"You're so scary." Yin Wuxiao gritted his teeth and stared intently at Qiao Fenglang.
Qiao Fenglang was surprised that she would speak up at this moment.
“You’re not seeking revenge, you’re just venting. Your hatred has nowhere to go, and it’s turned you into a monster.” She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, they were glistening with tears. Her voice was weary: “Brother Fenglang, you shouldn’t…hate me so much. Please stop, okay?”
Qiao Fenglang felt a jolt in his chest, as if something sharp had slashed through his heart.
"Brother Fenglang, shall we sneak out to play?"
"Brother Fenglang, will you help me make a kite?"
"Brother Fenglang, I broke Aunt Yun's porcelain... Please don't tell her, okay?"
"Brother Fenglang...is that alright?"
Amidst gasps from the crowd, Yin Wuxiao fell to the ground like a bright red butterfly, leaving the stunned Qiao Fenglang no time to catch her.
"Xiao'er!" Mu Li let out a wounded beast-like howl.
"Miss!" Fang Hongjing stepped forward, glaring angrily.
Qiao Fenglang's heart stirred.
"Carry the lady to the inner hall to take care of her." His gaze remained fixed on the scene, and he suddenly smiled smugly.
"Qingyi, it is truly an honor for the entire 'Traceless' organization that 'Soul-Hooking's' disguise technique has caught your eye."
Everyone was awed.
Mu Li suddenly turned around and glared at Fang Hongjing behind her.
Fang Hongjing paused for a moment, then raised his eyebrows: "I've given myself away." He removed the human skin mask from his face.
Are you cold?
Yin Wuxiao vaguely heard someone ask her that question.
She wanted to say she was cold, but couldn't open her mouth. There was an indescribable smell in the air, damp and rotten.
"Cold, that's right." The person's voice suddenly drew closer, their breath almost touching her ear.
She suddenly opened her eyes.
"Who...who are you?" she managed to utter broken sentences, the dark figure before her making her dizzy.
“You don’t recognize me.” The man laughed gruffly, and his features gradually became clearer. He wore a strange mask, revealing only his eyes, and had a slender figure, so he seemed to be a woman.
"Where is this?" The person who appeared next to her should have been Mansi.
“This place is still ‘Traceless’.” The strange man waved his hand, and a person stepped forward from behind him, respectfully calling out in a soft voice, “Master.”
Yin Wuxiao looked closely and realized that the person was none other than Yuwen Cuiyu! This strange man was Yuwen Cuiyu's master, the founder of "Wuhen," and the one who taught Qiao Fenglang martial arts after he was injured and lost his memory. This person was still alive!
She then realized she was tied to a stone platform. The ropes were actually useless, since she was already unable to move.
"Don't you want to know what's really going on?" the strange man laughed again.
Yin Wuxiao turned his head away wearily. "I already know enough."
Seeing her lack of enthusiasm, the strange man didn't force her. He reached out and turned one side of the stone platform, and the opposite wall vanished with a whoosh. In its place was a crystal wall as smooth as a mirror, with shadowy figures moving on it and faint sounds audible.
"This is..." Even with her vast experience, Yin Wuxiao was speechless with astonishment. She noticed that Yuwen Cuiyu was also both surprised and puzzled by the sight.
The strange man turned his back: "This is a rare stone that is only seen once in a hundred years. Through its ingenious design, it can transmit the scene seen through a small hole in the hall wall to this place. Isn't that a masterpiece of nature?"
"Is this the scene in the hall?" Yin Wuxiao was stunned. She looked closely and indeed saw the figures of Qiao Fenglang and Mu Li, while Baili Qingyi stood between the two, speaking calmly.
"What is your purpose in showing me these things?" Yin Wuxiao's heart suddenly pounded, and he vaguely sensed that something terrible was about to surface.
Sometimes you think you've grasped the whole picture, but you don't realize that there's an even bigger mystery hidden behind it all.
“Master…” Yuwen Cuiyu also looked at the strange man with confusion, but when she met his sharp gaze, she hurriedly lowered her head, concealing her fleeting doubt: “Master naturally has his own reasons.”
