"Young Master Tang!"
On Good Cloud Mountain, a disciple from the Songshan Sect hurriedly entered Tang Lici's courtyard. "Something terrible has happened!"
Tang Lici was dressed in white robes. Since Chi Yun's death, he had almost entirely stopped wearing gray. Had Shao Yanping still been alive, he would have joked that Tang Lici was in a foul mood. But Shao Yanping was dead, and no one would dare make such jokes anymore.
When the Songshan disciple entered his courtyard, Tang Lici was practicing calligraphy. In his spare time, he always took up the brush to practice. His handwriting was not particularly good—he was accustomed to writing with his left hand, as his left hand had never been trained to write in the first place.
He did not allow himself to have weaknesses.
"What is it?" Tang Lici lifted the goat-hair brush and gently hung it on the brush stand. His voice was calm, showing no trace of surprise.
"We followed your orders to Chicken Coop Mountain Manor to retrieve the person, but Liu Yan was already gone! Miss A Shui was struck by a knife and is now on the brink of death!" The disciple stepped into the room, his voice tense and strained. "Someone must have learned the location of Chicken Coop Mountain Manor beforehand. Young Master Tang, what should we do now?"
"How severe is Miss A Shui's injury?" Tang Lici's tone remained composed, giving no indication whether he was genuinely concerned or merely asking out of courtesy. The Songshan disciple replied respectfully, "We already had a physician examine her on the way. The wound is serious, but she should survive." Tang Lici nodded. "And the weapon?" The disciple handed over a gleaming curled-edge throwing knife, no more than an inch long. "This was it. It pierced Miss A Shui's chest by about an inch. Fortunately, it was too short to reach her heart."
Tang Lici took the gleaming blade and glanced at it, then smiled faintly. With the martial prowess of the hidden weapon's owner, even a pebble could kill. If a signature weapon like this failed to be fatal, it could only mean the attacker had no intention to kill.
But... once someone made a move, there was no turning back. Mercy was granted only once—next time, there would be no leniency.
"Jiang Fei, where is Miss A Shui now?" Tang Lici rolled up the scroll he had just been writing on, his snow-white fingers pausing slightly. "In your judgment, what do you think the assailant intended?"
"My... my judgment?" Jiang Fei was stunned. Tang Lici was actually asking him such a question? "We've already taken Miss A Shui to the Wanfu Inn, where she is with Shen Langhun and Yu Guniang. I... I think the attacker must be from the Dissolute Shop. They must have discovered the location of Chicken Coop Valley in advance and acted."
"Obvious indeed—the culprit is from the Dissolute Shop..." Tang Lici smiled faintly. "You spoke well."
Jiang Fei was flattered, staring blankly at Tang Lici, unsure what earth-shattering insight he had just uttered. With a light wave of his snow-white sleeve, Tang Lici said calmly, "You may leave now."
"Yes." Jiang Fei withdrew, still baffled, unable to fathom which part of his statement had earned Tang Lici's praise.
The culprit was Fang Pingzhai—obvious. And since the culprit was from the Dissolute Shop, Fang Pingzhai had already joined their ranks. Tang Lici held the famous inkstick on the table, slowly grinding it in the inkstone. Though everything had unfolded as expected, he still did not understand how Yu Konghou had managed to corrupt a person's heart so thoroughly in such a short time.Anything unforeseen is a crisis. He couldn't leave Good Cloud Mountain, nor could he stop Fang Pingzhai from taking Liu Yan away. No matter how many guards he stationed around Liu Yan, it would make no difference—Liu Yan would never believe Fang Pingzhai meant him harm. Thus, he hadn't even bothered to arrange protection around Liu Yan. Although Fang Pingzhai's temperament had changed, even if he abducted Liu Yan, he wouldn't hurt him. Slowly turning the famed inkstick in his hand, Tang Lici knew Fang Pingzhai would bring Liu Yan up the mountain within a day or two. But Hong Guniang wouldn't return for another three days.
