### Chapter 9: Speculation

### Chapter 9: Speculation

The man who claimed to be surnamed Xu, whose real name Su Mo did not even know, steadied himself and immediately rolled over to sit up.

His once graceful and distinguished face was now completely disfigured.

Rolling on the ground was never gentle; his nose was bruised, his face swollen, and blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. When he opened his mouth to speak, instead of words, a gush of fresh blood spurted out.

When he looked up again, Su Mo was already standing right in front of him.

"This... can't be..."

He spoke with difficulty, "You, you... unless your internal martial arts have reached the pinnacle, it's impossible for you to ignore this Bone-Eroding Incense!"

"Bone-Eroding Incense?"

Su Mo nodded. "Let's put aside how potent this Bone-Eroding Incense is and how my internal strength stands. How can you be so certain that I've been poisoned by this incense?"

"???"

The man sitting on the ground stared wide-eyed, almost unable to believe his ears.

Su Mo smiled and said, "A master of medicine using poison is said to be unpredictable. Even harmless objects placed around can form the deadliest poison. Since you said I'm cautious, why would I only be careful about the contents of that cup? A guqin and an incense burner may look elegant, but under your malicious intentions, I naturally had to guard against hidden knives in your music and hidden arrows in your sleeves, as well as poison in the incense."

"To be honest, before stepping into this Pavilion of Falling Flowers and seeing that incense burner, I didn't take a single breath."

"In terms of internal martial arts, I have some skill. Holding my breath for a while is manageable."

The man's face drained of color. He had anticipated Su Mo's caution but not to this extent.

His caution covered every aspect!

With such formidable martial skills and such meticulous caution, today's defeat was indeed justified.

He gave a bitter smile. "How did you know I harbored ill intentions?"

"Do you think I'll tell you?"

Su Mo smiled. "Enough of this nonsense. I'll ask you one question. Besides you, does anyone else know about the Mysterious Mechanism Lock and the Great Xuanwu Armory?"

The man's expression was dazed, his thoughts scattered. He didn't grasp the information Su Mo had just revealed and merely gave a sorrowful laugh:

"If you're going to kill me, do it! Why waste words?"

"Very well."

As Su Mo spoke, he turned and struck the man's crown with a palm.

A crack echoed, and the man's eyes instantly lost all focus, lifeless. His body fell to the ground.

At this point, Su Mo showed no mercy.

On one hand, he didn't believe he had the charisma to make his opponent submit and serve him wholeheartedly.

On the other hand, during their earlier clash, the man's meridians were already severed. Even if Su Mo hadn't given him a quick death, he would have only lingered for a short while before dying anyway.

Most importantly...

With the chaos reaching this level, why was there no movement from those hiding outside?

With a flick of his sleeve, Su Mo turned and walked away.

After circling around slightly, he stopped.

In front of him, leaning against a peach tree, was a person with a knife stabbed through their chest, the blade embedded in the tree trunk, dripping blood onto the ground and mixing with the soil.

Su Mo recognized this person...

It was the young man he had brought from the Nostalgia Tower to the Pavilion of Falling Flowers.

Just moments ago, he was still alive and active, but now he lay dead.

Not only him, but after circling the Peach Blossom Forest, there were no bodies strewn everywhere, but everyone was dead, either lying or leaning, all lifeless.

"While I was engaging in a battle of wits with that person in the Pavilion of Falling Flowers, someone outside was killing indiscriminately...

Their method of killing was identical to those in the teahouse."

Su Mo turned and walked back towards the Pavilion of Falling Flowers, pondering as he went. "Today's meeting was clearly aimed at capturing me, obtaining the brocade box, and acquiring my martial arts. However, I also used this opportunity to gather intelligence. Although that person didn't say much, especially at first, most of it was lies.

"But after revealing his true intentions, he did say a few truths.

"Zhou the Cook must be the one who died in the teahouse. As for Hu Piaopiao... unless a man would have such a name, she should be the only woman among them.

"They are after the Mysterious Mechanism Lock in the brocade box, and they act decisively and ruthlessly, allowing no room for error.

"However, their methods suggest they operate independently, indicating ulterior motives.

"But the most important question remains unanswered."

Su Mo's final question to that person was because of Zhou the Cook's death.

Zhou the Cook was dead, and Su Mo easily passed that hurdle. Now, having arrived at the Pavilion of Falling Flowers and resolved the main issue, the minor threats hidden around were also taken care of by someone else.

Clearly, there was another person observing this matter from afar.

"Were they the two people last night?"

Su Mo approached the corpse whose meridians he had severed, studying it closely. "It doesn't seem likely. One of them used a staff, the other a sword. The one with the sword moved like a drawn blade, clearly an expert in swordsmanship. For such a person to use a knife to kill is possible, but unlikely."

"Never underestimate a swordsman's dedication to his sword."

"As for the one who uses a staff... He reeks of alcohol, and these corpses have only just died; there is not a hint of alcohol on them. They should have little to do with these two individuals."

"The person in hiding has killed Cook Zhou and now murdered someone in the Peach Blossom Forest to create a diversion. Could it truly be someone from Wang Xianglin's lineage?"

"Or perhaps... there is another reason?"

"Speaking of which, who exactly is this Wang Xianglin?"

Su Mo’s thoughts reached this point, and as he stared at the corpse, he suddenly remembered something.

Immediately, he put on a pair of deer leather gloves, squatted down, and searched through the corpse. After a moment, his face lit up with joy.

"This is truly a great find."

In his hand now was a stack of silver notes, amounting to over a hundred taels.

"Going out to kill while carrying so much silver—deserves to be robbed after being killed..."

Su Mo carefully examined the silver notes before placing them in his bag and securing them.

As for the other items on the person, he did not touch them. The poisons and antidotes were not labeled and distinguished only by color. Su Mo had no idea what they were, and taking them without knowing their use could backfire.