"Yuwen Cuiyu!" Yin Wuxiao shouted, "Look carefully! Can't you see it now? There are actually two Fenglang brothers!"
"What?" Yuwen Cuiyu exclaimed in disbelief.
Yin Wuxiao stared at the ceiling of the secret room, unable to bear looking at her: "Brother Fenglang has a twin brother. The one you fell in love with is Brother Fenglang, but when I confessed my feelings for you that night, it was someone else, Mu Li. He deceived everyone, including you."
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Cuiyu remained silent for a long while before laughing: "Why should I believe you?"
"You..." Yin Wuxiao suddenly felt a pang of pity for her. "If you don't believe me, why don't you see for yourself?"
Yuwen Cuiyu turned around with some doubt. Through the crystal wall, she saw two men with identical figures facing each other. Although one of them had been disfigured, the similarities between the two were still easy to see.
"You're too fixated on this. You only see the name and the status, but you can't see that the current Qin Qiyun and the Feng Lang you fell in love with back then are the same person. And although the current Feng Lang looks the same, his personality is completely different from before!"
"Yu'er, this girl is stalling for time, can't you see that?" The strange man chuckled, showing no concern whatsoever about the impact of Yin Wuxiao's words on Yuwen Cuiyu.
"..." Yuwen Cuiyu stared at the two people at the other end, unable to hide her suspicion any longer, and couldn't help but ask, "But Master, what if what she said is true... if Qin Qiyun really is him..."
"Wake up, will you? Qin Qiyun was pulled into 'Traceless' by your master. How could he not know his true identity? Maybe your master orchestrated all of this!"
"Hmph, how dare you! You actually dare to sow discord between us, master and disciple? Yu'er, do you believe her but not your master?"
"Disciple wouldn't dare!" Yuwen Cuiyu lowered her head in alarm. "This vile woman's words are full of flaws, how could disciple believe them?"
Yin Wuxiao couldn't help but feel a little pathetic: "Whether it's full of flaws or not, you know it in your heart. It's an indisputable fact that Brother Fenglang fell in love with you back then, otherwise why would there have been a wedding banquet at Chuxiu Manor?"
"That...that's Qin Qiyun trying to use the prestige of my Yuwen family!" Yuwen Cuiyu cried out in a desperate attempt to escape, but her flustered tone betrayed her inner uncertainty. She looked at the strange man pleadingly: "Master, tell me, everything she said is false. If you tell me, I will believe you!"
If what Yin Wuxiao said is true, then who has been the target of all this hatred she's harbored over the years? What has been the point of all her revenge and conspiracies? The elaborate scheme she orchestrated at the wedding banquet at Chuxiu Manor only took her further and further away from what she wanted! What a cruel irony!
"Hmph," the strange man sneered, suddenly ceasing his defenses. Before Yuwen Cuiyu could react, he swiftly sealed all the vital acupoints on her body.
“Yu’er, you are truly the most unsuccessful disciple I have ever taught. Even if you believe it now, you should pretend not to believe it in order to save your life.”
Yuwen Cuiyu stared in disbelief at the strange man, dumbfounded: "Master! Could it really be you...?"
“It was me,” the strange man readily admitted. “It was all me. I did everything. I saved Qiao Fenglang, helped him regain his memory, and taught him to kill all those who had wronged him and all those he disliked.”
"Since you knew all this, why did you still send me to kill someone...?"
“That’s right. I knew perfectly well that the person in the position of leader of the Qiao Gang was an imposter, and I still hinted that you should infiltrate Yin Wuxiao’s side so that we could make our move when the opportunity arose. I just didn’t expect that you, this useless thing, couldn’t even attract Mu Li’s attention. So I had to encourage you to kill everyone in the Yin family. But I didn’t expect that you couldn’t even do such a simple thing well and let Yin Wuxiao escape!”
“In fact, it was I who told Mu Li that as long as Qiao Fenglang was gone, you,” he pointed to Yin Wuxiao, “would naturally belong to him. That’s why he was able to make up his mind to assassinate his own brother, personally disfigure him and push him off the cliff.”
