“Young Miss, please look again!” I pointed to the wound between his eyebrows and said, “This is a sword wound, and it was from an extremely fast sword, which is why it left such a narrow and deep wound. Baili Chenfeng is the number one swordsman in Baili City. There are probably very few people in the world who can kill him with a single sword strike, or rather, there is no one at all! So there is only one answer: it was someone he knew who did it to him, and this person is a master swordsman—Xiao Zuo. Please draw your sword.”
Xiao Zuo stared at me, two flames burning in his eyes. Angry? Good. The angrier you are, the more openings you'll reveal. It would be best if you drew your sword and killed me now; then, Xiao Zuo, you'd be truly finished!
However, he was no ordinary man. A flash of anger crossed his face, then vanished like still water. My heart trembled. This man was truly the most terrifying opponent I had ever encountered. To remain so calm in this situation was truly frightening! But I would see how long he could stay calm. If you were a walnut, I would crack your shell bit by bit, leaving you with no escape, until you were utterly shattered!
"Young Master Xiao dares not draw his sword? Does that mean he acquiesces?" I laughed three times, stood up, and looked him straight in the eye, neither of us giving way. Xiao Zuo, you are not a god, you are human. Humans have weaknesses, and your weakness is—
I glanced at Gong Feicui and softened my voice: "Actually, there's something else I've been thinking about for a long time. Young Master Xiao is dealing with Baili Chenfeng, so why drag our Gong family into it? The Gong family has no connection with Baili City and won't stop you from becoming the city lord. Why do you need to use the excuse of giving away treasures to involve us? But now, I understand."
Xiao Zuo's eyebrows slowly rose, making his entire face look terrifying. "Very well, have I touched your weakness? Xiao Zuo, this is just the beginning. Take it slow, the real show is yet to come. I promise, it will be very interesting, extremely interesting."
Were you smug when you weren't drugged by my poison? Were you smug when you stole my bracelet without anyone noticing? Were you smug when you did all those seemingly mysterious and secretive things?
What a joke! Who am I, Feng Xiansu? How could I tolerate your insolence in front of me time and time again?
I took a few steps toward Gong Feicui, but my gaze remained fixed on Xiao Zuo's face. I slowly said, "You colluded with a gang of ghosts in the mountains and the people from the Thunderbolt Hall to put on a show for you all the way. You even used the Dragon King and the Five Dragons of the Yellow River to take the young lady to see the Dragon Palace and confess to her that you stole the bracelet. You did all this for only one purpose—to please the young lady and then indirectly seize the Gong family! Otherwise, with your cunning and shrewd personality, why would you have opposed the young lady at every turn from the beginning? That's because—you knew that the young lady was arrogant and looked down on ordinary men, so you deliberately used the tactic of playing hard to get!"
Gong Feicui hadn't spoken until now, when she suddenly asked in a trembling voice, "Is it true?"
She wasn't looking at me, she was looking at Xiao Zuo. Xiao Zuo didn't avoid her gaze, but he still didn't speak.
I snorted coldly and continued, "Bai Li Wenming knew he was nearing the end of his life, so he sent Bai Li Chenfeng to the Gong family to buy the treasure bottle. After learning the news, you immediately contacted Yiwogui and the Thunderbolt Hall to secretly plot against us. You then rushed to Luoyang, claiming you were accompanying us on the journey to deliver the treasure, but in reality, you were looking for an opportunity to get close to the young lady. The Thunderbolt Hall's obstruction, Du Sanniang's sinking of the ship—all the attacks we encountered along the way were meticulously planned and interconnected, yet you managed to overcome them all, causing them to suffer defeat. That's because stealing the treasure wasn't your real purpose. Your true intention was to play the hero and rescue the damsel in distress, taking the opportunity to make the young lady develop feelings for you and fall in love with you. In this way, once you successfully kill Bai Li Chenfeng and become the city lord of Bai Li, you'll also have the beauty in your arms, marry the young lady, and the entire Gong family will be yours. Killing two birds with one stone, what a brilliant plan!"
Gong Feicui was trembling all over and asked again, "Is it true?"
