Obtaining Top Art on Family's Extermination Night

Lu Guiyan was in a daze for a long moment before she was certain she hadn’t misheard.

She glanced at Mo Beidou and Sun Qian and couldn’t help but think to herself... ’Experts really are a different breed. The things they say are always so shocking.’

For a moment, she was utterly at a loss for how to respond.

When Mo Beidou came to his senses, he gave a wry laugh.

"Xiao Shi... ahem, Shuwen, the Fierce Tiger Gang is no ordinary foe. They’re incredibly dangerous. If we go, I’m afraid it’ll be a one-way trip."

Based on their usual dynamic, Mo Beidou would have simply said, ’Xiao Shiliu, don’t be ridiculous.’

But now, Fang Shuwen had been hired by Lu Guiyan for a hefty sum, and she treated him with the utmost courtesy.

He couldn’t just pull rank as the senior brother and embarrass his junior.

So, he couldn’t speak as casually as he normally would.

Fang Shuwen smiled.

"When a problem is put in front of you, you either solve the problem, or you eliminate the person who created it."

"You can run for a while, but you can’t run forever..."

"But that’s just my opinion. The guest follows the host’s lead. Ultimately, it’s up to the Young Chief of the Escort to decide what to do."

Lu Guiyan felt that Fang Shuwen actually had a point.

Unfortunately, the matter was far too dangerous. It would be one thing if her father were here, but she doubted she even had the right to appear before Master Qin Si.

If that happened, she wouldn’t be able to solve the problem or deal with the people who caused it. Instead, she’d be the one getting "dealt with."

In the end, after some discussion, they decided to use a diversionary tactic.

The method wasn’t complicated. It was a simple Golden Cicada Shell ploy.

Lu Guiyan hadn’t brought many people with her on this trip. The plan was to hire a group of commoners of a similar size. Early the next morning, this group would don the uniforms of the Lu’an Escort Agency and depart from the north gate as soon as it opened.

This would undoubtedly draw the attention of the Fierce Tiger Gang.

Meanwhile, the actual members of the Lu’an Escort Agency would change into plain clothes and slip out of the city in separate groups tonight, before the gates closed.

The whole point of the plan was to exploit a time lag.

As long as they left Guangning City stealthily, the group of impostors in the morning was guaranteed to tie up the Fierce Tiger Gang’s lookouts.

The decoys’ limited knowledge of the situation would also lead the Fierce Tiger Gang to misjudge the Lu’an Escort Agency’s real movements.

Usually, the group acting as a decoy leaves first. The Fierce Tiger Gang would therefore logically assume the Lu’an Escort Agency was still hiding somewhere in Guangning City. They would have no idea that, after a full night of travel, the real group would already be long gone.

The plan wasn’t difficult and offered plenty of room to maneuver. Of course, it also came with many risks.

After all, Guangning City was well within the Fierce Tiger Gang’s sphere of influence. Some of the very commoners they might hire could be on the gang’s payroll.

Then again, there were others who only cared about money and nothing else.

This task should have been assigned to Sun Qian, as he was mature and level-headed—far more reliable than Mo Beidou.

And yet, for some reason, Lu Guiyan ended up giving the task to Mo Beidou anyway.

Fang Shuwen, meanwhile, observed coolly from the sidelines, not offering a single word.

Just before he left, Mo Beidou hurried over to find Fang Shuwen.

"Xiao Shiliu, you shouldn’t get mixed up in this whole mess."

Mo Beidou’s face was etched with worry.

"Chief Lu took a chance on me, and I can’t count the number of times he’s saved my life over the years."

"I’m willing to lay down my life for this Escort Agency."

"But Xiao Shiliu, you’re still so young..."

"Huh?"

Fang Shuwen gave Mo Beidou a surprised look.

"Oh, so that’s what this is about. And here I thought you’d taken a fancy to the Young Chief of the Escort."

Mo Beidou’s worried expression instantly darkened. He irritably raised a hand as if to smack Fang Shuwen on the head.

But he stopped himself halfway and lowered his hand, saying with a sigh of resignation:

"If your sister-in-law were to hear you say that, she’d make both our lives miserable."

Fang Shuwen grinned.

Mo Beidou was the eldest of his martial brothers and had been married for several years.

