Stranger Danger

The ninth floor of the Jade Pendant Restaurant was reserved for its best customers. It was lavishly decorated and equipped with any service and facility a guest might require.

Right now, Chen Cang was lying inside a massive bathtub, naked.

He wasn’t soaking in hot water though. Instead, the bathtub was foggy and filled with countless pests such as snakes, worms, mice and ants. It was horrifying to say the least.

Chen Cang’s body was currently covered in countless cracks infused with sword qi. Every time a pest made the unfortunate mistake of crawling past one such crack, his sword qi would turn them into mincemeat and absorb their flesh and blood, slowly mending his wounds.

An unknown amount of time later, after his physical wounds were completely healed, Chen Cang exhaled a puff of sword qi and opened his eyes. Then, he left the bathroom, sat down beside a table, and poured himself a cup of wine. He sipped his wine with a pleased look on his face while looking out of the window where countless armed men were running about carrying a portrait of Ye Qing in their hand.

He was the one who kickstarted the manhunt for Ye Qing from behind the shadows, of course.

For starters, he was the one who forged the letter Xiang Weilong had supposedly left behind at Weilong Villa. In order to avoid suspicion, he summarized Xiang Weilong’s objective as succinctly as possible and only mentioned Ye Qing’s name in the letter. He also made sure to write it in a way that fit Xiang Weilong’s character as best he could. The detailed information regarding Ye Qing was spread through other channels.

In fact, the best way to minimize mistakes was to minimize the amount of necessary work. All he needed to do was to convince Dragonmount Duke that Xiang Weilong was killed because he coveted the treasures Ye Qing obtained after sacking Goddess City, but failed because he was too weak. Dragonmount Duke was the kind of guy who would rather kill a hundred innocents than allow a slight to go unchecked. He would never let Ye Qing go even if it turned out that the young man wasn’t the one who killed Xiang Weilong.

As for him, he had intentionally enfeebled his presence in all the intel he leaked. The only ones who were aware of his role were Xiang Weilong, Nefarious Codger, Tyrant Bow and Ye Qing, and everyone except Ye Qing was dead. Sure, Ye Qing could reveal the truth and claim that he, Sword Ghoul, was the true mastermind behind Xiang Weilong’s death, but so what? To begin with, there was little chance that Dragonmount Duke would believe him. Even if he did, he was the kind of bastard who would say, “My son is dead, so why should you live?” and kill him anyway.

Finally, on the extremely miniscule chance that the Dragonmount Duke decided to let Ye Qing go for whatever reason and come after him instead, where would they even begin to track him down?

Besides, the young man’s presence in Yan was weak, and he must be busy hiding from the Dragonmount Duke’s men right now. Where would he find the time to unveil his conspiracy?

Did he even know that he, Chen Cang, was still alive?

If not, then how could he possibly know that he was pulling the strings from the shadows?

If Ye Qing was the fish, then he was the fisherman, one that Ye Qing didn’t even know existed. All he needed to do was to sit in his ivory tower and just enjoy the beast’s final struggle.

If there was one thing he was disappointed about the current situation, it was the fact that the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance hadn’t found Ye Qing yet. There was no hurry though. He was fishing after all. Everyone knows that patience was paramount when it came to fishing. Plus, wasn’t part of the enjoyment watching the fish trying to hide from their hunters, ultimately getting caught in the fisherman’s net, struggling valiantly but futilely to break free, and finally succumbing to despair?

“Amusing. How amusing.”

Chen Cang could not help but laugh out loud when he thought until this point.

“Hmm? Who’s there?”

Suddenly, Chen Cang felt a couple of unfamiliar auras locking onto his person.

Boom!

As soon as the words left his mouth, the doors, the windows, and even the roof abruptly exploded into smithereens. Seven warriors raced into his room and surrounded him from all sides.

“Who are you people?” Chen Cang was caught completely off guard by the sudden attack.

“Who are we? We know what you did, Sword Ghoul!” A Trueman wielding twin hooks sneered.

Chen Cang’s heart skipped a beat when he heard his moniker coming out of the Trueman’s mouth, but he kept a tight rein over his emotions and responded calmly, “I’m not the Sword Ghoul. Did you get the wrong person?”

