Chapter 35: The Scriptwriter Forced to Exercise

Kuang Hongyi's tense expression relaxed slightly, and he licked his dry lips. "Brother Chu, what is your take on what happened tonight?"

Yang Xiao directly recounted seeing the Boxi Boat and the Third Young Master. After listening, Kuang Hongyi fell into thought. "The Feng family didn't tell us the truth. They bribed the head of the White family's gatehouse, the White troupe leader, and publicly claimed that Xi Yao had accidentally fallen into the water and died. In reality, on the day of the 'first seven' memorial, they betrothed Xi Yao to Feng Laotaiye, and the method was exactly what you saw. No wonder Xi Yao's resentment wouldn't fade, turning her into a vengeful ghost to claim the Feng family's lives."

"That must be it." Yang Xiao recalled the scene at the time and still couldn't help but feel a lingering fear.

"By the way, Brother Chu, do those two red Lanterns hanging outside the door look familiar to you?" Kuang Hongyi turned his head and asked suddenly.

Seeing that Yang Xiao didn't react, Kuang Hongyi gave him a hint: "You received a Script Box, and there were three cards inside. Do you remember?"

Now Yang Xiao remembered. That's right, there were three cards in the Script Box. The first was the Feng Family Mansion located on the main street, and the second was a drawing of this place, the lakeside in the backyard, and outside every door by the lake hung two large red Lanterns!

The image was uncannily identical to what he saw now!

"Are those cards hints for us?" Yang Xiao had thought they were clue cards, but he hadn't thought about what use they had.

"Yes, before coming here, I looked up some information. The red Lanterns on the second card have a special design; they are ancient 'wedding lanterns' used specifically for funerals. Now it seems this implies Xi Yao being sent onto the Boxi Boat."

"Then what about the third card?" The third card was the most peculiar; it was covered in murky darkness. Yang Xiao remembered it very clearly, as he had been completely baffled by it at the time.

At this moment, Kuang Hongyi began to play coy, chuckled twice, and said, "Originally, I hadn't figured out what that represented either, but you just reminded me, Brother Chu."

Yang Xiao looked at him, puzzled.

"You said you saw that Boxi Boat sink to the bottom of the lake." Kuang Hongyi pressed his palm down, making a sinking gesture.

A flash of lightning seemed to streak through his mind, and Yang Xiao immediately understood. "That blurry darkness is the lake water! It's the pitch-black, murky lake water at night!"

"Exactly! This third card is reminding us that the boat, along with Xi Yao, was sunk to the bottom of the lake together, and this is the most crucial part of this mission!" After saying this, Kuang Hongyi couldn't help but worry again. "Looking at the situation, I'm afraid we'll have to go into the water again before long to find that boat and Xi Yao's corpse. This time, we might have to dive into the lake."

Upon hearing this, Yang Xiao immediately lost his nerve. Although his swimming skills were decent and he was considered quite the expert at the swimming pool, the lake water was icy and bone-chilling, not to mention he had no idea how many sunken boats and corpses were down there.

The mere thought of bumping into Sun Amao and the others in the low-visibility lake water made Yang Xiao feel terrible.

Noticing Yang Xiao's face turn pale, Kuang Hongyi changed the subject. "By the way, Brother Chu, when I first came to town to look for clues, I accidentally heard an old saying. According to the locals, it has been passed down for many years."

Kuang Hongyi was silent for a moment, recalling it word for word: "The eldest daughter shall not marry out, the second son stays by the knees; with shallow fortune and thin fate, do not cross the threshold of the deep mansion."

"I checked with several elderly locals, and they all said they had heard this old saying. Moreover, in a remote backwater like Feng Men, there is only one family recognized by the locals as a prominent, wealthy household." Kuang Hongyi pointed beneath his feet. "It's the Feng Family Courtyard on the site of the old Flour Factory."