How could he hold out for those three days without giving Yu Konghou an opening? Whether he struck first to reclaim Liu Yan from Fang Pingzhai or endured humiliation to rescue him after he was brought to Good Cloud Mountain, the result would be the same—he would be exposed as having colluded with Liu Yan.
If he hadn't gouged out Fang Zhou's heart or shattered Chi Yun's skull, perhaps he would have chosen to kill Liu Yan.
But...
Perhaps he had grown weak. Perhaps he was too exhausted now. He couldn't do it.
Knock, knock, knock. Someone rapped at the door. Tang Lici paused, only then realizing he had ground away half the inkstick. He stopped and called, "Enter."
With a creak, the door opened, and Qi Xing stepped in, his expression grave. "Young Master Tang, Xue Xianzi's room is empty. Did you have someone take him away?" Tang Lici frowned. "No." Qi Xing's face darkened further. "He's missing. I fear there might be a spy from the Dissolute Shop within the Hall of Sharp Virtue who unsealed his acupoints to manipulate him into doing something." Tang Lici stood abruptly. "This is bad. Come with me!" Seizing Qi Xing's wrist, he rushed out the door, pulling the man along.
Qi Xing felt Tang Lici's grip like iron—unyielding, impossible to break free from—and inwardly marveled. In moments, Tang Lici had dragged him to Cheng Yunpao's quarters. After the previous ambush, Cheng Yunpao had shown no suspicion toward Tang Lici. Moreover, his martial prowess ranked among the best on Good Cloud Mountain, and he was a leading figure. If Xue Xianzi had been released, the most likely target was Cheng Yunpao!
A muffled thud came from inside Cheng Yunpao's room. Just as Tang Lici and Qi Xing arrived, the window lattice shattered, and a figure crashed through, hurtling backward. Blood splattered across the wall—it was Gu Xitan. Though he managed to flip midair and land on his feet, barely suppressing his injuries, he raised his sword to rejoin the fight. Tang Lici pressed him down. "Qi Xing, take him away to treat his wounds." Qi Xing quickly steadied Gu Xitan, who spat out a mouthful of blood and pointed inside. "Xue Xianzi... senior..."
"I understand." With a flick of his sleeve, Tang Lici flung the door wide open. Inside, Cheng Yunpao's sword light danced wildly as he clashed with Xue Xianzi. Xue Xianzi, his mind unclear, fought without restraint. Palm shadows filled the air, forcing Cheng Yunpao's sword light to shrink back. The sheer might of Xue Xianzi's decades of cultivation pressed Cheng Yunpao into a defensive stance, his swordplay unable to unfold—truly a terrifying sight. Earlier, Gu Xitan had been sparring with Cheng Yunpao when Xue Xianzi suddenly barged in. Had the two not already had their swords drawn, Cheng Yunpao might have been injured by Xue Xianzi's abrupt strike."Tang Lici..." Cheng Yunpao's sword momentum was restrained, not daring to easily strike and injure Xue Xianzi. Tang Lici's snow-white sleeve swept out, wrapping around Xue Xianzi's palms. Seizing the opportunity, Cheng Yunpao broke free from Xue Xianzi's palm force restraint and shouted, executing the "Big Dipper Seven Stars" technique—his sword tip flickering with seven cold glints. With a sharp "crack," Tang Lici's palm from his sleeve clashed with Xue Xianzi's. In that momentary pause, Cheng Yunpao's "Big Dipper Seven Stars" pierced Xue Xianzi three times. The frenzied Xue Xianzi collapsed limply to the ground, motionless.
Cheng Yunpao withdrew his sword and leaped back. Tang Lici lifted Xue Xianzi up—though his acupoints were sealed, his expression showed clear agony. There were no highly skilled physicians on Good Cloud Mountain, and even though he knew Xue Xianzi was afflicted by threadworms, he was powerless to help. Just then, Zhang Hemo, Wenxiu Shitai, and others arrived outside upon hearing the commotion. Seeing Xue Xianzi's suffering, they were filled with pity, yet none could do anything.
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