novelraw Chapter 1927 Going with the Tide
Chapter 1927 Going with the Tide
Chapter 1927 Going with the Tide
"Awan, do you think Hongtai is badly injured?" Fang Zilan pulled on the horse's reins, stopping Awan from speaking.
"Your injuries are more serious than yours." As Awan watched Fang Zilan mount her horse, she couldn't help but say, "Your injuries aren't minor either."
Fang Zilan ignored her, saying, "Hong Tai probably won't be coming back."
The seemingly random question made A-Wan frown. "What does that mean?"
“If I’m not mistaken, everyone along this route is from the Ghost Gate.” Fang Zilan said, tearing open her blood-stained purple outer robe to reveal the plain white mourning clothes underneath.
"What are you doing..." Awan stared blankly as Fang Zilan tossed aside her outer robe and straightened her sleeves. "The entire Zhongling Temple is doomed. Hongtai is doomed too. Since that's the case, what harm is there in leaving them a memento?"
Awan's eyes widened suddenly. "It was you who summoned the Gate of Hell?"
"If the Ghost Gate wants to kill me, why would I need to summon them?" Fang Zilan said calmly. "That imperial decree from the Empress was intended to win over the hearts of the people and protect ordinary citizens."
Awan stared at Fang Zilan in disbelief and questioned, "Aren't people from the martial arts world considered ordinary people?"
"If they hadn't harmed Chu Bin, I could have treated them like ordinary citizens and spared their lives," Fang Zilan said coldly. "But they killed Chu Bin, how could I let them live?"
It was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head. Although it was already the height of summer, Awan felt an uncontrollable chill all over her body.
She remembered hearing someone say when she was at the Ghost Gate that someone had injured Chu Bin, and Zi Xiu had killed them all. At the time, she had only heard it casually, but now that she had seen it with her own eyes, she knew how terrifying it was.
"What about Hong Tai?" Awan's face turned pale. "Even if he wasn't entirely sincere towards you, at least..."
"I risked my life to save the Hong siblings once," Fang Zilan said casually. "Now, it's time for them to repay me."
Awan instinctively took two steps back. Fang Zilan looked down at her and said, "Awan, are you scared? If you are, then leave me."
Awan bit her lip tightly, and after a long while she said, "Fang Zilan, at this moment, if I leave you, can I still live?"
“That depends on how useful Wen Ya is to Ji Ningtian.” Fang Zilan said bluntly, “Ji Ningtian spared your life to control me and Wen Ya. Right now, he can’t control me, so he can only control Wen Ya.”
She paused, then continued, "If anything happens to you, Wen Ya might not be able to stay calm. Even so, Ji Ningtian won't kill you..."
"Enough!" Awan gritted her teeth and said, "Fang Zilan, I'm not as good as you at weighing pros and cons and scheming against people. But I know that if Brother Chu were still alive, he wouldn't want to see you like this!"
“This is what Zixiu has always looked like.” Fang Zilan curled her lips. “Only by looking like this can she protect herself and the people around her.”
Awan's eyes reddened. She couldn't refute Fang Zilan and could only murmur, "Does it really have to be this way?"
“Awan, do you remember what I told you back in Linjia Village?” Fang Zilan said, enunciating each word clearly, “To deal with evil people, you have to be more evil than them. Especially since we’re dealing with powerful and influential evil people now.” “Fang Zilan, tell me the truth,” Awan sniffed, tilting her head back to ask, “Aren’t you in dire straits yourself?”
When she saw the white mourning clothes, she had a vague feeling that something was wrong. There were many people who wanted Fang Zilan dead: the Ghost Gate, the Jianghu people, the Xiahou family, and countless enemies hiding in the shadows.
"Intimidate?" Fang Zilan disregarded those present, a short knife flashing from her sleeve, pressed against Fu Congnan's neck. "I can take your life with ease. The only reason you're still standing here speaking is because you're useful to me. Otherwise, they would be seeing your corpse right now."
She paused, then used the short knife in her hand to cut the skin on Fu Congnan's neck, leaving a bloody mark. "I'll say it one last time: hand over Fang Lihui and Yu Chengwang, and I can pretend that nothing happened today."
Most of those present were stunned, taken aback by this unexpected turn of events. Even Fu Congnan himself hadn't expected Fang Zilan to suddenly attack, and with such speed that he had no time to react.
At this moment, Fu Congnan finally understood that Fang Zilan was not bluffing or making empty threats; she was fully capable of taking his life at any time.
They didn't do that, simply because they were concerned about Fang Lihui's life or death.
Zhuge Yu's expression was tense. Fang Zilan's display of skill in front of everyone was bound to cause a huge uproar...
"General Fu, my Lan'er has a bad temper and has offended you. Please forgive her." Fang Zitong spoke politely, but she did not stop Fang Zilan.
Fu Congnan said in a sinister tone, "Miss Fang, if things really come to a head, what good do you think your Fang family will do? I might give some face to the officials present, but your Fang family is nothing but a defeated dog that has fled the capital..."
Before he could finish speaking, Fang Zilan kicked him hard, and with a muffled groan, he was forced to kneel down in front of Fang Zitong.
"Even if the Fang family has fallen, not just anyone can trample on them." Fang Zitong looked down at Fu Congnan. "General Fu, will you tell me Fang Lihui's whereabouts or not?"
Fu Congnan spat, "If you have the guts, kill me, and you'll never find Fang Lihui again in your lifetime!"
“General Fu’s mouth is really hard.” Fang Zilan sneered. Zhuge Yu felt a chill run down his spine. However, before he could say anything, a voice interrupted, “If General Fu doesn’t want to talk, I will.”
Hong Tai emerged step by step from the shadows behind the tree and walked up to Fu Congnan. Seeing the disbelief on his face, he exclaimed, "How could this be? You're not dead? You..."
“General Fu, if you utter that name, I guarantee you will die even faster than you are now.” Hong Tai leaned down and whispered in Fu Congnan’s ear, a casual remark that was enough to silence him.
"It's you." Zhuge Yu frowned, recognizing Hong Tai as the person Fang Zilan had recommended to Li Qiyou that day. But why was he here? Was it premeditated, or did he have ulterior motives?
“It’s me.” Hong Tai straightened up, nodded, and then said to Fang Zilan, “I know where the person you’re looking for is. Just follow me.”
Fang Zilan had no doubts. She took Fu Congnan hostage and followed Hong Tai, with the others following as well.
After Hongtai reached the artificial hill, he stopped, reached out and felt around for a moment, then opened the mechanism, revealing a path leading to the bottom of the artificial hill.
Fang Zilan led Fu Congnan at the front. The ground was dark, cold, and damp, a stark contrast to the sweltering heat outside. A bad premonition welled up in her heart, and it finally came true the moment she saw Li Qiyou.