The two of them flew for a while. Suddenly NanGong Ling said, "You feel at ease handing her over to another person."

"Why would I not be at ease?" Chu Liuxiang asked.

"How do you know that that kid will not harm her?" NanGong Ling asked.

Chu Liuxiang replied, "Do you think other people's heart is as malicious as yours?"

NanGong Ling replied with a cold laugh, "I only know that you are a very cautious person, who would have thought that you also have your careless moments."

Chu Liuxiang smiled and said, "I am a very cautious person. If I could think of any reason Hei Zhenzhu might hurt Rong'er, this moment, even if you forced me, I would never entrust Rong'er to him. If you want to use this to disturb my mind, to make me fl.u.s.tered, I advise you not to entertain this idea any longer."

NanGong Ling let out a cold, mischievous laughter, but surprisingly he no longer talk.

They saw the vast haze of mist-covered water ahead; they have arrived at the Daming Lake.

Although the sun was still hanging overhead, a fancy looking decorated pleasure boat already had its lantern lit. Looking inside from the wide-open window, they saw the candle inside the cabin was already burning brightly. Unexpectedly a table of food and wine had already been setup inside.

NanGong Ling waited until Chu Liuxiang entered the cabin before he pushed the long pole [i.e. pole for punting boats] to bring the fancy boat into the middle of the lake. All around them the water was covered in fog, which looked like smoke, or rain. The fancy boat drifted over the rippling water in between the boundless, quiet heaven and earth. The air was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with some kind of mysterious, yet romantic, atmosphere. It was both intoxicating and unbearably creepy.

Chu Liuxiang sat down on the most comfortable chair inside the cabin, but in his heart he did not feel comfortable at all. He always felt that this matter has become more and more wrong.

Why did NanGong Ling take him here?

Could it be that the mysterious murderer was on this boat?

But on this fancy boat, other than Chu Liuxiang and NanGong Ling, there was absolutely no third person. On this, the moment Chu Liuxiang set his foot on the boat, he was absolutely certain.

The cool evening breeze brought the fragrance of the wine, the aroma of the dishes, the sweet scent of the weeping willow; but what Chu Liuxiang breathed was some kind of thick murderous aura!

What murderous aura was actually hidden in this unmanned fancy boat?

NanGong Ling also sat down. Fixing his gaze on Chu Liuxiang, he said, "Do you know why I wanted to bring you here?"

Chu Liuxiang smiled and said, "Naturally not to kill me here. If you wanted to kill me, naturally the farther away from water the better."

NanGong Ling laughed heartily and said, "That's right. n.o.body can kill Chu Liuxiang in the water."

Deep in thought, Chu Liuxiang softly said, "Was it 'he' who wanted you to take me here?"

"That's right," NanGong Ling replied, "He told me that if I cannot solve this problem myself, I ought to take you here, to wait for him to solve it himself."

"Do you think he'll come?" Chu Liuxiang asked.

"Naturally he will," NanGong Ling replied.

"Do you think that when he comes, he will be able to solve this matter?" Chu Liuxiang asked.

NanGong Ling smiled and replied, "If there is only one person on earth who can deal with Chu Liuxiang, that person is him!"

Chu Liuxiang heaved a deep sigh and said, "No matter who 'he' is, I really cannot think of how he is going to solve it."

NanGong Ling said, "The method that he uses, naturally no one will be able to think of."

"You trust him very much," Chu Liuxiang commented.

NanGong Ling said, "If there is only one person on earth I can trust, that person is him!"

Chu Liuxiang shut his eyes and sighed lightly; he said, "Such a person, who could it be? Since he knew that killing me on the water is much more difficult than anywhere else, why did he want me on the water? What exactly is he thinking? How exactly is he going to deal with me …? I really can't wait to see him."

Thinking about how sinister, secretive and vicious this person was, even Chu Liuxiang could not stop the chill from creeping up in his heart. All the adversaries that he met in all his life, no one was really more terrifying than this one!

NanGong Ling poured two cups of wine and unhurriedly said, "If I were you, it would be best to drink a cup of wine now. Thinking about it more will be useless. Besides, I am afraid your time to drink wine won't be too much."

Jade green wine, it s.h.i.+ned inside the golden cup.

NanGong Ling raised his cup and drained it in one gulp. Throwing his head back he heaved a deep sigh and said, "Actually I would rather have someone else discovering this secret instead of you. No matter who it is, killing someone with whom you once caught a sea turtle together is not a pleasant thing."

Chu Liuxiang did not even touch the wine cup with his finger. He sighed and said, "Me too. I wish that forever, you are the NanGong Ling with whom I caught sea turtle together."

NanGong Ling chuckled. But suddenly he knitted his brows and said, "Your wine …"

Chu Liuxiang laughed and said, "My time of drinking wine is already too much, right now I am not in a hurry."

NanGong Ling roared in laughter and said, "Surprisingly Chu Liuxiang did not urgently to drink his wine, this is a strange thing."

Chu Liuxiang smiled and said, "Don't you forget, I am a very cautious person."

NanGong Ling also smiled and replied, "These two cups are poured out from the same wine pot. If you still don't feel at ease, let me drink this cup for you!" He indeed picked the cup in front of Chu Liuxiang and drank it down.

