Chapter 417: 391 Settling Accounts

"Only the two of us are left now."

Black Widow spoke with a smiling tone, as if chatting about daily life.

Xu Siyao, however, shivered violently and said, "I..." Her eyes shifted, and she said, "Beigong Qi isn't dead yet, is he? Look, Qin Jiujiu is still treating him. Perhaps he will jump up alive and well in a moment?"

Black Widow knew full well this was a delaying tactic, but she remained composed and said, "Oh, is that so? Then let us go and confirm it together."

As she spoke, she walked generously toward Qin Jiujiu. Xu Siyao glanced at Tang Zhao, then lagged three or five steps behind to follow.

Qin Jiujiu had her back to them; although she was swaying and on the verge of collapse, and although she had already heard someone approaching, she did not let herself be distracted at all. She was still using one hand to arduously treat Beigong Qi, as if this were the only thing in the world worth doing.

Black Widow stopped behind her, originally intending to see if Beigong Qi was dead or not; if he were not, she would not mind delivering a finishing blow. But seeing Qin Jiujiu's gaunt back, she suddenly felt a bit silent. After a while, she said softly, "Little sister, is there still hope for him?"

Qin Jiujiu did not answer. At this moment, Beigong Qi's body was already wrapped in white cloth, looking just like a bizarrely shaped doll. Suddenly, she stood up and said, "I have a request for you."

Her tone was so matter-of-fact, as if she were having a daily conversation with someone she knew very well, but there was no one she knew behind her, and it was unclear who she was speaking to.

Black Widow took over and said, "Speak."

Qin Jiujiu said word by word, "Put him—on my back. I will carry him out."

Black Widow sized up Qin Jiujiu—this woman already looked frail and sickly, and though she was twenty, she looked like a girl of fourteen or fifteen. Now, added to that was her injury; she had been hacked and lost an arm, and the wound had only just stopped bleeding. She hadn't even rested for a moment, and her shoulders were now impossibly thin. How could she bear the weight of a grown man?

She sighed and said, "You can wait a little longer. The Gu Battle will end immediately. If you concede on his behalf, I will not pursue you two. I will go find the old Manor Master, have him lift the restrictions, and send you down the mountain to find a good place to prepare for the funeral. Or, if you must carry him down yourself, you could cremate him into bone..."

Qin Jiujiu shouted, "He is not dead yet!" Her voice was sharp, as if she had torn her throat.

Black Widow gave an "hmm." She was actually very close by now, and by the light of the fire that had not yet gone out in the courtyard, she could see clearly that although Beigong Qi, who was completely wrapped up, still had two nostrils exposed, his chest was not rising or falling. Even if he still had breath, there wasn't much left.

Since that was the case, why bother arguing with this stubborn woman?

Qin Jiujiu continued, "I can definitely save him. As long as... as long as I go out now and find that person, I can save him!"

Black Widow was also curious: what kind of person could make the highly skilled physician Qin Jiujiu pin such great hope on them? Could there really be a miracle doctor in Yunzhou who could bring the dead back to life? Or was it some Sword Guest?

But at this moment, she did not quibble. Instead, she took a roll of spider silk from her sleeve and said, "There is a door panel in this courtyard. You can place him on the door panel, tie him up securely, and then use the spider silk to make a tow rope to drag him along; it will be much easier. But you must wait until dawn. The cable car up and down the cliff is stopped now, and climbing down the cliff carries the risk of lightning strikes."

Qin Jiujiu lowered her head and said, "Thank you."

Black Widow gave her the spider silk and stopped speaking, instead leaving directly. That small bit of compassion she had just shown was already excessive for a leader of the Five Poisons Society. It was enough that she had confirmed Beigong Qi was unable to compete for the position of Manor Master. As for whether Beigong Qi lived or died, or whether Qin Jiujiu lived or died, that was naturally for Qin Jiujiu to be responsible for.

She glanced at Yue Lai again. Cha Feiyan was already dead, and Yue Lai could no longer contend for the master of Jingzhe Villa; he was also an irrelevant person.

