My Years in the Jianghu with the Prince: A Time of Unethical Conduct

Seeing this, the three paused for a moment before slowly stepping into the house. However, the noise they made failed to attract the attention of anyone present.

Shen Yulin's gaze swept across the entire room, and he couldn't help but be secretly startled. Those sitting here were all renowned figures in the martial arts world.

Just then, a clear voice suddenly rang out: "Brother Shen."

The three of them looked in the direction of the voice and found that the person who spoke was the same young master who had stopped Cheng Ruonan on the mountain path.

At that moment, the young master was smiling and waving to them, indicating that they could come and sit down next to him.

"Brother Song!" After realizing what was happening, Shen Yulin immediately led Xie Yan and the other person over quickly.

Upon approaching, Shen Yulin smiled and nodded slightly to the other party, then began to introduce the three of them to each other.

"This is Song Yunzheng, the eldest disciple of Bixia Manor. Brother Song. These two are my good friends whom I had the good fortune to meet during my travels in the martial world, Young Master Xie and Young Master Chu."

Out of caution, Shen Yulin did not directly reveal Xie Yan and Chu Ling's full names.

Fortunately, Song Yunzheng did not seem to care about this, and still had a smile on her face and a gentle expression.

The three greeted each other before sitting down.

Only then did Shen Yulin ask him, "Brother Song, why are there so many seniors in the hall? What happened?"

Upon hearing this, Song Yunzheng's expression gradually turned serious.

He sighed softly and said, "Actually, it's because Senior Cheng Nanchun received a letter."

"letter?"

About six months ago, a series of strange things suddenly happened to the Cheng family.

At first, there was a knocking at the door in the middle of the night, but when the servants opened the door, they found nothing.

Later, the Cheng family would always encounter accidents whenever they went out.

Sometimes it's the truck that's out shopping that suddenly overturns for no reason, and sometimes it's the young masters and ladies who inexplicably fall into the water or roll down the stairs.

However, none of these accidents were fatal; at most, they only caused the Cheng family members some shock and minor injuries.

However, what terrified them most was what happened next—

Several times, when Mrs. Cheng was falling asleep, she would hear a scratching sound coming from the roof.

At first, Mrs. Cheng thought she was dreaming, or that there were mosquitoes or rodents on the roof, so she didn't pay much attention to it.

But gradually, unexpectedly, the sound grew louder and closer.

The sound lingered in her ears until she finally came down from the roof.

Because of this incident, Madam Cheng was so frightened that she fell ill and never recovered.

Faced with this series of strange events, Cheng Nanchun, as the head of the family, was naturally furious.

He even flew into a rage several times at home, severely reprimanding the servants for their incompetence. He also specifically increased the number of people to strengthen patrols and guards throughout the house.

Unfortunately, even so, the Cheng family, including Cheng Nanchun, were still unable to find the real culprit behind these strange events.

And so, the days went by, and the Cheng family lived under the shadow of fear and unease.

Until one morning three days ago, a letter appeared silently on the gate of the Cheng residence.

Upon opening the letter, one finds a line written in blood—

You charlatan, on your birthday banquet day, I will surely take your head.

That's why Cheng Nanchun invited so many guests to his birthday banquet, even at the cost of overshadowing the martial arts tournament, all in order to take the opportunity to seek help from people in the martial arts world.

"Is this really true?" Shen Yulin was quite shocked.

Cheng Nanchun had been famous for a long time, mostly for punishing evil and promoting good, and he was quite well-regarded in the martial arts world. Otherwise, so many people wouldn't have come to his birthday banquet.

Why would someone like this cause trouble in their home and be called a fraudster?

"Yes."

Song Yunzheng frowned and said, "This letter is sharp in its language, and I'm afraid the sender has ill intentions. Senior Cheng is worried that this matter will implicate innocent people, so he wants to prepare a countermeasure in advance, which is why he invited us here to discuss it."

Shen Yulin nodded in agreement, "In that case, we will do our utmost to help Senior Cheng overcome this difficulty."

Song Yunzheng smiled slightly and said, "That's for sure."

While the two were talking, Cheng Nanchun had already returned to the hall and sat back down in the main seat.

His expression was solemn, his piercing gaze sweeping over everyone present, and his loud voice slowly echoed in the hall.

"All of you here are friends I trust. I'm sure you all know why I invited you here today."

He paused for a moment, then suddenly slammed his hand on the table in anger.

"Throughout my life, I, Cheng, have acted with integrity and uprightness, yet I never expected to suffer such humiliation in my old age. If it were only directed at me, that would be one thing, but to go so far as to harm my family! I, Cheng, would like to see who this person is, daring to run wild in my Cheng family!"

His words resonated deeply, and everyone present echoed his sentiments.

"That's right, Elder Cheng, don't worry! With us here, we'll see which villain dares to cause trouble!"

"Old Master Cheng is a chivalrous and benevolent man, renowned throughout the martial world. Who dares to cause trouble? On the day of his birthday banquet, we will make sure he never leaves alive!"

Upon seeing this, a slight smile appeared on Cheng Nanchun's dignified face.

He bowed to the crowd and thanked them, saying, "In that case, I, Cheng, thank you all in advance."

But then a trace of worry crossed his face. "However, since the other party was able to deliver the letter to my Cheng residence without anyone noticing, and even when they caused trouble at home, I didn't even realize it, their ability must not be underestimated. We must not let our guard down."

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere instantly quieted down, and their expressions shifted from relaxed to serious.

Cheng Nanchun's martial arts skills were already among the best in the martial arts world, but even he couldn't find out who was behind the trouble.

This shows that this person must be exceptionally skilled in martial arts, perhaps even as skilled as Cheng Nanchun himself.

Just then, someone suddenly broke the silence, "Speaking of martial arts prowess, I suddenly thought of someone."

Upon hearing this, everyone became curious, and even Cheng Nanchun's expression shifted slightly as he looked at the person who spoke.

"Oh? Tell me quickly, who is it?"

The man cleared his throat, a profound look on his face, and said, "Have you all forgotten? The martial world has been quite turbulent lately."

Someone immediately realized, "You mean the recent theft of various sects' secret manuals?"

These words caused another uproar in the audience.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot about that!"

"It is said that the audacious thief is an assassin from Fengyun Tower named Xie Yan."

"...Could it be that you mean these things that happened in Elder Cheng's family were also done by this Xie fellow?"

Xie Yan, who overheard everything: ...It's me again?