Chapter 17 Hidden Truth

The village chief laughed and said, "Young friend, your prejudice against our village runs a bit deep."

"Matters of the martial world can be settled with reason, or without. The reason I invited you here is to talk reasonably. Are you keeping me at arm's length because you're afraid to reason with me?"

I had already destroyed one of their buildings and seriously injured two village elders. This couldn't end peacefully without a clear explanation. Besides, I wanted to know why Paper Figure Village kept saying they had a grudge against me. How did this enmity begin?

I sheathed my twin blades. "If that's the case, let's go."

I followed the village chief out of the commercial street, and Paper Figure Village revealed its true nature. Almost every house displayed a sorcerer's mark. The village's name was well-deserved.

Mo Caiwei stayed close to my side the entire way, even in the meeting hall, standing not far from me. The village chief exchanged a few pleasantries before saying, "Caiwei, tell me, what's going on?"

Mo Caiwei recounted the events in detail. The village chief frowned deeply as he listened. When Mo Caiwei finished, he slowly said, "Jiu Ci, is what Caiwei saying true?"

"Yes!" Jiu Ci nodded slightly. The village chief's expression darkened. "Jiu Ci, I have three questions. You must answer truthfully."

"First, where did this idea that Li, the young friend, is an enemy of the village come from?"

"Second, how did you know the exact time of Li, the young friend’s, arrival and prepare in advance?"

"Third, how did you manage to enlist the help of two village elders?"

I raised an eyebrow. The village chief didn't know about Jiu Ci's plan?

I stared at the old man for a long time but couldn't see anything amiss. Jiu Ci hesitated, "I heard about Li Po's arrival from Uncle Hong and the others."

Mo Caiwei's master stepped forward and said, "Jiu Ci was present when Qing Yuan and I discussed welcoming Hall Master Li. We didn't try to avoid him."

The village chief looked at the other person and grunted in acknowledgement. Jiu Ci continued, "The two village elders came on their own. We didn't ask them to."

Mo Caiwei's master added, "Today happened to be Gao and Jin, the two village elders' turn to patrol the village. I believe they heard the fighting and went to investigate."

They weren't lying. Jiu Ci and the others had a detailed plan before they attacked. The two old men's timing and direction suggested they weren't prepared but had rushed into the fight.

Mo Caiwei's master said, "Hall Master Li, I am Hong Xu, a village elder of Paper Figure Village. I believe there is something I need to explain."

"Paper Figure Village is full of mechanisms. When someone attacks the village, we don't need to set up an ambush beforehand. We only need to activate the mechanisms. However, activating the mechanisms requires the village chief's approval. I hope Hall Master Li won't misunderstand."

I cupped my fist towards Hong Xu without saying anything. I was convinced that the ambush was just a plan among the younger generation, and the village elders weren't involved.

The village chief said sternly, "Jiu Ci, answer my third question carefully. If you can't explain yourself today, don't blame me for enforcing the family rules."

Jiu Ci panicked, "Someone told me Li Po has a grudge against the village..."

"Who!" The village chief slammed the table. "Are you still trying to hide it at this point?"

Jiu Ci paled, "It's not that I want to hide it, it's just that... I can't remember who it was! I feel like that person is very familiar, but I really can't remember who it is."

"Hmm?" The village chief glared. Hong Xu quickly said, "Village chief, Jiu Ci has always been one to take responsibility for her actions. If she says she can't remember who it was, there might be a hidden reason. Please calm down."

The village chief suppressed his anger. "Then tell me, what grudge does Hall Master Li have with our village? You can't have forgotten that too!"

Jiu Ci said in a deep voice, "Li Po schemed against the Ghost God Skin Peeler, cutting off the inheritance of our village's Human Skin Tailor lineage. Isn't that a grudge?"

Jiu Ci's words shocked everyone.

My heart sank.

Human Skin Tailor.

Skin Peeler!

How could I not have realized there was a connection?

No wonder the Human Skin Tailor shop was the only one closed on that long street. They hadn't inherited the secret techniques of the Human Skin Tailor.

As the experts in the meeting hall looked at me, the village chief made a gesture to calm them. "Don't be impatient. No one is allowed to be rude to Hall Master Li. We need to discuss things one by one and solve the problems one by one. Right now, I'm asking why Jiu Ci and the others ambushed Hall Master Li. We'll talk about the other things later."

I secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, this old man was sensible.

If he had been led astray by Jiu Ci, he wouldn't have found out the truth and would have made me the target of everyone's anger.

The village chief said in a deep voice, "Yu He, Cook, Carpenter, all three of you come here."

Before the three of them could step forward, someone said, "Village chief, I think we should ask Li Po first."