Chapter 53: The True Face (Part 2)

  Looking at Tang Zhi's gradually pale face and his gaze that seemed to swallow himself whole, Yang Suofeng's gloominess suddenly dissipated, and he even said with a somewhat smug tone: "If my scandal were to explode, you would also be one of the people present at the time, and you wouldn't be able to escape responsibility. Unless you kill me and those four women to silence us. However, there are still Ge Shu Han, Meng Diyou, Dong Laoban, and others who know that it was you who invited me to Qingquan Xuan for dinner. Oh, Dong Laoban is definitely your person. Your power may be great, but it's not possible to cover the sky with one hand. Can you kill all of them without anyone else knowing? I'm afraid it would be very difficult. Ge Shu Han is also a Weiwei military officer, and if you dare to kill him too, then I can only admit that you are truly extraordinary, and I'll accept my fate. However, I am after all the Navy Lieutenant General and the Lord of the Yang family. Although the Emperor wants to deal with me, he still needs a good excuse. If you're willing to be his executioner, I think he would be delighted. When others start spreading rumors, he only needs to send you to the guillotine. Tang Zhi, sir, I suppose you should also consider such consequences."

  Tang Zihaha burst out laughing, his laughter sharp and piercing, startling the dew in the courtyard to fall down. In his ear-piercing laughter, Yang Suofeng only felt her ears buzzing, her heart racing, her vision blurring, and she almost fainted.

  Yang Shuang's face changed slightly, and then he suddenly realized and said: "Tang Zhi, I understand now. You are not just the governor of Fangchuan Road, you have another identity. You are not just serving the Tangchuan Empire, you also have other masters. Tang Zhi, who exactly are you? Why do you want to do this? Is it because you and our Yang family had a feud in the past?"

  Tang Zicong smiled coldly and suddenly swung his sleeves, sending Yang Suofeng flying onto the steps. He landed with a thud, his face bruised and swollen, almost fainting from the impact. The sight was truly not worth showing to outsiders.

  Tang Zicong's voice was sharp as he said, "Yang Suofeng, it seems you're not stupid after all. I only revealed a hint of my martial arts skills, and you were able to see through my dual identity. However, you should know that people who are too clever often don't live long, and you're no exception.

  It's true, I do have another identity, but unfortunately, you'll never get to know about it. And I think you probably don't need to know anyway. I'm giving you three days to consider carefully whether you want to cooperate or not. If you refuse to cooperate, then sorry, I can only send you on your way to the afterlife.

  As for the consequences of what you said earlier, don't worry about it. I have the ability to handle it, so you don't need to concern yourself with it."

  Yang Shuangfeng shook his head slightly, smiled bitterly and said: "Tang Zhi, I don't understand you. You are already the Governor of Fangchuan Road, a high-ranking official of the second grade, and it's possible for you to enter the imperial court in a year or two. Your future is so bright, why do you still want to do so many things behind the back of the imperial court? What benefits do you get from this personally? Are you not afraid that one day your family will be implicated and your wife and children will all lose their lives because of you? How can you justify yourself to them?"

  Tang Zimo said calmly: "When did I ever betray the court? What could possibly be exposed?"

  Yang Shuang smiled slightly, let out a heavy sigh, and said with great effort to remain calm: "I think Tang Ming absolutely doesn't want any more unexpected twists, letting me die inexplicably halfway. He could have let me die openly in Menes, shutting everyone else's mouths. If I had died on the way, it would have given the Sima and Dugu families an excuse to attack the imperial court, maybe even stirring up independence. On this point, you and I should both be clear. So, I dare to use my last three gold coins to guarantee that you are hiding something from the imperial court, with ill intentions..."

  Tang Zī suddenly shouted: "Shut up! What qualifications do you have to lecture me?"

  Yang Shuangfeng smiled wryly and shook his head, a sudden flash of inspiration in his mind. He let out a long sigh and said slowly with a tone of sympathy: "Tang Gong, why must you make clothes for others to wear?"

  Tang Zixuan suddenly shouted coldly: "What do you know?"

