Chapter 320: The Strange Duan Rui
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
In the hall that Elite-gathering Gang used for discussions, there were six chairs. In each sat Six Fan School’s Governor Arrester Wang, the hero Lin Baozhi, the Sha family Elder Sha Wanhao, the city’s legend Dou Wutong, a high-ranking master on the Ranking List of Young Masters, Killing Blade Su Meng, and Huanhua Swords Sect disciple Qi Zhengyan.
In front of them stood Elite-gathering Gang’s various Elders and disciples who were split into two groups. The ones leading them were Great Senior Xiao Liang and the sect leader’s legitimate son Huang Huafeng respectively. They were both glaring furiously at a young man standing in the middle.
The young man seemed strong and good-natured and appeared to be around 17 or 18 years old. His face hid much anger and hatred, and although he raised his head as if declaring that he was unafraid, though hints of anxiety betrayed him. One could tell at a glance that he was a young man with very little experience.
“Your name is Duan Rui, and you were a Shaolin Huntsman?” Meng Qi was the first to speak, inquiring about general matters such as the man’s name and his background.
Meng Qi had already been previously introduced by Sha Wanhao and his identity had been confirmed by Arrester Wang as well. The young man emotionally replied, “Master Su, I am Duan Rui indeed, and I was a Shaolin Huntsman. They’ve wrongly accused me of killing the Master!”
“Wrongly accused?” Huang Huafeng interjected enraged. He then cast his gaze at Meng Qi and huffed, “Young Master Su, my father’s study room is an important place in the sect and has always been the location where secretive matters are discussed. That day, I spotted that evil beast Duan Rui inside there alone with the master, and there were a few Elders and Senior Brothers outside preventing anyone else from entering. After that, that evil beast suddenly dashed out of the study room like a madman. Elder Gu sensed something amiss and took a look inside, only to see my father collapsed in his chair with blood spewing from his mouth and his chest caved in! He was already dead!”
“And he dares to say he’s been wrongly accused?”
Meng Qi listened with a poker face. He thought to himself, “Duan Rui and Huang Huafeng are both highly emotional. They appear to be very sincere about what they’re saying so it seems unlikely that they’re lying. Could it be that there was an assassin hiding in the study room? He waited for Duan Rui to draw attention away from him and then calmly escaped?”
His Supernatural Power of Shaking Heaven and Hitting Earth had improved, allowing him to be even more sensitive to others’ feelings. Of course, if they were adept at concealing their emotions, he would not be able to determine anything, and could only give a rough judgment.
“It wasn’t me! It wasn’t me!” Duan Rui hollered quite agitated. “Master asked me about my recent progress in Kung Fu and praised me for being a rare talent in the sect. He said that if I did well in Kung Fu in the future, I could become the next sect leader. I know that I’m not qualified enough for that and dare not hope for it, so I was about to politely refuse when Master suddenly collapsed face-first into a chair. Then his chest caved in and he started spewing blood, and soon he was gone…”
“That’s absurd!” Great Senior Xiao Liang cut in once again. He looked outraged as he cried, “Young Master Su, Young Master Qi, and present seniors, have you ever heard of something so ridiculous? Duan Rui, did you see the killer?”
“No…” Duan Rui was angry and frustrated, but he gave his honest answer.
Xiao Liang grit his teeth and continued, “After you escaped from the study room, half of us chased after you while the other half searched the study room. The room has no windows, so no one could enter or leave besides through the front door. But apart from Master’s corpse, there was nobody else inside!”
Arrester Wang thought about it for a moment before saying, “Duan Rui, why did you flee back then?”
Duan Rui took a deep breath. “I was born in the countryside and have seen and experienced little. When I saw Master suddenly die and there was no one else in the room, I was horrified and frightened. I couldn’t control my fear at that time so I ran off. I was afraid that a ghost would try to kill me, and was worried that the seniors would wrongly accuse me of the murder.”
His experience in Elite-gathering Gang had groomed him into someone who would not go so far as to speak in a crude manner.
Meng Qi quietly listened and analyzed various possibilities in his head.
Lin Baozhi, the hero, spoke in a low voice. “Then why have you come back now?”
