The Mirror Master

Chen Xiaofeng stared at the blood-soaked ground and the five gruesome corpses, a tremor running through his Heart and Spirit.

Five lives, snuffed out just like that!

And they had died at the hands of a man everyone described as kind and honest.

However, he was still unwilling to admit to himself that he was no match for Lu Bai.

’It must feel good to kill your enemies with your own hands, but what will he do tomorrow?’

Chen Xiaofeng thought, ’When the Government Office comes knocking tomorrow, he’ll either have to become a fugitive or surrender without a fight. He has no other choice.

’Hmph. In the end, he’s just a reckless brute. In the Jianghu, you can’t rely solely on hot-blooded courage and a sharp sword. The most important thing is to read the situation and strategize.’

This thought brought Chen Xiaofeng a sliver of comfort.

’In that respect, Lu Bai is still a step below me.’

"Lu Bai!"

Hiding beside Chen Tieshan, Zhou Yu’s courage began to return. He snarled, "According to the laws of the Wu Dynasty, with five lives on your hands, not even the gods can save you!"

Even when the Zhou Family had moved against the Lu Family, they hadn’t dared to do so openly.

They could only resort to underhanded means, terrified of leaving any clues that could be traced back to them.

Chen Tieshan was silent.

In truth, he was wondering the same thing.

The law of the Wu Dynasty was clear: a life for a life.

Lu Bai had killed five people. Once the authorities found out, it was a death sentence.

But seeing how composed Lu Bai was, and recalling his previous performance at the martial arts hall, Chen Tieshan had a nagging feeling that Lu Bai was already prepared for this.

"Zhou Yu."

Lu Bai turned, a smile playing on his lips as he looked at Zhou Yu, who was clinging to Chen Tieshan’s leg. "Do you know why I haven’t killed you?"

"You wouldn’t dare!"

Zhou Yu puffed up his chest. "My esteemed master is here! Even if you wanted to kill me, it would be nothing but a pipe dream. You couldn’t lay a finger on me!"

Lu Bai gave a faint smile. "I didn’t kill you because I wanted to leave the opportunity to Hall Master Chen."

Chen Tieshan’s brow twitched. He opened his mouth to speak but then stopped himself.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

A wave of fear washed over Zhou Yu, and the force in his voice faltered.

Lu Bai turned his gaze away from him and toward Chen Tieshan, offering a slight bow with his fists clasped. "My Lu Family’s affairs are now concluded. Now, it is Hall Master Chen’s turn to handle his own affairs and clean house."

"Wh-what nonsense are you spouting!"

Zhou Yu yelled, a flicker of panic in his eyes.

"Master, don’t listen to his ravings! I... I would never betray you."

Zhou Yu scrambled to look at Chen Tieshan, rambling incoherently, "This Lu Bai is sinister and malicious! He’s obviously trying to drive a wedge between us! He... he’s trying to frame me!

"Master, I’ve followed you for so many years. You have to believe me, not some outsider."

His Heart and Spirit gripped by terror, Zhou Yu was so desperate to absolve himself that he failed to notice his words were riddled with inconsistencies.

Chen Tieshan narrowed his eyes.

Those few sentences alone were enough for him to hear that something was wrong.

Chen Tieshan stared intently at Zhou Yu and said slowly, "Lu Bai only said to ’clean house.’ What exactly did he frame you for? What have you done?"

"I, I, I... It wasn’t me."

Zhou Yu was caught off guard. Realizing he had let something slip, he grew even more flustered and tried to backpedal. "I was just guessing! He’s obviously going to accuse me of something, otherwise why would you need to clean house, Master?"

"Hah. Stubborn to the very end."

Lu Bai chuckled. "Hall Master Chen is here today because he has all the evidence he needs. Did you really think he just came to watch the show?"

Chen Xiaofeng was dumbfounded.

’Didn’t we come here just to watch the show?’

’Does Father have some other plan?’

In reality, Chen Tieshan had no evidence whatsoever.

But upon hearing Lu Bai’s words, his expression remained perfectly composed. He adopted an inscrutable air and gave Zhou Yu a long, meaningful look.