His wife had a fiery temper, but she was a kind person at heart.

Back when Fang Shuwen was struggling and often lacked food and clothing, she would frequently have Mo Beidou bring him meals and drinks. She would even invite him to their home for dinner, always sending him off with a package of leftovers to take with him.

So, while his earlier comment had been a joke, it was also meant as a subtle reminder for Mo Beidou.

But it seemed he had been worrying for nothing.

Instead, Mo Beidou was the one giving Fang Shuwen a thoughtful look.

"Still, our Young Chief of the Escort is certainly a beautiful woman. She has a gallant spirit that rivals any man’s."

"She and you... would make a good match."

"How about it? Your Senior Brother could put in a good word for you."

"She’s a year older than you, sure, but an older woman knows how to take care of a man."

’Married people just love playing matchmaker.’

For some reason, Fang Shuwen thought of the look in Zhou Qingmei’s eyes when she’d said goodbye, and he subconsciously shook his head.

"Forget it. I’m still young... I’m not looking to start a family yet."

Mo Beidou suddenly snapped back to the original topic. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"How did we get so sidetracked? Xiao Shiliu, are you really going to get involved in this?"

"Don’t worry about me. Even if I, your Senior Brother, were to die for the Escort Agency, it would be a worthy death."

"Don’t you do anything foolish."

Fang Shuwen knew Mo Beidou wouldn’t let the matter drop without a proper explanation.

So he relented and said:

"Don’t worry, Senior Brother. Looking out for your safety is part of it, but I have my own reasons for doing this. You don’t need to be concerned."

"Besides, what’s all this talk about you dying? If you died, what would our sister-in-law do?"

"What reasons?"

Mo Beidou stared at Fang Shuwen, his expression full of doubt.

"That, I can’t tell you."

Fang Shuwen said with a mysterious smile:

"Now, Senior Brother, you should hurry and get back to your task."

Hearing this, Mo Beidou knew he couldn’t press the issue any further.

He had come full of worry, and he left just as worried.

Fang Shuwen took the opportunity to return to his inn, retrieve his belongings, and settle the bill for his room.

He returned to the Escort Agency and waited for another hour or so before Mo Beidou came back, reporting that everything was in place.

The most crucial part of the plan was that their departure that evening had to remain an absolute secret.

If their escape was discovered prematurely, the decoy they’d arranged would be useless.

Only by being exceptionally careful could they ensure the decoys would successfully and completely divert the Fierce Tiger Gang’s attention.

To that end, they couldn’t leave a single trace of their presence. They even removed the bamboo hat from the head of the young master they were escorting.

Fang Shuwen snuck a couple of glances and noticed the "lad" had rosy lips and pearly teeth. ’Could he actually be a girl?’ he wondered.

The Lu’an Escort Agency’s Escort Masters were a multi-talented group; one of them was even proficient in the Disguise Technique.

It took some time for this master to alter everyone’s faces, just enough to make them hard to recognize at a glance. Only then did they head out of the city in their separate groups.

Fang Shuwen was in a group with Mo Beidou, Lu Guiyan, and the master-and-servant pair.

Sun Qian, along with the other Escort Masters and Porters, split into three separate groups.

After a few minor hiccups, they finally managed to slip out of the city successfully.

Their success was also due to the fact that the Fierce Tiger Gang had lost track of Lu Guiyan’s group after they first entered Guangning City.

Otherwise, the gang wouldn’t have needed to use the clue from the apothecary to track them down.

They finally regrouped at a rendezvous point a few miles outside the city.

After a quick headcount, they confirmed no one was missing.

Lu Guiyan breathed a sigh of relief and led the group onward into the night.

The going was tough. The sky was pitch-black, with neither stars nor a moon. While it wasn’t so dark that you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face, they still stumbled and tripped along the uneven ground.

After traveling for half the night, they had covered less than ten miles.

Suddenly, Fang Shuwen glanced up. After they had walked for some time longer, he spotted the faint glow of firelight filtering through the woods ahead.

He could also hear the clash of cymbals, the striking of gongs, and the beat of a drum, along with an ethereal, indistinct singing that drifted toward them in the lulls between the drumbeats.

The sounds were intermittent, fading in and out, creating an ethereal and unsettling atmosphere...