Are you the clown sent here by the monkeys?

Chapter 075: Are You the Clown Called by the Monkey?

The archers surrounding them nocked their arrows for the fourth time. In the faint morning light, each arrowhead glinted coldly with the reflection of human intent.

Mother Mu turned at once, shielding Mu Zhijin behind her. Liu the Cripple stepped forward, blocking Mother Mu with his own body. Zhu Xishi brandished her butcher’s knife, ready to stand before Fang Rulai, but Fang Rulai refused her help. At this moment, Fang Rulai was busy confronting Xiao Shi, whose eyes were hidden, forcing her to rely on instinct to meet his gaze.

“So it’s Daoist Xiao Shi.”

“I am Shi Changzi.”

“All right then, Daoist Shi!” Fang Rulai deliberately emphasized the word, her tone laced with mockery, just so the man opposite would hear the insult. Yet, unlike before, he didn’t explode in rage or retort immediately.

“The master has changed her attire, but her sharp tongue remains as keen as ever,” Xiao Shi replied, calmly unfazed, which made Fang Rulai even more wary. In just a few days, this man’s temperament had grown; he was clearly on a different level now.

Sun Chi, who was just about to order the execution, suddenly interrupted after hearing their exchange. “Master? Lord Shi, is this the monk you’ve been waiting for?”

He pointed at Fang Rulai. He had seen her only once, so he wasn’t sure if the thickly made-up woman before him, indistinguishable from the courtesans of Baohua Pavilion, was the same monk he’d glimpsed in the magistrate’s hall the day before. But one thing was certain: if she wasn’t the monk, this official from the capital would never have shown himself.

“You’re a woman?” With his wealth of experience, he could tell the figure and demeanor before him weren’t likely a man disguised as a woman. There was only one possibility—the monk was a woman to begin with.

“You’re a woman!” Sun Chi repeated, then burst into wild laughter. “Heaven is truly on my side!”

The other side had broken into the prison and set a fire; how could he not see the purpose behind it? Bringing Mu Zhijin out openly was clearly a ruse to draw out the monk. Earlier, when Mother Mu caused an uproar, he’d almost forgotten that the reason he’d revealed his private archers was precisely to capture the monk alive once she showed herself. He’d been thinking that if the monk didn’t appear today, he’d have to come up with another plan.

He never would have guessed—the monk was already here, and a woman at that! Such a discovery—after reporting to the Crown Prince, his dazzling future in court was all but assured! What did it matter if his wife was dead or he had no heir? With power in hand, women would flock to him, and sooner or later, he’d have children.

Sun Chi closed his eyes, eagerly awaiting the sound of arrows slicing through the air, the screams of victory. But he waited and waited—nothing happened.

What was going on? He snapped his eyes open. The archers still held their drawn bows, ready to fire, but none released their arrows.

Sun Chi grew enraged. “Did you not hear my command? Fire!”

No one obeyed.

“I said, you—” Sun Chi began, but Fang Rulai interrupted him.

“My lord, are you the clown summoned by the monkey?” Fang Rulai’s face was full of disdain. “If you can’t command them once, clearly something’s changed. Do you really need to foolishly prove it again and again? Look at your Daoist Shi—how calm he is, unshaken by disaster! At a time like this, thinking how to escape is the true path, Lord Sun!”

“You mean… Impossible, I don’t believe it!” Sun Chi’s heart had already begun to falter. He had considered the possibility, but these archers were his personal men—betrayal was unthinkable. He instinctively avoided facing this reality. Now, hearing Fang Rulai’s words, he suddenly didn’t know how to react. The consequences of his most trusted subordinates no longer being his own were unimaginable.

Fang Rulai let out a cool laugh, lifting her forefinger and pointing in the air, finally having her turn to boast.

“Brothers, how invisible are you? This lord still refuses to believe it! How about proving it for him?”

At her words, all the archers instantly aimed their arrows at Sun Chi.

His face changed color.

Fang Rulai’s smile broadened. She pointed again. “And those who were just pretending to be dead—get up and stretch your limbs. Lord Sun might want to discuss life with you.”

