Chapter 1495: By Any Means Necessary

Hei Shi could not help laughing at that, though he agreed. “Once Maolu Villa is identified as the root of the problem, Yuan Se’s death can basically be pieced together as well. Just as Sacred Venerable said, Maolu Villa was a den of thieves to begin with. Yuan Se suddenly barged straight into it. Those people must have been scared half to death. Who could have imagined he would suddenly go there? How could they possibly sit still? They were bound to exhaust every means to solve the problem.”

Wu Chang lifted the brush in his hand and stared at its tip. “Which means Yin Ji contacting Yuan Se at that particular time was no coincidence. Yin Ji deliberately exposed her identity as a member of the Demon Fox Clan. Yuan Se would naturally go after Luo Fangfei. Once Luo Fangfei was captured, Luo Qiu was bound to step forward. The moment Luo Qiu caused a disturbance, Yuan Se’s whereabouts would be exposed. Whatever the outcome, Yuan Se would have to leave Maolu Villa, and Maolu Villa’s crisis would be resolved.”

“But Yuan Se did not withdraw. He disappeared. It seems there are still things hidden in this that no one knows.”

Hei Shi asked, “Sacred Venerable, now that we’ve found the root, once Du Wuxu and the others return, should we make our move?”

Wu Chang lowered the brush to the painting again and continued working as he spoke. “Now that we know where the root lies, there’s no need to hurry. Whether we act sooner or later makes little difference. There is one matter I’ve been pondering these past few days. If the Holy Rakshasa is in their hands, and Yuan Se and the others have fallen one after another, why has there been no sign of the Holy Rakshasa taking action? With such a useful source of strength, logically they should have used it. I wonder whether Luo Qiu and the others will run into it in the Desolate Marsh Deadlands.”

At those final words, Hei Shi’s eyes flickered. He suddenly understood something.

If that side had laid a trap to eliminate Granny Xue, they would surely have anticipated this side trying to use Luo Fangfei. In other words, the Desolate Marsh Deadlands might already be heavily prepared for them. They might even employ the Holy Rakshasa. No one knew what the three Sacred Venerables who had gone there might encounter.

Hei Shi now more or less understood why Wu Chang had chosen not to go this time. He was avoiding whatever unknown danger might be waiting there and sending the other three ahead to test the waters. Perhaps he even hoped one of the three would fail to return. Was he planning to kill with a borrowed blade?

Wu Chang lifted his brush again and studied the painting. “Since my judgment has now been corroborated, there is one matter you must place above all others.”

Hei Shi cupped his hands. “Please instruct me, Sacred Venerable.”

“It would be easy to strike Maolu Villa, but the twelve Nascent Soul cultivators cannot all be hiding there. Once we act and alert the snake by beating the grass, finding the rest will become difficult. Select reliable people and give them one task only: intercept and copy every letter sent out from Maolu Villa. No matter what methods are required, decipher them for me.”

“If Maolu Villa is truly the root, then it must be communicating with those Nascent Soul cultivators. Decipher those letters and identify who the Nascent Soul cultivators are.”

“Remember this: until every last one of them has been found, we do not move.”

“Remember this as well: if we do not strike, so be it. Once we strike, we wipe them all out in one net.”

“And remember to be careful. I would rather move slowly than alert them.”

“One more thing. The others must not learn of this.”

Hei Shi solemnly cupped his hands. “Yes!”

...

Luo Qiu stood where he had been almost without moving. Sleepless and unresting, he had remained there for two full days, his expression barely changing.

Not far away, Sha Rulai sat cross-legged in silence, yet his figure seemed shrouded in darkness.

As time passed, Luo Qiu’s patience in remaining there for two days told Sha Rulai one thing clearly: this time, Luo Qiu had truly made up his mind.

Luo Fangfei had quieted down as well. The flower crown was still on her head. Worn out from waiting and unable to circulate spiritual power to refresh herself, she lay on her side with her head pillowed on Sha Rulai’s thigh. Her sleeping face was peaceful and sweet, as though she were smelling flowers in her dreams.

Luo Qiu looked up at the position of the sun, then slowly turned and swept his eyes over the surroundings.

Sha Rulai, who had been quietly watching him all along, immediately focused on his reaction.

Suddenly Luo Qiu circulated his cultivation and roared, “The two days are up! Yin Ji, I know you’re here. Come out!”

His voice rolled outward in repeated echoes.

Luo Fangfei woke with a start. She lifted her head and scrambled upright, stared at her father for a moment, then looked at her husband in confusion. “What happened?”

Sha Rulai lightly moved her aside and rose as well, scanning the surroundings.

Luo Qiu shouted angrily, “Didn’t you want to see your daughter? I brought her here. She is right here. What must be faced cannot be avoided forever. Come out!”

Luo Fangfei slowly climbed to her feet, utterly bewildered. Her face seemed to ask: Daughter? Is he talking about me?

The surroundings remained quiet.

Luo Qiu waited for a while, his cold gaze sweeping around. Then he suddenly reached out.

Spiritual power swept forward. Sha Rulai was dragged helplessly through the air and appeared directly before him.

Bang!

Luo Qiu struck him in the chest with one palm.

Flesh and blood burst apart.

A gaping hole was blasted straight through Sha Rulai’s chest.

Sha Rulai’s eyes widened in disbelief. He had sensed danger closing in, but he had never imagined Luo Qiu would strike without even giving him the chance to speak.

