Everyday I Get up to See the Villain Stealing the Show 73

Han Changsheng didn’t bother denying it. Liu Xiaoqi distinguished people through smell, so no matter how outstanding his skills in acting and disguise were, he couldn’t hide from Liu Xiaoqi. 

Han Changsheng said, “Let us find somewhere private to speak.”

They left the inn and came to a deserted lane. Once there, Han Changsheng asked, “Why did you come?” 

Liu Xiaoqi mumbled, “I… I’m here for you. This afternoon, I saw you compete with the second elder martial brother. I found out by your scent.” 

Han Changsheng asked, “Looking for me? Why did you not go upstairs?”

Liu Xiaoqi lowered his head and didn’t speak.

Han Changsheng guessed that he didn’t dare rush up. He asked, “Alright then, why were you looking for me?”

Liu Xiaoqi was a little timid, but he still plucked up his courage enough to look up at Han Changsheng and ask, “Elder martial brother… I mean, who are you?”

Han Changsheng’s lips twitched. “Call me Han Yingjun or brother Han.” He warned, “You can only call me that when no one is around.”

Liu Xiaoqi looked tearfully at Han Changsheng. He wasn’t allowed to address him by this name in front of others. Does that mean Han Changsheng looked at him differently?

Han Changsheng asked, “You still won’t tell me why you were looking for me?” 

Liu Xiaoqi lowered his head and tugged at the corner of his clothes, obviously at a loss. After a moment, he summoned up his courage again and said, “Brother Han, what I want to say is very important to me, so I have to ask you a few questions first. Who on earth are you?”

“I will not comment on this.” Han Changsheng said. 

Liu Xiaoqi bit his lip and whispered, “Well then, what is the relationship between you and the second elder martial brother?” 

Han Changsheng frowned, pondered for a moment, and said, “I am friends with him. What does anything you have to say have to do with him?”

Liu Xiaoqi said, “I… I…” 

They sat for a long time, but he couldn’t answer him. Han Changsheng was anxious for an answer and asked, “What is the matter?” 

Liu Xiaoqi took a deep breath and said, “Brother Han, why did you ask me about the Xiu Daomen before?” 

Han Changsheng also wanted to ask him about the Xiu Daomen, but he was afraid he wouldn’t say anything. Unexpectedly, Liu Xiaoqi took the initiative to mention it. Han Changsheng pondered for a moment that if both of them had reservations, neither of them would put themselves first, greatly affecting the progress of his investigation. After such a long time of investigating, Liu Xiaoqi was the only one who might have a deeper relationship with the Xiu Daomen. 

So, Han Changsheng told him the truth. “For the Tianyuan Villa.” 

Liu Xiaoqi was silent. After a long time, he asked, “Is the second elder martial brother from Tianyuan Villa?” 

Han Changsheng nodded. “He was supposed to be the young villa leader of the Tianyuan Mountain Villa. However, Tianyuan Villa has now ended up obsolete and masterless.” 

Liu Xiaoqi laughed bitterly, “Brother Han and the second elder martial brother have a good relationship. Were you in the Yuehua Sect for him?”

Han Changsheng didn’t know how to answer the question, so he could only be silent. 

Liu Xiaoqi said, “Since the second elder brother went to the Nanshan Sect to deliver letters, his smell and temperament have suddenly changed. However, I didn’t think much about it back then. I thought the second elder martial brother had changed some habits, which caused his scent to change. Is elder brother Han someone the second elder martial brother met outside the sect? I just don’t know where the old senior brother went.”

Han Changsheng asked, “Does it matter?” 

Liu Xiaoqi shook his head. “No. I like brother Han very much. When I first came to the Yuehua Sect and was bullied by everyone, only brother Han was good to me and didn’t let others bully me. Brother Han also caught bad people like the Yin Yang Sha Twins. You are a great hero.” 

Once again, Han Changsheng was praised as a great hero. His heart was full of arrows at the notion that he, the Demonic Cult Leader, was called a great hero. He fell speechless.

Liu Xiaoqi took a deep breath and said, “I believe big brother Han, so I will tell you about my life experience. Brother Han is right, I am from the Xiu Daomen. Did you suspect that it was the Xiu Daomen that caused the tragic case of the Tianyuan Mountain Villa that year?”

