The Reticent Blade-Chapter 109 - Entrapment of a Gentleman

Qinghe Prefecture, the most remote city on the border of the Xiangxi region.

In a tavern, Flowerless Butterfly secretly glanced at the man beside her, who was leisurely drinking tea.

Forsaken Phoenix furrowed his brow. Slightly displeased, he said, "Keep staring, and I'll dig out your eyes."

Rao Shuang pouted and turned her head towards the window. Staring at the bustling crowd outside, her mind was still filled with the events of a few days ago.

She understood that she had completely underestimated the man beside her, Forsaken Phoenix. Not only had she misjudged his skills, but also the extent of his vile personality...

***

Five Gods Summit was incredibly steep, and it became more perilous the higher they climbed.

However, with their martial skills, Tang Jinnian and Rao Shuang found the rugged mountain path to be no real obstacle.

The moon had reached its zenith at the same time the two finally reached the summit of the southern summit. Under the moonlight, the numerous halls and houses on the peak appeared faintly visible.

Standing at the summit, they finally understood the origin of the Five Gods Summit's name. The sect consisted of five mountains: a central peak surrounded by a peak in each cardinal direction.

Though the peaks were not far apart, it was impossible to cross between them on foot. Yet the Five Gods Summit had miraculously constructed long suspension bridges that connected the four outer peaks to the central one, enabling free passage between them.

As they climbed the mountain road from the southern mountain, a large hall came into view. Calling it a grand hall might be an exaggeration. It resembled a temple, similar to the dilapidated one they had seen earlier on the mountainside.

The surroundings were eerily silent, and Rao Shuang couldn’t help but hold her breath, stepping lightly as she walked forward. After a while, she noticed the absence of sound behind her and turned to look. Tang Jinnian stood by the cliff's edge, gazing down with a contemplative expression.

"What are you doing?" Rao Shuang whispered sharply.

Tang Jinnian didn’t respond. His gaze kept scanning the central peak. One hand gently stroked his chin, while the other was clasped behind his back, fingers subtly moving as if calculating or manipulating something.

Seeing that Tang Jinnian was ignoring her, Rao Shuang reluctantly walked over. Standing by the cliff, she followed his gaze. It was impossible to tell how high up they were. All she could see was a sea of black clouds roiling below.

Rao Shuang shrank her neck and silently took a few steps back before whispering to Tang Jinnian, "What are you waiting for? If we don’t act soon, it’ll be dawn!"

Tang Jinnian turned his head to look at her, the corner of his mouth curling into a faint smile. "Weren't you unwilling to steal for me? What’s the matter now? Not afraid of being cursed anymore?"

"I’ve already joined your suicide mission!" Rao Shuang spat. "You’ve killed the elder from the inner courtyard, and now, how can I get away? I might as well go all the way and finish the job!"

"Well said!" Tang Jinnian clapped his hands and looked at her with shining eyes. "I was thinking the same. Let's finish what we started"

Seeing his excitement, Rao Shuang’s heart sank. Something didn’t feel right. "Are we... talking about the same thing? What I meant was that since we’ve already killed someone, stealing an item isn’t a big deal..."

"Eh, close enough, close enough." Tang Jinnian patted her shoulder, cutting her off. "That’s roughly what I meant too..."

Rao Shuang wanted to ask further, but Tang Jinnian wasn’t about to give her the chance. He quickly covered her mouth and pointed at the central peak. "Look over there."

Following the direction he was pointing, Rao Shuang finally noticed something bizarre.

The central peak was different from the other four peaks. The other four still somewhat resembled a mountain, with a base, midsection, and summit. But the central peak was thick at both base and the peak and thin in the middle, resembling an hourglass.

The summit wasn't as expansive as the other four peaks, but it was very flat, as if someone had sliced it off with a single sword stroke.

At the center of the summit stood a single grand hall, with no other buildings around. At this moment, except for the brightly lit hall on the central peak, the houses and halls on the surrounding four peaks were pitch-black. Strangely enough, there wasn’t a single figure in sight as the central peak's lights beckoned.

"What is this?" Rao Shuang frowned.

"Heh..." Tang Jinnian let out a cold laugh. "This is the classic 'Entrapment of a Gentleman[1]'."

Rao Shuang remained silent, but she understood. The two of them had made quite a commotion while ascending the mountain. Since even the elder they’d killed had been aware of their presence, it was impossible that the Five Gods Summit was oblivious to their presence. There would be no peaceful resolution today.

"What do we do now?" Rao Shuang asked quietly, eyeing at the brightly lit hall.

