Chapter 708 – The Immortal Trap (Part 8)
Thinking of this, the Red Dress Dance Mistress was filled with regret, her guts twisted in agony.
Fortunately, she still had the Ninth-Rank Loyalty Talisman, giving her another shot to turn the tables.
Once she controlled Jiang Pengji with the Ninth-Rank Loyalty Talisman, she’d definitely make that lowlife wish they were dead!
The Red Dress Dance Mistress decided to go for an installment plan, reaching an agreement with her System, and she was revived.
Her previously shattered neck and pierced heart were now as good as new. She opened her eyes to find herself lying in a desolate graveyard, surrounded by a blanket of white snow, with bones peeking through the ground, making her scream and scramble away in terror.
Her body was still a bit cold, making movement quite cumbersome, so she could only lie low and await a better opportunity.
As dawn broke, Yang Si, summoned by his biological clock, woke up on time.
Rubbing his eyes, he noticed he was wrapped in a warm blanket, with two extinguished charcoal braziers nearby.
“L-Lord/Leader?”
Yang Si shook his head, recalling last night’s events, and shouted into the inner chamber, but Jiang Pengji’s voice came floating from outside the tent.
“Awake?”
Jiang Pengji had changed into clean clothes and was looking at Yang Si with a smirk.
“Greetings, Lord/Leader.” Yang Si could only feel his old bones protesting painfully.
Well, who could blame him after spending the whole night curled up in sleep in such a position!
“Go wash up first. We need to have a good chat with Xu Pei and get some compensation.”
Though Xu Pei was innocent, Jiang Pengji made it clear she intended to pull a fast one; if she didn’t take advantage of the situation, it wouldn’t be her style.
Yang Si nodded, his expression dark. “We really need to hold him accountable. If it weren’t for the Lord/Leader’s impressive martial skills, who knows how things would have turned out last night?”
Yang Si didn’t know much of the inside story, so he didn’t realize that Jiang Pengji had intentionally set Xu Pei up; this was her trap.
Did Jiang Pengji not know that the leading dancer had issues?
It was precisely because she knew there was a problem that she played along and set up this whole Immortal Trap scheme.
Poor Xu Pei; he thoughtfully sent the person to her, helping her successfully frame him.
Last night, Yang Si slept well, Jiang Pengji slept even better, but Xu Pei and his subordinates were wide awake all night.
At that moment, who could sleep soundly?
Who exactly peeled Chun Er‘s face off?
Who was it that stuck Chun Er‘s face onto that female assassin’s, instructing her to assassinate Liu Xi?
Who laid down this trap, intending to let Liu Xi die in his camp and implicate him in dishonor?
Numerous questions swirled in their minds, and the atmosphere in the tent was so heavy it could drip.
Finally, Xu Pei broke the tense silence first.
“Do you think… could this possibly be the work of the Second Young Master?”
The folks in the tent exchanged glances; in fact, they originally suspected Xu Fei first.
However, causing discord among brothers was ultimately a scandal, and as subordinates, they shouldn’t meddle in the relationship between the Lord/Leader and his family.
Xu Pei and Xu Fei, the direct descendants of the Xu Clan.
Since their grandfather was still the head of the family, both the legitimate eldest and second sons were qualified to inherit the Xu family.
In terms of seniority, of course, the eldest son Xu Pei was more fitting; he was polite, skilled in managing subordinates, had an excellent reputation, and was quite capable.
However, the head of the Xu Clan favored Xu Fei more, due to the fact that the younger grandson was much better looking than Xu Pei, bearing a striking resemblance to the family head during his younger years, naturally winning the old man’s affection. Xu Fei also had a sweet tongue and often kept the elderly smiling.
In this respect, Xu Pei couldn’t compete with his cousin.
If Xu Fei were incompetent, it wouldn’t matter; unfortunately, Xu Fei wasn’t weak either, and the competition between the cousins became increasingly intense as their ages grew.
At times, they would use some minor tricks, but nothing too overboard; that was an unspoken understanding between the two brothers.