“I am grateful to Master for giving me a new lease of life. How could I possibly miss the first seven days after his passing? And I’ve already understood everything that happened!” Duan Rui stubbornly raised his head.
Sha Wanhao seemed to be fuming with all the anger that had been directed at Black Butterfly the day before. “Then why don’t you tell us what happened!”
Duan Rui grit his teeth. “Seniors and Young Masters, in my haste, I failed to carefully inspect the room to see if there was anyone hiding in there. But the ones who inspected the place afterward should not have returned empty-handed, unless they are accomplices!”
“Master was partial towards me and wanted to hand the position of sect leader to me, resulting in others’ displeasure. That’s why they ended up committing such a treacherous crime!”
Huang Huafeng was so livid that his hands were trembling. “That’s a pack of lies, a pack of lies! You’ve been in the sect for less than two years. How could you possibly be qualified enough to become the sect leader? Father merely praised you a little and you lost your head!”
“Been in the sect for less than two years…” Meng Qi seemed to realize something all of a sudden.
Xiao Liang’s exasperation at Duan Rui turned into a fit of laughter. “Junior Brother Duan, your words are based on something, the allegation that you are not the murderer.”
“Becoming sect leader was your wishful thinking, so you suddenly went mad, killed Master and then escaped. After you calmed down, you came back to slander us. Isn’t this a much more logical explanation than that story you cooked up?”
“It wasn’t me! It definitely wasn’t me!” Duan Rui’s eyes were turning bloodshot. “You guys are the greedy, perverse ones!”
Huang Huafeng cooled down a little and looked at Meng Qi and the others. “He might not have done it for the position of sect leader. Father once told me in private that Duan Rui’s Kung Fu was very unique and he was afraid that his background might bring us trouble. Perhaps Father discovered some secret about you and tried to talk to you about it, but then you cruelly killed him to silence him!”
Towards the end, he started glaring at Duan Rui again.
“I don’t have any strange Kung Fu! It’s nothing more than a body-strengthening exercise. It doesn’t even have moves!” Duan Rui explained frantically.
Meng Qi appeared to be deep in thought as he gazed at Duan Rui. “You traveled down South from Shaolin Temple about two years ago?”
“Yes, Master Su.” Duan Rui was honest to a fault.
Both the timing and location matched. It was right around that time when Zhen Chang had stolen the last set of scriptures… Meng Qi calmly asked, “Why did you travel down South?”
“I lived near Shaolin Temple and hunted in the woods for a living. Because my martial arts were weak, I did not dare go deep into the back mountain. However, one day, a demonic beast from the back mountain suddenly charged out of nowhere! The Shaolin Temple monks failed to rescue the village in time and everything was leveled to the ground. I happened to be out of the village that day talking to my adoptive father, so I was spared.”
“After that, I traveled down South with my adoptive father. Just when we entered River East, however, he suddenly went mad and ran off on his own, leaving me behind. I was unfamiliar with the place and thus became a vagrant who ended up being the target of the Beggar Sect’s evil exploits. That is, until Master found me and saw my value. He helped me out of my predicament and granted me a new lease of life.”
Duan Rui’s tone was full of gratitude as he recounted how his Master had saved him.
The Beggar Sect in that world was different from the ones Meng Qi had read about in martial arts novels. They were not on the right side of the law, but in a grey area. The group was comprised of both law-abiding, helpful members, as well as many evildoers. Actually, after giving it some thought, he decided that it made sense, because how many people could sustain their morals and principles after becoming a vagabond? Unless they had become beggars for the sake of some special Kung Fu.
It could be said that two-thirds of the Beggar Sect were capable of performing any and every act of evil apart from major crimes. However, because there were also brave heroes in the group, their sect had fortunately not fallen to the dark side and become a public enemy.
“The day the beast lost control was around that period of time… right?” Meng Qi mentioned a rough time period.
With Shaolin Temple suppressing the back mountain, it was impossible for demonic beasts and poisonous snakes to lose control. Or in any case, Meng Qi had heard that no such event had occurred for a hundred years when he had joined them.
He was from Shaolin Temple, so when it came to matters concerning it, no one else could intervene.
Duan Rui replied without hesitation. “Yes, I would never forget the day my parents perished.”