Unable to calm the shock in his heart, Yin Wuxiao asked in a trembling voice, "What deep-seated hatred do you have for our Qiao and Yin families? Why would you go to such lengths to make us kill each other and separate our families?"
"Deep-seated hatred? Hmph, my hatred extends far beyond the Qiao and Yin families. I also hate the Baili Manor, the Qiong Sect, Mu Wanfeng, and the entire martial world!"
"So, all these years you've been using me?" Yuwen Cuiyu seemed to have her soul ripped out in an instant, leaving only an empty shell.
"Use you?" The strange man's tone turned ferocious. "You are not worthy of being used by me at all. All those years of painstakingly teaching you have been for nothing! I thought you resembled me when I was young, and I thought I could rely on you to get rid of my enemies in this world. I never expected you to be such a useless ghost! You only care about men, where is your master? What can a woman as spineless as you accomplish?"
"Look at those two kids outside, aren't they both incredibly intelligent? Yet they're still completely manipulated by me. Hmph, so what if they're the sons of the Qiao Gang leader and the Qiong Sect leader? They still ended up killing each other, didn't they? Qiao Baiyue, you've been clever all your life, did you ever foresee this day?"
Yin Wuxiao was terrified: "You...who exactly are you?"
The strange man laughed triumphantly: "Xiao'er, so even someone as clever as you has moments of helplessness?"
Chapter Twenty-Two: Overlapping Joy Turns into Sorrow (Part Two)
Yin Wuxiao and Yuwen Cuiyu both turned pale.
Yuwen Cuiyu was thinking about how meaningless the path she had walked over the years had been. She was completely immersed in confusion, as if she had suddenly lost her way and did not know what to do next.
Yin Wuxiao's mind was racing.
The person before them not only possessed intimate knowledge of the Qiao family's secrets but also had a significant connection to the deceased Qiao Baiyue. Furthermore, she knew intimately about Yin Wuxiao, Mu Li, and Qiao Fenglang, and the relationships between them. Such a person must have been lurking within their inner circle, someone intimately familiar with them. Who could it be?
In the end, Yin Wuxiao dared not think any further.
Suddenly, on the other side of the crystal wall, a person in the crowd walked smiling to the center of the hall, said something, and then gently wiped his face with his hand.
Yin Wuxiao felt a little relieved. Since this person had come, he must have a way to resolve this matter.
But even if he was the smartest and most powerful person in the martial arts world, how could he have guessed that there would be a mechanism like the Crystal Wall, or that there would be layers upon layers of mystery behind the whole thing?
Now, however, she should be worried about her own safety. She chewed a Chinese medicine pill. According to the plan, Mansi should have been there to meet her, but why had she fallen into the hands of this strange man and been forcibly awakened? She couldn't help but start to worry, wondering how Mansi was doing.
On the other side of the crystal wall, Mu Li stared dumbfounded at Baili Qingyi, who had suddenly appeared.
"You...didn't you gather the Nine Villages and Eighteen Sects and wait at the foot of the mountain? How come you're here?"
"Chief Qiao, or should I call him Chief Mu?" Baili Qingyi walked to the center of the hall, looked around, and his stern gaze made everyone around him involuntarily lower their heads, not daring to look directly at him.
"You knew all along? You knew my true identity all along?" Mu Li exclaimed in disbelief, suddenly looking up at Qiao Fenglang with a crazed glint in her eyes. "Could it be you? Did you join forces against me? Baili Qingyi! Although I am at odds with you, I have never done anything to harm your Baili family. Why did you harm me?"
"Join forces?" Qiao Fenglang seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. "If Baili Qingyi would join forces with anyone, how could I have let you live to this day!" He turned to Baili Qingyi: "Young Master Qingyi, I remember your life-saving grace that day. But today's matter is a family affair of the Qiao family. Does Young Master Qingyi really intend to interfere?"
Baili Qingyi frowned: "This matter has developed to the point where it is no longer a private affair of your Qiao family. Qiao Fenglang, you were betrayed by Mu Li, resulting in disfigurement and amnesia. The martial world will give you justice. However, in your pursuit of revenge, you have implicated too many innocent people. The Baili family will not stand idly by."
