Chapter 24: The Mask Falls

 

Every gaze in the courtyard converged on Lin Jun like arrows finding their target. He stood frozen, a statue carved from bewilderment itself. "General Duan... what are you saying? Do you suspect that I am the spy?"

Duan Xu's head tilted with leisurely grace, his smile sharp as a blade concealed in silk. "Suspect? No. I'm certain." He began ticking off points with the calm precision of a scholar reciting poetry. "The wind angle diviner's carriage was ambushed with Han Ling Qiu accompanying it—but the carriage came from you. You knew about the granary defenses. You knew the timing of the grain robbery. You handled communications with the Lin family's first branch."

Lin Jun's laugh emerged harsh and brittle. "So what?"

"Must I spell it out?" Duan Xu drifted closer, closing the distance until his words became a whisper only two sets of ears could catch. "I didn't realize blindfolded combat was a jianghu custom, Master Fifteen of Tian Zhi Xiao."

The transformation was instantaneous. Lin Jun's confusion and righteous anger evaporated like morning mist under brutal sunlight. With serpent-strike speed, his arm hooked around Duan Xu's throat. Duan Xu twisted to break free, but Lin Jun moved as if reading his thoughts, locking Duan Xu's arms and pressing a sleeve dagger's cold edge against vulnerable flesh.

His martial prowess defied comprehension. Even Duan Xu couldn't resist.

Cold eyes surveyed the courtyard as he announced with crystalline clarity: "Nobody moves, or I'll paint these stones with his blood."

Surrounding soldiers drew their weapons in a chorus of ringing steel, but fear for their general rooted them in place. Wu Sheng Liu leveled his massive sword at Lin Jun, fury turning his face crimson. "Damn it, Proprietor Lin! I thought you were a real man! When the Lin family master died below the city, I grieved for your family—but it was you who betrayed your own uncle!"

He Simu discarded her melon seed shells with deliberate nonchalance, rising as if bored by amateur theater. "This person isn't the real Lin Jun. Just someone wearing his face like a costume. He didn't sell out his uncle."

"Bah! I don't care if he's related or not—this son of a bitch dies here!" Wu Sheng Liu roared.

Lin Jun remained extraordinarily calm, restraining Duan Xu with such perfect control that no one doubted his blade would open Duan Xu's throat at the slightest provocation.

Han Ling Qiu had materialized on the viewing platform amid the chaos, standing among the crowd with an expression complex as knotted silk. He faced Lin Jun and Duan Xu across the charged space. Lin Jun's gaze found him, and he asked with eerie composure: "Did you lose your memory?"

Han Ling Qiu's eyes flickered like candle flames in wind, offering no answer, but Wu Sheng Liu bellowed: "Whether he lost his memory or not is none of your damn business!"

"If you've lost your memory, perhaps it's understandable." Lin Jun's voice carried the weight of judgment. "I don't know what you've endured, but you should be my seventeenth junior brother. Come back with me to see our master."

His gaze had transformed to cold iron, utterly alien from the patriotic Proprietor Lin who'd spoken of righteousness and sacrifice.

Han Ling Qiu shook his head. The scar bisecting his face appeared especially vicious in the harsh light, but his expression held absolute resolve. "Don't speak nonsense and confuse everyone. I am Han Ling Qiu, a captain of Great Liang's Taibai Army. Nothing else."

Lin Jun's laugh emerged soft and cutting. "You were once master's favorite disciple, but now you can't distinguish right from wrong."

He pressed Duan Xu's acupoints with practiced precision, holding the general hostage as he navigated out of the training field. He called for a horse with the authority of someone accustomed to instant obedience, then ordered Commander Wu to open the city gates. Duan Xu, adhering to his principle of not resisting when thoroughly outmatched, had Commander Wu comply with every demand.

However, Lin Jun proved a man who valued expedience over honor. Rather than releasing Duan Xu as implicitly promised, he took the general hostage beyond the city walls and directly into the Danzhi army camp.

Wu Sheng Liu jumped and cursed like a man possessed, immediately ordering the gates sealed after Lin Jun's departure while spitting venom: "On New Year's Eve, these Huqi people truly have no decency! We'll raid their camp tonight and rescue the general!"

Han Ling Qiu and Meng Wan remained islands of calm in the storm. They exchanged weighted glances, and Han Ling Qiu stepped forward. "Commander, the general previously entrusted me with a matter."

---

Upon entering enemy territory, Lin Jun exchanged passwords with Danzhi soldiers and presented a token that commanded immediate respect. Those soldiers escorted him deeper into the camp with military precision.

Duan Xu was delivered to a prison cell, secured with handcuffs and leg irons, and bound to a wooden frame. If circumstances had permitted, they would have regretted not piercing his shoulder blades with chains. His status as an extraordinarily dangerous prisoner was evident—he occupied a cell alone, with guards stationed only at the camp entrance.

