Chapter 447: Bait

Chapter 447: The Bait

Shangguan Jingjing sobbed uncontrollably in the Qijia Family's Serene Cloud Pavilion, her tears falling like rain, a heartbreaking sight.

Yet, everyone could only watch.

Qi Dingtian, despite his age, was at a loss how to comfort the little girl.

Tang Feng, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to romantic matters.

Su Mo sat sipping tea, eyes downcast, his gaze deep and contemplative, lost in his own thoughts.

Yang Xiaoyun and the others looked at each other uncertainly, wanting to speak but unsure where to begin.

Fortunately, though Shangguan Jingjing was heartbroken, she still knew where she was.

After crying for a while, she wiped her tears fiercely, stood up, and said to Qi Dingtian:

"Family Head Qi, I apologize for my moment of weakness. I made a scene in front of you and everyone."

Qi Dingtian waved his hand. "Don't mention it. Since you came with Hero Su, you’re no outsider.

"That Xi Menhuai is a fool in love—no match for you at all. Hmm... Never mind, let’s not talk about this."

Seeing Shangguan Jingjing’s eyes redden again at the mention of Xi Menhuai, he quickly added:

"I’ll arrange a place for you to stay. You must be exhausted from your journey—rest for now."

"Thank you, Family Head Qi."

Shangguan Jingjing had come all the way to Tianqi Island for Xi Menhuai.

Now that he was gone, she had no idea where to go, truly feeling completely lost.

With Qi Dingtian’s offer, she decided to stay for the time being.

She also needed time to sort out her thoughts and figure out how things had come to this.

After having someone escort Shangguan Jingjing to her quarters, Qi Dingtian turned to Su Mo:

"Hero Su, who is this young woman?"

"Family Head Qi, you see," Su Mo shook his head lightly and gave a brief account of the events on Shuangxiong Island.

He also explained how Shangguan Jingjing had come all this way to find her "husband," laying out all the details.

Only then did Qi Dingtian understand:

"So, they’re descendants of the Shangguan and Ximen Families from Shuangxiong Island.

"Though their families have been enemies for generations, their children fell in love—how ironic.

"But Ximen Zhengyan is such a formidable man. How could he raise such a son?

"Apparently, that young man clearly suspected this little girl from the Shangguan Family of being involved with you."

"Clueless about the situation, he freaked out first—what a joke.

Just look at how he acted today with that Shangguan girl—says it all.

Yelling your head off while captured? Real smart.

No sense of timing, no cool-headed planning.

Just had to alert that red-haired freak, didn’t he?

If Hero Su hadn’t been here, that red-haired bastard would’ve bagged us all.

Love-struck or not, that was a dumb move.

No wonder he’ll never amount to anything.

Maybe this mess is a blessing—lets that Shangguan girl think twice about whether betraying her family for such a man was worth it."

Mid-rant, his mind wandered, and his eyes flicked to Wei Ziyi.

But he was staring right through her.

The glance was gone before anyone noticed, and Qi Dingtian smoothly shifted the topic to casual conversation with Su Mo.

They started with small talk—Su Mo talked about his journey; Qi Dingtian bragged about his heyday in the martial world.

As the conversation flowed, Su Mo took the opportunity to inquire about the earlier conflict in the hall.

Qi Dingtian chuckled:

"Demon Ghost Sword and Tang Feng have never gotten along.

A spat blew up into a brawl.

Tang Feng bit off more than he could chew—sure, Demon Ghost Sword’s no big deal, but it’s still two-on-one.

Two swords and a knife vs. you? Like taking candy from a baby."

"Hmph..."

Tang Feng scoffed. "If you’d stayed out of it, I’d have killed that ghost swordsman."

"Without me, you’d be in two pieces."

Tang Feng shut up.

Qi Dingtian had a point—his slash, though fierce, broke the ghost swordsman’s technique.

But that demon blade’s buildup hit would’ve wrecked him. If he’d pushed it, he’d be dead where he stood.

Now he’s holed up in the Idle Cloud Pavilion, too scared to leave, fearing Demon Ghost Sword might ambush him outside.

Without Qi Dingtian, he’s a dead man walking.

Su Mo took the opening to fish for info on why these people had come to the Qi family.

Yet Qi Dingtian just laughed it off, deflecting the question.

