"Qi Dongqiang has confessed everything."
In a secluded temple on Da'e Peak, a group of mysterious figures clad in black robes sat cross-legged, their hands occasionally twitching as if controlling invisible threads to manipulate something. One of them wore an iron ring on his middle finger and was noticeably larger than the others.
Beside these black-robed figures stood a middle-aged woman in exotic attire. She was bald, with a dark green poisonous snake coiled on her head. The snake's triangular eyes glinted with coldness, and it occasionally flicked its forked tongue. A clear character, "未" (Wei), was visible on the woman's forehead.
Huang Qingcang pushed open the door and addressed the people in the temple, "Qi Dongqiang has confessed everything."
As he spoke, Huang Qingcang and the disciples of the Dian Yi sect stood frozen as if their souls had been extracted.
The man in the black robe stood up, and beneath his hood, the character "巳" (Si) could be vaguely discerned.
"Such a disappointment. He actually revealed so many clues to Yan Shouyi and was always on guard against him," he said in a deep voice. "He was never truly one of us. The Puppeteer only brought him into the Twelve Zodiacs to orchestrate a grand play to destroy Emei."
The "未" character蛊师 (Gu Master) spoke with displeasure, "Because of his flaws, my Gu, painstakingly nurtured, has become ineffective. Dealing with Yan Shouyi now will not be so easy."
"Yan Shouyi cannot die for now," the "巳" character Puppeteer said. "Guanyun Shitai and the others have mysteriously disappeared. They must be hiding somewhere in Mount Emei. If we want to eliminate them completely, we must use Yan Shouyi to find them. Otherwise... we will have to resort to that last resort."
The Gu Master remained silent for a moment and said, "Perhaps we should prepare for both scenarios. Has 'Chou' arrived?"
"He is waiting outside."
"You control Huang Qingcang and deliver the items to the Puppeteer. We two will remain in Mount Emei and have some fun with Yan Shouyi," the Gu Master decided.
As they were all part of the Twelve Zodiacs, the Puppeteer was not the Gu Master's subordinate. Therefore, he considered carefully before agreeing to the Gu Master's plan.
The Puppeteer moved his fingers, and Huang Qingcang took several mobile phones from his pocket.
At that moment, a gust of wind blew from outside, and a figure suddenly appeared beside Huang Qingcang.
The newcomer, holding a mobile phone, said playfully, "Is this all there is?"
"This is enough," the Puppeteer replied.
The newcomer nodded, took the phones, and vanished again like a gust of wind.
The Puppeteer turned back and said to his subordinates, "Qi Dongqiang's death is insignificant. The important thing is that Yan Shouyi must not die! We will observe from the sidelines for now and only intervene if absolutely necessary! If the situation becomes dire... then we will make the worst-case plan and jointly seal him, trapping him for at least three months!"
Three months was enough time for them to accomplish many things.
...
"So, you deliberately hid your identity and infiltrated our ranks because you believed we could find Guanyun Shitai's hiding place, allowing you to finish her off?"
Yan Shouyi paused, then shook his head. "No, how did you know we would come to Mount Emei? Was it the Puppeteer's intelligence? But even so, you alone could never deal with Guanyun Shitai... This means your accomplices have been ambushing in Mount Emei all along, and they can come to your aid at any moment?"
Qi Dongqiang sneered, "You are much smarter than I imagined. It would be interesting to be friends with you."
"You flatter me too much. We can never be friends," Yan Shouyi shook his head, his tone filled with disdain for Qi Dongqiang.
Long Feicheng couldn't help but curse Qi Dongqiang, "Caiyun was truly devoted to you. After all these years together, don't you have any feelings for her?"
Qi Dongqiang pondered for a moment and nodded, "To tell you the truth, I do have some feelings for her. That's why I specifically brought her to the Wuliang Hall and gave her a complete life experience in the place where she chanted scriptures and prayed to Buddha every day, before personally sending her on her way."
"You..."
Long Feicheng pointed at Qi Dongqiang. All the sharp words he usually had were now stuck in his throat.
He suddenly realized that his insults could only be directed at villains.
Qi Dongqiang was a demon!
Demons were neither good nor evil, and insults would have no effect on him.
Poor Caiyun, she genuinely loved Qi Dongqiang. After so many years together, she had finally mustered the courage to take Qi Dongqiang to the mountain gate to ask her master for permission to renounce her vows. She had been prepared to spend her entire life by Qi Dongqiang's side.
But all of this was merely Qi Dongqiang's lie, and even an invitation for disaster that brought Emei Sect to the brink of destruction!
"Son of a bitch..."
Zhuge Ji clenched his fists. He was not good with words, but this time he could no longer restrain himself and let out a crude insult:
"Even Caiyun couldn't change you. I don't believe a master who could raise you like this would be any good! This so-called revenge is just your excuse for indiscriminate killing!"
Zhuge Ji's words seemed to touch a sensitive nerve in Qi Dongqiang. The veins on his forehead suddenly bulged, and his eyes widened with rage. "Say that again?"
Zhuge Ji immediately realized that by insulting Qi Dongqiang's "mother," he had caused such an outburst.
However, Zhuge Ji did not intend to stop. Instead, he added fuel to the fire, "Son of a bitch! Son of a bitch!"
"Shut up!!!"
Qi Dongqiang instantly became ferocious. He grabbed a long staff and swung it towards Zhuge Ji's head!
If this blow landed on Zhuge Ji's head, with his near-zero cultivation, his skull would likely be blown apart on the spot, brains splattering everywhere!
Clang!!!
A pitch-black long saber blocked in front of Zhuge Ji, stopping Qi Dongqiang.
Yan Shouyi, holding the Zanpakuto, said coldly, "I think I've understood what I needed to. Now, what I want to do is send you to hell with my own hands, so you can repent and atone before Yama and Caiyun!!"
"Get lost!"
Qi Dongqiang swung his staff, deflecting the Zanpakuto. His eyes red, he roared, "Do you think you can stop me? I'm done playing! I'll kill you all first, then I'll turn Mount Emei upside down! Even if I have to dig three feet deep, I'll find Guanyun and the others! I'll kill everyone, and then I'll desecrate the grave of Emei Sect's former leader to avenge the past patricide!!"
With that, Qi Dongqiang flipped backward and landed on top of a tall tree, emitting a strange call, like a monkey summoning its companions.
Soon, responses came from all directions. Within moments, Qi Dongqiang's monkey reinforcements arrived.
This time, unlike before, Qi Dongqiang's monkeys were filled with fury, their fangs bared, and they were no longer carrying crude wooden sticks and stones. Instead, they wielded various weapons and tools!
These monkeys were truly demonic monkeys that had killed before!!