Chapter 49: Truth

First, the death notices of Silver Fox served as a prelude to the Wooden King's treasure... wait, no," Zhuo Qingfeng said. "From beginning to end, no one had personally witnessed Silver Fox's power. Since Silver Fox appeared two years ago, up until the assassination of Wang Yuanbao, he acted ten times. Each time there was a death notice, and each assassination was successful. However, no one had ever seen Silver Fox's sword. Silver Fox... is fake."

Madam Wang nodded and said, "Both times you saw Silver Fox, it was the real Silver Fox. It's also true that Silver Fox acted ten times and succeeded ten times. However, those nine successes were not accomplished by Silver Fox alone; they were the result of teamwork, intended to establish Silver Fox's reputation as Yunzhou's top assassin and to set the stage for the tenth assassination."

Madam Wang nodded.

"Silver Fox's assassination of Wang Yuanbao was a major event," Zhuo Qingfeng said. "Given Wang Yuanbao's influence, I would inevitably lead a team to protect him. Therefore, from that moment, I was already caught in the scheme. A large net had already been laid at the Wang family estate, waiting for me. The people destined to die had already been prepared, such as the Hermit, Wang Yuanbao, and the Tong brothers."

Madam Wang quickly waved her hand and said in a deep voice, "The Tong brothers truly died. After all, Lord Zhuo, you are extraordinary, and we were concerned you might discover flaws, so our arrangements always mixed truth with falsehood.

The Tong brothers genuinely came to offer their assistance out of jianghu loyalty, as did Lin Buqi of the Bashan Sect. Originally, we planned to kill Lin Buqi, as the Tong brothers were formidable individuals whose minds were in sync, posing a significant risk.

But then, Gu Mo suddenly intervened, insisting on using his connections to get involved. He was a master after all, and if we had deliberately turned him away, it would have seemed abnormal, raising your suspicion, Lord Zhuo. So, we agreed to let Gu Mo come."

Zhuo Qingfeng realized, "So, instigating Lin Buqi to provoke Gu Mo was indeed to personally witness Gu Mo's abilities."

"Precisely," Madam Wang said. "Gu Mo dealt with Lin Buqi with just a casual palm strike. Through that strike, we confirmed that his martial arts were at least as strong as rumored, if not stronger. Since he wasn't familiar with any of us and was highly vigilant, it wasn't easy to act against him. Therefore, relatively speaking, the Tong brothers were easier to eliminate."

Zhuo Qingfeng said, "So, you exploited the Tong brothers' trust in Wang Yuanbao, poisoned them, and then easily killed them, creating a loophole in our surveillance. The Hermit's feigned death... wait, the Hermit is Silver Fox?"

Madam Wang nodded.

"No wonder, no wonder," Zhuo Qingfeng said. "No wonder Silver Fox didn't go on a killing spree that day, but focused solely on escaping. There are few people in Yunzhou's martial arts world with such exceptional movement technique. The Hermit's movement technique is indeed superb. No wonder he wasn't my match later in Dateng Valley after he drew his sword. Silver Fox's strength was never his sword, but his reputation!"

Zhuo Qingfeng took a deep breath and said, "So, when you killed my disciples and colleagues, you disguised yourselves as me to deceive them?"

Madam Wang shook her head and said, "Lord Zhuo, do you truly believe there's a disguise technique that can perfectly deceive? A fake will always be a fake; only what's real has no flaws. At that time, so many people from the Six Doors were protecting my husband. How could anyone guard against my husband poisoning them in secret?"

At this point, Madam Wang chuckled softly. "In fact, Lord Zhuo, had you not been momentarily overwhelmed by the sight of so many of your colleagues' corpses, with your sharp eye, you should have been able to tell that my husband's body at the time was a disguise."

"What about Dateng Valley?"

"That was even simpler," Madam Wang said. "The scholar and the old man with white hair who ambushed you were real. Only Xiao Xuan, who delivered the final sword thrust, was fake. But at that point, you were severely injured and in critical condition; how much ability did you have left to distinguish truth from falsehood? Similarly, Xiao Xuan was also severely wounded and exhausted. When he saw the fake Zhuo Qingfeng suddenly kill the scholar and the old man, in his dazed state, he naturally couldn't tell what was real either. We deliberately spared his life.

As for the yamen's autopsy, the scholar and the old man genuinely used the Turtle Breathing Technique to feign death. Furthermore, by then, the yamen had already identified you as the murderer based on Xiao Xuan's testimony and the deliberately fabricated traces of the Seven Star Sky Sword technique at the scene. With no apparent doubts, they weren't too meticulous with the autopsy."

Zhuo Qingfeng slowly said, "I understand, I understand. You've been preparing this scheme for a very long time, and very thoroughly. The bloody incident at the Wang family estate lured out the Wooden King's treasure and established the Wang family's identity as descendants of his guards. The Dateng Valley massacre fully solidified the authenticity of the Wooden King's treasure, while simultaneously fabricating a false, non-existent descendant of the Wooden King, completely severing the Wang family's identity from the Wooden King's Residence. Those who needed to feign death to escape have vanished, while I was framed for betraying the Six Doors and the imperial court by colluding with the Wooden King's descendant, all for the treasure.

Then, only the final step remained: completing the last link in this lie. And indeed, you studied me too thoroughly, understood me too well. You even anticipated that I would seek Chu Yuan's help. Chu Yuan is that final link. Therefore, you deliberately left some clues, leading me to return to the Wang family to investigate once more."

Madam Wang nodded and said, "Precisely, Lord Zhuo, Lord Chu, you will die now."

"And your death will be silent," Zhuo Qingfeng said. "But tomorrow, many people will see Chu Yuan publicly leave the Wang family with his men, then spread news that they are pursuing Zhuo Qingfeng. Finally, they will die at a certain treasure location, conveniently leaving behind evidence to prove they died by Zhuo Qingfeng's hand. The treasure will have been taken by the Wooden King's descendant and Zhuo Qingfeng. The Wang family, meanwhile, will be seen merely as descendants of a guard, who, to support the imperial court, betrayed ancestral teachings and even handed over the treasure token. Wang Yuanbao will be remembered as a loyal and righteous person who chose death to give his former lord a chance!

From then on, this matter will be closed. The imperial court's goal will be to pursue a non-existent Wooden King descendant and his treasure, along with a dead Zhuo Qingfeng whose body has been utterly destroyed."

Madam Wang sighed and said, "In truth, Lord Zhuo, you are a good official. It's just that the imperial family wouldn't allow us to live, and we had no other choice. Only you were most suitable to help us complete this lie. Everything is fate. I apologize, Lord Zhuo!"

Zhuo Qingfeng said, "I still have doubts..."

Madam Wang waved her hand and said, "Lord Zhuo, I know you are stalling for time. The reason I cooperated with you is because I was also stalling for time. Now, I don't wish to waste any more time!"

In an instant, Zhuo Qingfeng and Chu Yuan's expressions subtly changed.

Their main purpose in talking so much with Madam Wang, beyond seeking the truth, was to buy time. As they left, they had secretly sent word for their subordinates to seek help from the county yamen.

But now, from Madam Wang's tone, it seemed those people had likely met with misfortune.

Silently, once again silently!