“No. Only Huangfu Tugen, the leader of the Tianyuan Villa, may have been killed by the Xiu Daomen. Others killed the people of the Tianyuan Mountain Villa.” 

It stunned Liu Xiaoqi. “So that’s how it is…” 

Han Changsheng saw that he seemed to be unclear about things, and his heart suddenly cooled. He hoped to discover the truth from Liu Xiaoqi. It seemed that the boy did not know much. After all, he was only two years old at the time the incident occurred. 

However, Han Changsheng was surprised by Liu Xiaoqi’s next words. “I thought it impossible for us to have attacked the Tianyuan Mountain Villa. After all, we were thousands of miles away from them and our small sect could not have sent so many people. But, if it was only the master Huangfu…” He bit his lip, his face heavy. “When I was a child, I overheard my father and the headmaster say they were sorry for the Tianyuan Mountain Villa. I was always curious, so I went to inquire and learned about the destruction of the villa fifteen years ago. I didn’t know whether or not they meant it, but I always thought it was preposterous. At the time, though I was young, I was at least a part of the world. I had never heard of people from the Xiu Daomen going all the way to the Tiandao Prefecture. I might be mistaken about that.” 

Han Changsheng was shocked. “Really? Was it really done by the Xiu Daomen?” 

Liu Xiaoqi bit his lip, his thoughts tangled. “I… I do not know. I asked my father and headmaster. They told me not to ask anything. They said nothing to me. It was only when they said that they were sorry for the Tianyuan Villa that I doubted that their involvement in this matter.”   

Han Changsheng said, “Your father and them…”

Liu Xiaoqi said, “A few years ago, our Xiu Daomen sect was destroyed, only I managed to escape.” 

Han Changsheng knew these things in advance, but now that it was confirmed, he only felt sorry. He searched for a long time, just to find out who really killed An Yuan’s father. 

It was likely that the details of what happened would remain hidden, if it was really the now defunct Xiu Daomen behind the murder. Only Liu Xiaoqi remained of Xiu Daomen, and the young boy was clearly not a part of it. And, the dead could not speak. 

Han Changsheng said, “Why did you join the Yuehua Sect?” 

Liu Xiaoqi said, “There are two reasons. One is that our headmaster has a good relationship with Headmaster Yue Peng. When I was a child, he mentioned that he hoped I could learn swordsmanship as well. When I grew up, he would send me to study in Yuehua for two years. I escaped alone and wandered away for several years. My martial arts skills were so low that I could hardly survive. With no other options, I went to the Yuehua Sect.” 

Han Changsheng asked, “So Yue Peng knows you are from the Xiu Daomen? He does not do much for you. I saw how much his daughter liked to bully you.”

Liu Xiaoqi shook his head. “The leader does not know. I have told no one, and I don’t know whom I can trust. Brother Han, you are the first person to know my identity.”

Han Changsheng was stunned. Touching his nose, he asked, “What about the second reason?”

Liu Xiaoqi said, “The second was because of the second senior martial brother.”

“Well?” Han Changsheng frowned. “Because of An Yuan?” 

Liu Xiaoqi smiled bitterly. “Brother Han is helping the second senior martial brother solve his blood feud. I also want to learn about the blood feud of the Xiu Daomen. Our Xiu Daomen have always stood aloof from the world and had few enemies. It is said we were slaughtered because we offended the nearby mountain bandit nest. There was a group of mountain bandits near the Xiu Daomen, but the leader was arrested to protect the nearby people.” 

“It was just a few young people who became bandits. Except for those who had committed serious crimes and were killed, they broke up with a few words of reprimand. Three to five months passed since then, and suddenly one day, a group of experts broke in and killed everyone. It led to the massacre.”

“While it is true that the martial arts of the Xiu Daomen are not very advanced, did it make sense that ordinary mountain bandits could be so powerful? Can they fight the whole sect without the sect fighting back? Also, those bandits had been scattered for a long time. They certainly could not have done it.” 

“What is the correlation between this and An Yuan?” Han Changsheng interjected.

