Great Dao Lord through Deducing Myriad Arts

Chapter 225: Chapter 197: There’s Nothing Wrong with the Eighth Village Chief

"Greetings, Great Village Chief!"

Zhang Ming shouted with immense excitement, then led all the soldiers present to kneel in unison. They pressed their foreheads to the ground, not daring to steal even a single glance.

It wasn’t just him; the other soldiers and lackeys were the same. Some were so overwhelmed with emotion that they collapsed on the spot, unable to even get up.

This was because, in the eyes of the soldiers and lackeys of Cyan Cloud Mountain, Situ Hao was practically a god.

This was especially true since Situ Hao resided in the rear mountains, a place these low-ranking lackeys could never normally reach.

Even Zhang Ming, a trusted subordinate of the Third Village Chief Pan Wei, had only seen Situ Hao a handful of times over the years.

One can only imagine how thrilled they were.

Standing at the very front, Chen Baimei seemed dazed for a moment before she, too, knelt on the ground.

Although she had expected this, her heart still clenched instinctively when she saw the Great Village Chief arrive in person.

After all, given her past actions, if she were exposed, death would be an absolute certainty.

So, even though she knew she had covered her tracks perfectly, Chen Baimei still felt an uncontrollable nervousness.

Of course.

Thanks to her habitually cold and detached expression, this trace of nervousness was well hidden and nearly impossible for an outsider to detect.

Situ Hao sat on a high-backed chair in the command tent, looking down at the sea of kneeling figures. His dignified, square-jawed face was devoid of joy or sorrow, showing no emotion whatsoever.

"Bamei!"

Chen Baimei’s heart skipped a beat. She immediately answered respectfully, "Present!"

"Tell me in detail exactly how your Third Brother and Fourth Brother died," Situ Hao said calmly.

"Yes!"

Suppressing the terror in her heart, Chen Baimei recounted the course of events.

Her story was eighty percent truth and twenty percent lies, all cleverly interwoven, making it impossible to find any holes in her account.

After she finished speaking, she glanced up furtively, anxiously wondering how the Great Village Chief would react.

Situ Hao simply sat there, expressionless, seemingly lost in thought.

After a long moment, he suddenly spoke. "Bamei, including this most recent time, how many encounters have you had with that... Wu Liangchen in total?"

"Th-three times!" Chen Baimei felt a chill run down her spine, the hairs on her arms standing on end.

She knew this was her biggest vulnerability.

"If you’ve encountered him so many times, then how is it that you’ve been so lucky? Why has Wu Liangchen never managed to kill you?" Situ Hao asked bluntly.

The question struck right at the heart of the matter, leaving Chen Baimei struggling to respond.

Fortunately, she had already considered this question. After only a brief moment of contemplation, she shook her head and said.

"It’s because my specialty is archery. This kind of ranged attack is only effective from a distance. So, even though I’ve had several encounters with Wu Liangchen, I’ve always managed to survive by keeping my distance."

At this, Chen Baimei made sure to add, "However, Wu Liangchen’s archery seems to have improved. This last time, I nearly lost my life to his arrow."

"Luckily, I dodged fast enough and only suffered a minor injury."

These words served not only as a reminder but also as a subtle hint to Situ Hao that she had not escaped unscathed—that she, too, had been injured and had come close to death.

But the expression on Situ Hao’s face remained utterly unchanged.

Just then, Zhang Ming, who had been kneeling silently, suddenly shuffled forward on his knees and kowtowed forcefully. THUD! THUD!

"Great Village Chief, this lowly one begs your indulgence to speak a few words. I pray you will not be angered."

"Hmph," Situ Hao grunted softly in acknowledgment.

Zhang Ming then shot his head up and declared with great emotion, "Great Village Chief, I, Zhang Ming, may be a nobody, but I dare to stake my life on it—the Eighth Village Chief is innocent!"

"Oh? And why do you say that?" Situ Hao’s interest was piqued, and he asked with curiosity.

"Because the bond between the Eighth Village Chief and the Third Village Chief was incredibly deep. When Village Chief Pan died, the Eighth Village Chief was beside herself with grief. I witnessed it all with my own eyes; it couldn’t possibly be faked," Zhang Ming said with absolute certainty.

It was merely conjecture born from personal feeling, with not a shred of concrete evidence to back it up.

Nevertheless, the expression on Situ Hao’s face visibly softened, and he gave a slight nod.

"Bamei, I am not trying to cast suspicion on you. This is merely a formality. I had to ask to get a clear picture and put the minds of our brothers at ease."

"Yes, Bamei understands!"

Chen Baimei replied, sighing in relief. Only then did she realize her back was drenched in cold sweat.

"Zhang Ming!"

"Your subordinate is here!"

"From this day forward, you are the Ninth Village Chief of Cyan Cloud Mountain!"

Zhang Ming was stunned for a moment, then began kowtowing, weeping with gratitude. "Thank you, Great Village Chief, for this promotion! Your subordinate is willing to grind his bones to dust for our stronghold and will never shirk his duty!"

Situ Hao smiled faintly, apparently quite satisfied with Zhang Ming’s attitude.

...

West Garden Theater.

By now, over a hundred Martial Artists had gathered there, but the atmosphere was completely different from before. It was incredibly tense.

The title ’Martial Arts Grandmaster’ weighed heavily on the heart of every Martial Artist present, making it hard for them to breathe.

Finally, someone couldn’t bear the pressure any longer.

"Dammit, I refuse to believe this Situ Hao is some invincible god forged from bronze and iron! Even if he’s a Martial Arts Grandmaster, with this many of us, we can wear him down and kill him!"

"That’s why I say we should strike first! Hit him while he’s just entered the city and hasn’t secured his footing!"

All eyes turned to the speaker. It was Han Bin, standing there with a vicious expression, his eyes brimming with killing intent.