Chapter Eighty-Eight: Counterattack, Part One

Shicai said shakily, "Yes... that day, after Yuan Chenglu took Yuan Chengtian away, I hid for half a day before daring to come out and look around. In the end, I found Yuan Chengtian's right hand. I thought it might one day be useful as a means of saving my life, so I kept it."

With that, he sensibly took Yuan Chengtian's right hand from his storage satchel and handed it to Shi Qi.

Shi Qi accepted the pale hand and murmured with a long sigh, "Yuan Chenglu, let's see how you talk your way out of this now."

Sun Fanbai said, "A dead end seemed absolute, and then suddenly a path opened where none should have been. We had thought the trail was broken beyond repair, yet we actually ran into this Shicai fellow."

Bai Qiu said, "It was destined that Yuan Chenglu would not escape this calamity."

Shi Qi steadied himself, put away Yuan Chengtian's right hand, then lowered his head and said to Shicai, "Shicai, I can spare you, and I won't pursue your cooperation with Dianxing Manor in tailing me, but you must do me a favor."

Shicai nodded repeatedly. "Just say the word, sir!"

Shi Qi said, "Tomorrow morning, come with us to Dianxing Manor and bear witness. Point out Yuan Chenglu's wicked deeds!"

At this, Shicai was startled. "Ah... th-this..."

Bai Qiu stepped forward. "Don't worry. Tomorrow, after you tell them what you saw, you may leave. You need not concern yourself with anything else. If you refuse, then we shall..."

Shicai's heart lurched.

Sun Fanbai stepped forward. "All right, Bai Qiu, don't frighten him. Shicai, look up."

Shicai raised his head through tears, looking exactly like a wronged child.

Sun Fanbai said slowly, "Shi Qi is not a vengeful spirit, and the four of us are not either. We are living, breathing people."

"Huh?" Shicai was flustered. He looked up at Shi Qi in alarm. "But..."

Shi Qi said, "I did not die. I survived by luck, and I have returned this time to take revenge on Dianxing Manor."

Shi Qi continued, "The four of us are all from the righteous path, or at least neutral. If we were to stop caring about reason and charge straight into Dianxing Manor to slaughter the place, then how would we be any different from those demonic sect people? How would we be any different from men as treacherous and vicious as the Yuan brothers? That is not what we want."

Sun Fanbai stepped forward, patted Shi Qi on the shoulder, and said, "Exactly. Shicai, if we were cruel men, you would not still be standing here. Bai Daoist and I have just attended your Tianyuan Sect's combined sect assembly, so you should know this: if you are unwilling to help, we cannot take your life. But we will go at once to Tianyuan Sect and report to your master, True Person Feng Yuan, that you have been colluding with Dianxing Manor. As for how he deals with you after that, it will have nothing to do with us. You know Tianyuan Sect is an upright and prestigious order; they value their reputation greatly. If your master learns of this sort of thing, just think..."

Shicai lowered his head in thought.

After a moment, he looked up. "I can help you, but you must guarantee my safety. I believe you are of the righteous path, unlike those hypocrites at Dianxing Manor."

Shi Qi nodded. "I keep my word. As long as you point out what Yuan Chenglu did tomorrow, you may leave on your own. Our target is Yuan Chenglu, not you."

"All right then." Shicai nodded.

The group sighed and rested where they were. To prevent Shicai from fleeing in the night, Sun Fanbai specifically used a secret art to seal him in place.

Under a sky of moonlight and sparse stars, the night passed without incident. The four of them adjusted their breathing, maintaining peak condition and preparing for tomorrow's counterattack and vengeance.

The next morning,

Yuan Chenglu sat in the main hall of Dianxing Manor, sipping tea with leisurely ease.

"Report!"

A disciple suddenly called from outside.

"Enter!"

Yuan Chenglu set down his cup and summoned the disciple inside.

"Have you found that little beast Shi Qi yet? Any results?" he asked.

