Chapter 134: Sharing the Same Bad Luck! (Second Update)

Earlier, when she brought Mother Zhou out of the courtyard, she had deliberately acted in an extremely high-profile and ostentatious manner. She even went to the front to ask the steward monk about the whereabouts of Old Madam Chen...

It was impossible for the people keeping watch in the shadows not to have noticed her movements.

Therefore—

The target of those people was actually the Old Madam?

Could this really be the doing of Madam Meng? Although Madam Meng and the Old Madam were at odds, they had lived under the same roof and kept the peace for so many years. Why would she suddenly lose her patience now?

For a moment, Wu Tan was completely baffled. She even began to doubt whether this matter was truly orchestrated by Madam Meng after all.

However, since the enemy was genuinely targeting their side, Old Madam Chen should be safe for the time being.

Of course—

This assumed that once the perpetrators thought they had burned the Old Madam to death inside the room, they had no intention of doing anything further to her.

Now, Wu Tan was not entirely sure whether she herself was also among the targets. She did not dare to rashly linger at Old Madam Chen's place, lest she bring disaster upon others. She wanted to slip away, but then she heard a second wave of fire erupting from the direction of the front main hall.

The courtyard where the incense-burning guests stayed was set apart in a separate area, distinct from the monks' quarters and the major halls in the front.

In this small courtyard, the monks were only responsible for delivering three meals a day and replenishing necessary daily supplies. After nightfall, generally no one else would come by.

Because the courtyard where Wu Tan and the others stayed was located in a remote corner, the fire did not draw attention at first. But once the flames broke out near the grand Mahavira Hall in the front, a wave of chaotic noise quickly arose.

Could this be—

A diversion tactic meant to delay the monks from rushing over to put out the fire? Furthermore, with such a commotion, the monks would be running about in confusion, throwing the temple into disorder, which would make it easier for their operatives to blend in and act according to circumstances.

Wu Tan knew she could no longer hide in Old Madam Chen's courtyard, but after taking two steps toward the door, she immediately changed her mind.

She glanced around her surroundings.

Xiangguo Temple was a centuries-old monastery and a sacred, tranquil Buddhist sanctuary, so the monks had always maintained a relaxed attitude. These small courtyards were built rather simply, without high perimeter walls like the houses in the city.

Taking advantage of the darkness, Wu Tan slipped over to the base of the side window of the left wing room, climbed onto the windowsill, and inched her way to the innermost corner. Using the windowsill as leverage, she hoisted herself up onto the top of the wall and scrambled over into the neighboring courtyard.

After landing, she was sitting beneath the base of the wall catching her breath when movement stirred in the courtyard on the other side of the wall.

Someone rushed in with hurried footsteps, seemingly first confirming that the people inside the room had been knocked out by incense smoke, and then pushed the door open and barged in. Emerging a moment later, the person spat in disgust, "Damn it, are your eyes blind? Didn't you say she was in this room? You can't even keep an eye on a little girl, what are you good for?"

The other person was scolded but did not dare talk back, only defending himself in a bewildered, hushed tone, "I clearly saw that old woman and the young girl enter this courtyard. Isn't that old hag in there?"

"You must have been spacing out and let her slip away right under your nose," the other cursed. "You're more hindrance than help! Hurry up and go look for—"

This person apparently never expected that a pampered young lady would take precautions against them and even know how to scale a wall to hide. Cursing under his breath, he strode away.

Wu Tan's nerves had been strung tight the entire time, and she dared not relax now. She kept her mind sharp, listening quietly to the sounds in the neighboring courtyard. When she heard those two men leave the courtyard, the man who had been cursing muttered once more, "Still... didn't the boss say to finish off the Second Young Miss? Since she managed to run away, why bother setting fire to the place over there? What if the Old Madam gets burned? How are we going to explain this later..."

The voices of the two men gradually faded into the distance.

Wu Tan's heart hammered wildly—

What did this mean? Was her target actually supposed to be her all along? Since they were certain she had escaped, they truly shouldn't have set fire to the small courtyard after all...

