Zhao Yunxiao spoke with a calm smile on his face, as though he was speaking of a light subject. However, what he just said was anything but that – enough to take everyone completely by surprise.

Taken a few things without permission?

It was equivalent to directly accusing Gan Luozhi of stealing from his juniors, just phrased in a different manner!

“Eh?” Huang An blurted out in shock, and immediately looked at Zhao Yunxiao with concern in her eyes.

Zhao Yunxiao had always approached things in a careful and meticulous manner, so she was definitely not him to come off so strongly from the start!

Apart from her, everyone else turned their gazes towards Gan Luozhi, curious to see his response.

And facing such a situation, Gan Luozhi did not show the slightest hint of panic.

“I’m not sure what you have heard, Junior Martial Brother Zhao. But there must have been a misunderstanding somewhere. I have never done anything like that,” Gan Luozhi answered. “I assume you are the one who instigated this, Junior Martial Sister Huang? We have already spoken about this matter previously, so why don’t you tell everyone here what truly happened?”

Gan Luozhi cast a cold glance towards Huang An, who felt her confidence waver once more.

It was not as though she had not tried to reason with Gan Luozhi before.

The last time she tried, the latter had completely laughed off her accusations, making her feel like a complete fool. Just the thought of having to go through that again made her heart chill!

“Is it true that Senior Martial Brother Gan invited Junior Martial Sister Huang to join you on your hunting trip in the wilderness?” Zhao Yunxiao spoke up on her behalf.

“Hiding behind someone else after making accusations?” Gan Luozhi let out a sigh of disappointment. “Technically, it is a junior in my group who invited her without consulting me, but I am willing to shoulder that responsibility.”

“I see. Is it also true that Junior Martial Sister Huang told you about the spatial escape talisman in her possession, and then ended up losing it soon after joining your group?” Zhao Yunxiao asked again.

“I’m not sure if she told anyone in the group, but I certainly don’t remember her telling me anything about it,” Gan Luozhi shook his head.

“I’m sure that I told you!” Huang An finally found the courage to chime in.

“You can insist so, but my recollections are as such,” Gan Luozhi shrugged.

“And is it true that you have a spatial escape talisman in your possession now?” Zhao Yunxiao asked again.

“Yes, but is it really so surprising that I do have one?” Gan Luozhi narrowed his eyes at Zhao Yunxiao. “You know, Junior Martial Brother Zhao. I have been patiently answering your questions so far, but don’t you think you are being a little too aggressive in trying to pin the blame on me? I don’t know about this spatial escape talisman of hers, but why can’t I have one of my own? Or are you going to blindly believe her words even if she pins such accusations on everyone who has one such talisman?”

“Her spatial escape talisman has been given to me by Elder He, which I then lent to Junior Martial Sister Huang,” Zhao Yunxiao answered. “Because of that, it is different from most other talismans as it has the mark of Elder He. If Senior Martial Brother Gan doesn’t mind, would you be willing to bring out your spatial escape talisman for everyone to see if it contains the same mark? If it does not have the same mark, I will naturally apologise for having wrongly accused you.”

“Don’t you think you are being a little too demanding now?” Gan Luozhi frowned. “Why should I let you take a look at my belongings just because of a few random accusations? If you wish to pin the blame on me, shouldn’t you first come up with some evidence that I did take something from her? And why can’t I have obtained my spatial escape talisman from Elder He as well? You are not the only one who can enter his grace!”

“Oh? Does that mean Senior Martial Brother Gan has obtained a spatial escape talisman from Elder He as well? In that case, you must know what the mark is like?” Zhao Yunxiao asked. “That makes it easier. If Senior Martial Brother Gan can simply describe the mark in detail, I am willing to accept my mistake without having to see the talisman itself.”

“It is just a spatial escape talisman. Why would I scrutinise it so closely for no reason? Whether there is a mark or not, that is inconsequential to whether it belongs to me or not!” Gan Luozhi insisted.

At the same time, he could not help but feel frustration welling up from within.