Luo Fangfei’s eyes widened as well. She stared in shock, lips trembling, as though she could not believe what she was seeing and thought herself trapped in a nightmare.

“Come out!”

Luo Qiu roared again. He swept one hand back.

Luo Fangfei, still frozen in shock, was dragged directly before him. His hand closed around her throat.

“No!”

A woman’s anguished scream rang out.

A figure shot from the swamp and landed nearby.

It was Yin Ji.

She looked at Sha Rulai lying on the ground, his body still twitching, then at Luo Fangfei held by the throat in Luo Qiu’s hand, one squeeze away from death. The grief on her face was beyond words.

She had been hiding in the shadows and watching, still clinging to a thread of hope. She had believed Luo Qiu would never truly strike at his own daughter. Who could have imagined that when he killed, he would kill without hesitation, directly murdering his own disciple and son-in-law, Sha Rulai?

It had genuinely frightened her.

Now, with her daughter fallen into his grasp as well, she could no longer remain hidden.

At last Luo Qiu saw this woman again.

She looked just as she had in the past, still so beautiful, not a trace of change upon her.

His jaw tightened. “You finally came out.”

Tears shone in Yin Ji’s eyes. “She is your daughter. Let her go! How can you bear to lay such a vicious hand on her?”

Luo Qiu swung his arm and released her.

Luo Fangfei staggered backward and fell sitting on the ground. She stared blankly at the bleeding Sha Rulai, watching as the last traces of movement gradually left his body.

Was this a dream?

She slowly raised her eyes toward Luo Qiu and Yin Ji without speaking.

She hoped it was a dream.

She did not want to accept this as reality.

Unexpectedly, an expression of bitter anguish surfaced on Luo Qiu’s face. He demanded in pain, “Since you were still alive, since you had already hidden for so many years, why didn’t you keep hiding? Why did you have to come out and stir up trouble again? Why did you insist on forcing me?”

Yin Ji answered through grief, “Then why did you keep slaughtering my people? You already forced my clan to this point. They are hiding here, barely clinging to life. Why could you not leave them a road to survive? Why would you not even let them come out to see the sun and draw a breath? Why slaughter them year after year without end?”

“I am the Clan Chief of the Demon Fox Clan. How could you expect me to keep hiding? Luo Qiu, you promised me you would protect our daughter!”

Luo Qiu snapped, “You still know to speak of protecting our daughter? You came out and started making trouble—how was I supposed to protect her then? You exposed your identity. You should know what the others would do. If I fall, do you not know what fate awaits your daughter? Is this what you call protecting her?”

Daughter? Mother?

Luo Fangfei stared blankly at Yin Ji, confusion filling her eyes.

Yin Ji wept. “So that gives you reason to kill your own daughter with your own hands? For the sake of power, do you care about nothing else?”

“Care about nothing?” Luo Qiu shot back. “Do you know what happened to the people under Zhangsun Mi and the others after they died? Do you know how many people beneath me would lose their lives if I lost this power? It would not be only your daughter who died, nor only this disciple of mine.”

“I have already reached this point. There are too many things beyond my control. There is no road back, and no way to preserve both sides. Even if I were willing to put everything down, others would never let me go. I can only abandon one side.”

“Perhaps in your eyes I am cold-blooded and heartless, my methods ruthless. But how many people’s lives are tied to me? Human hearts differ. Desire is never satisfied. Without iron-blooded methods, people cannot be kept in awe. That is the blood-soaked lesson I learned over several hundred years, paying one agonizing price after another!”

“If you do not understand, then put yourself in my place. You will pay any price to protect the entire Demon Fox Clan. The principle is exactly the same. There is no absolute right or wrong here. We merely stand on different sides and use different means and methods. You call yourself Clan Chief of the Demon Fox Clan, yet you do not even understand this much?”

Yin Ji accused him bitterly, “Heartless. Faithless. By any means necessary. Excuses!”

Luo Qiu’s anger erupted. “I am heartless and faithless? Do you know how great a price I paid for you back then? And what were you doing? What did you want me to do?”

“For the sake of your Demon Fox Clan, why did you come to my side while hiding the truth and deceiving me? You knew perfectly well I could not possibly defeat them, yet you still wanted me to do it. And that is what you call your lofty affection and righteousness?”

“Fine. Say I am heartless. Say I stop at nothing.”

He suddenly raised a hand and pointed at her.

“Then look at yourself. If you refuse to use ruthless means when they are needed, who have you managed to protect? You have failed your Demon Fox Clan. You have failed your husband. You have failed your daughter.”

“Without the will to do what must be done, look at what became of your clan! As Clan Chief, you could not protect your people and allowed them to be reduced to hiding here, barely surviving. As a mother, you could not protect your daughter!”

His voice abruptly rose into a roar, and a trace of grief entered it.

“This is what you call affection and righteousness? You cannot abandon the greater whole, yet you cannot let go of the smaller one either. You want everything. If you are right, then tell me—where beneath Heaven can such a perfect bargain be found?”

“You are the truly selfish one. What right do you have to speak to me of affection and righteousness?”

Yin Ji found herself unable to answer his accusations.

In the end, she could only plead, “Luo Qiu, spare our daughter!”

Luo Qiu shouted, “I brought her here precisely because I mean to save her! There are plenty of men beneath Heaven. If her husband is gone, she can find another. So long as she stays alive, even if she hates me for the rest of her life from this day forward!”

“This is me stopping at nothing.”

“Are you satisfied with that answer?”

[End of Chapter 1495]