Xu Xiaoshou's words stunned everyone.
You'd have to completely lack all sense to take what he said at face value.
"What's with the 'If I'd managed to run, Zhao Shu wouldn't have died', eh? Is that something that someone with any sense at all would say?" Zhao Xidong thought, feeling frustrated and exasperated.
He'd known since the group matches that the kid was anything but normal, yet the kid still managed to catch him off-guard all the time.
"Alright, cut the chatter. You two, come with me!"
Yuan Tou started to panic. "I did nothing, man!" he cried inwardly. "What, so now I, a passer-by, has to be punished too just because Xu Xiaoshou said something?"
"Why!?" he asked.
Zhao Xidong gave Yuan Tou a cold look and said icily, "Don't think for a second I didn't know what you people have been scheming. You'd better pray that I don't catch any of you in the act… You won't like what will happen to you if I do.
"By the way, Xu Xiaoshou has a point. Even if you didn't do anything, you were still the first witness to see what happened, and the Spiritual Law Division very much requires your presence."
Yuan Tou was speechless. D*mn you, Xu Xiaoshou!
But then again, he was unable to make a rebuttal to this. Many had seen that he was the first person there when they arrived at the fight.
Even if he were able to weasel himself out of this, anyone with sense would be able to tell that he was lying if he said he'd been attracted by the sword aura like everyone else.
Everyone around looked at Xu Xiaoshou and realized that, despite being the killer, he was actually the victim instead.
Somehow, things felt really weird.
It was a weird feeling about things that one just couldn't place somehow. It felt like a piece of bone was stuck in one's throat, and the feeling was awful.
"Sh**. My brain doesn't feel up to the task right now. Why do I pity Xu Xiaoshou, man? He just killed someone…" Someone voiced their thoughts aloud in the midst of the crowd.
"Stop worrying and just enjoy the show." Some who were familiar with Xu Xiaoshou's antics laughed out loud. "You're worried for Xu Xiaoshou? You really think your brain isn't up to the task? How about you shake it and see, eh?"
"What about it?" That person shook their head.
"You hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"The sound of water swooshing…"
"What the…"
…
The law enforcers had surrounded the two of them.
Xu Xiaoshou glanced at Yuan Tou and said, "So he's gonna show up at the Spiritual Law Division, right?"
Zhao Xidong nodded, not knowing why he was asking him this.
"Not only him. You too," he thought. "And if Zhao Shu was still alive, all three of you would've been going together!"
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
"Very well…" Xu Xiaoshou then fished out a token and said in a hurry, "Elder Sang needs me for something urgent. Could I show up later instead?"
Zhao Xidong was speechless.
He looked at the reddish-black elder token in Xu Xiaoshou's hand and felt like his eyes were about to fall out and roll onto the ground.
"How do you have something like this? Did you steal it?"
"Steal it?" Xu Xiaoshou chuckled and recalled the old fart's weird personality. He then tsked and replied, "You really think I stole it? If I dumped it on the ground right now, would you dare to pick it up?"
Zhao Xidong was rendered speechless again.
"So you do know stuff like that too, eh?" he thought. "Then how come you have something like that with you?"
He recalled that Xu Xiaoshou had also held that token to tell him off back in the library in the afternoon. It was only when they searched for the four in that hut that he'd learned Elder Sang had simply dropped it at the library back then.
So why had this thing showed up again?
Zhao Xidong didn't believe the kid was daring enough to steal the elder's token, but then again…
If he didn't steal it, then what happened?
Su Qianqian and Xiao Qixiu came to mind.
Xu Xiaoshou and Elder Sang…
Impossible!
He whacked himself hard in the head, wondering what the h*ll had happened to him to make him think such absurd thoughts.
"I'm warning you, Xu Xiaoshou. You'd better put this thing back to where it belongs. You don't know what will happen to you otherwise."
Zhao Xidong then lowered his voice, looking stern. "I'm being very serious."
[Warned Passive Points +1]
Xu Xiaoshou took note of Zhao Xidong's good intentions, but that was all he was going to do about it.
"Elder Sang himself gave me this thing," he thought. "Why the h*ll should I return it, eh? This is one h*ll of a protective charm, man!
