Noodle Bun seemed to have a high reputation among the Shaolin Sect players. After he took charge, the others instinctively stepped back, indicating they would follow his lead.
Keeping his usual kind smile on his face, Noodle Bun did not utter a word, but from the changing expressions on the other Shaolin Sect players' faces, it was clear they were discussing something through their team or faction channel. A moment later, Noodle Bun finally spoke again, "Brother Ye Weiming, from what you just said, it seems you also came to investigate the truth about the tragedy at Longmen Escort Agency, and the murderer with extreme cruelty is him!"
While speaking, Noodle Bun pointed at the young man who was dual-wielding and battling seven opponents alone, "This man is Zhang Cuishan, one of the 'Seven Heroes of Wudang'. He resents the Longmen Escort Agency for their poor protection, which resulted in Yu Daidan losing all his limbs to villains. He has a strong motive to kill."
"Moreover, he can compete against three monks of the Yuan generation and four of the Hui generation from Shaolin all by himself, proving his ability to kill. Furthermore, during the crime, he already confessed his identity to Master Yuan Yin... Therefore, Brother Ye Weiming, I must first apologise for my previous rash actions, but we should be on the same side. Aren't we?"
As Noodle Bun finished speaking, the Wudang players led by Yin Bukui became guarded when they looked towards Ye Weiming.
As mentioned before, all players have just been accepted into their factions and the gap between their skills hasn't become obvious yet. The numerical advantage often signifies a disparity in strength.
However, Ye Weiming's situation was somewhat special.
He had completed a high-level mission and looted corpses, which had enabled him to upgrade both his Breathing Technique and Yue Maiden Swordsmanship to level 6. The other players, who had just joined their factions, generally practiced low-level martial arts from their factions. Even though their martial arts were a grade higher than Ye Weiming's, their levels were generally quite low, around 2 to 3.
As for the martial arts they obtained in Novice Village? Sorry, in 'Eternal Chivalry', the power of different martial arts skills does not stack.
Therefore, Ye Weiming, who had been constantly using the despised Jian Swordsmanship, actually had an advantage on today's battlefield. His strength might not be the best among those present, but he was definitely one of the strongest individuals, capable of taking on three or four average players simultaneously.
In addition, his Qinggong, which had surpassed others earlier, had already made an impression. Despite not being capable of forming a third force by himself, his attitude could definitely tip the balance of victory towards either side!
"Brother Ye Weiming," Yin Bukui, following in Noodle Bun's footsteps, changed his form of address and said, "We all arrived at the Longmen Escort Agency with the Fifth Elder. The people at the agency had already been killed by the time we arrived. We can vouch that the Fifth Elder is definitely not the murderer."
"Hmph!" Noodle Bun was not as polite to Yin Bukui as he was to Ye Weiming and snorted disdainfully, "You all call him the Fifth Elder, of course you would side with him."
"You're talking out of your ass!"
"Are you angered out of embarrassment?"
...
In between their conversation, Noodle Bun and Yin Bukui started arguing.
Ignoring their dispute, Ye Weiming turned to look at Zhang Cuishan, who was fighting seven to one, and loudly asked, "Fifth hero Zhang, are you responsible for the tragedy at Longmen Escort Agency?"
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Ye Weiming as if they were looking at an idiot.
Isn't this style of questioning too naive?
Zhang Cuishan proudly declared, "I didn't kill anyone!"
"Alright, I understand!" In the middle of speaking, Ye Weiming took out the token that represented his identity and shouted to the fighters, "I am Ye Weiming from the Imperial Watchdogs, I've been ordered to specifically investigate the tragedy at Longmen Escort Agency. Please hold and hear me out."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Cuishan swung the Judge's pen in his right hand, leaving a clearly visible "Dragon" inscription in the air. The fierce energy forced the seven great masters of the Shaolin Sect back, and he said, "Honorable monks, why not listen to what this officer has to say?"
The seven Shaolin NPCs knew they couldn't defeat Zhang Cuishan in a short time. Despite their sour expressions, they ceased their attacks at the indication of their leader.
