He carefully explained, "The girl who attended to him last night had drugged him with a knockout drug, rendering him unconscious. This morning, as soon as he woke up, I brought the girl to see him and deceived him into believing that he had divulged secrets while drunk; indeed, he fell for it."
Zhang Hu realized something and exclaimed, "Xiaodao, you really do have a way about you."
Xu Xiaodao asked, "What will you do next?"
Zhang Hu replied, "I just need to report this matter to Incense Master Feng, and then it will be none of my concern."
Xu Xiaodao nodded and responded, "Remember, never mention me."
Zhang Hu smiled and said, "Don’t worry, I know what to say and what not to say."
He could hardly wait any longer, quickly left the room, and made his way through the streets to arrive at Yue Lai Inn.
The three Incense Masters were staying at this inn.
It was almost noon by now. Zhang Hu stopped outside the main gate, took a couple of deep breaths to calm his overly excited emotions.
He had joined the Black Tiger Sect many years ago but had achieved nothing significant, faring much worse than Xu Xiaodao.
But this time, he had finally seized an opportunity.
"With this accomplishment, I can turn my fortunes around."
Zhang Hu grinned broadly, too thrilled to suppress a laugh.
Just then, a dog suddenly dashed past him.
The dog was both ugly and fierce-looking, giving him a fright.
Fortunately, the dog didn’t pay much attention to him. It walked into the inn to roam about, seemingly the inn’s watchdog.
Zhang Hu didn’t pay it much heed and quickly ascended to the second floor, arriving outside a room.
He knocked on the door.
Someone inside asked.
"Subordinate Zhang Hu, I have important intelligence to report!" Zhang Hu spoke up.
Zhang Hu immediately pushed open the door and upon entering, looked up to see three individuals in the room, the three Incense Masters of Cloud Tiger Hall.
Zhang Hu hurriedly bowed and said, "Subordinate pays respect to the three Incense Masters."
Feng Youze looked at him and asked indifferently, "Zhang Hu, what intelligence do you have to report?"
Zhang Hu replied, "Subordinate has confirmed that the murderer who killed Incense Master Gao and others is Fang Zhixing!"
Upon hearing this, the expressions of Feng Youze and the others changed completely.
"Really? How are you certain it was Fang Zhixing?"
Feng Youze stood up, slightly agitated.
Zhang Hu’s expression turned serious and he explained meticulously, "Subordinate learned that during the time Fang Zhixing was in the Black Wind Forbidden Land, he had a follower named Liang Buqing from Iron Mountain Sect. So, I started from him.
This Liang Buqing enjoyed frequenting Hanxiang Building, so I bribed a girl from Hanxiang Building to get Liang Buqing drunk and deliberately elicited information from him, thereby confirming that Fang Zhixing is indeed the murderer."
Feng Youze and the others exchanged looks, their expressions filled with complexity and speechlessness.
Honestly, how those twenty-two people disappeared, no one could clarify, as it was a case with no bodies found.
Without the bodies, how could anyone be sure there was a murderer?
Only God knows how they disappeared?
Regrettably, the deceased included Gao Dachuan, the son of Deputy Hall Master Gao Liansheng.
The matter instantly became complicated.
Under the relentless pressure from an enraged Gao Liansheng, the high-ranking members of Cloud Tiger Hall faced immense pressure.
To give Gao Liansheng an explanation, they concocted a plan to scapegoat someone.
This scapegoat was none other than Fang Zhixing.
Since Iron Mountain Sect and Black Tiger Sect were always at odds—killing one another’s members—it made sense to claim that Gao Dachuan was killed by someone from Iron Mountain Sect.
The reason Fang Zhixing was chosen as the scapegoat wasn’t anything special; he just happened to be there and was simply unlucky.
But they never anticipated...
"Did this inadvertently hit the mark?"
Feng Youze gasped, unaware until investigated, startled even himself with the revelation.
Suddenly, a streak of cold light shot through the window.
The arrowhead was silver, emitting a suffocating metallic chill.
The silver arrow burst through the air, precisely entering the back of Feng Youze, then continued through his chest and flew forward to hit the door frame with a clang.
Blood splattered, exploding into a spray of blood!
Zhang Hu felt warmth on his face, his eyes instantly widened.
He saw a blood hole appear in Feng Youze’s chest, blood joyfully rushing out.
Feng Youze’s body stiffened, he looked down at his chest in disbelief, then slowly fell down.
Time rewound to early morning.
Fang Zhixing got up early, taking Xigou with him to the Iron Casting Hall.
He had two things to do today:
First, produce a batch of Second Level arrows to enhance the power of his archery.
Second, inform Liang Buqing that they would set off for the Third Level Forbidden Land tomorrow.
As they walked along the road, Fang Zhixing’s gaze flickered and he suddenly whispered, "Xigou, someone is following me."
Xigou paused, turned his head to look behind, seeing only a few pedestrians on the snow-covered street in the cold silence, and asked blankly, "Which one?"
Fang Zhixing replied, "The one in the black coat, I encountered this person yesterday and again today, it’s definitely not a coincidence."
Xigou blinked, surprised and asked, "Could it be Luo Peiyun’s man?"
Fang Zhixing shook his head slightly and said, "Even if Luo Peiyun wanted to monitor me, it’s unlikely he would send someone to blatantly follow me in the street."
Xigou thought for a moment and asked, "What should we do?"
Fang Zhixing thought for a moment and replied calmly, "There’s a deep alley up ahead. Let’s lure him in there."
The man and the dog quickly turned into the alley.
The follower, seeing this, immediately quickened his steps and turned the corner!