Chapter 35: Phantom Pruning, Guardian of the Dark
Ever since Su Qinghan returned under the name of "Fei Yue" and established his authority, the atmosphere in the "Wang Gui" gambling house has become increasingly weird.
Zhao Si's suspicions and temptations, like an invisible net, enveloped everyone's heart. Even more disturbing than this net were the "ghost stories" that began to circulate in the gambling house.
At first, it was just the two assassins who were on night patrol in the backyard who disappeared for no apparent reason while changing shifts. No one could find them alive, and no one could find their bodies, as if they had been swallowed up by the night.
Zhao Si was furious. He hung up the captain who had neglected his duty and whipped him thirty times. He also personally dispatched double the number of people and set up visible and hidden sentries around the gambling house, with a guard every three steps and a sentry every five steps. Not even a fly could fly in.
However, the next morning, strange things happened again.
Across from the gambling house, in the bell tower that served as the highest lookout, the two veteran assassins who had been on watch had vanished once again. Their guard swords were still neatly leaning against the wall, and a half-drunk bottle of wine on the table was still warm, but the men were gone. There were no signs of a struggle at the scene, not even a drop of blood.
The wooden windows of the bell tower were wide open, and a cold morning breeze blew in, making people's hair stand on end.
At this moment, the entire remaining "Youquan" force was in an uproar.
Panic spread like a plague.
"Is... is it that the ghosts of the brothers who died in the valley are reluctant to leave and have come back to claim lives?" A young assassin said with a pale face and a trembling voice.
"Don't talk nonsense!" another older man shouted, but his hand holding the knife was shaking slightly. "It must be someone from Prince Ning's Mansion who sneaked in!"
"Impossible! If someone from Prince Ning's Mansion came, how could they be so quiet? This is clearly... haunted!"
Speculations and rumors grew wildly in the dark rooms, in the shadows of the corridors, and in everyone's heart. They were assassins, they killed without mercy, and they didn't believe in ghosts or gods. But precisely because of this, this unknown that could not be explained by common sense was the most terrifying.
Zhao Si's face was so gloomy it could be squeezed out of water. He sat in the armchair, his whiskers twitching slightly with nervousness. He certainly didn't believe in ghosts or gods; he only believed that someone was behind all this.
The first person he suspected was the woman who crawled back from hell - "Feiyue".
Ever since she came back, strange things have been happening one after another. She's always so calm, as if nothing has to do with her. This indifferent attitude, in Zhao Si's view, is her biggest flaw.
His sinister gaze swept over Su Qinghan, who was sitting in the corner, carefully wiping his sword with a white cloth.
She looked focused, oblivious to the noise and panic around her. Her profile beneath the crimson veil was so cold and pure that it seemed un-human.
"Sister Feiyue," Zhao Si suddenly spoke, his voice sharp, cutting through the whispers in the dark room, "What do you think of these strange things happening one after another?"
Everyone's eyes instantly focused on Su Qinghan.
Su Qinghan paused in wiping, raised his eyelids, and met Zhao Si's scrutiny with his cold eyes.
"See?" she asked calmly. "With their eyes. Perhaps some people have done something wrong and have something to hide."
This one sentence choked Zhao Si so much that he was speechless for a long time.
She didn't explain, didn't argue, and didn't even show the slightest curiosity. But only she knew that every time she opened the window in the dead of night, she would always see an almost imperceptible scratch on the eaves tiles, thinner than a hair.
That was the code between him and her, representing four words:
Everything is fine.
So, she wasn't panicking at all. Those so-called "ghosts" were her guardian angels. It was the man who followed her like a shadow, in his own way, clearing away the thorns for her.
In the eyes of Zhao Si and others, her calmness was interpreted differently - fearless.
This confidence finally angered some people.
A burly, facial scarred core fighter nicknamed "Mad Dog Li" suddenly stood up. He was a diehard fan of Wang Sen, the former owner of "Youquan", and had always disliked Su Qinghan.
"Feiyue! Stop being so sarcastic!" Mad Dog Li pointed at Su Qinghan's nose, spit flying. "Brothers have mysteriously disappeared one after another, and you're just fine, acting like nothing happened! I think you're the one who did this! Tell me! Did you defect to Prince Ning's Mansion and come back to be a traitor?!"
