"How can you prove that this is the scroll you sold at the market?"
Li Fan interjected, his tone sharp.
Ikasa smiled at the question as if he had expected it. He evenly answered after taking a brief pause.
"When I sold the scroll, there was no name on it. The adventurer requested me to title the manual 'Ape's Might Body Forging Manual'. It was a very odd request, so I remember it.
The people gathered murmured in agreement. Though frustrating, Li Fan had to accept the answer. He couldn't find a loophole to exploit in the reply.
At this moment, the Old Man proposed another outrageous theory to discredit Ikasa. He knew if he couldn't frame Ikasa for theft, he will be the one to lose his credibility.
"You could've just come up with this explanation after hearing me say the name…"
Ikasa didn't let the old man finish his words. He reached into his robe and pulled out two other scrolls which looked similar to the one sold in the auction.
"This is my proof!" These two scrolls were made in the same batch as the first 'ancient scroll'. He no longer needed to sell them as he earned enough from auctioning the printed manuals in the weekly market.
"Manager Lian, Patriarch Li, please check them and see if they look and feel the same."
Master Jin Ping fumbled for words. He wanted to refute but he couldn't find an opening. So he stubbornly stuck to his accusation.
"It still does not prove that you did not steal this technique!"
Ikasa ignored his chatter and waited for Lian Hua and Li Lei's verdict.
They could tell at a glance that the scrolls were the same in every way except for the name. Though they couldn't agree as their reputations were on the line, the complicated expression on their faces said everything.
Ikasa took that as his cue and rebutted the Old codger.
"Is old age getting to you, Master Jin? If all the cultivation manuals originated from me, that means this technique belonged to me in the first place!"
Then he raised his voice and made a shocking claim.
"You have been accusing me of theft. But in fact, your Lotus Pavilion has defrauded the Li Family by selling them this defective manual!"
His words sounded like a thunderclap. However, the implications stunned the people. The people from Lotus Pavilion stood shell-shocked.
"What? Even the famed Lotus Pavilion can do such things?"
"It was obviously their fault but they dared to frame someone else for their mistakes!"
When these words fell in Li Fan's ears, he heaved a sigh of relief. At least the people were focused on Lotus Pavilion.
Lian Hua and other attendants stared murderously at Ikasa. He knew he couldn't let them stew in their anger any longer.
The stage was set. Public opinion was in his favor. Angered manager Lian Hua needed a vent. All he had to do now was strike while the iron is hot. And Ikasa did just that.
"Although the good name of Lotus Pavilion is tarnished by this incident, This is not the fault of Manager Lian Hua or any other attendant. No, the fault for this incident lies with a single person. Their Appraiser, Master Jin Ping!"
After the tirade, Ikasa pointed his finger at Master Jin Ping.
People present turned to glare at the old man in white robes. The gazes of powerhouses like Manger Lian Hua and Patriarch Li sent shivers down his spine.
The old man turned red from anger and shame. He immediately blew up when the thing he feared came to be!
"Don't go pointing fingers at people, Ikasa! The culprit is clearly you who is circulating these kinds of defective manuals!"
Ikasa laughed derisively at his absurd claim.
"Master Jin, aren't you an appraiser? Isn't your job to differentiate real from fake? Then how did you not realize this scroll was a fake antique!"
The old man's face fell when his flaws were pointed out. Ikasa then addressed the old coot's employer.
"Manager Lian, this old fraudster has relied on half-truths and Lotus Pavilion's reputation to suppress many people."
His voice turned emotional. As if he was narrating a very traumatic experience.
"On the prosperity street, he claimed my manuals were a sham. People naively believed him, since he flaunted his status as Lotus Pavilion's appraiser. Shortly after he had ruined my business, his servant threatened me, asking to hand over the manuals."
His expression turned resolute but his voice touched the crowd.
"He must have oppressed many people, just like me. Please do us justice!"
Lian Hua glared at Master Jin Ping with displeasure.
Master Jin floundered for words to refute. He was so angry and flustered that he couldn't form a coherent reply.
"You said you couldn't use any of the manuals for sale! Since you couldn't use them, why should others trust you and use them?"
Ikasa looked at the people in the crowd. They all seemed to be new faces.
"Did I say that? Don't put words in my mouth, Master Jin! I said, I used one manual and broke through!"
Master Jin stood with gaping jaws at Ikasa's blatant lie. He was going to protest and expose his lies when Ikasa turned to Madame Lian.
"Madame Lian, you are a veteran Path Forger. Please check if the Energy Path in my body corresponds to Dumb Belle's Guide to Strength?"
