Above the Great Dao
Chapter 393 - 194 Martial Arts Truth_2

Chapter 393: Chapter 194 Martial Arts Truth_2

Xia Mingdong sneered, "I should take matters into my own hands, to avenge my sister!"

Yan Wang gritted his teeth and said, "Let him be arrogant for a few days; when the day of vengeance comes, we’ll properly torture him!"

He hesitated for a moment and then asked, "So, should we continue with the plan to invite him for a meal tomorrow, to welcome and cleanse him from his journey?"

"Yes!"

Governor Xu said sternly, "Even if there is deep hatred, it must be buried in our hearts. If we need to laugh and jest, we shall laugh and jest, without showing the slightest hint of animosity."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

At that moment, another spy came to report, "Governor, outside the Chen Mansion, someone is monitoring Master Chen."

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked.

Could it be that besides them, someone else was also surveilling Chen Shi’s every move?

And who could this person monitoring Chen Shi be?

The next day at noon, Governor Xu laid out the feast and sent for Chen Shi to invite him to the banquet, only to have the messenger return alone, saying, "Sir, that Chen fellow is insolent. He told the maids that he is going into secluded cultivation and will not see any guests during this time."

Governor Xu bore it patiently and told the officials, "If Chen Shi isn’t coming, we should still eat and drink as planned."

On the third day, Governor Xu sent another invitation, but Chen Shi still did not appear, remaining in seclusion.

The fourth and fifth days were the same.

Governor Xu became angry, "Did this Chen fellow come to the city just to go into seclusion?"

Imperial Censor Xia said, "He hasn’t gone out these days. Could it be he’s playing with women?"

However, the spy reported that Chen Shi was indeed in secluded cultivation, refining his Golden Core.

On the eighth day, Chen Shi remained in seclusion, and Governor Xu and the others had grown tired of concerning themselves with him, saying, "Has there been any movement from those people monitoring Chen Shi?"

The spy replied, "Four of those individuals are staying in an inn directly opposite the Chen Mansion, each in their room. They’ve been there for eight days without any activity. There’s also a woodcutter who comes to sell firewood outside the Chen Mansion every day, as well as a peddler selling goods nearby, attracting many children. My subordinate has seen a scholar frequenting the teahouse to drink tea, a stranger’s face, likely also one of those watching Chen Shi."

"What sort of people are they?" asked Governor Xu.

The spy shook his head, "I don’t know. By their accent, they seem to come from Yudou."

"Keep investigating."

The spy left.

On the ninth day, the spy came to report, "Sir, two of those monitoring Chen Shi are dead."

Governor Xu was startled, "How did they die?"

The spy answered, "Last night, the Nascent Souls of the two individuals from the inn emerged and sneaked into Chen Mansion, where suddenly lightning struck, killing their Nascent Souls. This morning, there was a commotion in the inn, with talk that two guests had died suddenly. The forensic doctor came to examine the bodies and declared they died of sudden death, and preparations were being made to take them away for cremation."

Governor Xu asked, "Why would there be thunder last night all of a sudden?"

"The maid said that Master Chen was painting talismans in the study and accidentally ignited a Five Thunder Talisman, killing the intruders’ Nascent Souls," the spy conveyed.

Governor Xu pondered, "Did he do it on purpose, or was it an accident?"

"That, I do not know."

Governor Xu ordered him to investigate further, and another day passed. The spy came back to report, "Sir, that woodcutter who often appeared near the Chen Mansion has died." ƒrēeNovelFire.com

Governor Xu exclaimed in disbelief, "How did this woodcutter die too?"

The spy replied, "He was peddling firewood outside Chen Mansion, carrying over a hundred pounds on his shoulder. He stumbled unexpectedly, and a stick of firewood pierced his chest, killing him on the spot."

Governor Xu was profoundly shaken and angrily questioned, "What was his level of cultivation, that he could be killed just by a stick of firewood?"

The informant said, "A forensic doctor examined the body and this is what he said. As for his cultivation... Bao Tixing went to see him, pressed his forehead, and said that this person was a skilled practitioner of the Nascent Soul Realm; his Heavenly Gate had opened, and the bones in his head had all softened, allowing his Nascent Soul to easily come and go."

"A skilled practitioner of the Nascent Soul Realm, killed by a stick of firewood?"

Governor Xu asked, "Do you believe that?"

"Your subordinate does not believe it."

"Neither do I!"

