Chapter 129: Whose Handwriting Was This?
Seeing how earnest she was, without a trace of lying, Zhu Qiqi truly believed her. She had never been praised like this before by Xie Huailing. Even the words she was used to hearing when she was being coaxed and flattered never sounded as good as these. For a moment, she was overjoyed. If she hadn't been thinking about Shen Lang and wanted to elope with him, she probably would have agreed on the spot.
But it wasn't easy for Zhu Qiqi to refuse Xie Huailing. In the end, she agreed to bring Shen Lang with her to help out at Jin Feng Xi Yu Lou when she had time. Unexpectedly, Xie Huailing, who hadn't expected to have another top-notch worker, quickly agreed and told Zhu Qiqi that she could come anytime and that the salary was negotiable.
When Shen Lang returned, he saw the two of them talking mysteriously. He instinctively felt a chill run down his spine, his hair stood on end, and an ominous premonition arose within him. But he couldn't quite put his finger on what was strange. He figured that Zhu Qiqi had probably come up with some way to play with him, so he decided to let her be and didn't ask any questions.
He touched his arm, and after Zhu Qiqi and Xie Huailing finished their whispered conversation, he talked to Zhu Qiqi for a while, listened to her progress of the day, and praised her profusely. Shen Lang was naturally the most gratified by her growth, and after praising her several more times, Zhu Qiqi reluctantly left.
Xie Huailing and Shen Lang were left behind, sitting face to face, and it was time to exchange information and deduce the situation.
The steam rising from the tea rose without wind, drifting gently between the two of them. Compared to the hazy darkness of the night, it appeared even more serene, neither flower nor smoke, thinly shrouding their vision. Fortunately, they were two people talking, and neither of them needed to look at the other.
In the midst of a complex and intricate web of intrigue, having an ally of impeccable character and trustworthy abilities brings such peace of mind. Shen Lang smiled slightly, his handsome appearance undiminished despite several busy days, showing no signs of fatigue. He calmly said, "I imagine Miss Xie has made quite a few discoveries, as have I. Therefore, our conversations inevitably require us to start from the beginning. How about we begin by examining the events at their inception? What does Miss Xie think?"
That's a good idea. For Xie Huailing and Shen Lang, there's almost no chance of them falling behind each other's train of thought. Saving time for the final discussion, as he suggested, is an excellent solution. Xie Huailing nodded and replied, "Alright, let's do it as Young Master Shen says. If either of us has anything to add, we can just interrupt him."
Shen Lang nodded in agreement, showing no sign of restraint: "Then I'll start. Excuse me."
He cleared his throat and began to recall many years ago, the past ten or twenty years having long since flowed by, yet they insisted on going upstream to find the truth in the past.
"It must have been twenty years ago, or more than twenty years ago, when 'Yunmeng Fairy' met Chai Yuguan, who was then highly renowned and revered in the martial arts world. Although he had a reputation for great kindness and righteousness, he was actually a scoundrel who sought fame and fortune. As the number one female demon, 'Yunmeng Fairy' fell in love with him and they got together. Later, the two had a son, Wang Lianhua."
“That’s right.” Xie Huailing agreed. In that case, what Qu Wurong said made sense: “Someone in my building investigated Wang Yunmeng. She was very close to Chai Yuguan back then.”
Shen Lang continued, "This couple was wicked. Although they were already rare masters in the martial arts world, they were both still greedy for the ultimate martial arts techniques. In order to seize all the martial arts techniques in the martial arts world, they conspired to cause the Hengshan Disaster, in which half of the previous generation of masters in the martial arts world, led by 'Shen Tianjun,' perished. After the deed was done, when they faked their deaths to escape, Chai Yuguan betrayed 'Yunmeng Fairy' in order to keep all the martial arts techniques for himself, and killed her. Then, he took all the martial arts techniques and fled to the border for nine years."
What he didn't expect was that "Fairy Yunmeng" possessed profound skills and had survived by sheer luck. During these nine years, she had also been constantly accumulating power, preparing for revenge.
"Let's get back to Chai Yuguan. He has been staying outside the pass, focusing on practicing martial arts. We probably won't know when he originally planned to return to the Central Plains and restore his reputation. In any case, two months ago, a guest from Bianjing visited Chai Yuguan, gave him money, and invited him to come to the pass to do business."
