Indeed, a Fish Was Caught

The atmosphere in the private room was somewhat tense, but that was only natural. Hearing Mu Xiangli say "Make your move," Mu Shijie snorted coldly, "So you admit you are Mu Kuan now? Just because you entered the Longwu Academy, do you think you are so grand?"

Mu Xiangli reminded him, "In the end, do you wish to reconcile, or have you come to provoke me?"

"Hmph." Mu Shijie ordered his subordinate, "Pour the wine, pour the wine."

Watching the opponent raise the wine cup and present it before him, Mu Xiangli thought to himself that only a fool would drink it. "No need."

"What is this? Are you afraid I have poisoned the wine? Then let us exchange them," Mu Shijie said.

As soon as his words fell, his subordinate exchanged the positions of the two wine cups right before Mu Xiangli's eyes.

Mu Shijie raised his cup. "My family's intention is for me to represent the Mu Clan and drink this cup with you. From now on, you are only Mu Xiangli, and there is no longer any Mu Kuan in this world. We shall not seek trouble with you, and you must not block our Mu Clan's path."

"Very well," Mu Xiangli nodded.

"Good!" Mu Shijie raised his cup generously and drained it in one gulp. Only after drinking did he notice that Mu Xiangli had not moved. "Why do you not drink?"

Mu Xiangli toyed with the wine cup. "I have already agreed. There is no reason I must drain this cup to keep my word."

Mu Shijie slammed the table and stood up. "Are you toying with me?"

Mu Xiangli put on an innocent and puzzled expression. "I have already agreed to your proposal. How am I toying with you?"

Mu Wanqiu, who was beside them, tried to mediate, "Cousin, since the agreement is made, whether the wine is drunk or not is of no consequence."

Mu Shijie was furious. "He does this to deny me face, deliberately making things difficult for me."

Fearing Mu Shijie would change his mind and cause further trouble, Mu Wanqiu cast a pleading look toward Mu Xiangli, then stood up and said, "How about this, I shall also offer a toast."

Mu Wanqiu spoke and raised her cup, pouring the wine into her mouth. Judging by her appearance, she likely did not drink often; her brows furrowed tightly, and only after a moment did she recover.

Mu Xiangli smiled and said, "It seems that if I do not drink this cup of wine, I shall not be able to walk out of this door."

"No, I did not mean that," Mu Wanqiu hastily explained.

In the shadows, Xiao Wu and his companion had originally intended to let Mu Shijie strike first. If Mu Xiangli truly fell into the trap, they would save some effort. However, the current situation was not proceeding according to plan.

"It seems this lad is highly vigilant. Mu Shijie is indeed a waste. We must act swiftly and cleanly later."

"Understood."

In the room, Mu Wanqiu still wished to explain, but suddenly felt her head grow somewhat dizzy. Her maidservant had been dismissed by Mu Shijie and was not present. She could only sway, supporting herself against the table. Before she could ask what was happening, a sensation of weakness washed over her, and her body tilted as she collapsed onto the floor.

This was outside Mu Xiangli's expectations. He knew Mu Shijie surely harbored ill intentions and that there was likely a problem with the wine, but he had not expected this fellow to harm even his own cousin. Just now, when Mu Wanqiu collapsed, he did not even have the intention to support her.

Mu Shijie also knew he could not trick Mu Xiangli into drinking, so he simply dropped his pretense. "You speak incorrectly. Whether you drink this cup of wine or not, you shall not leave tonight. Do you truly believe our Mu Clan would let you off?"

"Is it only your Mu Clan?" Mu Xiangli asked the crucial question.

Unexpectedly, Mu Shijie, this fool, actually answered. He sneered, "It seems you also know you have offended no small number of people."

"What an idiot." Xiao Wu, who had intended to bide his time, heard these words and immediately made his move with his companion.

Hearing Mu Shijie's answer, Mu Xiangli also breathed a sigh of relief; his efforts had not been in vain. But immediately, his focus sharpened to the utmost, as he sensed several streaks of red light rushing toward him. In the next instant, several concealed weapons pierced through the walls of the private room, flying straight toward him.

