Chapter 269: Chapter 269: The Treasure Appraisal Convention

Finally, the treasure appraisal conference officially began.

Two boxes were brought forward. When the first box was opened, the Jiuxuan Stone prop was passed around for everyone to examine.

However, when the second box was opened, it was empty inside.

The Jiuxuan Stone had been stolen!

Immediately, Qi Le enlisted the help of another NPC present, County Magistrate Yun Feiyang, hoping he could investigate the matter.

Yun Feiyang promptly ordered that everyone present was now a suspect, and no one was allowed to leave Xiahan Town until the truth was uncovered.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the first round of evidence collection begins now. You may search freely within the guest rooms on the second floor of Xiahan Inn and Mantang Inn, but no other areas," he declared.

The landlady of Mantang Inn, Little Yu, conveniently stepped in at this moment.

The group, hearing this, immediately scattered chaotically in all directions.

"Husband... ahem, my dear, why aren’t you searching for evidence?"

"What’s the rush?"

Xiao Fei waved his hand dismissively.

"The evidence isn’t going anywhere. Let’s wait a bit."

Taking Tang Yuxin with him, Xiao Fei headed to Mantang Inn and found the landlady, Little Yu, behind the counter.

"Madam, may I ask you something?"

"Sir Qi, what would you like to know?"

"I’d like to know when the guests of Mantang Inn arrived today."

A murder case, huh...

The perpetrator would definitely need a motive... and time.

Oftentimes, clarifying the timeline for each suspect’s movements can reveal key clues.

Even though no murder has occurred yet, and they don’t even know who the victim might be, it didn’t stop Xiao Fei from gathering this information.

Little Yu looked at Xiao Fei in surprise.

Clearly, Xiao Fei had touched upon an important point.

She smiled and replied, "This involves the privacy of our guests, but Sir Qi is a distinguished figure in our town, so I will tell you everything I know."

"The first person to check in at Mantang Inn today was Miss Li Qing. She arrived at three in the afternoon and has been sleeping in her room since."

"The next arrivals were Master Yun and Guard Ji, followed by County Captain Dai Zhao."

"After that, it was you and your wife. Finally, two martial artists with swords and sabers checked in."

"Thank you, Madam."

Xiao Fei cupped his hands in a gesture of thanks and turned to Tang Yuxin. "My dear, let’s go."

"Mm."

The evidence collection process wasn’t particularly noteworthy.

Xiao Fei and Tang Yuxin found various items in the guest rooms they searched.

In Jiang Liangyu’s room, they discovered a *Book of Sword Casting*; in Fan Yafu’s room, they came across a *List of Victims* and a manual titled *The Jiuxuan Sword Must Drink the Blood of the Monthly Birthday Sacrificial Victim*.

And so on... various findings.

By the end of their search, Xiao Fei had pieced together most of everyone’s identities.

"This script... is too simplistic."

He sighed.

To be honest, he was a bit disappointed.

"Husband, why do I feel like you don’t seem very excited?"

"I’ve already figured out most of everyone’s identities. What do you think?"

"Ah...!?"

Tang Yuxin stared at Xiao Fei in disbelief. She had been with him the entire time and knew everything he had uncovered. So how did he manage to connect the dots while she remained clueless?

"What? What do you know?"

"Are you sure you want to sacrifice the immersive experience and let me spoil everything for you?"

"Emm..."

Tang Yuxin hesitated for a long time, but ultimately, her curiosity won out.

"Say it, say it, husband!"

"Alright then..."

At this, Xiao Fei began explaining in detail.

"Let me start with some confirmed points. Based on my observations of the script, Jin Ruowu is determined to obtain the Jiuxuan Stone, though I don’t know why."

"In his search for the Jiuxuan Stone, he once sent men to annihilate the entire Jiang’s Blacksmith Shop family in Xiahan Town, believing they had clues about the stone..."

"Hmm? Wife, your expression... Don’t tell me you were one of the people he sent?"

"Pfft...!!! No, I wasn’t! I wasn’t involved! Husband, stop making things up!"

"Heh..."

Seeing Tang Yuxin’s reaction, it was pretty clear that he had hit the mark.

"Ugh... waa..."

Tang Yuxin covered her face, feeling utterly mortified.

In front of others, she could easily maintain her icy and elegant composure. But in front of Xiao Fei, that façade broke down within seconds.

She instantly reverted to her doe-eyed, innocent self.

"Ugh... Who told me to stop thinking entirely when I’m around you, huh?"

"It’s all your fault, husband!"

By the end, Tang Yuxin shot Xiao Fei an annoyed glare.

"Ahem... haha, let’s continue."

"The Jiang’s Blacksmith Shop was wiped out, but Jiang Liangyu’s room contained a *Book of Casting*. If my guess is correct, Jiang Liangyu is likely the blacksmith’s daughter. The shop wasn’t completely eradicated..."

"Either you missed someone, or you deliberately let her go."

"Husband, you’re amazing!"

Tang Yuxin gazed at him with admiration.

"You’ve completely unraveled my script. Hehe..."

"I feel like spilling all of my script to you..."

"Oh, whatever, it’s fine. According to the script, I’ve already fallen hopelessly in love with you, so it doesn’t matter if I tell you everything. Actually, my main goal this time is to kill Jin Ruowu and free myself from his control."

"Now, let me tell you something else."

"Our female friend is already dead—and the Qi Le we’re seeing now is most likely possessed by Yu Ji."

"Yu? What? Huh? What’s that!?"

"First!"

Xiao Fei raised one finger. "Three months ago, Qi Le fell ill and almost died. When she recovered, her personality drastically changed—she became a completely different person."

"Second, earlier, I deliberately bad-mouthed Xiang Yu to test her. Qi Le’s reaction was extremely intense, which was unusual. Unless she’s Yu Ji herself, anyone would be upset hearing their husband insulted."

"Oh, right..."

Tang Yuxin pondered thoughtfully.

"If someone insulted you, husband, I’d probably fight them to the death."

"But how did you figure it out?"

"I mean, what tipped you off, making you bad-mouth Xiang Yu to provoke her?"

"Just a tiny... little observation."

Xiao Fei slyly flicked Tang Yuxin’s forehead. Instead of getting angry, this silly girl happily leaned in, cuddling against him.

"Following this line of reasoning, Qi Le suddenly views Wan He in a different light. Wan He is either Xiang Yu reincarnated or someone very close to him in the past."

"But I’d bet on the former. Remember, when we changed outfits, the jeweler specifically prepared a spear for Wan He..."

"That’s not something a jewelry shop owner would normally provide."

Although Xiao Fei spoke casually, in truth, these small details had gone unnoticed by everyone earlier.

It was only after Xiao Fei pointed them out that Tang Yuxin realized their significance.

Her eyes sparkled as she gazed at Xiao Fei and suddenly blurted, "Husband, if you ever turned to crime, you’d definitely give the police a headache."

Bam!

Xiao Fei immediately flicked her forehead again.

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