Chapter 117: Can

Gu Qing glanced through the crowd.

Jia Leshan's old nickname was "Iron-Faced Dragon King," because his face was too handsome to command respect, so he wore a fearsome iron mask—and among those present, only the middle-aged woman fit that description.

Jia Leshan was disguised as a woman.

This was Jia Leshan's way of surviving; very few in the Jianghu knew his true appearance.

After identifying Jia Leshan, Gu Qing cursed inwardly again—another rip-off by Gu Xiaosi—and turned his gaze to the main figure of the incident, Chu Chu.

The girl was indeed too beautiful; her eyes shimmered faintly, like ripples stirred by a spring breeze across a lake. She stood there quietly, yet effortlessly captivated all who looked, drawing their gazes irresistibly, as if yearning to pour all their energy into her.

"Are you worth two hundred thousand taels of gold?"

Gu Qing asked Chu Chu.

Even movie stars wouldn't dare name such a price!

Chu Chu lowered her eyes slightly and said, "Chu Chu herself is not worth two hundred thousand taels of gold—but Gu Qing, the Number One Hero of the Jianghu, he is."

Gu Qing looked at Lu Xiaofeng and asked, "Did you really do it?"

Lu Xiaofeng nodded, ashamed.

Last night, Lu Xiaofeng witnessed Gu Qing's breakthrough in martial arts, with a beautiful woman beside him. He was deeply stirred and felt intensely lonely, so he wandered onto the streets of Jiangnan, where he happened upon an incomparably exquisite beauty. She, too, was lonely. The two ignited like dry tinder and sparks—when he woke this morning, he found himself surrounded.

Lu Xiaofeng was indeed a womanizer, but he never touched married women. Now that he was surrounded and knew the woman had a master, he didn't flee—because he owned up to his mistake, and feared fleeing would drag her into trouble.

"Mainly because I drank too much."

Lu Xiaofeng muttered in defense.

"You only drank too much with your mouth—your body didn't drink at all. You even put green hats on people. That's terrifying!"

Gu Qing mocked outright.

Lu Xiaofeng pressed his lips together… we haven't even settled accounts over Xue Bing yet…

"Now that Gu Qing is here, you must produce two hundred thousand taels of gold!"

An old man said.

"Is Gu Qing worth that much?"

Gu Qing asked in surprise.

"The Number One Hero of the Jianghu, trusted by the Emperor, the man who made Mu Daoren, Lao Shi, and Du Gu Yihé all shut up and fold dumplings—of course he's worth that much!"

The old man said.

Gu Qing nodded and said, "If you know Gu Qing is trusted by the Emperor, you should know that people like you—with dirty hands—don't get justice even if Gu Qing seduced your wife, let alone if he slaughtered your whole family."

The man who once commanded half the pirates now pretends to be virtuous. When Gu Qing came here and destroyed the Jia family, the martial world will say Gu Qing was carrying out heaven's justice.

The faces of those present darkened.

"So, if you did it, you did it."

Gu Qing said casually, "No money. If you want my life, just come at me."

He who strikes Gu Qing is not Gu Qing—he is merely called Gu Qing.

The people in the room exchanged glances, then all turned simultaneously to the middle-aged woman—she was Jia Leshan's true self. He disguised himself as a woman to conceal his identity, but now, all decisions must come from Jia Leshan.

Jia Leshan said coldly, "Even if Gu Qing is the Number One Hero, he slept with my woman—he owes me an explanation."

Jia Leshan spoke grandly, grabbing Chu Chu's neck and saying, "Otherwise, I'll strangle her right now!"

This was a direct emotional play.

Lu Xiaofeng, seeing Chu Chu held captive, was filled with worry and said at once, "What kind of explanation do you want?"

Jia Leshan shifted his main target to Lu Xiaofeng and said, "If you truly have no money, then bring me the Rakshasa Tablet!"

Lu Xiaofeng's face changed. He had never seen the Rakshasa Tablet, but he had heard of it.