Could it be—

Were there two different factions plotting against them?

Why were these two men worried about whether the Old Madam might be hurt? Did they need to give an explanation? To whom? Madam Meng?

Yet if Madam Meng's target was only her, who on earth would take advantage of the chaos to murder the Old Madam?

Brave as Wu Tan was, she was currently in an unfamiliar mountain temple in the middle of the night, with an unknown number of vicious, ruthless enemies lurking in the shadows waiting to take her life. To say she was completely unafraid would be a lie.

In just this short span of time, sitting in the mud in the pitch darkness, her back was drenched in sweat, and the handful of weeds she clutched in her palm had been completely soaked through.

However, she could not stay in this place for long either. Those two men had been careless and hadn't expected her to climb the wall, but clearly, they had a superior above them. If they realized their mistake and came back to search, crouching here would simply mean waiting to be trapped.

In the dark, she didn't even dare to breathe heavily. She took a few silent, deep breaths to steady her emotions, then used the surrounding wall to steady herself as she stood up. Keeping a wary eye on her surroundings, she felt her way out of the small courtyard.

At that moment, however, she felt a vague sense of panic, not knowing where she should head next—

Originally, she had wanted to go to the front courtyard to find a crowded place and blend in with the monks for safety. But now, the Mahavira Hall and the residential quarters in the back were on fire one after another, and the entire temple was in complete chaos.

The monks' living quarters and the guests' courtyards were separated by a single communal gate. If she went to the front to seek help, that was the only route she had to take. If the enemy was even slightly observant, they would have stationed guards near that gate by now!

Besides, who could guarantee that none of their operatives were hiding among the frantically running monks?

No! She could not walk right into a trap!

Wu Tan weighed her options rapidly in her mind and decided to throw caution to the wind. Since she was already trapped here, even if she were to die, she had to die knowing the truth and find out who was trying to harm them.

Clinging to a sliver of luck, she took a detour and crept back toward the direction of the courtyard where she had been staying.

In that direction, a dozen or so monks had already rushed over, busy passing buckets of water to put out the fire.

To avoid being seen, Wu Tan decided to skirt around the outer perimeter of the entire row of courtyards. At the very end, making a turn would lead directly to the courtyard housing the temple kitchen. When Wu Tan approached that area, remembering there was a back gate leading out to the rear mountain, she feared someone might be lying in wait there. She deliberately heightened her caution, crouching as she prepared to slip past the doorway, when she suddenly heard a loud crash from inside the courtyard, sounding like something had been knocked over.

Wu Tan's hair stood on end. She quickly straightened up, pressing her back tightly against the wall, not daring to move an inch, and even deliberately stifled her breathing.

A man lowered his voice into an angry hiss, "Who told you to set the fire? Didn't you know the Old Madam was inside that room? What are we going to do now?"

Another man's voice sounded extremely feeble, "I was only following orders; you have no right to question me, and I don't need to explain myself to you. The Madam told me to set the fire. If you have questions, go ask the Madam; it has nothing to do with me!"

"Bulls***!" The first man followed with a punch, landing a blow that made the other grunt in stifled pain. Yet he remained cautious and wary, and although he was boiling with fury, he still kept his voice tightly suppressed as he demanded, "The Madam told you to burn the Old Madam to death? Didn't you know sleeping powder had been burned in that room..."

Before he could finish, the other man seemed to have reached his limit. Though he didn't fight back, he struggled and interrupted, "I said, it was the Madam who ordered me to do it. I don't know what she told you, but she gave me a direct, separate command: under no circumstances was the Old Madam allowed to leave the mountain alive today."

As soon as these words fell, the other person suddenly fell silent.

Listening from her hiding place, Wu Tan felt as though thunderclaps were exploding in her mind—

She could almost be certain that the "Madam" these two men spoke of was none other than Madam Meng. So Madam Meng had tricked one of them into setting up this scheme without telling him that her true target was the Old Madam, and then sent someone else to deliver a fatal blow afterward?