"Was this deliberate strategy, or did you lose your gamble?"

The familiar female voice arrived with a patch of rust-red skirt hem entering Duan Xu's field of vision. He looked up to find the pale, beautiful ghost standing before him, twirling the Ghost King lantern jade pendant between elegant fingers, her smile laden with meaning.

Duan Xu leaned against the frame as if it were comfortable furniture provided for his convenience. "This round isn't finished. It's premature to declare victory or defeat. Did Your Highness correctly identify the spy?"

He Simu nodded with satisfaction. "The day Lin Huaide died at the city's foot, I knew."

She'd heard that Lin Jun cherished his uncle, respecting him as a father. Originally, his fervent support for the Taibai Army in the prefecture city would likely implicate Lin Huaide—yet not only did he fail to distance his uncle from the association, he even requested Lin Huaide's help knowing a spy operated within their ranks. This carried extreme likelihood of harming the Lin family, yet he'd seemed completely oblivious, displaying not even a moment's hesitation.

Even the most loyal and heroic heart should contain a person's most fundamental fears, hesitations, and considerations.

Moreover, drawing from He Simu's centuries of accumulated experience, on the day Lin Huaide perished, although Lin Jun appeared devastated by grief, his shock had exceeded his pain—as if he hadn't anticipated Lin Huaide would die so magnanimously.

He'd seemed not to understand his uncle at all.

"When did your suspicions begin?" He Simu asked with genuine curiosity.

"From the very beginning." Duan Xu's smile carried the satisfaction of a patient hunter. "I smelled the scent of my own kind on him."

"The same kind as you? Then he's definitely not a good person."

"Naturally." After a calculated pause, Duan Xu abandoned his usual cryptic approach and explained with unusual directness. "I initially discovered Lin Jun was testing Han Ling Qiu. I was curious about Han Ling Qiu because I suspected he originated from Tian Zhi Xiao—so why was Lin Jun curious about him? Regardless of their connection, it was profoundly strange."

"However, whether Han Ling Qiu had regained his memory remained uncertain. When the provisions burned, I suspected both of them. During the grain robbery, I brought Han Ling Qiu along. His performance didn't resemble a spy's behavior. Perhaps Danzhi wanted to capture him alive because someone was curious about him and wanted to bring him back for interrogation—which aligned perfectly with Lin Jun's actions."

"So I revealed to Lin Jun that Han Ling Qiu had lost his memory. He grew anxious. During the martial arts competition, when he couldn't probe Han Ling Qiu's true abilities after considerable time, sure enough, he introduced the blindfolded test. Those familiar with blindfolded testing come from either the Danzhi Royal Court or Tian Zhi Xiao. He infiltrated the prefecture city alone as a spy—which doesn't seem like behavior a precious royal noble would display. Therefore, he should be someone from Tian Zhi Xiao."

He Simu's eyebrows rose with interest. "Blindfolded test?"

Duan Xu nodded, his expression darkening. "This is the final assessment when each cohort of Tian Zhi Xiao disciples completes their training. The Danzhi Royal Court serves as the audience, enjoying the spectacle of two disciples dueling blindfolded. The survivor officially completes training and receives a Tian Zhi Xiao number. Fifteen is this fake Lin Jun's designation."

"If they're both from Tian Zhi Xiao, shouldn't Fifteen have recognized Han Ling Qiu from the start? Why the elaborate testing?"

"Disciples from different Tian Zhi Xiao cohorts rarely meet. Even during occasional encounters, they all wear black gauze concealing their faces with only eyes exposed. Han Ling Qiu's face is disfigured—how could Fifteen possibly recognize him?"

He Simu's eyes flickered as she regarded this person conversing with such confidence, as comfortable in the enemy camp as if lounging in his own chambers. She leisurely raised her index finger to her lips, smiling with feline satisfaction. "Shh, someone's coming."

Both turned their attention toward the entrance, watching a tall, thin figure lift the tent flap. He possessed a Han person's facial structure, with hair braided in traditional Huqi style adorned with silver ornaments. His eyes resembled frozen night itself, slender phoenix eyes that couldn't perceive He Simu and only regarded Duan Xu bound to the frame with icy assessment.

Duan Xu met his gaze for a measured moment, then smiled with disarming sincerity. "Master Fifteen of Tian Zhi Xiao, truly skilled at disguise—undetectable even by blood relatives."

This was the authentic face of the false Lin Jun.

The man approached Duan Xu, examining him with the thoroughness of someone appraising livestock, then spoke with glacial precision: "Who exactly are you?"

He Simu thought this was becoming a tediously familiar question. From herself to Han Ling Qiu to Fifteen—everyone seemed compelled to grab his neck and force him to reveal his true identity.