He looked around the hall and said again, "'The Traceless' organization has been a menace to the martial arts world for many years and has a long history of bloodshed. Baili Prefecture must investigate and punish them to give the world an explanation."
Qiao Fenglang laughed loudly: "Young Master Qingyi speaks so succinctly. But I can't help but ask, how did you find out all the grudges and intricacies involved? And how did you know that I am the master of 'Wuhen'? As far as I know, Baili Prefecture has been investigating the origins of 'Wuhen' for many years without any leads. How did you suddenly have divine assistance and even find my 'Wuhen' headquarters?"
Baili Qingyi smiled and said, "To paraphrase an old saying, if you don't want others to know, then don't do it in the first place. Although Brother Qiao's plan is meticulous, it is not without flaws."
Qiao Fenglang coldly snorted: "What flaw? She's just a woman, a woman that neither of us could bring ourselves to eliminate completely." He pointed at Mu Li.
Mu Li suddenly realized: "Xiao'er, it's Xiao'er! So all your pretense and sweet talk were just to use Xiao'er to find out the truth! Baili Qingyi, you are so despicable!"
Qiao Fenglang glanced at Mu Li with disdain: "What right do you have to call someone despicable? If we're talking about exploitation, who hasn't exploited Xiao'er? My innocent sister—no, now it's Madam—is the one who exploited her. All of this was just an unexpected disaster for her. Her mistake was getting involved with you and me. Don't you think so, brother?"
Mu Li was terrified: "You... what do you intend to do?" He brandished his longsword, "Hand over Xiao'er immediately, or my Qiao Gang... my Qiao Gang and the Nine Villages and Eighteen Sects will not let you go!"
Qiao Fenglang casually pulled out a short dagger and carefully wiped it clean: "No need to rush. Since I have set up this wedding banquet today, I have naturally made all the necessary preparations. Neither you nor the young master in blue should expect to step out of my 'Traceless' form."
As soon as he finished speaking, the short dagger in his hand shot out like lightning, embedding itself in a slightly protruding stone slab in front of Mu Li's feet. Before anyone could react, the entire hall suddenly shook violently, and except for the spot where Qiao Fenglang was standing, the rest of the ground collapsed, and everyone screamed as the hall plummeted downwards.
Baili Qingyi instinctively felt a fierce, upward-blowing wind beneath his feet; it turned out that there was a cliff below the hall! In a flash of inspiration, he drew a long whip from a nearby person, swung it, and one end hooked onto a protruding rock on the hall's ceiling, while the other wrapped around a nearby pillar. The downward momentum of the ground was momentarily halted by this pull, and just before the whip could break under the weight, three more whips wrapped around the rocks. Gripping the dangling whips, Baili Qingyi used the momentum to leap away, then unleashed a palm strike using all his life's skills.
The panicked cries of the crowd abruptly ceased. At this critical moment, Baili Qingyi, with her own strength, used her palm to push the falling foundation away from its original straight downward trajectory, inserting it into the cliff face to the side, penetrating more than ten feet deep!
However, the foundation still couldn't withstand the weight of so many people, and it broke in two from the middle. One half fell to the bottom of the cliff, while the other half remained on the cliff face. Mu Li and the others managed to grab onto the edge of the foundation and slowly climbed up to the safe half. Looking at the bottomless, misty abyss below, they breathed a sigh of relief in terror.
Qiao Fenglang coldly glanced at Baili Qingyi, who was dangling in mid-air, gripping a long whip tightly, and sneered, "Young Master Qingyi, I still underestimated you."
Baili Qingyi looked at the people who couldn't escape to the safe half of the foundation in time and could only fall with the other half. Her eyes turned cold: "I underestimated you. I didn't expect you to kill even the 'Traceless' group just to kill me."
Qiao Fenglang laughed triumphantly: "Of course, otherwise how would you, Young Master Qingyi, have fallen into this trap?" He glanced at Mu Li with disdain, "That incompetent fellow is not worth my time and effort."
Baili Qingyi leaped to Qiao Fenglang's side, her face extremely serious: "What other tricks do you have up your sleeve?" If this was all Qiao Fenglang had to offer, he wouldn't be worthy of being the treacherous and ruthless master of "Traceless".