With that, things became much clearer. The first two lines had no leads for now, but the latter part—'shallow fortune and thin fate, do not cross the threshold of the deep mansion'—was exactly hinting at Xi Yao's fate.

The night was already deep. With only this much information, talking further wouldn't yield results. Kuang Hongyi was injured, so Yang Xiao told him to rest first while he kept watch.

"How could I let you suffer alone, Brother Chu?" Kuang Hongyi walked to the table, and with a righteous air, reached back to grab the candlestick, intending to wake Zha Tingting.

Yang Xiao hurriedly stopped him. "No need for that. Having her around just gets in the way. I... I'm fine on my own."

Seeing Yang Xiao insist, Kuang Hongyi reluctantly put down the candlestick, turned his head, and said, "Brother Chu, you are just too kind-hearted. Alright then, wake me up in a few hours, and I'll take your shift."

After Kuang Hongyi fell asleep, Yang Xiao re-checked the doors and windows. Looking out through a crack, the people gathered by the lake in the distance had already dispersed. He figured Liu Guanjia and the others must know that the Paper Maker had met with an accident, and the Third Young Master was likely in grave danger as well.

Sitting by the table, he poured himself a cup of tea. Fortunately, the tea had been freshly replaced and still had some warmth.

Yang Xiao gripped the teacup tightly, feeling the heat radiating from his palms, and his chaotic mood gradually calmed down.

Kuang Hongyi's words couldn't be fully trusted. Yang Xiao believed that Xu Su wouldn't voluntarily give him the grave soil, but to say that Xu Su had tried to kill him was just too far-fetched.

Imagine the scene at the time: Xu Su had the grave soil and was already in an invincible position. She only needed to wait for Sun Amao to deal with Kuang Hongyi; why would she go through the extra trouble of raising a blade to ambush him?

Furthermore, the two were clearly not in the same league when it came to fighting. Xu Su was a frail woman, and Kuang Hongyi was a big, burly man. Even if she had ambushed him, she wouldn't have been a match for him. Besides, judging from their relationship, Kuang Hongyi had always been wary of Xu Su, so the possibility of a successful ambush was near zero.

Yang Xiao judged that the real scene must have been like this: Kuang Hongyi, upon realizing that Xu Su was holding the grave soil and wouldn't give it to him, developed murderous intent. He severely wounded Xu Su with his Short Blade, left her on the boat to die, and jumped onto Sun Amao's boat to slip away.

Of course, it was also possible that he had simply thrown the severely wounded Xu Su into the water.

This could also be inferred from the location of Kuang Hongyi's injury. Xu Su must have still been waving her blade in resistance after falling to the ground wounded, and she had scratched Kuang Hongyi's calf during the chaotic slashing and stabbing.

If it were an ambush as Kuang Hongyi claimed, the injury shouldn't have been in that location. Putting himself in his shoes, if he were to ambush someone, the first strike would definitely go for a vital spot, or at the very least, he would aim to blind them.

Facing a martial artist like Kuang Hongyi, if the first strike failed, there wouldn't be a second chance.

Xu Su was a complete stranger to him, and Yang Xiao had no intention of seeking justice for her. Moreover, Kuang Hongyi's actions couldn't be called wrong; in a life-or-death situation, survival was the only truth. Even if it were him, under the same conditions, if Xu Su refused to hand over the grave soil, then next year's anniversary of her death would be today.

Hmm... of course, it could also be his own, if Xu Su happened to be a hidden martial arts expert as well.

"Whew—" Yang Xiao made up his mind. After going back, he would actively exercise his body, and it would be best to sign up for a Sanda or combat class. He wouldn't need to consider rules; he would learn whatever was practical. Whether it was an ambush or hitting below the belt, the main goal was to neutralize the enemy in one move—the more underhanded, the better.

He wouldn't have time to write any Scripts. If it came to it, he would just ask for leave in the Nightmare Group and tell his fellow writers that the author was currently busy with a real-life battle royale; if he lost, he would be gone for good. He figured everyone would understand.