Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Start with a Bang but End with a Whimper Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Start with a Bang but End with a Whimper Editor: Atlas Studios The flickering flames cast shadows that danced unpredictably.
The silent woods, the disciples of Seven Extremes Hall who remained barely alive had already departed, taking with them the Sword Master and the corpses of their brethren.
Whether they could return alive to Seven Extremes Hall was not within Su Mo and Yang Xiaoyun’s considerations.
That ‘thief’ had also left.
They might as well have left together.
As for what might happen between them after leaving, Su Mo and Yang Xiaoyun did not care.
However, this action actually bore a semblance of killing the spirit along with the body.
If that ‘thief’ wanted to live a bit longer, then the later his betrayal was known to Seven Extremes Hall, the better.
He could make any number of choices for this reason.
On one side were the wounded and disabled remains of a defeated force, while on the other, a ‘thief’ who was desperately clinging to life, not wanting the news to return to Seven Extremes Hall—it was almost needless to consider what would happen.
Yet, in Su Mo’s and Yang Xiaoyun’s view, the matter wasn’t entirely settled.
Ordinary bandits or strongmen from mountain strongholds robbing the escort agency’s shipments, as long as they played by the rules, might even turn from foes to friends.
But the people from Seven Extremes Hall were sly and harbored cold, sinister thoughts, even treating Su Mo and Yang Xiaoyun as greenhorns freshly entered into Jianghu to bully.
If Su Mo could so easily let this go, then if word of Ziyang Escort Agency’s reputation spread, wouldn’t it invite ridicule?
Jianghu people value their reputation, and escort agencies are no exception.
Connections and righteousness in Jianghu are essential, but if one is perceived as weak, who would dare entrust their goods to them?
Therefore, after this escort mission was completed, it would be necessary to find an appropriate time to seek an explanation from Seven Extremes Hall.
At this moment, with the fire casting its glow, the quiet woodland seemed as if nothing had ever happened, except for the bloodstains on the ground, and the snoring of the sword borrower, silently bearing witness to the recent events.
The sword borrower himself probably hadn’t had a good sleep in who knows how long.
Now sleeping through utter chaos, a knife to his throat would likely not wake him.
Approaching him, Su Mo waved a hand in front of the man’s face, who seemed to have no guard up at all.
Seeing this, Su Mo respectfully but unapologetically tapped him twice, and the man’s head slumped to one side, having been directly disabled by Su Mo.
“…”
Su Mo was somewhat surprised, but then he took out some elixir medicine used to drive away insects and snakes from his body, placed it on the person, and flung him into the dense foliage of the trees, making it difficult to spot unless someone searched carefully.
“By noon tomorrow, the man should not awaken. Let’s rest for the night, and set off early tomorrow morning. That should rid us of this persistent nuisance.”
Yang Xiaoyun’s brows were tightly furrowed, watching the jumping sparks, she spoke in a low voice:
“Hua Qianyu, City Lord of Tianyu City, and Zhan Ming is one of her well-known experts.”
Su Mo sat beside her, intertwining his fingers in front of the firelight but said nothing.
Yang Xiaoyun cast a thoughtful look at Su Mo and smiled gently, “What’s on your mind?”
“Haha.”
Su Mo laughed and after a moment of contemplation, shook his head: “I feel that this matter is unfinished, and there’s another place that doesn’t quite add up.”
“Go on, elaborate.”
Yang Xiaoyun moved closer to Su Mo.
After collecting his thoughts, Su Mo glanced at the sword borrower perched on the tree before using a voice only the two of them could hear, saying:
“Hua Qianyu may be the City Lord of Tianyu City, but the Four Great Cities share a common breath, and Iron Blood Escort Agency moves up and down the country. Uncle Yang’s reputation is unmatched across the world, so naturally, Hua Qianyu would not be unaware of this.
“However, from the reaction of the ‘thief’ we saw earlier, Seven Extremes Hall seems to know nothing about our identities.
“Otherwise, they would never have concocted such a foolish scheme.
“After all, with Iron Blood Escort Agency behind us, even if today we were truly overwhelmed by the imposing aura of this so-called senior from Jianghu, and were deceived into following them back to Seven Extremes Hall.
“Imagine Uncle Yang marching over with the Dragon Spear to Seven Extremes Hall to demand us back, do you think that Great Hall Master Feng Wuxiang would be so enraged he’d slap the Sword Master to death?”
Yang Xiaoyun raised an eyebrow: “This, I had not considered… The Sword Master’s martial arts are indeed somewhat skillful, but even without you here today, I might not be necessarilly inferior to him.”
Su Mo smiled: “That raises the question, then. Would Hua Qianyu not know this? Why would she let someone whose martial arts might not necessarily overpower yours covet what we are escorting? If she wanted to kill with a borrowed knife, this blade is clearly not sharp enough.
“On the contrary, if we capture the Sword Master, wouldn’t she be exposing her own weakness?”
“…That makes sense.”
Yang Xiaoyun nodded: “Continue.”
“This Hua Qianyu… I have also heard of her. Her background and origins are unclear, and she was nearly thirty when she started out.
“Without any foundations within Tianyu City, she established a significant reputation with the Absolute Skill ‘All Flowers of June Have Fallen’. From there, she joined the Phoenix Alliance, rising from obscurity to the top with a meteoric rise, overtaking the original City Lord, becoming the new ruler of Tianyu City. She even jumped to the position of second Alliance Hierarch…
“Us being in Jianghu, we should know the heavy infighting within a clan. Without a hint of shrewdness and ability, one would merely be an advanced brawler within the clan.
“For her to achieve so much in such a short amount of time, it’s evident that both her martial arts and ingenuity are extremely formidable.
“However, considering tonight’s situation, other than inciting Seven Extremes Hall’s Sword Master to steal our escort, she seems to have no backup plan.
“Not only did the people of Seven Extremes Hall reveal their identities, but the people she arranged to silence the truth… were also captured.
“Taken altogether, isn’t this ending up like a tiger head but a snake’s tail – entirely laughable?
“If this truly is Hua Qianyu’s doing, then her position as the second Alliance Hierarch might have been obtained through suspicious means.”
Yang Xiaoyun silently listened, then slowly nodded: “So, someone is framing and shifting the blame?”
“To conclude that now would be premature; I am merely suggesting a possibility.”
Su Mo said: “Since the people from Seven Extremes Hall have accused Hua Qianyu, let’s tentatively regard her as the mastermind behind this.”
Upon hearing this, Yang Xiaoyun had already grasped Su Mo’s meaning, and couldn’t help but smile slightly: “Then, the rest of our journey might be smooth sailing, huh?”
“If that’s the case, it would confirm the framing and blame-shifting…”
Su Mo sighed: “Jianghu is full of unpredictable turmoils; a path that looks straight and wide might be full of holes dug by some vile characters.”
As he said this, he paused slightly: “The black-clothed man I exchanged palms with just now…”
“Hmm?”
Yang Xiaoyun turned to look at Su Mo.
Su Mo thought for a moment, then shook his head slightly: “Forget it, I am not yet certain about this matter, let’s not discuss it for now.”
Yang Xiaoyun looked at Su Mo for a while, then suddenly smiled: “Alright, when you are certain, let me know.”
“…Okay.”
Su Mo blinked, and suddenly felt that at this moment, Yang Xiaoyun had lost some of her usual domineering air and instead possessed more… femininity?