This hat is big and heavy.
The atmosphere in the dark room froze instantly, and everyone held their breath, waiting to see how Su Qinghan would respond.
Zhao Si sat in the main seat, holding up his teacup and gently blowing away the foam, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. He wanted to use Mad Dog Li as a knife to test Su Qinghan's strength.
Su Qinghan slowly stood up and put the cleaned sword back into the sheath with a clang.
She didn't look at Mad Dog Li, but instead turned her gaze to the silent Zhao Si.
"Brother Zhao, is this what you meant?"
Zhao Si laughed. "Brother Li is just worried about the safety of his brothers, so his words were a bit impulsive. Sister Feiyue, please don't take it to heart. We are all family, so just talk it out."
His words seemed to be an attempt to smooth things over, but in fact he was condoning Mad Dog Li's provocation.
"What a 'family member'." Su Qinghan sneered barely audible. She turned and faced Mad Dog Li, who was a head taller than her. For the first time, a murderous intent ignited in her cold eyes.
"You want to know if I'm a traitor?" She took a step forward, her momentum undiminished. "Yes. Use your knife to question my sword. Do you dare to sign this life and death agreement?"
Mad Dog Li was frightened by the murderous intent in her eyes and subconsciously took a half step back. Then he became angry and said, "Sign it! I will clean up the mess for Youquan today!"
An internal struggle is about to break out.
At this moment, a shrill scream suddenly came from outside, followed by the sound of a gong being struck.
"There's a fire! There's a fire in the kitchen!!"
An assassin crawled into the dark room, shouting in panic.
Zhao Si's face changed and he stood up suddenly: "What?!"
Everyone was too busy watching the show to bother watching it, and they all rushed out of the dark room. As expected, thick smoke billowed from the kitchen in the backyard, and flames shot up into the sky.
"What are you all standing there for?! Go put out the fire!" Zhao Si shouted angrily. This gambling house was their home base. If it burned down, they would truly become homeless stray dogs.
Mad Dog Li glared at Su Qinghan fiercely: "You are lucky! After the fire is put out, I will come to deal with you!" After saying that, he also rushed out with a bucket of water.
Su Qinghan stood there, not moving.
She looked at the flames rising into the sky with a complicated expression. She knew that this fire had come at a very opportune time.
Was this his doing again? Using a fire to save himself?
No, that wasn't like him. His actions, with their scalpel-like precision, would never cause such a commotion. This was more like... a warning.
Warn Mad Dog Li and also warn Zhao Si.
In the chaos, no one noticed that a blue-black figure, lighter than a shadow, passed silently from the beam and followed behind Mad Dog Li, who was carrying a bucket and rushing towards the fire scene while cursing.
Chen Ye's eyes were as cold as Siberian ice.
He had no intention of interfering in the internal strife of Youquan. He was only responsible for eliminating external threats. But when he saw Mad Dog Li pointing his finger at Su Qinghan's nose, the murderous intent in his heart could no longer be suppressed.
No one can humiliate her.
Mad Dog Li took a shortcut through a narrow corridor filled with debris. The smoke and dim light here made it the perfect place to strike.
Just as he ran around a corner, his foot was suddenly tripped by an almost invisible, extremely thin steel wire.
He stumbled and fell forward.
His instinct of living on the edge of a knife for many years made him react instantly. He exerted force on his waist and tried to stabilize his body.
But it was too late.
A waxy bullet shot out silently from the shadows, not hitting his vitals, but hitting the wall in front of him accurately.
Bang!
The bullet exploded under the force, not shooting out a poisonous needle, but bursting out an extremely dazzling light!
"ah!"
Mad Dog Li's eyes were instantly engulfed by white light, tears flowed uncontrollably, and he fell into temporary blindness.
It's this moment.
A ghostly figure approached him from behind, and with a lightning-fast knife, it slashed the back of his neck accurately.
Mad Dog Li Lian couldn't even utter a sound before he fell down limply.
Shen Ye caught his limp body and dragged him into the deeper shadows like a chicken. After a few ups and downs, he disappeared without a trace.
From setting up the ambush to executing the attack and then retreating, the entire process took no more than three breaths. Clean, neat, and efficient.
This is the style of "Zhuying".