He played it off, saying he just wanted to meet Su Mo over his Dragonwood Island rep—end of story.

After chatting a while longer, Qi Dingtian invited Su Mo and the others to stay at the Qi residence for a few days.

Su Mo had no reason to say no.

Delighted, Qi Dingtian quickly set them up with rooms.

Su Mo apologized briefly and led Yang Xiaoyun and the others, following a member of the Qi family to a courtyard.

The courtyard wasn’t particularly large, but it was spacious enough for everyone.

When Su Mo and his companions arrived, Shangguan Jingjing was sitting in the courtyard, spacing out.

When she spotted them, she quickly stood up:

"Su—Eldest Brother Su…"

Su Mo nodded slightly. "Miss Shangguan."

"Today… My apologies."

Shangguan Jingjing’s face was full of remorse:

"He… I’ve no idea what got into him to speak like that.

"I’ve inconvenienced you."

"The trouble is nothing to worry about."

Su Mo looked her over and felt a headache brewing:

"However, regarding the matter Young Miss Shangguan promised me earlier…

"Is the offer still good?"

"Of course it is."

Shangguan Jingjing nodded earnestly. "I’ll make it work. No matter what, thank you for your protection along the way."

"Mmm."

Su Mo smiled at this. "In that case, Miss Shangguan, don’t stress over it. Rest well for now, and we’ll play it by ear.

"Though, in my opinion, this is just a misunderstanding between the two of you.

"Once it’s cleared up, you’ll patch things up."

Shangguan Jingjing shot Su Mo a look but shook her head lightly, then gave a wry smile:

"Thank you, Eldest Brother Su. I’ll go rest in my room now."

"Alright."

Su Mo watched her back as she left for a moment, somewhat puzzled, sure she was holding back.

As he puzzled over it, he heard Wei Ziyi beside him muttered with a scoff:

"Those two? Good luck smoothing that over."

"Oh, now you’re an expert?"

Su Mo glanced at Wei Ziyi.

Wei Ziyi snorted:

"The old master was right.

"Before the matter is clear, he's already in chaos—his suspicions conjure up imaginary demons. Even if it's explained this time, who knows if there will be a next?

"If they truly wish to be together for the long haul, how can they indulge in such baseless distrust?

"Even if there are hidden worries, they should feel things out privately first."

Su Mo looked at Wei Ziyi in surprise—since when had she become a relationship guru?

What kind of crazy ideas had she been cooking up?

Just as he was thinking this, Yang Xiaoyun spoke up:

"In my opinion, probing discreetly isn't the right approach either—one should ask directly.

"If someone truly wishes to be your life partner, they naturally wouldn’t hide anything from you.

"Once certain words are spoken openly, misunderstandings cease to exist.

"Today’s incident—though Miss Shangguan was somewhat at fault—Xi Menhuai airing dirty laundry in public like that, with no regard for Miss Shangguan's reputation entirely, truly left a bad taste in my mouth."

Su Mo gave Yang Xiaoyun a surprised look, never expecting his wife to have such wise words.

Meanwhile, Wei Ziyi and Little Situ Taoist both turned beet red when Yang Xiaoyun said, "If someone truly wishes to be your life partner, they naturally wouldn’t hide anything from you."

Wei Ziyi had been repeatedly matchmade by her grandpa and master to be set up with Su Mo.

Did Yang Xiaoyun know about this?

Little Situ Taoist, on the other hand, couldn’t help but recall that steamy encounter in the cave outside Tianqu City.

She squirmed with even more embarrassment.

"Alright, alright, let’s quit gossiping about other people's business," Su Mo waved his hand.

"Now that we’ve arrived at the Qi family, we should figure out our game plan."

With that, everyone quickly sorted out room assignments before gathering in Su Mo and Yang Xiaoyun’s bedroom.

"At present, there are three urgent matters," Su Mo said in a low voice, glancing at everyone in the room.

"The first is to track down the Qi family’s Pure Yang Treasure.

"This is our top priority.

"However, it seems the Qi family is also in hot water.

"Still, Old Master Qi’s attitude today did throw me for a loop."

"What’s the issue?"

Wei Ziyi looked at Su Mo with some confusion. "Where's the unexpected part?"

"His behavior was off the whole time."

