Seeing Qi Laosan's bewildered expression, she smiled again, reached into her bosom, took out a small paper packet, and tossed it to Xiao Nuo, saying, "Take the antidote, and I'll reveal your true form."
This medicine was incredibly miraculous. After Xiao Nuo swallowed it, the swelling all over his body subsided and he returned to normal within moments. Qi Laosan looked at him, even more bewildered: "Who are you...?"
Xiao Nuo smiled and said, "I am Xiao Nuo, the Third Young Master Xiao."
"Young Master Xiao!" Qi Laosan exclaimed in disbelief, "Are you a member of the Xiao family?"
Xiao Nuo scratched his head: "Yeah, you don't need to shout so loudly. This is a long story, I can explain slowly..."
Before he could finish speaking, Qi Laosan clasped his hands in a fist salute and said, "No need. Goodbye."
He left without hesitation, his figure rising and soaring into the sky. However, he was fast, but Xiao Nuo was even faster. With a light touch of her toes, she caught up with him like a hawk, their figures intersecting in mid-air. They exchanged a few words, and when Qi Laosan landed, his expression had calmed considerably. He stared at Xiao Nuo for a long while and said, "You really want to do this?"
Xiao Nuo calmly replied, "If you don't want to, why pretend to be Zhang Xianfang?"
"Even if the mastermind is... him?"
Xiao Nuo answered without hesitation, "Yes!"
Qi Laosan hesitated: "But he is..."
“No matter who he is,” Xiao Nuo said decisively.
Qi Laosan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "In that case, I can really rest assured."
Xiao Nuo smiled and said, "You can rest assured anyway."
The two of them were exchanging questions and answers, leaving Feng Chenxi completely confused. She interrupted, "What are you talking about? Who is he?"
Xiao Nuo turned to her, opened her mouth, then closed it again. After hesitating several times, she finally asked, "Sister, do you know who Seventh Brother is?"
Feng Chenxi shook her head.
Xiao Nuo said, "The person who first came into contact with this person should be Qi Laosan. Let him speak."
Qi Laosan then said, "Three months ago, I received a letter from someone who called himself Seventh Brother. He not only knew everything about the massacre of my sect, but also promised to help me reclaim the Dingbang Treasure Land, on the condition that I exchange it for Lei Jun."
Feng Chenxi said, "The Valley of Fortune is located in a remote area and has little reputation in the martial arts world, yet Seventh Brother knows so much about you. He is truly a remarkable character."
“That’s what I thought too,” Qi Laosan said. “Moreover, after several exchanges of letters, all ten of us brothers were convinced that this person was highly skilled and could definitely help us reclaim our lost territory.”
"So you agreed?" Feng Chenxi asked, raising an eyebrow.
Qi Laosan said in a deep voice, "We have absolutely no reason to refuse."
So, the group of ten arrived in Baili Town on the ninth day of the eighth lunar month, and that evening they met with Brother Qi in the bamboo forest outside the town as agreed. After handing over the mushroom, Brother Qi gave them a large sum of money, far exceeding the value of the mushroom.
To reclaim their territory, the first requirement was sufficient funds, which was also the biggest headache for Qi Laosan and his gang. Seventh Brother solved their immediate problem with a single move, naturally deepening their mutual trust.
Then, Seventh Brother said he had other important matters to attend to and asked them to go to Baili City to watch the Sword Trial Tournament and await his instructions. The tournament hadn't been going on for long when they received a message from Seventh Brother and left halfway through. Upon arriving at the agreed location, they were met by Xiao Jian, and a fight broke out immediately. Unexpectedly, the renowned Han Ya was knocked unconscious with a single move. Afterwards, Little Wine Immortal appeared with a dozen or so men, claiming to be Seventh Brother's confidant, saying that Qi Laosan had caused a great disaster and they should leave the city immediately.
Qi Laosan and the others, intimidated by Xiao Zuo's power, had originally intended to make a hasty retreat, so they followed Xiao Jiuxian out of the city. Unexpectedly, in the bamboo forest outside Baili Town, Xiao Jiuxian suddenly turned against them, insisting that they had killed the second young master of the Xiao family and demanding that they pay with their lives.