Duan Xu, who hadn't yielded even when the Ghost King herself had grabbed his throat, smiled with maddening ease, handling the interrogation as if discussing weather.

"Who am I? Who do you think someone who's witnessed the blindfolded test should be? Now that you've taken me hostage and secured me here, what do you imagine will happen to you when I return to the royal court?"

"You're from the royal court? I haven't seen you before."

"Between the Danzhi Royal Court and the Council of Elders, over a hundred noble children exist. Have you personally met every single one?"

Fifteen neither confirmed nor denied Duan Xu's implications. After a weighted pause, he probed again: "How did you know I'm Fifteen?"

"Only Fifteen, Sixteen, and Seventeen match the appropriate age. Sixteen was accidentally disabled. Seventeen has been missing for years. Therefore, you must be Fifteen."

"You deliberately allowed me to capture you. What's your objective? Do you want to return to the royal court?"

Duan Xu leaned against the frame, his smile brilliant as summer sunrise. "What do you think?"

Relying on the knowledge that Fifteen couldn't confirm his identity and therefore wouldn't dare torture him casually, he grew increasingly arrogant in his evasiveness, even pushing his advantage: "If you can't decipher me, then let me analyze you. Tian Zhi Xiao rarely involves itself in military matters. You infiltrated Shuozhou Prefecture City primarily to investigate the Red Bird Disaster incident, correct? Such desecration of the Cang Yan Scripture makes the High Priest extraordinarily sensitive. You couldn't immediately determine my background, and you discovered Han Ling Qiu's mysterious identity, so you remained in the prefecture city to assist Awuerqi by reporting information. If Feng Lai learned of this, he would harbor concerns about Tian Zhi Xiao overstepping boundaries."

Fifteen's pupils contracted slightly—a tell any trained observer would catch—but his overall expression maintained careful neutrality. He responded lightly: "No need to demonstrate how much you know about Danzhi in front of me. When you reach the royal court, everything will become transparent."

He seemed to surrender the verbal sparring match and turned toward the exit, but Duan Xu's voice drifted after him with calculated casualness: "How did it feel to live as Proprietor Lin?"

Fifteen's steps halted as if he'd struck an invisible wall.

"Throughout your life, you've disguised yourself as countless types of people, but you've probably never inhabited someone so passionate and forthright. Master Fifteen, when you spoke those heroic words about sacrificing for country and righteousness, when you witnessed Lin Huaide willingly die below the city, didn't you waver even slightly?"

Had he deceived so many people that there wasn't a single moment when he also deceived himself?

Silence settled like dust in sunlight, particles dancing in the beam while Fifteen stood in the tent flap's shadow, his hand clutching the fabric tightening almost imperceptibly.

He remained quiet for what felt like an eternity before turning his head, regarding Duan Xu with an expression of absolute calm, speaking quietly but with iron certainty: "No. With Cang God above, Tian Zhi Xiao was born for Cang God, never betraying Cang God."

As if when performing as Lin Jun, the shock and grief displayed on the city wall had been nothing more than meticulously crafted theater.

Having delivered this declaration, he lifted the tent flap and exited, his black-clad figure vanishing behind fabric. Outside, his voice could be heard ordering increased forces to guard Duan Xu with extreme vigilance.

Duan Xu released a soft laugh, commenting with almost pitying detachment: "Living without even possessing your own name—why care about gods and ghosts?"

He Simu clicked her tongue in appreciation several times. She folded her arms and approached Duan Xu, her red skirt seemingly passing through the dry straw littering the ground as if it possessed no more substance than mist.

She drew close, reaching out to caress his face with fingers that carried no warmth. "Now you're trapped in enemy territory, and they plan to transport you to Danzhi's capital. Shuozhou Prefecture City teeters on the edge of catastrophe. Young General, my offer still stands—do you want to make a wish to me?"

Duan Xu blinked, smiled, leaned forward until his breath would have stirred her hair if she'd been solid, and whispered near her ear: "I promised to let Your Highness watch a performance. How could I trouble Your Highness to take the stage yourself?"

A faint clicking sound emerged. He Simu looked up to discover that Duan Xu had somehow freed himself completely from handcuffs and leg irons. He rotated his reddened wrists with casual satisfaction, commenting lightly: "As it happens, I learned bone contraction techniques as a child. No chains can hold me."

He Simu narrowed her eyes, thinking the Huqi people would probably spend eternity regretting they hadn't pierced his shoulder blades after all.

Historical Context: The Tian Zhi Xiao organization represents one of the darkest aspects of the Danzhi culture—assassins raised from childhood, stripped of identity, forced to kill fellow disciples to "graduate." The blindfolded death match serves as both final exam and entertainment for nobility, revealing the cruel pragmatism underlying Danzhi's religious devotion to Cang God.

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