“Still trying to weasel your way out at this point?” The leader of the group sneered. “It is bad enough that you plotted the death of my chief’s son, but you even tried to dupe the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance and use us as your butcher’s knife. Do you really think we would be so easy to manipulate[1].?”

Chen Cang’s heart sank when he heard the man’s words, but he still did not give up and tried to defend himself, “I truly do not understand what you guys are saying.”

“You don’t understand, eh? I’m sure you will as soon as you watch this.” The man let out a cold chuckle and waved a talisman into existence. The talisman melted into a puddle of water, and a scene began playing inside the water.

“Flower Moon Reflection Talisman?” Chen Cang’s brow furrowed deeper. At the same time, deep unease and fear began to well inside his heart.

The next moment, his image and his voice appeared from the puddle.

……

“Cough… I admit that your strength is formidable, but just because you’re strong doesn’t mean you’re going to win, you know?”

“You are correct. They are useless. But even trash can be recycled, can it not? Do you know who Xiang Weilong is?”

“Never mind, I can tell from your oblivious expression that you have no idea, so I will enlighten you myself. Xiang Weilong is the head of the Weilong Villa, and his father is the infamous Dragonmount Duke.”

“Do you know who the Dragonmount Duke is? He’s the chief of the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance of Yannan’s wulin, and Xiang Weilong is his only son. Pray tell, what are the chances he’ll overlook the fact that you killed his only son? Hahaha…”

“You know, I was hoping to kill you with my own two hands, but you were just too powerful. So, just in case my first plan failed, I came up with a backup plan. Even if you haven’t killed Xiang Weilong, I would’ve taken him out for you. It won’t be long before the Dragonmount Duke finds out that you’re the one who killed Xiang Weilong. Do look forward to it.”

……

Chen Cang’s mind went blank as the scene in the puddle played. This was his conversation with Ye Qing back at the Marsh of Eternal Snow, but he was the only one who appeared in the scene. Neither Ye Qing’s silhouette nor voice were anywhere to be found.

There were many Magia, secret arts, Strange Artifacts and talismans that possessed the ability to inscribe images and record voices such as the Image Capturing Flower, Tongue Learning Bird, Voice Transmitting Grass, Water Moon Spell, Round Mirror Art and more.

The Flower Moon Reflection Talisman was one such talisman, and it could inscribe both voice and image within a certain period of time.

Who did this?

Suddenly, Chen Cang recalled Ye Qing’s face when they were ridiculing each other. His expression had been one of scorn, ridicule, and disdain, almost as if he knew something Chen Cang didn’t.

It was him. It can only be him.

If there was anyone who had the chance to record the conversation while it was ongoing, it could only be Ye Qing himself.

The question was, how in the fuck did Ye Qing thought to record their conversation while they were fighting to the death?

Was there a screw loose or ten in his head?

“What else do you have to say for yourself, Sword Ghoul?”

The man wielding twin hooks noticed Chen Cang’s expression and sneered. “To think that a small fry like you dared to murder our chief’s son and toy with the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance. You must have been born with a humongous pair of balls, huh?”

“I’ll give you this, Ye Qing. You got me good,” Chen Cang snarled under his breath.

Because of this recording’s existence, his conspiracy to kill Xiang Weilong and use the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance as his butcher’s knife was completely exposed. There was no longer any chance he might persuade anyone to accept his version of the truth.

One thing still puzzled him, however. How on earth did the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance find him? He had changed his appearance, hid his aura, and even concealed his destiny using a Strange Artifact. It should be impossible for the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance to track him down.

Was it him? Was it he who leaked my location?

But that didn’t make sense either. For one, Ye Qing must still think that he was dead. Even if he suspected that something was amiss, it still didn’t explain how his nemesis was able to find him.

Was there a master diviner in the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance then? One that could somehow circumvent his Strange Artifact’s ability and unearth his hiding spot?

Or maybe he made a mistake and slipped up somehow?

He could not understand. He could not figure out the truth no matter how hard he thought.

So, Chen Cang decided to find out the answer by asking the man in front of him, “How did you find out that I am here?”

1. Yes, yes you are easy to manipulate. You’re dancing to someone’s tune right now. ☜