Forty-Fifth Chapter: Truth and Lies

In the blink of an eye, Ge Jingchun, who had been so composed just moments ago, was sprawled on the ground like a dead dog, his face ashen.

What could he do now? Other than close his eyes and wait to die, there was no path left for him.

He looked toward the sound, but he couldn't see Chu Qing's face. The man was masked.

"Who exactly are you?"

Ge Jingchun's voice began to tremble.

His suffering was even worse than Mei Qianluo's.

His arms had been ripped straight from his shoulders, and both his feet had been severed cleanly.

The man's blade work was swift and vicious, with a style all its own.

But Ge Jingchun had carefully considered every skilled swordsman he knew, and couldn't connect a single one of them to the man before him.

"Just a kind passerby."

Chu Qing laughed casually.

"Seeing your lot chasing an innocent young woman and then killing people to silence them here—

"I couldn't stand by and watch, so I came out to uphold justice."

"..."

That was utter nonsense.

Ge Jingchun didn't believe a single word.

He gave a bitter laugh.

"Forget it. Just give me a quick death."

There was no chance of surviving now. Even if Chu Qing didn't kill him, his injuries were so severe that he was doomed to die.

Rather than die slowly in agony, he'd rather have Chu Qing finish him with one stroke.

Chu Qing shook his head.

"There are some things I'd like to ask you... Has your Shashen Gang already submitted to Ten Thousand Night Valley?"

Ge Jingchun's expression turned cold.

"They... aren't worthy."

"Then you're working together?"

Chu Qing mused.

"Tell me, what are you planning to do in Heavenly Dance City? And how did you get in?

"However lax Heavenly Dance City's defenses might be, I doubt they'd let famous figures like you sneak in and hide so easily.

"Is your gang leader, Cheng Sihai, in Heavenly Dance City right now?"

Ge Jingchun stared hard at Chu Qing, then suddenly said,

"We got into Heavenly Dance City with help from Luoyu Hall.

"We used Luoyu Hall's secret passage to sneak in...

"You're right. We are working together.

"Our aim is to take Heavenly Dance City from the inside and out. Then the city's territory will be split in two, with the Shashen Gang and Ten Thousand Night Valley each taking half!"

He paused, then sneered.

"If our leader were in Heavenly Dance City right now, how could he let you run wild here?

"Tonight, you're certain to die!"

As soon as Ge Jingchun finished speaking, a weak voice came from the corner.

"He's lying...

"Cheng Sihai is in Heavenly Dance City!"

Ge Jingchun's face darkened at once.

Lies were often seven parts truth and three parts falsehood, or nine parts truth and one part falsehood.

By revealing Luoyu Hall's secret passage, he'd already given up a great deal of information, and his explanation of their aim had been plausible.

The one thing he'd wanted to conceal was the gang leader's whereabouts.

But before Chu Qing could react, Xia Wanshuang had exposed him.

Looking back on everything that had happened that night, Ge Jingchun's greatest regret was not killing Xia Wanshuang the moment Mei Qianluo came in.

He'd thought her life was already in the palm of his hand.

He'd even planned to use her to lure Chu Qing out... Never had he expected Chu Qing's martial arts to be far stronger than he'd imagined.

He'd succeeded, yet failed.

He'd lured Chu Qing out, but Mei Qianluo had paid for it with her head.

Then, while he was facing off against Chu Qing, Xia Wanshuang had ambushed him.

That was how he'd ended up utterly defeated.

If Xia Wanshuang had died back then, would things have turned out the same?

But even as he asked himself that, he had no answer.

He hadn't been able to see through Chu Qing's skill at all.

The man had emerged from the mist, and all his abilities remained hidden beneath it. Though he was clearly highly skilled, he hadn't fought Ge Jingchun head-on.

Instead, he'd relied on all sorts of tricks and ambushes.

But based on the man's blade work alone, he was no ordinary fighter... As for a real fight to the death, it was impossible to say without having fought him.

It was no wonder Ge Jingchun couldn't be sure. As an assassin, Chu Qing didn't follow the same rules as those chivalrous heroes of the jianghu.

They disdained ambushes and preferred to fight fair and square.

But what did an assassin care about fighting fair?

Unless his martial arts reached the point where he could overwhelm the entire world, he would always seize the initiative whenever possible and secure every advantage he could.

And if he had no advantage, he would force one.

That was the most basic quality of an assassin.

Chu Qing glanced silently at Ge Jingchun, then turned his gaze to Xia Wanshuang.

"How do you know Cheng Sihai is in Heavenly Dance City?"

"The Shashen Gang wiped out my family. Ever since I mastered my martial arts, I've wanted nothing more than to kill Cheng Sihai and every other traitor in the gang.

"So I've been lurking outside the Shashen Gang, keeping an eye on their every move.

"That's how I learned that Cheng Sihai, Ge Jingchun, Mei Qianluo, and the Shashen Gang's Four Great Protectors all left the gang together and came to Heavenly Dance City."

By then, Xia Wanshuang seemed short of breath. She paused to catch her breath, then continued,

"He said they entered Heavenly Dance City through a secret passage. That part should be true.

"I saw them enter a forest, where someone ushered them into a secret passage... I didn't dare follow them in, but I recognized the person who met them. It was Tang Xi, the young hall master of Luoyu Hall.

"I waited outside the city for several days and saw no sign of them, so I came to Heavenly Dance City.

"After making inquiries in secret, I found out where Ge Jingchun and Mei Qianluo were staying.

"Unfortunately, Cheng Sihai was very well hidden... I couldn't find him."

Chu Qing nodded and said to Ge Jingchun,

"See? I find her story more convincing than yours.

"Why don't you tell me where Cheng Sihai is now?"

Ge Jingchun seemed drained of all strength. He looked at Chu Qing, weak and helpless.

"I don't know where the leader is."

"So you're choosing not to cooperate."

Chu Qing sighed. He tapped several acupoints on Ge Jingchun's body to slow his bleeding.

Then he went to Mei Qianluo's body and searched through his belongings.

As the Shashen Gang's Third Boss, he carried far more than most.

He had more than a hundred taels in Silver Notes, along with a fair amount of silver and gold stuffed into his bulging money pouch.

Besides that, there were three small porcelain bottles.

It was hard to tell what was inside them.

Mei Qianluo had been skilled with hidden weapons and clearly knew something about poisons, but Chu Qing didn't know which bottle might contain an antidote to Wen Rou's poison.

As Chu Qing searched, he noticed Xia Wanshuang watching him the whole time.

After she'd stared at him for so long, Chu Qing thought about it, took a small piece of gold from Mei Qianluo's money pouch, and tossed it to her.

"Finders keepers."

"..."

Xia Wanshuang looked at Chu Qing differently now. But after a moment's thought, she didn't dwell on it. Instead, she asked,

"What do you want with Cheng Sihai?"