Chapter 144: To See the Saber Is to See the Man

Hearing Li Shun speak in such a manner, Zhou Zhi thought to himself in secret: What is going on here? This quack Taoist priest usually has a knack for swindling and deceiving people, so has his brain been kicked by a donkey today? His IQ is completely offline. If I have been struggling for so long against such a moron, wouldn't that make me utterly pathetic?

Could he really deny that Tan Yunxian had ever been to Baiyue Village? Are those three bandit chieftains really that easy to fool? If the three chieftains were still to believe his words after this, they would simply have to be brainless.

However, how could Zhou Zhi possibly understand Li Shun's thoughts at that moment?

In order to completely sever any connection between Zhou Zhi and Tan Yunxian, Li Shun simply went ahead and claimed outright that Zhou Zhi had never even laid eyes on Tan Yunxian. By doing so, not only would Zhou Zhi's previous claim of being acquainted with Liu Liu be invalidated, but even the third chieftain, Big Man Wang, would abandon any possibility of sparing Zhou Zhi out of gratitude for Tan Yunxian saving his life.

The turn of events exceeded Zhou Zhi's expectations, yet it was moving in a direction far more favorable to him. Zhou Zhi rejoiced inwardly, but on the surface, he put on an expression of utter dismay and panic. Seeing this, Li Shun was overjoyed and grew completely certain that his argument had left Zhou Zhi utterly speechless.

Upon seeing Zhou Zhi's expression, the supreme chieftain, Ma Qianli, immediately believed Li Shun's words, convinced that everything Zhou Zhi had just said was sheer fabrication.

He could not help letting out a cold laugh, saying, "Well, young Zhou Zhi? The Immortal Master has already exposed your lies just now. Do you still intend to quibble?"

Zhao Sui had remained silent throughout, merely casting a cold gaze at Zhou Zhi. His eyes swept over Li Shun from time to time, attempting to discern from their expressions whose words were false. Noticing that Zhou Zhi appeared somewhat flustered, Zhao Sui guessed something was amiss and felt a wave of secret regret.

In truth, he dearly hoped that what Zhou Zhi said was the truth, as this might expose Li Shun's true colors. Yet Zhao Sui also knew very well that, regardless of the veracity of Zhou Zhi's claims, Zhou Zhi had no way to prove whether Tan Yunxian had ever visited Baiyue Village. Could they really dispatch someone seventy or eighty li away to Baiyue Village just to find out the truth?

Given that Zhou Zhi was merely an insignificant nobody, coupled with the mindset of the supreme chieftain Ma Qianli, it was obvious Ma Qianli would never do such a thing. After all, he had always held an unwavering and profound trust in Li Shun.

To Zhao Sui's utter astonishment, however, Zhou Zhi cast a look of extreme contempt toward Li Shun and lowered his head to nudge his own chest. Evidently, he had something hidden inside his robe, but could not retrieve it because his hands were bound.

Understanding what Zhou Zhi meant, Zhao Sui stepped forward and thrust his hand straight into Zhou Zhi's tunic.

Standing to the side, Li Shun was momentarily stunned, and then hurriedly blurted out, "Second Chieftain, be careful! This brat is full of tricks. Watch out for whatever he has hidden in his robes that might harm you."

"Heh, you damned charlatan!" Zhou Zhi said coldly. "Naturally I have something in my robe, and once it's brought out, the truth will be clear as day!"

Zhao Sui's hand groped inside Zhou Zhi's tunic and indeed drew out an object—a small knife with a broken tip.

Upon seeing this, Li Shun immediately gloated, "See? This brat has a knife hidden on his person, which shows how crafty and treacherous he is. It is a good thing the Second Chieftain did not untie him."

Zhao Sui was also startled. He waved the gleaming little knife right in front of Zhou Zhi's face and said, "Brat, it isn't that I refuse to spare you; you brought this death upon yourself!"

The fact that Zhou Zhi had a concealed dagger in his tunic infuriated Zhao Sui, for it meant Li Shun had guessed correctly.

Yet right at that moment, the third chieftain, Big Man Wang, looked alarmed. He stood up, strode over in two or three steps, snatched the small knife from Zhao Sui's grasp, and inspected it closely. He could not help repeating, "This is truly Doctor Tan's belonging! For Doctor Tan to give such an item to you shows just how dearly she must have cherished you!"

