“You became suspicious of me because of that cage, I know.” Ah Si said slowly, “But how can you be sure that I didn’t make the cage out of kindness to help Miss Gu?” 

“Zhi Xiao told me,” Feng Zhi Wei smiled, “You had shown her a wonderful cricket cage that could be used to kill crickets, and that’s why she came up with the idea of making a killing cage of people. Zhi Xiao said when you were making the cage, she kept dozing off and didn’t see much of how it was made. Once it was done, you taught her which parts to press, but you didn’t tell her what would happen if she pressed them. Zhi Xiao also said that on the night you finished making the cage, she wanted to show it to her father but you stopped her, saying that since it was made to protect her father then it should only be taken out in time of danger to surprise her father. Zhi Xiao thought it was too dull not to be able to show off something this cool to anyone. You then taught her, that she could wait until Xiliang, pick a time when her father is not around and show it to Marquis Wei. But yesterday, wanting to show off, Zhi Xiao ended up pressing some stuff on the cage…Ah Si, I’ll call you Ah Si for now, if those still didn’t confirm to me that something was wrong with you, then I am unworthy of being Wei Zhi.” 

“The kid is truly smart.” Ah Si was not angry but simply shrugged his shoulders, “I purposefully led our conversation all over the place, deliberately trying to confuse her memory, but she ended up remembering all the key points clearly.” 

“In this world, there is a type of people who are the most despicable.” Feng Zhi Wei said lightly, “They use innocent children to harm others and destroy the trust of these young ones. They are worse than pigs and dogs.” (No offense to pigs and dogs, this is just a Chinese saying regarding people who are without moral standards that they are not even worthy to be animals.)

Ah Si was still smiling. There was a hint of contempt and a hint of arrogance in that smile. Although he was dressed in a plain green robe, he looked noble and dignified. He said from his high position on the tree, “Wei Zhi, just a little bit ago I was admiring you but now, I am starting to think less of you again. A real man would do anything to achieve his goal, so why would you make a fuss over some elderly or children? Strange, how did you accomplish all those achievements in the past? Did you perhaps get them by clinging onto some women? Haha.” 

“How I achieved such accomplishments, doesn’t need your concern.” Feng Zhi Wei didn’t get angry, but said instead, “No matter how much you look down on me, at least, the one who is like a trapped dog is you right now and I am the hunter who waited for you to fall into the trap. When you become my prisoner, I will let you know how Wei Zhi’s achievements were accomplished.” 

“Really?” Ah Si chuckled, narrowing his peach blossom eyes that still had a bit of contempt in them, “Did the thought never cross your mind what you thought was trapping a prey was in fact, someone luring the tiger away?’ 

As he spoke, a huge flash of lights suddenly appeared in the distance at the post station where the envoys were staying. 

In the bright light, Ah Si, who had been squatting on the tree, spread his hands, and the “owl” in his hand screeched strangely, and spread its wings. The patterns on the wings, half of it was pitch black and half was snow-white, like a strange and eerie ghost face. In the silent forest, countless sharp and piercing whistling wind sounds suddenly came from all sides!

Feng Zhi Wei abruptly turned to look toward the direction of the light. Behind her, Ah Si laughed, “Yesterday, after the little girl set off the cage before she was supposed to, I knew then, that I couldn’t stay hidden from you anymore. Wei Zhi, you are allowed to ambush others, but others are not allowed to ambush you?”

As he spoke, strong winds blew in all directions in the forest. The tangled vines on the ground suddenly rose up, and countless lights shot out from between the vines. 

Except for Ah Si who was perched high on the tree, everyone on the ground was completely surrounded by the strong wind. 

Gu Nan Yi suddenly kicked the tree Ah Si was sitting on. 

The tree fell with a loud bang, the strange bird flew up abruptly. Ah Si’s figure darted among the chaotic leaves, retreating in a certain direction like a ghost. He was heading right for his escape route, the only gap that had no hidden arrows, leaving him a narrow space for escape. 

