Chapter 161 The Big Boss Behind the Scenes

Early in the morning, Zhu Yu woke up feeling as though he had been reborn. His entire body was covered in the traces of battle, and after this night, Zhu Yu finally realized that it wasn't that he had grown stronger, but rather that Jiang Yuyan had not been serious...

Such painful news left Zhu Yu exhausted both physically and mentally. When eating breakfast, he didn't even react when Duan Yu was nowhere to be seen.

Fortunately, though exhausting, the effects were still remarkable; Jiang Yuyan did not wake up until close to noon.

After lunch, Azhu and Azi made a great fuss, declaring that she had had enough of this small town and wanted to leave.

Hearing this, Zhu Yu chimed in and asked, "Does Brother Qiao have a destination in mind for this trip?"

"Young Master, please just call me Qiao Mou by my name. I am truly unworthy of being called an elder brother by the Young Master. To be honest, Qiao Mou has no destination either. As for revenge, there are currently not the slightest clues, and I can only take things one step at a time now."

Zhu Yu thought Qiao Mou was referring to the leading mastermind. Actually, he didn't really care who became the abbot of Shaolin, but to let the imperial court and Shaolin Temple clash head-on—though the court would undoubtedly win—was still something Zhu Yu preferred to avoid.

Of course, if he had to choose between Qiao Feng and Xuanci, that would be another matter entirely.

Therefore, after pondering for a long time, Zhu Yu could only subtly probe based on Qiao Feng's actions.

"Qiao Feng, although I don't know why you have never asked me who the leading mastermind was, I suppose you have your reasons, and it is not my place to say much. Since you currently have nowhere to go, why not return to the capital with me?"

Upon hearing this, Qiao Feng remained silent for a long moment. First, he agreed to Zhu Yu's request, and then he explained to Zhu Yu that the enemy he wanted to find was the murderer who had killed his mentor and adoptive parents.

Before he finished speaking, Qiao Feng's eyes lit up, and he said urgently,

"Since this person is trying to stop me from finding the leading mastermind, then if I seek revenge on the leading mastermind, will this person inevitably show up?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Qiao Feng gazed intently at Zhu Yu, eagerly waiting for the name of the leading mastermind to come from his lips.

Hearing this, Zhu Yu wanted nothing more than to slap himself across the face. He had truly lifted a rock only to drop it on his own feet. Even so, Zhu Yu still wanted to ascertain certain matters.

"Don't you hate the leading mastermind? Is it solely to draw the murderer out?"

"Hate? If you are referring to the incident at Yanmen Pass, logically speaking, I should feel hatred. But to be honest, I truly harbor no hatred in my heart regarding that matter; seeking revenge is merely an obligation.

However, speaking of the present moment, I certainly do hate him. Because of him, how many people have died miserably, not just my mentor and adoptive parents? Those were men who had lived and died with him outside Yanmen Pass!

Such a cold-hearted and callous wretch—even if there were no grudges, Qiao Mou would certainly execute him upon sight!

However, the murderer of my mentor and adoptive parents remains my number one mortal enemy."

Qiao Feng spoke these words with a natural, heroic spirit, and Zhu Yu could clearly see that both Azhu and Azi nearby had stars in their eyes. Eh? Azi? Forget it, forget it. It's better not to overthink; it tends to cause trouble.

"Since you've put it this way, I'll tell you then. The leading mastermind back then is the current abbot of Shaolin, Xuanci!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was shocked. The abbot of Shaolin! How could that be?

With churning emotions, Qiao Feng took quite a while to calm down before he slowly said,

"Indeed, the abbot of Shaolin. Only this status is worthy of being the leading mastermind. Many thanks to the Young Master for telling me. However, Qiao Feng cannot accompany you to the capital for now; Qiao Mou must make a trip to Shaoshi Mountain."

Qiao Feng paused for a moment after speaking, then continued, "I have one more favor to ask. The Shaolin Temple has numerous masters—truly crouching tigers and hidden dragons. Moreover, my enemy is the abbot of Shaolin, and Qiao Feng has no certainty of escaping unscathed. Therefore, I must ask the Young Master to take Azhu and Azi with you, so that Qiao Feng may have no worries trailing behind."

"Brother Qiao, no! I want to go with you. Even if I cannot help you exact revenge, it would be wonderful for the two of us to die together.

If you refuse, when the news of your death spreads another day, I will follow you anyway. Rather than that, we might as well go together, so that at least we can be buried side by side."

Azhu's deeply affectionate words moved even Zhu Yu, let alone Qiao Feng.

One could see Qiao Feng's tiger eyes moisten as he said with deep affection, "Azhu!"

"Enough! What are you two doing here making a parting of life and death? Are your brains broken? Knowing you will surely die, why still go? Wouldn't it suffice not to go?"

Seeing this scene, Azi was overwhelmed by unacknowledged jealousy. She loudly interrupted their affectionate gaze, though her starting point was good—she couldn't bear to watch Qiao Feng march to his death either.

Yet, upon seeing Qiao Feng's rising anger, Azi hastily whispered, "Avenging oneself doesn't necessarily mean forcefully breaking into the Shaolin Temple. Just lure that guy named Xuanci out and find an opportunity to poison him halfway—how simple is that?"

Though disdainful of Azi's suggestion, Qiao Feng knew she meant well for him, so he didn't scold her, but instead slowly and firmly shook his head.

Seeing this, Azi was on the verge of crying with anxiety. At this moment, Zhu Yu, who bore a strong resemblance to an unwanted third wheel, awkwardly opened his mouth and said,

"I have a conjecture here, Qiao Feng. Would you care to hear it?"

"Young Master, please speak."

"Although I don't go out often, I do know the character of Xuanci, the abbot of Shaolin. Those men who followed him through life and death outside Yanmen Pass back then have steadfastly defended him ever since, which shows that Xuanci's moral character is exceptionally good. Moreover, among the dead were his junior fellow apprentice and the couple Qiao Sankui, who lived a lifetime beneath Shaoshi Mountain."

"You mean...?" Hearing this, Qiao Feng looked somewhat perplexed.

"Xuanci could not have killed them! Or rather, he is definitely not the mastermind behind the scenes."

"How can you be so certain? What if your guess is wrong? What if Xuanci is just some hypocritical, old bald donkey?"

Hearing Zhu Yu's words, Azi protested with some dissatisfaction.

"Azi, stop making a fuss!"

Though Qiao Feng rebuked Azi verbally, his face clearly carried lingering doubts.

Thinking of Xuzhu, Zhu Yu mentally gave Azi's intuition a thumbs-up, but still explained,

"Everything I've said is just my speculation, but this speculation has an extremely high probability of being true. Nobody can deny this, right?"

Seeing Qiao Feng nod, Zhu Yu continued,

"And besides this conjecture, there is another point that can corroborate my theory."

Before Qiao Feng could press for answers, Zhu Yu went on to explain,

"The perpetrator was able to silently slaughter so many long-established martial arts experts of the pugilistic world, which suggests his martial arts are formidable.

Based on this, if this person possesses high martial arts, and if he wanted to protect Xuanci, why would he kill so many people? Wouldn't it have been better to simply kill you directly?"

"This... this..."

Hearing Zhu Yu's words, Qiao Feng was dumbfounded. He didn't know what to say; neither he nor Azhu had ever thought in this direction.

At this moment, upon hearing Zhu Yu's words, instead of experiencing a sudden enlightenment, Qiao Feng felt as though an invisible, giant net was tightly enveloping him.