The thousand-year-old jade Rakshasa Tablet was worth nearly as much as the He Shi Bi. It bore seventy-two Heavenly Demons and inscribed Sanskrit scriptures… and most importantly of all, it was a treasure of the Western Demon Cult. Whoever possessed the Rakshasa Tablet was as good as the Demon Cult's leader, Jade Rakshasa, appearing in person.

Jade Rakshasa.

In recent years, the most terrifying and mysterious figure in the Jianghu was undoubtedly Jade Rakshasa.

"What do you want the Rakshasa Tablet for?" Lu Xiaofeng asked.

"Of course to become the leader!"

Jia Leshan said, "The Jade Rakshasa of the West is dead. The Great Brightness Realm on Kunlun Mountain and the Little Heavenly Dragon Caves now have no master. Those there have agreed: whoever brings the Rakshasa Tablet to Kunlun Mountain on the seventh day of the first lunar month shall become the Demon Cult's leader—and all must submit!"

The Demon Cult's young master is named Jade Tianbao, universally known as the son of the Rakshasa Lord. He gambled away the Rakshasa Tablet at the Silver Hook Gambling Den. The tablet Jia Leshan wants is the one that slipped out of that den.

Of course, it's a fake.

"You want to spend two hundred thousand taels of gold to buy yourself a cult leader's title."

Lu Xiaofeng said coldly.

"Correct."

Jia Leshan said, "Bring me the tablet, and I'll give you Chu Chu—let you two live together as lovers. Otherwise, I'll kill her!"

Chu Chu looked at Lu Xiaofeng, her eyes filled with despair.

!

"Because Gu Qing slept with your woman, you want him to take responsibility, right?"

Gu Qing suddenly asked.

Jia Leshan said coldly, "Exactly."

"Then if someone else slept with your woman, should he take responsibility too?"

Gu Qing asked.

Jia Leshan raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are you planning to sleep with her too?"

From the tone, Jia Leshan thought Gu Qing wanted to join in.

Gu Qing shook his head and looked at the old man and said, "I heard there's a Hua Yukun from Mount Hua, known as 'One Finger to Heaven'—are you him?"

The white-haired old man, hunched and frail, suddenly heard his name mentioned by Gu Qing. He instinctively straightened his back, fixing his gaze squarely on Gu Qing.

He could be sleazy—but Mount Hua couldn't!

"Did you do it?"

Gu Qing asked.

Hua Yukun's face flushed crimson. He never dared even glance at Chu Chu in front of Jia Leshan—but he had fallen deeply in love with her and was willing to die for her. Now that this secret was exposed, he was utterly humiliated.

Jia Leshan's face froze, his eyes staring blankly at Hua Yukun.

The woman he loved most… the subordinate he trusted most…

Double betrayal!

"You're called Du Bi Xian Yuan, right?"

Gu Qing looked at the man clearly skilled in hidden weapons and asked, "Did you do it?"

Du Bi Xian Yuan Hu Xin drew a deep breath, his face sinking inward as if sucked in. His gaze involuntarily flickered between Jia Leshan and Hua Yukun.

Hu Xin had done it—but he never expected Hua Yukun had too.

Jia Leshan's face turned dark as storm clouds ready to pour rain. Though old, he had always indulged Chu Chu, and his bed skills had always left her satisfied. He had long believed that living as a wealthy man in Jiangnan's lush, rainless paradise—with a beautiful woman beside him—was perfect. Now he realized: all this verdant greenery around him was merely a reflection of his own green light.

The woman he loved most had two other men behind his back.

Triple betrayal!

Gu Qing turned to the third man, someone named Du Bai, and asked, "Did you do it?"

As casually as a northern man asking, "Have you eaten?"—yet Du Bai grew visibly uneasy.

Jia Leshan trembled with rage, sweeping his eyes across the room. More than half these people had done it. He glared at Chu Chu and demanded, "Just tell me—who hasn't done it?"

It can't be that everyone here did it!

Jia Leshan was going mad!

(End of Chapter)