Qiu Lingsu heaved a deep sigh and said, "Ever since Ren Ci fell ill, tens of thousands Beggar Clan disciples already regarded NanGong Ling as the sole successor of the Gang Leader's position. NanGong Ling only needs to speak; forget about merely delivering a letter, even if he wanted them to go through water and tread on fire, everybody would jump head first to accomplish it. How could this kind of power be considered ordinary?"

"But why did he deliver those four letters for Madame?" Chu Liuxiang asked.

Qiu Lingsu replied, "During that period, in order to buy the heart of the people, NanGong Ling had spent large amount of wealth. But in order for him to build his reputation in Jianghu, he could not take money that did not belong to him."

"Could it be that his plan was to hit Madame on the head?" Chu Liuxiang asked.

Qiu Lingsu said, "After I married Ren Ci, although I had changed my surname, he knew my background. Naturally it was because Ren Ci trusted him too much. Day by day his expenditure was rising. For the past several years he sc.r.a.ped around for money and went completely broke. One day, unexpectedly he forced me to think of ideas for him, as a result, I wrote those letters."

Chu Liuxiang clapped his hands and said, "That's right, on that letter, Madame did not specify clearly what the difficulty really was, plus Zuo Youzheng, Ximen Qian's money came very easily, Hainan Jian Pai's properties are not a few either, King of the Desert need not be mentioned even more. NanGong Ling unexpectedly thought that Madame wrote the letter to borrow money for him."

Qiu Lingsu said, "He wanted to exploit me, I was also thinking of using that opportunity to exploit him to deliver the letter for me. As long as I can see the four of them, everything will be all right."

"But NanGong Ling," Chu Liuxiang asked, "What made him change his mind? He did not want their money anymore, but wanted their lives instead?"

Qiu Lingsu sighed and said, "That's just because of one person. One evening after the letters were delivered, this person came and had private discussion with NanGong Ling all night long. After that, things changed completely."

Chu Liuxiang's eyes lit up, he immediately asked further, "Who was that person?"

"I did not see him," Qiu Lingsu replied.

Disappointed, Chu Liuxiang sighed and said, "You only know that he was there?"

Qiu Lingsu said, "In order to keep a close watch over us, NanGong Ling stayed in the room next door to us. Since we were already the fish inside his net, he did not need to be extremely wary of us. Therefore, all the movements in his room, I was able to hear for the most part … although my skill is lost, fortunately my hearing ability is not lost."

"Did you hear what they say?" Chu Liuxiang asked.

Qiu Lingsu said, "They spoke in a very low, very heavy voice. I know that whatever they were discussing must be a very important secret. Every now and then there seemed to be very minor disputes, but I could not hear what they say."

Sighing, Chu Liuxiang said, "It would be great if you could hear them. Maybe this mysterious character is the real mastermind behind the scenes."

Qiu Lingsu said, "This mysterious character left very early in the morning the next day. Not too long afterwards, NanGong Ling delivered a bowl of ginseng soup, saying it was a tonic for Ren Ci to take for his health."

Chu Liuxiang's eyes flickered; he said, "Presumably this bowl of ginseng soup was not good to drink."

Qiu Lingsu said, "He has not been this attentive for a long time, so I also knew that there must be a plot in this. However, after using three different methods to test the soup, I still could not verify the slightest amount of poison in it."

She sighed, and then continued, "I am sure you are also aware that in the olden days, I was considered a first-cla.s.s poison expert in Jianghu. As long as there was a trace of poison in the soup, no matter which school's or which sect's poison he was using, I would definitely be able to test it out. Therefore, I thought that this bowl of ginseng soup surely did not have any problem."

"Hence, feeling relieved, you let Ren Lao Bangzhu drinking it?" Chu Liuxiang asked.

Qiu Lingsu sadly said, "Since there was no poison in the ginseng soup, why bother brus.h.i.+ng away NanGong Ling's kindly intention? Besides, day-in day-out Ren Ci only took thin porridge to fill his belly, he definitely needed something more nouris.h.i.+ng."

