Chapter 44: Cause and Effect, Zeng Anmin’s Scheme!!

Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Cause and Effect, Zeng Anmin’s Scheme!!

The old man’s voice was melodious and relaxed, sounding as if he were enjoying a scenic tour.

Seeing the old man appear, Shen Jun, Qi Dachun, and Wang Daoyuan were all taken aback. They glared at him as if facing a formidable enemy. Only Zeng Anmin remained completely expressionless. Instead, he looked at the old man with keen interest and asked, "Are you the hidden member of the Profound Array Department residing within Prince Jiang’s Mansion?"

Since the four of them were not far from the water’s edge, Zeng Anmin’s voice carried over perfectly.

"As expected of the son of a Great Confucian Scholar. To be able to guess my identity, you are truly exceptionally brilliant."

By the time he finished speaking, the small boat had reached the shore. The old man leisurely fanned himself with his Feather Fan. Slowly standing up, he offered a polite bow to Zeng Anmin and chuckled softly. "An outcast of the Profound Array Department, Seventh Grade Array Master Qi Linxian, is here today to humbly invite Young Master Zeng to his death."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the other three—aside from Zeng Anmin—drastically changed. It was only then that they realized they had been caught in a trap by this old geezer!

Qi Dachun, however, threw caution to the wind and shouted directly, "You old bird, sprouting such bullshit! There’s four of us and only one of you. Who gave you such nerve?!"

"Heh heh."

The old man turned a deaf ear to Dachun’s words, merely smiling faintly at Zeng Anmin. "The case of the missing Dragon Inspection Map, the Zhang Lun case, the case of Shen Jun killing his aunt...

"Three consecutive cases, all seen through by Young Master Zeng.

"I must say, Young Master Zeng is truly a god among men.

"But I wonder, did you perhaps fail to foresee your own date of death today?"

A heavy silence fell over everyone.

Zeng Anmin slowly raised his head, locking gazes with Qi Linxian for a long while before breaking into a grin. "It is still unknown who will die today."

Not only were Qi Dachun and Shen Jun stunned by his words, but even Qi Linxian on the boat was slightly taken aback. Then, the old man let out a dismissive laugh. "Hahaha! Since Young Master Zeng knows who I am, you should naturally expect that I wouldn’t utter such laughable words without absolute certainty of victory."

Zeng Anmin nodded slowly, his face devoid of emotion. "True. You killed Zhang Lun to divert attention.

"You had Shen Liu fake his death, intentionally making Xu Yunfeng bait me into killing Shen Jun.

"To muddy the waters, you even risked being punished by King Jiang to send an assassin disguised as the ’Black Cat Martial Artist’ to kill me."

Here, Zeng Anmin let out a long breath. He raised an eyebrow at the old man and smiled. "I am willing to call you a ’Poisonous Scholar.’"

"Heh heh." On the boat, Qi Linxian smiled modestly, seemingly quite flattered by the title. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Then why doesn’t Young Master Zeng take a guess at why I am so confident, daring to come alone to encircle and kill you?"

Zeng Anmin sighed inwardly. It was true that villains always died from talking too much.

"Since you’re so interested, I can chat with you for a bit."

Zeng Anmin chuckled softly. He leisurely found a patch of grass and half-reclined against the hill, positioning himself so he could perfectly maintain eye contact with the old man. It was as if absolutely nothing here posed a threat to him.

"I’m all ears."

With victory seemingly in his grasp, Qi Linxian maintained his smile. Sitting at the bow of the boat, he slowly poured himself a cup of tea. He looked at Zeng Anmin with the gaze one might reserve for a mere actor on a stage.

SNAP. Zeng Anmin reached out and plucked a long blade of grass, resting it in the corner of his mouth. Leisurely crossing his legs, he spoke at an unhurried pace. "Shen Liu was arranged by you, and you were the one who had Shen Jun thrown into prison. The goal was to keep Shen Liu on a tight leash.

"But for the sake of King Jiang’s ’great cause,’ you wanted to take it a step further and swallow up Jin Taiping. That’s why you had Xu Yunfeng leave this case to me.

"If I had killed Shen Jun, not only would Shen Liu pledge his true loyalty to you, but you could also logically annex Jin Taiping...

"However, what you didn’t expect was that I would not only clear Shen Jun’s suspicion, but also set my sights on Shen Liu."

Pausing, Zeng Anmin looked toward the old man on the boat.

Qi Linxian’s expression remained unchanged. Smiling, he gave a slight nod, signaling Zeng Anmin to continue.

Zeng Anmin met his gaze directly, a bright smile spreading across his face. "So, you wanted to quickly kill me and frame the Black Cat Martial Artist. But you never imagined that the Black Cat Martial Artist would actually save my life!

"And that action only made me more suspicious—even certain—that Prince Jiang’s Mansion is planning a rebellion!"

Mr. Qi’s face slightly darkened.

