Chương 66: Wang Shan and Yu Yi — A Game of Chess

Someone wanted to kill him? Su Zhe froze for a moment, unsure what to say. The first thought that flashed through his mind was: There are plenty of people who want me dead. Which one are we talking about? But Yu Yi looked genuinely anxious, his words urgent and sincere. Su Zhe's expression turned solemn.

"Brother Yu, calm yourself. Who is trying to take my life?"

"Please, tell me." Yu Yi's chest rose and fell. A flicker of shame crossed his face before he sighed and said, "It's my master… My master wants to kill you." Wang Shan? To be honest, Su Zhe was not especially surprised. Sun Tiexin had mentioned something similar before. Back when County Lieutenant Wang came to the Blacksmith Gang under a fabricated charge, intending to take Su Zhe away, the lieutenant had brought yamen constables straight into the gang's grounds.

The Blacksmith Gang's security was handled by Army-Breaker Hall. So why had Army-Breaker Hall allowed County Lieutenant Wang into Craftsman's Heart Hall? What had they been planning? Su Zhe frowned.

"Didn't Hall Master Wang leave with the three major powers to wipe out Yandang Mountain?"

"How could he kill me?" Yu Yi let out a long breath and slowly explained.

"Master… Master has returned."

"Yesterday, he came to me in secret and told me to go back to my home village within the next few days."

"Unless he personally comes for me, I'm not to show myself again before the special envoy from Swordsmith Villa arrives." Su Zhe raised an eyebrow but said nothing, quietly listening as Yu Yi continued. As it turned out, Yu Yi came from Hunting Village, a remote settlement on the outskirts of Lu County. The villagers lived off Great Ming Mountain, surviving as mountain roamers—hunters, herb-gatherers, and treasure seekers. Yu Yi's mother had fallen gravely ill, and his father had died in the mountains.

To pay for his mother's treatment, Yu Yi took up a hunting blade and entered the wilderness. Relying on nothing but courage and desperation, he slew three vicious wolves by himself. By coincidence, Yang Dingtian and Wang Shan were passing through Great Ming Mountain at the time. They saved Yu Yi when he was exhausted and surrounded by the wolf pack. After examining his bones and meridians, Yang Dingtian discovered that Yu Yi possessed extraordinary talent for martial cultivation.

That was how Yu Yi eventually entered the Blacksmith Gang as an apprentice. During his three years of apprenticeship, Wang Shan deliberately looked after him. Most importantly, Yu Yi's mother had survived largely because of Wang Shan's help. Not long ago, when Yu Yi's mother fell seriously ill again, Wang Shan even sent Huang Yuan, the Wang Manor's steward, to deliver money and hire a doctor for her.

"That is no small kindness," Su Zhe said after hearing the story, unable to hold back a sigh. Wang Shan was no good man. The reason he had treated Yu Yi so well was because of Yu Yi's talent. Wang Shan wanted to ride Yu Yi's future rise into Swordsmith Villa and obtain a superior cultivation art. But he had saved Yu Yi's mother. That much was true. Even if he had done it for his own gain, so what? An open scheme was still one of the highest forms of strategy.

Even if you knew exactly what the other party wanted, could you really break free from it? It was no different from the deathsworn warriors in Su Zhe's previous life. A man would die for one who truly understood him. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Yu Yi fell silent. His eyes reddened, and his jaw tightened.

"During the year-end temple fair, I took the chance to return home."

"That was when I learned the truth from the barefoot doctor."

"My mother's illness was never anything serious. But every so often, Huang Yuan would visit Hunting Village and pay the doctor to keep her on slow-acting medicine. It controlled her condition, making sure she remained too weak to carry anything heavy or do any real work."

"All these years… my mother suffered for nothing." Su Zhe was stunned. He had thought Wang Shan was merely using the old method of raising a loyal retainer. He had not expected the man's methods to be so vicious. If there was no hardship, he would create one. Wang Shan had used Yu Yi's mother's illness as a leash, controlling Yu Yi step by step. But he had not expected that Huang Yuan and the other trusted men of the Wang Manor would all end up dead.

With his capable subordinates gone, Wang Shan could no longer manage everything at once. And in the end, Yu Yi discovered the truth.

"After going around in circles, this karma has somehow come back to me," Su Zhe said with a bitter smile. He suddenly felt that the workings of fate were truly strange. If Mad Shark had not wanted to devour martial artists' flesh and blood to heal his injuries, he would not have used the precious Rainbow Trout as bait. If Su Zhe had not been lured in by the Rainbow Trout, he would not have killed Mad Shark.