Qi Laosan and his men were already caught off guard, and the people brought by Xiao Jiuxian were all top-notch fighters. As soon as they made their move, the eldest and second eldest were killed one after another.
Although Qi Laosan and his gang committed arson, murder, robbery, and all sorts of evil deeds, they had been brothers for twenty years, working together as one and closer than blood brothers. When they saw their brother die, the remaining seven men risked their lives, each move a suicide attack. Although several more died, they gradually gained the upper hand.
Seeing that things were going badly, the young wine connoisseur turned to flee, but was struck by Qi Laosan's hidden weapon and fell to the ground dead.
At the end of the battle, none of the Little Wine Immortal's side survived, while only Qi Laosan survived on the Fortune Valley's side.
The ten members of the Fortune Valley gang came to Baili Town hoping to reclaim their territory and restore their prestige, but they never expected to suffer such a huge change.
Only then did Qi Laosan realize he had fallen into Seventh Brother's trap, vowing revenge. He carefully covered the scene, then disguised himself as the Little Wine Immortal and returned to Baili Town, hoping to catch Seventh Brother off guard and kill him. However, when he actually met Seventh Brother, he discovered that the man's martial arts were extremely high, leaving him no chance to ambush him. His disguise, on the other hand, was very successful; Seventh Brother didn't even notice. Qi Laosan decided to play along, following Seventh Brother closely, slowly gathering evidence, and then devising a plan for revenge…
“I didn’t expect that you would appear so soon,” Qi Laosan said. “I saw that your martial arts and strategies were superior to mine, so I decided to cooperate with you to avenge my brother as soon as possible.”
Xiao Nuo and Feng Chenxi looked at each other, never expecting that such a complicated and tortuous matter was hidden behind this case.
After a moment of stunned silence, Feng Chenxi looked at Qi Laosan and asked, "Then, who exactly is Seventh Brother?"
“He is…” Qi Laosan said slowly, “Gu Zi’ang.”
It was him! Feng Chenxi looked at Xiao Nuo in astonishment: "It was the day we were at Chunxiao Pavilion..."
“Yes, it was him.” Xiao Nuo said with a wry smile, “He must have been observing us that day. It’s ridiculous that we were so eager to find Seventh Brother, yet we met him right in front of us and didn’t recognize him.”
Feng Chenxi couldn't help but smile wryly, but then she suddenly realized something was wrong and stared at Xiao Nuo, saying, "Tell me the truth, when did you find out? Don't tell me you just found out too, I won't believe you!"
“I did know a little earlier than you, but not early enough,” Xiao Nuo said calmly. “When I saw the gold chain with the character ‘Gu’ engraved on Hongxiu’s wrist, I was only suspicious.”
"Was it the night you first met Seventh Brother in the back room?"
“Yes,” Xiao Nuo said. “The lights were very dim that night, and she probably thought I couldn’t see, but I could.”
He saw it; he had suspected Gu Zi'ang ever since, but he hadn't shown it at all! This guy! This guy! Feng Chenxi was so angry she was jumping up and down: "Why didn't you say so sooner?"
“Because…because…” Xiao Nuo hesitated for a long time before letting out a long sigh and saying, “Uncle Cai also knew long ago that Seventh Brother was Gu Zi’ang. If you think about why he didn’t expose him, you’ll know why I didn’t say anything.”
Feng Chenxi calmed down and carefully went through all the details of the matter. Then, connecting it with the conversation between Xiao Nuo and Qi Laosan, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she blurted out, "So it was because of... him!"
“The young lady is indeed clever; it’s all for him,” said Qi Laosan. “Gu Zi’ang is just a romantic and talented man in Baili City. How could he have so many funds and manpower to do such a big thing? Without a doubt, there must be another mastermind behind him, and that person… is him.”
“That’s right. When I learned that Seventh Brother was Gu Ziang, I was certain that there must be a mastermind behind him.” Xiao Nuo interjected, “I deliberately let Gu Ziang go in the dungeon to lure him out.”
But now that the truth is about to be revealed, there is no joy on his face.
Strangely, Qi Laosan's face seemed even worse than his.
