Stranger Danger-Chapter 1697: Plot

Since the Four Villains and Five Evils were gone, it meant that most of the dangers plaguing the Golden Road were gone as well.

The Four Villains and Five Evils were far, far more dangerous than the Three Anomalies because the Three Anomalies were ultimately just places. If you grasped their rules, then you could overcome them safely every time.

The Four Villains and Five Evils were different though. They were sentient beings that could not be circumvented by following some rules or defeated because they were so powerful. On top of that, they were vicious, cruel, and bloodthirsty. Encountering them usually meant an inescapable death.

That was why the merchants who relied on the Golden Road to make a living were overjoyed to hear that the Four Villains and Five Evils were dead. Those who had lost families and loved ones to them especially were in tears. Happy tears, of course.

Not everyone was happy by their deaths though. Some people were very sad and worried.

These people were the ones backing the Five Evils, of course.

The reason the Five Evils were able to run rampant at the Golden Road and survive numerous attempts to eradicate them wasn’t just because they were powerful. It was also because they had powerful backers that secretly shielded them from most harm.

These people hailed from Wei or the Western Regions. Some were powerful and influential kings who ruled over an entire region like Wei Nandou. Some were the lords or kings of Zheyan, Shule, Shache, Wusun, and other western nations.

After all, the Golden Road was basically a chunk of meat so fat you could see the sheen all the way from either side of the road. Anyone who occupied it was guaranteed to eat themselves into pigs.

That was why Wei and many nations of the Western Regions invested many years into it. Some were ultimately able to carve out a foothold on the Golden Road.

Now, it was all gone.

It wasn’t just gone. Their ill-gotten wealth was gone as well.

Everything they invested for the past few decades had gone up in smoke as well.

Naturally, these people were both stunned and furious. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

But more than fury, they were afraid.

If they lost people, they could always recruit more. If they lost money, they could always earn more. But if they died, then they would have nothing.

Who knows if the maniac who killed the bandits would decide to come after them and slaughter them to the last as well?

Sure, they were either kings, lords, or important ministers of a country. Sure, they were guarded by many powerful elites. However, this maniac dared to offend even the Pingshun King. With that in mind, why would they fear them?

Perhaps the most troublesome part was the fact that they still didn’t know who was the one behind this or what they were aiming for.

There was nothing scarier than the unknown.

For a time, the masterminds behind the Five Evils were unable to work, eat or sleep in peace. Fear haunted them every step of the way.

Of course, just because they didn’t know didn’t mean no one knew. There was one person who knew exactly what had happened and was both stunned and furious as a result.

That man was, naturally, Wei Nandou.

Right now, Wei Nandou and Yu Shuanglu were looking at the trembling Tong Nian and the bloody head inside a wooden box with gloomy expressions.

“So, you’re saying that they are Sages!”

A long time later, Wei Nandou finally opened his mouth and spoke up.

Shaking all over, Tong Nian stammered, “Y-yes, t-they... they are Sages.”

He was trembling not just because Wei Nandou was intimidating. It was also because he still hadn’t recovered from the horrifying experience.

Wei Nandou continued coldly, “So, this is the result of your investigation.”

Tong Nian hurriedly slammed his head against the floor. “Forgive me, Your Highness! This subordinate failed to investigate the duo thoroughly and committed a grave mistake! This subordinate begs for your forgiveness!”

“Forgiveness? You dare ask for forgiveness?”

Yu Shuanglu grabbed a tea cup from the table and flung it at Tong Nian’s head, breaking it. “Two Sages! Do you even understand what kind of trouble you’ve brought to our doorsteps?!”

“This subordinate understands he deserves death! Even so, this subordinate begs for your mercy, Your Highness, queen consort...”

Tong Nian ignored the blood staining the floor and kept kowtowing.

Yu Shuanglu yelled, “Useless thing! Men! Drag him away and execute him! Feed his body to the dogs!”

“Silence!”

Before she could finish, Wei Nandou interrupted her, “You may take your leave, Tong Nian.”

“Thank you, Your Highness. Thank you!” Shocked but ecstatic that he somehow cheated death, Tong Nian kowtowed a couple more times before beating a hasty retreat.

After Tong Nian was gone, Yu Shuanglu asked in puzzlement, “Why did you let him go, husband?”

“Are you seriously asking me that? This is all because of you!”

Wei Nandou abruptly unleashed a wave of killing intent, and Yu Shuanglu staggered backward and fell to the floor as if she was struck by a terrible blow. “Do not forget that Tong Nian is yours.”

Yu Shuanglu hurriedly dropped to her knees and pleaded with an aggrieved expression, “Forgive me, husband. You... you know I was just trying to take revenge for you. How could I know that they were both Sages? It’s all Tong Nian and his men’s fault...”

Yu Shuang instinctively tried to talk her way out of the blame, but then Wei Nandou’s bloodthirst abruptly solidified until it felt like a physical object. She felt as if a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood were engulfing her bit by bit.

Realizing that Wei Nandou truly desired to kill her, Yu Shuanglu stopped arguing and pleaded desperately, “Mercy, husband! This concubine... this concubine admits her mistake.”

“Always failing, never succeeding. You and your son are the exact same!”

Wei Nandou glared at Yu Shuanglu with bloodshot eyes. Right here and now, he truly wanted to kill Yu Shuanglu. However, he remembered Yu Shuanglu’s identity and were ultimately able to push down his bloodthirst. “Hmph! Rise.”

“Thank you, husband. Thank you...” Yu Shuanglu thanked him repeatedly while hiding a sigh of relief.

As the blood red killing intent in Wei Nandou’s eyes slowly faded, he said, “I suppose it’s not really your fault. Since they are Sages, they must be extraordinary. It could not be easy to dig out their true background.”

“After all, even I do not recognize them.”

“Thank you for your understanding, husband.” Yu Shuanglu let out a sigh of relief before asking carefully, “So... are we going to let this slide?”

Wei Nandou sneered. “What, is it not enough that you have courted death once?”

Yu Shuanglu hurriedly explained herself, “You misunderstand, husband. It’s just that we already offended the two Sages. What if they refuse to let go and come after us?”

“Besides, they are acquaintances of Xiahou Zun. It would be even more difficult to deal with them if they form an official alliance with each other.”

Wei Nandou did not comment about this. “What do you want to do then?”

Ruthlessness flickered in Yu Shuanglu’s eyes. “I believe we should take them out first before they take us out.”

Wei Nandou continued speaking calmly, “And how would you do that, exactly? Send more men after them?”

Yu Shuanglu shook her head. “There’s no need to go through all that trouble. We can just lend the appropriate people a knife[1].”

“They took out the puppets of the Western Nations, didn’t they? We can leak their information and tell them they are the ones those two are after. They will not sit idly and wait for death to claim them, so they will surely mount a powerful retaliation. We can make them eliminate those two for us.”

Wei Nandou sneered. “You think those useless pieces of garbage will succeed?”

Yu Shuang grew increasingly excited as she spoke. “Even if they fail, we can play the oriole or the fisherman. The Western Regions are our domain. Once they have tired each other out, we can take them all out in one fell swoop!”

“Hahaha... what a good plan you’ve concocted!”

Wei Nandou laughed, but it was a disdainful, ridiculing laugh. “If my goal is to depart for the afterlife as soon as possible, then your plan surely has the highest chance of success!”

1. In case you do not remember this metaphor, it means making others do their dirty work for them. ☜