Chapter 99: Chapter Ninety-Five: Ask for a Hammer and
Get a Hammer (So Nervous-)
Translator: 549690339
The middle-aged man let out a carefree laugh, his face full of mockery. “I hope Pavilion Master Hua can still maintain such righteousness after seeing the real evidence.” The man in the green shirt turned around, loudly addressing the villagers below the steps, “Bring up the body of Xu Lao’er, as well as his widow and child.”
A path wide enough for several people was cleared among the angry crowd. In the distance, two burly men carrying a plank appeared. On the plank was a mummy.
A woman in her prime had swollen, tear-stained eyes. Dressed in a gray mourning gown, she accompanied the two men lifting the plank, a sob constantly escaping her lips. With one hand, she led a child about five or six years old.
“The evidence is here. May they approach the Pavilion?” The man in the green shirt asked Hua Ji.
As soon as Hua Ji saw the corpse, he thought, ‘This is bad.’
He recognized Xu Lao’er. As Pavilion Master of the Star Pavilion, he had kept records of all the warriors who came to the pavilion in the last six months. With his exceptional memory, he remembered all the warriors who had ever worked in the Star Pavilion.
The fact that a warrior who had worked only yesterday was dead today, naturally raised suspicions about the Star Pavilion.
“Pavilion Master, allow them to approach.” Hua Ji said to Ying Hongyuan. Although he was enraged, he knew that no one would believe him if he refuted now. His only hope was to find mistakes in their actions that could undermine their claims.
On hearing this, Ying Hongyuan gave way. He never feared battles, but left this talking segment to those who were better at it.
The two burly men gently placed the plank in front of the pavilion. After showing respect to the men, the woman who turned her head to look at Hua Ji, her eyes full of hatred, her voice shaky with anger, “Give me my husband’s life back.”
The five or six-year-old child was at that age of innocence. He held onto his mother’s leg, glance fearfully at Hua Ji, occasionally looking at the corpse on the plank, seemingly confused as to why his father wouldn’t get out of bed. As the widow was too emotional to tell the story, the middle-aged man took the lead.
“Yesterday, Xu Lao’er had a room in your Star Pavilion, didn’t he? He stepped forward and pointed at Hua Ji, asking sharply.
“Yes.”
“Good, there’s a witness.” The middle-aged man turned to the woman and said gently, “Mrs. Xu, please tell everyone how your husband died.” The woman’s face was full of sorrow, “Yesterday after my husband returned from practicing in the Star Pavilion, he said he was not feeling well and asked me to make some light porridge and small dishes. But before I could finish preparing, my husband passed away on the bed.
As the woman spoke of her sorrow, tears welled in her eyes. Upon seeing his mother crying, the child began to cry too. The woman fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably with the child in her arms, their plight was heart-wrenching.
Hua Ji’s face remained impassive. Since he had determined that they were attempting to slander the Star Pavilion, he felt no sympathy for the widow and the orphan. Instead, he was looking for flaws in their statements.
“What else do you have to say?” Since the woman was sobbing uncontrollably, the man in the green shirt once again spoke on her behalf, pointing at Hua Ji’s nose and asking.
-Absurd!” Hua Ji retorted firmly, “My Star Pavilion has been open for more than half a year, and nearly a thousand warriors have come to work. There has never been such a situation.”
“If there really was anything sinister about my Star Pavilion, why are the nearly thousand warriors who have worked here, all safe and sound? You can ask any of the warriors who have been to my Star Pavilion. Have they had any similar symptoms?” Hua Ji pointed towards the crowd below the steps, confident in his argument.
As the situation at the Star Pavilion getting more and more heated, more and more residents gathered at the foot of the stairs. Many of them had worked in the Star Pavilion, and their presence could attest to the innocence of the Star Pavilion.
Hua Ji believed that the middle-aged man’s biggest mistake was to cause such a big commotion. As long as the former warriors were willing to speak out, their attempts to discredit the Star Pavilion would fall apart.
The man in green shirt scoffed coldly, playing along, “Alright, then 1’11 have to ask whether they are really safe and sound after practicing in your Star
Pavilion.”
