With the last syllable uttered, he abandoned Tang Huan and leaped into the air. He pressed on Green Cloud's pressure points to induce sleep, placed her beside a low table, and positioned her with her hands supporting her chin. He then pressed several more pressure points to fix the pose. Once the pressure points were released, Green Cloud, probably due to the psychological trauma of this experience combined with the wonderful feeling of stiff muscles and blocked blood flow, would never again strike that girlish pose so innocently.
At the same time, Tang Huan, having lost Mo Xi's support, collapsed to the ground with a thud, startling those outside. Ahen peeked out from behind the curtain and saw Mo Xi leaning against the young master, his arms wrapped around her, the two sitting embracing on the ground. Mo Xi was whispering in Tang Huan's ear, and Tang Huan was listening intently with her head bowed. Ahen was immediately alarmed and retreated. She quickly grabbed her companions who were about to go in to check on the commotion, warning them that they were strictly forbidden from entering and disturbing the young master unless ordered to do so.
It's no wonder Ah Hen was so easily alarmed. In his mind, someone as fastidious as the young master, even if he was pretending to be paralyzed, would have countless ways to refuse a girl's advances. He'd refused before, but this time he remained completely silent and even ate the food the girl offered him—something that had never happened before. It was clear that the young master felt something special for this girl. Besides, in his mind, Mo Xi had just saved his life, and he never imagined that the truth behind their clasped hands was that Mo Xi was tightly gripping Tang Huan's pulse points, and that her soft whispers were a threat to "cooperate!" He also couldn't possibly imagine that Tang Huan's gentle, alluring lowering of her head was because Mo Xi, to prevent him from giving her a warning look, had violently pulled it down.
Mo Xi went to such lengths to pose because she couldn't deal with those boatmen outside right now. If the boats weren't working, she would be in trouble if Tang Huan was caught by Tang Li.
negotiation
( ) Mo Xi said softly, "If you promise not to call for help, I'll let you speak. If you agree, blink once, okay?" To prevent Tang Huan from going back on his word, Mo Xi pressed her left hand against Tang Huan's lips, ready to dislocate his jaw at any moment to silence him.
Tang Huan blinked rapidly. It was past dusk, and most of the fishing boats had already docked. The few remaining boats on the river were quite far apart, and their cabins were unlit. Mo Xi naturally couldn't notice that Tang Huan's handsome face was already flushed with rosy clouds. After all, he wasn't dead; he was throwing himself into her arms, touching her hand, and whispering sweet nothings…
He had always been a man of impeccable morals, and this was the first time in his life he had been so close to a woman. He had never seen a woman like her before, so bold in her actions, undressing in front of four men without even raising an eyebrow. Her actions, though clearly suggestive and seductive, were performed without any hesitation or shyness, her eyes clear and lucid. And when she attacked him, she showed absolutely no mercy.
Mo Xi, unaware of Tang Huan's current confusion, looked up at him suspiciously. Why was he silent now that the pressure point had been released? Negotiations were difficult without him speaking. Although she seemed to have the upper hand, she was actually just a paper tiger, unable to do anything to him.
It wasn't that Mo Xi was slow-witted; she was self-aware of her appearance. Moreover, she thought she was a reincarnated lecher, and she wouldn't have the leisure to be distracted when someone had a knife to her throat. At this moment, she forgot that she was a paper tiger, and that the other party might not be afraid of her.
"When I was five years old, my parents, in order to find my sister with the help of the Tang Clan, agreed to my grandfather's conditions and returned to the Tang Clan." Tang Huan's warm lips touched Mo Xi's slightly cool palm, and he couldn't continue. Fortunately, seeing that he didn't intend to cause trouble for the time being, Mo Xi gently lowered his hand and held his wrist again.