Su Mo said, "He invited us with a grand gesture, yet just wanted us to hang around for a bit... That makes no sense. And..."

He paused here and glanced at Wei Ziyi:

"How he acted when he saw you today was very strange.

"It seemed like... he recognized something?"

"N-no... That can’t be."

Wei Ziyi’s expression changed. "Mom and I aren’t even..."

She stopped mid-sentence.

Hua Qianyu’s real name was Qi Qiaohui.

The past was buried in secrecy, so joining the Fallen Phoenix Alliance under her original identity would inevitably leave traces.

So, the face Qi Qiaohui’s using now isn’t her real one.

But she’s always looked like this, and everyone’s used to it, overlooking this fact.

Wei Ziyi subconsciously touched her own face:

"Did he actually recognize me?"

"Even if not, he probably got suspicious."

Su Mo smiled. "From what went down in the hall today, the Qi family’s problems aren’t exactly a secret.

"If Master Qi really wanted to keep us in the dark, he wouldn’t have had us stay at Idle Cloud Pavilion right now.

"Hell, everyone there today probably knew what’s up.

"So I bet it was seeing your face that made him switch gears."

"But... why?"

Wei Ziyi frowned slightly.

"Hard to tell. We’d need to ask Master Qi straight up.

"However, finding out what’s really going on with the Qi family isn’t difficult.

"We could just ask Demon Ghost Sword, Tang Feng... or even that Fire Taoist guy."

As Su Mo spoke, he picked up his teacup and took a small sip.

"The Fire Taoist got wrecked by you today. Doubt he’ll wanna face us.

"Too bad. The hall wasn’t the place to corner anyone today."

Yang Xiaoyun shot Su Mo a look:

"However, in this matter, Xi Menhuai was surprisingly helpful."

Little Situ shot Yang Xiaoyun a confused glance, still baffled, when Wei Ziyi chuckled and said:

"Xi Menhuai left in anger, which actually makes him perfect bait."

"Though... from how Shangguan Jingjing looked, the Fire Taoist probably isn't the one coveting the Ximen Family's chart."

"So why would he grab Shangguan Jingjing and Xi Menhuai?"

"He mentioned a 'money tree'... Could it be some deal with the Shangguan and Ximen Families?"

"Or perhaps..."

"When we track down the Fire Taoist, everything will become clear."

Su Mo gave a small smile.

Hearing this, Little Situ suddenly had a lightbulb moment:

"So, Eldest Brother Su, you let Xi Menhuai walk away on purpose today with this in mind?"

Su Mo nodded slightly but then shook his head:

"Keeping Xi Menhuai here would've been easy. Even if he was determined to leave, it wouldn't have mattered."

"At worst, I could've hit his pressure points and stashed him somewhere. Things we couldn't say in front of others could've been addressed later."

"There was no need to let him go."

"So, I did let him leave intentionally."

"However, that wasn't actually my plan to lure out the Fire Taoist."

At the time, Su Mo hadn’t anticipated that Qi Dingtian would clam up about the Qi Family’s affairs.

Naturally, he hadn’t considered pumping the Fire Taoist for info.

Linking this matter to the Fire Taoist was just going off what Wei Ziyi said earlier:

Why did he capture Xi Menhuai and Shangguan Jingjing?

And what's this "money tree" of his, and how exactly did it bring him wealth?

But since this wasn't really connected to their own goals, just being curious didn't mean we needed to dig deeper.

Moreover, the Fire Taoist was too slick, never giving Su Mo an opening to press him.

The Qi Family was also someone else's turf, so we couldn't exactly push our luck.

Thus, letting him leave was the only option.

Now that Qi Dingtian wasn't talking about the Qi Family’s affairs, Xi Menhuai coincidentally became the easiest bait to use.

Seeing Little Situ’s question, Su Mo simply explained:

"What I truly wanted Xi Menhuai to draw out were those coveting his family’s chart."

"Who knows what they're after. If Xi Menhuai had stayed with the Qi Family, they might not have found an opportunity."

"If Xi Menhuai and Shangguan Jingjing leave, who knows how long we'll have to wait.

"Might as well have Xi Menhuai do me a favor.

"After all, Xi Menhuai is definitely useful bait—no point wasting him."

Little Situ Taoist clicked her tongue in astonishment.