This woman usually appeared forbearing, mild, and quiet, yet she executed ruthless plots with such fluid ease.

The man who had initially flown into a rage seemed profoundly shaken by this revelation. It took him a long time to recover, before he suddenly let out a cold laugh, "So, she played a double game and used me? The person she wanted wasn't the Second Young Miss at all, but the Old Madam?"

"No!" the other man immediately denied. "The Madam's initial intention was to eliminate both of them. But either way, the Old Madam had to die!"

The one who had been used seemed thoroughly resentful, and once again gritted his teeth to demand, "Why? Why would she do such a thing?"

"I don't know!" the injured man replied. "If you have any questions, you can go ask her face-to-face. Actually, you really shouldn't blame me—since you failed to finish off the Second Young Miss, you should be grateful that my side succeeded. Otherwise, if you had returned empty-handed after the Madam plotted for so long, that truly would have been unexplainable."

The man who had thrown the punch was clearly unreconciled to being used, but things had reached this point, and regret was useless.

The injured man continued, "Since the temple has already been alerted, forget about the Second Young Miss. Quickly call all your men back and let's retreat. I just received news from the city that the Second Young Master and the Heir are both rushing here from front and back. If they trap us here, none of us will make it out alive."

The assailant was still filled with lingering anger, but after remaining silent for a moment, he let out a cold snort, loosened his grip on the other's collar, and strode heavily toward the courtyard.

Wu Tan instantly held her breath, pressing her body hard against the base of the wall.

The man was consumed with anger and had no spare energy to think of anything else. Emerging from the kitchen courtyard, he headed with large, hurried strides straight toward the main temple.

Wu Tan caught sight of what he was wearing—

A bald head, dressed in monks' robes.

At that moment, she broke out in a fresh cold sweat of sheer dread—

These people were truly cautious. They had actually shaved their heads and disguised themselves as monks. Not to mention the middle of the night, even in broad daylight, it would be impossible for the three hundred monks in the temple to recognize every single one of them. Blending in to come and go openly was effortless for them.

Fortunately, though it was a close call, they believed the person trapped and burned to death in the room was the Old Madam, and they dared not waste any more time searching for her. As long as she stayed hidden in the shadows until they left, she would survive this ordeal.

These men were probably planning to make their escape down the mountain through this back gate. Not daring to linger in this spot any longer, Wu Tan stood on tiptoe and made to turn away, when she heard someone kick open the courtyard gate with a heavy thud, followed by the boisterous entry of several men.

The man still in the courtyard asked vigilantly, "Didn't I tell you to guard the path down the mountain? Why are you coming back up?"

Wu Tan had no desire to listen to their bickering any longer, but before she could take two steps, she heard a rough-voiced ruffian say, "These two little lasses were sneaking down the mountain in the dark, and kept insisting they were from a village at the foot of the mountain. Look at this delicate skin and tender flesh—where else could they be raised if not an official's household? Didn't the boss keep warning us that the Second Young Miss of the Marquis's estate is extremely cunning? Take a look, could it be her?"

Hearing this, Wu Tan felt yet another explosion ring out in her brain.

Great! When a person's luck is bad, even drinking cold water gets stuck in their teeth!

Her own luck was bad enough, but Huo Yunhao and her maid were even more ill-fated! Their bad luck had all converged in one place. If her guess was correct, those two must have been mistaken for her and dragged back here.

In the courtyard, the first man seemed to be scrutinizing them, and after a moment, said uncertainly, "This... probably not! When I went to the Marquis's estate during the New Year, I caught a glimpse of the Second Young Miss from afar. She wasn't this tall, and didn't look like this!"

"Did we grab the wrong person?" the ruffian asked unhappily, letting out a frustrated roar. "Then what do we do?"