Each concealed weapon was enveloped in Qi, moving at extreme speed. Had he not sensed the red light rushing in beforehand, he truly would have been unable to evade.

But after dodging this strike, he discovered that the Qi on those concealed weapons was not entirely detached from the attacker; there seemed to be an invisible thread of Qi extending outside the private room.

Sure enough, in the next instant, the red light appeared again, this time in a spiral pattern. Mu Xiangli had just realized this when the concealed weapons flying in midair abruptly changed direction in an absurd manner, turning back to attack him.

This move was highly troublesome. Mu Xiangli cursed in his heart as he narrowly threaded through the returning barrage of concealed weapons.

This evasion of his left the controller of the weapons outside the room highly astonished: "Has he seen through it?"

He was merely a lad of the First Heavens of the Qi Mansion; how could he possess such vision?

Seeing his companion's strike fail, Xiao Wu moved. Mu Xiangli sensed a shadow gliding in, followed immediately by a dagger thrusting toward him.

Guangju Pavilion was already noisy, and these two moved without making any sound, leaving the people outside entirely unaware.

Daring to strike inside a tavern, aside from poisoning, there was indeed another force at play.

"Just because you do not make a commotion, does that mean I shall not?" Mu Xiangli evaded the dagger and drew his saber, intending to unleash the "Slaying the General" stance. He was confident this single strike could shatter the private room without issue.

But to his horror, his saber was only halfway out of its sheath when Xiao Wu's hand pressed down upon his, forcing his saber back into its scabbard.

"Dammit!" Mu Xiangli wanted to curse.

The opponent's strength was clearly a level above his. Mu Xiangli dared not linger, hastily throwing a signal arrow out of the window. As long as this signal arrow pierced the window and fell onto the street, his task would be considered complete.

But he had not expected the opponent to be prepared for this move. The moment the signal arrow left his hand, several concealed weapons flew from the other side, intercepting the arrow in midair.

"Motherfucker!" This time, Mu Xiangli truly cursed aloud.

Xiao Wu also wanted to curse. No wonder Shen Hongyue had reminded him that this fellow was as slippery as an eel, telling him to be careful. Clearly, the strength of the two of them was overwhelming, yet they could not secure a swift victory. This lad seemed able to easily see through their techniques, which was far too bizarre.

...

At Guanyun Tower, Jiang Ning was leaning against the railing, looking toward Guangju Pavilion. Behind her, Zhou Yi was setting up a chessboard, lost in his own thoughts.

"I cannot understand what is so interesting about this game." Jiang Ning walked over and swept her hand, scattering the chessboard.

Zhou Yi was speechless, looking up at Jiang Ning. Jiang Ning put on an expression of "What are you looking at, what can you do to me?"

Zhou Yi truly could do nothing, and could only smile bitterly.

"Why is there still no movement?" Jiang Ning was somewhat impatient.

"Your Highness, do not be anxious." Zhou Yi wanted to reset the board, but seeing Jiang Ning staring intently, he knew it would only be ruined again, so he desisted.

"Can we truly capture someone tonight?"

Seeing Jiang Ning somewhat excited, Zhou Yi intended to cool her down: "It is hard to say. In truth, whether we capture anyone tonight or not, Your Highness need not pay it too much mind. As long as the disputes among the Nine States remain unresolved and the other eight states are not destroyed, spies will never be entirely eliminated."

"Today is merely a small contest at a corner of the board. Victory or defeat does not affect the grand scheme. Of course, accumulating sand forms a pagoda, and every inch of land must be contested; to win is naturally best..."

Before Zhou Yi could finish, Jiang Ning kicked him. "Chess, chess, chess. I told you not to lecture me on chess."

Zhou Yi deeply regretted his words, wanting to slap himself. Why had he spoken so much?

Right at this moment, a signal arrow shot into the sky.

Zhou Yi instantly turned serious. He stood up, shook his sleeves, and stood firmly by the railing.