Xie Huailing hadn't mentioned Wang Yunmeng's part, and she wouldn't tell Shen Lang now. She said, "We have no clue who this person represents or what force he belongs to, except that he comes from Bianjing. But we can guess that the person behind him is after Chai Yuguan's martial arts. Besides that, we know that he will soon send his men again, and the fact that news from the border was previously blocked is probably his doing. We still need to deduce more clues."
Shen Lang said, "That's what I think too. Please hear me out, Miss Xie. After this person invited Chai Yuguan, Chai Yuguan actually entered the pass. This shows that he must have given Chai Yuguan a lot of benefits, which were definitely not vulgar things like gold, silver, jewelry, beautiful women, or antiques. Chai Yuguan loves money, women, and wine, but he has four envoys under his command, which he could have obtained himself. So what this person promised Chai Yuguan was a reward that was even more tempting than these."
And in this world, there is only one thing that deserves this reward.
Xie Huailing uttered two words, a sound that was both a sigh and a breath, or perhaps just a simple exhale. These were the two words she knew best: "Power."
Chai Yuguan seized martial arts techniques, fled beyond the pass, and dreamed of making a comeback. In the end, it all boils down to these two words.
As for those who can afford to give him power, there are only a handful of people in the world.
"It can only be about power. Chai Yuguan received the promise of power and immediately entered the pass. But what happened after he entered the pass was probably not arranged much by the person behind him, or perhaps he did not expect that Chai Yuguan was not a smart man, but would directly raise the banner of 'King of Pleasure'. This was probably in conflict with the plans of the person behind the scenes, which is why there was a one-and-a-half-month news gap at the border, which was to clean up the mess for Chai Yuguan."
The speaker then became Xie Huailing, who dissected each matter, peeling back the layers to reveal the true nature of the situation: "From this incident, we can also see that what the person behind the scenes wants Chai Yuguan to do is something that cannot be exposed for the time being. If they want to use Chai Yuguan, they will do so secretly, taking advantage of a moment of unpreparedness to launch a surprise attack. From this perspective, it is enough to prove that the task the person behind the scenes is entrusting to Chai Yuguan is quite risky."
"And the reason he made so many preparations was because he valued Chai Yuguan's martial arts skills—Chai Yuguan was not unique in lightness skills or other martial arts—the things he wanted Chai Yuguan to do were mostly to kill someone."
The candidate who can afford power as payment, who can readily agree, who has the ability to block news from the border, and who has a grudge against a powerful figure... is already obvious.
In fact, Xie Huailing spoke these words with a guiding hand, subtly persuading Shen Lang and deliberately skipping over certain points that could be further examined. Ultimately, she knew about Wang Yunmeng's affairs, the secrets Wang Yunmeng had come into contact with, and the name of the lingering figure in her heart—she had finally unveiled the truth.
Shen Lang did not refute, as it was inappropriate to mention that name here. He continued, "Chai Yuguan later changed locations and officially entered the pass to this city, probably due to arrangements made by someone behind the scenes. He never expected that fate would play tricks on him, as Wang Yunmeng was in this city and happened to be waiting for him. He thought that everything he wanted was within reach, so he comfortably sent his four envoys to search for what he wanted."
"Jin Wuwang, the 'Treasurer,' orchestrated the haunting of the Gao family's ancient tomb, intending to kidnap martial arts figures for ransom. However, he was betrayed by Bai Choufei and rescued by me, whereupon we live together. Bai Choufei took over as the 'Treasurer.' The Gao family's vast wealth in the tomb was stolen by Wang Lianhua beforehand, becoming the 'Yunmeng Fairy's' fortune. Besides, there is another person in the tomb that we need to carefully consider: Jin Buhuan."
They had previously thought of Jin Buhuan only because Jin Wuwang had mentioned it and they felt pity for him. It wasn't until Zhu Qiqi saw Bai Choufei, who had come to find Jin Buhuan, that they realized there was another possibility.
Bai Choufei, who was capable of betraying Jin Wuwang, couldn't possibly have had his own ulterior motives.
Xie Huailing pondered for a moment. Although Jin Buhuan was dead, she had made thorough preparations before taking action. Moreover, Zhu Qiqi had already brought back all of Jin Buhuan's belongings and made a copy of his letters; Shaman had also thoroughly investigated all his interpersonal relationships and movements over the past month. Although he was a dead man and she couldn't get anything out of him, it didn't prevent her from finding out.