The disciple knelt on one knee and said with his head lowered, "Master, we searched near the Eastern Sea for three months and found nothing. Later, Shi Qi's friends, Bai Qiu, the third young master of Hundred Knowledge Hall, and Sun Fanbai, the second senior brother of Cloud Azure Gate, also came to the Eastern Sea searching for Shi Qi's whereabouts. We deliberately avoided them and searched in secret. By the time we withdrew, we still had not found any trace of Shi Qi. Looking at those two, they also found nothing. This disciple believes Shi Qi long ago died a miserable death out on the outer sea."

"Hm..." Yuan Chenglu nodded. "You may go."

"Yes, Master." After bowing, the disciple withdrew from the hall.

Yuan Chenglu lifted his teacup again and took another sip.

Then, from the rear of the hall, Yuan Chengtian's spouse, Lady Wang, swayed out with dainty steps.

Lady Wang asked, "Still no news?"

Yuan Chenglu shook his head. "That damned beast. Even in death, he doesn't know where he died. Without that stone, my cultivation advances at a crawl!"

Lady Wang went up to him, placing both hands on his shoulders and gently kneading them.

She said softly, "If you can't get it back, then so be it. I was even afraid that if you obtained the stone, you would become like him and spend your days in closed-door cultivation. As things are now, it's quite good. How glorious you look as manor lord."

"Hmph!"

Yuan Chenglu slammed the teacup hard onto the table. "What do women know? Strength is what matters most!"

Lady Wang's face was full of sorrow as she murmured, "What if that little beast's friends come to make trouble at my Dianxing Manor? From what that disciple just said, they are all from famous orthodox sects."

Yuan Chenglu chuckled. "So what if they are? He killed my elder brother; he was in the wrong. It is only natural that I avenge my brother. Famous orthodox sects? Hah. The more upright the sect, the more they value reason. Since they are in the wrong, they would not dare come rampaging through my Dianxing Manor."

"Report!"

"Why so many interruptions today? Enter!" Yuan Chenglu barked.

Lady Wang hurriedly removed her hands from his shoulders and retreated to the back of the hall.

A disciple rushed in, frantic.

"Master, the mausoleum on the back mountain appears to have been invaded by thieves last night. The two disciples guarding the gate were both drugged unconscious. They only just woke up and came at once to report."

"The mausoleum?" Yuan Chenglu frowned.

Aside from the bodies of several generations of manor lords, there was nothing else in the mausoleum on the back mountain. Why would thieves invade the mausoleum of my manor? Wait—bodies?

Yuan Chenglu's eyes suddenly widened. He sprang to his feet and called to the disciple, "Come, follow me!"

He hurried with the disciple to the back mountain mausoleum and rushed in first to inspect it.

Sure enough, the spiritual aura covering Yuan Chengtian's coffin had vanished. It looked as though someone had handled Yuan Chengtian's corpse.

Yuan Chenglu's brows drew together. "Damn it... who did this?"

Just then, another urgent cry sounded.

"Report!" a disciple shouted from outside the mausoleum.

"What is it now? Come in!" Yuan Chenglu snapped irritably.

A disciple stumbled in, rolling and crawling, utterly disheveled.

"Report! Uncle-Master, something major has happened!"

Yuan Chenglu cursed, "What major thing? Why are you so flustered? Have you no decorum?"

The disciple hurriedly said, "Outside... outside there are five people, and they specifically asked for you, Uncle-Master. I saw... I saw Shi Qi among them!"

"What?!" Yuan Chenglu was stunned. "That brat Shi Qi really didn't die! And he even has the guts to come to my door of his own accord! I'll go meet him myself!"

He had barely taken two steps when he suddenly stopped again. "Wait. You said five people?"

The disciple nodded. "Yes, exactly."

After a moment of thought, Yuan Chenglu produced a small token from his storage ring. He poured true energy into it, and the token immediately began to glow black.

With a forceful squeeze, Yuan Chenglu crushed it to pieces.

"Hmph!" he sneered. "Since you've delivered yourselves to my doorstep, don't blame me for being merciless!"

