen Prefecture when I heard the sounds of a fight in a dense forest.
“I entered the forest to investigate and saw seven men in black attacking a masked person. The seven men in black were ruthless in their attacks, clearly intent on killing the masked individual.
“I initially didn’t want to interfere, but then I recognized the seven men in black as the infamous ‘Seven Killers’ of the martial arts world. Moreover, during the fight, the masked person said something that shocked me. So, I intervened, killing the ‘Seven Killers’ and saving this person. It was fortunate that I saved him, as I learned of a grand conspiracy that could plunge our martial arts world into eternal subjugation.”
By this time, Pei Yan had walked to the large chair previously occupied by the Huan Kingdom envoy. He dusted off his robe and sat down, leaning back with a smile, saying, “I suppose this grand conspiracy refers to me adding ‘Cultivation Dissipation Powder’ to tonight’s wine to poison our martial arts comrades?”
Song Tao said sternly, “Exactly. Fortunately, I arrived in time to prevent everyone from drinking this poisoned wine.”
Pei Yan spoke leisurely, “Master Song’s account is all based on testimony. Where is the physical evidence?”
Song Tao loudly replied, “After learning of this conspiracy, I knew that testimony alone wouldn’t be enough. That’s why I rushed day and night to invite ‘Shen Nong Zi’ from Cang Prefecture. He has now confirmed the presence of poison in the wine. Isn’t that enough?”
Pei Yan calmly said, “I just drank all the wine from the pitcher, which was the same one used to pour wine for the various sect leaders earlier. If I had poisoned it, wouldn’t there be ‘Cultivation Dissipation Powder’ in the remaining wine?”
Song Tao sneered, “Since you know how to make ‘Cultivation Dissipation Powder,’ you must also know the antidote formula. You could have taken the antidote beforehand, for all we know.”
As the two engaged in this verbal sparring, the crowd grew more confused, unsure whose words to believe.
At this moment, the masked man in black suddenly spoke. His voice was extremely soft and gentle, with an indescribable touch of charm: “My disciple, before his death, revealed one more thing.”
Pei Yan smiled, “Please, Sect Leader Xiao, do tell.”
Xiao Wuxia seemed to hesitate, looking towards the various sect leaders. The Shaolin Sect Leader Hui Lü put his palms together and said, “Sect Leader Xiao, please speak freely. We fellow martial artists will ensure your safety.”
Xiao Wuxia bit his lower lip and spoke softly, “My disciple confessed to me before he died that everything he did was under Lord Pei’s orders. The person Lord Pei sent to bribe him and communicate with him was someone from Changfeng Manor. Because my disciple was of delicate beauty, and this person had a preference for male companionship, they engaged in a romantic relationship.”
Up in the tree, Jiang Ci was somewhat confused, not fully understanding the implications of Xiao Wuxia’s words. She heard sounds of disdain from the crowd and was about to ask the man beside her for clarification when she noticed that in the moonlight, his eyes were flickering with what seemed to be a mix of anger and resentment, appearing strangely terrifying.
She was somewhat surprised and then heard Xiao Wuxia continue, “In their moments of intimacy, this person revealed to my disciple all of Lord Pei’s plans, including that he would be responsible for poisoning the wine tonight. So, this person must still have unused ‘Cultivation Dissipation Powder’ on him. If we search him, we’ll know whether I’m falsely accusing Lord Pei or not.”
As soon as Xiao Wuxia finished speaking, dozens of people simultaneously asked, “Who is this person? Bring him out!”
Xiao Wuxia slowly walked towards Pei Yan, suddenly raised his hand to point at someone behind him, and shouted, “It’s him!”
Following his gesture, a man behind Pei Yan leaped high and tried to dash away. Song Tao yelled, “Don’t let him escape!”
Several people drew their weapons and rushed forward, surrounding the man. He desperately tried to break through, all the while shouting “Ah! Ah!” loudly. Xiao Wuxia let out a clear shout and leaped up to attack the man. After defending against a few moves, the man was struck by one of Xiao Wuxia’s techniques and sent flying towards Pei Yan, who was standing behind him.
Pei Yan waved his sleeve, causing the man to fall face-first to the ground. He rolled several times on the yellow earth, his screams gradually subsiding. After a few more convulsions, he lay still.
Song Tao and Xiao Wuxia shouted simultaneously, “Pei Yan, stop killing to silence witnesses!”
Liu Feng and others rushed forward to help the man on the ground, only to find him pale-faced and barely breathing. Everyone recognized this man as the second steward of Changfeng Manor—Cen Wu.
Song Tao shouted, “Quick, search him for ‘Cultivation Dissipation Powder’!” At the same time, he drew the long sword from his waist and stood in front of Liu Feng, glaring at Pei Yan, clearly guarding against any sudden moves to harm people or destroy evidence.
Liu Feng reached into Cen Wu’s bosom and soon pulled out several porcelain bottles, paper packages, and talismans, which he handed to “Shen Nong Zi.” “Shen Nong Zi” examined them one by one. When he opened one of the paper talismans, he suddenly cried out, “It’s ‘Cultivation Dissipation Powder’!”