"But Father didn't know that his eldest uncle saw him as a thorn in his side. In Father's eyes, the Tang Clan was a cage that bound him. The responsibility of the family was a shackle that restrained his freedom. He had already reluctantly accepted the position of sect leader, and later, he was even willing to be expelled from the clan for Mother's sake. But his eldest uncle didn't think so. In his eyes, Father was clever and shrewd, deeply favored by Grandfather and highly regarded by the elders of the family. Otherwise, he wouldn't have bypassed his eldest uncle, the eldest son, to pass the position of sect leader to Father. It wasn't until..." The position of sect leader was passed to my eldest uncle, and my father's return would threaten his position. Therefore, he used a slow-acting poison to kill both my mother and father. This wasn't difficult; although my father came from the Tang Clan, he had been away for many years and was no longer familiar with the various secret medicines of the Tang Clan. Moreover, he had already contemplated suicide when he learned of my mother's poisoning. He only clung to life because he was worried about me, seeking every opportunity to teach me self-defense. He once tried to secretly send me away through my grandfather, but my grandfather was old and frail at that time and was also poisoned by my eldest uncle's poison. Ambushed, I was mentally unstable all day. Later, my father passed away, leaving me alone in the Tang Clan. To cover our tracks, my uncle kept me, this source of trouble. Despite my best efforts, my youth and weakness ultimately led to my cousin Tang Li's scheme to imprison me in the Tang Clan's mechanical research facility, where he severed the tendons in both my legs. Afterwards, he told the elders that I had wandered in by mistake while playing. I didn't expose him, pretending to be young and naive, accepting his and my uncle's feigned kindness. The Tang Clan would never pass the leadership to a cripple; my disability allowed me to survive. So I diligently studied various medical books, searched for herbs, and secretly began to recover. Hard work pays off; after countless efforts, I finally stood up again after ten years. "You touched my legs in the Jushui Pavilion..." At this point, Tang Huan's originally magnetic and gentle voice grew softer and softer, almost inaudible. He paused before continuing, "You must have noticed that my legs are different from ordinary people's, because they haven't been exercised for many years, and I can't use them in the Tang Clan, so they haven't fully recovered."
Mo Xi nodded. Long-term paralysis inevitably leads to muscle atrophy, and she deliberately touched Tang Huan's leg to avoid any mishaps when she made her move. However, Tang Huan's leg made it impossible for her to assess the situation, so she didn't cancel her plan to have Xi'er probe further.
Mo Xi couldn't abandon Xi'er for this reason. Xi'er, at such a young age, was able to keep her promise and risk all dangers to rush to the front of the galloping horse with her frail body. Since she had promised Xi'er not to have any accidents, she could not break her promise.
Mo Xi didn't understand why Tang Huan was having a heart-to-heart talk with her, but she listened quietly without interrupting. When you're in a weaker position during negotiations, it's best to go along with the other party.
Tang Huan had kept these words to himself for fifteen years, never uttering them to anyone. He told Mo Xi these things partly because he subconsciously didn't want her to think he was bloodthirsty, even ruthless towards his own family. But more importantly, he had endured fifteen years of this, and now that he was finally acting, there was no turning back. Although he had made thorough preparations, he couldn't help feeling uneasy. After all, the revenge for his parents and the reckoning with himself were right before his eyes. Victory or defeat was but a fleeting moment, and life was like a drifting duckweed, unsure of tomorrow's fortunes.
However, Tang Huan was overthinking it. Mo Xi, someone who was always ruthless and decisive, never considered the concept of cruelty. Besides, in Mo Xi's view, it was perfectly normal for internal strife to arise in the struggle for power. There were countless examples of people abandoning their parents and siblings, let alone their uncles and cousins.
"But why do you suspect that I am not paralyzed?" Tang Huan asked, puzzled. After all, he had never been discovered in Tangjiabao for so many years.
"Because of that potted green plant. The study is a sensitive area; no one except your closest servants should be allowed in. And the only people you serve closely besides Green Plant are A-Hen. Given his height, he shouldn't be able to place the plant on the top shelf. You put it there yourself." Of course, it wouldn't be impossible for A-Hen to move a chair, but she only started considering this possibility after seeing the plant moved to the bookshelf.
Tang Huan nodded helplessly. Sure enough, those who cherish flowers never have a good ending.
"When did you find out my identity? Was it when we were sheltering from the rain on the pleasure boat?" Mo Xi asked softly. It shouldn't have been difficult for Tang Huan to conceal his martial arts using the Tang Clan's secret medicine. Although Mo Xi tried his best to hide his skills, it wasn't impossible for someone with martial arts skills like him to sense them.
"I've always suspected it was you, but I couldn't be sure until you displayed your martial arts skills today."
It seemed the flaw wasn't with him. Mo Xi's mind raced. He said, "Could it be that the one who stole the 'Rain of Pear Blossoms' blueprints wasn't you, but Tang Li?" Only then could Tang Huan leave Tang Family Fortress easily and legitimately, while Tang Li released him to kill him. The Tang Clan was a family-based gang; someone who killed their own brethren couldn't become the sect leader. Tang Huan's death in Tang Family Fortress would inevitably attract criticism and damage Tang Li's reputation. But if he died at the hands of an outsider, bearing the stigma of embezzlement, no one would investigate the cause of his death. Besides, although Tang Li thought Tang Huan was unskilled in martial arts and might underestimate him, the Tang Clan members were skilled in poisons and hidden weapons. They might not be able to land a fatal blow against an expert like Tang Huan. If they fought within the Tang Clan, a missed attack would have dire consequences. Tang Huan had seen through Tang Li's plan and knew Jinling had a killing move waiting for him, which was why he suspected him, the only stranger who had approached him. Tang Huan did not immediately launch an attack, but instead allowed herself to approach in order to lull the other party into a false sense of security. She used a delaying tactic to drag things out until the day of the formal confrontation. If she were eliminated in advance, there was no guarantee that Tang Li would not resort to other deadly moves.
