Embers of Sword

Chapter 768 Gouxian
"What was the name of that girl just now?"

"Your Excellency, her name is... Kui Ning."

In the dungeon, the candlelight flickered. Geng Ba covered his burning cheeks, bent over, and replied in a trembling voice.

The father and daughter from before have been "acquitted".

Geng Ba had a vague idea of ​​what Lord Nalan was going to do.

This father and daughter are definitely connected to Buddhism... Releasing them now will most likely lead them to contact their superiors on the dark side. But they've just endured torture and escaped death; how could they be so naive? In his opinion, this father and daughter will most likely leave Xuanbei Pass and flee south without looking back.

"Keep an eye on Wei Ning."

Nalan Qiutong didn't care about that "father" at all. She calmly said, "Wait until she returns to Xuanbei Pass alone and seizes the Buddhist secret contact with her."

"My lord, what is the meaning of this?"

Geng Ba was bewildered.

It seems that Lord Nalan also believed that the father and daughter would flee south immediately.

But... why would someone who has finally escaped from Xuanbei Pass and regained their freedom come back on their own initiative?

"..."

Nalan Qiutong remained silent, only coldly gazing at Geng Ba.

Geng Ba quickly lowered his head, realizing he had overstepped his bounds. Lord Nalan only issued orders; how could he have the right to ask questions?
Not long after.

The south gate of Xuanbeiguan was wide open.

Han Li's iron cavalry took over the inspection work at the city gate, and the Buddha mirror that had been hanging high on the city wall was also taken down.

The danger seemed to have passed.

But in reality... the hook and pincers spread out like a large net without a sound.

In a secluded corner shrouded by the city wall's protective array, Nalan Qiutong and the Flower Master stood side by side, leaning against the railing as they gazed into the distance.

Dust billowed in the distance as a carriage sped away from Xuanbei Pass, heading south.

“Xuanbei Pass is a death trap for Buddhist sects. How can Junior Sister make that ‘Kui Ning’ return?”

The Flower Master has already heard about the dungeon.

She spoke with a smile, somewhat curious.

"If you have nothing to do, senior sister can guess."

Nalan Qiutong blinked.

"If it were me, I would probably set up a grappling hook outside the pass and deliberately expose myself."

The Flower Master pondered for a moment and said, "These hidden agents of Buddhism, although they have no cultivation and are just ordinary people, have extremely high awareness... These people can almost be called 'death warriors.' The fact that Kui Ning and her father were able to withstand the torture of the Hook Pliers Master all night must mean that they were already prepared to die."

"Senior sister is trying to use a 'flaw' to lure the enemy."

Nalan Qiutong laughed and said, "If this father and daughter discover the hook pincer master's ambush, they will turn back and risk their lives to spread the news."

Now that the city gates are wide open and the hook-and-pinchers have withdrawn, it is the perfect opportunity for the Buddhist secret agents to escape.

If it is possible to sacrifice oneself to prevent a large number of spies from being wiped out in one fell swoop.

The father and daughter would not hesitate for even a moment.

"That's a good idea."

Nalan Qiutong added, "However... in this way, the traces are rather obvious."

How notorious, cunning, and treacherous are the hook-and-pinchers?
It is highly unusual that a father and daughter, who have no cultivation and are suspected of having ties to Buddhism, survived after coming into contact with the Hook Pliers Master.

Then, by sheer coincidence, they encountered a hook and pliers lurking in the shadows.

Where in the world are there so many coincidences?
When this reached the ears of those Buddhist monks, it was certainly suspicious.

Upon hearing this, the Flower Master frowned slightly. She thought about it carefully. Nalan Qiutong had previously instructed Geng Ba to only keep an eye on Wei Ning... She was just a fourteen or fifteen-year-old child. If she really wanted to make contact with the Buddhist secrets, she should have been keeping an eye on her father.

and many more.

She suddenly guessed Nalan Qiutong's plan.

"It's actually very simple." Nalan Qiutong stopped being mysterious and said with a smile, "You only need to kill one."

There was no need for complicated planning to stop the father and daughter from heading south.

All you need to do is... kill Wei Ning's father.

"Everyone has a string in their heart."

Nalan Qiutong said casually, "Senior Sister, the Mysterious Subtle Technique isn't actually some profound and unfathomable art. What Master taught me was to capture the ugly aspects of all living beings and precisely pluck out a certain chord in people's hearts to achieve the desired result. As long as someone is human... they will be afraid of death. Where can a fourteen or fifteen-year-old child go without a father? Those great Buddhist practitioners always claim to be compassionate and merciful, how could they bear to watch a child who sacrificed his life for Buddhism and lost his blood relatives wander pitifully and alone in the pass?"

When we met in the dungeon earlier.

Nalan Qiutong then used her string magic to sever the lifeline of Kui Ning's father, leaving him with less than half an hour to live.

Soon, Wei Ning's father will "die of exhaustion".

Of course... if it were simply a matter of killing Wei Ning's father, this situation wouldn't be considered secure either.

Thus, Nalan Qiutong planted a "string" in the heart of Kui Ning's father to ensure that the "goodness" in human nature would be stimulated to the greatest extent.

Over the years, Fanyin Temple has attracted many believers and spread good karma far and wide.

Many ordinary people willingly stepped forward in this torrent of "anti-Buddhism"... Nalan Qiutong did not doubt the determination of the father and daughter to "sacrifice themselves". If he were conscious, the father might have sent Wei Ning south to completely sever ties with Buddhism, thus avoiding the exposure of the secret agents of Xuanbei Pass.

just.

He is, after all, a father.

If he flees south for his life, Wei Ning will likely die on the way.

Only by returning to Xuanbei can Kui Ning possibly survive.

something like that.

We've dealt with far too much in the past two years.

Nalan Qiutong was quite certain that as long as he could draw out the "benevolent string" in his father's heart, he would soon be able to see the scene he wanted to see—

"Crash!"

As they talked, sandstorms raged in the distance, and the speeding carriage returned, emerging from the sandstorm.

However, the tall, blood-soaked coachman from before has now been replaced.

The petite and slender Kui Ning rolled up her sleeves, put on a bamboo hat, and drove her carriage alone.

The straw hat covered most of his face, but one could still vaguely see that sand and tears were mixed together and swept to both sides by the gale.

The wind howled.

Kui Ning gritted her teeth, the small girl pulling on the taut reins, carrying the heavy carriage, and desperately galloping towards Xuanbei Pass.

This girl is like a lone boat in a raging sea; even if you can't see her face, you can feel her resolute and unyielding determination.

Poor thing, so cute...

It also carried a hint of sadness.

"Look, they're back."

Nalan Qiutong stood with his hands behind his back, a slight smile on his lips.

The smile contained both mockery and sarcasm directed at ordinary people, as well as self-satisfaction and pride in his own plans.

No complicated layout required.

No elaborate design is needed.

The game is set by human nature, and the pieces are good and evil.

Once Kui Ning returns to Xuanbei Pass, the case of apprehending the Buddhist cultivators within the pass will have a lead. The Hook Pliers Master excels at unraveling cases meticulously; once one Buddhist cultivator is captured, the second, the third… will soon follow.

The situation is excellent!
"Lord Nalan, Lord Flower Master."

Just then, a hook-and-pincher rushed up from the city wall to report, his voice tense.

"A fight has broken out over Xiyuan Street!"

(End of this chapter)