If he had not killed Mad Shark, he would not have clashed with Huang Yuan and the Wang Manor's Thirteen Guardians beneath Deadwood Bridge on the Su River. And if Huang Yuan had not died, the barefoot doctor in Hunting Village would have continued receiving hush money and never dared reveal the truth. One event linked to another, until the whole matter formed an ouroboros—a snake swallowing its own tail. And now Yu Yi had brought that truth to Su Zhe.

"Master did show me kindness. If not for him, I would have died back then, and my mother would never have survived on her own. I would not have the skills I possess today."

"But he lied to me for years. He made my mother suffer for years for no reason…"

"If it were anything else, I, Yu Yi, might have kept silent. But Brother Su and I competed fairly for the opportunity offered by Swordsmith Villa. We relied on our own ability and talent. I lost, and I accepted that wholeheartedly."

"But Master wants to kill Brother Su so that Swordsmith Villa will have no other choice but to take me as its disciple."

"Brother Su, I admire your character. I, Yu Yi, refuse to benefit from such despicable conduct!" Yu Yi's eyes were bloodshot. His gaze was firm, his fists clenched, and every word rang with conviction. Looking back on his days since joining the sect, Yu Yi realized he had always been alone. Because of his withdrawn and proud nature, other disciples often stabbed him in the back, whispered about him, and pointed fingers behind his back. He had never had a real friend. Only Su Zhe…

Su Zhe had been approachable and warm. In Yu Yi's heart, Su Zhe was his only friend. And Yu Yi would not allow his only friend to die at his master's hands.

"Cough… You flatter me. Truly, you flatter me." Even Su Zhe felt a little embarrassed by the praise. To be honest, Su Zhe was gentle in appearance but dark-hearted beneath the surface. In secret, he had killed quite a few people. On the outside, however, he was as warm and refined as polished jade, treating everyone with easy kindness. Yu Yi was cold on the outside but warm within. He seemed proud and aloof, but in truth, he was just a stubborn, awkward young man.

Back then, in order to learn the Baleful Tiger Saber as quickly as possible, Su Zhe had even played a few tricks on Yu Yi. He had never expected… Ah, Yu… you actually took it seriously? Though Su Zhe felt awkward, he was not about to tear off the "imperial robe" Yu Yi had draped over him and hypocritically cry, "You people have wronged me terribly!" Instead, Su Zhe lifted a hand and motioned for Yu Yi to continue.

"Yesterday, Master came to me in great secrecy. No one else knew. He told me to return home."

"Because once he kills Brother Su, Sun Tiexin will certainly fly into a rage. Even without evidence, he will inevitably direct his anger toward Army-Breaker Hall. If I return home first and wait until the dust settles, then come back afterward, even Sun Tiexin will be powerless to stop things."

"As for Yandang Mountain, I don't know the details. But I do know something seems to have gone wrong."

"The three major powers of Lu County are trapped on Yandang Mountain and in grave danger. But Master had made preparations in advance and escaped early. That is why he came back—to carry out his plan to kill you." Yu Yi explained everything in a steady voice. Yandang Mountain was in danger?

"Old Sun won't be in trouble, will he?" Su Zhe could not help feeling worried. But soon he pushed the thought aside. He had given Sun Tiexin three drops of precious blood. That old man's life was tougher than anyone's.

"Where is Wang Shan now?" Su Zhe asked calmly.

"I don't know. After yesterday, I could no longer find any trace of him."

"But before he left, he said one thing…" Yu Yi shook his head.

"What did he say?"

"He said…" Yu Yi took a deep breath, imitating Wang Shan's deep voice and imposing tone.

"Hmph! Old Iron Bull, you treat that brat Su Zhe as the legendary heir of the Ancestor and place all your hopes on him. Do you think this old man knows nothing?" The Ancestor's heir… Su Zhe's brows drew together. A moment later, a flash of insight crossed his mind. He seemed to understand what those words meant. The heir of the Blacksmith Ancestor was said to appear only once in a thousand years. Sun Tiexin had already decided that Su Zhe was that person.

And according to Sun Tiexin, the three giants of the Blacksmith Gang had all once borrowed the Fire-Tempering Furnace to refine and purify their inner force. Which meant Wang Shan had likely guessed that Su Zhe was hiding in the Ancestor's secret chamber. In that case… Wang Shan was very likely lying in ambush inside the chamber, waiting to assassinate him. And because Yu Yi had come to warn him, Su Zhe had just happened to leave the chamber.

"This man cannot be allowed to live." Cold sweat seeped down Su Zhe's back. With his current abilities, he was not afraid of Wang Shan in a direct fight. But if Wang Shan had struck while Su Zhe was stoking the furnace and melting metal, launching a sneak attack from the shadows… Ten Su Zhes would not have been enough to survive. Wang Shan was powerful, cunning, and venomous. If Su Zhe let such a man live, he would have to guard against that vicious tiger every single day, waiting for it to sink its teeth into him.

That was no way to live.