Ikasa extended his hand to Lian Hua. Her cultivation realm was enough to sense the highlighted energy path, but not enough to discover all the other paths.
She felt his pulse and realized the energy flow was exactly the same as she had found on Li Chun. Sighing in resignation, she declared her findings.
"Yes. His Energy path is indeed the same as that in his cultivation manual."
Madame Lian's declaration started a commotion within the crowd. Stories of how Master Jin had swindled or suppressed them began to be exchanged.
"Once, I brought a jade hairpin to Master Jin for appraisal. He said it was worthless and offered me 2 silver. Later, I saw Xue Family's young mistress brag about buying it from Master Jin for 300 Gold."
"This is nothing! I found some Bullcrab grass in my field. So I brought them to Lotus Pavilion for appraisal. He offered 10 silver per stalk but I refused to sell. Later that night, his servant Xiao Xi, came and forcefully took away all eight stalks."
"He threatened to have me jailed.."
"He ruined my wares because I didn't sell them at the price he wanted…"
Madame Lian grew angrier as she heard a few of the stories the commoners were sharing. This had all been going on under her nose.
"See Madame Lian? This kind of person is a tumor growing on Lotus Pavilion."
Ikasa's words incited the crowd. Their stories grew more and more outrageous.
"I brought my wife to be appraised. And Master Jin said she was First-class beauty and demanded to have one night with her…"
"I brought my son to be appraised and he said he was a once in a century genius. He wanted to enslave him, but I fought with Master Jin and bravely rescued my son!"
Hearing the stories, his lips twitched.
"Everyone, don't you think this kind of person deserves to be put behind bars?"
"Yes, he should be put behind bars!"
"Jail him! Arrest him! Apprehend him!"
Master Jin Ping grew flustered. At the rate things were going, he would be imprisoned for real.
He was still confident in his worth. Manager Lian Hua wouldn't be able to find another individual as knowledgeable as him. She wouldn't be able to discard him.
And that gave him the confidence to threaten Ikasa even in this situation.
"Ikasa, don't go overboard! Don't forget I am the one and only appraiser of Sal City's Lotus Pavilion! Who dares to imprison me?"
Manager Lian Hua exploded with rage when she heard his boastful threat.
"After committing so many misdeeds, you still dare to use Lotus Pavilion's name? Have you no shame? Starting from this moment, Jin Ping is no longer a member of Lotus Pavilion!"
The Old man aged a decade in an instant. His face turned white from fright.
"N-No you can't do this! You won't find anyone as good an appraiser as me… Lotus Pavilion is nothing without me! "
"You still dare curse, you old coot?"
Madame Lian rolled her sleeves and was ready to enter the fray herself.
Ikasa stopped her from recklessly doing something she would regret later. This action emboldened Jin Ping.
"I have done many favors to powerful people in this city. One Lotus Pavilion is nothing. No one can touch my hair in Sal City, let alone imprison me!"
The crazed laughter intimidated the crowd. Even Madame Lian had to accept the truth in his words.
"He probably has other prestigious people backing him."
"Then what will happen to us? We complained against him earlier."
Those who had let their mouths run tried to hide in the crowd trying to make themselves as small as possible.
A cute girl of about six years of age tugged at her father's shivering hand.
"Is there no one who would punish that bad old man?"
Her voice was heard by everyone as the crowd had turned silent. Naturally, the man in question also heard her. He looked towards the girl and with a hideous grin exclaimed, "Ha! no one can touch me!"
"Not even him?"
Ikasa pointed to Commander Du who had just arrived with Xin Ruo. People's eyes lit up with hope. On the other hand, the light in the old man's eyes was replaced with despair.
"Jin Ping, You will be tried before the City Lord for defrauding and coercing the citizens of Sal City."
The old man collapsed to the ground. Even though he was a Veteran Path Forger, there was no way he could fight these many people and still escape.
Commander Du then turned to address the uneasy people who were just threatened by the appraiser.
"Rest assured everyone. This fraudster will spend the rest of his days behind bars and you won't have to worry about anyone seeking revenge on his behalf."
After his reassurance, Commander Du escorted Jin Ping to the City Lord's Manor.
As he watched that old man leave without his arrogance and dignity, Ikasa felt vindicated. He had returned the grudge many folds. Master Jin Ping had only ruined his Business but he had ruined his entire career.
Truly, Reputation is a Double-Edged Sword!
The stronger it is, the harder it is to wield. And when it cuts, it destroys life.