Wang Man had seen it clearly: the characters "Tan Yunxian" were distinctly engraved upon the knife's handle. There was no doubt this was an item used by Tan Yunxian.

Because she had grown fond of and admired Zhou Zhi at the time, Tan Yunxian had gifted him a scalpel with a broken tip. Although it was not a terribly significant object, Tan Yunxian had remarked that Zhou Zhi might find a use for it in the future. Though she never explicitly stated how he should use it, Zhou Zhi held Tan Yunxian in such high reverence that he never parted with the little knife.

As an itinerant physician, Tan Yunxian had saved countless patients. Many of those patients felt an immense sense of gratitude toward her, and a great many had laid eyes on her scalpel. As the saying goes, "seeing the knife is like seeing the person herself"; by bestowing this blade upon Zhou Zhi, Tan Yunxian was, in effect, handing over her vast network of connections to him.

While the influential officials and wealthy elites within Tan Yunxian's network were admittedly very few, such connections were countless throughout the rural countryside.

Observing Big Man Wang's reaction, Li Shun immediately deduced that something was amiss. Nonetheless, he flicked his horsetail whisk, narrowed his eyes, and said dismissively, "A small knife missing its tip—how can this possibly prove it was something used by Tan Yunxian? That is far too far-fetched! Brother Big Man must not let himself be casually fooled!"

Big Man Wang was simple-minded, but unlike Ma Qianli, he did not hang on Li Shun's every word, nor did he harbor the deep aversion that Zhao Sui felt. He simply held an attitude of utter indifference toward Li Shun.

Hearing this now, Big Man Wang could not help saying coldly, "This is the little knife used by Doctor Tan, and she never gives her knives away lightly. Had she not held Brother Zhou in high esteem, she would never have parted with it."

With that, he ignored Li Shun entirely and turned to Zhou Zhi, saying, "Since you are someone held in high regard by Doctor Tan, you are consequently a friend of mine, Big Man Wang! Hmph! I nearly fell for this Daoist priest's slander and took your life. Fortunately, my eldest brother thought things through and wanted to see you before killing you.

It is well now; at least I, Big Man Wang, have not ended up committing an injustice against Doctor Tan."

As he spoke, he swiftly and efficiently untied the ropes binding Zhou Zhi. Unlike Zhao Sui, he was free of complicated motives; since he intended to save Zhou Zhi, he naturally refused to pander to anyone else's opinions—even the supreme chieftain Ma Qianli could not command his deference on this matter.

By this point, Li Shun was completely petrified on the spot.

Was he expected to keep arguing that this knife was not a gift from Tan Yunxian to Zhou Zhi, but something Zhou Zhi had picked up somewhere? That would be altogether too brazen and absurd.

Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that Tan Yunxian would actually leave Zhou Zhi with a token of remembrance.

Regrets flooded his mind as he silently berated himself for his carelessness and overconfidence. He had always assumed that manipulating these three bandit chieftains would be mere child's play, but now it was clear things were not nearly so simple!

Once Big Man Wang untied Zhou Zhi, he gave Zhou Zhi's shoulder a light, affectionate punch, showing clear fondness for him.

Since Zhou Zhi now possessed irrefutable proof, his earlier claim of being acquainted with Liu Liu and being his sworn brother could no longer be false.

Zhao Sui grew exceptionally warm toward Zhou Zhi as well, declaring, "As the saying goes, since Brother Zhou is Elder Liu Liu's sworn brother, he is naturally a brother of mine, Zhao Sui. How could I, Zhao Sui, refuse to acknowledge that? Come, quickly fetch a chair for Brother Zhou to sit down!"

Given the several instances in which Baiyue Village had been plundered—though Zhou Zhi knew the bandits had only acted under Li Shun's instigation—they had nonetheless committed those deeds of murder and arson, and Zhou Zhi naturally harbored deep hatred toward them.

Yet in order to make his escape as swiftly as possible, he still had to deal with them and put up a show of false civility. Of course, if he could utilize the bandits' hands to deal with Li Shun right then and there, that would be the best outcome of all.