Chu Liuxiang sighed and said, "It seems that although cautious people might live a bit longer, it is inevitable that they often miss some opportunities to drink."

NanGong Ling laughed heartily and said, "You shouldn't have suspected that there is poison in this wine. Who on earth might expect that a mere cup of poisonous wine would poison Chu Liuxiang to death; besides, how would he put …"

The word 'poison' had not yet spoken out of his mouth, his countenance suddenly changed greatly. His arms, his forehead, his neck … every single vein on his body suddenly burst!

"What happened?" Chu Liuxiang cried out in alarm.

"This wine …" NanGong Ling's voice was trembling.

Emotionally moved, Chu Liuxiang asked, "Could it be that there is indeed poison in the wine?"

He sprang over and opened NanGong Ling's eyelids to take a look, but he did not see any sign of poisoning. However, NanGong Ling's body was burning hotter than a fire.

Chu Liuxiang's heart was moved, he cried out in shock, "Heavenly One Divine Water! This wine has Heavenly One Divine Water in it!"

NanGong Ling's entire body went limp. "He … how could he put poison in the wine?" he croaked, "I don't believe it! I really cannot believe it!"

Chu Liuxiang stomped his foot in anger, "Even until now, you still don't understand it? He put poison in the wine, the target is not me, but you! He knew that I will always be on guard. But you, you could not possibly be on guard toward him."

Looking up to the sky, he sighed and said, "Actually, I have already felt that this fancy boat is full of dangers, but I could not guess how he was going to deal with me. Now I know that the one he wanted to deal with was not me, but you!"

NanGong Ling roared, "But he … why did he want to harm me?"

Chu Liuxiang smiled ruefully and said, "Because if you are dead, all the clues will be broken. If you are dead, he will still be unfettered and beyond the law, because other than you, n.o.body knows who 'he' is."

NanGong Ling was shaking, it seemed like he was in shock and could only stare blankly.

By this time his entire body was swelling, his skin has begun to crack, so much so that the blood vessels were bursting. The corners of his eyes, his nostrils, his nail seam, have all started to bleed!

Chu Liuxiang shouted loudly, "Since he has no scruple in poisoning you to death, why do you still want to keep his secret? This moment, you still have time to tell me who 'he' actually is."

NanGong Ling's eyes were bulging like those of a dead fish; he mumbled, "You said he wants to harm me … I still cannot believe it …"

"Of course he wanted to harm you!" Chu Liuxiang said, "Otherwise, he knew perfectly well that I would never drink this wine, why would he put poison in the wine? And if he put poison in the wine for me, why didn't he tell you?"

It seemed like NanGong Ling did not hear him at all; he kept mumbling, "I don't believe it … I don't believe it …"

Chu Liuxiang grabbed his collar and hissed, "Why don't you believe it? Could it be that you …"

The corner of NanGong Ling's mouth split open, he suddenly revealed a hint of bitter smile, and said, "Do you know who he is?"

"Who? Who is he?" Chu Liuxiang asked.

NanGong Ling struggled hard to speak, word-by-word, "This secret, no one in the world knows this secret. I have a sibling, an older brother. 'He' is my Gege [older brother]!"

Chu Liuxiang's entire body froze. He fell back half a step so that he had to grab the table to steady himself. His entire body felt as if it was about to fall.

Half a day later, he smiled wryly and said, "No wonder you trusted him so much. No wonder you are always listening to him. But … who is your Gege? Why until now you are still unwilling to tell me his name?"

NanGong Ling opened his mouth wide. His mouth was full of blood.

His tongue split open, he could no longer speak another word.

Chu Liuxiang sat back in his chair. He sat for no one knows how long.

Now, all the clues have been broken, and he has to start all over again.

He had no idea how much dangers he had encountered, no idea how much heart's blood [i.e. strenuous effort] he had spent just to find out that Zuo Youzheng, Ximen Qian, Lingjiu Zi, and Zha Muge, these four men had gone out after receiving a letter; he had no idea how many setbacks he had encountered before he found the person who wrote the letter, and uncovered the Beggar Clan's secret in the process.

If not for enormous courage and intelligence, this pa.s.sage of hards.h.i.+p would simply be unbearable. But now that NanGong Ling was dead, all his heart's blood has become a waste.

He still did not know who the real mastermind was.

The light of dawn quietly dyed the window paper white.

The fog above the surface of the lake was getting thicker.

Chu Liuxiang let out a long sigh, and muttered to himself, "Now, what do I know?"

Now, what he knew was really not much.

The only remaining clue was …

The mysterious killer was NanGong Ling's sibling; his older brother. In 'his' hand, there was still enough 'Heavenly One Divine Water' to kill thirty-three more people!

But, who exactly was 'he'?

'He' had used the Heavenly One Divine Water to kill Ren Ci, Zha Muge and NanGong Ling. Who might 'his' next target be?

Naturally it had to be someone with extremely high martial art skill, high enough to be an important person who played critical role in Wulin!

That person naturally had to have a deep relations.h.i.+p with 'him', at least he must not suspect that 'he' would harm him. Otherwise, how could 'he' put the Heavenly One Divine Water inside that person's cup?