…
The fire was quickly put out, only burning half of the kitchen and causing no damage.
But a new and greater panic once again gripped everyone's heart.
Mad Dog Li is gone.
While everyone was busy putting out the fire, a living person disappeared out of thin air again right under everyone's noses.
If the previous disappearance of the sentry could be explained as an infiltration by an external enemy, then the disappearance of Mad Dog Li this time completely shattered their last psychological defenses. He was here one moment, and the next, gone!
This can no longer be explained by "haunting".
There was clearly a God of Death among them! And this God of Death seemed to be...protecting Feiyue.
All the eyes looking at Su Qinghan changed. From suspicion and hostility, they turned into deep awe and fear.
Zhao Si sat on the chair, feeling cold all over.
He finally got scared.
His self-righteous schemes were like child's play in front of his opponent. He couldn't even catch a glimpse of his opponent. He felt like a mouse being toyed with by a cat, ready to be bitten off at any moment.
This fear overwhelmed his ambition.
Late that night, Zhao Si, nearly mentally broken, made a decision he would regret for the rest of his life. Carrying a food box, he hurried into an abandoned warehouse deep inside the gambling house instead of heading to his room.
He didn't know that behind him, a pair of cold eyes were quietly watching him through the crack in the door.
After Mad Dog Li disappeared, Su Qinghan knew that the time for a decisive battle had arrived. Zhao Si's psychological defenses had been completely destroyed, and he would definitely look for his last trump card.
She didn't follow too closely, just followed from a distance.
She watched Zhao Si push open a dusty empty box in the warehouse, revealing a secret door underneath, and then crawl in.
After waiting for about an incense stick of time, Su Qinghan sneaked into the warehouse quietly and came to the secret door.
A mixture of blood, medicine and decayed smell wafted up from the tunnel.
She didn't hesitate and slipped in.
The tunnel was short, ending in a damp, secret room. In the center, a disheveled, haggard man lay bound by thick iron chains, his hands and feet bound. Two black iron hooks pierced his scapula, fastening him to the wall.
The man heard footsteps and raised his head with difficulty. When he saw that it was Su Qinghan, a glimmer of disbelief flashed in his cloudy eyes.
"Fei...Fei Yue?" His voice was as hoarse as two pieces of sandpaper rubbing against each other.
Su Qinghan's heart sank suddenly.
The inhuman prisoner in front of him turned out to be the leader of "Youquan", Wang Sen, who was missing during the siege in the valley!
"you……"
She was about to speak when Zhao Si's voice, filled with shock and anger, suddenly came from behind her.
"It's you! You've really been plotting against me!"
Zhao Si stood at the tunnel entrance, holding an empty lunch box, his face full of madness and despair. He had never expected that despite his caution, he would still be discovered.
Su Qinghan slowly turned around and faced the man who had fallen into madness, with no expression of surprise on his face.
"Brother Zhao, how are you?" she said calmly. "You betrayed our leader and imprisoned your fellow disciples. We should settle this account."
"Settling accounts? Hahaha!" Zhao Si laughed hysterically. "The victor is the king and the loser is the bandit! If it weren't for me, you would have been dead long ago! I kept him alive so I could negotiate with the nobles in Prince Ning's Mansion! I gave you a chance to live!"
"Really?" Su Qinghan's tone was filled with a hint of mockery. "I'm afraid those brothers who 'came back' don't think so, do they?"
"Brother?" Zhao Si's laughter stopped abruptly. He looked behind Su Qinghan in horror, as if countless wronged souls were standing there. "You... who are you? What kind of magic did you use?!"
Su Qinghan did not answer.
She just looked at him quietly, her eyes cold, as if she was looking at a dead person.
On the highest roof of the gambling house, Shen Ye was like an emotionless sculpture, quietly overlooking everything. He saw Su Qinghan enter the secret room and also saw Zhao Si blocking the exit.
His hand was already on the hilt of the sword at his waist.
He was like the most efficient scavenger, clearing away all the peripheral and annoying obstacles for Su Qinghan, allowing her to successfully tear off her disguise and face the core and dirtiest secrets of "Youquan".
The rest is her stage.
But if an accident occurs on the stage that she cannot handle, he doesn't mind going on stage himself and closing the curtain in the bloodiest way.
The moment of decisive battle is approaching.
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