Chapter 87: What, You

Behind the Zhuguang Baoqi Pavilion lies a small tower, where Huoxiu resides; he usually drinks here, and few people ever come to see him—but today, two guests have arrived: Lu Xiaofeng and Hua Manlou.

Huoxiu poured wine for Lu Xiaofeng and said, “You came to me in the midst of crisis—this makes us comrades who have shared life and death.”

Lu Xiaofeng smiled, then fixed his gaze on Huoxiu and said, “I have many friends, but few like you—I don’t want you to die pointlessly.”

Upon hearing news of the Emei Sect—that Dugu Yihé had died—Lu Xiaofeng and Hua Manlou immediately sought out Huoxiu; Yan Tieshan and Dugu Yihé were both dead, and among the former ministers of the Golden Peng Dynasty, only Huoxiu remained.

Huoxiu brought Lu Xiaofeng and Hua Manlou here.

Inside the tower, Huoxiu had already shown Lu Xiaofeng several “Golden Peng Kings,” causing Lu Xiaofeng to doubt the authenticity of the Golden Peng King he had encountered—and even to question Shangguan Danfeng and Shangguan Feiyan—before sitting down to say, “The wealth left by the Golden Peng Dynasty was meant for restoring the realm, but the Golden Peng Prince had no interest in restoration, choosing instead to live quietly in seclusion. The three of us took the dynasty’s wealth and started our own businesses.”

One established the Zhuguang Baoqi Pavilion.

One rose to become the leader of the Emei Sect.

One became the richest man in the Great Ming.

Lu Xiaofeng said, “Logically, the secret of the Golden Peng Dynasty should be known to no outsider.”

Huoxiu has four fake Golden Peng Kings here.

“Indeed.”

Huoxiu said, “But someone knows—and he never reveals his true face; every time people meet him, his appearance and height differ. Unless they listen to his voice and speech habits, none of these fake Golden Peng Kings realize they’re dealing with the same man.”

Lu Xiaofeng nodded again.

The matter of the Golden Peng Dynasty is more complex than Lu Xiaofeng imagined.

“I’ve always suspected the authenticity of Shangguan Danfeng and wanted to bring her close to investigate thoroughly.”

Huoxiu continued, “But she’s by Gu Qing’s side—I’ve had no chance to act.”

Upon hearing Gu Qing’s name, Lu Xiaofeng subtly raised an eyebrow and asked Huoxiu for information about Gu Qing.

“I don’t know.”

Huoxiu said, “But I have a theory: the leader of the Qingyi Pavilion is extremely mysterious and never reveals his true face. When Gu Qing first entered the Jianghu, he killed three teams from the Qingyi Pavilion—yet the Qingyi Pavilion did not seek revenge. Outsiders assume the Qingyi Pavilion fears Gu Qing, but I think: these are men who don’t fear death—why would they fear Gu Qing?”

Huoxiu said no more, yet Lu Xiaofeng began to suspect Gu Qing might be the Qingyi Pavilion leader.

“But if Gu Qing is the Qingyi Pavilion leader...”

Hua Manlou felt this didn’t add up: “Gu Qing’s strength isn’t afraid of Dugu Yihé—if he wanted to seize the Golden Peng Dynasty’s wealth, he wouldn’t need Shangguan Feiyan or Shangguan Danfeng to summon you and Lu Xiaofeng.”

Gu Qing could simply go and take it by force.

“So in my view, perhaps there are two factions.”

Huoxiu said, “The ones who summoned you are one faction; Gu Qing is another. But once Gu Qing arrived at the Zhuguang Baoqi Pavilion, he seized control of the situation.”

Lu Xiaofeng recalled how Shangguan Danfeng had suddenly become warm toward Gu Qing—and now it all made sense.

Shangguan Danfeng might be the architect of the conspiracy, while Gu Qing, the Qingyi Pavilion leader, observed it all from the shadows, killed three Qingyi Pavilion teams, used that identity to gain Shangguan Danfeng’s trust, then moved beside her and took control of her...

“Could Shangguan Danfeng’s jealousy have been a cry for help?”

Lu Xiaofeng pondered this further.

