The person who leaped out from the ground was not Fang Pingzhai, but a burly bald man—none other than the mysteriously vanished "Great Wisdom" Zen Master from Shaolin Temple. Now dressed in secular attire, he wore dark red martial arts clothing that accentuated his bulging muscles and imposing demeanor, looking entirely different from his monastic appearance at Shaolin.
Walking behind Great Wisdom Zen Master was a man in loose, flowing robes of deep black—Fang Pingzhai... or rather, Chai Xijin.
"Young Master Tang," Chai Xijin nodded to Tang Lichen with an air of noble elegance, as though the persona of "Fang Pingzhai" had never existed. The red-fan-waving, rambling young master seemed like a distant dream from another life. Now, Chai Xijin stood straight, his gaze composed, his tone entirely different from before.
"I've been watching for a while," Chai Xijin said calmly. "At first, I didn't understand why Young Master Tang still hasn't killed this person..." He studied Tang Lichen intently. "Then I suddenly realized—not killing them is far more insidious than killing them."
"How so?" Tang Lichen's fingers slowly traced the azure blade of the Liqun Sword , as if caressing something precious. The storm of peach blossoms had already been drawn into his sleeves, leaving delicate streaks of blood on the snow-white fabric, resembling dark bamboo branches—strangely beautiful.
"What you want to see... is who will ultimately take the bait you've thrown—who will step forward to seize control of Fengliudian in Yu Konghou's place?" Chai Xijin said. "Ideally, we would fight amongst ourselves for power, sparing you the effort."
"If Prince Ji says so, I presume you refuse to fight for power or turn on each other." Tang Lichen lowered his sword. "Yet this person slaughtered your entire Baiyun Valley—don’t you want..."
Before he could finish, Chai Xijin's expression darkened. "What did you say?"
Tang Lichen spoke slowly, word by word. "Zhao Zongjing led his troops to raze Baiyun Valley. He came to suppress a rebellion—but how did he get the information? Who told him?" He took a step forward. Chai Xijin instinctively wanted to retreat but forced himself to stand his ground.
He stared into Tang Lichen's eyes, but Tang Lichen remained unreadable—no sorrow, no joy.
After a long silence, Chai Xijin asked again, "What did you say?"
Tang Lichen repeated, "Zhao Zongjing came to crush a rebellion and slaughtered your entire Baiyun Valley... Who gave him the information?"
Chai Xijin slowly straightened his back, then suddenly laughed—a hollow, bitter sound. For a moment, it almost resembled Fang Pingzhai's voice. Then he flicked his sleeve dismissively. "At this point... knowing who it was no longer matters to me."
The path was already cut off, with no turning back. After Zhao Zongjing's massacre of Baiyun Valley, Chai Xijin... had no choice left. No retreat.
"Zhong Chunji," Tang Lichen said softly, ignoring his self-mockery.
The name was unexpected. Chai Xijin didn’t even remember who that was—he froze for a moment.Tang Lichen offered no explanation as to who this person was, continuing softly, "Zhong Chunji had no prior connection with Baiyungou. She neither recognized Fang Pingzhai nor knew of Chai Xijin—she might not even have known the name of the former dynasty's emperor. So why did she send a letter to Zhao Zongjing, claiming to have discovered Baiyungou harboring traitors, leading to two thousand armored cavalry trampling Baiyungou flat?" He took another step forward, and Chai Xijin retreated half a step in response. Tang Lichen continued, "Because the letter was dictated to her by Fengliudian."
Chai Xijin stood motionless for a moment before nodding slowly.
Tang Lichen murmured, "Then why haven't you killed him yet?"
Chai Xijin chuckled lowly, "Haha... hahaha..." The mute attendant beside him had listened to Tang Lichen's words from start to finish yet remained utterly still, as if he hadn't heard a single word. Chai Xijin said, "Young Master Tang, my Baiyungou wasn't annihilated solely because of this man. I understand that very well... Don't think luring me into killing him will allow me to turn back from this path."
Tang Lichen replied gently, "I lured you into killing him to set up someone else to kill you. Who said anything about turning back?" His eyebrows lifted slightly in feigned surprise, and his typically expressionless eyes sparkled with sudden vitality, as if his soul had momentarily returned. "Prince Ji, the one still clinging to the hope of turning back is you—" He smiled faintly. "You refuse to fight for power or engage in mutual slaughter, yet you still dream of redemption? Prince Ji, once you're in the game, good and evil vanish. From all directions... where is this shore you speak of?"
Chai Xijin shot him a sharp glance. "Those words apply to yourself," he muttered. "Dash!"
Dash seized Yu Konghou and dragged him behind the earthen wall, with Chai Xijin following closely. The two soon vanished from sight.
Tang Lichen made no move to stop them. Yu Konghou was already grievously wounded—a tiger fallen to the plains, surrounded by wolves. His fate would be far worse than a swift death by the sword. Chai Xijin sought to capture him to gain the upper hand in the rebellion plot, but not only did Chai Xijin want to know who stood behind Gui Mudan—so did Tang Lichen.
His trip to the capital had left some questions unanswered, which was rare for Young Master Tang.
Fang Pingzhai was Prince Ji, Chai Xijin. His Baiyungou had been razed by Zhao Zongjing's troops, and the remnants of the Great Zhou loyalists had been wiped out. This was one of Zhao Zongjing's great achievements, easy enough to uncover. Fang Pingzhai had to revive the Chai lineage and avenge his fallen comrades—that much was expected. But whose blade was he? Who sought to stir chaos through him? Or rather—Gui Mudan with his Vairocana mask, the assassins in black-and-red cloaks, the winged freaks who could fly, and Fengliudian, which sought to control half the Martial Arts World through poison—for whom were they all working?
Such grand schemes—were they meant to restore the Great Zhou?
This was a bizarre conspiracy rising from the shadows, where someone's ambition, born from esoteric arts, sought to challenge the throne... Yet judging by the strategist's methods and layout, the ambition was vast, but the courage was lacking.
Tang Lichen smiled faintly, pressing a hand to the wound at his waist. When he withdrew it, his fingers were coated in blood.
He held his crimson-stained hand up to examine it closely. The thick, dark red was no different from anyone else's blood—utterly ordinary.Suddenly, a series of explosions erupted from behind, and something collapsed again in the distance. Tang Lichen let out a soft sigh and abruptly turned his head to look back—far away, Cheng Yunpao was sent flying from that direction, crashing through an earthen wall before landing heavily on the ground with a loud thud. He held the unconscious Gu Xitan in his arms, his own body covered in blood and looking utterly battered. Kuang Lanwuxing was slowly emerging from the shadows, yet standing between them with a sword raised in defense was none other than Zheng Yue.
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