Chapter 4: The Fallen Blade Part 2

“It’s really him!” someone shouted in a panic.

Sang Chencao’s voice was haunting. “Hu Cheng has been missing for years. Before he vanished, he left word that he would return to Pluck the Blossom at the next Hero Recruitment Meet. How strange… the meet hasn’t even begun, and yet here he is, dead.”

Feng Yun’ai found this woman increasingly sinister. While others were gripped by shock or fear, Sang Chencao looked like a spectator enjoying a show, her words laced with genuine interest.

“Hu Cheng… how could Hu Cheng be dead!” another guest cried out. “He was the World’s Greatest Blade!”

Feng Yun’ai stared intently at the needle marks on Hu Cheng’s neck, a chill radiating from her body.

“Hu Cheng was indeed the World’s Greatest Blade. Years ago, he had already Plucked the Blossom, but the Hantian Alliance refused to recognize it because he broke the rules, leaving his opponent paralyzed for life,” Sang Chencao explained, sounding like a walking encyclopedia of martial arts lore.

The men of the escort caravan weren’t martial artists by trade, but anyone tasked with guarding cargo possessed some level of skill and was well-aware of the happenings in the Jianghu.

The lead escort said hoarsely, “We had just crossed the Amber Jade Pass when our dogs caught the scent of death. We dug him out from under the sand. He looked like he’d died recently; the flies hadn’t even found him yet. The body is still intact.”

“Why would Hu Cheng die here?” Sang Chencao mused. “Could it be the needle wounds? With his skill, it’s impossible he lost in a fair fight of blades. It seems he was assassinated.”

Silence fell over the room. Most of the guests in the inn were there to participate in the Cloud City Hero Recruitment Meet. Almost everyone there would have been Hu Cheng’s rival. No one could easily escape suspicion.

Sang Chencao returned to her seat and poured tea to wash her fingers. She spoke slowly to the white-clad woman beside her. “I was wondering why you were acting like a magistrate when you don’t seem like the warm-hearted type. Did you recognize him as the Ghost-Faced Saber from the start?”

“I did not,” Feng Yun’ai denied.

“Or perhaps,” Sang Chencao’s eyes curved, her gaze turning treacherous, “the ‘upheaval’ in the martial world is connected to this. Was he the master you were looking for?”

“I simply happened to see the needle marks,” Feng Yun’ai replied, refusing to say more.

“Well, it seems the World’s Greatest Blade won’t be of use to you. You’ll have to look elsewhere,” Sang Chencao said with a faint, mocking smile, acting as if the life and death of others—and the peace of the martial world—meant nothing to her.

Feng Yun’ai remained silent, her palms slick with cold sweat. She asked in a low, frigid voice, “Who killed Hu Cheng? And where is his blade?”

“That depends on who uses needles and who uses poison.” Sang Chencao flicked the water from her fingertips. “As for the blade… perhaps it’s buried beneath the sands.”

One of the guests spoke up. “While I am determined to win the Hero Recruitment Meet, Hu Cheng’s death has nothing to do with me! I’ve been in this inn for three days and haven’t stepped foot outside!”

Others quickly followed suit, all adamantly claiming that Hu Cheng’s murder was the work of someone else.

This was the World’s Greatest Blade—a man who had a genuine chance at taking the top spot, especially considering he had already won the tournament a decade ago.

Once news of Hu Cheng’s death spread, the martial world would be thrown into chaos. It might even impact the Hero Recruitment Meet itself.

If the treacherous person who framed Hu Cheng managed to Pluck the Blossom and join the Hantian Alliance, there would be no peace left in the Central Plains.

Among the crowd, there were those who had long admired the Ghost-Faced Saber. Seeing his state, one man broke into tears, shouting hoarsely, “I will find the villain who harmed Senior Hu Cheng!”

The man’s eyes were bloodshot and filled with rage. He gripped his sword, pointing it at every other martial artist in the inn, asking in a heart-wrenching voice, “Was it you?”

“Was it you!”

“Or was it you—”

Seeing the man was about to draw his steel, Lin Yaoyao stepped forward. She pressed her fan against the man’s scabbard, her voice stern. “If you want to fight, take it outside. Since this is Hu Cheng’s body, he can stay here in the courtyard for now. I’ll have the waiter find a plot of land outside to bury him.”

The white shroud was draped back over the body. The space previously used for the Shefu items was cleared to make room for Hu Cheng’s corpse.

The crowd sighed in lament. No one could have imagined that the legendary Ghost-Faced Saber, a man who had made such grand vows years ago, would meet such a bizarre and undignified end.

Especially when Sang Chencao added lazily, “The Hero Recruitment Meet only happens once every nine years. It’s a rare opportunity. None of you should let your guard down. I suspect… the assassin is clearing the path for themselves. All of you with your ‘exceptional skills’ are just obstacles in their way.”

Feng Yun’ai stood up abruptly. Behind her white veil, her eyes fixed intently on the woman in indigo.

“Surely you aren’t suspecting me?” Sang Chencao’s eyes flicked upward.