Chapter Thirty-Nine: Perfectly Arranged

Inside the study of the residence, at a command from Yang Duan, the heavy doors were flung open with a bang.

Four of the sect leader's personal bodyguards surged in, their hands moving with practiced, soul-manifesting precision to strike at Fang Can's vital points. Caught completely off guard, Fang Can was stunned; he had never expected this to be a trap. Reacting on pure instinct, he saw the incoming grips and threw his arms out, clashing against their techniques.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

In an instant, relying on his superior skill, Fang Can managed to deflect the first five strikes, but his strength was spent. He was quickly pinned. Feeling his soul-manifestation being suppressed and realizing his technique could not overcome the brute force of four men each ten times his size, Fang Can ceased his resistance.

He began to piece things together. If Yang Duan truly wanted him dead, he would have simply eliminated him; there would be no need for the trouble of imprisonment. Furthermore, his supernatural ability had shown no reaction at all—the whole situation felt like a setup. Thinking this, Fang Can looked toward the solemn-faced Yang Duan, eager to gauge his true intentions.

Yang Duan dared not meet his gaze, afraid he might break character and laugh, so he simply said in a deep voice, "I recall the sect's dungeons are already full."

"In that case, lock him in that small building in the northern district. It’s just a storage area; no one goes there anyway."

Upon hearing this, the four guards acknowledged the order and hauled Fang Can out of the courtyard.

Once they were gone, Li Fengtian appeared silently in the room. "Big Brother, shouldn't we explain things to the lad?"

"Explain? Nonsense. As long as the boy isn't a fool, he'll understand our meaning," Yang Duan said with confidence.

"Did you make specific arrangements, then?"

"Of course," Yang Duan replied, crossing his arms. "In that small building, there are no guards. There’s a secret tunnel leading directly outside, a complete military map of Yanggu County, and plenty of food and drink. There isn't a soul within hundreds of meters. I didn't leave any cash, but there are plenty of debt notes..."

Hearing these arrangements, even Li Fengtian couldn't help but twitch his lips. This setup was so blatant that even Fang Can would surely realize something was amiss.

***

As expected, when Fang Can was dragged into the small building in the northern district and saw the interior, his eyes widened. "Is this supposed to be a prison?"

The floor was paved with white jade, the walls were reinforced with red brick, and the interior was spotless, filled with supplies. On either side stood crates of grain, flour, and oil, while the walls were hung with an arsenal of blades, spears, swords, and halberds—it was practically an armory. On the wall hung a highly detailed map.

'Bizarre... this is far too bizarre,' Fang Can thought, his lip twitching as he surveyed the surroundings.

Without a word, the guards locked the doors and windows after pushing him in, ensuring he couldn't leave through the "front door." Left alone in this secure chamber, he finally had the leisure to inspect everything.

Walking past the shelves of supplies, Fang Can reached a desk at the back, which was covered in a thick stack of paper bonds.

[Starting from the X day of the X month of the XX year, the Lieyang Martial Arts Hall accepts the protection of the Tiger Spirit Sect. On the X day of every month, a disciple of your sect may present this voucher to collect 100 taels of silver as tribute, thereby earning the right to continue operations.]

"Well, look at that," Fang Can muttered, looking at the stack of documents.

These were the "letters of submission" from various factions within a hundred miles under the Tiger Spirit Sect's jurisdiction. They were required to pay monthly tribute, or they wouldn't be able to stay in business. Fang Can had heard of this practice; graduates of the martial arts hall were given these vouchers to collect, and how much they actually extracted depended entirely on the disciple's own skill—the sect didn't interfere.

After browsing the vouchers, Fang Can turned his attention to a wooden box on the desk. Opening it, he found a suit of golden-silk soft armor. Each plate was thin as a cicada's wing, meticulously woven with a texture as fine as snakeskin. He grabbed the edges and pulled, but even with his current strength, he could not tear it.

Ample supplies, weapons, armor, a stack of debt notes... Even a fool would understand what Yang Duan was doing.

It had to be said, for an eighty-year-old man, he was remarkably thoughtful. He was handing over martial arts resources and supplies, leaving Fang Can with no room for complaints—in fact, he only wished there were more.

'If they've locked me in here, there must be a secret exit.'

As he pondered this, he looked up and saw a conspicuous white arrow pointing toward the corner on his right.

***

In the corner indicated by the arrow, a marble tile was chained to the floor. The implication was clear: get out of here, and do it quickly!

He stepped forward and pried open the tile, revealing a deep, dark tunnel. Combined with the map on the wall, Fang Can guessed it led to the desolate, uninhabited wilderness outside the sect.

Before he could explore further, the locked door behind him was kicked open, and a guard threw three unconscious men inside.

"Bang!"

As the bodies hit the floor, Fang Can saw their faces and his lips twitched. It was Li Qunfan and the other two men who had tried to rob him that morning.

Noticing Fang Can’s bewildered expression, the guard snarled, "The Sect Leader has ordered that the traitor Fang Can be beheaded tomorrow at high noon. Don't even think about escaping."

With that, the guard tossed several large bags at him. Fang Can caught them and realized they were his modern suitcases, with every single item inside accounted for.

Looking at the guard, Fang Can said with absolute sincerity, "Gentlemen, please thank the Sect Leader for me when you return. Tell him I will certainly repay his kindness in the future."

The guards sneered at his attitude. "The kid's lost his mind. He's about to be executed and he's thanking us."

"Forget him. Let's go get a drink. No need to worry about this boy; we're heading to the tavern."

"True enough. That small building is as secure as a fortress; the kid will never get out..."

Watching them lock the door and walk away with their arms around each other's shoulders, Fang Can chuckled and picked up a high-quality longsword from the weapons rack.

At that moment, the three thugs on the floor began to stir. As soon as they opened their eyes, they saw Fang Can standing over them, sword in hand, grinning down at them.

Li Qunfan scrambled backward in terror. "Fa... Fang Can, what are you doing? I'm warning you, killing a fellow disciple is a grave crime! You'll be punished by the three blades and six holes!"

"You're absolutely right," Fang Can said, drawing the gleaming sword from its scabbard with a brilliant smile. "It's a pity I'm no longer a member of the Tiger Spirit Sect."