The first man replied, "What do we do? Wrong or right, we have to stick with it. Are we supposed to leave live witnesses to report us to the authorities? True, that delicate skin doesn't look like locals from the village, but with just two young maids wandering about the desolate wilderness in the middle of the night, they can't be from any prominent official's family either. Finish them off, throw them in the back mountain, and make it look like they were killed by bandits."

"Hehe!" Hearing this, the ruffian's tone suddenly softened, turning into a lewd, sinister chuckle. "With skin this tender and faces this pretty, it'd be a terrible waste to just kill them off. How about... us brothers have some fun first?"

The first man hesitated for a moment. "Don't complicate things. We're heading down the mountain immediately..."

"We can take them down the mountain!" the ruffian quickly urged.

Huo Yunhao and her maid probably hadn't understood what he meant at first, but now they suddenly began to struggle, emitting muffled cries through their gags.

The first man grew impatient. "Hurry up and move! Do you want to wait here for the Marquis's estate people to come up and trap us?"

"Let's go! Moving right now!" Hearing this, the ruffian took it as tacit approval, his laughter laced with even more obscenity as he cheerfully dragged the captives toward the doorway.

The first man suddenly remembered something else, chased after them, and gave a low warning, "Hey! Take them down the mountain and hide them somewhere first..."

As he spoke, he jerked his chin toward the direction of the temple, implying that the boss up there must not find out.

"Understood, understood!" the ruffian agreed profusely, dragging Huo Yunhao and her maid out the door with the help of another lackey.

Both of them had their hands tied behind their backs and their mouths gagged. Nan Zhi was struggling frantically, while Huo Yunhao realized the overwhelming disparity in strength and simply stopped wasting her energy. Just as her captor was dragging her to squeeze through the half-open door, she suddenly jerked her head and rubbed the rag out of her mouth against the edge of the door, blurting out in a rush, "Are you looking for the Second Young Miss of the Marquis of Dingyuan's estate? I am her! Just kill me!"

Rather than being dragged away, locked up, and humiliated, she would rather have them mistake her for Wu Tan and grant her a swift, clean death.

Upon hearing this, Nan Zhi began struggling even more fiercely.

The three men froze simultaneously.

None of them were from the Marquis of Dingyuan's estate; they could only identify Wu Tan by her carriage and attire. Now that someone had actively confessed—

Moreover, they hadn't specified which Marquis's estate they were targeting. Huo Yunhao's cry actually made the men believe her by a few fractions.

Huo Yunhao's face was filled with fury, yet her eyes held the resolute determination of someone facing certain death.

The three men exchanged glances, staring at each other in blank dismay.

Hiding just outside the inner courtyard's gate, Wu Tan took a deep breath, stepped out, and raised her voice in an unhurried tone, "Don't listen to her nonsense! I am the one you're looking for!"

Because her appearance was so sudden, the three men were instantly on high alert. With Huo Yunhao and her maid included, five pairs of eyes instantly locked onto her.

Huo Yunhao had not expected Wu Tan to be hiding right outside the courtyard, nor that she would actually dare to show herself at a time like this.

By now, she and her maid had already fallen into the tiger's jaws anyway—

Watching Wu Tan walk step by step toward them, Huo Yunhao panicked and shouted to preempt her, "No! I am the young miss of the Wu family! You tampered with the lamp oil, didn't you? I discovered it, which is why I rushed down the mountain!"

Hearing this, the three ruffians grew even more confused.

By this time, Wu Tan had already walked up close to them. Because she still looked like a half-grown child, a slender and frail young girl, the grown men didn't take her seriously even as she approached.

Taking advantage of their confusion and bewilderment, Wu Tan quietly slid the dagger hidden in her sleeve into her hand and lunged forward in a single bound.

The man who had been beaten earlier and still had bruises at the corner of his mouth only saw her recklessly hurling her head toward his abdomen. Finding it laughable, he didn't even bother to block.

Wu Tan gripped the dagger with both hands and drove it straight into his abdomen, throwing her entire weight and strength into a ruthless twist.