With that, he turned and headed back toward Dianxing Manor.

When Yuan Chenglu entered the main hall, he saw that Shi Qi and the other four were already seated on either side, each holding a teacup and drinking leisurely.

"Uncle-Master..."

Two disciples came running in from outside, both already bruised and swollen-faced.

"Uncle-Master, we couldn't stop them."

Yuan Chenglu waved a hand. "You are no match for them. Stand down."

He straightened his robes, walked slowly to the main seat in the hall, and sat down. He said nothing, only lifted the teacup beside him and took a sip, while his gaze swept over the five people in the hall.

Shi Qi and the others still sat like stone, unmoving. Only Shicai beside them trembled all over, his head lowered, too afraid to look Yuan Chenglu in the eye.

Yuan Chenglu set down his cup and said slowly, "For several people to barge into my Dianxing Manor today, isn't that against the rules?"

"Snort." Shi Qi gave a light laugh. Turning his head toward Yuan Chenglu, he said slowly, "Yuan Chenglu, do you still recognize me?"

Yuan Chenglu leaned forward slightly. "Well, well, who did I think it was? So it's you, murderer. What, after lucking out and escaping me months ago, you've come to my Dianxing Manor today to apologize?"

Shi Qi still wore a smile. "Wrong. I came this time to collect a debt."

By now, all the disciples of Dianxing Manor were fully armed and gathered at the entrance to the hall.

Yuan Chenglu let out a contemptuous laugh. "A joke. My Dianxing Manor owes you nothing."

Then his voice suddenly rang out, "On the contrary, Shi Qi, you owe my Dianxing Manor a debt!"

Shi Qi did not change expression. He said calmly, "Yuan Chenglu, back then you kept claiming that I killed your younger brother Yuan Chengtian. Today I ask you: do you have evidence?"

Yuan Chenglu replied, "Evidence? My younger brother fought you at Mount Jiazi. He was ambushed by your lot of juniors and suffered grievous injuries. He died on the road home. What further evidence is needed? If not you, then who else could it be?"

Shi Qi smiled. "Very well. Shicai, come out."

"Huh?" At Shi Qi's call, Shicai trembled and slowly emerged from behind him.

The moment Yuan Chenglu saw Shicai, his expression changed abruptly.

Noticing the shift, Shi Qi smiled faintly. "Shicai, tell the grand manor lord everything you saw and know."

Shicai wiped the sweat from his face. "This... all right... That day, Manor Lord Yuan Chengtian invited me to Dianxing Manor..."

Word by word, Shicai recounted everything he knew: from Yuan Chengtian hiring him to tail Shi Qi, to the battle between Yuan Chengtian and Shi Qi's group, and then to Yuan Chengtian encountering Yuan Chenglu on the road home.

As Shicai spoke, Yuan Chenglu's face grew darker and darker.

Meanwhile, the disciples outside the hall began to murmur among themselves.

"What? That little dwarf said the master was killed by the uncle-master?"

"Impossible. Utter nonsense!"

"That little dwarf is Shicai, the one who often comes to our Dianxing Manor! He was here just yesterday. I know him!"

"But how could he say the master was killed by the uncle-master?"

"Everyone, calm yourselves. Let's watch how this unfolds. If he's spouting nonsense, we'll go in together and cut him down!"

...

"Complete nonsense!!"

Yuan Chenglu slammed the table, shattering it to pieces. He shouted, "Shicai, if you keep talking nonsense, I'll chop you to pieces!"

"Ah!" Shicai cried out in terror and hid behind Shi Qi and the others.

Shi Qi smiled and said to Bai Qiu, "See? He's anxious."

Then Shi Qi turned back to Yuan Chenglu. "Grand Manor Lord Yuan, after all your calculations, you forgot one thing."

Yuan Chenglu said nothing, staring at Shi Qi with unblinking intensity.

Shi Qi said, "When you severed Yuan Chengtian's right hand, in your carelessness you forgot to dispose of it. And that very hand was obtained by Shicai!"