That gaze alone was enough to scare Zhou Yu half to death.

Lu Bai continued, "Perhaps, Hall Master Chen, you should take that thing down from the main beam of the training hall. Throw it in his face and make him give up for good."

’Something on the main beam of the training hall?’

Chen Tieshan frowned to himself.

He could tell that Lu Bai’s words, while ostensibly directed at him, were actually meant for Zhou Yu.

Otherwise, there would have been no need to be so specific, describing the exact location down to the "main beam of the training hall."

The moment Zhou Yu heard this, he shuddered, and the color drained from his face.

Chen Tieshan could feel the hands clutching his leg begin to tremble.

"M-Master, it wasn’t me."

Zhou Yu looked up at Chen Tieshan, his voice trembling. "I... I never meant to harm you. I... I had no choice..."

Chen Tieshan stared at Zhou Yu, his face devoid of expression, but a murderous intent was rising within him.

’Judging by Zhou Yu’s reaction, someone really did use some ancient Evil Technique on my family!’

’If Lu Bai hadn’t noticed and warned me, it wouldn’t have been long before the Chen Family suffered the same fate as the Lu Family!’

"If it wasn’t you, then who was it?"

Chen Tieshan’s voice was calm. "Ordinary people can’t get into the training hall. Only a disciple of the school would have the chance."

"Junior Brother Zhou, you’re so malicious! Did you want our family to be ruined and our bloodline extinguished?!"

However slow on the uptake, Chen Xiaofeng had finally pieced it together and now roared at him.

"No, it wouldn’t have!"

Zhou Yu said frantically, "Mother told me that the Suppression Talisman would only suppress the school’s atmosphere and disrupt a Martial Artist’s Blood Qi! Anyone with insufficient Cultivation would just fall gravely ill. No one was supposed to die."

"Oh?"

Chen Xiaofeng frowned.

Over the past few days, some of the school’s disciples had indeed fallen ill, but none had died. They had just been sent home to recover.

Lu Bai chimed in from the side, "Suppressing the school’s atmosphere and disrupting a Martial Artist’s Blood Qi would, of course, just be preparation for the next step."

In truth, Lu Bai was only guessing.

But upon hearing this, Zhou Yu’s heart pounded. He realized the entire plot had been exposed.

Chen Tieshan loomed over him and said in a heavy voice, "You had better confess everything. Don’t say I never gave you a chance."

Zhou Yu realized that his only hope of leaving here alive rested with Chen Tieshan.

"I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!"

Zhou Yu spoke in a rush. "None of this had anything to do with me! It was all Mother’s idea! In my family, never mind me—even my father wouldn’t dare defy her orders."

"So it’s Madam Zhou who runs the Zhou Family," Chen Tieshan mused. "I never would have guessed!"

"Why?"

Chen Xiaofeng couldn’t stop himself from cursing, "To do something so wicked, so offensive to Heaven and reason, just to steal a family’s property... Has Madam Zhou gone mad?!"

"Yes! Mother has gone mad!"

Zhou Yu nodded repeatedly.

Chen Xiaofeng was stunned.

He had only been cursing offhandedly; he never expected Zhou Yu to agree.

Zhou Yu said, "Ever since my younger brother, Ah Hao, died, Mother’s personality changed completely. When she first decided to move against the Lu Family, it wasn’t because she wanted their fortune. It was just... it was just..."

"Just what?"

Lu Bai asked.

’So, according to Zhou Yu, the Lu Family’s catastrophe wasn’t because someone coveted their property in Liuxi Town.’

Zhou Yu said, "It was just that... with your family’s engagement and home renovations, everything was so festive and cheerful every day. Mother, who was still grieving the loss of her son, found it to be an eyesore. That’s why... that’s why..."

Lu Bai was silent.

The two families had never had any grievances. The annihilation of the Lu Family had stemmed from nothing more than one person’s spite.

It was a hidden malice, the kind that could be anywhere, lurking in the shadows. It could come from a stranger, a neighbor, or even someone close. It was impossible to defend against.

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