Martial Saint through Reading-Chapter 73: The Secret of the Mountain Scripture
Hearing this, Chu Ming was already certain: the Blood Evil Sect was closely connected to Madam Chu Family!
This Madam, along with Wu Tian, just like the old Tea Stall Owner, were all Blood Evil Sect members.
Not only that, but there was another person, whose status seemed comparable to Madam Chu Family, named Zheng Guanxi.
Just, he didn’t know what identity this person held.
As Chu Ming was pondering, at the edge of the Sword Gourd Spirit’s coverage, he sensed two presences.
One was familiar—the young girl, and next to her...
Hmm?
Beside the young girl stood a person dressed in black robes, wearing a cold, pitch-black iron mask.
In that instant, the person’s brow suddenly furrowed, his eyes shooting out a sharp gleam.
"Uncle Qee, what’s wrong?" The girl’s voice was still as innocent and childish as before.
Qi Huanrong scanned his surroundings but found nothing unusual. He lowered his gaze to the girl: "Young Master... It seems someone is watching us in secret."
"Watching in secret?" The girl pouted, "Uncle Qee, you’re a Strong Bone Realm middle-stage expert. Who in this little Baiyuan County could avoid your senses and spy?"
"Even that Prison Chief of the Criminal Defense Bureau couldn’t possibly approach you quietly, could he?"
Qi Huanrong pondered, "Young Master is right."
Though he spoke like this to the girl, he didn’t relax his vigilance, constantly staying alert to his surroundings.
...
Meanwhile, Chu Ming was using the environment to swiftly leave the building’s range.
"So powerful, it could sense even the Sword Gourd Spirit..."
Just a moment ago, he was nearly discovered.
"Definitely not Blood Circulation Realm!"
Chu Ming himself had condensed eight streams of Qi Blood, each thicker than usual martial artists, at least twice over; in total, his Qi and Blood Power equaled seventeen or eighteen streams. This was the confidence that let him dare to investigate the Chu Mansion.
When a martial artist condenses twelve streams of Qi Blood, they can attempt to cultivate Strong Bone Realm Techniques, and condense even more Qi Blood to refine their bones.
The person beside the young girl had a very powerful presence; from the feeling he gave, he didn’t seem to be at Blood Circulation Realm.
"Strong Bone Realm..."
His strength should be able to deal with an early-stage Strong Bone Realm martial artist, but just now, that man’s Qi Blood was vigorous—clearly not early-stage.
In the night, Chu Ming slipped back to Wu Tian’s lodgings, sneaking in under cover of darkness. He searched around and found five Silver Notes, worth five hundred silver.
Next, he deliberately damaged the furnishings and furniture, then threw the badge for the guard disguise into a corner, making it look like a guard stole the silver coins and ran.
This way, the guard would be seen as the thief who absconded, and even if Chu Family tried to investigate, it would take them some time.
Finally, he went to the back door, acting flustered in front of several house servants, and left Chu Mansion.
He then found a dark alley to change out of the guard uniform.
This trip to Chu Mansion wasn’t wasted; he confirmed several things.
First, he learned which pavilion Madam Chu was in, and the defenses around it.
If the Blood Evil Sect girl and her companion weren’t in the pavilion, he’d have a real chance to kill Madam Chu Family.
Also, the connection between Blood Evil Sect and Chu Family. From the clues so far, Lady of Chu Mansion was a Blood Evil Sect member.
As for others, like the Chu Family Patriarch—the original host’s father, whether they were connected to Blood Evil Sect, he couldn’t confirm yet.
Chu Ming changed into a porter’s outfit, lowering his head to walk on the street.
To solve Chu Family’s problem, there were two options.
First, increase his strength; condense a few more streams of Qi and Blood Power, and keep inferring cultivation techniques.
At the current cultivation speed, it wouldn’t take long—in half a month, he might be able to condense twelve streams of Qi and Blood Power.
The only tricky part was, he wasn’t sure if the Strong Bone Realm Technique could be inferred in this period.
The second option: use external forces.
The appearance of a Strong Bone Realm martial artist beside the girl was enough to show Blood Evil Sect’s power.
If he wanted to destroy Madam Chu, he couldn’t avoid dealing with Blood Evil Sect.
When he left Liuu Town earlier, he’d told Fang Xiao about Chu Family’s connection to Blood Evil Sect.
With Fang Xiao’s status, the Criminal Defense Bureau should already know.