"What did you say?" He stared at Xiao Nuo with a icy expression, enunciating each word clearly, "You said you saw Gu Zi'ang in the dungeon and let him go?"
He did not accompany Seventh Brother down to the dungeon, so he was unaware of what had happened.
Xiao Nuo assumed he suspected she was deliberately letting Gu Zi'ang go to protect "him," and quickly reassured him, "I told you it was to lure 'him' into a trap, don't overthink it..."
"I was being too careless! You were just too careless!" Qi Laosan roared. "Don't you even think about what kind of person he is? Friends are just for him to use. Once they're no longer useful... sigh!"
He stomped his foot, turned and ran, shouting as he ran, "Hurry up and run! It's probably too late now!"
Qi Laosan was right; they were indeed late.
Upon entering the city gate of Baili City, the first thing they saw was a human head hanging high on the city wall—Gu Zi'ang's head!
A notice was posted on the bulletin board below the city, stating that Gu Zi'ang had been using the alias Seventh Brother for many years, gathering a motley crew to not only sell large quantities of cold medicine powder, but also to bully the market and wreak havoc on the local area. After investigation by the acting city lord, the multiple crimes were confirmed to be true, and he was sentenced to death to appease the people.
Baili City was founded in secret because of its fame. The government had no idea that such a city existed within its jurisdiction, and there was no record of it in the local chronicles. For hundreds of years, it had been autonomous and self-governing, with the city lord holding the power of rewards, punishments, prisoner life and death. Therefore, when the proclamation stated that this action was a decision made on behalf of the city lord, the people of the city did not find it strange. Some even clapped and cheered, saying that a tyrant had been eliminated.
Only Feng Chenxi and his group felt bitter in their mouths and even more bitter in their hearts. They looked at each other, truly so frustrated that they couldn't utter a single word.
Xiao Nuo, in particular, stared intently at the notice, his blood boiling with anger, and he almost fainted from rage.
You see, it was his idea to let Gu Zi'ang go, hoping to lure "him" into a trap and also to have a witness. Who could have imagined that "he" would kill him so readily, showing no regard for their decades-long friendship! In this way, all the suffering he, Feng Chenxi, Uncle Cai, and Qi Laosan had endured—some injured, some imprisoned, bearing humiliation and toil—all for nothing, including his father Xiao Zuo's painstaking efforts!
What's most unbearable is that all of this happened just one step away from the truth coming out!
What does it mean to fail at the last hurdle? This is the real failure!
Xiao Nuo murmured, "I don't believe it, I don't believe it. How can there be someone in this world who does things so meticulously? Qi Laosan!" He suddenly grabbed Qi Laosan's collar, "You pretended to be the Little Wine Immortal and followed Gu Ziang for so many days, you must have discovered something, right? Right?"
Qi Laosan let him hold him without struggling, and said with a wry smile, "You're right, he really does things meticulously! These days, whenever there's anything, he only contacts Gu Zi'ang. Once he finishes reading the letters, he burns them. I also vaguely know that he exists behind Gu Zi'ang. As for his identity, only Gu Zi'ang can confirm it... Perhaps the real Little Wine Immortal also knows, but he's already dead, and I'm just a fake."
Xiao Nuo took a deep breath, but didn't exhale for a long time. Her face turned bright red, and her eyes were as red as if they were burning with fire.
Feng Chenxi, seeing this, felt a pang of pity and stepped forward to advise, "Xiao Nuo, this isn't really your fault. Think about it, he intentionally made his connection to the outside world solely through Gu Zi'ang. That way, if things went wrong, he could simply cut off Gu Zi'ang's connection, severing all leads and ensuring his safety. Besides, even if you didn't let Gu Zi'ang go, he could easily deny everything when confronted. After all, words are meaningless; we have no concrete evidence, right?" She paused, then sighed softly, "He truly is the most cunning and intelligent person I've ever met. Not to mention us, even your father would probably be helpless against him... Otherwise, why would he have simply run away?"
“That’s not how it is, Miss Feng,” Uncle Cai, who was listening nearby, couldn’t help but say, “Actually, the city lord left so that…”
"You want me to take over, is that it?" Xiao Nuo finally exhaled, but her voice became hoarse and husky. "My father is determined to force me to reveal my true colors. He knows that once he leaves, I can't stand by and watch my second brother be wronged, so he will definitely take over this case, right?"