I replied again: "Bai Li Chenfeng is dead, but the treasure bottle is still here. What does that mean? It means that the person who killed him wasn't after the bottle. If it was the Thunderbolt Hall and the gang of ghosts who did it, why wouldn't they want the bottle? And since they don't want the bottle, it means that the whole treasure-hunting thing was just a smokescreen, a play staged to cooperate with you! Because you don't need to take the bottle at all; it would have ended up in your hands sooner or later anyway. Taking it now would be suspicious. Xiao Zuo, now that things have come to this, what do you have to say?"
Xiao Zuo stood silently for a long time, then suddenly laughed softly and with great composure. My heart sank at the sight. His reaction clearly indicated he was confident of victory; did he have some trump card up his sleeve?
"Well said, very well said. People say that the fragrance of the purple dogwood wafts slowly in the breeze, and that she is not only extremely intelligent but also meticulous, with no detail escaping her notice. It seems that she is right." He not only did not refute me but also praised me, which made me even more alarmed and gave me a bad feeling.
Sure enough, he continued, "But all of this is just your speculation. You have no concrete evidence. You didn't see me kill anyone, nor did you see me colluding with a bunch of ghosts, nor did you see that I am the adopted son of Baili City. Miss Feng, you can describe so many things you didn't see with your own eyes so vividly. I think you have a real talent for storytelling. I wonder if you'd be interested in changing careers?"
"You!" I was furious, resenting my own ignorance of martial arts. Otherwise, I could have already killed him with a single sword strike. Why waste time with such nonsense? This despicable man! I knew it, I knew he would say that! How hateful! "If I had real evidence, I would have already handed you over to the authorities for investigation. How could you still be so arrogant? You..."
Before I could say anything more, Gong Feicui suddenly cried out, "I'm so angry!"
I was startled and looked at her. Her pale face was expressionless, but her eyes were unusually bright. The contrast between the two was indescribably terrifying.
"Sister Qiansu, could you please leave?"
"Young Miss..."
“I have something to say to him. You all need to leave.”
"But……"
She suddenly flew into a rage and shouted sharply, "Get out!"
I dared not disobey again. I glared at Xiao Zuo with resentment and waved for the two iron cavalrymen to retreat with me.
What will Gong Feicui say to Xiao Zuo? Will Xiao Zuo harm her and use her to blackmail me? I pursed my lips, gripping the handrail at the top of the stairs, my mind a jumble of emotions.
Volume 1, Chapter 7: A Startling Dream in Crane City (5)
Chapter 5: Unresolved Love
As I watched Feng Qiansu leave the room with her iron cavalry, her face filled with resentment, a subtle sense of pleasure suddenly rose within me.
However, in an instant, this pleasure made me feel even more ashamed of myself deep down.
She just said some things I didn't want to hear and dared not hear, but that doesn't mean those words were unreasonable... I knew it all along, but I still couldn't help but resent her... This isn't me, this isn't like me. I should at least have the courage to face the truth... But where is my courage?
I didn't even dare to look directly at the man who was standing right in front of me, the man who had broken my heart.
There are so many things I want to say to him, so many questions I need to ask him, but right now I don't even dare to lift my head.
I'm afraid, afraid that seeing that handsome face again will make my eyes well up with tears.
I'm afraid, afraid that if I were to meet those clear eyes again, I would lose my composure and become dejected once more.
A deathly silence fell over the room, as if the dramatic argument that had just taken place had never happened, but...
He killed Baili Chenfeng!
He's been lying to me all along!
He has ulterior motives!
He's a traitor!
These conclusions, which came out of Feng Qiansu's mouth, took advantage of the silence to struggle to break through my heart. No matter how hard I tried to suppress them, I could not avoid their chilling blow.
"Didn't you say you had something to tell me?"
He suddenly asked, his tone still calm and even, but now it sounded so cold and distant.
I stood there with my hands and feet ice cold, and my body began to tremble slightly.
Without waiting for my reply, he asked again indifferently, "What else is there to say now?"
—The tone was light and casual, as if asking a stranger.