But Chu Family remained calm; apparently, the Bureau hadn’t acted. Maybe they were still collecting evidence.
Even with jurisdiction over all Baiyuan County, the Criminal Defense Bureau needed evidence to work a case.
Chu Ming’s second option, then, was to add fuel to the fire—to borrow the Bureau’s power.
"Let’s do both at the same time."
...
Yunqi Courtyard, west wing.
Chu Ming sat at his desk. On it was a sheet of paper.
His brows furrowed as he focused on the complex writing—he didn’t recognize a single character.
This paper page was the one from the gallery earlier, given by Liu Sitong and Feng Yuan—the Mountain Scripture page, covered in complex writing he’d never seen before. Beside them were the decoded texts.
"Mountain Scripture..."
If the standard script of Great Qin Dynasty was traditional characters, and Shen Yu promoted simplified characters, the writing on this page was like Oracle Bone Script, pictographs.
Chu Ming couldn’t read them, but with the special effect from Reading, he could guess the meanings from their shapes—though he couldn’t be sure if he was correct.
From his deductions, this fragment described the geography and culture of the Great Qin Dynasty and its surrounding regions.
But it was just an opening fragment, and content too sparse—he was only guessing, so what he got was very broad.
"I drew five Kui Oxen with the Five Eyes Map, which made Liu Sitong and Feng Yuan pay attention to me; one wanted to recommend me as an official, the other gave me this odd text..."
Chu Ming lay over the desk, deep in thought.
"The script the Mountain Scripture uses is like Oracle Bone Script..."
"Oracle Bone Script... Complex Text... pictographs..."
"The power to save thousands of lives...."
His eyes grew brighter.
"Could it be that Liu Sitong and Feng Yuan’s real purpose is to find someone who can decipher the Mountain Scripture—and the Five Eyes Map is their way to test who has the ability to read ancient text?"
"The Great Qin Dynasty is surrounded by Exotic Races watching hungrily; the western Barbarian tribes are always attacking and plundering."
"Kui Oxen resemble the mounts used by the Barbarian Army; being chosen as the test for deciphering the Mountain Scripture’s ability means Liu Sitong and Feng Yuan want to use the scripture to understand the Barbarians..."
"Know the enemy and know yourself—never lose a hundred battles."
"The so-called power to save thousands of lives must mean deciphering the Mountain Scripture."
Chu Ming was sharp-minded, and quickly deduced from these clues.
"Maybe it’s not just Liu Sitong and Feng Yuan who want to decipher the Mountain Scripture, but all Xirong County—even the Great Qin Dynasty!"
...
Baiyuan Academy, Dining Hall.
Second floor private room; seven or eight dishes already laid out, with both meat and vegetables, and soup—a feast by Academy standards.
When these dishes were served, Chu Ming had already used Sword Gourd Spirit to check—no issues.
"Brother Chu, what took you so long?" Ning Hao picked up a piece of meat, giving Chu Ming a half-smile.
"The roads are unfamiliar, got delayed. Hope the two senior brothers don’t mind." Chu Ming ate silently.
"Hehe, Brother Chu, with your memory, bet you only need to walk Baiyuan County once to memorize every street and alley. I think you’re not unfamiliar with the roads, but unfamiliar with something else?"
Liang Yuan wasn’t just half-smiling; he was grinning wickedly.
Something else unfamiliar?
Chu Ming looked up in confusion, "Unfamiliar with what?"
"Keep acting, just keep acting." Liang Yuan stuffed his mouth with food, mumbling, "Able to win over Senior Brother Su Zhe’s own little sister—Brother Chu, that’s impressive."
"?" Chu Ming immediately knew what the two senior brothers were implying.
But he couldn’t be bothered to explain; baseless rumors weren’t worth caring about.
Knock, knock—
At that moment, the private room’s door was knocked.
"Main dish’s here." Liang Yuan heard the sound and went to open the door; the dining hall waiter carried in a whole roast chicken, golden and oily.
"Wow, smells amazing!"
Liang Yuan took the roast chicken from the waiter, put it on the table, and inhaled several times, then eagerly looked at Chu Ming.
Ning Hao also swallowed, looking over with excitement.
Both of them were waiting for Chu Ming to take the first bite.
Chu Ming picked up his chopsticks, ready to tear off a piece of meat for a taste, but next moment, his pupils suddenly contracted.