The middle-aged man came to the intersection of the platform and the stairs, and shouted to the crowd, “Those who have worked in the Star Pavilion, please raise your hands.”
In the crowd, more than ten arms were raised high, attracting the attention of everyone.
“Shopkeeper Hua, can you recognize if these men have ever worked at your Star Pavilion as warriors?” the middle-aged man asked Hua Ji, openly challenging him.
Hua Ji came over to the middle-aged man’s side and carefully scrutinized the warriors raising their hands. After a short while, he figured it out, “This one here, and the warrior at the far end of the west, and the sturdy man in the distance, they have never worked for my Star Pavilion, please put your hands down.”
The warriors who were named awkwardly lowered their hands and darted out of the crowd with their heads low.
After careful verification, only thirteen warriors remained. Hua Ji turned to the middle-aged man, “All these men have indeed worked at my Star Pavilion, sir. Feel free to ask them if they are unharmed.”
He had never been so thankful for his strong memory.
The opponent’s trick was simply to mix in several warriors who had never worked there and smear the Star Pavilion’s reputation. However, after he pointed them out one by one, this malicious plan was exposed.
The middle-aged man from Qingshan stared deeply at Hua Ji, and asked meaningfully, “Shopkeeper Hua, are you sure all these men have worked at your Star Pavilion?”
Hua Ji nodded, and loudly declared, “I’m very sure.
Having exposed the plot, he exuded unabashed confidence.
The middle-aged man pointed at one of the warriors, and asked loudly, “Answer me, after you trained at the Star Pavilion, how did your Dantian and spiritual energy change?”
This warrior was familiar to Hua Ji. He worked at the docks, and every day at dawn he would try his luck at the Star Pavilion. If he was selected, the reward of ten gold coins was worth three days of tough labor at the dock.
Hua Ji had chosen him twice. The image of the man’s overwhelming gratitude was still in his mind. He was sure the man would stand up for the Star Pavilion. Hua Ji was confident.
“Sir! I’ve trained at the Star Pavilion twice. Each time after training, I felt as if my body was hollowed out. Even carrying bags felt strenuous. It took me more than ten days to recover.” The honest dock worker spoke with an outraged look on his face, as if he had been greatly wronged.
But reality never goes as one hopes. Hua Ji felt dizzy, furiously outraged, and tremblingly raised his finger, his voice trembling with anger.
“You’re lying!”
Hua Ji could hardly believe that the man who had almost knelt in gratitude would say such things.
“Shopkeeper Hua! Please control your emotions. It’s possible his body is uniquely weak. I won’t rely on the testimony of one person alone.” Hearing these plausible explanations, the middle-aged man became seemingly impartial.
As they spoke, the middle-aged man pointed to another warrior and asked him.
-I’ve been to the Star Pavilion once and swore I’d never go again. After training, I felt as if all my spiritual energies were drained. It took several days to recover.” That was a kindly tea house owner. How could he possibly say such things?
The middle-aged man was expressionless as he pointed to another person. -I was on the verge of reaching the peak of the Mortal Realm. However, after a visit to the Star Pavilion, my cultivation level regressed. Three months have passed, and I still haven’t reached the peak of the Mortal Realm. The Star Pavilion is practicing evil methods, return my cultivation level!” “Same for me, my cultivation level regressed after going to the Star Pavilion.” One by one, all thirteen warriors unanimously accused the Star Pavilion of causing significant damage to their cultivation level after each training session.
Every time someone finished speaking, there were gasps from the crowd, which then turned into hateful glances at Hua Ji.
Even the little child being held by the widow, with tears still on his face, pointed at him and said innocently, “Bad man, bad man.” Watching the crowd’s heated emotions, Hua Ji felt dizzy. His heart seemed to have been gouged out. He murmured, “It’s not true, it’s not like this, they’re lying, they’re lying.”
Looking at Hua Ji losing his composure, the middle-aged man took a few steps forward and challenged, “Lying? They are indeed warriors who have trained at your Star Pavilion. They have nothing to do with Xu’s second son.. If it wasn’t for your Star Pavilion’s truly ruthless and venomous tactics, why would they dare to offend you?”
Follow current novℯls on f(r)eewebnov𝒆l