Qiang Jin Jiu (Author : Tang Jiuqing 唐酒卿)

Chapter 71 : Trap

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The atmosphere was forbidding; it was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. 

With his hands on the chair handles for support, Xi Hongxuan reacted quickly in this heart-stopping atmosphere and said, “Obscuring truths with falsehoods. You are throwing out misleading traps again! Shen Zechuan, do you really think I won’t dare to kill you?” 

“The blade is already on my neck.” Shen Zechuan turned his head to look askance at the blade. “You can just give the command to take down my head.”

Xi Hongxuan did not dare to let up even the slightest. In this confrontation, he was not willing to miss any of the subtleties in Shen Zechuan’s expression. Although he was sitting tight in the chair, he was even more anxious than Shen Zechuan deep down. Yet, the more he warned himself not to be influenced by Shen Zechuan, the more he would be spurred on by the expression in Shen Zechuan’s eyes and by his tone. 

“For what it’s worth, we are brothers.” Xi Hongxuan said with a superficial, insincere smile. “Lanzhou, tell me the truth, and I’ll leave your corpse in one piece.” 

“Much ado about nothing. Feel free to do it.” Shen Zechuan egged him on. “Come on.”
 
Xi Hongxuan’s fingers dug tightly into the chair handles as he exchanged stares with Shen Zechuan. But Shen Zechuan was too calm and composed. Thus, Xi Hongxuan said, “Aren’t you worried about Qi Huilian at all? Once you’re dead, I’ll skin that old dog and sell him out to the Empress Dowager to plead for leniency.”

Shen Zechuan said, “If you handed Qi Huilian to the Empress Dowager twenty years earlier, she might really pardon you for your negligence this time. But Qi Huilian is now worthless. He’s not worth alive, and he’s worth nothing dead. You are a veteran merchant; would you feel at ease to do such a losing deal? I think you’re lost your mind and gone silly from the illness.”

“Qi Huilian is merely feigning insanity.” Xi Hongxuan said. “Do you think I can’t tell? To survive, he tucks his tail between his legs and struggles on whilst at death’s door. That’s quite the convincing act he has put on!” 

Shen Zechuan sneered, “Are you trying to sound me out at this point in time? He’s just a lunatic.” 

“If he is a lunatic, then who are you studying under?” Xi Hongxuan stretched his neck out. “Zhao Zui Temple made you a new person. How did that last remaining survivor of the Shen Clan who was so much like a lapdog six years ago become so gutsy and resourceful, huh? Lanzhou, you tell me!” 

“Man proposes, Heaven disposes.” Shen Zechuan’s expression was gloomy. “Don’t you know what it’s like to be a lapdog at others’ beck and call and have them kick you around? If I don’t shed my skin, how can I break out of the hardships and make it out there? It’s better to rely on oneself than on others. You and I are both fleeing for our lives from perilous circumstances, and yet we are now in internal strife. Xi Hongxuan, you sure are doing a good job getting rid of someone as soon as he outlives his usefulness, much like killing the donkey the moment it leaves the millstone.”

“If you hadn’t leaked the news, then how would Ouhua Pavilion collapsed for no reason? We call ourselves brothers on the inside, but the moment you step out, you backstab me in the back. I can’t be compared to you when it comes to being ruthless! But as fate would have it, I didn’t die!” Xi Hongxuan said in a chilling voice. “You want to ingratiate yourselves with both parties, but there’s no such thing as having your cake and eating it too, is there?” 

“What can Xiao’er give me that is worthy enough of raising your suspicions to such an extent?” Shen Zechuan said sarcastically, “He’s not Xiao Jiming; he can’t be the Prince of Libei, nor can he command the Libei’s Armored Cavalry. He’s merely a trapped beast in this Qudu! What’s the difference between him and me? Whatever it is that he has, I have no lack of it either.”