NABC #658 - Eliminate suspicion
#658 - Eliminate suspicion
“Fortunately, I’m not here to make friends.”
“That’s rare.”
Lü Meilang finally raised his head to look at Lu Jing, but only for a moment, before lowering his head again to look at the wine glass in his hand, as if nothing in the world could concern him except for the fine wine in the glass.
Lu Jing said, “I often wonder… if a person spends their entire life playing someone else, will they be able to tell who they really are in the end?”
“Does it matter whether they can tell or not? Life is just a big dream anyway,” Lü Meilang said indifferently.
“Is Fu’er also just a big dream?”
Upon hearing this name, the expression on Lü Meilang's face changed for the first time. His pupils suddenly contracted, and the wine glass in his right hand tilted, spilling wine that dampened his clothes.
A moment later, he suddenly raised his head, and said to Lu Jing, enunciating each word, “Watch your words, friend. The fairy Ning of Qixia Manor is my brother’s betrothed. I only have respect for her in my heart.”
“Is that so? But if I remember correctly… the Xiaoyao Manor and Qixia Manor have always had a good relationship. Disciples often exchange martial arts. You went to Qixia Manor when you were thirteen years old, and stayed there for a year and a half. That's when you met the fairy Ning, right?”
“Who exactly are you?” Lü Meilang’s expression turned gloomy. “Why do you know so much about me?”
“That’s not important,” Lu Jing said. “What’s important is that it’s not too late to stop now.”
Lü Meilang stared at Lu Jing for a long time without saying a word.
After a moment, he suddenly revealed a cold smile. “Based on these vague words of yours?”
After saying that, he leaned back into his chair. “I don’t know where you heard some rumors, but you believed them and used them to threaten me. Aren’t you being too whimsical?”
“What I know isn’t just a few rumors,” Lu Jing said. “I know you don’t like your brother, you don’t like that your martial arts are inferior to his, you don’t like that he’s more famous than you in the martial world, you don’t like that your father chose him to be the next master of Xiaoyao Manor, and you don’t like that the woman you love was also taken away by him.”
“You dream of taking everything back from him, and that’s why you decided to take the risk, because you don’t want to live the rest of your life in his shadow.”
“Although your judgment isn’t great, I didn’t expect you to have such a rich imagination,” Lü Meilang said leisurely as he poured himself another glass of wine.
“There are so many people here, see how many will believe you. Ask anyone, and they’ll tell you that I, the Second Master Lü, am just a good-for-nothing, a wastrel who squanders his talent. Ambition? That kind of thing has never had anything to do with me.”
“Is that so? Then why did you go to Wujiang City two years ago?” Lu Jing asked calmly.
Lü Meilang was startled. He didn’t expect the other party to even know about this. It seemed that he had indeed come prepared tonight.
“Two years ago, Xie Liancheng obtained a martial arts manual, and his skill greatly improved, attracting many experts to gather in Wujiang City. Among them was your Xiaoyao Manor’s Second Master Lü, and the Sword Washing Pavilion’s senior disciple, Wei Zixian.”
“Wei Zixian went there to prove that the so-called divine skill manual was not worth mentioning compared to the Sword Washing Pavilion’s martial arts, but Second Master Lü, you shouldn’t have that kind of pride…”
“But then again, the Xiaoyao Manor’s unique skills and divine arts are not inferior to those of the Sword Washing Pavilion. Second Master Lü is too lazy to practice his own family’s martial arts, yet he’s so interested in some wild, unknown manual from who knows where. Why is that?”
“What are you trying to say?” Lü Meilang’s eyes flickered.
Lu Jing didn’t hold back. “Could it be because you know that even if you cultivate your own family’s martial arts, you’ll never be able to surpass your brother, so you have to place your hopes on other martial arts.”
Lü Meilang was silent. After a long while, he first glanced left and right before asking, “What do you want?”
“I said it a long time ago, I just want you to stop before you cause a catastrophe,” Lu Jing said. “Although you may always feel that your life is pathetic, and that you can only live in your brother’s shadow forever, in my opinion, your background alone surpasses the vast majority of people in this martial world.”
“Most of the people sitting downstairs tonight would give anything to have what you have. Don’t wait until you lose it to regret it,” Lu Jing advised.
…………
An incense stick later, Lu Jing and Yan Yun met again at the previous location.
Yan Yun asked, “Did you gain anything?”
“I seem to have prevented a fratricidal conflict.”
Lu Jing paused and then continued, “I know why Lü Meilang was absent-minded tonight. It’s because the woman he loves is going to marry his brother, Lü Ping, next month and become the young mistress of Xiaoyao Manor. So he contacted some people and planned to attack his brother.”
“People from the Demonic Path?”
“No, just some fearless outlaws.”
Lu Jing said, “The White Jade Gentleman, Lü Ping, is highly skilled in martial arts. Lü Meilang felt that his chances of winning in a head-on confrontation were slim, so he found a group of bandits who run a black shop and planned to lure Lü Ping to that black shop, first drug him, then attack, kill Lü Ping, and then kill those bandits, to avenge his brother and clear himself of suspicion…”
“He himself knows that this plan is pretty absurd, but he’s desperate and plans to take a gamble. He’s not the person we’re looking for tonight.”
Lu Jing sighed and said, “What about your side? Did you find anything?”
Yan Yun shook her head. “The four people on my side also have nothing to do with the Demonic Path.”
“That’s troublesome,” Lu Jing said with a wry smile. “Maybe we really have to face a strange object tonight.”
He paused suddenly as he said this.
Because he remembered investigating the cause of Yan Yun’s cousin-in-law’s death with Yan Yun in Wujiang City. That was the first time the two of them worked together on a case.
Lu Jing didn’t know if Yan Yun also recalled what happened then.
Unfortunately, the budding feelings that night were cut off by Yan Yun’s sword.
Just as the two of them were preoccupied with their own thoughts, the door of the restaurant opened again, and Abbot Huitong led the monks of Xuankong Temple out from outside.
They were the last group to arrive at Lintian Prefecture, and looked travel-worn, which meant that everyone who was coming to participate in the righteous alliance had finally arrived.
Li Bufan also came down from the second floor to greet them at this time. After the eminent monks of Xuankong Temple were seated,
This righteous alliance was officially kicked off.