The Martial Arts World is Full of Experts Chapter 49

136

Zhang Xiaoyuan originally thought she was going to reveal some huge secret about Pei Wuluan, so when he heard the words "cut sleeve", he suddenly felt very disappointed.

What kind of big secret was this? He had known it for a long time.

Your Chief Pei is not only a cut sleeve, but he cuts his sleeve for Mo Wentian, the Demon Sect Master.

Not only that, they also adopted a son together. Your Chief Pei is not only a cut sleeve but also timid and afraid. In short, he's scared of Mo Wentian. Even a cough from Mo Wentian makes him tremble. If this gets out, it's probably more embarrassing than just being a cut sleeve.

After all, there were quite a few cut sleeves in the martial arts world, and Zhang Xiaoyuan knew several. But someone as timid as Pei Wuluan was probably only one person.

Zhang Xiaoyuan sighed deeply and continued crouching, feeding the fish.

On the side of the artificial mountain, Lin Yi showed a look of great astonishment, as if he had heard something that shocked him.

"A cut sleeve?" Lin Yi frowned. "Impossible, just a few days ago, he was clearly flirting with the girl Pei Junze brought back."

Zhang Xiaoyuan paused for a moment, thinking Lin Yi might be referring to Xing Yan.

Yes.

In his eyes, Xing Yan was testing Pei Wuluan, while Pei Wuluan stood on the edge of life and death. One wrong step would lead to being killed by Mo Wentian.

But in the eyes of Lin Yi and Mei Leng'an... the exchange between Xing Yan and Pei Wuluan seemed like a mutual flirtation. Pei Wuluan, the shameless old lecher, was seducing a young girl much younger than him — utterly shameless.

"In front of you all, he naturally has to portray himself like this," Liesel said with a smile, "I believe your Central Plains customs are conservative, and the righteous path wouldn't accept such matters. If such a scandal were to spread, would you still choose him as the chief?"

Lin Yi was momentarily stunned by her question. After a brief pause, he whispered, "There are actually quite a few cut sleeves in the martial arts world."

Liesel visibly hesitated, blinked, and finally asked, "What did you say?"

"It may be a scandal, but not enough to dethrone him as the Martial Arts Alliance Chief. At most, it adds more gossip about him in the martial arts world." Lin Yi sighed. "If we could find out who the other person is... how did you discover that Pei Wuluan is a cut sleeve?"

Zhang Xiaoyuan only caught the first half of Lin Yi's statement.

There are quite a few cut sleeves in this martial arts world?

He relied on his ability to see others' information and read their thoughts to uncover many hidden secrets in the martial arts world. Those secrets, he believed, should be extremely confidential — things the parties involved wouldn't discuss openly. Why would Lin Yi speak so openly about it? Could it be that there were quite a few openly acknowledged cut sleeves in the martial arts world?

Liesel, with an air of mystery, whispered to Lin Yi, "I went into Chief Pei's room and saw clothes belonging to other men."

Lin Yi: "......"

"Those definitely weren't his clothes. Pei Wuluan can't afford such expensive attire. I even picked up and examined the clothes. This particular garment is worth at least a thousand taels of silver, with top-quality perfume worth several thousand taels. Even if Pei Wuluan used all the money from the Martial Arts Alliance, I doubt he'd be willing to spend that much on clothing," Liesel seemed worried that Lin Yi wouldn't believe her and quickly added, "I assure you, I've checked. The letter and the clothes were there."

While the Martial Arts Alliance had fields and shops, most of the income was used to maintain the operation of the Alliance. As the Chief, Pei Wuluan lived a relatively simple life, but that didn't mean he couldn't afford expensive clothes.

Lin Yi was somewhat speechless. He clearly didn't believe what Liesel was saying. He sighed. "Maybe those are Pei Wuluan's own clothes?"

Liesel furrowed her brows and continued, "There's a letter on his desk written to that person."

Lin Yi, now more interested, quickly asked, "Who is the letter addressed to?"

"The letter doesn't mention a name. It's quite short and seems like an apology, but the language is affectionate. The recipient must have a close relationship with him and definitely is a man," Liesel confidently asserted. "There was also a small portrait attached to the letter, presumably drawn by Pei Wuluan for that person."

Zhang Xiaoyuan felt a sudden nervousness. His eyes widened, and he almost forgot about tossing fish food to cover up. He sensed that Pei Wuluan might be in serious trouble this time.

