Trap

Second update.

Though they were said to be traveling together, Su Xingfang rode in a sedan chair while Sun Shaozong sat in a carriage, so they naturally went about their own business along the way.

Thus, Sun Shaozong stole a moment amid his duties to borrow the route map Huang Bin had drawn, studying and comparing it carefully as they traveled.

Those two fake monks truly had nerves of steel. All along the way, they had deliberately chosen crowded areas, seemingly unafraid of being recognized by acquaintances.

But on second thought, Dao Yan had lived in seclusion at a princely estate, while his disciples had always operated only in Daxing County. How many people in Wanping County could possibly recognize them?

Not to mention that master and disciple had deliberately "defected" from Daoism to Buddhism.

Even Yang Hancai, a fellow conspirator once "intimate" with them, had needed to study them closely for quite some time before recognizing Dao Yan's disciple. Others stood even less of a chance.

But...

Since the master and disciple had deliberately traveled along major roads, barring any surprises, they certainly would not have willingly entered some narrow alley.

So what method had the killer used to lure the two of them into a secluded place before striking?

They were, after all, two wandering swindlers—and swindlers currently on the run at that. Their vigilance was beyond question.

If the original theory was correct, that beggars had sought revenge, then it made even less sense. The two had held the lives of twenty-four beggar children in their hands. Even if they were confident no one had noticed, they would surely have been deeply wary of beggars.

An internal falling-out among accomplices might have explained it, but the black notice—and the act of sending the corpses to Dali Temple