Why do I have so many masters?

When Wang Anfeng uttered these words, it seemed as if the entire world had fallen silent in an instant.

Eyes turned to rest on the Fire Refining Sect elder's face.

His expression flashed with rage as he bellowed,

"What do you mean by this?!"

Wang Anfeng's demeanor remained calm, not aggressive, but he simply said in a light voice,

"Just curious."

"How Wei Qi could die under the protection of a Sixth Rank expert."

"And how an assailant could kill Wei Qi under the protection of a Sixth Rank expert without leaving a single injury on you, Senior."

"Could it be that you fled out of fear of battle?"

Murmurs and whispers rose around them, creating a noisy backdrop.

The elder's face turned a shade redder, and finally, grinding his teeth, he said roughly,

"I recently acquired some superb materials and have been forging weapons in the Weapon Forging Room every day."

"So until the hour of Chen today, I had not been by the Young Master's side."

"This is my negligence."

Having said this, he glared furiously at Wang Anfeng and raised his voice,

"I have already informed the Sect Leader of this matter through the Iron Feather Eagle, and will be punished within the sect in due course."

"What need is there for your interrogation?!"

Due to the rage in his heart, when he spoke, he inadvertently unleashed his Inner Strength.

The 'Qi' of a Middle Third Rank Martial Artist filled the area, lifting an invisible wave of force, causing the onlookers to turn pale and stagger back, almost unable to breathe.

Beside Wang Anfeng, Mi Xingfa, clad in ordinary Vigorous Attire, took a step forward.

The massive aura dissolved like it was split by a sharp blade three steps from him, and by the time it reached Wang Anfeng, only a gentle breeze remained, lifting the young man's bangs slightly, his expression unchanged as he said lightly,

"May I ask the Senior, who could know?"

The elder was slightly taken aback, then retorted angrily,

"Forging a Divine Weapon naturally requires the exclusion of outside disturbances; how could there be someone to testify?!"

Wang Anfeng pressed on, saying,

"Then, can anyone testify that the Senior hadn't entered Wei Qi's Quiet Room before the hour of Chen?"

The whispering among the Martial Artists grew louder, and with rage in his heart, the elder said,

"The Young Master was healing in seclusion, and no second person should disturb the area within a hundred meters. How could that be proven?!"

"Besides, who do you think you are, that I need to answer your questions?!"

"With your clever arguments, you intend to..."

Before he could finish, Wang Anfeng took a slight step forward.

His eyes slightly widened and his Inner Qi surged through his throat, interrupting the elder's curses as he said,

"Then, who could know?"

"That Senior did not covertly arrange a truce with others, leaving Wei Qi's side unintentionally,"

"To give someone the opportunity to strike in secret!?"

Upon hearing this, the elder looked like he was about to spit blood, his right hand gripping the iron hammer beside him tightly.

If not for the presence of a peer with deep-seated hatred from the Blood Sea, a youthful yet powerful expert holding a long saber and watching like a tiger ready to pounce, he would have already smashed this youngster's brains in with the hammer; however, he could only suppress his anger, gnashing his teeth as he said,

"Slanderer!"

His hair and beard stood on end, and his murderous aura billowed, daunting to behold.

Yet Wang Anfeng's voice remained steady, his eyes fixed on the elder as he spoke softly.

"I have no sores on my lips and am not 'slandering' anyone; no need for Senior to worry,"

"I am just curious as to who could know."

"The command to move the servants away from the Quiet Room came from Wei Qi, not from the Senior, right?!"

"And who could know"

"That Senior did not arrange for others to be around the Quiet Room, to take the chance to commit murder?!"

His voice paused, then he continued softly,

"And who could know?!"

"That before the hour of Chen today, Senior was in the forging room,"

"And not in Wei Qi's Quiet Room, wielding a sharp blade, striking him down?"

Silence enveloped the surroundings.

Only the young man's voice remained calm, as he looked up at the watching Martial Artists and asked with a light chuckle,

"With the Fire Refining Sect's ability to forge weapons, and with the strength of a Sixth Rank Martial Artist, creating a longsword suffused with Thunder Vigor wouldn't be a difficult feat, right?"

The minds of the people from Jianghu first went blank, then they began to understand; if Wang Anfeng were accused of killing Wei Qi, there would still be many doubts, but if this elder made the move, it would resolve many issues and seem much more plausible.

And Wang Anfeng was conveniently the scapegoat pushed forward by this man.

With this in mind, many things could be clearly explained.

For instance, why leave a sword mark and Thunder Vigor wounds after the murder.

Why leave behind various clues?

As for Thunder Vigor...

If you shift your gaze away from Wang Anfeng, then for a great weapon forging sect like the Fire Refining Sect, forging a weapon imbued with the subtle essence of Thunder Vigor would certainly not be a difficult feat.

For a moment, the eyes of the crowd resting on the old man turned rather peculiar.

The old man's face turned pale, and the anger swirling in his chest almost spewed out as blood, but even he had to admit that he couldn't explain the young man's accusation; the gazes of the martial artists of Jianghu around him made his heart suffer greatly. Suddenly, he remembered what Wang Anfeng had just mentioned, his eyes lit up, and he retorted loudly,

"Nonsense!"

"Generation after generation, my family has been disciples of the Fire Refining Sect, how could I do such a thing!"

"And can you even present the slightest piece of evidence?!"