If Liesel knew that Pei Wuluan's beloved was Mo Wentian...

Zhang Xiaoyuan could hardly bear to think about it.

Lin Yi hastily asked, "Who is depicted in the portrait?!"

Liesel fell silent for a moment, heaving a deep sigh.

"I also want to know who that person is," Liesel sighed, "but the drawing is just too ugly. I genuinely can't recognize it."

Zhang Xiaoyuan: "......"

Zhang Xiaoyuan felt that Pei Wuluan might really be in deep trouble.

The repentance letter Mo Wentian wanted to see had only a few vague words, and Pei Wuluan had drawn a terribly ugly portrait for him.

Considering Mo Wentian's temperament, Zhang Xiaoyuan could hardly imagine the consequences for Pei Wuluan.

However, Lin Yi seemed dissatisfied with the result Liesel provided. He appeared to have no desire to continue the conversation. "Keep an eye on Pei Wuluan's movements. It would be even better if you could find something useful around him."

Liesel: "When can I meet the Sect Master?"

Here it is, important information has arrived.

Zhang Xiaoyuan almost held his breath.

Although he felt the affairs of Heavenly Drizzle Pavilion were not directly related to him, he couldn't help but be curious about this mysterious master of Heavenly Drizzle Pavilion. He couldn't fathom which fool had a problem with their head, seemingly eager to offend both the Martial Arts Alliance and the Demon Sect in one go.

Lin Yi replied, "It's not the right time."

As he spoke, apart from the words he uttered, there was no other information above his head. Zhang Xiaoyuan couldn't tell if it was because he couldn't read Lin Yi's mind or if Lin Yi hadn't considered who this "Heavenly Drizzle Pavilion Master" really was. He felt a bit disappointed. Liesel and Lin Yi had finished their conversation. Before leaving, Lin Yi glanced around and naturally spotted Zhang Xiaoyuan crouching by the lotus pond.

Liesel left through a side door in the courtyard, while Lin Yi glanced at Zhang Xiaoyuan for a moment, furrowing his brows slightly. He then stepped towards him.

Zhang Xiaoyuan became even more nervous.

He stared at the lotus pond, pretending to be fully focused on feeding the fish. Lin Yi walked behind him, leaned over to glance at what he was doing, and asked with a kind smile, "Xiaoyuan, what are you up to?"

Zhang Xiaoyuan acted as if he just noticed Lin Yi at that moment, looking slightly startled. When he turned around, he happily said to Lin Yi, "Uncle Lin, I'm waiting for Chief Pei to come back. The big brother guard gave me some fish food..."

He extended his hand to Lin Yi, revealing the handful of fish food he was holding, blinked his eyes innocently, and showed Lin Yi a sincere and naive smile. He said, "Would you like to join me in feeding the fish?"

Zhang Xiaoyuan watched as a line of text appeared above Lin Yi's head.

「Heh, another disciple of Wang Henian.」

Zhang Xiaoyuan: "......"

137

Zhang Xiaoyuan sat by the lotus pond again for quite a while, nearly overfeeding the fish in the pond. Only then did he see Pei Wuluan returning to his quarters.

He hurriedly stood up and approached. Pei Wuluan, noticing him there, seemed slightly surprised. "Xiaoyuan? What are you doing here?"

Zhang Xiaoyuan explained in detail how Cao Zilian, formerly causing trouble at the martial arts conference, now wished to abandon the dark path and join their sect. Pei Wuluan was extremely astonished. He hadn't expected the person who had created a scene at the martial arts conference a few days ago would now be willing to join the righteous path. He appeared somewhat hesitant but nodded. "It's not impossible, but he caused quite a commotion at the martial arts conference recently. Now, he suddenly wants to become Brother Henian's disciple. I'm worried that some people in the righteous path might have trouble accepting it."

Zhang Xiaoyuan didn't understand Pei Wuluan's meaning.

"He needs to show his sincerity," Pei Wuluan said. "You have him write a repentance letter, and I'll show it to others. They'll probably agree once they see it."

Zhang Xiaoyuan: "......"

He couldn't imagine someone like Cao Zilian with that kind of personality writing a repentance letter.

In Cao Zilian's mind, he was afraid he still believed that the arrow he shot at the martial arts conference was incredibly accurate.

