“Secrets? What secrets?” Yu Tuan’er looked at Lin Bu in astonishment. “What secrets? That villa is full of bad people.”

Lin Bu nodded. “For instance—tonight Young Master Tang killed Fu Cui, but there should be more than just the two masters Bai Suche and Fu Cui in Wangting Villa. Where did the others go? Why didn’t they come out to stop him?”

A’Shui felt a chill. Where had Yu Qifeng gone? And where was that black-clothed man who was often with Fu Cui? Wangting Villa was full of mysteries. Was there some special operation tonight? They left Fu Cui and Bai Suche intending to capture Tang Lici because they underestimated him, but after Fu Cui died, Bai Suche didn’t retreat outward but withdrew into the villa. Did she really predict that Tang Lici wouldn’t break in to kill? Or was it because—

Because Yu Qifeng and the others were actually in the villa, and some special reason prevented them from appearing?

If that was the case, tonight would be an excellent opportunity to investigate Wangting Villa. Tang Lici had stood before the villa for a long time without leaving—perhaps this was precisely his intention, but his spirit was willing though his flesh was weak.

“Wangting Villa must have important business tonight. If we don’t investigate tonight, there may never be another chance.” Lin Bu’s expression was somewhat grave. “So I think… if they have special things to do and can’t even care about Fu Cui’s life or death, perhaps I could disguise myself as an ordinary citizen to probe. Maybe I could…”

A’Shui shook her head repeatedly. “No good. Young Master Lin is not from the martial world. Involving you in martial affairs is already wrong—we cannot let you take risks.”

Lin Bu smiled slightly. “Isn’t Miss A’Shui also not from the martial world…”

A’Shui was momentarily stunned, then smiled faintly. “But I can no longer extricate myself.”

Yu Tuan’er interjected, “What if I go investigate?”

A’Shui grasped her hand. “You still haven’t found him. If you take risks tonight and encounter danger, never seeing him again—wouldn’t you be very sad?”

Yu Tuan’er was startled. “Ah! Then I won’t go. What should we do? Will you go? But Wangting Villa isn’t Liren Residence—they all recognize you! It’s impossible. They all know you betrayed them.”

“The buildings constructed by Fengliu Shop are all based on the mechanical arts left by Pocheng Guaike. I’ve lived in two of them for considerable periods. I think Wangting Villa might be the same.” A’Shui gazed at the infinite darkness outside the window. “It should have seven secret passages. I can enter through a secret passage.”

Yu Tuan’er looked at her in shock. “No no, if you go and encounter people inside, how will you get out? Won’t you die in there? Fengfeng is still here—if you die, what will happen to him?”

A’Shui opened her right hand. “Give me back ‘Kill Willow.'”

Yu Tuan’er was startled, reaching into her robes to grasp the small blade. “What do you want it for?”

A’Shui bit her lip. “I want to carry it with me. Perhaps it will be safer. I don’t want to die in there either.”

“Well! Haven’t seen you for a few days and you’ve gotten so bold. A frail little girl also wants to explore Wangting Villa at night—shows that Fengliu Shop is really getting worse and worse.” A familiar voice suddenly came from outside the window. Yu Tuan’er cheered, “Brother Shen!”

A person poked his head out from the window, lips bearing a slight smile—it was Shen Langhun. He had already wiped away that face full of makeup, restoring his original appearance. Only the scar that Tang Lici’s finger had left on his face couldn’t be erased, cutting that red snake in half and making it look even stranger.

“Miss is truly bold and careful. Someone without martial arts who has confidence to explore Wangting Villa at night—in all the martial world, there’s probably no second person besides you, Miss.” Another person outside the window spoke softly, his voice very gentle. “Miss is very familiar with Fengliu Shop’s mechanisms and secret passages, isn’t she? It seems we really must rely on Miss’s strength tonight.”

A’Shui turned her head. Outside the window was a person in light blue clothing, with a delicate and elegant countenance. His smile made one feel comfortable. She recognized the other person and cried out in alarm, “Kuanglan Wuxing!”

The person standing beside the blue-robed youth was a head taller, holding a long halberd in one hand. His face was pale green-white, with a strange blue-red flush on his cheekbones. Originally handsome in appearance, that flush made him appear unspeakably arrogant and terrifying—it was Kuanglan Wuxing. The blue-robed youth before Kuanglan Wuxing was Wanyu Yuedan. The two had followed Shen Langhun, traveling day and night, arriving at Chengfeng Town precisely tonight, hearing Yu Tuan’er and A’Shui’s conversation outside the window.