The first officer to open the door, the three or five who tried to intervene, and the officers who had been shot dead by the archers at Sun Chi’s command all stood up one after another. Arrows still protruded from their bodies, blood still flowing, just like Liu the Cripple who had suddenly sprung up earlier. Once ordered to stop feigning death, their faces lost their forced pallor and flushed with color.

Though the word “official” was still emblazoned on their uniforms, their allegiance had changed utterly in an instant. And Sun Chi hadn’t noticed a thing. He staggered, nearly collapsing.

Xiao Shi stepped forward in time, catching Sun Chi by the arm but speaking to Fang Rulai. “Master Rulai, such skill! I suppose all of this is tied to the Second Prince?”

Though they hadn’t unraveled the entire affair at Qitian Monastery, they’d learned enough to suspect the Second Prince was orchestrating things from behind the scenes. Considering how Fang Rulai had overcome every danger in Pingcheng and even struck back handsomely, it was impossible that she’d done all this alone. The elusive assassin and these newly revealed forces today must have been sent by the Second Prince on her behalf!

Fang Rulai ignored him, raising her arm high before dropping it decisively, just as Sun Chi had moments ago. “Kill! No need to spare any lives!” The answers her enemies sought were never hers to give.

At her command, arrows rained down. This time, they were not the fakes fired earlier, but true arrows meant to kill, their tips glowing faintly blue with poison.

Last night, sending Banxia into the Sun residence was not just about prison-breaking and arson, but also contacting Guan Shiyin. With the Zhao family all but finished, Sun Chi, unrestrained, would surely use Mu Zhijin as bait to wipe them all out. And now, they could seize this chance for a decisive counterattack. Since the greatest threat had revealed himself, there was no need to wait a moment longer.

She wanted to see the end with her own eyes.

Xiao Shi and Sun Chi, however, were not about to stand by and do nothing.

Exchanging a glance, the two leapt back-to-back into the sky. Arrows lose lethality with altitude, so the higher they went, the safer they would be.

The first arrows were swept aside by their palm strikes, and as they ascended, the following arrows lost force before reaching them.

Fang Rulai quickly issued another order. “Go!”

Behind her, Liu the Cripple and the false officers sprang up, wielding officer’s swords as they charged at Xiao Shi and Sun Chi in the air.

Sun Chi gave Xiao Shi a signal: "First capture the leader!"

Xiao Shi twisted midair, blocking all attacks.

Seizing the opportunity, Sun Chi dove downward, firing sleeve darts at Fang Rulai. If he could capture her, what did it matter if he lost all of Pingcheng? He could start anew in Shengjing.

The sleeve darts were swift but few; the archers shot them down with their own arrows.

Zhu Xishi was about to relax, when she looked up and saw Sun Chi already upon them. His sleeve darts, like Xiao Shi’s, were merely a diversion to draw the archers’ attention.

Some archers moved to intercept Sun Chi, but Fang Rulai stopped them with a glance. No need—he couldn’t succeed.

Ignoring Sun Chi’s soft sword, Fang Rulai drew a dagger from her waist—an old blade, but the gem in its hilt shone brilliantly.

She shouted, “Sun Chi, this is the Salt Route token!” and with all her strength, hurled it toward Xiao Shi in the sky.

Sun Chi hesitated—was this the item he’d schemed for over a decade to obtain? Considering the one he’d never caught, the last person the old Madam Lin of the Zhao family had seen was also one of Fang Rulai’s people, perhaps she was telling the truth. Should he keep trying to capture her, or seize the token first?

Xiao Shi, alarmed, dodged an attack and began diving after the dagger. His goal was, naturally, the token thrown his way. Fang Rulai was dangerous, but such a token was a rare find. As he reached for it, he called to Sun Chi, “Lord Sun, quick! Once you have her, we’ll regroup outside the wall!”

Xiao Shi’s plan was simple: with Fang Rulai as a living hostage and the vital Salt Route token in hand, even if they retreated to Shengjing, the Crown Prince would reward them.

