Chapter 215: Kill Without Mercy
Translated by Gumihou
Please read this at kitchennovel dot com
Laughter escaped Su Dong Lou: What the heck? Is this one of Lu Feng Yu’s prissy underling? Whatever, he went and poured himself a bowl of tea, but did not drink it.
He said mildly, “Elder sis, I wish to ask you something. I heard that a month ago the Immortal’s Descent happened at Immortal’s Range here. But in the end, nobody actually saw the immortal, but had instead seen a ghost. I am here to catch that ghost. Would sister be so kind as to point me to where this ghost is hiding?”
The woman stiffened, then stood up and eyed Su Dong Lou over for a few moments. Finally, a hint of amusement appeared in her cool and aloof expression. Her lips curled and she said crossly, “Esteemed customer is here to catch ghosts? You are neither a priest nor a monk, what you have anything to do with ghost catching?”
“Though I am not part of the religious sect, I do have some skills of my own.” Su Dong Lou laughed heartily.
The girl laughed too, appearing even more beautiful and vibrant. She nodded and said, “Is that so? Well, once the sun moves west and blushes red, esteemed customer may come with this humble one to my house. If you have any other question, this one might not know the answer. However, this ghost had been the plague of my whole family. Even if it dissolved into the wind, this humble one would still recognise it.”
Su Dong Lou smiled, “That is good, we shall move after dark. Lady boss, please bring out some food. I prefer to catch ghosts on a full stomach.”
The girl reached under her table and brought out a plate of assorted steamed buns, as well as a few bowls of other side dishes. Clearly, this was no ordinary tea stall, to certain types of customers, they would also serve food and side dishes. Su Dong Lou had been travelling all day and was quite hungry. In a flash, the food was demolished.
Once the last of the food was gone, he looked up to see that the sky was already turning red. He strapped on his sword and said to the girl, “Will you come with me once you’ve cleared your stall away?”
The girl worked quickly and very soon, the stall, tables and chairs were all neatly put away. She led Su Dong Lou into the lush, green forest. After walking briskly for about seven to eight li (500 m), they were a quarter way up the mountain. A few more twists and turns later, they finally came upon a crude hut made of bamboo. She pointed at the hut, saying, “That’s where the ghost lives. Sir will have to watch for it by yourself, this humble one shall take her leave first.”
With that, she flitted away.
Su Dong Lou watched her disappearing back with a cold smile. Curses, isn’t this just too obvious? That Lu Feng Yu is a man of a thousand suspicion, how would he just let you leave without watching me complete the job? There’s no doubt about it, this place was being watched. Heheh, All this just to test my trustworthiness, why don’t you think about your own attitude? You think I don’t know you? Wretched thing, how dare you play this game with me? Just wait, once you’ve fallen into my hands, just watch how I torment you.
As he pondered over this, he kept his eye on the crude bamboo hut. There were currently no movements as far as he could see. Could the person inside really be Long Pingzhang? Duan Tingxuan managed to send a message to him about how agitated Lu Feng Yu had appeared the night he went moon gazing. Speculating about how something big must have happened to cause such an unusual reaction. Could the ‘something big’ be this? If Long Pingzhang really had escaped death and even secretly made his way to the foot of Immortal’s Range, this would definitely be bad news for Lu Feng Yu, explaining his sudden rage and cursing of ‘disgraceful’ and ‘good-for-nothings’.
Thus was Lu Feng Yu’s brilliance. He deliberately left a strong impression on Duan Tingxuan, if the man was in cahoots with Su Dong Lou, he would naturally convey this information to him. By manipulating both sides of the party, Su Dong Lou would naturally be compelled to believe that news of Long Pingzhang being alive was genuine. If he was at all on Duan Tingxuan’s side, he would definitely display hesitation when it comes to disposing Long Pingzhang.
On the other hand, if Su Dong Lou were to obediently carry out the mission and kill off Long Pingzhang, he would be seen as completely trustworthy and had nothing to do with Duan Tingxuan. He would be a man who could be trusted to assist King Xiangyang in his ambition to take over the throne, and would not let go of this opportunity to gain great merit and power for helping someone snatch up the throne.
To be honest, Lu Feng Yu was not wrong. Su Dong Lou really was struggling on the inside. However, he had still underestimated the sense of responsibility and tenacity of a Jianghu man like Su Dong Lou.
In the end, Su Dong Lou never informed Duan Tingxuan of Long Pingzhang being still in the world of the living. Because he understood that if Duan Tingxuan knew that his good friend was still alive, he would definitely refuse to allow his friend to be killed. If that were to happen, how would he win the trust of Lu Feng Yu?
Therefore, even if that man in the crude hut was Long Pingzhang, he still had to die. Regardless of whatever clue or secret he held in his hand, the fact remains that the secret was still hidden within Immortal’s Range, and had not been secretly moved anywhere. In the end, they still have no idea what kind of value this secret hold, but as long as he could gain the trust of King Xiangyang and Lu Feng Yu. The secret of Immortal’s Range would be open to him. Moreover, he could better protect Duan Tingxuan and his wife with the trust of their enemy. Therefore, in the end, Long Pingzhang had to be sacrificed for the good of all.
Su Dong Lou believed that if Duan Tingxuan had been in his own position, he would most likely make the same decision. However, the problem now was this: Logic is one thing, but the emotional repercussion is another. Duan Tingxuan’s reasoning may support him, but emotionally speaking, he may never be able to forgive this act.
Which was why Su Dong Lou had not inform him of this crucial matter. There’s no need to make things difficult for this friend of his. That Long Pingzhang was not someone Su Dong Lou was close to, therefore the guilt he felt was slightly lesser.
With this, Su Dong Lou grabbed hold of the sword on his waist, mentally prepared himself and flashed a glance all around. As his frame of mind calmed down, the grip on his sword grew steadier. With his level of martial arts, he could tell that there are no other people within the vicinity. However, he also knew there were eyes tracking his every movement.
Long Pingzhang must die.
There was no more hesitation in Su Dong Lou’s heart. He also had no idea how he was suddenly so clear-headed. But, this was a good thing. What he had been most concerned about was hesitation. Now that all hesitation had left him, it’s all for the best.
Without speaking, he crouched, waiting. As soon as the sky darkened, a man came stumbling out from the forest, shaking his head and muttering to himself as he approached the hut.
One could tell with a glance from his posture that he was a refined scholar, dressed in an ordinary long sleeved chang pao. The man’s brows were creased in a deep frown. Su Dong Lou could hear him talking to himself, “Where is it? It must be here somewhere, the key person could only be here. Why can’t I find them? Once I found them, all I have to do is find a way to contact Tingxuan. Then…”
His words were cut off, literally. The man felt a slight tingling at his neck, then, a line of blood gushed out. The scholar’s eyes went wide. He clutched at his own neck, fingers scrabbling through warm and slippery blood.
Before his eyes, stood a youth dressed in all black. The youth fished out a silk handkerchief and carefully wiped his sword clean of blood.
A cold voice reached the dying man’s ear, “When you’re walking down the yellow river, don’t blame me. Blame your own unfortunate fate. You really should never stand between us and our goals.”
With a faint [gu du], the scholar collapsed without another word.
Su Dong Lou stepped forward, held his finger under the man’s nose to check for breathing. When nothing was felt against his finger, he stood up and kicked the man into a nearby clump of grass.
After a final glance around, confirming that there were no immediate witnesses around, Su Dong Lou left the murder scene.
[Gumihou: …. (⁽⁽ ⁰ ⁾⁾ Д ⁽⁽ ⁰ ⁾⁾)…]
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Translated by Gumihou from kitchennovel dot com.
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