“Xiao Ou is a spy that Tang Li planted by my side since I was a child. Tang Li is quite patient, waiting until now to use this pawn. He originally planned to kill two birds with one stone by using this matter, both to get rid of me and to provoke and annihilate the rival, the Mechanical Pavilion, in one fell swoop.”
"The blueprints Tang Li gave Xiao Ou weren't real?"
Tang Huan nodded.
Tang Li had no need to put on such a convincing act, revealing his family's unique hidden weapon to the world and handing it over to his competitors. From Xiao Ou handing the blueprints to the bloodshed in Wuyi Lane, only thirteen days had passed. Even making a tangram puzzle takes Mo Xi three days, not to mention the shopkeeper's inadvertent revelation that two master craftsmen had retired to their hometowns during those days. The workshop was simply short-staffed; how could they possibly have created the "Rain of Pear Blossoms," the king of hidden weapons, in just over ten days? The Rain of Pear Blossoms was deliberately given to Xiao Ou by Tang Huan; it was the only part of the day that didn't go according to the script. Because the props malfunctioned. It was like replacing a fake knife with a real one during filming, resulting in the actor dying on set. The people who died in this farce were the eight martial arts practitioners sent by Tang Li. They pretended to surround Xiao Ou to seize the Rainstorm Pear Blossom Nails, but the encirclement was clearly within firing range. That's why their expressions were so surprised when they died; they had assumed the Rainstorm Pear Blossom Nails, made from fake blueprints, wouldn't harm them at all. They died with their eyes wide open in disbelief. The script was supposed to have Xiao Ou captured alive and reveal Tang Huan as the mastermind in front of everyone. But in reality, a bloody scene not in the script occurred: he personally killed the men sent by his master, which is why he stood frozen in the street, at a loss for what to do.
Mo Xi already found it strange. It wasn't surprising that the Wind Group knew the time and place of the delivery; what was strange was that various factions in the martial arts world had received it at the same time and gathered together to watch this spectacle. It turned out that Tang Li had spread the news himself in order to find free eyewitnesses.
If Tang Li hadn't been so greedy and reckless, aiming to destroy his rivals in one fell swoop, and hadn't chosen to target both Tang Huan and the Ingenious Pavilion simultaneously, Tang Huan's plans wouldn't have gone so smoothly. Judging from today's situation, Tang Huan has been operating in Jinling for many years and has a solid foundation. Tang Li's decision to rush into their home turf for the final showdown was extremely unwise. If the battlefield had been moved to Tang Family Fortress, his chances of winning would have been much greater.
“I had Ami intentionally or unintentionally mention the correct way to use the Rainstorm Pear Blossom Nails during his interactions with Xiao Ou. If he accidentally triggers the mechanism, that would be great. If not, the people I secretly arranged will naturally seize the box and trigger the mechanism.”
When Mo Xi heard the Maitreya Buddha shopkeeper call him Amitabha, she was completely stunned.
"You deliberately let Xiao Ou use the Rain of Pear Blossom Nails in broad daylight, probably because you know Tang Li's impulsive and easily angered nature. You let Xiao Ou use a real hidden weapon, which was to make him suspect that the Ingenuity Pavilion was actually your business. Originally, he could restrain himself from coming to Jinling to settle accounts with you because he couldn't miss the wedding, but after the sudden change in his newlywed life, he was enraged by the double shock and brought his men to Jinling overnight, determined to kill you to vent his anger, which just happened to be exactly what you wanted."
When Mo Xi went to the Jiqiao Pavilion to retrieve her makeup box, she guessed it must be Tang Huan's property. The shop assistant had actually led her directly to the storeroom, a place off-limits to unauthorized personnel, clearly only because of Tang Huan's influence. Otherwise, why would such a cunning merchant as the manager offer to remake her makeup box free of charge using precious materials? That bowl of stewed pear with fritillaria was probably a regular dish; otherwise, ordinary shops wouldn't serve it to their customers. And given Tang Huan's discerning tastes, he wouldn't casually eat on someone else's turf; he probably owned the Jushui Pavilion too. The rumor about the Jiqiao Pavilion losing four master craftsmen while making the Rainstorm Pear Blossom Nails was likely spread by the Jiqiao Pavilion itself, making it impossible to suspect that Tang Huan was the mastermind behind it. And Tang Huan was perfectly suited for this kind of business. Openly competing with the Tang Family Fortress, secretly utilizing his own expertise.