“How is he?” Shen Langhun pushed the door and entered. A’Shui pointed toward the room. “Asleep. He just rescued the villagers captured by Fengliu Shop and killed Fu Cui.”

Shen Langhun coughed. “His injuries aren’t healed yet, but he could kill Fu Cui?”

Yu Tuan’er nodded. “He also wanted to kill Sister A’Shui—mmph—” A’Shui covered her mouth with her hand. Yu Tuan’er choked, struggling free from her grip. “Anyway, it’s very strange! Like a monster.”

Wanyu Yuedan smiled. “How are his injuries?”

A’Shui sighed softly. “The external wounds are completely healed, but something seems to have stopped beating. He said, ‘So strange, why isn’t it beating anymore?'”

“Stopped beating?” Wanyu Yuedan pondered slightly. “Is it because of Brother Shen’s knife? When that knife stabbed in, was there anything different?”

Shen Langhun was startled. “Anything different?”

“You’re a first-rate assassin. When you draw your blade to kill, don’t you know what degree of injury you’ve caused?” Wanyu Yuedan felt his way into the room. “Since you intended to kill and succeeded in striking, how could he not die?”

Shen Langhun was startled again. The scene of stabbing Tang Lici that day suddenly came to mind. After thinking for a long time, he scratched his hair. “When that knife went down, I was also surprised he didn’t die. The blade tip struck something.”

He drew the short blade from his waist, examining the tip carefully. “Indeed, it struck something that blocked it. Otherwise, there’s no way my knife could have missed.”

Zhu Yan had been watching coldly, uninterested in why Tang Lici hadn’t died from the knife wound. Hearing their increasingly strange discussion, he suddenly reached out to take the short blade, concentrating on it for a moment. “Struck bone.”

Shen Langhun smiled bitterly. “From what the blade tip shows, it should have struck bone, but if my knife struck his waist bone, how could he still get up?” His blade’s force was extraordinary—even striking a large stone could shatter it, let alone human bone. “Moreover, I struck with full force but only penetrated about two inches before being blocked.” At that position, it couldn’t be the waist bone, and there couldn’t be other bones in the abdomen. He patted his head. “Right, Tang Lici said I struck that heart.”

“Heart?” Wanyu Yuedan was puzzled.

Shen Langhun briefly explained the origin of Fang Zhou’s heart in Tang Lici’s abdomen. A’Shui suddenly understood. “So when he said ‘it’s not beating anymore,’ he meant Fang Zhou’s heart stopped beating—perhaps because of that knife wound.”

But Zhu Yan said coldly, “Even two human hearts couldn’t block your strike. It must have struck bone. Could there be bones growing inside a heart?”

Heart… A’Shui’s heart suddenly sank. She had seen the thing in Tang Lici’s abdomen—it indeed didn’t look like a “heart.” “But if it’s not Fang Zhou’s heart, what is it?”

Zhu Yan didn’t listen, having no interest in discussing Tang Lici. He asked in a low voice, “When do we depart?”

Wanyu Yuedan smiled. “Miss A’Shui will guide the way. Let Brother Shen and Senior Zhu accompany you. Tonight we’ll surely find the secrets within Wangting Villa.” He reached into his robes and handed Xue Tao’s portrait to A’Shui. “Does Miss have the courage for tonight’s expedition?”

A’Shui smiled broadly. “Let’s go then.” She glanced at Fengfeng, then at Tang Lici’s room door, and was the first to walk outside.

Inside the room, Tang Lici remained unconscious, completely unaware of the changes outside the door. Shen Langhun and Zhu Yan followed A’Shui toward the back of Wangting Villa. Wanyu Yuedan stayed behind, saying he was tired. Yu Tuan’er pointed to Lin Bu’s room, telling him to sleep there. Wanyu Yuedan couldn’t see the direction she pointed, so he naturally walked forward, entering Tang Lici’s room and casually closing the door.

Yu Tuan’er stared wide-eyed at Lin Bu. Lin Bu also looked at the closed door in amazement, but after listening intently for a long time, he heard no unusual sounds from within.

Could Wanyu Yuedan not sense that Tang Lici was lying on the bed? Where would he sleep? On a chair? On the table? On the floor? Yu Tuan’er propped her chin, staring at that door, thinking about this strange question all night long.