Chapter 413: 387 Fire

"Dong—dong—"

The sound of the night watchman's clapper rang out, spreading throughout the small detached courtyard of Jingzhe Villa.

A remote detached courtyard of a villa built on a cliff actually had someone specifically assigned to sound the night watch. The sound of the clapper came from the outer wall, yet it could be clearly heard by everyone inside the walls.

Although it was only the first watch, the sky was already completely dark, and the detached courtyard, which housed nine people, did not have a single lamp lit.

Since nightfall, the detached courtyard had never lit a lamp. The guests living in the rooms would not light a lamp to expose their own positions.

The entire detached courtyard had turned into a dark forest, with all hunters and prey quietly lurking, waiting for an opportunity to act.

"It's ready."

In the darkness, Tang Zhao pulled out the Talisman needle and pushed the window with his hand.

Black Widow had not expected that he would dare to push the window with his hand the moment he unlocked the Rune Formula, giving himself no margin for error at all. Just as she was about to remind him to be more cautious, she heard a nearly silent "click," and the window opened just like that.

All mechanisms, alarms, and superimposed Rune Formulas had vanished without a trace.

This window, which was said to be absolutely impossible to enter or exit, had become a free gateway, allowing one to come and go at will without attracting attention.

The secret chamber had been cracked.

Advance to attack, retreat to defend.

Black Widow let out a heavy breath, feeling that only now had she truly escaped the vessel of the Gu insects, able to breathe fresh air like a human being.

"Simpler than I imagined; they are all the most basic Rune Formulas. The mechanisms can't even be called ingenious." Tang Zhao opened the window and said, "If I didn't want to avoid attracting attention, I could have come and gone directly."

His light-speed Sword Art could travel directly to the end along the trajectory of light; during this, he didn't look at whether there were obstacles, but rather whether light could pass through. As long as light could pass through, a person could pass through.

The doors of the rooms in the detached courtyard were not translucent, but the windows were mostly made of glass and paper, which were slightly translucent, and that was enough for Tang Zhao. He could enter and exit everyone's room without any obstacles.

It was just that it was night now, and shooting out a strong beam of light would still be too conspicuous. It might be worth a try in the detached courtyard, but using light to strike another Sword Guest's window was truly looking down on people a bit too much.

"Manor Master, what do you intend to do?"

Tang Zhao looked at Black Widow.

Although his strength was greater, he had come to help at Black Widow's request, so naturally, he prioritized Black Widow's wishes. To put it bluntly, killing the old Manor Master was only beneficial to Black Widow; if Black Widow was unwilling, why should Tang Zhao go through the trouble for no reward?

Black Widow pondered for a moment and said, "Of course I want to kill the old man, but it would be one thing if he were inside the detached courtyard; leaving this courtyard and sneaking into Jingzhe Villa to kill someone is extremely dangerous. This Jingzhe Villa is their lair, buried with who knows how many mechanisms. Can you guarantee absolute success?"

Tang Zhao was thoughtful and said, "That makes sense." He wasn't worried about any mechanisms or hidden weapons, but he remembered the thunder soil outside. Those thunder soils were all dug from Demon Caves or even Suiyu; even if they weren't rare treasures, they were of great value and not something ordinary martial arts factions could possess, which showed that Jingzhe Villa had quite a deep foundation.

Furthermore, it was true that the old man was a Sword Guest in his twilight years, but that didn't mean the Jingzhe Sword had always been just a Sword Guest's sword. Since Meng Huazhou held a Dharma Artifact, the Jingzhe Sword must have been wielded by a Sword Hero before. Some Dharma Artifacts left behind by Sword Heroes might even have been set up into a Dharma Artifact array, allowing Meng Tiansheng to grasp the overall situation of Jingzhe Villa at the final moment.

Without a detailed plan, it would be difficult to kill him by force alone.

Black Widow said, "In terms of results, if one wants to ascend to the position immediately, killing all the candidates is the same as killing the old man..." She glanced at Tang Zhao, and seeing at a glance that he wasn't interested, she added, "However, the more people you kill, the greater the risk. Especially since they have invited people from outside forces to assist; we haven't figured out their background yet. If there are hidden talents, it won't just be exhausting to kill them, but it might also leave behind future troubles."

Tang Zhao looked at her and said, "So neither this nor that works, then we just sit still and let nature take its course?"

Black Widow said, "Sitting still is the worst strategy. It's still early; once the second or third watch arrives, it will be the time for slaughter. Even if we are powerful, how do we know these poisonous insects don't have strange and bizarre methods?"

Black Widow came from Black Spider Villa, so she didn't mind calling others poisonous insects at all. "Besides, the old thing likes to make people kill each other so much, how could he allow anyone to shrink back and do nothing? He might even arrange some underhanded tricks."

She looked out the window, and the hazy night was almost invisible through the window paper: "Perhaps his methods are already on the way. It would certainly be unacceptable not to kill anyone tonight. So, we still have to kill one or two to make a point."

Tang Zhao listened silently, the strangeness in his heart becoming more and more obvious—killing one or two to make a point, what evil words, yet it was quite normal to say them on this occasion.

Even he didn't react immediately; these words were full of evil. One could only say that the atmosphere of Jingzhe Villa was truly fierce and oppressive, worthy of being a battlefield for Gu fighting. Here, all cruelty happened as a matter of course, and even slaughter and backstabbing were stripped of their stance on right and wrong, leaving only the most primitive law of the jungle.

