klisemfg Chapter 501 The Straw Hat Ghost's Scheme Within a Scheme, a Game Within a Game!
Chapter 501 The Straw Hat Ghost's Scheme Within a Scheme, a Game Within a Game!
When Su Muyu pushed open the door, Su Zhe was sitting by the window, playing with the empty sandalwood gourd in his hand.
The night outside the window was as dark as ink, and the lights of Snow Moon City flickered in the distance, casting his sallow, disguised face in half-light and half-shadow, while his eyes, hidden beneath an ordinary exterior, shone with an astonishing brightness.
“Uncle Zhe,” Su Muyu said in a cold voice, “there’s some movement at the City Lord’s Mansion.”
"Speak," Su Zhe said without turning around.
"Baili Dongjun moved into Tingyuxuan with that jar of Drunken Eight Immortals." Su Muyu paused, "and Sikong Changfeng accompanied him."
There was a moment of silence in the room.
Su Changhe had just come up the stairs when he heard this and blurted out, "Both of them are in Tingyuxuan? How are we supposed to make a move then?"
"What's the panic?" Su Zhe slowly turned his face, his goatee trembling slightly in the dim light of the oil lamp. "Isn't it better if both of you are here...?"
Su Muyu frowned: "Uncle Zhe means..."
“Our target is Hu Bufei, not Baili Dongjun, much less Sikong Changfeng.” Su Zhe stroked his beard, a sly glint in his eyes. “But now Baili Dongjun has delivered himself to our doorstep, even bringing the successor of the Medicine King with him… What do you think that means?”
Su Changhe's eyes lit up: "Does that mean they've figured out our purpose?"
“Not entirely.” Su Zhe shook his head. “They only have suspicions, but they don’t know exactly what we’re planning to do. Otherwise, given Baili Dongjun’s personality, he would have come knocking on our door long ago.”
He stood up, walked to the table, and slowly traced his fingers across the rough surface:
"It's probably because Baili Dongjun and his men became suspicious, so they increased their guard. But it's precisely because of this... that they gave us an opportunity."
Su Muyu pondered: "A feint to the east while attacking in the west?"
“No,” Su Zhe smiled, his smile carrying the calculating cunning of an old fox, “it’s a trap.”
He pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and spread it out on the table—it was a simplified map of Snow Moon City's terrain that Su Muyu had figured out over the past few days.
The locations of all major roads, guard posts, and important buildings are clearly marked.
“Look,” Su Zhe pointed to the location of Tingyuxuan, “both Baili Dongjun and Sikong Changfeng have moved in. What does that mean? It means they have focused all their attention on Hu Bufei.”
His finger moved towards the City Lord's Pavilion: "But Snow Moon City is so big, is Hu Bufei the only one worth protecting?"
Su Changhe suddenly realized: "Uncle Zhe means..."
"Bai Li Dongjun's relatives are all in Qian Dong City, he's the only one in Xue Yue City..." Su Zhe's voice lowered, but every word was clear.
"But in Snow Moon City... there's also Yin Luoxia. The other day I secretly watched her from a house opposite the City Lord's Pavilion for several hours. The two of them were behaving intimately, and it's probably not as simple as it seems!"
Su Muyu's pupils contracted slightly: "Yin Luoxia? Uncle Zhe means—she is Baili Dongjun's confidante!"
“That’s right.” Su Zhe nodded. “If something happens to Yin Luoxia, do you think Baili Dongjun will be distracted? Will he leave Tingyuxuan?”
Su Changhe rubbed his hands excitedly: "Wonderful! As soon as Baili Dongjun leaves, Tingyuxuan will only have Sikong Changfeng and Hu Bufei left."
"Sikong Changfeng is strong, but he's not Baili Dongjun after all. If the three of us join forces, we might have a chance!"
"Foolish!" Su Zhe coldly interrupted him, "Do you think Baili Dongjun would fall for such a simple diversionary tactic?"
Su Changhe was taken aback.
"With Baili Dongjun's cultivation level, it would only take him a few moments to travel from Tingyu Pavilion to the City Lord's Pavilion," Su Zhe said calmly.
"Even if something happens to Yin Luoxia, if he rushes over to check and finds it's a diversionary tactic, he can get back to Tingyuxuan in an instant. What can we do in this little bit of time?"
“Then…” Su Changhe was confused.
Su Muyu understood: "Uncle Zhe means that we should let Baili Dongjun... choose to stay."
Su Zhe gave him an approving look: "Mu Yu is indeed very perceptive."
He sat back down by the window, gazing in the direction of Tingyu Pavilion in the distance, and slowly said, "Baili Dongjun values loyalty and righteousness; this is his strength, but also his weakness."
If Yin Luoxia were in trouble, he would definitely go to her rescue. But what if... it wasn't just Yin Luoxia who was in trouble?
"Not just Yin Luoxia?" Su Changhe asked in confusion.
“Besides Yin Luoxia, there’s Luo He in Snow Moon City, the brothers Luo Fengzhong and Luo Nianse, and a woman who’s pregnant named Feng Qiuyu…” A cold glint flashed in Su Zhe’s eyes. “If all these people were to be in danger at the same time, could Baili Dongjun save them all?”
