"Secret? What secret?" Yu Tuan'er looked at Lin Bu in surprise. "What secret? That manor is full of bad people." Lin Bu nodded. "For example—tonight, Young Master Tang killed Fu Cui, but Wangting Manor should have more than just Bai Suche and Fu Cui as experts. Where are the others? Why didn’t they come out to stop him?" A Shui tensed. Where was Yu Qifeng? And where was that black-clad man who was often with Fu Cui? The manor was shrouded in mysteries. Was there some special operation happening tonight? They left Fu Cui and Bai Suche to capture Tang Lici because they underestimated him, but after Fu Cui’s death, Bai Suche didn’t retreat outward—instead, she withdrew deeper into the manor. Did she really believe Tang Lici wouldn’t dare to storm in and kill? Or was it because—
Because Yu Qifeng and the others were actually inside the manor, and some special reason prevented them from showing themselves?
If that were the case, tonight would be the perfect opportunity to investigate Wangting Manor. Earlier, Tang Lici had stood before the manor for a long time without leaving—perhaps that was his intention, but he lacked the strength to act.
"Something crucial must be happening in Wangting Manor tonight. If we don’t investigate now, we might never get another chance." Lin Bu’s expression turned grave. "So I thought… if they’re so preoccupied with their affairs that they don’t even care about Fu Cui’s life, then maybe if I pretend to be an ordinary person and test the waters, I might…" A Shui shook her head repeatedly. "No, Young Master Lin isn’t part of the Martial Arts World. It’s already wrong to involve you in these matters—I can’t let you take such risks." Lin Bu smiled faintly. "But isn’t Miss A Shui also not part of the Martial Arts World…?" A Shui paused, then gave a faint smile. "But I can no longer extricate myself." Yu Tuan'er interjected, "Can I go investigate?" A Shui took her hand. "You haven’t found him yet. If you take this risk tonight and something happens, and you never get to see him again, wouldn’t you be heartbroken?" Yu Tuan'er froze. "Ah! Then I won’t go. What should we do? Will you go? But Wangting Manor isn’t Beauty Abode—they all recognize you! It’s impossible. They know you betrayed them."
"The buildings constructed by Dissolute Shop are all based on the mechanical arts left behind by the Eccentric Guest. I’ve lived in two of them for quite some time. I think Wangting Manor might be the same." A Shui gazed out the window into the endless darkness. "It should have seven secret passages. I can enter through one of them." Yu Tuan'er stared at her in shock. "No, no! If you go and run into someone inside, how will you escape? Won’t you just die in there? Feng Feng is still here. If you die, what will happen to him?" A Shui extended her right hand. "Give me back 'Willow Slayer.'" Yu Tuan'er was startled and clutched the small knife in her bosom. "What do you want it for?" A Shui bit her lip. "I want to carry it with me. It might make me safer. I don’t want to die in there either.""Oh! It's been a few days, and now even delicate young girls dare to visit Wangting Manor at night. Seems the Dissolute Shop is really going downhill," a familiar voice suddenly came from outside the window. Yu Tuan'er cheered, "Brother Shen!" A figure peeked in through the window, lips curved in a smile—it was Shen Langhun. He had wiped off the colorful makeup, revealing his true face, though the scar left by Tang Lici's fingers remained, splitting the red serpent tattoo in half, making it look even more bizarre.
"Young lady, you're truly bold and meticulous. In the martial world, aside from you, I doubt there's a second person without martial skills who'd dare to visit Wangting Manor at night," another voice spoke softly from outside the window, gentle and soothing. "You must be very familiar with the Dissolute Shop's traps and secret passages, aren't you? It seems we'll really need your help tonight." A Shui turned her head and saw a figure in light blue robes, delicate and elegant, whose smile was comforting. Another person beside him made her gasp, "Raging Orchid No Trace!"
The man standing beside the blue-robed youth was a head taller, holding a halberd in one hand, his face pale with a strange bluish-red flush on his cheekbones. Though handsome, the eerie flush gave him a wild and terrifying air—this was Raging Orchid No Trace. The blue-robed youth in front of him was Wan Yu Yuedan. The two had followed Shen Langhun day and night, arriving at Chengfeng Town just in time to overhear Yu Tuan'er and A Shui's conversation outside the window.
