TGCFNM -Chapter 66 Weighing the Situation

As soon as Chu Ling finished speaking, everyone in the martial world looked at one another, and not a single person spoke up.

“M-Master, this invitation… it’s from Tianjian Mountain. You could snatch it or take it by force, it’s all up to the individual… but selling it… that might not be appropriate,” Cao Tong stammered.

Bai Su explained, “Tianjian Mountain holds a special status in the martial world.”

Ghost Scholar added from the side, “It’s like if the Zither Immortal were to host a zither recital and invite many to watch. If someone who received an invitation resold it at a high price, it would be considered sacrilegious.”

Chu Ling frowned. What kind of bizarre, unspoken rule was this? If she got it, she would sell it immediately.

“In any case, what he said at the start was a lie. Breaking the teapot was just to shift the blame,” Chu Ling said, rubbing her fingertips and hesitating. “I feel like he did it deliberately, trying to create an aura of indifference and effortless skill, a sort of… charisma, or maybe…”

“Master! I understand!” Yan Sheng suddenly said.

Cao Tong sighed, “Master, he’s imitating Gui Wushuang—the unmatched young master of the Ghost Realm.”

Bai Su immediately put her hands on her hips and snapped, “The unmatched young master of the Ghost Realm? I don’t recognize him!”

Cui Xi looked confused. “So… that young master… is a ghost?”

Chu Ling waved her hand casually. “Whoever he’s imitating doesn’t matter. If he kills someone, he should pay with his life. I don’t care what deal you all made, but committing crimes right under my nose? You’d better think carefully.”

Rubbing her wrist, Chu Ling turned and went upstairs. “Make way. I’m going to rest.”

Everyone quickly cleared a path.

Wan Sanjin smiled at the group. “No need to worry. Our master has quite the morning temper. You’re safe now, so why not calculate the losses in this inn? Once that’s done, you can get some rest sooner.”

Xiao Hua gripped the fire poker, glaring at everyone like a threat.

The Master said: one-third of the compensation goes to her.

Just as Chu Ling returned to her room and was about to rest, a knock sounded at the door. Frowning, she swiftly opened it.

Yang Huaishan jumped in fright, hurriedly handing over an invitation. “M-Master… the innkeeper found the invitation during a search… let me deliver it to you… the others… are having tea with the martial world folks downstairs.”

Chu Ling nodded, took the invitation, and closed the door.

Yang Huaishan let out a huge sigh of relief and immediately turned to run.

Chu Ling stared at the exquisitely crafted invitation in her hand and slowly opened it. There were no words inside—only a hidden anti-counterfeit mark in the lower right corner: the secret pattern of Tianjian Mountain.

“This is your invitation,” Chu Ling said, looking at Xu Jiao.

Xu Jiao gave a bitter smile. “Master, please handle it.”

Chu Ling took it back with a flick of her hand. “I’ll sell the invitation tomorrow.”

Xu Jiao bowed deeply. “Thank you, Master, for catching the true culprit for me.” No sooner had he finished speaking than his figure slowly dissipated.

Chu Ling sat down again, expressionless, lost in thought.

Bai Su sat opposite her, serious. “Xiao Ling, today’s close combat must have made you realize: even Master couldn’t fully evade that Bai Wuchang. In the future, encountering others will be extremely dangerous, and may even endanger others.”

Chu Ling looked up, letting out a deep sigh. “Aunt Su, I understand.”

Bai Su nodded with satisfaction, then glanced at Chu Ling’s reddened neck. “Today’s incident is actually good for you—it lets you recognize the gap early.”

Chu Ling rolled up her sleeves, revealing her wrist guard.

She had already put on the guard before appearing—she valued her life. She wanted to solve the case and experience the martial world in this book, but… Chu Ling rubbed her neck.

It hurt a bit.

“Aunt Su, this is the first—and the last—time. From now on, I will never allow anyone to have the chance to grab my neck a second time.”

