Cause and Effect, Zeng Anmin's Scheme!!

The old man's voice was leisurely and carefree, as if he were out enjoying the scenery on a pleasure trip.

At the sight of the old man's appearance, Shen Jun, Qi Dachun, and Wang Daoyuan all froze, their expressions turning wary as they stared at him as if facing a formidable enemy.

Only Zeng Anmin showed no change in expression. Instead, he looked at the old man with keen interest and asked, "So you're the one from the Profound Formation Division hidden within Prince Jiang's Estate?"

At this moment, the four of them were not far from the water's edge, and Zeng Anmin's voice carried clearly enough to be heard.

"As expected of the Great Scholar's son—to be able to guess this old man's identity, truly exceptionally clever."

By the time he finished speaking, the small boat had already reached the shore.

The old man leisurely waved the feather fan in his hand, slowly rose, and lightly bowed to Zeng Anmin, then said with a faint smile, "A discarded member of the Profound Formation Division, Seventh-Rank Array Master Qi Linxian, today specially invites Young Master Zeng to meet his death."

At these words, aside from Zeng Anmin, the other three all changed color.

Only then did it dawn on them—hadn't they been trapped like turtles in a jar by this old bastard?!

Qi Dachun, however, paid it no mind and immediately started shouting, "You old bird, spewing nothing but crap! There's four of us and only one of you—what gives you such nerve?!!"

"Heh heh."

The old man ignored Qi Dachun's outburst entirely, merely smiling faintly as he looked at Zeng Anmin. "The theft of the Dragon Survey Map, the Zhang Lun case, the Shen Jun Aunt Murder case... three cases in a row, all seen through by Young Master Zeng. I must say, Young Master Zeng is truly a divine talent. But I wonder—did you not foresee today's date with death?"

At these words, everyone fell silent for a moment.

Zeng Anmin slowly raised his head, his gaze locking with Qi Linxian's for a long while.

Then he bared his teeth in a grin. "Who dies today remains to be seen."

This statement left not only Qi Dachun and Shen Jun stunned, but even Qi Linxian on the boat was briefly taken aback. Then he let out a hearty laugh. "Hahaha! Since Young Master Zeng knows of me, you must naturally realize that if I weren't certain of victory, I wouldn't utter words that would invite ridicule."

Zeng Anmin nodded slowly, his face expressionless. "Indeed. Killing Zhang Lun was to throw others off the scent. Having Shen Liu fake his death and deliberately letting Xu Yunfeng lead me to kill Shen Jun—all to confuse the issue. You even risked Prince Jiang's wrath by sending assassins disguised as the 'Black Cat Martial Artist' to kill me, just to muddy the waters further."

Zeng Anmin paused here, let out a slow breath, raised an eyebrow at the old man, and smiled. "This young master is willing to call you a 'Poison Strategist.'"

"Heh heh." On the boat, Qi Linxian gave a modest smile, his expression seemingly pleased. He raised an eyebrow and said, "Then why doesn't Young Master Zeng take a guess as to why this old man is so emboldened as to come alone to besiege you?"

Sigh.

Zeng Anmin sighed inwardly. The villain always dies from talking too much—that saying is spot on.

"Since you're so interested, this young master can indulge you with a bit of chatter."

Zeng Anmin chuckled lightly, then slowly found a patch of grass and half-lay down on it, his back against a hillock, yet positioned so he could still meet the old man's gaze.

As if nothing here posed any threat to him.

"I'm all ears."

Qi Xianlin, confident of victory, kept his smile intact.

He sat at the bow of the boat, slowly pouring himself a cup of tea.

The way he looked at Zeng Anmin was like watching a performer on stage.

Crack~ Zeng Anmin reached out and lightly snapped off a long blade of grass, sticking it in the corner of his mouth.

He leisurely crossed his legs, his voice unhurried: "Shen Liu was your arrangement, and Shen Jun was also imprisoned on your orders—the goal was to make Shen Liu hesitate to act. But to further Prince Jiang's 'great enterprise,' you wanted to go one step further and absorb Jin Taiping, so you had Xu Yunfeng leave that case to me."

"If I kill Shen Jun, not only will Shen Liu pledge his loyalty to you, but Jin Taiping can also be smoothly swallowed up by you..."

"But what you didn't expect was that I not only cleared Shen Jun of suspicion, but even set my sights on Shen Liu."

Zeng Anmin said this, then turned his gaze toward the old man surnamed Qi on the boat.

Qi Linxian's expression did not change. He smiled and gave a slight nod, looking at Zeng Anmin to signal him to continue.

Zeng Anmin met his gaze directly, a grin spreading across his face:

"So you wanted to kill me quickly and frame the Black Cat Martial Artist, but you never imagined that the Black Cat Martial Artist saved my life!"