“After I escaped,” Liu Xiaoqi continued, “I went to investigate the so-called mountain bandits who broke up that day, but I couldn’t find their whereabouts. I spent years investigating. Our Xiu Daomen was just a small sect, and we did not have any desire to compete. We only exchanged martial arts with other sects occasionally, and we haven’t attended the Wulin Conference. We prefer the art of mixing incense to make money. The people in the sect lived a prosperous and healthy life.”

“When I grew up, I recalled the mountain bandits. It made more sense to me that they were hired killers. The more I think about it, I don’t know what kind of people we offended. Even if they wanted to kill us, there are only conflicts and trivial things that would not have warranted a retaliation to that extent. The only thing I could think of was that after the Tianyuan Mountain Villa incident, my father and the leader always kept their mouths shut.” 

“Ha?” Han Changsheng said, “So, do you think An Yuan hired mercenaries to kill your sect?”

Liu Xiaoqi immediately said, “I know that the second elder martial brother is very kind and would not do such a thing. I just heard that the young leader of the Tianyuan Mountain Villa was received by the Yuehua Sect, and I remembered that  the leader made good friends with the Yuehua Sect. So, I joined to see if I could find out anything related to my sect.”

Han Changsheng showed his teeth. Why was it that things seemed to get more and more complicated? He had not found out anything about the Tianyuan Villa yet, and there was the case of the Xiu Daomen on top of it. If Huangfu Tugen wasn’t killed by the Xiu Daomen, and if the people of the Xiu Daomen felt sorry for the people of the Tianyuan Villa because they knew the inside story, was it possible that the person who hired the killer was the one who killed Huangfu Tugen? To silence them?

Han Changsheng said, “Do you know which sect in the nation still had a similar sword technique as the Xiu Daomen, twisting and turning?”

He thought for a while, but then Liu Xiaoqi shook his head.

Han Changsheng murmured, “That is strange. Do you know who your father and the leader of the Xiu Daomen had a good relationship with? Maybe they’ll know the inside story of what happened fifteen years ago?”

Liu Xiaoqi sighed. “So many years have passed, I have asked many people, but no one knows this matter.” 

Han Changsheng gave an irritable little tut, and suddenly remembered the mysterious expert he met behind the Yuehua Mountain in the middle of the night. He asked, “By the way, has anyone invaded the Yuehua Sect recently?” 

Liu Xiaoqi’s face was at a loss. “I have not heard of it.” 

“Well?” Han Changsheng murmured, “Who was that? Besides Elder Lan Gang, who else is allowed in the forbidden area behind the mountain?”

Liu Xiaoqi said, “I have not been in the Yuehua Sect for very long. I have heard a lot about Elder Lan Fang, but I have never met him. I do not understand what Brother Han asked me.”

Both of them frowned, puzzled. When things got to this point, they were stuck again. It was already late at night. The alleyway became so dark Han Changsheng couldn’t see his fingers when he reached them out. Han Changsheng said, “You should return to your room. I’ll come see you later.”

Liu Xiaoqi nodded.

Han Changsheng asked, “By the way, why did Yue Peng bring you and Yue Yu-er to the Wulin Assembly?” 

Liu Xiaoqi said, “It is for the eldest and senior brothers’ benefit. Elder Lan Fang and old man Xuanji were found dead behind the mountain, and the Longyin sword was stolen. The first and second elder martial brothers were missing. The leader sent someone to search for you for a long time, but there was no word from you.”

“They wondered if you’d come to the Wulin Assembly, or if they could get more information here. My elder martial sister and I had the best relationship with you, so the headmaster brought us out hoping that we might find you. Or, if you don’t want to go back, to have us persuade you.”

Han Changsheng laughed and sneered. “So that’s how it is. Alright, you go back and have a rest.” 

Liu Xiaoqi stood in the same place for a while. In a soft voice, he said, “Brother Han, I know you are a good man. I have seen many people over the years, and I have been cheated by others. You have a simple mind, a good heart, and excellent martial arts. I… Please help me.”

Simple in mind, good in heart, Han Changsheng was again stabbed to suffocation by Liu Xiaoqi’s mending knife. He waved his hand wordlessly. “Go ahead, go back, and we’ll talk again later.”