Both sides temporarily ceased the fight. The NPC who was leading the Shaolin camp, whilst holding a Zen staff, turned to Ye Weiming and asked, "What do you propose?" He didn't use any form of Buddhist courtesy while speaking; it was rude, even to the point of not identifying his religious title.
This made it apparent that what Zhan Zhao said about the people of the Martial World disliking Imperial Watchdogs was by no means an exaggeration!
As for the other party's attitude, Ye Weiming expressed no displeasure. He simply said casually, "Swordmaster Zhang just said that he didn't kill the people from the Longmen Escort Agency, so I think the Shaolin Sect's assertion that Swordmaster Zhang is the murderer is somewhat rash."
The monk with the staff grew furious at that, "You believe what he says? Is this how constables from the imperial court work cases?"
Ye Weiming maintained a smile and countered, "Isn't your assertion that Swordmaster Zhang is the murderer also because Swordmaster Zhang previously admitted to his identity?"
The monk was momentarily taken aback, but he swiftly resumed, "The entire Dajin clan was murdered, and he happened to be at the scene. How do you explain that? What's more, Huifeng saw him murdering people with his own eyes. How do you explain that?"
"I'm not saying Swordmaster Zhang doesn't have suspicion cast on him, merely that the available evidence is insufficient to determine the murderer." As he spoke, Ye Weiming had already moved to a corpse on the ground, pointing to the dark weapon lodged in the neck, "This escort was killed by a concealed weapon..." Then he pointed at another corpse, "This carrier's neck was broken by a claw, and this escort..."
After more than ten minutes, Ye Weiming had commented on every victim's wounds one by one, finally summing up, "There were 67 people in the Longmen Escort Agency. Most of those with martial arts skills were killed by concealed weapons. A few were killed by palm power, while the old, weak, women, children, and carriers without combat power all died under claw skills."
Everyone nodded at hearing this. Judging from the cause of death, it did not match Zhang Cuishan's martial arts style.
However, the monk with the staff said, "Each sect in the Martial World has its own unique concealed weapon techniques, and Wudang Sect is no exception. As for the claw skills, Yu Daidan's Tiger's Claw is particularly dreaded in the Martial World. Even if Swordmaster Zhang hasn't mastered it, it's hard to guarantee there aren't any practitioners among these Wudang disciples."
In other words, Zhang Cuishan still fulfilled the conditions of the murderer.
Ye Weiming continued calmly, "Firstly, Swordmaster Zhang does not admit to being the murderer, so we cannot factor his previous confession. Secondly, the fatal injuries of the people from the Longmen Escort Agency do not match the style of Swordmaster Zhang, at least not his combat style. Of course, these two points do not completely eliminate the suspicion on Swordmaster Zhang. Whether we say he is the murderer or not, we lack sufficient evidence."
At this point, the monk with the staff spoke up, "That's why we want to capture Zhang Cuishan to learn the truth."
"Here comes the crux of the matter." Ye Weiming shrugged, "Can you do it?"
With a cold grunt, the monk with the staff fell silent. If they could capture Zhang Cuishan, they would have done it already, instead of listening to the ramblings of a constable.
Ye Weiming cracked a slight grin. This was precisely why he could confidently call for an intermission, "Since no one can get the upper hand, why not sit down and talk calmly? If everyone reasoned together, we might find clues we hadn't noticed before."
"Who's there?!" Suddenly, Zhang Cuishan shouted in anger, abruptly stood up, and disappeared into the night with a swift leap using Qinggong, leaving a trail of shadows behind him.
Zhang Cuishan actually ran away!
Seeing this, Ye Weiming became irate - he had taken such pains to defend him, and yet he just slipped away without a thought. Was this no way to abandon one's teammates?
It wasn't only Ye Weiming; even the Wudang players present were stupefied, all of them wearing expressions of desolation, feeling as if they had been abandoned.
It felt as if they had given their all to the other party, only to have met a man as unreliable as a belt with no buckle?