I am the villain in the book

#535 - Nine true and one false

Someone has stolen my token.

And this person wants you dead.

...

As Chu Xianping calmly uttered these words, whether Zhuang Zhiming believed it or not, he subconsciously shuddered.

His pupils suddenly contracted, and uncontrollable internal energy surged, causing the tables and chairs to tremble violently.

Zhuang Zhiming stared wide-eyed at Chu Xianping, and after what seemed like an eternity, he squeezed out a question from his throat, one word at a time.

"When... when did that person steal your token?"

"Half a month ago."

Chu Xianping looked at Zhuang Zhiming, a faint smile playing on his lips: "Elder Zhuang, I know what you want to ask."

"And I'm not afraid to tell you, actually..."

"I previously had two Elder tokens."

"..."

"Crack!"

"Bang!!!"

As Chu Xianping's words fell, the pear wood tea table beside Zhuang Zhiming could no longer withstand the high-frequency tremors, and finally shattered into countless fragments.

Splintered wood shot out in all directions, brushing past Zhuang Zhiming's astonished face and Chu Xianping's spotless blue robe, before impacting the wall, leaving small dents.

"..."

The dense, chaotic sounds ceased instantly, leaving only the sound of the wind.

Chu Xianping glanced at the figures quickly dispersing outside, then refocused his gaze on Zhuang Zhiming's ashen face.

"Elder Zhuang, do you need me to repeat what happened at the last Elder Council meeting?"

"..."

"No need."

Zhuang Zhiming took a deep breath, his eyes growing colder: "But how am I to know if what you say is true or false?"

"You say you once had two tokens. The Qingtai Elder's token was stolen. What is the status of the other one?"

"Who currently holds the Qingtai Elder's token?"

"And... that person, why do they want me dead?"

He didn't ask questions like, "How did you discover my identity?" which Chu Xianping clearly wouldn't answer. Zhuang Zhiming's three consecutive questions were all aimed at verifying the truth of Chu Xianping's words.

If Chu Xianping couldn't provide a reasonable explanation or was vague and mysterious, he definitely wouldn't believe such an absurd story.

But Chu Xianping was naturally prepared for this.

The most seamless lies must be mixed with truth.

The higher the proportion of truth, the more difficult it is to expose the lie.

And what Chu Xianping was about to tell was a story that was "nine parts truth, one part lie."

"Elder Zhuang, I presume you have already investigated me."

"But now you should also know that what you found out is not the truth."

"So, let me reintroduce myself."

"Jia-er Branch, White Hall, Chu Xianping."

"..."

He began recounting how he traveled all the way from the White Hall in the far north to Da Ning.

How he "befriended" Xiao Feng, and then how he and Wei Changtian "turned enemies into friends."

How he "met" Xu Suisui, and then how the two "became enemies."

In Chu Xianping's story, almost every "plot point" he mentioned was true.

Except the story didn't include Old Zhangtou, the remnant soul of the Xuantian Sword, or even Wei Changtian.

It only included him—

Kui Long Jia-er Branch, born in the White Hall, Chu Xianping.

"..."

Chu Xianping had carefully considered choosing such an "identity."

To make Zhuang Zhiming believe him, he had to at least be a "member of Kui Long."

To this end, yesterday, Wei Changtian had specifically inquired about the situation of each Kui Long branch from the remnant soul, and even roughly drew a "world map" from it.

Chu Xianping looked back and forth on the map, and finally chose the Jia-er Branch where the White Hall was located.

He wasn't worried at all that Zhuang Zhiming would suspect anything, let alone that the latter would send someone to verify the truth of the matter.

Because the Kui Long branches were almost completely independent, it would be difficult for Zhuang Zhiming to find out anything.

Even if he could, it would take at least a year or two to go back and forth, and by then, the situation in Da Ning would probably have been settled long ago.

So, Chu Xianping openly "borrowed" some of Old Zhangtou's experiences.

After the identity problem was solved, the next was his relationship with Wei Changtian.

Chu Xianping "replaced" the remnant soul of the Xuantian Sword in this part.

Except the remnant soul helped Wei Changtian for "longevity," while he was "for" obtaining the magical technique that Wei Changtian used to kill Second Grade...

Up to this point, Chu Xianping's statement couldn't be said to be seamless, but it could indeed be self-consistent.

He was originally a Kui Long Elder. After arriving in Da Ning, he first became friends with Xiao Feng, then made a deal with Wei Changtian, and had always presented himself as Wei Changtian's retainer, eventually obtaining the second Elder token from the latter.

Although many details were not perfect, it was impossible to say too much in detail, so even if Zhuang Zhiming suspected it again, he actually believed most of it in his heart.

As for the most crucial part, about Xu Suisui...

"..."

"According to you..."

Frowning, Zhuang Zhiming squinted and asked, "Wei Changtian doesn't know about Kui Long?"

"He knows."

Chu Xianping shook his head: "But he doesn't know about the Elder Council."

"No wonder he reacted that way when he first saw me..."

Zhuang Zhiming narrowed his eyes and asked again: "So, you told him that I am the Branch Master of Bing-san Branch?"

"Yes, after all, it was decided at the last Elder Council meeting that you would contact the people around Qin Zhengqiu."

Chu Xianping smiled: "I just casually reminded him."

"I see..."

Nodding, regardless of whether Zhuang Zhiming believed this statement in his heart, Chu Xianping's identity as a Kui Long Elder had been confirmed by him by ninety percent.

However...

"Then how did you know that I am also an Elder?"

"Since you already knew my identity, why did you previously issue orders to me in the name of the Elder Council?"

"Aren't you afraid that I would expose you?"

"..."

"Elder Zhuang, if I had known your identity earlier, how could I have done such a stupid thing."

Forcing a smile and taking a sip of tea, Chu Xianping's helpless expression was extremely realistic: "Actually, I only recently found out that you are also an Elder."

"Is that so?"

Zhuang Zhiming looked over with an inscrutable expression: "How did you find out?"

"I didn't find out. Someone told me."

"Who is it?"

"It's the person who stole my token."

"..."

Zhuang Zhiming's body trembled suddenly, and his breathing became a little rapid.

He stared at Chu Xianping, quietly waiting for the follow-up.

The latter was silent for a few breaths before sighing softly and continuing to speak.

"Elder Zhuang, this person is a woman."

"Alas, I'm not afraid of you laughing at me, but I was actually deceived by her before."

"That's why she was able to steal the Qingtai token from me."

"And next, her target is you."

"..."

Simple words, containing too much information, and hiding too much information.

If Chu Xianping hadn't told the previous "story" and had directly thrown out such a cloudy explanation, Zhuang Zhiming probably wouldn't have believed it.

But now, after basically confirming Chu Xianping's identity, he fell into a long period of contemplation.

"So... this woman is also a member of Kui Long?"

"Naturally."

"She wants to control the Elder Council?"

"Yes."

"How did she know our identities?"

"I don't know."

"Why did she tell you my identity?"

"Because she wanted to trick me into killing you, so she could reap the benefits."

"You didn't agree?"

"Of course."

"Didn't you suspect at the time why she would know these things?"