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"What else can we do?" Tang Jinnian raised an eyebrow. "Since they're welcoming us, how can we not meet them?"

Rao Shuang pursed her lips and frowned. She naturally disagreed with such a reckless approach. As an assassin, how could she possibly expose herself in such an open and obvious way? Moreover, it was clear that the enemy had made all the preparations and was just waiting for them to walk into the trap. Going up now would be nothing short of suicide.

"What are you waiting for?" Tang Jinnian gave Rao Shuang a shove from behind. "Move."

Rao Shuang panicked and turned back to glare at Tang Jinnian, thinking to herself.

Could this man be in league with the Five Gods Summit? Is he really going to send me in to die first?!

Pah—

The jade pipe knocked against Rao Shuang's head, scattering a trace of ash across her face.

Tang Jinnian also glared at Rao Shuang. "What are you glaring at me for? Even if I were sending you to your death, you’d still have to go! You still owe me two lives."

Rao Shuang was so angry that she clenched her teeth. She crossed her arms and turned around, not moving.

"Not going?" Tang Jinnian raised an eyebrow.

Seeing that Rao Shuang still didn’t respond, Tang Jinnian let out a cold laugh, walked over, and hoisted her up with a single arm clamped around her waist and carried her onto the suspension bridge.

"What are you doing?!" Rao Shuang cried out in shock, then immediately grew furious.

"Forsaken Phoenix, you're asking for death!" She struggled and raised her hand to slap Tang Jinnian across the face.

Whoosh—

The mountain wind howled, and all was deathly silent.

"Still thinking of attacking?" Tang Jinnian tilted his head.

Rao Shuang swallowed hard and glanced down at the bottomless ravine below, not daring to move a muscle.

Tang Jinnian held onto Rao Shuang’s waistband with one hand and dangled her off the side of the bridge, her entire body suspended in mid-air.

"If you don't behave, I'll throw you down." Tang Jinnian looked at Rao Shuang with a playful smirk. "But don't worry, once I’m off this mountain, I'll have that old man at the base go look for your corpse. If the wolves haven’t gnawed it clean by then, I could still use it to make a puppet..."

Rao Shuang's head snapped up, her face filled with terror as she looked at Tang Jinnian.

"Will you behave now?" Tang Jinnian asked with a smile.

Rao Shuang nodded frantically.

"Good." Tang Jinnian nodded in satisfaction, set her down, and led the way forward.

The suspension bridge swayed slightly in the mountain wind, but Rao Shuang still followed closely behind the man in front of her, step by step. She knew that even if she tried to escape, she wouldn't be able to get away from his grasp.

After crossing the suspension bridge and stepping onto the summit of the central peak, the brightly lit grand hall was within sight. Surrounding the hall was a wide and flat plaza, yet still, no one was in sight.

Suddenly, Tang Jinnian turned around and gave Flowerless Butterfly a strange smile.

Rao Shuang instinctively took a step back. "What, what are you doing now?"

Without saying a word, Tang Jinnian pulled her over, and before she could resist, he had already drawn a short sword from her waist.

"What are you going to do?" Rao Shuang asked warily, looking at Tang Jinnian.

Tang Jinnian waved her off, pulled a fan from his chest, and tossed it to Rao Shuang.

"You're good at hiding and have well-trained lightness arts. Find a place to hide and wait for the right moment to sneak into the hall. That's the only place on Five Gods Summit where they’d store the sect's treasure. Once you find the Soul Locking Sunflower, steal it for me."

"And what about you?" Rao Shuang asked.

"Me?" Tang Jinnian glanced sideways at Rao Shuang, still smiling playful. He gripped the short sword in his hand and, with one swing, cut through the rope of the suspension bridge, sending it crashing into the abyss!

Tang Jinnian's eyes were calm, as if he were making a casual remark.

"I'm going to wipe out the Five Gods Summit."

1. a Chinese idiom that literally means "Please, sir, enter the vat." It refers to trapping someone using their own methods—a form of poetic justice or turning the tables on an opponent. This phrase comes from the Tang Dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Zhongzong. A cruel official named Lai Junchen (来俊臣), known for torturing prisoners, used a method where he would heat a large earthen vat (瓮) and force prisoners inside to extract confessions. One day, another official, Zhou Xing (周兴), who also used this brutal method, fell out of favor and was arrested. Lai Junchen tricked Zhou Xing into describing his own torture technique, then ordered him to be subjected to it, saying, "请君入瓮"—"Please, sir, step into the vat." ☜