The situation before me, I had imagined countless times, but never had I envisioned such a scene.
Though I paid little heed to the number of people arriving at the camp, Zhang Dabiao was extremely attentive to it, especially to how many left each day and how many returned.
All of this indicated that they had a thorough understanding of the situation within the valley. Li Rui's arrival, in particular, gave me a bad premonition.
I coughed lightly, my gaze steady as I looked at Li Zuoquan, "Elder Li, what is the meaning of this? Are you preparing to settle accounts?"
Li Zuoquan picked up his tea, took a small sip, and then replied unhurriedly after setting down the cup, "Young friend Song, you jest. This unfortunate outcome is something none of us wished for, but now that matters have come to this, someone must take responsibility, mustn't they? They mean no harm; they merely wish to understand the full story. As for who is to blame, that also needs to be clearly defined, doesn't it?"
My face darkened. If Li Zuoquan hadn't been orchestrating this behind the scenes, I wouldn't believe they would place all the blame on me.
It was clear that Uncle Kang Pangzi and that man from the frontier had definitely pinned the blame for the deaths on me. With Li Jian still unconscious and Uncle Kang Pangzi severely injured and not yet recovered, I wouldn't be able to explain myself even if I had a hundred mouths.
"Then what do you want? Don't forget, I still have one person who hasn't appeared."
The current situation was unfavorable to me. I could only hope to temporarily leverage Yue'er's identity to suppress Li Zuoquan and prevent him from acting rashly.
However, the moment I spoke, it elicited boisterous laughter from them.
"Haha... Young people are indeed young. Even now, you still think someone will come to your rescue." Uncle Kang Pangzi's laughter was loud, almost enough to blow off the tent roof.
"Kid, stop dreaming. Do you think that little girl will leave so obediently?" The man with the hooked nose from the frontier, his voice sinister like an ice blade, pierced my heart.
"What did you say? Yue'er was harmed by you?" My eyes blazed, and I stared intently at him, simultaneously feeling annoyed with myself. I should have seen this coming earlier, but not only did I not see it, I even thought Yue'er had left in a fit of pique.
The man with the hooked nose glanced at Li Zuoquan. Seeing him nod, he said gravely, "I don't have that much ability. Kid, if you're going to blame anyone, blame yourself for trusting others too easily. If you want to know if she's alive or dead, you'd best go down and ask her yourself!"
The moment he finished speaking, his military knife flashed out. Zhang Dabiao, who had been guarding against him, was not to be outdone. He twirled his Pishan Dao, and the two immediately engaged in combat.
The clash of blades sounded like firecrackers in my ears. I wanted to help, but I couldn't, for a greater crisis awaited me.
I abruptly turned my gaze to Li Zuoquan, "When did you find out?"
My question was out of the blue, but Li Zuoquan didn't seem surprised. Instead, he wore an expression of confident victory.
"I didn't know; I merely had my suspicions. It wasn't until the mountain demon rushed out of the valley and Daoist Fang returned that I understood that thing was on you."
I glanced at the grim-faced Fang Niuzi and continued to press, "How could you be so sure that thing was on me? And how did you confirm it? Aren't you afraid of misjudging and wrongly killing a good person?"
Fang Niuzi's expression turned cold. "A good person? Are you joking with me? If you are a good person, then are there any good people left in this world?"
Faced with Fang Niuzi's mockery, though I was furious, I didn't lash out. I wanted to know where I had slipped up that led them to confirm the Hu Kui Seal was on me.
The plan I had discussed with Fifth Gege was known to very few, not even Zhang Dabiao. The objective was to lure Li Zuoquan and the others into the Fifth Prince's true tomb to capture them all.
Only in this way could the Hu Kui Seal be taken away, and the Half-Yin Realm remain in a semi-closed state. Even if someone could enter, they shouldn't dream of getting out.
But now, it seemed my seemingly foolproof scheme was utterly useless in the eyes of these old foxes. I felt as though I were standing naked before them.
Zhang Dabiao and the man from the frontier were locked in a fierce battle, not yet at a disadvantage, but the outcome was uncertain if it continued for too long. This was because I heard many footsteps outside the tent.
Though I knew I was doomed this time, I still wanted to understand everything.
"When did you discover it? Why didn't you act then?"
Fang Niuzi sneered, "Speaking of you, kid, you're quite heartless. So many people died, yet you still feign innocence?" Seeing my silence, he continued, "We couldn't be sure at first. It was only when Fifth Gege came as Yue'er that I began to suspect.
What is Fifth Gege's identity? In the Half-Yin Realm, the most mysterious is not the Fifth Prince, but Fifth Gege. For she is the true master who controls the Half-Yin Realm."
Seeing my confusion, Fang Niuzi continued, "Do you know why I agreed to your plan?"
I shook my head, indicating I didn't know.
"It was to lure Fifth Gege to come and stop the mountain demon leader. Only then could we confirm that Yue'er was Fifth Gege."
Hearing this, I became extremely indignant. "Just to confirm Fifth Gege's identity, you used so many ordinary people's lives as a test? Aren't you afraid of not finding peace after death?"
This time, I was truly angered by Fang Niuzi. I never imagined that he would use the lives of over twenty people as a test to confirm Fifth Gege's identity. Was he even a cultivator?
"Heh heh... Kid, these people died because of you. If you hadn't disrupted Elder Li's plan, how would they have died? Everything has a cause and effect. If you hadn't sown the seed that day, how could there be this fruit now?"
Fang Niuzi's words made me laugh bitterly. I never thought that Longhu Mountain, which always presented itself as a pillar of the orthodox path, would commit such heinous acts.
Those who died were not just a few stray cats and dogs; they were dozens of lives. Yet, in his mouth, they became stepping stones on the path to success, as if human lives were of no consequence.
"Aren't you afraid of provoking the Fifth Prince's retaliation?"
"The Fifth Prince?" Li Zuoquan tapped his teacup lid and placed the cup on the table, saying coldly, "Do you think this is still Molu Village? The Fifth Prince, I was indeed afraid of him, but that was when I feared him in Molu Village. Now that we are out of Molu Village, he is nothing. Young friend Song, I must thank you for bringing the item out for me, and for conveniently removing my major concern. How should I thank you?"
Li Zuoquan's words made my face turn grim. "What do you mean by that?"
"What do I mean?" Li Zuoquan laughed heartily. "Do you really think I don't know that the Fifth Prince wanted to entrust the Hu Kui Seal to you for safekeeping? And you think I couldn't tell Yue'er was Fifth Gege? Kid, you're out of luck today! Hand over the Hu Kui Seal, and I'll leave you a complete corpse. Otherwise, hmph..."
Hearing this, I felt a chill run through my entire body, as if I had fallen into an ice cave.
I never expected that my supposedly foolproof plan would be seen through so clearly by Li Zuoquan. It felt as though I were wearing the emperor's new clothes in front of him.