  Yang Shuangfeng slightly raised his head, gazing at the moonlight that was about to disappear. His voice carried a hint of sorrow and desolation as he slowly said: "Tang sir, some things have passed, so let them pass. Going against heaven's will is defying the heavens, why must you do it? You should know that everything is predetermined by fate. If it's meant to be, it will happen; if not, don't force it. Besides..."

  Tang Zhi's eyes suddenly turned icy cold, his pupils began to shrink, and he trembled slightly before regaining composure. He said calmly: "Yang Suofeng, don't sympathize with others here, you'd better think about your own fate!"

  Yang Suofeng sighed, her sorrowful eyes falling on Tang Zhi. She said with a sigh: "Tang Zhi, the Red Refining Sect has already dispersed, and his original set of ideas has proven to be unable to bring blessings to the common people, so they were abandoned by the common people. Why are you still obstinately clinging to it? Inspiring slogans cannot improve life, and flowery words cannot fill one's stomach. What the people ultimately need is a guarantee of safety, a sustainable life, and unrestricted freedom, not just following your slogans. The Buddha said, 'turning back is the shore', the Buddha also said, 'put down the butcher knife and become a Buddha on the spot'. You can still turn back now..."

  Tang Zhi's face turned increasingly ugly, his small eyes shooting out a gaze that seemed like golden light. He suddenly let out a loud shout, and in an instant, his thin, bony right hand had grasped Yang Suofeng's neck with a deadly grip, each of his fingernails digging deep into Yang's skin, causing droplets of blood to ooze out slowly. Yang Suofeng felt his vision go dark, foam forming at the corner of his mouth, and he almost fainted. Tang Zhi let out a cold laugh and released his grip. Yang Suofeng immediately stumbled backward, retreating five or six steps before managing to steady himself. He hastily covered his throat and was shocked to feel the clear imprint of five fingers. He couldn't help but cough repeatedly, feeling as though even his lungs were in agony. Suddenly, his heel hit the step again, and he sat down with a thud, completely unprepared.

  "Tang Zī's voice as cold as ice came from beside his ear: 'Young man, being too clever isn't a good thing.'"

  Yang Suofeng bent his waist and coughed violently for a while, until fresh blood flowed from the corners of his mouth, before the coughing finally subsided slightly. He lifted his head with great effort, only to see that under the bleak moonlight, Tang Zhi's hair was slightly disheveled, like a night patrol officer in the dark, and his pale face and icy aura made him shiver inwardly. However, on the surface he remained calm and fearless, gasping out disjointed words: "I knew it, you're from the Red Furnace Sect, a remnant of the Red Furnace Sect."

  Tang Zhi's hand stretched out again, silently and quietly, and with a light pinch, he lifted him off the ground. Tang Zhi raised his hand, suspending him in mid-air, and said coldly: "Yang Suofeng, I have never killed anyone before, don't force me to break my vow."

  Yang Shuangfen didn't say anything, but her face turned deathly pale.

  Yang Suofeng's body went limp, and he fell to the ground with a thud. He felt his whole body was sore and weak, without even a thread of strength left. However, he was also very stubborn. Despite the pain in his neck, he still managed to turn his head with great effort to look at Tang Zhi, who was standing tall above him. The icy aura on Tang Zhi's body grew thicker, carrying a stench of death. Yang Suofeng gasped for breath and finally gathered enough strength to speak in a faint voice: "I think... you're the God of Wealth from the Red Lotus Sect, aren't you?"

  Tang Zhi's eyes burst with a fierce light, and he let out a cold laugh: "What else do you know?"

  Yang Shuang shook his head and said with difficulty: "I didn't expect the imperial court to pursue the Red Refining Sect so fiercely, killing three thousand by mistake rather than letting one go. In the end, they drove all the people of the Red Refining Sect under the wing of the imperial court, becoming officials at various levels... Alas, why can't you give up that vague and unrealistic Heavenly Kingdom program?"

  Tang Zisu said solemnly: "Yang Suofeng, our faith is something you will never understand."