Xu Pei never thought that his cousin, who usually seemed reserved, could strike fatal blows… If it weren’t for the strong martial artists around Liu Xi, perhaps Liu Xi would’ve ended up dead that night, and Liu Zhi would have been all out for revenge, mobilizing two states and a prefecture against him.
If this plan succeeded, to appease Liu Zhi, the Xu Clan might end up sacrificing him, giving him up to Liu Zhi as a means of making amends… Thinking of this, Xu Pei couldn’t help but shudder… Such a vicious scheme!
Apart from Xu Fei, he couldn’t think of anyone else to suspect.
“I ask all of you, do you think it could be the work of the Second Young Master?”
Xu Pei raised his voice again, and everyone in the tent was on edge, having to stiffen their resolve to respond.
“We do not wish to believe it, but the possibility of the Second Young Master… is quite high…”
They hadn’t considered that this was a grudge that Jiang Pengji had brought upon herself.
All signs indicated that the mastermind must be someone very familiar with Xu Pei‘s camp.
Otherwise, how could they have known the location of the dancer?
How could they know that Xu Pei was inviting Liu Xi today, trying to win over the Liu Clan?
If there were no insider help, how could the enemy have stealthily killed the dancer and skinned her face?
There had to be an insider assisting… Xu Pei and Xu Fei had been competing for years; it was entirely normal for them to plant spies.
If Xu Fei knew about this, he would definitely exclaim—what a huge fly in the ointment!
Xu Pei closed his eyes, appearing somewhat pained.
He had been competing with Xu Fei for many years, but they were still brothers; he never intended to go for the jugular.
Now, this cousin had unexpectedly stabbed him in the back, truly hurting Xu Pei deeply.
However, he didn’t have time for sentimentality or to mourn the bonds of brotherhood that had withered; the urgent matter was still to stabilize Liu Xi and improve their mutual relationship. Even if they couldn’t restore things to how they were, they couldn’t fall into enmity; at the very least, they couldn’t let the Second Young Master take advantage.
Xu Pei‘s goal was the alliance leader; once he angered the Liu father and son and made them turn their support to Xu Fei, he would suffer a significant loss…
The group debated all night, brainstorming several compensatory plans. Xu Pei felt like a prisoner awaiting judgment, anxiously anticipating the final outcome.
They stayed up all night, while Jiang Pengji slept soundly, had breakfast, and then brought Yang Si to visit Xu Pei.
“Dear brother—” Seeing Jiang Pengji, Xu Pei felt as if he were greeted by kin, that single call causing goosebumps to rise all over.
“Xu Brother!”
Compared to last night’s enthusiasm, Jiang Pengji’s attitude today was somewhat cold.
Xu Pei felt no embarrassment as he said, “I’ve heard dear brother was attacked last night; do you know who was behind it?”
Jiang Pengji sneered, “Little brother was attacked in Xu Brother‘s camp, and the assassin was actually the dancer you arranged; shouldn’t this matter be addressed to you, Xu Brother?”
Seems she was really angry, Xu Pei sighed inwardly.
“Last night’s incident was truly a schemer’s trap. Why would I, as your elder brother, seek to harm you?” Xu Pei spoke earnestly but didn’t mention who the mastermind was, instead summoning a few people over, all of whom were witnesses, “The scoundrels were ruthless, skinning a living person’s face, impersonating a dancer with the intention of killing you… This matter is indeed my fault, and I shouldn’t have arranged it for you… sigh…”
Jiang Pengji‘s expression hesitated, her heart wavering.
Xu Pei pressed on, analyzing further—if Liu Xi died here, he would be the first to suffer, so why would he dig his own grave?
“Could it be that it truly isn’t…” Jiang Pengji swallowed the second half of her sentence, her tone warming slightly as she expressed some concern, “I didn’t expect the scoundrels to aim for Xu Brother; did that mean I was just an innocent bystander? Then, doesn’t that make you quite dangerous, Xu Brother?”
