Chapter 509: Chapter 508: Tall Tales

The Fake Castle Master’s throat tasted metallic, and he looked down at his own chest.

A sword was pierced through his chest.

And the sword’s hilt was in the hand of Lu Qing, who had appeared behind him at an unknown time.

“You…” The Fake Castle Master was shocked and furious, the intense pain from his chest prevented him from speaking any further, he could only stare at Lu Qing with wide eyes.

Lu Qing at this moment looked completely different from before.

On his face, there was no trace of dark clouds gathering, no impending storm, no anger or distress!

Even though most of his face was covered by a fake skin, his cold eyes and the cold smile at the corner of his lips seemed to be telling the Fake Castle Master that he hadn’t believed a single word of his plan just now.

“Why…” The Fake Castle Master dared not move, being a martial artist himself, he could sense that Lu Qing’s sword was aimed straight at his vital point, yet the force was so precise that a bit less would give him room to resist, a bit more would pierce his heart, leaving him no chance to speak another word.

Such precise measure couldn’t be achieved by chance; Lu Qing did it intentionally and with a certain purpose.

“Did I just… not say it clearly enough?” The Fake Castle Master asked, trembling as he endured the intense pain.

He really couldn’t understand how just now everything seemed to be going smoothly as planned, Lu Qing’s every reaction matched his expectations perfectly, so how…

Everything, precisely…

The Fake Castle Master widened his eyes, squeezing out words between his teeth: “You… never believed me from the start…”

“Of course.” Lu Qing raised his chin slightly, looking at him with a faint smile, holding the sword steadily in his hand, “If I believed every lie, I wouldn’t be alive today.

Just now, I was merely acting according to your intention, now it’s the right time to do the real thing.”

Lu Qing lifted his other hand, and in his palm was a brass pendant: “I listened to your story, but I’m more interested in hearing from your true mastermind behind the scenes what his version of the truth is.”

As he spoke, the sword in his hand swiftly exerted force, piercing through the Fake Castle Master’s chest without a trace of blood in a blink of an eye.

Before the Fake Castle Master could let out a groan, Lu Qing swiftly pulled the sword out and kicked the Fake Castle Master off the curved bridge, sending him crashing into the pool below.

A burst of red water splashed in the pool, and just like the previous two times, with a churning burst of fervent water, when the water surface calmed down again, the blood color had not faded, only the clothes of the Fake Castle Master were left floating in the water.

Zhu Yu had initially felt that the man-eating fish in the water were truly cruel and couldn’t help but feel terrified.

But seeing the Fake Castle Master devoured in an instant in the water, leaving no remains, she felt strangely pleased.

Naturally, the same sense of pleasure was shared by the rune and Fu Lu.

“Master, although we pretended for him just now, I really find that scoundrel completely intolerable!” Fu Lu glanced at the clothes in the water and snorted, “I say, there’s no need for you to personally deal with such filthy scum, let us two brothers handle it, why dirty your hands and sword!”

Lu Qing toyed with the brass pendant in his hand and tucked it back into his bosom: “That Fake Castle Master kept saying that his master—the senior brother who ventured to Jin Country—was instructed by someone, hence colluding with the insider to poison.

If that were true, how could the pendant my grandfather cherished have fallen into these people’s hands?

Even if it’s not him, at least the mastermind behind this is tied with the incident of my grandfather and family’s murder back then, perhaps it goes beyond just acquiring the Jade Snowbird.

So even if it’s just a small fry, I have to personally cut him down.”

“So, you didn’t believe a word of what he said earlier, did you?” Zhu Yu felt a bit relieved now, and asked.

Lu Qing chuckled after hearing her words and shook his head: “I don’t completely believe or disbelieve. What he told me, might be a mix of truth and lies, some parts might be true, not every word is a lie.

It’s merely from an angle advantageous to their group, stating certain facts only to mislead me, to achieve their own goals.”

Zhu Yu looked at the fake skin on his face, suddenly realizing: “No wonder you have been concealing your appearance since entering Bhutan, especially before going to the Fanwang Mansion, guarding closely, even disguising before wearing the veil hat.

You intended to make the schemers reveal their flaws and determine how much they know about your identity?”

“Exactly so.” Lu Qing replied with a smile, “We left him hanging for a long time earlier, making him all the more anxious.

When people get anxious, they tend to lose their measure and expose flaws.

Some people in this world know that I am Prince Xiaoyao, some know that I am the Golden-faced Imperial Censor, but clearly, the Fake Castle Master knew both.

That is intriguing.”

“He knew even your betrothed wife is a crude concubine’s daughter from an insignificant vassal prince’s family, but he doesn’t recognize me,” Zhu Yu pointed out another intriguing detail.

Lu Qing raised his eyebrows, looking at her with understanding in his eyes.

“Master, that Fake Castle Master must have some connection with the Great Priest Mansion.” Rune looked towards the moon gate up ahead, everything was quiet, not knowing the fate of those servants at the front, he then looked back to the corpses of guards outside where the High Priest was secluded, “The Fake Castle Master appeared very suddenly, it felt like he snuck in, and the guards of Fanwang Mansion didn’t even notice.

I suspect he’s been hiding in this Great Priest Mansion all along.

If that’s the case, the servants in this Great Priest Mansion must more or less know about their plan… then we can’t let them live!”

“Naturally.” Lu Qing had clearly anticipated this point, so his reaction was very calm, “Once we step out, make sure none are left alive, you and Fu Lu.”

Rune and Fu Lu quickly responded in agreement.

Zhu Yu stayed silent on the side, but she noticed Fu Lu kept glancing at her, so she simply asked, “Is there something you want to ask me?”

Fu Lu scratched the back of his head and said quietly to Zhu Yu, “Second Master, please… don’t take any ideas…”

“What ideas could I have?” Zhu Yu asked, puzzled.

“Just…” Fu Lu lowered his head and whispered, “thinking we are slaughtering innocents or something…”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep