“Madam, he doesn’t approach us easily, and we can’t get close to him either!” Zhou Xingchuan said.
“Besides, he is very familiar with my master’s martial arts style. So is my eldest uncle, after all, he has been in Wudang for fifteen years. Although I have never seen his martial arts, it is said that his martial arts are unfathomable.” Zhou Tianhao continued, “The reason for asking you to take the risk is that he may not be on guard against you. Only in this way may you be able to stop him in one move.”
“That can’t be said like that. Does that mean my master should take this risk?” Lanqin said, still displeased.
Fourth Master watched as Lanqin defended him in front of the two Taoist priests. Although the two priests had put him at risk, he was in a good mood and said, "Alright, but you must hand over that fake sect leader to me. Since I captured him, it's not unreasonable for me to deal with him, is it?"
Zhou Xingchuan and Zhou Tianhao exchanged a glance. They hadn't expected Fourth Master to make such a request. Finally, Zhou Xingchuan asked, "How does Your Excellency intend to deal with him?"
Fourth Master looked at him and said, "Judging from what the Taoist priest said, it seems he doesn't want to hand him over to me?"
Zhou Xingchuan said, "He imprisoned our master under the Five Dragon Platform for fifteen years and sat in the position of sect leader for fifteen years. We cannot easily hand this person over; we must deal with him severely to rectify the atmosphere of the entire sect."
“Then you can arrest them yourselves. You want our master to arrest them for you, but you won’t hand them over to our master for disposal. How can you do this?” Lanqin said.
"Let's go!" Fourth Master stood up and pulled Lanqin to leave.
"Please wait, Your Excellency!" Zhou Xingchuan interrupted. "If Your Excellency insists on handling this personally, that's fine, but our master must interrogate him personally."
Seeing that he had already conceded, Fourth Master stopped and said, "That's fine, but this person must be handed over to me to take away. You cannot decide his life or death!"
Zhou Xingchuan said, "Alright, please stay and discuss tomorrow's actions with us. Madam, you should go back and rest first."
Clearly, Zhou Xingchuan was quite displeased with Lanqin's repeated interruptions and wanted to send her away. But Lanqin refused, pulling on Fourth Master's arm and saying, "Daoist Master, you don't need to hide anything from me. I'll listen here."
“She is one with me, there’s no need to hide it from her. If you have a plan, Daoist Master, please speak frankly,” Fourth Master said, stopping in his tracks.
Left with no other choice, Zhou Xingchuan had Lan Qin listen in, and the four of them began to plot their operation at Jin Ding the next day. Zhou Xingchuan and Yuan Xinghui agreed that the eldest brother's men would secretly infiltrate Nan Yan to subdue the third brother's men; Zhou Xingchuan's men would go to Wulongtai to subdue the fourth brother's men and rescue the old sect leader. The fourth master would accompany them to Jin Ding, each bringing three of their own disciples, who would then personally capture the third and fourth junior brothers. The fourth master's task was to take the fake sect leader by surprise and subdue him in one move.
"How confident are you?" Fourth Master asked.
“If you can subdue him, we should be 70% confident. We know the martial arts skills of the third and fourth brothers. Their men are trapped in their respective palaces and can’t get out, so the situation can be settled,” Zhou Xingchuan said.
"So, it seems your chances of winning lie with me? Then you must tell me what his weaknesses are, right?" Fourth Master said.
“In the past fifteen years, he has rarely been close to us. He has either been in seclusion or practicing the Golden Core. If we were to say that he has any weakness, it would be hard to say,” Zhou Xingchuan said.
“How can I defeat someone who has no weaknesses and whom I have never fought before?” Fourth Master said.
The two Taoist priests fell silent for a moment. They knew that expecting Fourth Master to subdue the fake sect leader in one move was indeed asking too much of him. But they couldn't think of any other way!
"What ideas do you have, sir?" Zhou Xingchuan asked.
The fourth master then wiped the smile from his face and asked, "Daoist Master, who is in charge of his daily life?"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Tianhao's face flashed with a strange expression, and he asked, "Does Your Excellency mean to tamper with his food and daily life, so that he has no chance to fight back?"
Fourth Master nodded and said, "Only in this way can we be absolutely certain of success. Otherwise, I cannot guarantee whether I can subdue him."
Lanqin nodded and said, "Take advantage of the fact that he is not aware of it and is not so on guard, and act quickly so that he has no chance to fight back."
“Master, I think their idea isn’t necessarily bad. We don’t need to talk to him about morality and ethics now, as long as we can control him, that’s enough,” Zhou Tianhao said.
“Alright, but I’m worried that if he notices what’s in the food, won’t that alert him?” Zhou Xingchuan said.
“Let’s tamper with his breakfast, so we can make our move when we have him in our grasp. Our innocent ladies won’t be defiled,” Fourth Master said.
The two Taoist priests' concerns were gradually dispelled by the Fourth Master, and they finally agreed. The headmaster's meals were still being prepared by Changfang Ridge, but the person serving him daily was someone who attended to him personally. To poison the fake headmaster's food without his noticing was no easy task.
Fourth Master discussed many methods of poisoning with the two Taoist priests, but they rejected them all because the methods were too direct and would be easily detected. Lanqin listened from the side, knowing that her master had no good ideas, so she could only listen silently.
After much deliberation, they still couldn't come up with a good way to poison him. Finally, the Fourth Master said, "Why not bribe the person who brings the food?"
“No. He’s been following the fake sect leader for over a decade, and he’s probably already one of his confidants. If we go to him rashly, we’ll be telling them our whole plan,” Zhou Xingchuan said.
“I have an idea, but I don’t know if it’s feasible?” Lanqin suddenly said.
Fourth Master gestured for Lanqin to continue.
Lanqin thought of the poisoned apple in Snow White. She said, "Why don't we make a cake for that fake sect leader tomorrow? The outer edge of the cake is not poisoned, but the core is. I think even if he can detect poison, he won't realize that the poison isn't on the outer crust, but in the core."
Everyone stared at Lanqin, as if her words were laughable, but Fourth Master finally smiled and said, "I think her idea is very good!"
“Okay, let’s do it that way,” Zhou Xingchuan said quickly.
After Fourth Master took Lanqin back, Zhou Xingchuan summoned his four disciples to discuss matters for the next day. That night, the lights at Taizipo and Zixiao Palace remained on until late.
Wulongtai and Nanyan seemed completely oblivious, continuing as usual.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
