Chapter 63: Who Else But Me? (Part 2)

  "Uncle Xiang, that's what happened. What do you think we should do now?" Shan Tong told Uncle Xiang everything that had happened over the past few days as they walked along the road. Xiao Shouren and Ge Shu Yun remained silent on the side, not saying a word or offering any opinions. Tong Zhan and Bai Qi, however, kept their distance, lagging far behind the merchant caravan.

  Xiao Shouren and Ge Shuyun were also supposed to avoid suspicion, but Shan Tong vouched for Xiao Shouren that he was absolutely not a traitor, so Xiang Shu didn't say anything and agreed to let Xiao Shouren come over to discuss together what to do next and where to go.

  These days, things have been happening strangely. In the middle of it all, there's something that doesn't feel right, but it can't be put into words. However, Uncle Xiang is very experienced and after some thought, he said that maybe there's a traitor in the merchant group.

  Yes! How could those bandits possibly run to the small road they chose to intercept them, and still have such a thorough understanding of their itinerary? Thinking about it gives me the chills. If there isn't an insider, what is it?

  When Shan Tong introduced Xiao Shouren and Ge Shuyun to Xiang Shu, Xiang Shu's eyes jumped straight up. As soon as he heard Xiao Shouren's name, his emotions became uncontrollably excited. When Xiao Shouren saw that Xiang Shu's originally relaxed palm suddenly clenched tightly upon hearing his own name, he knew something was off and needed to leave the Shan family caravan immediately. It seemed Xiang Shu had already seen through his identity. There must be other things going on that he didn't know about. It seems like from now on, he'll have to disguise himself when going out. Before Ge Shuyun returns home, he should learn some disguise techniques from him, which will make traveling the world easier in the future.

  After introducing Xiao Shouren and Ge Shuyun, Shan Tong did not introduce Xiang Shu because he had already called out Xiang Shu's name earlier. Xiao Shouren and Ge Shuyun also followed suit and called out "Xiang Shu". They were of the same generation as Shan Tong, so it was only proper that they should call him "Xiang Shu" too.

  After telling everything that had happened in the past few days, the four of them rode their horses silently, leading the caravan forward without saying a word, each lost in their own thoughts.

  "Xiao Shaoxia, I wonder what impression Xiao Shaoxia has of Lishan Fei?" Xiang Shu suddenly asked.

  "Huh? Lishan Fei? Uncle Xiang is indeed an old Jianghu, I also saw that Lishan Fei has a problem." Xiao Shouren did not expect that Uncle Xiang's eyes were so venomous, and with one glance, he had seen through the key point.

  "Haha, I've been traveling the world for decades, and my eyesight is still good. But you're not simple, Xiao Shaoxia! Heroes emerge in their youth!" After finishing speaking, he glanced at Xiao Shouren's eight hundred men with a flick of his eye.

  Xiao Shouren pretended not to see the small movements of Xiang Shu, and his face showed a joyful expression after being praised.

  "Xiang Shu is overpraising, but ginger is still old and spicy!" Xiao Shouren flattered back.

  "Hehe, Xiao Shaoxia is too modest. A new generation replaces the old, and we old folks should go home and enjoy our retirement. The current world of Jianghu belongs to you young people now. Many old Jianghu veterans have been played around by you young folks." Xiang Shu said with a sigh, stroking his white beard, his words laced with meaning and implication.

  "Hehe, then I'll dare to say something in front of Uncle Xiang." Xiao Shouren deliberately skipped over Uncle Xiang's words and went straight to the point.

  "Good, good, good, refreshing! A Jianghu man should be like this. Just now, pushing back and forth, it seemed like an official from the government office." Xiang Shu didn't give up, one word hadn't come out yet, another word followed to probe.

  "That night, it was dark and Lishi Fei wore a bronze mask, the ferocious mask was really scary, no one had ever seen his true face, only heard him call himself Lishi Fei, so we would think he is Lishi Fei." Xiao Shouren ignored Xiangshu's probe and directly spoke out what he thought.

  "What did you say? What does that mean?" Shuang Tong couldn't help but interrupt after hearing the conversation between Xiao Shouren and Xiang Shu.

  "It's simple, then Li Shanfei must be fake. Li Shanfei is a mysterious figure, no one has ever seen his true face, and those who have are already dead. All that's known is that he wears a bronze mask whenever he comes out to rob. So, anyone can pretend to be Li Shanfei by wearing the same mask." Xiao Shouren explained, but in fact, these were just things that Single Tong had told him, and there was much more that Xiao Shouren saw from the information than what Single Tong had seen.

  "How can Xiao Da Ge be certain that the person that night wasn't Lishi Fei?" Shan Tong still didn't believe that the horse bandit that night wasn't Lishi Fei.

  "I've thought this through carefully, and I have three reasons. Firstly, that night, Li Shanfei's kung fu wasn't impressive at all. Compared to me, he was much more skilled, but he actually fought to a draw with Tong Zhan and Bai Qi, and in the end, he was stabbed by my brother with a short sword and shot by me with a long arrow. This shows that his kung fu skills are not as high as they seem, and it doesn't match the title of the first horse thief's strong martial arts.