"And that move only made me more suspicious—to the point where I've even confirmed that Prince Jiang's Estate intends to rebel!"

Mr. Qi's face sank slightly.

After a long moment, he let out a sigh and gave a low, muffled chuckle. He even set down the feather fan in his hand and lightly clapped his palms.

"Brilliant, brilliant."

After a pause, Qi Linxian seemed to lose focus for a moment, murmuring:

"If not for our opposing positions, this old man might have become a friend across the ages with Young Master Zeng."

But Zeng Anmin waved his hands repeatedly: "Don't! This young master can't bear it!"

You want to die, but I want to live a few more days.

"Pity, though—no matter how many calculations you made, you still missed one step." The old man's face showed regret as he looked at Zeng Anmin and sighed:

"Today, Young Master Zeng still has to die."

Zeng Anmin, however, burst into loud laughter—long and drawn out, carrying endless mockery.

This abrupt laughter left everyone present looking bewildered.

Da Chun asked in confusion, "Young master, what are you laughing at?"

On the boat, Qi Linxian was briefly startled, then chuckled:

"Is Young Master Zeng laughing madly at the approach of death?"

Zeng Anmin stopped laughing and cast a mocking glance at the old man:

"You don't really think I knew all that, do you?"

After speaking, his Phoenix Eyes narrowed slightly, his voice low and forceful:

"To fish, you need bait. You wanted to kill me so badly—why wouldn't I use myself as bait?"

Zeng Anmin raised an eyebrow and gave a half-smile as he looked at Wang Daoyuan, who stood not far from him:

"That's why I brought Wang Daoyuan along—wasn't it to let you know I was about to 'walk right into the trap'?"

Wang Daoyuan's face shifted slightly.

On the boat, Qi Linxian's hand trembled faintly, his murky pupils contracting sharply.

He suddenly stared at Zeng Anmin:

"You saw through it?!!"

His voice carried a note of shock and uncertainty.

Zeng Anmin sneered:

"Back in the Zhang Lun Case at the Academy, that guard under Wang Lin called A Da killed himself before he could be questioned."

"A Da was barely a martial artist who had just entered the ranks, while Wang Daoyuan here was a full two realms above him."

"And Wang Daoyuan was right beside him—how could he have failed to stop A Da from committing suicide?"

"From that moment on, I already suspected that Wang Daoyuan had secretly defected to Prince Jiang's Estate!"

At these words, everyone present changed color.

Even the old man on the boat froze, his face full of shock.

Wang Daoyuan's expression flickered between dark and uncertain as he narrowed his eyes and stared fixedly at Zeng Anmin.

Qi Dachun and Shen Jun subtly stepped in front of Zeng Anmin, watching Wang Daoyuan warily.

Zeng Anmin then sighed, looking somewhat disappointed toward the boat:

"I schemed for so long, racked my brains, aiming to catch a big fish—never thought it would be you."

Qi Linxiang felt the knife-like gaze from Zeng Anmin and a flush of shame crept onto his face.

He darkened his expression, his voice laced with killing intent:

"Sharp mind. But no matter how much you scheme, you still have to die! Make your move!"

The moment he spoke.

Wang Daoyuan on the scene suddenly erupted with an overwhelming aura, lunging straight at Zeng Anmin.

The oppressive force of a seventh-rank martial artist weighed down on everyone, making the hearts of those on the shore sink.

Like a great stone pressing upon them.

"Young Master, watch out!!!" Under that overwhelming pressure, Qi Dachun's movements grew labored, beads of sweat as large as beans dripping from his face.

Yet he still charged at Wang Daoyuan with unwavering resolve.

Though he knew full well he was no match for Wang Daoyuan, at this point, even if it meant death, he had to go!

"Heh, don't bother struggling. You're all as good as dead."

Qi Linxian's voice had regained its calm.

But the moment he finished speaking—

"Chirp!!!!"

An extremely eerie sound rang out from the surface of the river.

"Crack~"

Wang Daoyuan, who had been lunging toward Zeng Anmin, froze mid-step, his face a mask of bewilderment.

An arrowhead had pierced straight through the back of his neck, emerging from his throat.

Seeing this stunning reversal, everyone was stunned.

They stared in disbelief at Wang Daoyuan, who had suddenly collapsed.

A dignified Martial Artist of the Visualization Realm—dead, just like that?!

Even Qi Dachun was frozen in place.

Only Zeng Anmin smiled, looking toward the river.

"So that means I, your father, was also part of your scheme?"

On the river, another small boat slowly emerged, and Zeng Shilin's voice rang out, laced with complexity.

The Xuanjing Division Commander, Wang Deli, stood behind him, lowering the longbow in his hands.