But he had come this far, and he couldn't give up easily!

He had already deceived Cao Zilian into agreeing to join, so what was a repentance letter! He just needed to craft some persuasive words, and Cao Zilian would surely agree!

Zhang Xiaoyuan nodded. "Chief Pei, rest assured! I'll deliver his repentance letter tomorrow!"

Pei Wuluan nodded in satisfaction.

After discussing Cao Zilian's situation, Zhang Xiaoyuan was supposed to leave. However, still bearing in mind Liesel and Lin Yi's conversation, he thought for a moment, checked that the guards outside couldn't overhear them, and then lowered his voice, asking, "Chief Pei... Uncle Pei, there's something I'd like to ask you."

Pei Wuluan and his father had been good friends for many years, so calling him Uncle Pei was not out of place.

This was just part of his usual approach — getting a bit closer and making people more willing to talk.

Pei Wuluan was indeed taken aback but didn't find it inappropriate. He even seemed to smile more happily and asked Zhang Xiaoyuan, "Virtuous Nephew, what's on your mind?"

Zhang Xiaoyuan whispered, "Uncle Pei, I'm just curious. If your relationship with Mo... Uncle Mo were exposed, what would happen?"

He felt he had crossed a line with this question, and though curious, he was already contemplating retracting the half-formed inquiry.

Pei Wuluan chuckled. "I'm not treating it as a big deal. If it really gets exposed, I'll just find an uninhabited place and start farming."

Zhang Xiaoyuan felt things wouldn't be so easy.

Mo Wentian, being the Demon Sect Master, was known for his ruthlessness, intimidating everyone. If this matter were to truly come to light, it wouldn't be a significant issue for him. He had long gained a notorious reputation and didn't mind adding another stain to it. However, Pei Wuluan was different. Regardless of the righteous path or the dark path, they wouldn't let him go easily.

Suddenly, Pei Wuluan asked him, "Are you worried that Heavenly Drizzle Pavilion might take some action?"

Zhang Xiaoyuan was taken aback. "I... I am..."

He couldn't reveal that he had overheard Liesel and Lin Yi's conversation, but indeed, he was concerned about Heavenly Drizzle Pavilion.

He had to invent a lie and hastily continued, "That day, Heavenly Drizzle Pavilion laid hands on Big Brother Pei. I'm afraid if they find out about your relationship with Uncle Mo, they might use some dirty tricks to tarnish Uncle Pei's reputation."

"You don't need to worry." Pei Wuluan was somewhat surprised. He pursed his lips, chuckled, shook his head, and said, "They can't stir up much trouble."

Zhang Xiaoyuan felt like Pei Wuluan had misunderstood.

Pei Wuluan thought he was afraid, worried about the chaos Heavenly Drizzle Pavilion might cause, comforting him as if dealing with a frightened junior.

Pei Wuluan paused, reached out, and patted his head, genuinely treating him like a concerned and anxious junior, offering words of reassurance.

"You're a junior. When it comes to matters like Heavenly Drizzle Pavilion, there's me, many elders in the martial arts world, your master and your martial uncle standing in front of you," he said. "It's absolutely not something you have to face."

......

Zhang Xiaoyuan felt an inexplicable sense of gratitude.

He opened his mouth, about to speak, but caught a glimpse, in the corner of his eye, behind Pei Wuluan's side, of a bookshelf seemingly holding a few words.

Although the shelf obscured most of the text, these identity details wouldn't just be casually stuck on a wall. In Zhang Xiaoyuan's experience, there might be a hidden room behind the bookshelf, or at least at this moment, behind that shelf, there was someone.

He forgot the words he was about to say, glancing over in that direction.

The scattered words written there were—

「......Ranked second in the martial arts world......」

Zhang Xiaoyuan: "......"

Could it be Mo Wentian behind the bookshelf?!

Wait, if Mo Wentian had been in Pei Wuluan's room all along, and just now Liesel sneaked in, rummaged around, and even picked up his clothes from Pei Wuluan's room to sniff the fragrance...

Zhang Xiaoyuan was stunned.

"Xiaoyuan? What's wrong?" Pei Wuluan reached out and waved his hand in front of Zhang Xiaoyuan's eyes. "What happened?"

Zhang Xiaoyuan turned his stiffened gaze back.

Not good.

He felt that Chief Pei might really be in trouble.