He might have admired the spatial escape talisman quite a bit after obtaining it, but he never noticed anything like a mark on it.

Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that even if there was a mark, he would not have been able to tell it apart from the original talisman runes.

That said, he had never heard that Elder He would make a personal mark on his talismans, so he was suspecting that Zhao Yunxiao was just bluffing.

Unfortunately, he could not be completely certain about this as well, so he dared not truly commit to calling Zhao Yunxiao’s bluff.

After all, if he tried to call Zhao Yunxiao’s bluff and there ended up truly being a mark on the talisman, wouldn’t that be akin to shooting himself in the foot?

“Senior Martial Brother Hua, please uphold justice for us,” Zhao Yunxiao directly turned away from Gan Luozhi at this point, clasping his fists towards Hua Sheng instead.

Huu-!

Hua Sheng let out a sigh before turning to Gan Luozhi. “Why don’t you bring out your spatial escape talisman for everyone to take a quick look?”

“Senior Martial Brother Hua, don’t listen to their nonsense!” Gan Luozhi protested. “I have never done anything like what they claim. The talisman truly belongs to me!”

“Don’t make me repeat myself,” Hua Sheng spoke softly, but it was enough to make Gan Luozhi’s hair stand on ends.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Zhao Yunxiao’s lips curled upwards upon hearing that.

As expected, Hua Sheng might have a good relationship with Gan Luozhi, but that did not mean he was clueless about the latter’s personality.

He might be willing to tolerate Gan Luozhi’s actions to a certain extent, but there was still a limit to things.

And this limit was what Zhao Yunxiao was gambling on.

After all, in such an open setting, it would be detrimental to Hua Sheng’s reputation as the unofficial leader of the outer disciples if he chose to take Gan Luozhi’s side.

No, not just that. It would reflect badly on him even if he had just stepped aside and watched without doing a thing.

As long as he did not take charge of the matter, Hua Sheng’s reputation among the outer disciples would definitely take a significant hit!

Of course, whether Hua Sheng would bear a grudge towards Zhao Yunxiao for forcing his hand was another matter altogether, but Zhao Yunxiao was planning to deal with that separately.

“This... all right,” Gan Luozhi nervously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

His actions were slow and hesitant as he flicked his wrist, retrieving the familiar piece of talisman from his spatial bag.

Zhao Yunxiao was actually rather surprised to see this. He had actually expected Gan Luozhi to deny having it in his possession at the moment, or worse still, produce a separate spatial escape talisman. Thankfully, those scenarios did not end up playing out, which saved him quite a bit of trouble.

This Gan Luozhi was either too simple-minded, or he did not dare to blatantly deceive Hua Sheng in his face.

“Is this the one?” Hua Sheng picked up the spatial escape talisman and showed it to Zhao Yunxiao.

“It is the one,” Zhao Yunxiao nodded immediately.

“Nonsense! That talisman is mine!” Gan Luozhi insisted.

“What proof do you have that it has been taken from you?” Hua Sheng asked.

“There is actually no mark made by Elder He. Instead, I drew a personal mark on the talisman with treated rat blood,” Zhao Yunxiao answered confidently. “It is a crossmark, drawn in a way that it will not interfere with the talisman effect. I can explain the entire process if you are interested in testing the blood components.”

“That is easy to say after having seen it!” Gan Luozhi anxiously argued. “I am the one who drew the mark!”

“Senior Martial Brother Huang, you should understand the situation now,” Zhao Yunxiao said. “The crossmark has always been part of the talisman rune. There are no additional marks on the talisman.”

“Wha?! You little shit!” Gan Luozhi immediately realised that he was being played. “You dare to trick me?”

“Senior Martial Brother Hua, please uphold justice for us,” Zhao Yunxiao repeated, directly ignoring Gan Luozhi.

He knew that Gan Luozhi had lost all credibility at this point, so there was no point in talking to him any longer.

From the start, this had been a straightforward matter to him.

Yes, Gan Luozhi was tricky to deal with. However, the reason for that was not due to Gan Luozhi himself, but mainly because of his ties to Hua Sheng.