Those were indeed miserable days; every time she recalled the bitterness and the hards.h.i.+p of those days, unconsciously her fragile body would tremble.

Chu Liuxiang's heart was suddenly moved; he spoke quietly, "After Ren Lao Bangzhu drank that bowl of ginseng soup, did his entire body swell?"

He had not even finished, Qiu Lingsu already spoke in shock, "How do you know that?"

"Heavenly One Divine Water," Chu Liuxiang said, "You could not test the poison in the ginseng soup, because it was the Heavenly One Divine Water!"

Now he was more convinced than ever that the mastermind behind this matter was indeed the man who stole the Heavenly One Divine Water from the Divine Water Palace. Naturally he was also the man who killed the 'Heavenly Powerful Star' Song Gang, and disguised himself as Tianfeng s.h.i.+si Lang. Although NanGong Ling was terrifying, this man's craftiness and viciousness was above NanGong Ling's.

Although Chu Liuxiang now knew NanGong Ling's secret, if he failed to investigate who this person was, all his efforts would be tantamount to a waste.

Qiu Lingsu's body trembled even more violently, she said, "All along I did not believe that NanGong Ling really had the heart to kill Ren Ci with his own hands, all along I did not believe that there was poison in the ginseng soup, but now … now …"

She suddenly rushed over to Chu Liuxiang and hissed, "I am going to tell you all the secrets; can you avenge me?"

Chu Liuxiang sighed and said, "After the secret is uncovered, no need for me to make my move, NanGong Ling himself won't be able to live. No wonder he spared no effort to stop me from seeing you."

"But why did he take you here?" Qiu Lingsu asked.

Smiling wryly, Chu Liuxiang said, "From beginning to end he was unwilling to oppose me openly, so when I forced him and he could not refuse anymore, he decided to take me personally. He knew that in front of him, you would not dare to reveal the secret …"

He paused for a moment, and then muttered, "That day, he asked me to wait for him one sichen, saying he had a Gang's affair to take care of; naturally it was not really Gang's matter, but to see the mysterious a.s.sa.s.sin, to tell him to rush over here first, to disguise himself as Tianfeng s.h.i.+si Lang, and to wait for me on the stone beam while he was coming with me here. While he was afraid that I might see you, he still wanted to take advantage of the dangerous terrain here to get rid of me, hence removing his trouble forever. If I could never see you, naturally he would feel a lot more at ease."

Qiu Lingsu sighed and said, "He wanted someone to wait here first to kill you, but if he failed to kill you, he would come with you to see me. With him around, naturally I could not say anything …"

She suddenly chuckled and said, "He thought that what he was doing could be considered seamless heavenly clothes, not one drop of water can leak out; who would have thought that heaven's net has wide meshes, but nothing escapes it [idiom from Laotze]. In the end he still cannot escape."

Chu Liuxiang said, "Actually, maybe he did not really feel at ease, plus he was afraid I might come back, so he intentionally leaked your residence to Bai Yumo. He wanted to borrow Bai Yumo's hands to get rid of you. When other people find out about this, he can pretend ignorance, and put all the blame onto Bai Yumo …"

He laughed, and then continued, "But he never expected that I could arrive here so soon. That chess move of mine is indeed not in vain. By the time he figures out the secret of that move, it was already too late."

Qiu Lingsu was silent for half a day; suddenly she said, "Tianfeng s.h.i.+si Lang; did you just mention this name?"

Emotionally moved, Chu Liuxiang replied, "That's right! Could it be that Madame really know that person?"

Qiu Lingsu said, "Although I do not know this person, I often heard Ren Ci mentioning him in the past."

Chu Liuxiang cried out involuntarily, "Unexpectedly there is indeed a person with that name in the world. I originally thought that they created that name Tianfeng s.h.i.+si Lang out of thin air."

