Arranged Perfectly

Inside the study of the residence, following a command from Yang Duan, the heavy doors were kicked open with a loud bang.

Four of the sect master's personal guards surged in, their hands moving with Eight-Fist Technique grappling maneuvers infused with Heart Manifestation to strike at the vital pressure points across Fang Can's body.

Fang Can was struck with terror, his mind unable to process the sudden turn of events; he had never expected this to be a genuine trap.

His body reacted on instinct, and seeing the four men's grappling techniques, he threw his arms out to clash against them using the Eight-Fist Technique.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Almost instantly, relying on his superior technique, Fang Can managed to deflect the first five strikes, but his strength was spent, and he was quickly locked down by the subsequent moves.

Feeling his Heart Manifestation being neutralized and realizing his technique could not overcome the raw strength of the four men—who were over ten times stronger than him—Fang Can helplessly ceased his resistance.

At this moment, the realization finally dawned on him.

If Yang Duan truly wanted him dead, he would have simply wiped him out; why go through the trouble of imprisoning him?

Furthermore, his superpower had shown no reaction at all; the whole situation felt like a setup.

Thinking this, Fang Can looked at the grim-faced Yang Duan, wanting to gauge the man's true intentions.

Yang Duan avoided eye contact, afraid that he might break character and laugh, so he simply said in a deep voice:

"I recall the sect's dungeons are already full."

"In that case, lock him in that small building in the north sector. It's just a storage area, and there's hardly anyone around there anyway."

Hearing Yang Duan's words, the four guards acknowledged the order, then hauled Fang Can away toward the outside of the courtyard.

As the five men departed, Li Fengtian appeared silently within the residence and asked, "Big Brother, shouldn't we explain things to that kid?"

"Explain, my foot. As long as the kid isn't brain-dead, he'll naturally understand what we mean," Yang Duan said confidently.

"Did you make some kind of arrangement, Big Brother?"

"Of course," Yang Duan said, crossing his arms with a confident smirk.

"In that small building, there are no guards at all. There's a secret tunnel underground leading straight outside the sect, along with a military map of the entire Yanggu County, plus food and drink. There isn't a soul within hundreds of meters, and while I didn't leave any cash, it's filled with IOUs..."

Hearing Yang Duan's arrangements, even Li Fengtian couldn't help but twitch his lips. This setup was far too deliberate; even if he were Fang Can, he would see that something was wrong.

Sure enough, as Fang Can was dragged by the four guards into the small building in the north sector and saw the interior decor, even Fang Can widened his eyes: "Is this supposed to be a prison?"

Before Fang Can, the floor of the small building was paved with white marble, the walls were made of red brick, and the interior was spotless, piled high with all sorts of supplies.

On both sides sat bags of rice, flour, grain, and oil, while the walls were hung with various weapons, including blades, spears, swords, and halberds—it was practically an armory. A highly detailed map was pinned to the wall.

"Bizarre... this is too bizarre..." Fang Can twitched his lips as he surveyed everything before him.

Without exchanging a single word with Fang Can, the four guards locked the doors and windows tight the moment he entered, ensuring he could not leave through the "front door."

Standing alone in this secret chamber, he finally had the leisure to examine everything in the room.

Walking past the shelves stacked with supplies, Fang Can reached the desk at the far end, which was covered in a thick stack of paper bonds.

[Effective from the X day of the X month of the X year, the Blazing Sun Martial Hall accepts the protection of the Tiger Fiend Sect. On the X day of every month, a disciple from your sect may present this voucher to collect 100 taels of silver as tribute, thereby retaining the right to operate the hall.]

"Good grief," Fang Can muttered, looking at the massive stack of vouchers.

These were all "letters of allegiance" from various factions within the Tiger Fiend Sect's territory for a hundred miles around; they were required to pay monthly tribute to the Tiger Fiend Sect, or they wouldn't be able to stay in business.

Fang Can had heard of this practice before. Disciples graduating from the Martial Arts Hall weren't given silver directly; instead, they were given these vouchers.

They were then expected to go and collect the payments themselves. How much they could squeeze out depended entirely on the disciple's own ability, and the Tiger Fiend Sect did not interfere.

After a brief browse through the vouchers, Fang Can turned his gaze toward a wooden box placed on the desk.

Opening it gently, Fang Can saw that it contained a Golden Silk Soft Armor.

Each scale of the armor was as thin as a cicada's wing, tightly connected with delicate and exquisite textures. When Fang Can touched it, it felt just like the skin of a python.

Grabbing both sides of the armor, Fang Can pulled with all his might, only to find that he couldn't tear it with his current strength.

Supplies fully stocked, weapons provided, a set of armor, a stack of vouchers...

Even if Fang Can were a fool, he would understand what Yang Duan was trying to do.

He could only say that as an eighty or ninety-year-old veteran, the man was certainly thorough. With this whole setup—handing over martial arts and supplies—Fang Can had no complaints; he only wished there were more.

"Since they locked me in this room, there must be a secret passage somewhere."

Fang Can pondered, and as he looked up, he saw an obvious white arrow pointing directly at the corner on the right.

In the corner indicated, a marble tile was connected to the ground by a chain. The meaning was clear: get out of here, and quickly!

He stepped forward and opened the marble floor hatch, revealing a bottomless tunnel. Matching it with the map on the wall, Fang Can guessed that this likely led to the desolate, uninhabited wilderness outside the Tiger Fiend Sect.

Before he could explore further, the locked door behind him burst open, and a guard grabbed three unconscious men and tossed them inside.

"Bang!"

With a dull thud, Fang Can saw the faces of the three men and his lips twitched.

It was Li Qunfan, whom he had beaten into the dirt that morning, along with the other two men who had tried to rob him.

Seeing Fang Can's stunned expression, the guard said viciously: "The sect master has ordered that the sect traitor Fang Can be beheaded tomorrow at high noon. Don't even think about escaping."

As he spoke, the guard tossed several large bags of items toward Fang Can.

Fang Can took it casually, only to realize that it was actually the modern suitcase he had left in the room, with not a single item missing from inside.

Looking at the guards before him, Fang Can said with great sincerity, "Big brothers, please thank the Sect Master for me when you go back. Tell him I will definitely repay him in the future."

Regarding Fang Can's attitude, the few guards snorted coldly and said to each other, "This guy must have lost his mind. He's about to be beheaded and he's still thanking us."

"Who cares about him? Let's go get a drink. Never mind this kid, let's head to the tavern for a pot."

"That works, that works. Anyway, this small building is as secure as a fortress; the kid definitely won't be able to run out..."

Watching with his own eyes as the four big brothers locked the main gate and walked away with their arms around each other's shoulders, Fang Can smiled and took a high-quality longsword from the weapon rack nearby.

It was only then that the three thugs on the ground slowly regained consciousness. The moment they opened their eyes, they saw Fang Can holding the precious sword in his hand, looking at them with a sinister grin.

Li Qunfan retreated in terror, "Fa... Fang Can, what are you doing! I'm telling you, killing a fellow sect member is a grave crime; you'll be subjected to the Three Blades Six Holes."

"You are absolutely right." Fang Can drew the gleaming longsword from its scabbard, smiling brilliantly, "It's a pity that I am no longer a member of the Tiger Fiend Sect."