Chapter 20: Doubts Arise as Witnesses Speak
“Young Master Long, why are you so certain?” someone asked, puzzled.
Taking a deep breath, Long Qinghan closed his eyes, recalling, “It wasn’t him. Do you all remember the figure of the person who killed Butler Fu?”
Everyone hesitated and exchanged glances, furrowing their brows.
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“The blade of the red-clothed person’s sword, if I’m not mistaken, was silver in color.” Long Qinghan glanced at the others and received their confirmation. He suddenly grabbed the Chihuang Sword (Scarlet Blaze Sword) in Feng Xuan Yang’s hand, pulled it out with a swish, and said loudly, “But Feng Xuan Yang’s sword is not silver!”
Everyone gasped as they saw blood drops falling from the blade. However, the sword was entirely crimson, with no trace of silver, as if it were stained with blood and exuded a terrifying, bloodthirsty aura.
The doubts among the crowd began to grow. Some carefully recalled the appearance of the red-clothed person they saw earlier and found that he indeed did not resemble Feng Xuan Yang.
Gradually, Long Qinghan’s tense heart relaxed. He realized that the people present were not unreasonable. The escalating situation before resurrection must have had reasons.
Firstly, it was because he was the one who initiated the doubts. Secondly, Feng Xuan Yang was too proud and didn’t like to argue. Thirdly, most of those present before resurrection were martial artists from Han Dong City, and they had a good relationship with Xiang Zhong. Therefore, when Xiang Zhong had an accident, they would blame Feng Xuan Yang without asking for reasons, leading to the uncontrollable situation.
Fortunately, most of the martial artists attending the wedding had a neutral relationship with Xiang Zhong, so they wouldn’t be too subjective in their judgment.
As Long Qinghan slowly relaxed, he glanced at Feng Xuan Yang and found him looking at him with an approving gaze. He couldn’t help but smile, feeling fortunate that they were given a second chance. Now, he could stand by Feng Xuan Yang’s side and protect him from the storms.
However, the suspicions towards Feng Xuan Yang hadn’t completely disappeared. One person spoke up loudly, “If it wasn’t Feng Xuan Yang, then who was the red-clothed person responsible for destroying the village? And what about Butler Fu’s dying words and the blood characters on the ground? Why did Feng Xuan Yang claim that Xiang Zhong was dead when Young Master Long entered the room to save people?”
Long Qinghan suddenly froze, and for a moment, he didn’t know how to defend Feng Xuan Yang. These were questions he couldn’t answer himself. Before resurrection, he had doubts about Feng Xuan Yang due to Butler Fu’s dying words. At that time, Xiang Zhong’s body was destroyed, and the house had collapsed, so it was impossible to investigate the blood characters. But now, with two pieces of evidence both pointing to the “魔” character, Feng Xuan Yang’s innocence seemed hard to prove.
Frowning deeply, Long Qinghan glanced at Feng Xuan Yang, hoping to get some clues from him.
However, Feng Xuan Yang didn’t look at him. He lowered his gaze, staring at a corner not far away.
Following his gaze, Long Qinghan suddenly felt shocked and delighted.
He quickly walked over and bent down to move a fallen wardrobe. Feng Xuan Yang came over to help him lift it.
The crowd watched their actions with confusion. The area had been scorched by the fire, and many things were destroyed even though the fire was extinguished in time. What use could it be to move the wardrobe?
However, the crowd soon understood Long Qinghan’s intention. Under the moved wardrobe lay a sword, already drawn from its sheath.
Long Qinghan took out a silk handkerchief from his pocket, laid it on his hand, and picked up the sword. The sword was about three feet long and less than two fingers wide, a slender blade. The visible part of the sword’s tip was deep blue, and the rest of the blade had a silver hue.
But it was evident that the original color of the sword was silver.
Long Qinghan stood in front of the crowd, presenting the sword for everyone to see. He said, “Please look at this sword. If it were an ordinary, non-blood stained sword, it would turn black when scorched by fire. However, this sword’s blade appears dark blue, indicating that it was stained with blood before being burned. Therefore, I dare to guess that this might be the sword used to assassinate Xiang Zhong.” He then walked over to the bodies of Xiang Zhong and Butler Fu, pulled open their clothes, and exposed the sword wounds. He compared the width of the wounds to the sword’s width, and they matched perfectly.
The crowd gasped, and Long Qinghan didn’t stop there. He compared the Chihuang Sword to the red-clothed person’s blade, revealing that the Chihuang Sword was wider by half a finger and didn’t match the wounds at all.
However, these pieces of evidence were still not enough. Someone raised another question, “Although it proves that Feng Xuan Yang is not the one who killed Butler Fu and Xiang Zhong, what about the others? Feng Xuan Yang’s involvement might not be completely cleared. Moreover, who is the real killer responsible for these murders? We still don’t know.”
Long Qinghan fell silent this time. Indeed, as the person said, even if they cleared these doubts, there were still other issues to address.
