The man had previously exploited the Green Vixen in order to flee calamity, but he had no such good luck this time around. He was face with a team of Poisonous Scorpions that was chasing him like cats hunting a mouse, and all he could do was desperately scramble away, currently even more overwrought than Zhang Chengling. Now, he had no one protecting him — there used to be a woman who might have done so, but she was dead.

He wore only rags, looking way more like a beggar than Zhou Zishu had when first entering jianghu. Where was even an iota of Sect Leader Yu, who had grasped a lightly-dancing fan?

The Huashan Sect had since re-established its Leader, and no longer acknowledged him. He had become akin to a stray dog.

Eventually, Yu Qiufeng’s route of escape reached its end, and he was captured alive before the Scorpion.

[1] First half is from Immortal at the Magpie Bridge by Qin Guan, second half is from Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin.

Chapter 69: Returning

The Scorpion used his toes to lift his chin, beginning to laugh. “Ooo, it’s Sect Leader Yu.”

Yu Qiufeng shook all over. His eyes were dull, as if somewhat delirious. Struggling hard to raise his head, he looked at the Scorpion. “I… I’m not… not in my pl… not in my…” he uttered, stopping and starting.

The other shook his head, leaned in close, and spoke right into his ear. “That night, outside of Lake Tai’s Zhao Manor, there were actually three total people that had died. One was Mu Yunge, Duanjian Manor’s owner. One was Yu Tianjie, your precious son. There’s one more… that none of you knew, as he died in a cave. He was the Long-Tongued Ghost of Ghost Valley. Do you want to hear about what happened with that, Sect Leader Yu?”

Once he brought up the name ‘Yu Tianjie’, Yu Qiufeng resembled a quickly-dying fish placed out of the water, twitching all over. The whites of his eyes were about to bulge out as he stared dead at the Scorpion.

“You had all long known about the Lapis Armor’s existence before you went to Dongting, so you had your dear son wait at Lake Tai to intently watch the Zhang brat, and also take the chance to lie in wait for the Armor. Unexpectedly… Mu Yunge, that nervous wreck, coincidentally discovered that the Zhao’s had a piece, and used the night to steal it. Yu Tianjie had believed himself to have been the only one watching him, but in reality… there were two others doing so that night, as well.”

Yu Qiufeng seemed to understand something, but also understand nothing. He felt that this was all getting absurd. It seemed like there was an unseen hand holding a plan in the dark, and each and every of them was just an endlessly struggling pawn on an immense qi board.