Chapter 558: Chapter 246: Discovery

Zuo Hong said,

"There’s absolutely no one in this world who could abduct Hero Fang and the young lady without alerting anyone."

Zhou Zhengze asked anxiously,

"So, does that mean this place is haunted?"

Zuo Xuan’s face darkened. He wished he could just smack the kid on the head and knock some sense into him.

He lowered his voice and said,

"No one in the world could pull this off, but... there is one person who can."

"Who in the world could that be?"

Zhou Zhengze said incredulously,

"To abduct even Hero Fang without a sound? Could this person be... a martial god descended to earth?

"Wait, a martial god, the Demon Evil God... Could it be that Hero Fang killed too many people and finally incurred divine punishment?"

Zuo Hong rolled her eyes at him.

"You’re talking complete nonsense. What my brother means is, Hero Fang left with the young lady on his own."

"Then what are we supposed to do?"

Sometimes, Zhou Zhengze’s thinking could be quite sharp.

Even if his train of thought had just derailed, he could instantly find a new track, get back to the original point, and even take it a step further.

His question stunned both Zuo Xuan and Zuo Hong.

’They left, so what are we supposed to do?’

’That... actually makes sense?’

’Should we stay here at Tingtiao Pavilion, or should we head back to Qingxiao Pavilion on our own?’

After following this line of thought for a moment, Zuo Xuan scowled and kicked Zhou Zhengze.

"You’ve completely sidetracked me."

"What I meant was, they’ve ditched the Young Pavilion Master. They’re only pretending to be missing. In reality, they’ve gone from operating in the open to operating in secret."

"So there’s nothing to worry about."

It was only then that it dawned on Zhou Zhengze. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something.

Zuo Hong quickly cut in,

"You be quiet. Brother, you go ahead."

Zuo Xuan thought for a moment.

"I forgot what I was going to say..."

Zhou Zhengze quickly raised his hand.

Zuo Hong glanced at him, then hesitated.

"Alright, what is it?"

"Since everything’s fine, shouldn’t we go back to sleep?"

Zhou Zhengze offered a refreshingly simple proposal.

Just as Zuo Hong was about to nod, Zuo Xuan quickly spoke up.

"I remember what I was going to say now."

"That Suhe Chen clearly didn’t expect this. We can’t let them see that we’re not the least bit concerned about Hero Fang’s disappearance."

"I don’t know why Hero Fang suddenly did this, but... it’s highly likely because of this Tingtiao Pavilion."

"In that case, we should play along and act ’anxious’ for a bit, so Suhe Chen doesn’t catch on."

This sounded a bit complicated.

Zuo Hong mulled it over for a moment before nodding.

"That makes sense."

Zhou Zhengze nodded along.

"Right, that makes sense."

Getting such ready agreement from the two of them made Zuo Xuan a little embarrassed.

Just as he was scratching his head, he heard Zuo Hong ask Zhou Zhengze,

"Did you understand any of that?"

Zhou Zhengze shook his head decisively.

"Nope. But since you both think it’s right, then I think it’s right too."

"..."

Zuo Xuan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

"Alright, alright, that’s enough. Let’s go. We still have to ’look for’ them."

...

...

"Zuo Xuan is a talented man. Quick-witted, smart, and decisive. A rare find indeed."

In the shadows, Fang Shuwen chuckled and said to Luo Shuqing,

"This guard of yours is worth cultivating."

"Then, then why did you treat him like that when you first met?"

Luo Shuqing glanced at Fang Shuwen.

Fang Shuwen smiled.

"We were strangers back then. Rules had to be set."

"What, are you planning on holding a grudge?"

"I, I wouldn’t dare."

Luo Shuqing lowered her head.

"Really?"

Fang Shuwen gave Luo Shuqing a look that was not quite a smile.

His gaze was a bit strange. If Zhou Qingmei had been there, she would have realized that Fang Shuwen had looked at Luo Shuqing with the exact same expression that day at One Square House.

By the time Luo Shuqing looked up, he had carefully hidden that expression.

"Do, do you really think Sister Lan’s disappearance has something to do with, with Suhe Chen and the others?

"But, but they’re family."

Zuo Xuan’s guess was spot on.

It was impossible for anyone in the world to abduct Fang Shuwen and Luo Shuqing without a sound.

The only one who could do such a thing was, naturally, Fang Shuwen himself.

Earlier, when the explosion sounded and everyone’s attention was focused on Tingtiao Pavilion, Fang Shuwen had led Luo Shuqing away in secret.

They had since hidden in the shadows, observing Suhe Chen and the others for the entire afternoon.

During this time, faced with Luo Shuqing’s confusion, Fang Shuwen had proposed a rather inconceivable possibility.

That Suhe Lan’s disappearance might be related to Suhe Chen and Suhe Zhen.

Now that Luo Shuqing had brought it up again, he began to explain as he led her toward Tingtiao Pavilion:

"I can’t say for sure at the moment."

"However, Suhe Zhen’s sudden proposal last night for Suhe Lan to marry me was definitely not a coincidence."

"Suhe Lan leaving the table was most likely within his expectations."

"It’s just that the sudden appearance of the Assassin disrupted their rhythm."

"And then today, Suhe Chen shows up, saying Suhe Lan has disappeared."

"If you take the Assassin out of the equation and combine the two events—one side proposes marriage, the other refuses, the woman runs off and suddenly disappears... then as the male party, wouldn’t I be expected to stay behind and search for her?"

"..."

Luo Shuqing thought for a moment.

"But that has no, nothing to do with you."

"It doesn’t, you’re right. But we haven’t completely broken ties with Tingtiao Pavilion yet. To leave like that would be too drastic."

Fang Shuwen said softly,

"So I suspect this was Suhe Zhen and the others’ original plan."

"It’s just that after the business with the Assassin, they found a new excuse..."

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