Huoxiu secretly smiled, lifted his wine bowl, and drained it. Gu Qing was an unexpected variable—but now Huoxiu had framed him as the Qingyi Pavilion leader, and would use Lu Xiaofeng, Hua Manlou, and Ximen Chuiye to eliminate Gu Qing and Huo Tianqing, absorbing the three unique pieces of the Golden Peng Dynasty’s legacy.

Huoxiu’s hand tightened slightly inside his sleeve.

Plans are often excellent.

But inside this tower, someone appeared whom Lu Xiaofeng, Hua Manlou, and Huoxiu had never anticipated: a woman in a black gown, her figure graceful, effortlessly passing through one hundred and eight traps, arriving in the tower’s underground chamber before Huoxiu, bowing gracefully, and calling him “Master.”

She was “Shangguan Danfeng.”

“What are you talking about?”

Huoxiu’s face changed instantly—he sensed his plan had suffered an extraordinary deviation.

His carefully scripted plot had been torn apart before he could enact it.

“Master, I shouldn’t trouble you, but Huo Tianqing led the Tianqin Sect here to attack—I had no choice but to flee here in panic.”

“Shangguan Danfeng’s” voice was unaltered.

Hua Manlou exclaimed in surprise: “You’re Feiyan!”

“I’m sorry.”

“Shangguan Danfeng” tore off her disguise, revealing Shangguan Feiyan’s true face, and apologized to Hua Manlou: “You’re a good man—I never wanted to deceive you.”

Shangguan Danfeng was Shangguan Feiyan.

Seeing this, Lu Xiaofeng recalled how the day before he had lamented being hurt by two women—only to realize they were the same person.

Shangguan Feiyan’s sudden revelation instantly exposed the truth to Lu Xiaofeng and Hua Manlou; though not fully understood, they now grasped most of it.

Lu Xiaofeng’s face darkened as he turned to Huoxiu—he had never suspected this old man was the mastermind behind it all.

One after another, Tianqin Sect members followed the trail into the underground chamber; the first was Huo Tianqing, beside him was the great hero Shanxi Yan, then the Twin Scions of the Northwest, the Seven Outlaws of the Marketplace—all arrived before Huoxiu, making him realize the situation had spiraled completely out of control.

“Why are they here?!”

Huoxiu roared.

Shangguan Feiyan’s eyes welled with tears: “I only wrote a letter detailing how I deceived Huo Tianqing and gave it to the great hero Shanxi Yan.”

In that letter, Shangguan Feiyan confessed everything: how she had been guided by Huoxiu to deceive Huo Tianqing. The Tianqin Sect members had come here to avenge Huo Tianqing and confront Gu Qing—but upon seeing this twist, they felt both Shangguan Feiyan and Huoxiu were despicable, and stormed in without hesitation.

“Master, we were wrong.”

Shangguan Feiyan’s tone was humble, yet she stood quietly behind Hua Manlou.

With all these people gathered before him, Huoxiu knew his fate was sealed.

His eyes swept over everyone present, then suddenly lit up—he cried, “It’s Gu Qing—he’s manipulating you!”

All the key players were here—except Gu Qing.

Shangguan Feiyan was closest to Gu Qing!

In that moment, Huoxiu felt Gu Qing was the true mastermind, quietly pushing him into this abyss.

“All of this is Gu Qing’s doing!”

Huoxiu roared.

“Surprise is the oldest tactic.”

Gu Qing’s voice drifted in from outside the hall—each word drew closer by more than ten zhang, echoing and reverberating through the tower as he spoke calmly: “From now on, the Qingyi Pavilion will vanish into obscurity—because you all offended only me, Gu Qing.”

As he finished speaking, Gu Qing appeared before Huoxiu.

Lu Xiaofeng and Hua Manlou exchanged stunned glances; the Tianqin Sect members were equally horrified. Gu Qing’s voice had traveled from far above ground, echoing through the chamber—his internal energy was terrifying. But more astonishing: how did he know what was being said inside the Qingyi Pavilion’s underground chamber?

Gu Qing smiled. When Shangguan Feiyan arrived, he had entered the chamber too—but stayed hidden, listening. When he realized Huoxiu had deduced his role, he left the chamber, retreated far away, then used his internal energy to create a dramatic entrance.

This entrance truly stunned everyone present.

Gu Qing watched Huoxiu’s wide, furious eyes, his defeat bitter and unwilling, and asked: “What, you’re not convinced?”

(End of Chapter)