He'd only gone up to Zhao Xidong to let the other man take a look at it. He didn't want anyone else in the crowd to see it, so he quickly took the token back. He'd made that deal with Elder Sang, after all.
"Thank you, but I really am in a hurry.
"Elder Sang really is looking for me."
Xu Xiaoshou sounded very sincere.
Zhao Xidong's eyes turned cold. "I know that you're the victim here," he thought. "But you're also the killer at the same time. You really think you can just walk out of here just like that? In your dreams!
"Stop protesting. You're coming with me."
Xu Xiaoshou then clapped Zhao Xidong on the shoulder and lowered his voice. "Are the rules very strict in the spirit palace, like 'you'll also have to see the person in question if you see their token' kind of thing?"
Zhao Xidong didn't know what Xu Xiaoshou was up to and simply nodded numbly.
"Of course. No one can break the rules laid down by the Spiritual Law Division." He paused and added, "You dared to kill someone, so prepare to face the music."
"Huff, that should do it, then…"
Xu Xiaoshou then retreated several steps backward, keeping a safe distance. He adjusted his expression and shouted, "Back off! I have business to attend to!"
"Huh??"
Not only was Zhao Xidong dumbfounded by Xu Xiaoshou's shout, but Yuan Tou was very startled as well.
All the law enforcers around were shaken, and even the crowd around was shocked to the core by this display of might.
"D*mn. How can this guy be so fierce? He's really taking that attitude after he just killed someone?"
"Oh, this is something. This is my first time seeing someone dare to speak to Enforcer Zhao like that. Does he have a death wish or something!"
"Xu Xiaoshou… I bow to you!"
[Revered Passive Points +63]
[Cursed Passive Points +77]
That one was probably from the shock.
Xu Xiaoshou noted that Zhao Xidong was still calm enough not to charge across that safe distance he'd put between them, and felt relieved.
"I can work this out!" he thought. "I should sound fiercer. I should display Elder Sang's might more…"
He put a hand to the corner of his mouth, lowered his tone, and said, "That's what he told me just now. Hold him up any longer, and he might just come for you…"
Zhao Xidong was so furious his eyelids started twitching. "Are you playing tricks on me?"
"I'm so gonna…"
"Get lost!" Xu Xiaoshou shouted again, immediately cutting Zhao Xidong off.
Everyone's heart skipped a beat, their eyes filled with nothing but shock.
He did it again?
[Cursed Passive Points +77]
Xu Xiaoshou lowered his voice, looking rather troubled. "He's at it again… I wasn't the one who said that..."
Zhao Xidong was completely stunned, not believing that Xu Xiaoshou would have the guts to talk to him like this. But he also sure didn't believe that Xu Xiaoshou would dare to make up things from Elder Sang like this either.
"But…
"Why do I get the feeling I'm being played here?" he thought.
"I…" he started.
Xu Xiaoshou didn't wait for him to say more, and cut him off with an expression that seemed to say he needed to pee right away. "I can't stay here any longer. If I do, both you and I are gonna get it. I'd best be off, then."
He briefly flashed the token at Zhao Xidong again before running off, afraid that Zhao Xidong would stand in his way again.
"Take your time looking into that guy. He's got a h*ll of a lot to look into!" He then said, trying to steer attention away from him.
Yuan Tou couldn't help but feel frustrated when he saw Xu Xiaoshou run away just like that.
"What's the meaning of this?" he asked. "The killer gest to run off scot-free and I have to stay around?
"Something is wrong with you!"
The other enforcers were also rather dumbfounded. "Umm, Zhao, this isn't…"
Zhao Xidong saw Xu Xiaoshou disappear from sight and felt like he was going to pass out.
"I go**amn know that isn't the way we do things!" he thought. "But what else could I've done?
"Take him down right where he stood?
"What if the kid was speaking truthfully and Elder Sang showed up? Who would've stood up to the elder then?
"Me?
"F**k you!"
He was so furious that his face was trembling. He kept taking deep breaths to calm himself down and lowered his tone. "This is something that involves the elders. We'll head back and let Boss Xiao take care of it."
He glanced at Yuan Tou, then walked away.
"Take the only witness with us. Get going.
"Don't let him escape."
Yuan Tou was speechless.
He started cursing so hard deep down that he felt like he was about to burst.
"You@#%*..."