After a long pause, he sighed and let out a low, muffled chuckle. He even set down his Feather Fan and gently clapped his hands.

"Brilliant. Truly brilliant."

A moment later, Qi Linxian looked slightly dazed as he murmured, "If we were not standing on opposing sides, perhaps Young Master Zeng and I could have become good friends despite our age difference."

Zeng Anmin waved his hands repeatedly. "Please don’t! I wouldn’t be able to bear such an honor!"

"If you want to die, I still want to live a few more days," he thought.

"What a pity. For all your calculations, you still missed one step," the old man said, a look of regret crossing his face. He sighed at Zeng Anmin. "Today, Young Master Zeng must still die."

In response, Zeng Anmin burst into hearty laughter. His laughter was long and drawn out, laced with endless mockery.

This sudden laughter left everyone present looking somewhat bewildered.

Dachun, looking utterly confused, asked, "Young Master, what are you laughing at?"

On the boat, Qi Linxian was momentarily startled before letting out an amused chuckle. "Is Young Master Zeng laughing in madness, knowing death is imminent?"

Zeng Anmin stopped laughing. A trace of sarcasm flickered in his eyes as he looked at the old man. "You don’t really think this is all I know, do you?"

His Dan Feng eyes narrowed slightly as his voice dropped, turning deep and powerful. "If you want to catch a fish, you need bait. Since you want to kill me so badly, why wouldn’t I use myself as bait?"

Zeng Anmin raised an eyebrow, a half-smile playing on his lips as he looked at Wang Daoyuan, who was standing not far away. "This is exactly why I asked Wang Daoyuan to come along. Wasn’t it just to send you a message that I was willing to walk right into your trap?"

Wang Daoyuan’s expression shifted slightly.

On the boat, Qi Linxian’s hand trembled, his cloudy pupils abruptly shrinking. He sharply shot a look at Zeng Anmin. "You figured it out?!"

His voice betrayed a hint of alarmed uncertainty.

Zeng Anmin sneered. "Back during the Zhang Lun case at the academy, Wang Lin’s guard, Ah Da, committed suicide before he could even undergo the Interrogation of the Heart.

"Ah Da was merely an Entry Grade Martial Artist, a full two Realms below a guy like Wang Daoyuan.

"Moreover, Wang Daoyuan was standing right beside him. How could he possibly fail to stop Ah Da from killing himself?

"Ever since that moment, I’ve suspected that Wang Daoyuan had secretly pledged allegiance to Prince Jiang’s Mansion!"

At these words, everyone’s expressions changed in unison. Even the old man on the boat froze, his face filled with sheer astonishment.

Wang Daoyuan’s face darkened unpredictably as he narrowed his eyes, glaring death at Zeng Anmin.

Qi Dachun and Shen Jun, however, subtly moved to block Zeng Anmin, looking at Wang Daoyuan with high alert.

At this moment, Zeng Anmin simply sighed, looking toward the boat in disappointment. "After plotting for so long and racking my brains to bait a big fish, I didn’t expect you to be the only one who showed up."

Feeling Zeng Anmin’s knife-like gaze, Qi Linxian felt a burning sensation on his face. His expression darkened, and a murderous intent leaked into his voice. "A brilliant mind indeed! But no matter how much you scheme, you will still die! Do it!"

The moment his words fell, an overwhelmingly powerful aura erupted from Wang Daoyuan, who viciously lunged at Zeng Anmin.

The oppressive strength of a Seventh Grade Martial Artist caused the hearts of everyone on the shore to sink. It felt as if a massive boulder was pressing down on them.

"Watch out, Young Master!" Under this overwhelming pressure, Qi Dachun struggled to move. Bead-sized drops of sweat rolled down his face, yet he still resolutely threw himself toward Wang Daoyuan.

Even though he knew he was no match for Wang Daoyuan, things had come to a point where he had to fight, even if it meant death!

"Heh heh, stop struggling. Your deaths are guaranteed."

Qi Linxian’s voice regained its indifferent tone.

However, just as his words fell—

SWISH!

An incredibly eerie whistling sound tore across the surface of the river.

CRACK.

Wang Daoyuan, who had been lunging at Zeng Anmin, froze in place, a look of complete bewilderment freezing on his face. An arrowhead had pierced straight through the back of his neck, protruding from his throat.

Seeing this dramatic reversal, everyone was stunned. They stared in sheer disbelief at Wang Daoyuan as he suddenly collapsed.

A dignified Martial Artist of the Visualization Realm had just died so inexplicably?!

Even Qi Dachun was left dumbfounded.

Only Zeng Anmin wore a smile as he looked toward the river.

"So to say, your father was also part of your calculations?"

On the river, another small boat slowly appeared as Zeng Shilin’s complicated voice rang out. Standing behind him, Wang Deli, the Commander of the Observation Department, was currently lowering a longbow in his hands.