Uncle Cai hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Xiao Nuo suddenly jumped up and shouted, "But does he think I'm a god? Does he think that pretending to be stupid means I can solve cases? The facts have proven that I can't solve cases! I'm just a fool! I can't beat 'him'!"
Uncle Cai said, "Third Young Master, Third Young Master, don't worry. The City Lord said that if you really have no other choice, he has a way. Why don't I go and ask the City Lord for help?"
"No need!" Xiao Nuo sneered. "Since so many people have already died, I might as well die too! Let's see if my father can still keep his composure! Humph!"
Uncle Cai was both amused and exasperated: "Third Young Master, who are you angry with?"
“You’re wrong, I’m not angry,” Xiao Nuo smiled at him, “I’m just smoking!”
After saying that, he turned and left.
Feng Chenxi was about to catch up, but then stopped and said to Qi Laosan, "Now that things have come to this, there is no point in you staying. You should leave Baili City as soon as possible. I hope you will do less evil in the future and learn from your mistakes."
Qi Laosan said with a wry smile, "After this incident, even if I wanted to do evil, I would have to consider whether I was worthy of it first—if I couldn't get away unscathed afterward, it's better not to do evil."
Feng Chenxi's heart sank. He escaped unscathed. What a perfect escape... He had done all sorts of evil deeds and yet escaped unscathed.
The cycle of Heaven
Uncle Cai seemed to see through my thoughts and said, "I'll escort him for a while. Miss Feng, go and check on my young master, lest he do something foolish."
I nodded, ceasing my thoughts, and turned to chase after Xiao Nuo. The path I followed led straight to the Xiao residence. Could Xiao Nuo be thinking of…?
When I caught up to the main house door, I saw Xiao Nuo push the door open. A word got stuck in my throat. It was too late to stop him now. I sighed inwardly and had no choice but to follow him inside.
A vibrant and graceful crabapple tree sits on the west window of the lobby, its beauty accentuated by the sunlight. A person holds small pruning shears, trimming its branches and leaves. The leaves are lush and green, and the person's hands are slender, white, and delicate, like a woman's, with every movement exuding elegance.
Xiao Nuo stared at the man, her eyes revealing a myriad of emotions.
With a soft "snap," the most beautiful crabapple blossom was cut off. For some reason, I felt a jolt, as if that cut had not been the crabapple, but my heart.
The man turned around and placed the crabapple branch into a crystal vase beside him before turning around and smiling, "Third brother."
He had refined features and an elegant demeanor; even his voice was gentle and full of emotion, yet I felt a chill run down my spine.
Xiao Mo.
The gentle and refined young master Xiao Mo, praised by the world, stood by the window at this moment. The sunlight shone on his face, hair, and clothes, giving rise to a melancholy sense of detachment, as if he had never known him before.
“Third brother,” he smiled, a smile as warm as a spring breeze, “you’ve come at the perfect time. When it comes to eating, drinking and having fun, you’re the most knowledgeable in the entire Baili City. Help your elder brother take a look and see how this vase of flowers is arranged?”
Xiao Nuo didn't look at the flowers, but kept staring into his eyes and said, "The flowers were blooming perfectly well in the pot, why did you cut them? We're both appreciating flowers, what's the difference between flowers in a pot and flowers in a vase?"
Xiao Mo smiled and said, "That's not right. What beauty is there in a flower in a pot with rotten leaves and soil? But when it's placed in a vase, it's crystal clear, the petals are sparkling, and they complement each other perfectly. How clean it is!" As he spoke, he took a silk handkerchief from the side and wiped the tiny bit of dirt off his hands.
Sure enough, what clean hands they were! I bit my lower lip, a surge of anger rising within me. Just as I was about to speak, Xiao Nuo asked before I could, "Why did you kill Gu Zi'ang?"
Xiao Mo raised his eyebrows, looking quite surprised: "Third brother didn't see my notice? He's wreaking havoc on the village; his crime deserves to be punished."
"How did you know about these things, brother?"
"Black Tiger abandoned darkness and came to the light to inform me of this."