Chapter 83: Huo Xiu

Huo Tianqing originally thought being thrown a silver coin by Gu Qing was the ultimate humiliation.

But being tied up and dragged along by Gu Qing, he realized there were even more humiliating things.

Being completely captured.

“Stop!”

“Release General Huo immediately!”

The martial artists of Zhuguang Baoqi Pavilion held weapons and blocked the path of Gu Qing and his group.

“This is Ximen Chuixue; his sword draws blood the moment it’s drawn.”

Gu Qing directly used Ximen Chuixue to threaten the people of Zhuguang Baoqi Pavilion.

Ximen Chuixue’s eyes flickered slightly; he said nothing, for he was not familiar with Gu Qing and would not draw his sword for him.

“We certainly know Ximen Chuixue—he’s famed throughout the Jianghu, having entered it at fifteen, and no one has ever escaped his blade unscathed.”

Said a man holding a dao, yet his feet remained rooted in place.

Su Shaoqing, Ma Xingkong, and others stared at Gu Qing; that record had just been broken moments ago by Gu Qing’s Lingxi Finger.

But it was Gu Qing who broke the technique, not these people of Zhuguang Baoqi Pavilion—they couldn’t stop Ximen Chuixue.

“You know Ximen Chuixue is deadly, yet you still dare to block us?”

“We must stop you!”

“Aren’t you afraid of death?”

“If you fear death, you shouldn’t be in the Jianghu!”

Despite Gu Qing’s threats, these Zhuguang Baoqi Pavilion men refused to budge an inch—they were determined to stop Gu Qing, Lu Xiaofeng, and all of them.

“Then are you afraid of him dying?”

Gu Qing did not argue further with these martial artists; he gripped Huo Tianqing’s throat. If they still refused to yield, he would crush Huo Tianqing’s neck instantly.

The fearless martial artists fixed their gazes on Huo Tianqing.

Huo Tianqing’s face flushed crimson in an instant.

He could endure humiliation all along…

As the chief manager of Zhuguang Baoqi Pavilion, second only to Yan Tieshan in status, Huo Tianqing wielded ironclad authority within the pavilion. Facing these fearless martial artists, he calmly said: “Step aside. I’ll take them to see the Boss.”

Huo Tianqing believed in his heart that he too was fearless—but to be crushed to death by Gu Qing would be utterly worthless.

Hearing this, the surrounding martial artists naturally obeyed, parting to let Gu Qing drag Huo Tianqing as they all headed toward Yan Tieshan’s location.

Along the way, Huo Tianqing’s heart was fraught with anxiety. His plan had been to use Lu Xiaofeng and the others to kill Yan Tieshan, then have either himself or Shangguan Feiyan disguised as Shangguan Danfeng take over Zhuguang Baoqi Pavilion, and finally use Lu Xiaofeng’s group to eliminate Du Gu Yihe and Huo Xiu, seizing all wealth and beauty in the end.

But the most crucial part of this plan was to force Lu Xiaofeng’s group into direct combat with Yan Tieshan, Du Gu Yihe, and Huo Xiu—never allowing them to talk. If Lu Xiaofeng uncovered the misunderstanding, Huo Tianqing would face backlash from all sides.

Now, the very first step of this plan had him, Huo Tianqing, being dragged by Gu Qing to meet Yan Tieshan.

This filled Huo Tianqing with dread; every step forward felt like dancing with death.

“We were on good terms with Yan Tieshan.”

Lu Xiaofeng, watching the Zhuguang Baoqi Pavilion men follow with dao and staff, deliberately complained: “Now you’ve ruined all our goodwill.”

This matter had originally been led by Lu Xiaofeng; after Gu Qing defeated Huo Tianqing, Lu Xiaofeng and the others could only follow Gu Qing’s pace to confront Yan Tieshan.

“Hmph…”

Gu Qing sneered: “Your goodwill must be truly strong—to kill your own brother with Ximen Chuixue’s blade over a woman.”

Lu Xiaofeng fell silent immediately.

Lu Xiaofeng had intervened for justice to the Jin Peng Dynasty; Shangguan Danfeng accounted for only a small part—but he could not deny it.

Gu Qing glanced at Lu Xiaofeng and Hua Manlou.

After this meeting, Yan Tieshan’s goodwill toward you may be gone, but his goodwill toward me will be near.

Gu Qing planned to speak with Yan Tieshan, clear up the misunderstanding, make Zhuguang Baoqi Pavilion sincerely grateful to him, then lead everyone to crush Huo Xiu together.

Good deeds and secret manuals were already secured.

“There’s blood!”

Hua Manlou suddenly said: “The smell of blood is strong!”

Though blind, Hua Manlou’s hearing and sense of smell were far keener than ordinary people’s. His cry instantly alerted everyone—they rushed toward the main hall of Zhuguang Baoqi Pavilion.

This place should have been heavily guarded, but Gu Qing’s group found no defenders. Inside the main hall, a corpse lay on the floor, a sword wound through the back; beneath the fat body, a large pool of blood had pooled.

Everyone naturally turned to the only living person—a woman seated on a high-backed chair, dressed in brocade and embroidery, beautiful as a streak of rainbow in the sky. She looked shaken, her face pale as she stared at Lu Xiaofeng and said: “I killed him!”

“I told him everything about the Jin Peng Dynasty. He turned away in disgust, indifferent to betraying the Jin Peng Dynasty. As he turned his back to me, I stabbed him.”

Shangguan Danfeng seemed still shaken, yet her eyes burned with hatred.

Gu Qing studied “Shangguan Danfeng.” The real Shangguan Danfeng had long been buried; this one was Shangguan Feiyan in disguise. Yet Shangguan Feiyan’s disguise was peerless—even Gu Qing, staring closely, saw no flaw.

“Why are you staring at me?”

“Shangguan Danfeng” sensed Gu Qing’s gaze was strange; she feared he might uncover something.

“Nothing.”

Gu Qing looked at Lu Xiaofeng and said: “The princess who pulled you into this is far inferior to the Shangguan Feiyan who pulled me in.”

Could you even compare them?

Shangguan Feiyan, hearing Gu Qing make this comparison, felt a slight relief. She had little contact with Gu Qing, but she’d noticed he always wanted to outdo others in everything—yet this one remark, that she was better than Shangguan Danfeng, struck right at her heart.

Originally, Shangguan Feiyan had planned to eliminate Gu Qing with Flying Swallow Needles—but because of this one sentence, she decided to reward Gu Qing once.

Gu Qing glanced at Huo Tianqing and saw him visibly exhale in relief; he already understood.

Shangguan Feiyan might have killed Yan Tieshan alone—but it was impossible for her to do it alone; she must have had help to accomplish it.

That person was Huo Xiu.

The entire scheme to draw Lu Xiaofeng in and kill Yan Tieshan and Du Gu Yihe was orchestrated from behind the scenes by Huo Xiu—he was the scriptwriter; Huo Tianqing was merely an agent, a scapegoat.

Everything Gu Qing did in Zhuguang Baoqi Pavilion was tearing apart Huo Xiu’s script, steering events away from the planned course—while Huo Xiu, from behind, patched it all back together.

Yan Tieshan was dead.

All of Zhuguang Baoqi Pavilion now lay in the hands of Shangguan Feiyan and Huo Tianqing.

“Not bad, Huo Xiu. You’re quite good at patching things up.”

Gu Qing had found something amusing.

(End of Chapter)