Today’s events had unfolded one after another in quick succession.

Yet in the blink of an eye, Su Mo had already pieced together so much...

Incredible!

A hint of admiration flashed in her eyes.

Su Mo then continued,

"First, we need to figure out what happened to the Qi family. If we can do them a favor, all the better.

"But the real goal is still the Pure Yang Treasure.

"So we’ll have to dig deeper."

As he spoke, he glanced at Wei Ziyi.

Wei Ziyi let out a soft sigh. "I understand. I’ll give it a try."

But Su Mo cut her off with a wave.

"From what I can tell, you can’t afford to act rashly."

"What?"

Wei Ziyi blinked in surprise. "Since he already suspects me, wouldn’t I be the best one to investigate?"

Su Mo shook his head.

"On paper, that makes sense, but it’s too rushed.

"Once your identity comes out, how will Qi Dingtian see you?

"A granddaughter by blood but not by heart, just after the Qi family’s treasure?

"That’d be way too harsh."

"Right..."

Wei Ziyi nodded slightly. Su Mo had thought this through way more than she had.

"Besides, we don’t have to get this from Qi Dingtian directly.

"Since it’s a treasure, no matter how well hidden, word’s bound to get out.

"People love to spread rumors like that.

"We can hand this off to Duan Renjie and Old Fu later—digging around with the Qi family’s servants, disciples, or even Tianqi City’s ordinary folks might be easier.

"Even if we don’t get the full picture, it’ll help narrow things down."

"And that’s enough."

"Yeah."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Yang Xiaoyun said, "Earlier, we covered two things, didn’t we?"

"Correct."

Su Mo smiled. "Ranked by urgency, the first is tracking down the Pure Yang Treasure, and the third concerns Xi Menhuai and the ones after the chart.

"In between, there's a second matter...

"That’s our main job."

He took out the box containing the Fansheng Pill from his robe:

"Now that we've arrived at Tianqi Island,

"before things blow up at the Qi family, let's find an opportunity to deliver this."

That went without saying.

However, before proceeding, they needed to know exactly what had happened in the Qi family.

And regarding this, since Qi Dingtian kept mum, Su Mo and the others had no choice but to wait and see when the Fire Taoist would bite the bait.

As it turned out, the Fire Taoist was way more impatient than Su Mo had anticipated.

That same night, Duan Renjie, who had been shadowing Xi Menhuai, returned to the Qi family to report.

He said he had spotted signs of the Fire Taoist, though the latter had yet to make a move against Xi Menhuai, like he was checking something first.

Su Mo gave a slight smile, gave Yang Xiaoyun some instructions, and then had Duan Renjie take point.

In a back alley, Su Mo met Fu Hanyuan and Cheng Suying.

The two pointed to a nearby inn and told Su Mo:

"After leaving the Qi family, Xi Menhuai went to this inn, drowning his sorrows in drink.

"He ranted about how all women were heartless."

Just as these words were spoken, a sharp crack rang out.

The inn's window shattered as a figure dressed in blazing red burst out, carrying a large bundle over his shoulder. Bounding and weaving, he bolted for the outskirts of Tianqi City.

Cheng Suying and Fu Hanyuan snapped their gaze to Su Mo.

Su Mo waved his hand:

"Return to the Qi family first and stick to the deputy chief’s orders."

"Yes."

They nodded and obeyed. When they looked up again, Su Mo was gone in a flash.

...

...

Outside Tianqi City, there stood a mountain called Shelter-from-Wind Mountain.

A solitary figure moved along the wild mountain path.

At first glance, the figure seemed distant, but upon raising one's head, it was already right in front. In that split second, when one turned to look again, the figure had vanished without a trace.

This person was none other than the Fire Taoist!

He streaked through the mountains, twisting and turning until he arrived before a long-forgotten mountain shrine.

After carefully examining the dilapidated temple, he nodded slightly:

"This is the place."

With a careless toss, he threw the sack onto the ground and opened it, revealing a groggy Xi Menhuai.

The Fire Taoist grinned:

"Fortune Tree, Fortune Tree, you've wound up in my grasp again.

"If you can't even protect yourself, what were you thinking leaving the Qi family?

"Running yourself ragged, all for nothing—this fortune was always meant to be mine!"