  Secondly, did you notice that when they launched their attack, they had a formation? The leader of the horse thieves, who was pretending to be Li Shanfei, could control the entire group with just one whistle. This is clearly a team that has been trained for a long time, not some disorganized horse thieves.

  Thirdly, during the battle, I discovered something strange. That night, none of the horse thieves had bows and arrows or any other kind of weapon, but instead, they all had uniform horse knives. This is inexplicable - how did a group of horse thieves get so many uniform horse knives? And as a horse thief, not having a bow and arrow, which are essential for survival, is unthinkable.

  In conclusion, based on the above points, I have come to the realization that Li Shanfei is fake!" Xiao Shouren said with conviction.

  "Huh? Really?" Shan Tong was confused by Xiao Shouren's words, and he had already believed 70-80% of it, so he turned his head to look at Xiang Shu, hoping for a standard answer.

  Geshu Yun, on the other hand, did not show a shocked expression because she had already heard these words from Xiao Shouren's mouth the day after that night, so hearing them again now was no longer shocking.

  "That's right, Xiao Shaoxia said it makes sense. The part about the bow and arrow at the back, I didn't think of that either. Young master, you should learn from Xiao Shaoxia more in the future." Xiang Shu nodded in agreement with San Tong, indicating he also shared this view, Lishan Fei is fake.

  "It's fake, it's actually fake!" Dan Tong suddenly felt a bit discouraged again, his original excitement almost gone. No one could know what he was thinking at this moment, if they knew, they would really hit the wall.

  The young masters, of course, can't leave their friends behind in their daily lives. They have their own circle, and everyone in it is a young master. Usually, they don't have much serious business to attend to, so they just drink, chat, and brag.

  This time, he was still thinking that after going back, he could gain face in front of his friends, for he had personally experienced the robbery by Lishi Flying Knife and survived. How many people could survive under Lishi Flying Knife's blade? In the end, he even made Lishi Flying Knife return empty-handed and injured.

  Such a loud mouth would definitely make a big face in the circle of those spoiled sons, but it's clear that this beautiful dream was shattered after Xiao Shouren and Xiangshu's conversation.

  "That Lishi Fei is fake, and there's something else you all don't know. I know who the real Lishi Fei is. That day when you were ambushed, the master and I were drinking with the real Lishi Fei! So what you encountered must not have been Lishi Fei!" Xiang Shu really was someone who wouldn't stop until he had shocked people to death, suddenly bursting out a sentence that left Xiao Shouren and Ge Shuyun both greatly astonished.

  "What? You know who Li Shanfei really is? And you're drinking together?" asked Xiao Shouren.

  This little face was already stunned, and Second Uncle actually knew that great thief Li Shanfei, this news was too shocking.

  "That's right, Lishan Fei is really a little-known person, but the Villa Master knows him because they traveled together to learn martial arts when they were young. The code name of Lishan Fei was also thought out by the Villa Master, but in recent years, they have had differences in opinion on some things and their relationship has become much worse." Xiang Shu said slowly.

  "No wonder, no wonder. I don't know who the real identity of that Lishan Fei is anyway." Xiao Shouren muttered to himself.

  "Heh heh, Xiao Shaoxia wants to ask, then ask away. Xiao Shaoxia has great kindness towards our merchant group, towards Young Master, and towards Zhuangzhu of Ju Xian Zhuang. I, Lao Fu, will definitely not speak without knowing." Xiang Shu said.

  "Uncle Xiang, you're being too serious."

  "Where's the severity? If it weren't for your help that night, whether or not we could repel those fake Lishan Fei is a question. You saved the merchant caravan, which means you saved Young Master, saving Young Master means saving Master Zhuang, and saving Master Zhuang means saving Ju Xian Zhuang! Where's the severity?"

  "I don't know if that's really Lie Shan Fei?" Xiao Shouren didn't want to go back and forth with him on this issue, so he simply asked out the doubts in his heart.

  "Shanggu County, Yi County, Wei Daoer!" Xiang Shu also was concise and clear, saying in one breath the true identity of Lishan Fei.

  Wei Daoer, as a child, was very mischievous and troublesome. In his youth, he had been a wandering knight-errant. After returning home, the continuous years of famine made him helpless, and with only his martial arts skills, he still had to suffer from hunger. Therefore, he joined the army. With his exceptional martial arts skills, he still didn't follow military rules in the army and was eventually expelled from the camp. In the army, he was nicknamed "Jiao Er". Over time, everyone called him that. Although now, in Yi County of Shanggu Prefecture, he has become a prominent figure, and whenever people see him, they respectfully address him as "Wei Ye".

  But many people still know about the absurd things he did when he was young, and that indecent nickname "Wei Diao Er" is also well-known to many people. So, the Wei family would often call him "Feed the Eagle" or "Wei Diao Er". Many of those who had cursed Wei Dao Er in the past had a grudge against him. Over the years, he has done many despicable things in order to gain power in this Shanggu County, and it's hard to imagine how many enemies he has made.

  It's hard to imagine that someone like him was once a wandering knight in his youth.