It was just that she still had one question: who killed Cha Feiyan?

Xu Siyao said it wasn't her, and in terms of strength, that was mostly credible. Yu Sichen had only just been recruited, and Xu Siyao was alone—how could she have killed Cha Feiyan?

It wasn't Black Widow and her people either; even if others didn't believe it, she herself was certain of it.

Jin Fusheng was impossible, chronologically speaking—their first target should have been Black Widow's room, and the fact that he and Zhang Wenjian died together in the fire showed that their group was completely intact when they made their move. Yue Lai was there with Cha Feiyan; it was unlikely they could have killed Cha Feiyan silently and then immediately and calmly gone to the next target.

Then who was left?

Was it Beigong Qi and Qin Jiujiu?

Or was it the invading Mi Hufa?

Judging by Yue Lai's reaction, Mi Hufa was more likely, but he was raving and incoherent, so he didn't seem that credible either.

What if there was someone else?

In this courtyard, was there someone hidden even deeper who hadn't appeared yet, a behind-the-scenes hunter waiting for an opportunity?

Thinking of this, Black Widow felt a heavy weight in her heart; she did not have the joy of getting closer and closer to success. But she did not show it on her face. Instead, she came back and looked at Xu Siyao again, saying, "Beigong is gone too. This time, it's just the two of us, right?"

Xu Siyao had no more excuses. She gave a dry laugh and glanced at Yu Sichen.

Yu Sichen was wary of Tang Zhao's presence and could not transmit her voice directly, so she gave Xu Siyao a look.

It meant: "Look at you, you make the decision. If you want to risk your life, I will accompany you."

Xu Siyao sighed. Although she was a ruthless member of the Five Poisons Society, she was also very loyal, otherwise she wouldn't have made so many good friends. Yu Sichen had associated with her for several years; it was a friendship forged in life and death, and saying they would share life and death now was by no means an empty promise. However, precisely because of this, how could she drag her good friend to her death for a moment of pride?

She could only retreat.

Of course, she herself wanted to retreat anyway.

Thinking of this, her heart eased. She smiled lightly and said, "Big sister, we are allies, why be so fierce? Only the two of us are left, which means we won. When you came to me to form an alliance, wasn't it for this very result today?"

Tang Zhao thought: So Manor Master Yin really did have an ally early on, and it was this Queen Bee. She hid it very deeply. I didn't expect that this alliance wasn't something she begged Manor Master Yin for, but that the Manor Master took the initiative to seek her out.

This was a true secret alliance, not a temporary child's play like Beigong Qi's. Before, in front of outsiders, one couldn't tell at all. Black Widow hadn't even told Tang Zhao.

Originally, this was the deepest secret, waiting to be used for a great purpose at the end. But before it could take effect, the other candidates were all wiped out, fast-forwarding directly to the point where there was only one left. To speak of it now was almost like turning into enemies.

Black Widow smiled and said, "Now that you mention the alliance, I remember. At the time, you swore to me that you would come alone, without bringing a single person, yet in the blink of an eye, you brought such a handsome little brother. It shows you didn't hide things from me, and you had ulterior motives. Are you still hiding a few tricks, and can you call dozens of brothers to come up and surround me at any time?"

Xu Siyao laughed along and said, "Big sister thinks too highly of me. Where would I call them from? The rules don't allow it. Besides, with you..." She glanced at Tang Zhao, "With you here, even if a hundred more people came, what would it matter? Wouldn't they still have to bow and submit?"

Black Widow did not allow her to be evasive and said directly, "Then what about you? What are you prepared to do now? I want a straight answer from you."

Xu Siyao gritted her teeth and said, "I naturally submit to you. You won the Gu Battle."

Black Widow smiled faintly, her smile carrying a bit of triumph, but she quickly put it away and replaced it with the same insincere, polite smile as before. She said, "If you want to submit to me, prove it to me."

Xu Siyao knew it wouldn't be that simple. According to the general rules of the Five Poisons Society, Black Widow could directly demand her death, or appear to show mercy while playing with her like a cat playing with a mouse until she died. Being able to force her into complete submission with a difficult task was already an act of great mercy. Now, regardless of what Black Widow meant, she could only take it one step at a time.