She said, "Jin Buhuan wasn't much of a capable person, and he had very little to offer Bai Choufei. Among his belongings was a letter from Bai Choufei, in which he mentioned wanting to join forces with him to deal with Jin Wuwang. The plan was to force Jin Wuwang to hand over the secret techniques of his father, who was also Jin Buhuan's adoptive father, as payment for Jin Buhuan. This shows that his entry into the tomb was part of Bai Choufei's plan. From the beginning, Bai Choufei wanted to kill Jin Wuwang."
"At the end of the letter, Bai Choufei mentioned again that he would come to see Jin Buhuan again and ask Jin Buhuan to prepare an identity for him as a Beggar Clan disciple sent to an outside area. He would also prepare martial arts as a thank-you gift for Jin Buhuan. Recently, Jin Buhuan did indeed kill a young Beggar Clan disciple and disfigure his face."
Without hesitation, Shen Lang blurted out, "Bai Choufei wants to escape and leave Chai Yuguan's command. He only wanted the position of 'finance officer' for the sake of martial arts. Once he has mastered martial arts, such a treacherous person will certainly not be willing to be subordinate to anyone."
Still feeling uneasy, Shen Lang's mind raced, and he continued, "A person like him wouldn't be satisfied with just this. Having gone to such great lengths, since he's leaving in the end, he'll definitely go all the way and steal something else from Chai Yuguan. That's why he wants the identity of an external disciple of the Beggars' Sect. The Fourth Envoy is deeply trusted by Chai Yuguan, and if Bai Choufei leaves for a while, Chai Yuguan will only think that he's busy amassing wealth. But if he steals martial arts techniques before leaving, he'll definitely need an identity that can cover his tracks."
Those who betray others will always be betrayed in return; this is what Chai Yuguan deserves.
Bai Choufei, with his wolfish ambitions; the mastermind behind Bianjing; Chai Yuguan, who is oblivious but possesses superb martial arts skills; and Wang Yunmeng, who is lurking behind and likely has other plans… The situation is complex and confusing, almost dizzying, not to mention the unexpected twists and turns. The whole game is like a spider web covered in poison. If one is not careful, not only will one be unable to unravel it, but one may also lose everything and be reduced to nothing.
“Besides Bai Choufei, there is another person with ulterior motives around Chai Yuguan.” Xie Huailing took a sip of tea and waited for Shen Lang to finish thinking, “‘The Envoy of Lust’ Situ Bian.”
Shen Lang knew that this person had secretly pledged allegiance to the mastermind. The mastermind was only trying to win him over to better monitor Chai Yuguan, or perhaps to silence him after the deed was done. Since Situ Bian had already secretly pledged allegiance, he would inevitably know things that Chai Yuguan didn't. What Xie Huailing needed to add was the new information she had gathered from her in the past day:
"Wang Lianhua disguised himself as a girl and pretended to be abducted, staying with Situ Bian for a day. He was also a superb actor and no one noticed anything amiss. Situ Bian couldn't just leave him 'unconscious' in the dilapidated temple, so he took him to meet a guest during the day. This guest told Situ Bian that a real distinguished guest would soon arrive from Bianjing, a person of great honor and wealth, and hoped that Situ Bian would secretly inform this distinguished guest to prevent Chai Yuguan from having any ill intentions."
His eyes flickered, but he couldn't glean any further clues. "Golden and precious, coming from Bianjing," Shen Lang knew this was beyond his comprehension. He was completely ignorant of officialdom and the affairs of Bianjing. He stroked his chin and smiled wryly, "Young Master Wang is certainly flexible, but unfortunately, I can't glean anything more from him. As for Dugu Shang, he's extremely cautious. He guards the city walls without needing anyone to serve him, and he burns all letters, even those he hides, he carries close to his body."
He sighed, "Unless there is a way to pry him out or subdue him without anyone noticing, it will be impossible to find out his identity as a 'distinguished guest' in a short time."
This person just so happens to be entering the city, and no matter what they want to do to Chai Yuguan, they can't get around him, which makes his identity all the more important.
After speaking, Shen Lang saw Xie Huailing lower her eyes, her gray eyes, like dark eyebrows, lowered behind her eyelashes, casting small shadows like fans beneath them.
The shadow was reflected quietly, then vanished in less than a breath. Xie Huailing raised his eyes and said, "This can be done."
Shen Lang was startled and wanted to speak, but before he could, Xie Huailing said again, "I will handle the matter of getting Situ Bian to speak. Please rest assured, Young Master Shen, I will handle this matter cleanly and efficiently, without leaving any trace."
She didn't have a method that could be done without anyone noticing. But she did have a method that was terrifying, like something out of a god or a ghost.
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