Governor Xu chuckled and said, "Those who were surveilling Chen Shi must certainly not believe it either. Chen Shi must have mixed a piece of firewood infused with his own Mana among the others, and when the woodcutter was caught off guard, he activated that piece of firewood and stabbed him to death with it. With his skills of transforming weapons into birds, he could do it. Those who watch him, dying by the day, one or two at a time, the rest are definitely going to fall apart. Either they can’t help but make a move on Chen Shi, or they’ll retreat because of it. I wonder what they’ll do... Go and investigate again!"

He had lost interest in whether Chen Shi came to dine or not, but he was quite intrigued by the measures Chen Shi took against those surveillants; he really wanted to know what these people and Chen Shi would do next.

"The Child Scholar of ten years ago, his talent ranked first among the fifty provinces, stunning the world. Ten years later, Chen Shi seems like an old Demon who kills without blinking an eyelid."

Governor Xu laughed and said, "I wonder, how will he cause these people to die unexpectedly? They came to watch Chen Shi, but it’s like Chen Shi is the one watching them now; they can’t hide anything from Chen Shi’s eyes and ears."

At that moment, he heard the clear chirping of birds and his expression changed slightly as he looked toward the bird perched in the trees outside the window.

Are the birds in the government office truly just birds?

Governor Xu had planted numerous informants in the Chen Mansion; could it be that Chen Shi hadn’t planted his own spies in the government office?

Perhaps, at this very moment, Chen Shi was transforming weapons into birds, hiding within the treetops and the flowers, secretly watching him!

Governor Xu steadied his mind, realizing that this move was akin to Divine Skills, a specialty of Cold Mountain Wanderer; the Xu Family had not been taught this, yet Chen Shi had learned it and developed it further!

"Sir, another person has died at the tavern," reported the informant.

Governor Xu quickly asked, "How did he die?"

"The cause of death is unknown."

The informant hesitated for a moment then said, "Your subordinate observed that person’s Nascent Soul Emergence. The Nascent Soul had just flown out of the tavern when it suddenly disappeared. Then someone in the tavern died. Your subordinate saw... in the alley below the tavern, a bitch appeared out of nowhere, and right as the man died, she gave birth to a litter of puppies. One of the puppies spoke human words, then was beaten to death; people said it was an Evil Spirit..."

"Excellent tactic!"

Governor Xu inhaled sharply, muttering to himself, "Truly an excellent tactic! If those guests from Yudou don’t make a move, they will one by one fall to Chen Shi’s schemes! If I were them, under such terrifying pressure, I would definitely be unable to resist moving against Chen Shi!"

He smiled slightly and said, "I am very curious to see if they can restrain themselves!"

He changed into casual clothes and went to a tavern directly across from the Chen Mansion, took a seat by the street on the first floor, ordered a few dishes, warmed a pot of wine, and while drinking, watched the commotion outside on the street.

After a while, a woman in a red dress with a frosty expression descended from the tavern and proceeded to the street below.

At the same time, even though the street vendor’s stall was surrounded by children, the vendor ignored them, leaving his stall in haste. Meanwhile, in the tea house across the street, a scholar put down his book box, finished the tea in his cup, and from his sleeve, he took out ten coins and placed them on the table, standing up so abruptly that he nearly bumped into the tea Doctor, as he hastened out of the tea house.

"Guest, you haven’t taken your book box!" the tea Doctor called out anxiously.

"I’ll come back for it later!" the scholar replied without turning back.

He joined the street vendor, and together they headed this way, walking side by side with the woman in red. The three crossed the street and headed straight for Chen Shi’s residence.

In a flash, the trio leapt up and soared over the wall of the Chen Mansion, landing on the ground.

As soon as they landed, they saw Chen Shi sitting in the courtyard surrounded by trees and walls, each adorned with a talisman. Besides Chen Shi, there was no one else in the courtyard.

"You are quite impudent to break in unannounced. The Master said, ’Without learning proper etiquette, one cannot establish oneself.’"

Chen Shi gently stroked the sharpened bamboo at his side and said with a smile, "If you don’t learn proper manners to show me respect and barge into my home, then there’s no need for you to stand in this world!"

The scholar shook his head and said, "Chen Shi, you’ve misunderstood the Master’s words! The saying means that without learning etiquette, one cannot find one’s place..."

Chen Shi chuckled and replied, "You have failed to grasp the Master’s martial spirit, you’ve only acquired superficial knowledge. My interpretation is the true Martial Arts Truth of the Master!"

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