Sword drawn from the constellations, poison as its edge.

Chapter 141 Four Palms Show Their Power
Qiao Feng shook his head slightly upon hearing the leader's words: "Our purpose in coming to Jiangnan is to investigate the true culprit who killed Brother Ma. Now that we have not confirmed that it was the Murong family who did it, how can we talk about letting the tiger return to the mountain?"

The leader of the gang shouted, "The gang leader's argument is rather laughable. Deputy Gang Leader Ma's throat-locking grappling technique is unparalleled in the world. Apart from the Murong family, who used the same method against him, who else in the world can injure him with Brother Ma's own unique skills?"

Upon hearing this, many members of the Beggars' Sect nodded in agreement.

Qiao Feng frowned slightly, while the leader sneered and pressed, "Chief, is this question difficult to answer?"

"ridiculous."

Jiang Mingzhe suddenly spoke, and all the beggars turned to look at him.

Jiang Mingzhe remained calm and stared at the gang leader, saying, "Even when the government is arresting a criminal, they need witnesses and physical evidence to deduce the motive for the crime. You're framing someone based on just a wound. Don't you find that ridiculous?"

The leader's eyes turned cold, and he was about to speak when Jiang Mingzhe waved his hand to interrupt him: "You don't need to waste your breath. Listen to me first. First of all, you said that only the Murong family could kill him with Vice Leader Ma's ultimate skill, which is ridiculous."

He glanced at the beggars and said calmly, "Do you know who the so-called Murong family is now? Look, the two young ladies, A'Zhu and A'Bi, are maids of Murong Fu, the current head of the Murong family. The one surnamed Bao and the one surnamed Feng are two of the four major estate owners under the Murong family. In addition, there are stewards who manage businesses and industries in various places. The only one who is truly surnamed Murong and has mastered the family's inherited skill of using the enemy's own methods against them is Murong Fu."

Bao Butong and Feng Bo'e exchanged a surprised glance, not expecting that their enemy would speak up for their own family.

The leader of the entire branch frowned and said indignantly, "Isn't one Murong Fu enough to kill people?"

Jiang Mingzhe smiled faintly and counted on his fingers, saying, "Recently, the people who have died from their own unique skills, as far as I know, include Sima Wei, the leader of the Qingcheng Sect in western Sichuan; Qin Boqi, the son of the previous leader of the Qin Family Village in Yunzhou; and Ke Baisui, the leader of the Funiu Sect in Henan. There are countless others I don't know. Do you think Murong Fu has grown wings and can fly? Is he busy killing people all over the country?"

The entire leader said, "Unless they died on the same day, given Nan Murong's reputation, his lightness skill must be extremely high, or he must have a steed that can travel a thousand miles a day. What does it matter if they are far away?"

Jiang Mingzhe nodded and said, "If you talk like that, then you're definitely not interested in deducing the murderer's motive."

The leader of the entire sect said, "We are not mind readers, how would we know what he is thinking? Maybe he is just trying to cause chaos in the martial arts world?"

Jiang Mingzhe said, "It's not impossible, but in the end, you still believe that Vice Chief Ma died from his own unique skill, and then conclude that only the Murong family has this method of using the enemy's own methods against them."

The entire leader asked, "Could there be others in the world who possess such abilities?"

Jiang Mingzhe said, "The so-called 'chokehold grappling technique,' as the name suggests, is probably about snapping someone's throat, right? Heh..."

He chuckled softly, and the beggars saw him suddenly disappear from his spot. He flashed twice and was already in front of the entire leader. With his left hand, he deflected the fist that the leader threw, and with his right hand, he directly grabbed the leader's throat.

The beggars' expressions changed. This Master Quan, as an eight-bag elder, naturally possessed extremely strong martial arts skills and was also shrewd and capable. If he weren't a bit young, he might have been a nine-bag elder.

However, such a person was completely powerless against Jiang Mingzhe.

It's hard to say whether Jiang Mingzhe ambushed him. Jiang Mingzhe was at least four or five zhang away from him just now, and he arrived in the blink of an eye. Even a hidden weapon wouldn't be that fast.

The four nine-bag elders shouted in unison, "Show mercy!"

Jiang Mingzhe laughed and said, "I'm holding back. Don't you understand what I mean? If you didn't see me make the move, could you tell from the corpse whether I used a chokehold grappling technique or not?"

Qiao Feng said in a deep voice, "Brother, you don't know this, but my second brother Ma's throat-locking grappling technique has a unique way of applying force. It only crushes the enemy's throat bone, leaving no other parts unharmed."

