Guanshan Muyu

chapter 36

“You lied to him, saying that Qi Yan had found evidence, that I was the witness he brought back to the capital, and that Qi Yan kept me under close protection so that one day he could bring me before the emperor to prove Duke Chen’s guilt. Seeing that the paper could not hide the fire, Duke Chen decided to cut the loose ends and ordered me to be killed along with Qi Yan, so that there would be no more trouble.

“Your mission was to assassinate Qi Yan, while the task to kill me was given to his men far away in Lingnan. Duke Chen did this to mislead a possible investigation and remove the link between our two deaths. Otherwise, I really can’t figure out why the Bai Yue people would travel thousands of miles to kill me; after all, I have a special status and there are obviously easier ways to get rid of me. Unless Duke Chen doesn’t even know who I am, of course.”

After finishing his speech in one breath, Xia Xun exhaled deeply.

He lowered his eyes and looked at the grass under his feet where a few crickets were chirping, then asked Fumeng Tancha: “Do you think that my guess is correct?”

Unimpressed, Fumeng Tancha asked him in return: “What you say is all guesswork. Why would I do such things? I have no quarrel with Qi Yan, so why should I lie in order to harm him?”

Xia Xun hesitated and said:

“That’s what I haven’t figured out. What I say is just a small talk, no need to take it seriously. My guess is that you want to use Qi Yan’s death to get out. You don’t want to do evil deeds for Duke Chen anymore. You deliberately provoked him to kill Qi Yan, and in turn, you will use Qi Yan’s death to blackmail him so that he lets you go.”

Fumeng Tancha’s expression froze.

Although it was only for a moment, Xia Xun didn’t miss it.

He said softly, “I guessed right.”

Fumeng Tancha fell into silence, his face extremely gloomy, and the scimitar in his hand stopped swinging.

He unleashed his murderous intent and asked solemnly: “You know so much. Should I kill you to silence you?”

On the surface he was asking Xia Xun, but in reality he had already moved to kill.

Xia Xun appeared unperturbed and looked at him calmly.

“I have come to you to tell you the way, the way that will allow you to break away from Duke Chen without any effort. Do you want to hear it?”

Fumeng Tancha looked at him with a deadly stare.

“You would be so kind? What are the conditions? Tell me straight.”

Xia Xun met his eyes calmly.

“Don’t be in a hurry. Listen to what I have to say and then see if this solution really works. If it works, I hope you can do me a favour.”

Xia Xun told him that the investigation of Duke Chen was an order from the emperor himself, who had long wanted to use an excuse to eradicate Duke Chen.

Even if Qi Yan did not find evidence, as long as the emperor ordered a thorough investigation, the crimes of Duke Chen would be exposed sooner or later.

Fumeng Tancha did not need to kill Qi Yan, he only needed to wait for a while, and it would not be long before Duke Chen would be convicted.

When Duke Chen was imprisoned, Fumeng Tancha would be free to leave and would no longer be under anyone’s control.

“How’s that? Isn’t this method very effective? It’s much better than what you thought of yourself, isn’t it?”

Fumeng Tancha’s face brightened a little and he asked doubtfully: “You didn’t make it up to protect Qi Yan and trick me, did you?”