  Yang Shuang looked at the clear moonlight and muttered to himself: "Yes, I will never understand why your ideals are so high and great, your goals are so noble and pure. But in reality, you have been fighting for 19 years, killing people all over the southern part of the empire, plundering money and property, creating a desolate land with no one left... what else have you done for the empire? What have you done for the poor common people? Has their life improved? Are their lives and properties safe? Ah, you have accumulated a lot of wealth, but whose hands are they in? In the hands of the common people? No, it's in the hands of your king, who has used up tens of thousands of palaces and still can't finish using them. He is your king, your god, the embodiment of your justice and ideals. But what has he done? His wealth will be squandered by his descendants for generations to come, his palaces will be built more luxurious than the heavenly palace, the women he owns are more numerous than the emperor's, so many that he can't even remember their names, so each one is replaced with a number..."

  Tang Zixun's whole body trembled with rage, his hair standing on end, as he pointed a shaking finger and bellowed: "You! Shut up!"

  Yang Shuangfeng gave him a cold look and slowly closed his mouth.

  Tang Zhi's finger bones made a series of loud cracking sounds, clearly his anger was beyond description. However, he didn't erupt in rage like Yang Suofeng had imagined, but instead, under Yang Suofeng's strange gaze, Tang Zhi's body was lightly swaying back and forth. As he swayed, his body slowly and silently sank into the icy ground, as if trying to release his pent-up anger through the earth.

  Yang Shuangfen was speechless, only looking at him with a pitiful gaze. But the shock in his heart was also enormous, as if a huge wave was about to knock him down. He really did not expect that the person in front of him, the Governor of Fangchuan Road, who appeared to be loyal and honest, with a reputation for being upright and uncorrupted, loving the people like a son, and a second-grade official with a clean record, would actually be one of the core figures of the notorious Red Furnace Sect. However, the imperial court not only did not know about these things but also thought that he was one of the few officials with great prospects and abilities, intending to promote him to an even more important position.

  At that moment, Yang Suofeng was overwhelmed with emotions, his heart as dead as ashes. He wanted to say something but couldn't get the words out, and all he could feel was the black nine-headed snake flag of the Red Lotus Sect looming over him like an endless darkness. In his speechless and absent-minded state, he didn't even notice a faint glimmer of ferocity in Tang Zhi's eyes.

  Tang Zī slowly regained his composure and sat back down in the chair, saying calmly: "Yang Suō Fēng, I admire your courage. I must admit that everything you said earlier was correct. However, I think we don't need to be so strongly opposed to each other; perhaps we're just taking different paths to the same destination."

  Yang Shuangfeng said angrily: "I spit! Turtle grandson is with you in different paths but the same return!"

  Tang Zihai burst out laughing and didn't get angry, saying leisurely: "Young Master Yang, you don't need to pretend anymore. Actually, I can see everything clearly. Our Manichean sect is indeed working hard to overthrow the imperial court, but Young Master Yang seems not to be blindly loyal to the imperial court either. Isn't this a case of different paths leading to the same goal? Tang Ming hates these lords to the bone and wants to thoroughly eliminate them. If you don't want to be captured and bound, there's only one way left - rise up and resist. Everyone is opposing the imperial court; what difference does it make in essence?"

  Yang Shuangfeng was suddenly speechless.

  Seeing that he had already pierced Yang Shuofeng's heart secret, Tang Zixi was very pleased and continued to smile: "Since so, we might as well cooperate..."

  Yang Suofeng gritted her teeth and said, "Pah! Tang Zhi, don't dream on! Even if I really wanted to get rid of the imperial court's control, I wouldn't collude with your Manichean sect!"

  Tang Zī smiled faintly, as if his smile had frozen.

  The east revealed a thread of pale white, the dawn slowly opened up the defenses of the dark night, but in Yang Su's eyes, the darkness had just begun, and the dawn was still far away in an unseen distance.

  Yang Suofeng silently let out a sigh, slowly raised his hands, and bitterly said: "Tang Zhi, didn't you prepare a prison cell for me? It seems I have the opportunity to experience the infamous ten great tortures of the Chi Lian Sect, but I hope I can avoid a fate of dying without a complete corpse."

  Tang Zi's expressionless face said: "I will definitely satisfy you, I hope you like it."