“Ha, even if I have a miserable life, it’s worth all of you targeting me,” Feng Xuan Yang snorted coldly, sweeping his sleeve in anger. “I’m afraid that even if I reveal the truth, you won’t be convinced.”
Long Qinghan walked to Feng Xuan Yang’s side and whispered, “Xuan Yang, if you have any reasons, just say it out loud. I believe you.”
The simple three words “I believe you” moved Feng Xuan Yang, who had always been arrogant. Without many oaths, just this simple phrase was enough to warm his heart in this cold and indifferent atmosphere.
Feng Xuan Yang looked deeply at the crowd, hesitated for a moment, and was about to speak when he was interrupted.
“But I wonder what truth Sect Leader Feng wants to reveal.”
At the sound of this voice, Long Qinghan trembled, looking at the person who entered, waves surged in his eyes, and he tightly clenched his fists. Subconsciously, he stepped forward and stood in front of Feng Xuan Yang.
The crowd turned to look at the door and saw that the person who arrived was actually Tao Huai!
Long Qinghan’s eyebrows furrowed tightly as he guarded against Tao Huai. However, what Tao Huai said next surprised him.
Tao Huai clasped his hands and said to Feng Xuan Yang, “Sect Leader Feng, we’ve only been apart for less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. How could you be suspected as the killer?”
As his words fell, everyone’s expressions became extremely strange.
“Tao, why do you say that?” someone couldn’t help but ask. Although everyone had vaguely guessed Tao Huai’s intention behind his words, they still needed explicit confirmation.
“Isn’t it clear from what I said?” Tao Huai smiled slightly and politely bowed to the person, “Sect Leader Feng and I were separated for only the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Isn’t that true?”
It was not true, naturally. Long Qinghan was completely stunned. He looked fixedly at Tao Huai, his eyes revealing confusion. Then, he glanced at Feng Xuan Yang beside him and found that the corners of his mouth had slightly lifted, making Long Qinghan even more puzzled.
The time it takes for an incense stick to burn, roughly equivalent to the time they arrived at the manor until now. If Tao Huai’s words were true, then Feng Xuan Yang arrived here around the same time as them, which means he wouldn’t have had enough time to commit the murders and set the fire. But…
Long Qinghan fell into silence. It had only been about an hour since he and Feng Xuan Yang had been drinking until midnight last night. In this short period, it was late at night, and Feng Xuan Yang couldn’t possibly have met with Tao Huai. So, either they really had some business to discuss, or Tao Huai was lying.
But what surprised Long Qinghan the most was Tao Huai’s attitude. He remembered that in the past life, Tao Huai had appeared, accusing Feng Xuan Yang with a stern voice, claiming that he happened to return to the manor, witnessed Feng Xuan Yang commit the murders, and had to escape and notify the others, who all came to confront Feng Xuan Yang, resulting in him severely injuring everyone.
However, the situation now was different. Most of the people who came after the resurrection were here for the wedding and had average relationships with Xiang Zhong. They wouldn’t have a strong bias towards Xiang Zhong.
Long Qinghan looked at Tao Huai and found that when he spoke, his breathing was normal, and he didn’t appear to be lying. But he couldn’t fully dispel his doubts about Tao Huai.
This was because Tao Huai was a very cunning person. Long Qinghan still remembered that in the past life, Feng Xuan Yang had killed a bride during the wedding, who turned out to be an imposter. After everyone severely reprimanded Feng Xuan Yang and drove the imposter away, Tao Huai revealed the truth about the real and fake brides. Soon after, Tao Huai and the real Xiang Qianshuang got married.
On the day of the massacre, Tao Huai and his wife happened to be out. Upon returning, they were shocked to hear about the tragedy, causing Xiang Qianshuang to fall ill. Tao Huai then took control of the foundation of Mei Mountain Villa and, in a few years, established a new manor, which eventually surpassed the status of the old Mei Mountain Villa and could compete with the Tianjian Sect.
From this, Long Qinghan knew that although Tao Huai appeared to be a simpleton in daily life, he was quite skilled in scheming, not much inferior to them.
At this moment, Long Qinghan decided to observe the situation. If Tao Huai was willing to help Feng Xuan Yang, it might not be a bad thing, but if he dared to harm Feng Xuan Yang…
Suddenly, intense killing intent surged through Long Qinghan’s body. His eyes were filled with a bloodthirsty fierceness. However, a gentle hand reached out and slowly loosened his tightly clenched fist.
Long Qinghan was startled and looked at the person holding his hand. A warm feeling surged from the touch, spreading through his blood. No matter where they were, being by this person’s side made him feel unexpectedly at ease.
He held the hand of the person back and looked into their tender eyes, revealing the most sincere smile from the depths of his heart. The long sleeves covered their hands, but in that hidden place, their hands tightly intertwined for the first time, binding their love for eternity, beyond life and death.
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