A group of chaotic evil people gathered together, presenting a battle situation that was chaotic neutral.

Is this reasonable?

This... could this be reasonable?

Tang Zhao shook his head, pulling himself out of this atmosphere, and made up his mind—he still had to solve the problem at the source and must not get played into this game that was superficially cruel and exciting but actually boring and shameless.

"How about luring the snake out of its hole?"

"Tell me about it?"

Tang Zhao said, "Since this detached courtyard is a Gu fighting arena and he values it highly, we can create chaos here to force him to come and check. This way, we can lure him out of his lair. It becomes us in the dark and them in the light."

What an average strategy.

Black Widow asked, "What if he doesn't actually care that much? What if he has already gone to sleep now and is just waiting to watch the show tomorrow morning?"

Tang Zhao said, "What does the Manor Master think?"

Black Widow said, "Actually, I don't like Gu fighting, but since there is an opportunity for Gu fighting, we might as well take it seriously. Actually, we have a great advantage..."

Tang Zhao hurriedly waved his hand, not out of modesty, but because saying such things beforehand was unlucky.

Black Widow said, "So if possible, I still want to resolve the battle tonight. Either kill them all, or make them submit."

Tang Zhao said, "Can it be done?"

Black Widow said, "If it can't be done, then kill them all."

Tang Zhao paused, and Black Widow said, "If we suppress everyone, we can rightfully force the old man to abdicate. We don't need to sneak attack; we can just use the established rules to force him. If he abdicates then, let him live until he dies. If he refuses, let him die directly. How about that?"

... That is also a very crude plan.

Black Widow held up two fingers and said, "We will definitely take action tonight, but since we aren't killing everyone, let's set two rules first. Distinguish the chicken to be killed and the monkey to be warned. The principle of killing the chicken—whoever reaches out to us must die."

Tang Zhao nodded; there was nothing to say about this. It was a rule of the Jianghu, applicable everywhere outside of Jingzhe Villa.

"Second, if there are outsiders invading, for example, if the old man's confidants come out to stir up trouble, they must be killed. We can kill them with a display of force to shock the others, and also gather the opponents to our side first. Secondly, what if? What if luring the snake out of the hole works?"

Tang Zhao said, "That's fine."

Those who kill will always be killed; those who use underhanded tricks must naturally be prepared to be killed.

A hasty plan was set, and the two fell silent at the same time. The inside and outside of the room were instantly swallowed by the quiet night.

There was half an hour left until the second watch.

While waiting quietly, Black Widow suddenly laughed softly: "Azhao, don't take the initiative to kill when the time comes. I will do it; this is my business after all. Only when I can't do it anymore will I ask you to save me."

In the darkness, her voice was very low and light, with a hint of breathiness, like a whisper in the ear.

Tang Zhao smiled lightly and said, "Sister Yin, there is no need for this. If I were truly hesitant, why would I have agreed to come to Jingzhe Villa with you? I am not the same person I was back then. If you asked me to hold the Xiezhi Sword now, I probably wouldn't be able to lift it."

After another moment of silence, Tang Zhao suddenly spoke again, saying, "I have another idea that could save some trouble."

Half an hour passed like flowing water. The second watch arrived.

The second watch is already deep into the night, and the time leading up to the third watch is when people are most drowsy. Tonight is also the end of the month, with deep clouds and a crescent moon, leaving the world without light; the so-called "dark night and high wind, a night for murder and arson" refers to nights like this.

At this moment, it is the perfect time for slaughter.

Woo— woo— woo—

The sound of the wind beating against the windows of the detached courtyard was like the ringing of blades.

"Ah—"

A scream pierced the night sky.

Immediately following, a pillar of fire shot into the sky, burning through a corner of the room in the blink of an eye. In the dark of night, the firelight was extremely dazzling, visible at a glance from over ten miles away.

"Who did that? Starting off with such a Great Array right away?"

At this hour, many people had already left their rooms and were lurking in the shadows waiting to strike, but they were stunned by this opening salvo.

Doesn't the Gu Battle always start with assassination? Silently and soundlessly, lives disappearing one by one—that is the Five Poisons Society's Gu Battle.

Are they resorting to open violence right from the start now?

Just then, a voice was heard shouting in the darkness: "One guest has died! Eight remain!"

Everyone looked toward the sound and saw a black shadow pass by the window, draped in a dark cloak, brushing past their eyes like the wind before it vanished into the night.

The cry of a night owl came from the air, each note filled with the scent of death.

"Damn it, old thief, you're counting the kills as you make them?"

A voice cursed from the darkness, though it was unclear which poisonous insect was speaking.

Although the sudden fire, the stranger's counting, and the oppressive atmosphere of the detached courtyard had everyone tense to the limit—like a fully drawn bow—and even tempted to rush out and slaughter, these were all heroes who dominated their own regions and had prepared themselves mentally; in the end, they were not incited, and some even lurked deeper.

"Did you see clearly?" someone asked in the darkness.

"Mm, it was in the southeast direction."

"Southeast, one person dead, so they didn't wipe everyone out. At least one person should still be left. The battle situation over there is two against one. There is an opportunity to be exploited."

"There is a fire over there. Do you want to expose yourself in the firelight?"

"That's why we won't get close. We'll wait on the only path they must take on their return journey and kill the survivor."

"The fire..."

"I know it's on fire, we cannot get near the fire..."

"The fire is coming this way!"

"What?"

The man turned his head abruptly, only to see a trail of fire approaching like a ghost.

The firelight illuminated the face of Beigong Qi.