Caught in a Trap

Zhang Fang fell silent for a good while before finally letting out a sigh. "Very well. In honor of our shared sect, and for the affection I once held for you, go ahead and ask." "Affection..." Zhou Qingmei gave a faintly mocking smile, then said, "The man I ran into that night—was he your Young Cult Master? Do I know him?" "You do." Zhou Qingmei felt a slight jolt in her chest. Gritting her teeth, she asked, "Who is he?" Zhang Fang smiled. After studying Zhou Qingmei for a good moment, he spoke slowly: "Li Nanchen." "Impossible!" Zhou Qingmei felt a loud buzzing in her head. "How could it possibly be him?!" Li Nanchen was the personal eldest disciple of the master of Zhujige Pavilion, the future pavilion master. How could he possibly be the Young Cult Master of the Black Fiend Cult?! In that instant, Fang Shuwen's half-teasing words back in the underground secret chamber of the Zhou estate involuntarily surfaced in her mind: *Or perhaps he's simply someone from your Zhujige Pavilion.* *And afraid you discovered his identity, he wanted to silence you once and for all.* Words she had paid no heed to at the time sounded so piercing now. They left Zhou Qingmei with a dizzying sense of dread. "Why couldn't it be?" Zhang Fang said indifferently. "Just because he grew up in Zhujige Pavilion from childhood? Or because he's the Eldest Senior Brother whom all disciples of our generation look up to? "Ridiculous, isn't it? The eldest disciple of Zhujige Pavilion's master is actually the Young Cult Master of the Black Fiend Cult. "Precisely because it's so unbelievable, it achieves the exact effect we desire. "Yet also because of this, whether you recognized him back then or not... you must die!" "...How could this happen?" Zhou Qingmei's expression fractured, and she murmured, "No wonder I couldn't recognize him... Though Eldest Senior Brother is of our generation, it's as if a great chasm separates us. We rarely even see him on ordinary days, and dressed in black, moving by night, how could I have recognized him?" "Unfortunately, precisely because we couldn't gamble on your eyesight, you have no choice but to die." "Then what does my family have to do with this?" "For one, no one knew whether you truly recognized him. If you hadn't the faintest clue, that would be fine. But if you felt even half a shred of familiarity, and then mentioned it to Zhou Feixiong, what then? "If you died later in the jianghu, how could Zhou Feixiong not go to Zhujige Pavilion demanding answers? "Once your suspicions came to light, what would happen?" Zhang Fang raised his sword horizontally, running the index and middle fingers of his left hand lightly along the blade. "So, to guard against any unforeseen mishap, naturally we had to wipe everyone out cleanly. Only then would no lingering troubles remain." "What a fine 'no lingering troubles'!" Zhou Qingmei said through gritted teeth. "Since you belong to the Black Fiend Cult, why did you keep watch on Daxuan Money House? Why did you lead us to Qingyang Manor? Weren't they... your fellow cult members?" "Hahaha." Hearing this, Zhang Fang suddenly burst into laughter. "And what if they were? In the end, they were nothing more than a bunch of low-grade rabble. "Besides, your father is to blame for this... If he hadn't hired a troublesome character like Fang Shuwen as your guard, why would I have had to sever my own limb like a desperate hero? "If I hadn't made Fang Shuwen believe your danger had passed and there was no longer any Black Fiend Cult in Guangning City, how could he have felt at ease returning home? "If he didn't leave, how was I to kill you? And how was I to double back to Guangning City to capture Fang Lingxin?" "So you used Qingyang Manor as bait!" Zhou Qingmei stared at Zhang Fang as if seeing him for the first time. Never had she imagined that this Senior Brother Zhang, usually so loose-tongued, was actually so ruthless. "Indeed. Didn't you notice that our trip to Qingyang Manor went far too smoothly? "Not just smoothly—it was practically a rout! "My Black Fiend Cult has been entrenched in Guangning City for years. If that were all we had, how could we dare plot something grand? "Immersed in upholding the righteous path of the jianghu as you are, how could you possibly know... what you saw was merely the tip of the iceberg." Zhang Fang looked at Zhou Qingmei. "With Fang Shuwen around, it would have been very difficult to carry out the Young Cult Master's orders. "However, there is no unsolvable dilemma in this world... As long as one uses one's head, one can always find a way to break the deadlock. "Look, hasn't everything worked out now? "All right, all right, enough has been said. Are you ready to die now?" "One last question," Zhou Qingmei said hastily. "What exactly is this grand scheme of yours?" Zhang Fang cocked his head and stared at Zhou Qingmei, his eyes blazing as though trying to see right through her. Suddenly, his face changed drastically. The very next instant, without even thinking, he spun around and fled! Zhou Qingmei froze for a second. Once she realized what was happening, instead of turning to leave, she shouted furiously, "Halt!" How could Zhang Fang listen? Everything up to this point might have seemed normal and completely natural. Yet in that moment just now, the probing curiosity in Zhou Qingmei's eyes had been far too eager. That was not the questioning of someone facing death, asking merely so she could die with no regrets. There was not the slightest fear of death in her eyes—only the excitement of a mystery about to be unveiled. The moment he realized this, he knew there was a high probability he had fallen into a trap. Thus, without a shred of hesitation, he turned and ran. He dodged the half-broken sword that whistled past him. Right on its heels, however, came a gust of even fiercer wind. This time he couldn't dodge—he could only block! Fortunately, his longsword was still in hand and unsheathed. With a twist of the blade, a layer of black qi already shrouded the steel. *Clang!* A crisp chime rippled across the blade. Pleasant to hear... but exceedingly lethal! The immense force instantly tore open the web between his thumb and forefinger. He could no longer hold onto his treasured sword, which flew out of his grasp with a sharp hum. And the stone that had not been fully deflected, having knocked away the blade, slammed heavily into his chest. It sent him flying through the air for two or three zhang. By the time he crashed to the ground, he could no longer hold back the mouthful of blood, which spattered violently from his lips. Looking up, he saw Fang Shuwen—who had claimed to be returning to Julu City—already within arm's reach. A tremendous sense of helplessness suddenly flooded his heart. Sprawled on the ground, Zhang Fang grimaced and rubbed his chest, sighing helplessly. "How could you people cheat like this?" "Look who's talking," Fang Shuwen said with a soft chuckle as he led Zhou Qingmei up to Zhang Fang. "If Brother Zhang hadn't tried to deceive me, why would I have resorted to such a tactic?" "Where on earth did I slip up?" Zhang Fang asked, somewhat curious. Fang Shuwen looked somewhat put on the spot. Zhang Fang immediately added, "Come on, don't be like that. I talked so much with Junior Sister just now, all so she could die without regrets. If you just go ahead and kill me right now, that would be far too heartless." Fang Shuwen shook his head. "I was only wondering: with so many flaws, where should I even begin?" Zhang Fang froze, then glanced at Zhou Qingmei. "I told you, this guy doesn't know how to speak like a normal human being..."