Each guest at the Ingenious Pavilion is led to a private room, seemingly for privacy, but unbeknownst to them, their every move is under the owner's control. That upside-down lotus-shaped lamp, if Mo Xi's guess is correct, is a surveillance camera made using the periscope principle. Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that she had just laid out a tangram puzzle on the table, and the owner, who shouldn't have seen it, knew the ingenuity of the tangram? The person who designed this place is definitely not a good person!
A shower of flowers
( ) Right now, the mission is no longer important to Mo Xi; the most urgent task is to get the antidote.
"Is the blueprint you drew the Tang Clan of your imagination?" Mo Xi asked this only to get the ball rolling.
Unexpectedly, this accidental encounter led Tang Huan to regard her as a confidante, and she said, "Yes. The Tang Clan must not be defeated by Tang Yun and Tang Li. It is no different for martial artists to collude with the government than to seek a tiger's skin. They will never have a good ending!"
That's exactly what I wanted to hear! The enemy of my enemy is my temporary ally!
“But the common people don’t fight against the officials. How can an arm twist a thigh?” Mo Xi cautiously probed further.
"But what if it's a business of vying for the throne? Relying on the emperor can certainly bring temporary benefits, but the outcome is still uncertain. If you win, the rabbit is killed and the hound is cooked; if you lose, your whole family is wiped out."
"Whom are Tang Yun and his son betting on?" Mo Xi asked cautiously.
"The seventh prince of the current dynasty, Prince Duan, Li Qi."
Mo Xi no longer wanted to eliminate Tang Huan. Keeping him in charge of the Tang Clan would be a good way to create trouble for Prince Duan through non-violent non-cooperation. In the current situation, the more outstanding her abilities, the worse it was for her; it was better to suffer more defeats to fade from the organization's view and conceal her strength. However, while she didn't want to destroy him, he might not be willing to let her go!
"Tang Yun and his son kept you around, not only to cover their tracks, but also because of your exceptional intelligence and ability to make money for them. However, I don't believe you didn't secretly have a trick up your sleeve. The Rain of Pear Blossom Nails shouldn't be the strongest hidden weapon." He started by making up a story, praising you highly. But it was also true. Tang Huan's ability to become the head of the two core departments, hidden weapons and mechanisms, was entirely due to his design talent, a talent that Tang Li deeply feared, hence his determination to eliminate this major threat. Tang Huan was indeed pitiful; he had to contribute his research results for his own survival while secretly keeping a trick up his sleeve, all for the sake of survival.
"Yes, actually I've been developing a hidden weapon called 'Rain of Flowers.' While the 'Rain of Pear Blossoms' relies on force, 'Rain of Flowers' uses softness instead of steel, making it impossible to defend against." Tang Huan, hearing Mo Xi praise his intelligence, seemed a little elated and couldn't help but chatter on. Little did he know that when Mo Xi spoke of his exceptional intelligence, he was actually lamenting: if this incredibly handsome man grew old into a pot-bellied, bald, and sleazy man, it would truly be a case of—beauties, like great generals, are not allowed to grow old in this world. A human tragedy indeed.
When Mo Xi heard Tang Huan reveal such important research secrets, she felt something was wrong. Was she planning to kill her to silence her?
"Isn't 'a shower of flowers' as light as flying catkins, yet penetrating everywhere?" Mo Xi continued to speak casually without changing his expression.
Unexpectedly, Tang Huan's eyes lit up, and she said, "Miss, you truly understand me. You've hit the nail on the head regarding the essence of 'a shower of flowers'." Mo Xi secretly thought to herself, "Your cooperation is too much. Could it be that I'm about to die and am now experiencing a final burst of energy before death?"
"Could you explain the principle behind it?" Mo Xi continued to stall him, but in her heart she was racking her brains for a way to persuade this invention fanatic to give up the idea of sterilizing her.
"It involves using extremely light materials and relying on natural wind to deliver the poison to the target. As long as a very shallow cut is made, the poison will enter the bloodstream without the target noticing. It hasn't been successful yet. The difficulty is that any metal material is too heavy and cannot achieve the effect of being as light as a flying catkin. Moreover, this kind of concealed weapon is too dependent on wind direction, making it not very practical."
Mo Xi understood that this extremely shallow cut was probably similar to a minor wound caused by a page of a book or a blade of grass. Such wounds are not easily noticed, and the initial reaction of the body is itching rather than pain. The fatal skill of this hidden weapon does not lie in using brute force to injure vital organs, but rather in its subtle and silent nature, making it impossible to defend against.