"Otherwise, just as you said to me earlier, no matter what I say, you have a counterargument, but without conclusive evidence, your accusations are nothing more than, nothing more than, a pretext for a predetermined guilt!"

Having said this, the old man was somewhat out of breath, thinking he had made himself clear, only to realize the onlookers in Jianghu became ever more silent, their gazes towards him slightly bizarre.

Meng Yuexue's face now had a slight smile, no longer tense as before.

Just as he was somewhat bewildered, he saw Wang Anfeng step back and his temperament instantly changed from sharp and aggressive to mild and harmless.

His eyes tranquil, he looked at the old man, bowed, and said with a light laugh,

"So it is..."@@novelbin@@

"Senior also admits that his earlier suspicions of me were nothing but a pretext for an accusation?"

"Wha...?!"

The old man choked on his words.

Only then did he realize what he had just said, and his pupils slightly dilated.

He found that he had been led into a trap by Wang Anfeng. If he now opposed and claimed that Wang Anfeng was the murderer, then according to what had been said earlier, he would seem to be the more likely culprit.

But if he said there was no clear evidence to prove he was the murderer and accused Wang Anfeng of fabricating charges, then, given that he, a master of the Fire Refining Sect, could similarly replicate the Thunder Vigor sword wounds, it was equally insufficient to prove Wang Anfeng was the murderer.

Because no one could verify his own whereabouts the previous night either.

If both parties were in such a position, how could one talk about a baseless attempt to attribute guilt to oneself while claiming solid evidence against Wang Anfeng?

This was to openly slap his own face, and the face of the Fire Refining Sect.

The old man's complexion became an interplay of green and white.

For a time, the situation became one of mutual destruction, mutual honor.

If Wang Anfeng was the murderer, then he was even more suspect.

If he wasn't the murderer, then Wang Anfeng was all the more wrongfully accused and trapped.

But this was only the logic of it. With far more experience in Jianghu than Wang Anfeng, the old man knew from the measuring gazes of the surrounding martial artists what they were thinking: it wasn't Wang Anfeng who killed, not even that both were innocent, instead, they suspected that he was the one who killed the Young Master.

Given the speed at which news spread among the martial artists of Jianghu,

by the time the masters from the Fire Refining Sect arrived, the news would probably have spread beyond Fufeng County City.

By that time, even if the masters from his sect, without discovering the truth, would first suspect him, and due to the stance of a great sect, would also have to compensate the wronged Wang Anfeng and conduct further investigations. Continue reading on My Virtual Library Empire

And even if he could clear his name, his standing within the sect would never again be trusted as it once was.

This was all because he had failed to protect the Young Master and, without investigating, he had let slip the news in secret, wanting to catch the 'murderer' first to make some amends.

Otherwise, for such important news, how could it have spread throughout Fufeng in just one day?

This would not only startle the snake in the grass but also potentially scare away the real criminal.

He had only thought that, while the news might have been questionable from the start and would have become distorted with time and repetition—falsehoods becoming truth and truth turning into falsehoods—under the overwhelming tide of public opinion in Jianghu, guilty or not, it would always be 'him'.

He still considered himself as atoning for his mistake, making amends after the sheep had been lost, not yet too late.

How could he then care about the life and death of others?

He had intended it so, but never imagined that he would fall to such a state. The old man's face was now mixed with green and white, while Wang Anfeng, on the other hand, reversed his sword and sheathed it behind his back.

The hair at the back of his neck was already drenched with sweat.

This morning, the gambler Su had mentioned that the danger for Wang Anfeng lay in the fact that only a few close friends knew he was not the doer of the deed, while the people of Jianghu did not know, nor did the Fire Refining Sect in the faraway State City of Fufeng in the west.

Now, they knew.

Wang Anfeng exhaled, smiled, and nodded to the old man.

His expression was warm and courteous as he said,

"Then, senior, I apologize for the disturbance earlier."

"I shall take my leave now."

He then turned towards Mi Xingfa, smiling,

"Thank you for your help, senior. Ah... it's still early in the day, and I imagine you haven't eaten yet."

"How about we go grab some breakfast together?"

"Hmm... I know a great place for pastries, but if senior prefers meat, there are plenty of stalls to choose from, with clear broth, added with spicy condiments and cilantro, utterly devoid of any greasiness, very refreshing, and the homemade baked sesame cakes are delicious."

"Brother Chu, Miss Meng, shall we go together?"

"I'll be treating today..."

Mi Xingfa looked at Wang Anfeng, who was clearly much more talkative than usual, his eyebrows slightly raised, a complete contrast from his previous strategic and relentless demeanor; a slight smile emerged on his cold face.

He nodded briefly, his words succinct,

"Then make sure your silver coins are ready."

Wang Anfeng blinked, weighed his money bag, and laughed,

"Of course, it's enough."

The group departed, and near the Fire Refining Sect, the onlookers who had enjoyed the excitement gradually dispersed, conversing fervently and occasionally disputing. It seemed that in the days to come, the teahouses would have plenty to talk about, with eyes filled with disdain looking back at the old man.

The old man gazed at Wang Anfeng's retreating figure, a heavy melancholy knotting in his chest, unable to contain it. Thinking about what he had done, it felt as though he had brought this upon himself. Waiting for the sect's masters to arrive, he was sure to suffer a great deal, the more he thought, the more resentment and unwillingness welled up, then suddenly he spurted a mouthful of fresh blood and staggered to the ground.

PS: First update...