Master Su was indeed a man who had abandoned Shaolin Temple! He understood what was going on!
“The events he spoke of are true.” Meng Qi gave a definite judgment.
“Master Su, his background might be real, but his odd Kung Fu is also an undeniable fact! Perhaps he was taught by some Devil during his beggar days?” Huang Huafeng emphasized the holes in Duan Rui’s statement.
Meng Qi was contemplating the very same question as well. “In what way is his Kung Fu odd?”
Huang Huafeng was about to answer when the city’s legend, Dou Wutong, piped up. “Let’s inspect the body before we determine whether he’s the murderer or not.”
“That makes sense,” agreed Arrester Wang.
Hence, the interrogation was put on hold for the moment as several disciples carried the corpse of Elite-gathering Gang’s leader in. The fatal blow had been a hit to his chest indeed, breaking his ribcage and bursting open his visceral organs.
Huang Huafeng loosened the collar of his father’s robes to reveal his chest hidden underneath. There were deep imprints of fists left on the bruised skin.
“Seniors and Young Masters, we will find out who the murderer is simply by checking the fist imprints.”
As he spoke, he placed both his fists against the imprints, proving that they were a clear mismatch.
Meng Qi looked at Duan Rui. “You try.”
Duan Rui took a deep breath and marched over to the corpse. He performed three full bows with his head touching the ground each time before clenching his right hand into a fist and placing it over the imprint.
It was a perfect match!
“Impossible, impossible…” Duan Rui’s body shook violently. All the color drained from his face as his soulless eyes were fixated on his fist.
Out of the blue, he roared and pointed an accusing finger at Huang Huafeng and Xiao Liang. “Was it you guys? You fabricated the fist mark there!”
Upon seeing such a scene, Meng Qi felt suspicious. All the evidence thus far pointed at Duan Rui, but his feelings appeared to be extremely genuine. Could it be that he was some wild Best Male Actor?
“You’re still trying to deny it! All the evidence points towards you! Where the hell would we go to find your fist to make an imprint?” Huang Huafeng retorted, then turned around to address Meng Qi and the others. “Seniors and Young Masters, I’m sure you can see for yourselves who the murderer is. Please allow me to take revenge for my father and kill him!”
Sha Wanhao and the others gently nodded their heads. The truth was already clear to them.
Duan Rui’s face was contorted into a furious expression. He bellowed, “You’re all wrongly accusing me! You’re all wrongly accusing me!”
Meng Qi hesitated before saying, “I have a method that can prove your innocence, but you must let down your guard.”
Faced with people who had close to no psychological loopholes and were constantly guarded, Meng Qi’s Supernatural Power of Shaking Heaven and Hitting Earth, as of now, was not as effective on them. The reason he wanted to use it was to confirm a certain something.
“Master Su, I knew you were a good man!” Duan Rui cried emotionally. “How should I let down my guard?”
Meng Qi was a renowned Jianghu figure, thus when he said he had a method, no one dared to intervene. They all stared at him with gazes of scrutiny, anticipating how he would teach Duan Rui to cooperate.
All of a sudden, they saw Meng Qi’s aura change. It became lofty and towering, vast yet simple. He seemed to have become a god overlooking the changes of life from above.
“Someone with an amazing reputation really does have the ability to back it up…”Sha Wanhao and the others suddenly thought.
Duan Rui was open and relaxed. The tide surged, and specks of gold light began appearing before Meng Qi’s “eyes”.
“Duan, you are a disciple of my sect. I see you as my own son and would like to hand over Elite-gathering Gang to someone as talented as you. However, there is a question that I hope you will honestly answer. Where did you learn your Kung Fu? Why is it so unusual?”
“Unusual…” The young man, who had his head bowed, muttered those words under his breath. Just then, his right fist punched outward, swift but heavy. It squarely struck the sect leader in the chest.
He lifted his head. Both of his eyes were pitch black and his face was twisted into an awkward expression, almost as if he had gone mad. Then, he looked straight at Meng Qi who was prying into his memories!
Meng Qi took a step back. Although he had not suffered the backlash yet, he could no longer sense Duan Rui’s memories.
“Could Duan Rui be suffering from split-personality disorder?”
Why did it seem like he had practiced some kind of demonic art?