Ah Si’s martial art was quite good, and slipped through the gap like a slippery mudfish. However, the moment he slipped out, the ground under him suddenly gave away— somehow, there was a trap there! 

Ah Si’s body immediately fell downward but instead of panicking, he kicked the edge of the trap in mid-air and flipped his body. At the same time, several black shadows rushed toward him quickly, the first one to get there reached out a hand towards Ah Si. 

Ah Si reached out to take the hand but suddenly, a hand appeared on his shoulder. 

In the pitched dark of the forest night, with arrows filling the sky behind him as a background, while standing in a trap, it is quite alarming to see a hand growing out of one’s shoulder. 

The hand was white and slender. Although Ah Si was obviously the one who reached out his hand first, but the hand somehow ended up being the first one to grasp the hand that was reaching out towards Ah Si. With a slight tug, the person who was supposed to rescue Ah Si ended up in the trap as well. 

Ah Si’s outstretched hand suddenly lost its target and his body fell straight down. However, Ah Si’s response was extremely fast. He suddenly kicked the man who was dragged down, sending the man slamming hard into the wall of the trap. Blood immediately came spewing out of the man’s mouth, but Ah Si had already stepped on the man’s body and used the momentum to break out of the trap.

However, just as his shoulder peeked over the trap, he suddenly saw a person squatting at the edge, looking at him with a big smile, his own somewhat embarrassing state reflecting in the person’s misty eyes. 

Feng Zhi Wei was waiting by the mouth of the well. (Not sure why it says the mouth of the well. I think the author meant to write the edge of the trap.)

Ah Si’s expression changed, but he remained calm. His mouth made a short low chirp, a friction-like strange sound. Feng Zhi Wei was surprised, then she heard the sound of flapping wings. 

A strange bird with wings spread out like a ghost face suddenly appeared in her line of vision, swooping down viciously towards her!

The bird became bigger and bigger in her vision, coming at her ferociously. A hint of a sneer appeared in Feng Zhi Wei’s eyes as she waved her hand, sending the bird into a tumble mid-air. The bird didn’t fly away, instead, it let out a wailing cry and suddenly, its wings started shaking. As the wings shook, many short feathers that were about half the size of its other feathers, started to fall like rain. 

The expression on Feng Zhi Wei’s face finally changed this time as she quickly retracted her hands and backed away. A silhouette flashed and Ah Si had already broken out of the trap. Standing with his back to her several feet away, the bird fluttered its wings and landed on Ah Si’s shoulder. In the moonlight, he turned and gave Feng Zhi Wei a smile of disdain. 

The moonlight was rising above his head. The man stood in the cold moonlight, and together with that strange villainous bird looked back at her proudly. His pair of peach blossom eyes were somewhat charming and somewhat cold. Feng Zhi Wei suddenly felt this person’s real identity must be extremely important and noble. 

 Behind them, a silhouette flashed, Gu Nan Yi had come out of the trap too. He had pulled down Ah Si’s helper and assumed Ah Si would fall back into the trap as well but what happened instead was Ah Si gave his belt a jerk and sent out a wave of poisonous needles that was as fine as cattle hair as he stepped on his helper to get out of the trap. Gu Nan Yi was inside the trap at the time so he could only dodge so much in that small space, moreover, he remembered that Feng Zhi Wei had told him that they must capture these people alive. That meant not only did he have to avoid the poisonous needles, but he also had to help the guy who was trampled half to death to avoid it. 

With him being delayed and Feng Zhi Wei being forced to back away due to the poisonous feathers, they ended up letting Ah Si break out of the trap. 

This whole confrontation may have sounded complicated, but it in fact happened in the blink of an eye. In that blink of an eye, several people fought, and each had their own thrilling dangerous moments. And now, the man under the moon looked back with disdain, there was arrogance in his smile. 

Behind him, a large number of armored figures appeared in silence, surrounding him so he stood in the middle. 

Feng Zhi Wei stood in place, and clapped softly, “Good.”

It was a sincere praise, praising this person’s ruthlessness and quick thinking, the true style of a great general. 


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