Inside the manor's study, Yang Duan gave an order, and the main doors burst open.
The four Sect Masters' personal guards rushed in together, reaching for the vital points all over Fang Can's body with grappling hands imbued with Heart Manifestations.
Fang Can was horrified. His mind hadn't caught up yet; he hadn't expected this to really be a banquet at Hongmen.
Then his body reacted instinctively. Seeing the four men's grappling hands, he raised both arms and clashed with them using the Eight-Fist Technique.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
In almost an instant, relying on his superb technique, Fang Can barely deflected the first five hands. But he had exhausted his strength and could only be restrained when the rest followed.
Feeling his Heart Manifestation neutralized, and realizing that even his technique couldn't overcome four burly men with more than ten times his strength, Fang Can reluctantly stopped resisting.
By now, he had also come to his senses.
If Yang Duan really wanted to kill him, why not just eliminate him outright? Why go to all the trouble of locking him up?
Besides, his superpower hadn't reacted at all. The whole thing seemed like a setup.
Thinking this, Fang Can looked at Yang Duan's solemn expression, wanting to know where he stood.
Yang Duan didn't meet Fang Can's eyes, afraid he'd fail to keep a straight face and burst out laughing. Instead, he said in a low voice:
"As I recall, the sect's Dungeon is already full."
"In that case, lock him up in that little building in the northern district. It's where we store miscellaneous supplies, and hardly anyone goes there."
At Yang Duan's words, the four guards replied, "Yes, Sect Master," then carried Fang Can out of the courtyard.
After the five had left, Li Fengtian appeared in the manor without a sound. "Big brother, shouldn't we explain things to that kid?"
"Explain what? As long as the kid's not an idiot, he'll understand what we mean," Yang Duan said confidently.
"Did you make some arrangements, big brother?"
"Of course." Yang Duan folded his arms confidently and said:
"That little building has no guards at all. There's a tunnel underground that leads straight outside the sect, and a military map of all Yanggu County. There's food and drink, too, and no one passes within a few hundred meters. We didn't leave any money inside, but it's full of IOUs..."
Hearing Yang Duan's arrangements, even Li Fengtian couldn't help twitching at the corner of his mouth. This whole setup was far too deliberate. Even he could see something was off if he were Fang Can.
Sure enough, when Fang Can was escorted by the four guards into the little building in the northern district and saw the interior, even he widened his eyes. "Is this what you call being in prison?"
The entire floor of the little building was paved with white marble, and its four walls were made of red brick. The inside was spotless and piled high with all kinds of supplies.
Sacks of rice and flour, along with oil and other provisions, were stacked along both sides. All sorts of weapons, including sabers, spears, swords, and halberds, hung on the walls. It was practically an armory, and a detailed map was mounted on one wall.
"This is bizarre... way too bizarre..." Fang Can's mouth twitched as he looked at everything in front of him.
Without exchanging a word with Fang Can, the four guards locked the doors and windows after he entered, making absolutely sure he couldn't leave through the "front door."
Alone in the secret room, he had plenty of time to look around now that he could relax.
Fang Can walked past the shelves of supplies on either side and went to the desk at the far end. A thick stack of paper contracts lay on it.
"Starting from XX year, XX month, XX day, Blazing Sun Martial Hall accepts the protection of the Tiger Fiend Sect. On the Xth day of the Xth month each month, a disciple of your sect may present this voucher to collect 100 taels of silver as tribute, in exchange for the right to run a martial arts school."
"Good grief." Fang Can looked at the thick stack of vouchers before him.
They were all pledges from various forces within a hundred-mile radius of the Tiger Fiend Sect's territory. Each had to pay the sect silver every month, or it wouldn't be able to keep operating.
Fang Can had heard about this business before. After graduating from the Martial Arts Hall, disciples weren't given silver directly. Instead, they were handed vouchers.
Then they were sent to collect the money themselves. How much they got was entirely up to their own ability; the Tiger Fiend Sect didn't interfere.
After briefly looking through the vouchers, Fang Can turned his attention to a wooden box on the desk.
When he opened it, he saw that it contained a suit of Golden Silk Soft Armor.
Every piece of the armor was as thin as a cicada's wing, fitted closely together, with a fine and delicate texture. When Fang Can touched it, it felt just like a python's skin.
Gripping both sides of the armor, Fang Can pulled hard, only to find that even with his current strength, he couldn't tear it apart.
Supplies in abundance, weapons of every kind, a set of armor, a stack of vouchers...
Even the densest person would understand what Yang Duan was trying to do after seeing all this.
As expected of an old geezer in his eighties or nineties—he'd thought of everything. With martial arts and supplies all handed to him, Fang Can could hardly complain. If anything, he wanted even more.
"Since they've locked me inside, there should be a secret passage, right?"
Fang Can mused, then looked up and saw a conspicuous white arrow pointing at the corner on the right.
In the indicated corner, a chain connected a marble floor tile to the ground. The meaning couldn't have been clearer: Hurry up and get out of here!
He went over and opened the marble floor hatch. Beneath it lay a tunnel whose end he couldn't see. Comparing it with the map on the wall, Fang Can guessed it probably led to an uninhabited stretch of wilderness outside the Tiger Fiend Sect.
Before he could explore further, the locked door behind him burst open. A guard tossed in three unconscious men he was holding.
"Thud!"
At the dull impact, Fang Can recognized the three men and his mouth twitched.
They were Li Qunfan, whom he had beaten up that morning, and the two others who had tried to rob him.
Seeing the bewildered look in Fang Can's eyes, the guard said fiercely, "The Sect Master has ordered that the sect traitor Fang Can be beheaded at the third quarter past noon tomorrow. Don't even think about escaping."
As he spoke, the guard tossed several large bundles at Fang Can.
Fang Can caught them and realized they were his modern suitcase, which he'd left in the room. Every last item was still inside.
Looking at the guard, Fang Can said with complete sincerity, "Brothers, please thank the Sect Master for me when you get back. Tell him I'll repay him someday."
At Fang Can's attitude, the guards scoffed among themselves. "Has this guy gone mad? He's about to be beheaded, and he's still thanking us."
"Who cares? Come on, let's go drink. Don't bother with this kid. We'll grab a drink at the tavern."
"Sounds good, sounds good. This little building is as secure as a fortress anyway. There's no way the kid can get out..."
As Fang Can watched the four brothers lock the main doors and walk off into the distance with their arms around each other's shoulders, he grinned and took a finely made long sword from the nearby weapon rack.
Only then did the three thugs on the ground slowly come around. As soon as they opened their eyes, they saw Fang Can holding a fine sword and grinning at them.
Li Qunfan backed away in terror. "F-Fang Can, what are you going to do? I'm warning you, privately killing a fellow sect member is a serious crime. You'll get the Three Blades Six Holes punishment!"
"You're right." Fang Can drew the gleaming sword from its sheath, his smile radiant. "Too bad I'm not a member of the Tiger Fiend Sect anymore."
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