Chapter 88: This Time, I Concede

Don’t you concede?

Hu Xiu glared, of course he didn’t concede— for this matter, he had poured countless efforts behind the scenes, all preparations were in place, but Shangguan Feiyan’s betrayal rendered all his work useless.

“How did you persuade her?”

Hu Xiu stared at Gu Qing, unable to fathom why Shangguan Feiyan, a woman who loved money so dearly, would betray the richest man alive.

Gu Qing glanced at Shangguan Feiyan and smiled: “I merely laid out the pros and cons—anyone else would’ve done the same. If the Green Robe Pavilion knew the true nature of their mysterious First Floor Master, they’d know exactly where to point their blades.”

Gu Qing and Shangguan Feiyan had many areas of cooperation and very few points of conflict.

“She cultivates the Art of Prolonged Battle, not your eunuch’s celibate practice.”

Shangguan Feiyan added the final cut with a blush.

This precise strike pierced the hearts of Hu Xiu, Lu Xiaofeng, Hua Manlou, and Hu Tianqing.

“So Shangguan Feiyan told you everything?”

Hu Xiu gnashed his teeth in fury—he had labored tirelessly on this plan, yet Shangguan Feiyan’s betrayal, someone who knew the plan, had cost him everything, filling him with the crushing sense that all his wisdom was worthless.

Total and utter defeat!

“Gu Qing told me everything.”

Shangguan Feiyan spoke softly: “If not for his warning, I might have been silenced by you.”

Upon hearing this, Hu Xiu turned his gaze to Gu Qing.

Lu Xiaofeng also looked over—he had pieced together clues after Yan Tieshan and Dugu Yihao’s deaths, realizing the mystery, but Gu Qing had already seen the whole picture, leaving Lu Xiaofeng astonished.

“Because I don’t trust rumors from others’ mouths—I only trust what I’ve uncovered with my own feet.”

Gu Qing said calmly: “Shangguan Feiyan told me Liu Yuhen was once Dugu Yihao’s right-hand man, and that his disfigurement was also Dugu Yihao’s doing. So I specifically captured Liu Yuhen, used the Soul-Shifting Great Art to hypnotize him, and extracted everything.”

Liu Yuhen was also one of Shangguan Feiyan’s sycophants; after being disfigured, she spoke gently to him, and he devoted himself to her service.

Lu Xiaofeng’s involvement in the case began when Liu Yuhen, Xiao Qiuyu, and Dugu Fang sought him out; later, both Xiao Qiuyu and Dugu Fang died with Liu Yuhen’s involvement, and he constantly hovered around Shangguan Feiyan.

Now hearing Gu Qing’s account, Lu Xiaofeng shook his head—he had trusted others’ words too much, spinning helplessly in this case, while Gu Qing simply forced Liu Yuhen to speak and was far ahead in every aspect.

“I truly underestimated you.”

At this moment, Hu Xiu finally understood where he had failed; as he listened to Gu Qing, he silently stepped back to a stone platform, looked at Gu Qing, and said: “But you’ve underestimated me too—now, it’s your turn to concede to me.”

As he spoke, Hu Xiu slammed his hand down on the platform’s mechanism.

“Clang!”

A massive iron cage descended from above, enclosing Hu Xiu and the mechanism within.

Lu Xiaofeng saw the cage and felt dread: “Why are you locking yourself in?”

“Because it’s the only way out.”

Hu Xiu fixed his gaze on Gu Qing: “This underground palace can be entered but not exited. Once I leave, you’ll have no food, no water—you’ll die of thirst here soon. Gu Qing, do you concede?”

He was now inside the cage, taunting Gu Qing.

Gu Qing couldn’t help but laugh: “How heavy is that cage?”

“Net weight: one thousand nine hundred and eighty jin.”

Hu Xiu said coldly: “No one can lift it!”

“Oh…”

Gu Qing nodded: “How many people are here?”

Hu Xiu’s eyes shifted to Hu Tianqing and the rest of the Tianqin Sect—Shanxi Yan, the Northwest Twin Beauties, the Seven Street Heroes—all of them formidable martial artists, each strong enough; together, lifting one iron cage would be effortless.

Lu Xiaofeng smiled, glancing at Shanxi Yan—they had known each other long ago, and now exchanged greetings, signaling cooperation.

Only then did Gu Qing take a moment to study Shanxi Yan… Shanxi Yan was a nickname; in the Peacock Feather novel, those killed by the Peacock Feather were honored with memorial plaques in the Peacock Manor, one of whom was Shanxi Yan, Sun Fu.