Qiu Lingsu said, "Ren Ci is hard on the outside, but soft in the inside. In all his life, very seldom did he show any regard to anybody, but toward this Tianfeng s.h.i.+si Lang, he showed deep respect. Each time he mentioned this man, he always said that he could be considered as rarely-seen-in-the-world hero and real man."

Frowning, Chu Liuxiang said, "That kind of person, what could his relations.h.i.+p with NanGong Ling be? Why did NanGong Ling borrow his name …? Madame, do you happen to know where is he now?"

"This person has been dead for twenty years," Qiu Lingsu replied.

"Who killed him?" Chu Liuxiang blurted out.

Qiu Lingsu replied slowly, word-by-word, "The man who killed him was none other than Ren Ci."

Chu Liuxiang could not help but was stunned. "Since Ren Lao Bangzhu had deep respect toward him, why did he kill him?" he asked in astonishment.

Qiu Lingsu sighed and said, "That Tianfeng s.h.i.+si Lang crossed the sea to come here, with his heart and soul he wanted to decide relative superiority against martial art masters of the Central Plains' Wulin. At that time Ren Ci had not taken over Gai Bang's leaders.h.i.+p for long, it could be said that he was at his peak. Tianfeng s.h.i.+si Lang had the great ambition and magnificent aspiration to challenge Wulin's martial art masters everywhere under the heavens, naturally he would not miss him. Not long after he set foot on the Central Earth, he sent a letter to Ren Ci, challenging him for a duel."

Chu Liuxiang sighed and said, "This Tianfeng s.h.i.+si Lang was unavoidably too crazy; our country has vast territory with abundant resources, I don't know how many crouching tiger, hidden dragon, people with superior martial art skill, are there; how could he, one person, beat them all?"

Qiu Lingsu said, "After receiving Tianfeng s.h.i.+si Lang's letter challenging him, for the sake of Gai Bang's reputation, naturally Ren Ci could not shrink back. Besides, at that time his blood and vital breath was flouris.h.i.+ng, so he also wanted to determine relative superiority against this Dongying swordsman's strange swordplay."

Emotionally moved, Chu Liuxiang said, "Surely the brilliance of this battle was earth-shattering; too bad I was born twenty years too late; unexpectedly I missed witnessing this great battle!"

Looking pensive, Qiu Lingsu said, "That battle was not brilliant at all; if you really witnessed it, I think you will be sorely disappointed."

Chu Liuxiang was startled, "Why?" he asked.

Qiu Lingsu said, "Ren Ci usually did not like false reputation. After receiving the challenge, he did not broadcast it at all; therefore, within the Jianghu nowadays, not many people knew about this matter. At that time, the only person accompanying him to meet the challenge was Situ Zhanglao [elder], who, by now, had been dead for a long time. Other than he, practically no one else knew."

"Where did the duel take place?" Chu Liuxiang asked.

Qiu Lingsu replied, "Reportedly that place was at Minnan [southern Fujian] border, on some obscure mountain. Naturally it was because they did not want to attract anybody else's attention."

Chu Liuxiang sighed and said, "If that was the case, then this Tianfeng s.h.i.+si Lang, although he was brash, presumably he did not like false reputation either. Otherwise, although Ren Lao Bangzhu did not say anything, Tianfeng s.h.i.+si Lang might have broadcasted the news."

Qiu Lingsu said, "In his letter of challenge, he also made it clear this battle was not for the sake of fame, but for the sake of martial art. When Ren Ci and Situ Zhanglao arrived on the mountain, as expected, Tianfeng s.h.i.+si Lang was already waiting there. Without saying anything, he immediately fought with Ren Ci."

Chu Liuxiang could not help asking, "He did not even say a single word?"

Qiu Lingsu thought for a moment before replying, "According to what Ren Ci told me later, when he arrived on the mountain, Tianfeng s.h.i.+si Lang was sitting on a large rock, holding a long sword, which was already out of its scabbard. Seeing Ren Ci, he immediately raised his sword, and immediately launched the swordplay unique to Dongying sword schools. His mouth only spoke two words."