"How is he?" Shen Langhun pushed the door open and entered. A Shui pointed to the room, "Asleep. He just rescued the villagers captured by the Dissolute Shop and killed Fu Cui." Shen Langhun coughed, "His injuries aren't healed yet, and he already killed Fu Cui?" Yu Tuan'er nodded, "He even tried to kill Sister A Shui—mmph—" A Shui covered her mouth, and Yu Tuan'er coughed, struggling free. "Anyway, it was really weird! Like he was some kind of monster."
Wan Yu Yuedan smiled, "How are his injuries?" A Shui exhaled softly, "His external wounds have healed, but it's like something inside him stopped. He said, 'How strange, why did it stop?'" "Stopped?" Wan Yu Yuedan pondered, "Was it because of Brother Shen's stab? Was there anything unusual about that strike?" Shen Langhun froze, "Unusual?"
"You're a top-tier assassin. When you strike to kill, shouldn't you know exactly how severe the wound is?" Wan Yu Yuedan felt his way into the room. "If you intended to kill him and succeeded, how could he still be alive?" Shen Langhun was stunned again, the memory of stabbing Tang Lici flashing through his mind. After a long pause, he scratched his head, "When the blade went in, I was surprised he didn't die. The tip hit something." He drew the short blade from his waist and examined the tip closely. "It definitely hit something, blocking the strike. Otherwise, there's no way I would've missed."Zhu Yan had been watching coldly, indifferent to why Tang Lici hadn't died from the stab wound. As the conversation grew increasingly strange, he suddenly reached out and picked up the short knife, examining it intently. "It hit bone."
Shen Langhun gave a bitter smile. "Judging by the knife tip, it should have struck bone. But if I stabbed his waist bone, how could he still get up?" The force behind his blade was extraordinary—even striking a large rock would shatter it, let alone human bone. "Besides, I struck with full force, yet the blade only penetrated a little over two inches. The entire knife didn't even go all the way in before meeting resistance." That location couldn't have been the waist bone, nor could there be any other bones in the abdomen. He patted his head. "Ah, right—Tang Lici said it stabbed that heart."
"A heart?" Wan Yu Yuedan was puzzled. Shen Langhun briefly explained the origin of Fang Zhou's heart inside Tang Lici's abdomen. A Shui suddenly understood. "So when he said 'it stopped beating,' he meant Fang Zhou's heart stopped—probably because of the stab wound."
Zhu Yan, however, said coldly, "Even two human hearts wouldn't stop your blade. It must have hit bone. Since when do hearts grow bones inside?"
Heart... A Shui's own heart sank. She had seen what was inside Tang Lici's abdomen—it truly didn't resemble a "heart." "But if that wasn't Fang Zhou's heart, what was it?"
Zhu Yan ignored her. He had no interest in discussing Tang Lici and asked in a low voice, "When do we leave?"
Wan Yu Yuedan smiled. "Miss A Shui will lead the way. Brother Shen and Senior Zhu will accompany you. Tonight, we will surely uncover the secrets of Wangting Manor." He reached into his robe and handed A Shui the portrait of Xue Tao. "Do you have the courage to go tonight?"
A Shui smiled faintly. "Let's go now." She glanced at Feng Feng, then at Tang Lici's door, before walking out first.
Inside the room, Tang Lici remained unconscious, completely unaware of the changes outside. Shen Langhun and Zhu Yan followed A Shui toward the rear of Wangting Manor, while Wan Yu Yuedan stayed behind, claiming exhaustion.
Yu Tuan'er pointed toward Lin Bu's room, signaling for Wan Yu Yuedan to go sleep there. Unable to see where she was pointing, he naturally walked forward—straight into Tang Lici's room—and closed the door behind him.
Yu Tuan'er stared wide-eyed at Lin Bu, who was equally stunned by the closed door. They listened intently for a long time but heard nothing unusual from inside.
Could Wan Yu Yuedan not sense Tang Lici lying on the bed? Where would he sleep? On a chair? The table? The floor? Yu Tuan'er propped her chin in her hands, staring at the door all night, puzzling over this strange question.
OpenNovel