Shanxi Yan turned his face away—Gu Qing had defeated Hu Tianqing, making the entire Tianqin Sect hostile toward him.

“Hmph…”

At this moment, Hu Xiu raised his hand, preparing to strike the mechanism and flee first.

“You still won’t give up?”

Gu Qing stepped forward two paces, standing one zhang outside the cage, and said to Hu Xiu: “Do you believe I can stop you from pressing the mechanism?”

Hu Xiu stared fixedly at Gu Qing.

Hua Manlou suddenly asked: “How big is the cage?”

Lu Xiaofeng answered: “Square, one zhang on each side.”

Hua Manlou asked again: “How wide are the gaps between the bars?”

Lu Xiaofeng answered: “About one zha.”

One zha is the maximum span between thumb and middle finger when the hand is fully open.

“What weapon does Gu Qing use?”

“His bare hands.”

Hua Manlou and Lu Xiaofeng’s back-and-forth clarified the situation for Hua Manlou, who sighed: “This is one of the rare times I regret being blind—I’d give anything to see how Gu Qing stops him.”

Hu Xiu, having heard Hua Manlou’s words, pressed his hand hard toward the button.

The distance from Hu Xiu’s hand to the button was mere inches—but as he exerted force, he saw a flash of blue light; the cage didn’t move, yet Gu Qing had already entered the cage, fingers like talons, lunging for his forehead!

If Hu Xiu insisted on pressing the mechanism, his skull would be pierced by five holes before he could act!

“What the devil?”

This bizarre event sent chills through Hu Xiu—he hastily raised his arms to block. His lifelong celibate practice had purified his qi to its utmost; as he activated it, every joint in his body cracked audibly. With one finger pointing skyward, the entire zhang of space inside the cage filled with his qi.

Lu Xiaofeng had rated the great masters of the martial world—Hu Xiu was among them. But he was accustomed to cowardice, always choosing retreat in crises, so his true skill had never been revealed. Now, cornered by Gu Qing with no escape, Hu Xiu unleashed his full martial prowess.

The celibate practice strengthened both inner and outer constitution, hidden and unassuming—now, after years of accumulation, it erupted with astonishing power.

“Slap! Slap! Slap!!”

Inside the cage, the sound of bare-handed clashes rang out; most onlookers couldn’t discern how their moves began or ended—they were already locked in fierce combat within the cage.

“Why do I hear Hu Xiu’s internal qi trembling?”

Hua Manlou asked in astonishment.

“Because Gu Qing’s internal qi is endless, smooth, without breaks or irregularities—he has fully entered the Golden Immortal Invulnerability state. No matter how fierce Hu Xiu’s palm strikes, unless they directly hit Gu Qing’s vital points, they cause him no pain or injury.”

Lu Xiaofeng sighed—he had no idea where Gu Qing had come from, yet quietly amassed such profound martial cultivation.

Merely judging by their internal qi, Lu Xiaofeng felt that if Gu Qing could sustain the battle, he would win—Hu Xiu’s method of using qi was far too exhausting.

But suddenly, Gu Qing let out a long roar inside the cage; his internal qi surged violently. Hua Manlou heard the torrent of qi like the tidal waves of Qiantang Bay—waves crashing, one after another, without pause; in his perception, towering whale-like waves surged before him, as if facing the very crest of the tide.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

Hu Xiu, pressed against the cage’s bars, absorbed three of Gu Qing’s blows—the cage rattled violently behind him. Trapped inside, with no retreat or evasion, Hu Xiu summoned every martial technique he knew, striving for victory.

But this was only Hu Xiu’s delusion.

When Hu Xiu absorbed Gu Qing’s tenth punch, he felt fine; by the twentieth, his organs ached faintly; by the fiftieth, blood trickled involuntarily from his nose and mouth.

Every one of Gu Qing’s strikes was heavy, forceful, and direct—each punch carried a thousand jin of power. Even Hu Xiu’s body, nurtured for years by celibate practice, could not withstand such relentless blows. By the hundred-seventieth punch, blood streamed from all seven orifices, his vision blurred, his arms dropped, his hair turned white, and he aged fifty years in an instant, becoming a withered, dying old man.

“Do you concede?”

Gu Qing demanded.

Hu Xiu, leaning against the cage, utterly exhausted, eyelids nearly closed, nodded frantically upon hearing Gu Qing’s question again.

This time, he truly conceded.

(End of Chapter)