So she smiled and said, "Please give your orders, big sister."

Black Widow did not give an order directly, but instead pointed to the pile of unextinguished fire and said, "Mi Hufa, he shouldn't have appeared here."

Xu Siyao didn't understand what she meant by this sudden turn, so she followed her lead and said, "Yes, this was originally a matter between us; outsiders shouldn't have come in. Him inserting himself like this is truly malicious."

Black Widow said, "I'm afraid it wasn't necessarily his own idea. He didn't have that much courage; there was someone behind him pulling the strings."

Xu Siyao said, "Is it..." She had only said one word when her expression changed drastically.

Black Widow said, "Let's go ask him." Ignoring Xu Siyao's pale face, she looked around and said, "It's a pity Mi Hufa was burned so thoroughly that we can't find any proof of him. Oh, that axe hasn't finished burning yet."

She pointed to the long-handled great axe, which was scorched black after the fire had died down, and said, "Go pick it up and wipe it clean. You should still be able to recognize it as Mi Hufa's axe. This is ready-made evidence. You carry this axe, and we will go find someone to reason with."

Xu Siyao said with a trembling voice, "Are you crazy? Who are you going to find? Do you not want your life? If you don't want your life, I still want mine!"

She never expected that Black Widow would actually want to go straight to the old Manor Master. Had she become so lost after winning a mere Gu Battle? In Jingzhe Villa, who dared to touch the old Manor Master who hadn't died yet?

Black Widow said softly, "Siyao, how many lives does a person have?"

Xu Siyao pursed her lips and said, "One."

Black Widow giggled, "That's right. Since it's only one life, if you don't listen to me, aren't you also throwing your life away? You can only lose this life once, so why not take care of what's right in front of you? Be good, pick up the axe and do as I say."

Tang Zhao watched her press forward step by step, binding up their former allies bit by bit like insects stuck in a spiderweb, all while she maintained that delicate, coquettish expression on her face. He felt a bit of numbness in his heart, thinking—it was quite sadistic.

However, taking the evidence to find Meng Tiansheng was part of the plan, and calling for Xu Siyao was also normal. Tang Zhao certainly wouldn't think Black Widow couldn't hurt the "fragile" heart of a Five Poisons Society leader.

On the contrary, he even helped Black Widow keep an eye on Yu Sichen. This person didn't seem to have much guile, and if he acted impulsively, it wouldn't be good; he had to be guarded against him taking desperate risks.

But looking at it now, Yu Sichen was still quite forbearing, without any extra displays. After all, they were all people of the jianghu; one needed to possess both mettle and the ability to swallow one's pride to live a long life.

Black Widow urged her with words, and Xu Siyao could not disobey, so she had to pick up the axe. She was short in stature, and that large axe was almost taller than she was.

"Mm, very good," Black Widow smiled, "Now, go open the door."

Xu Siyao dragged the large axe to the gate of the detached courtyard. The courtyard gate was locked, and she didn't Ask Black Widow, preparing to chop the door herself.

At this moment, someone said, "I'll go too."

Xu Siyao turned her head, only to see Yue Lai, who had just been busy catching his breath, walking over with his sword in hand, bloodstains still fresh on the blade.

Black Widow said, "What are you going to do, little brother Yue?"

Yue Lai lowered his voice and said, "Hall Master Cha was killed by that bastard, and I've only avenged a tiny bit of that hatred. There is still someone behind him pulling the strings; that person is also an enemy, and I intend to kill them just the same."

Black Widow said in surprise, "You are quite loyal."

One more person meant one more bit of strength, or at least one more piece of cannon fodder, so she naturally did not object.

Xu Siyao went with the flow and said, "You want to open the door?"

Yue Lai said, "Your axe is better suited for chopping the door."

Xu Siyao scoffed, raised the axe high, and prepared to chop down.

Just at this moment, there was a creak, and the gate was opened from the outside!