Xigou chuckled mockingly, "Don’t be too confident. If no one could figure out that you are the murderer, then what is this extortion letter all about?"
Fang Zhixing’s mouth curled into a sneer, "This is indeed an extortion letter, but it’s not about extorting my money."
Xigou’s CPU nearly overheated, his understanding vague and uncertain.
Fang Zhixing explained carefully, "The person who wrote the letter suspects that I am the murderer who killed Shen Zhiyue, but he just suspects it without any evidence, and he cannot be sure whether it was indeed me, so he used this letter to test the waters."
Xigou couldn’t help but shiver, stuttering, "Damn, the other party is scheming against you, fishing for a reaction?!"
"Exactly, they are fishing!"
Fang Zhixing nodded and clicked his tongue, "If I were to show up at the meeting, the other party would surely chalk it up to a guilty conscience, firmly believing that I am the murderer."
Xigou suddenly realized the truth.
Fang Zhixing muttered thoughtfully, "Aside from me, there must be others who have also received similar extortion letters."
Xigou couldn’t help but wonder, "Could the sender be the Shen family? Are they casting a wide net, and whoever gets caught is in trouble?"
Fang Zhixing scoffed, "If this is indeed the Shen family’s doing, it merely shows how desperate and out of options they are, unable to ascertain the murderer through normal investigative means."
Xigou thought about it and agreed that with Fang Zhixing’s intellect and action, it was indeed difficult for others to catch him by the short hairs.
In fact, had Xigou not participated on the night Shen Zhiyue was killed,
the Shen family’s investigation into the murderer would have been even more clueless, making it impossible to suspect Fang Zhixing.
Thinking of this, Xigou’s heart felt even heavier.
Currently, not only was he unable to assist Fang Zhixing, but he had also become a burden. How could this be?
Xigou, too, cared about his dignity. Being in such a plight was embarrassing for him and he was struggling to cope.
Sunset arrived in the blink of an eye.
No invitation arrived from Wu Hongqiu; there was no appointment tonight.
Fang Zhixing was happy to enjoy some downtime, leaning back and falling asleep early with Hongye.
But in the dead of night!
A pigeon landed on the windowsill, cooing nonstop, waking them both.
Fang Zhixing got up, went downstairs, caught the pigeon, and removed the scroll tied to its leg.
"Head immediately to Gourd Village, one hundred and thirty miles southwest of the city, and eliminate Xiang Wenhong, the Young Sect Master of the Red Flower Sect."
The Red Flower Sect again!
Fang Zhixing frowned, unrolled the map, and looked for it carefully.
The map of Qinghe County was expansive, the southwest direction hilly and watery.
But where was Gourd Village?
Hongye also came downstairs, pondering, "Gourd Village might just be a small hamlet that is unmarked on the map."
Fang Zhixing was speechless.
A small village barely the size of a dot, and they expected him to fumble around in the dark trying to find it?
What sort of brain came up with that decision?
Even so, criticism aside, Fang Zhixing knew that now was not the time to turn back.
He quickly began gathering his weaponry.
Hongye asked, "Shall we summon Ma Zhengming?"
Fang Zhixing paused to consider and then nodded, "Let’s call him."
Ma Zhengming was at least of Four Beasts Realm, capable of fighting.
Soon, the two of them stealthily left through the secret passage, heading unwaveringly into the night, disappearing into the distance.
About two hours later, dawn was approaching.
The wind howled, and the night grew denser, like an indecipherable ink blot.
Fang Zhixing rode hard, passing through a swath of woodland, when suddenly a crossroad appeared ahead.
He stopped, scanning around.
Under the dim starlight, a stele stood at the roadside of the junction.
Fang Zhixing’s eyes sparkled, his face showing a trace of excitement.
Ma Zhengming glanced a few times and pointed to one of the paths, "Master, the sign says Gourd Village is in this direction."
Fang Zhixing nodded, "Good, let’s hurry on."
They rode on, following a narrow, weed-covered path in the dark.
Shortly after, Fang Zhixing looked up to see a low-lying valley ahead, shaped like a gourd.
The valley was lined with houses, and suddenly a few roosters crowed.
They dismounted and surveyed Gourd Village from above.
It was indeed a small hamlet, with no more than a hundred houses, most of them rudimentary and dilapidated.
Ma Zhengming hesitated, "Master, now that we’ve found Gourd Village, what’s next?"
Fang Zhixing counter-questioned, "What do you think?"
Ma Zhengming analyzed, "The mission tasks us to ambush Xiang Wenhong here. I think there are two possibilities, one is that Xiang Wenhong will arrive here today, and the other is that Xiang Wenhong has already been hiding here, perhaps planning to move today."
Fang Zhixing’s mouth curled slightly with a faint smile, "Whichever it is, as long as we guard the village entrance, we are bound to encounter Xiang Wenhong, right?"
Ma Zhengming nodded and bowed repeatedly, flattery abounding.
Without further ado, they dismounted, secured the horses, and stealthily approached the valley mouth.
They split up, one on each side, guarding both flanks of the village entrance.
The roosters kept crowing.
Under the roosters’ relentless effort, the horizon gradually showed the first light of dawn.
Suddenly, the sound of hooves echoed from within the village.
Fang Zhixing slightly narrowed his eyes, scanning all around the village.
Soon he spotted four people coming out from behind a thatched cottage, each leading a horse.
The individuals were a young man in white, two young women, and an elderly gray-clad servant with white hair and beard.