But to Sun Chi, in his current panic, the plan sounded different.

The token was valuable, but the person was hard to catch. If Xiao Shi got the token while he risked his life to seize Fang Rulai, the credit would all go to Xiao Shi. That wouldn’t do—he wanted the greatest reward.

A quick calculation, and Sun Chi decided to go for the token first. He twisted in midair, stepping on a flying arrow to propel himself toward the dagger.

He was slightly closer to the token than Xiao Shi—by the length of a sword. But if he tried to grab it, Xiao Shi’s hand would reach it first. So Sun Chi stretched his arm, flicked his soft sword straight, and used the tip to knock the dagger off course. There, Sun Ming was still rolling about on the ground.

“Ming’er, catch the dagger!” Sun Chi shouted.

Guan Shiyin, rolling farther from the token, shouted back, “No! Erming won’t listen to you, you’re the one who killed my mother!”

Xiao Shi, furious, called to Sun Chi, “Lord Sun, how dare you!”

Sun Chi ignored him. He knew he had to get the token himself to survive. He spun in the air, shooting toward Sun Ming.

Xiao Shi dodged more arrows, grabbed one in midair, and hurled it at Sun Chi’s back. He shouted to Sun Ming, “Young Master Ming, as long as you catch the dagger and toss it to me, I can save your mother!”

“Really?” Sun Ming leapt up.

“Of course!”

“All right, I’ll give it to you!” Sun Ming caught the dagger deftly.

Sun Chi cursed his foolish son, but knew this was no time to argue. Accelerating, he cried, “Ming’er, don’t give it to him—give it to your father! I can save your mother too!”

“No, you’re a bad person, Erming will never trust you again!” Sun Ming flung the dagger deliberately past Sun Chi, toward Xiao Shi.

Sun Chi tried to repeat his earlier move, flicking his soft sword straight to redirect the dagger his way. But when he tried to raise his arm, it wouldn’t move. It wasn’t unwillingness—his blood seemed to freeze, his body unresponsive.

As Sun Chi panicked, Xiao Shi’s arrow struck—thunk!—right into Sun Chi’s back. In midair, Sun Chi faltered and began to fall.

Fang Rulai waved her hand, “Kill!”

More arrows flew at Sun Chi.

After his arm, Sun Chi’s legs went numb, then his whole body stiffened. Only his eyes could move, and as more arrows filled his vision, even they froze in terror.

Countless arrows pierced his body, but he felt no pain. As his body failed, his senses faded too.

He crashed to the ground, bristling with arrows like a hedgehog, landing face-to-face with Lin Wan’er. In his death-staring eyes, he saw the faint smile on Lin Wan’er’s lips. Yet, until his last breath, he never realized it was the poisoned jade ruyi he’d seized from Lin Wan’er that cost him his life.

Sun Chi was dead, but no one cared, not even his foolish son, Sun Ming.

At that moment, Sun Ming was running after Xiao Shi, who was laughing triumphantly with the dagger in hand. “I gave you the dagger! Now save my mother!”

Xiao Shi landed atop the high gate tower. With the token in hand, he didn’t flee immediately. Instead, he beckoned Sun Ming closer. “Wait a moment, Young Master Ming. Let me destroy the villains who ruined your family, and then I’ll help save your mother.” Sun Ming was simple-minded but skilled in martial arts, so Xiao Shi dared not betray him just yet.

After pacifying Sun Ming, Xiao Shi tore off his black cloak, revealing his Daoist robes.

With a wave of his hand, a thunderous rumble sounded as the magistrate’s courtyard walls collapsed. Outside, the townspeople of Pingcheng, previously locked out by the false officers, now appeared.

Beyond the townsfolk, standing in the outermost ring, was a group of solemn-faced Daoists in robes.

Xiao Shi’s face was full of righteous indignation as he proclaimed, “People of Pingcheng, I, Shi Changzi, have come by order of the Crown Prince to root out these evil monks. Today, they shall be executed as a warning! I ask you all to bear witness!”

Happy Fifth Day of the Lunar New Year!

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