Scheming Too Cleverly

The well was very deep.

Third Brother's figure was quickly swallowed by the darkness. Only the taut black rope still quivered slightly, showing that the person below was moving.

Everyone above held their breath and waited in silence.

Only Fang Mo remained in his cowardly, kneeling pose, but his muscles had quietly tensed.

His Cold-Blooded talent told him:

Danger was coming.

Though Iron Bone Liu was dead, the precautions left behind by an old hand like him would never be simple.

He hadn't seen the exact setup of the traps in his memories, but that line in the verdict had said, "The trafficker's lanterns darken a thousand homes..."

How could a slave trader be a fool? The man had been deep and calculating. He certainly wouldn't have put his life savings somewhere completely unguarded.

Suddenly—

"Clang!"

A faint click of a mechanism came from the bottom of the well.

Right after—

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

A string of weapons piercing flesh rang out, followed by a muffled groan.

The black rope, which had been taut, jerked violently several times, then drooped limply, as if it had lost all tension.

Dead.

There was no doubt about it.

The faces of the black-clad men above the well changed instantly.

A glint of cold light flashed in Gu Yichuan's eyes.

"Third Brother!"

He called out in a low voice.

There was no answer from the bottom of the well.

Only the stench of decay, now gradually mingled with the fresh scent of blood.

"Damn it!"

Gu Yichuan slammed his fist into the dead tree beside him, sending leaves fluttering everywhere.

He whipped around, his knife-sharp gaze fixed on Fang Mo.

"This is what you meant when you said it was right below?"

Fang Mo shuddered in fright, curling up until he was nearly a ball.

"Please see reason, my lord!"

"Liu Mazi only told me the location. He never said anything about traps!"

"If I'd known there were traps, I wouldn't have dared bring you here, even if you'd given me a hundred times the courage!"

"This is all Liu Mazi's doing. He was so vicious that even after he died, he had to drag someone down with him!"

Fang Mo spoke through tears, sounding utterly aggrieved.

Gu Yichuan drew a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his murderous rage.

Reason told him Fang Mo was telling the truth.

A prisoner who revealed the location of hidden treasure before being tortured to death most likely wanted to trade it for a quick end. But he would hardly be kind enough to warn them to watch out for a burglar-proof door.

"Well played, Iron Bone Liu."

Gu Yichuan gritted his teeth and forced the words out.

They had lost a capable man and hadn't even seen a hair of the goods. How could he not be furious?

"Old West, Old Five."

"Drop a couple of fire sticks down there and light it up."

"Use the Flying Tiger Claw to pull Third Brother's body up."

The two black-clad men obeyed.

Two fire sticks were tossed into the well.

By their faint light, everyone finally saw the gruesome scene at the bottom.

The black-clad man called Third Brother looked like a hedgehog.

Countless steel needles gleaming blue had pierced his body from every direction.

As he died, his hand had been reaching toward a protruding brick in the well wall. That was clearly where the goods were hidden—and where the trap had been triggered.

"Poison needles."

Gu Yichuan's face darkened to the extreme.

With traps packed that densely, even he might not have made it out unscathed in such a narrow space.

They pulled up the body.

Looking at the already blackened, swollen face, Gu Yichuan fell silent.

"My lord..."

Fang Mo spoke up cautiously, his voice testing the waters.

"Why don't we just call it quits?"

"That thing's too dangerous. It's not worth it for a bit of stolen loot..."

"Shut up!"

Gu Yichuan wheeled around, his gaze fierce.

"We've come this far, and you want to back out? Too late!"

This was no longer just about stolen goods.

It was about the Punishment Department's reputation.

If word got out that a Junior Officer of the Punishment Department's White Tiger Hall had been scared off by a dead prisoner's trap, how could Gu Yichuan ever show his face in the Divine Capital again?

What's more, one of their own had died. If they couldn't even bring back the goods, they wouldn't be able to pay out the death benefit!

"The goods have to be behind that brick."

Gu Yichuan stared at the bottom of the well, his mind racing.

The trap had already been triggered once.

By all accounts, a simple mechanism like this was probably single-use.

But nobody dared to bet on it.

What if there was another one?

His gaze fell on Fang Mo once more.

That look made Fang Mo's heart skip a beat.

Shit. That bastard's getting desperate enough to throw caution to the wind.

Sure enough.

Gu Yichuan strode over, grabbed Fang Mo by the collar, and lifted him up like a chick.

"You said you wouldn't go down because you were afraid to die."

"Now that the trap has been triggered, it should be safe."

A wild edge crept into Gu Yichuan's voice.

"Get down there."

"Bring me that black box."

"I won't—"

Fang Mo had just started to refuse.

"Clang!"

A gleaming long blade was already pressed against his neck.

The edge was cold. It cut his skin, drawing a thin line of blood.

"Either you die right now..."

"Or you go down and take your chances."

"You choose."

Fang Mo looked into those bloodshot eyes and knew the man had run out of patience.

If he kept acting, the play would turn real.

"I'll go."

Fang Mo raised both hands, trembling.

"I'll go, all right..."

Gu Yichuan snorted and let him go.

"Tie him up!"

A black-clad man immediately stepped forward and tied a firm knot around Fang Mo's waist with a rope.