Jiang Mingzhe said, "Alright, I've never seen this skill before. So, Brother Qiao, if you kill Deputy Chief Ma by simply crushing his throat, would people think it's a throat-locking grappling technique?" Qiao Feng nodded and said, "Yes."

Jiang Mingzhe asked, "Can the four elders do it?"

The four men looked grim, and all nodded slowly.

With the entire leader's throat being squeezed, Jiang Mingzhe, though not exerting any force, also felt short of breath and said with difficulty, "Vice Leader Ma is highly skilled in martial arts. The four elders may not be able to defeat him, let alone... deliberately squeezing his throat."

Jiang Mingzhe shook his head and said, "Are you pretending to be stupid, or are you really stupid? Since Deputy Chief Ma is highly skilled in martial arts, do you think it's easier for an acquaintance to kill him, or for Murong Fu to kill him? Besides, who says that killing someone necessarily requires physical force? Couldn't we get him drunk first, or use some kind of sleeping potion to incapacitate him?"

The four elders were startled upon hearing this. They exchanged glances and nodded in agreement, all thinking to themselves: "What this person said is quite right. Old Ma has no suspicion of his own brothers. If we really wanted to harm him, we could easily succeed."

The entire leader roared, "You're talking nonsense and trying to sow discord! My Beggars' Clan brothers value loyalty above all else. How could we harm our own brothers? Besides, you yourself said that many masters have recently died from their own ultimate moves. Are they all fighting amongst themselves? Some of their ultimate moves are unique internal energy techniques. How can that be faked?"

Jiang Mingzhe suddenly released him and laughed, "What you said makes sense. You Beggars' Clan members are indeed very loyal and righteous. You are unwilling to harm your own brothers, but you are willing to make things difficult for your leader. Ah ha, so the leader is not considered a brother."

Quan, the leader, said, "What do you know? This is a very important matter!"

Jiang Mingzhe waved his hand and said, "I am an outsider and have no intention of prying into the secrets of your gang. Let me answer another question you asked first. Some people's special skills are unique internal energy. How can outsiders pretend to be like that? Hehe, Brother Qiao, the four elders, and this Master Quan, I presumptuously showed off my skills. Please forgive my shallowness."

After saying that, he turned around, found an exceptionally large apricot tree, drew his sword, and cut off four pieces of bark the size of washbasins from top to bottom before sheathing the sword.

He laughed and said, "The Beggars' Sect's Dragon Subduing Palm technique is renowned throughout the martial arts world. I have never practiced any palm techniques, so I am clumsy and will really make a fool of myself."

Having said that, he activated the Northern Darkness Transformation Technique, slowly and deliberately striking out four palms, each striking a barkless tree trunk. Then he laughed and said, "Please watch, everyone."

Qiao Feng stepped forward first, followed closely by the four elders. The leader of the entire branch also came over, and many other members couldn't help but step forward to watch. Gasps of surprise rose and fell, along with a few suppressed exclamations.

On the topmost of the four barkless tree trunks, there was a charred palm print, clearly the result of extremely intense internal force.
The second piece had frost condensed on the tree trunk, which was an extremely cold palm force similar to the Xuanbing Palm.

On the third tree trunk, a palm print is deeply embedded in the tree, some even an inch deep. What's remarkable is that the edges of the palm print are incredibly clear, as if cut by a knife. Only the most powerful and sharp palm force could create such a mark.

The fourth tree trunk was unremarkable, without a trace of its shape. Qiao Feng thought for a moment, then stepped forward and gently grabbed it. Wood chips flew up, as the tree trunk had already been smashed to pieces, yet it did not dissipate in the slightest. It was a palm strike of extreme softness and gentleness!

Bao Butong and Feng Bo'e also squeezed in to watch, and after watching, they were horrified and speechless.

Qiao Feng exclaimed happily, "Good brother, with your skills, learning any palm technique will be a piece of cake!"

Jiang Mingzhe smiled and looked at the entire gang leader, saying, "I'm not showing off, I just want you to know that Chief Qiao is unwilling to easily conclude that Murong Fu is the murderer because he is more knowledgeable than you and knows that there are actually many possibilities for the death of your Deputy Chief Ma. Alright, is what I'm saying clear enough? Now please continue your rebellion."

After saying that, he took a step back, adopting a spectator's stance.

Unexpectedly, Bao Butong and Feng Bo'e also came over. Bao Butong said, "You broke my arm, so I can't bow to you anymore, but you helped my young master get out of the injustice. Our Murong family will remember this kindness."

Feng Bo'e said, "If you ever need my help in the future, just give me a call, and I'll go through water and fire for you. If you utter even a single word of complaint, I'm no longer just a gust of wind in Jiangnan!"

(End of this chapter)