As for Gan Luozhi himself, everyone knew that his bark was worse than his bite.

Having been so occupied with sucking up to Hua Sheng, how would he know anything about spatial escape talismans?

In fact, such talismans were so profound that Zhao Yunxiao himself did not understand much about them, and that was even after weeks of studying the same talismans in his possession!

So, the moment Zhao Yunxiao decided to confront Gan Luozhi, he immediately came up with this plan to trick him into revealing his own misdeeds.

However, this was the limit of what he could do.

If the other party continued to refuse, it was not like he could use force to snatch back the spatial escape talisman.

That would simply give Gan Luozhi an opportunity to turn the tables on them, accusing them of assaulting a fellow sect member. And with such an accusation labelled against them, their side would immediately lose the moral high ground!

Therefore, he decided to use Hua Sheng as a mediator.

“How do you want this matter to be settled?” Hua Sheng said with a sigh.

Zhao Yunxiao’s eyes lit up upon hearing that.

While he knew that he currently held the moral high ground, coming to Hua Sheng to directly demand something that his companion had stolen would inevitably have a detrimental impact on Hua Sheng’s reputation.

For Hua Sheng to stand on Zhao Yunxiao’s side this time, some might praise Hua Sheng for being impartial. However, it would simultaneously give off the impression that Hua Sheng either did not have the power to protect his close aides or was unwilling to do so.

This would surely have an impact on Hua Sheng’s influence, making others feel that his friendship might not be as valuable as it seemed.

That was definitely not the impression that Zhao Yunxiao wanted to create with today’s matter.

Therefore, he knew that whatever he said next was key.

It had to be firm enough to show Gan Luozhi that he was not joking around. But at the same time, it had to show some deference to Hua Sheng, at least on the surface.

“Since Senior Martial Brother Gan is so insistent that this talisman belongs to him, I don’t want to make things difficult for him, either,” Zhao Yunxiao said, once again surprising everyone present. “I am willing to duel Senior Martial Brother Gan for this talisman.”

“Duel for the talisman?” Gan Luozhi raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Do you mean you? Against me? One on one?”

“That’s right, let’s have a duel in three days,” Zhao Yunxiao nodded. “To make things fair for both of us, I will put a spatial escape talisman on the line as well. Winner takes all. How about that?”

“Senior Martial Brother Zhao...!” Huang An anxiously tugged on Zhao Yunxiao’s sleeves.

“Trust me, I’ve got this,” Zhao Yunxiao lightly patted Huang An’s hand.

“You want to challenge me to a duel?” Gan Luozhi narrowed his eyes, his initial surprise turning into suspicion after seeing the confidence that Zhao Yunxiao was exuding. “You do realise that I am at the Peak Essence Gathering realm, don’t you?”

“And I am currently at the Intermediate Essence Gathering realm, but cultivation level is not the only determinant of the victor in battle,” Zhao Yunxiao answered matter-of-factly. “Let this be a fair battle on the stage of the Snow Moon Arena.”

“Are you serious?” Gan Luozhi asked again.

Zhao Yunxiao was rather famous in the outer sect as the one with the most sect jobs, so most people knew a thing or two about him. His cultivation level was no secret, either.

For him to directly challenge Gan Luozhi, the latter could not help but feel that there must be a trap of sorts.

At the same time, Huang An’s worried look did not seem to be faked, so Gan Luozhi could not help but feel confused.

“I am serious,” Zhao Yunxiao assured.

Gan Luozhi’s mind raced, trying to come up with all sorts of scenarios in his head.

Unfortunately for him, he did not have the luxury of time to slowly think this through.

“Hahaha!” Hua Sheng suddenly broke out into a hearty laugh. “Since he is asking so nicely, what’s wrong with just accepting it? In any case, this will be a good tempering session for both of you, so there is no need to hesitate any further – I will decide this on your behalf. Let this duel commence in three days at noon, on the Snow Moon Arena. Each participant shall put a spatial escape talisman on the line, and the winner will get to take both the talisman. For this duel, I shall personally be the judge!”