Bai Su’s eyes and lips curved into a smile, and she said with relief, “Then practice your skills properly.”

The next morning.

Yang Huaishan waited nervously in the main hall, so tense that even the porridge in front of him had gone cold, yet he hadn’t touched it once.

He was a little scared—after all, Master Chu had really been angry last night. He didn’t know if Master Chu would still remember today’s outing, and he didn’t dare ask, so all he could do was wait anxiously.

Finally, Xiao Hua’s voice rescued him.

“Young Master Yang, you’re up so early?” Xiao Hua was surprised. After everything that had happened last night, everyone else was still resting.

Yang Huaishan had been waiting too long; his face had stiffened. He gave an awkward smile, rubbed his face, and said, “I’m used to it.”

Xiao Hua praised him, “As expected of a scholar.”

Yang Huaishan felt like crying but had no tears; when he was studying, he had never been this anxious.

After a while, Chu Ling and the others gradually came downstairs to the table. The innkeeper immediately had the waiters prepare a rich breakfast.

“Thank you, Master, for punishing the wicked and protecting the reputation of my inn,” the innkeeper said.

Chu Ling smiled, “I don’t know how long we’ll be a bother, and we haven’t paid for the rooms—helping the innkeeper is only natural.”

“Thank you, Master,” the innkeeper said with a smile, bowing before stepping away so as not to disturb Chu Ling’s meal.

Wan Sanjin poked at a piece of pastry. “Staying here for free relied on my face, getting compensation relies on my face, yet this innkeeper never knows to thank me.”

“Master Wan, this is your inn,” Chu Ling said, shoving a bun into Wan Sanjin’s mouth.

Yang Huaishan finally relaxed and picked up the porridge in front of him.

“Eat while telling me—which case has been closed, and where do you think something went wrong?” Chu Ling asked.

Yang Huaishan’s face turned pale. “One of my classmates, Lu Anming, was accused of killing his stepmother. His father personally brought him to the magistrate’s office. He was sentenced to death, to be executed in three days.”

“So hasty?” Chu Ling was surprised.

Yang Huaishan hesitated, unsure how to explain. After a long pause, he said, “There were witnesses, there was evidence of murder, and someone saw it with their own eyes. They saw that the person doing it was his own father… so, so…”

Chu Ling understood. No wonder the case was closed—the father had publicly executed justice over his own son.

“Did he have a bad relationship with his father? What could your classmate gain by killing his stepmother?” Chu Ling asked.

Yang Huaishan sighed, looking confused.

“His father and he had a good relationship. His father personally taught him reading and writing. His stepmother was very kind—she even gave him clothes and socks and treated him well. To avoid suspicion, she hadn’t had children… but in May this year, she finally had a child. The doctor said it might be a boy.”

Chu Ling raised an eyebrow and asked helplessly, “How old is your classmate this year?”

“About my age—twenty,” Yang Huaishan said.

“Even if the stepmother had a baby boy, so what? He’s twenty. What could an infant possibly compete with him for? A baby killing someone? Impossible,” Chu Ling said firmly.

Yang Huaishan immediately nodded, finally feeling a bit reassured. “The previous children in the household are already fifteen this year, and they even pleaded for Lu Anming.”

“Wait… previous children in the household?” Chu Ling was puzzled.

“Lu Anming’s stepmother’s previous husband died, leaving a child. She originally brought the child when she married, but the child’s grandmother disagreed, so the child stayed at the grandmother’s house. But the child studied alongside Lu Anming, and Lu’s uncle praised him as very intelligent,” Yang Huaishan explained.

Chu Ling crossed her arms, looking at Yang Huaishan with a questioning gaze. “What makes you think the murderer isn’t Lu Anming?”

“Master!” Yang Huaishan’s eyes shone. “I’m very close to him. I believe he absolutely wouldn’t commit murder.”

Chu Ling: “…”