Su Muyu gasped: "Attack at the same time? There are only three of us..."
“Who said we had to take action?” Su Zhe sneered. “Don’t forget, we still have something else in our hands—those two jars of Wuliangye liquor.”
He took out a small porcelain bottle from his pocket. The bottle was pitch black, and it was impossible to tell what was inside.
“This is ‘Soul-Guiding Incense,’ colorless and odorless. Even experts at the Free and Unfettered Heaven Realm wouldn’t be able to detect it when mixed into wine,” Su Zhe said, stroking the porcelain bottle.
Su Changhe looked at the poisonous incense with some surprise: "This...this...Uncle Zhe, this belongs to the Mu family, right? How did you get it?"
Su Zhe gave a sinister smile: "So what if it's the Mu family? The patriarch has spoken, do they have any reason not to give it to us? Humph!"
As he spoke, Su Zhe raised the incense sticks and continued:
"After drinking it, it will not take effect immediately. It needs to be activated by a specific rhythm to bring out the drug's power, causing the person to become delirious and go berserk."
Su Changhe's eyes widened: "Uncle Zhe is thinking..."
"Aren't there many wandering martial artists in Snowmoon City? Many of them are fond of wine..."
A sinister smile appeared on Su Zhe's lips. "We still have more than a dozen jars of Wuliangye liquor left from our two carts. Tomorrow morning, you two should sell them at a low price, exclusively to those hot-blooded and powerful martial artists."
He paused for a moment: "Remember, every jar of wine must be mixed with a soul-summoning incense. When selling it, say it's a treasured vintage from Yibin Laojiao, and that drinking it will boost courage and increase inner strength. Those roughnecks in the martial arts world are most susceptible to this!"
Su Muyu understood completely: "After they drink the wine, we'll use music to activate the drug's effects, causing them to wreak havoc in the city and simultaneously attack multiple locations..."
“That’s right.” Su Zhe nodded. “By then, Snow Moon City will be in chaos, and even if Baili Dongjun had three heads and six arms, he would be overwhelmed.”
He could only choose to protect the most important people—Hu Bufei was relatively safe at Tingyu Pavilion with him and Sikong Changfeng guarding him. But Yin Luoxia, Feng Qiuyu, Luo He, and the others at the City Lord's Pavilion needed his help to rescue.
Su Changhe couldn't help but exclaim, "Brilliant plan! In this way, Baili Dongjun will definitely leave Tingyu Pavilion, and we can..."
“No,” Su Zhe interrupted him again, “we won’t do it.”
"Huh?" Su Changhe was completely confused.
Su Muyu understood: "Uncle Zhe wants to wait until Baili Dongjun leaves, and then have those martial artists who have been poisoned by the Soul-Guiding Incense... attack Tingtingyu Pavilion."
“Exactly,” Su Zhe said slowly. “Sikong Changfeng is the successor of the Medicine King and has unparalleled medical skills. If we take action ourselves, it’s hard to guarantee that he won’t see through our disguise.”
But those江湖客 (jianghu ke) were different—they were truly insane, and they really wanted to kill.
Even if Sikong Changfeng possessed extraordinary abilities, what could he do against dozens or even hundreds of berserk martial artists?
As he spoke, Su Zhe pulled out a scarlet pottery ocarina from his pocket:
"But when I play my ocarina, and those martial arts heroes go berserk and break through Tingyu Pavilion, engaging in a fierce battle with Sikong Changfeng," Su Zhe's eyes flashed with murderous intent.
"We'll sneak in during the chaos and take Hu Bufei's head. Afterwards, all the clues will point to those crazed martial artists, and it will have nothing to do with us..."
The room fell silent.
The flickering flame of the oil lamp cast swaying shadows on the three people's faces.
Su Changhe swallowed hard, feeling a chill run down his spine.
He suddenly realized that his previous cleverness was utterly childish and laughable in front of a seasoned veteran like Uncle Zhe.
This is the real Dark River—it doesn't strike until it strikes, then it's a trap that leaves you dead without you even knowing how it happened.
"Tomorrow morning, proceed as planned." Su Zhe put away the porcelain bottle and the ocarina, his voice regaining its calm.
"Remember, when selling wine, be natural, act like a real wine merchant. When those wandering swordsmen ask, just say that this wine is a family secret recipe that can enhance one's martial arts skills—that's not entirely false."
The Soul-Guiding Incense can indeed stimulate human potential, causing a rapid increase in power in a short period of time, but the price is the loss of mind, turning one into a beast that only knows how to kill.
"Don't worry, Uncle Zhe!" Su Muyu said calmly.
Su Changhe nodded emphatically.
The three discussed some details until the third watch of the night, when they finally rested.
Su Zhe sat alone by the window, not asleep. He gazed in the direction of Tingyu Pavilion in the distance, his fingers unconsciously stroking the ocarina.
"Baili Dongjun..." he muttered to himself, "I'd like to see if you, the fourth on the list of the best, can guarantee your safety!"
The night was deep, and Snowmoon City was serene. But no one knew that a bloody storm was quietly brewing.
……