Hearing Cui Chenyu’s words, Yang Xuan’s face showed agreement, but internally, he thought otherwise.
’Why would Lin Yan do this? What’s in it for him?’
’The Water Bandit Alliance was wiped out because Blind Huo’s stupid grandson, Huo Shen, went out of his way to provoke Lin Yan.’
’But since I’m already on this ship, it means I’ve decided to cooperate with Cui Chenyu. For now, I’ll just listen to whatever he says.’
"Young Master Cui, aren’t you afraid the Lin Family will investigate later?"
Yang Xuan was less concerned about a few assassinated Water Bandits and more interested in why Cui Chenyu wanted to kill Lin Yan. The Cui and Lin Families were both among the Four Great Clans of Qing State. Although they had conflicts of interest, things shouldn’t have reached this point.
"You’re the ones taking action. What does that have to do with my Cui Family? And since you’ll be gone, you won’t have to fear the Lin Family’s investigation either."
Cui Chenyu spoke nonchalantly. He had chosen to work with Yang Xuan precisely to keep the Lin Family from suspecting the Cui Family—or at the very least, to ensure they couldn’t find any evidence.
Tonight, Lin Yan’s stronghold would be eliminated. When the Lin Family came to investigate, they would discover the disappearance of Yang Xuan and his men. They would only suspect it was Yang Xuan’s revenge against their family.
After all, Yang Xuan and Jiang Ji—the one killed by Lin Shouchen—were sworn brothers, at least in name.
Yang Xuan wouldn’t dare seek revenge on Lin Shouchen, so it was perfectly plausible that he would kill Lin Yan to avenge Jiang Ji instead.
’But that isn’t my main objective. My real goal is to get rid of Lin Yan and stir up conflict between the Lin Family’s Third and Fourth Branches.’
’Back then, Lin Shouchen killed my aunt and that "Tenth Uncle" from the Lin Family’s Fourth Branch with a single strike. What Lin Shouchen didn’t know, however, was that the man from the Fourth Branch didn’t just sell out the Lin Family’s situation—he also gave several of their Cultivation Techniques to my aunt.’
’All these years, besides practicing my own family’s Cultivation Techniques, I have secretly been practicing one of the Lin Family’s as well.’
’When I learned that Lin Yan had repeatedly humiliated the Fourth Branch, I knew a golden opportunity to drive a wedge between the Third and Fourth Branches had arrived.’
’Directly using a Lin Family Cultivation Technique to kill Lin Yan would be too crude a frame-up; the Third Branch wouldn’t suspect the Fourth. But by deliberately using Yang Xuan’s hand and making it look like Lin Yan died at the hands of Water Bandits, the Third Branch will be more inclined to suspect the Fourth Branch. They’ll think the Fourth Branch used the bandits as a smokescreen.’
’I’ll kill Lin Yan with a Lin Family Cultivation Technique, leave behind subtle traces of it, and then let Yang Xuan and his men take the fall.’
’The more the Third Branch thinks about it, the more they’ll suspect the Fourth. Combined with their past grievances, the two branches will be completely torn apart. Even if the Lin Family doesn’t collapse entirely, an internal struggle like that will leave them severely weakened.’
A vicious glint flashed in Cui Chenyu’s eyes. The reason he had schemed so meticulously was not only to have the Cui Family replace the Lin Family as the head of the Four Great Clans, but also for two other reasons.
’First, to avenge my aunt.’
’My aunt died at Lin Shouchen’s hands, and I’ve never forgotten that debt.’
’Second, that group of mysterious Water Bandits was wiped out by the Lin Family. According to the information I’ve gathered, they had contact with Lin Mingye, Lin Minghao, and Lin Yan before they died. If there was any real treasure, it would have ended up in Lin Yan’s hands.’
’Lin Mingye can’t keep a secret. If he’d gotten a treasure, he would have surely broadcasted it to everyone.’
’And if Lin Minghao had gotten it, given his personality, he would have left the East River Waters and returned to the Lin Family long ago.’
"Remember, you just need to take care of the others. Leave Lin Yan to me."
"Don’t worry, Young Master Cui. We certainly won’t fight you for him," Yang Xuan said with a chuckle. "But please remember, Young Master Cui, besides me and my brothers on this ship, there is one other man who knows about this. If I fail to rendezvous with him by the appointed hour, he will go to the Lin Family and tell them everything."
He knew that choosing to work with Cui Chenyu was like bargaining with a tiger. He never would have agreed if the benefits Cui Chenyu offered weren’t impossible to refuse.
For this reason, he had to leave himself an escape route, to prevent Cui Chenyu and the Cui Family from killing him to tie up loose ends afterward.
"Don’t worry."
Cui Chenyu snorted. Just as he was about to say more, his expression suddenly changed. He roared towards the cabin entrance, "Who’s there?"
Yang Xuan froze for a second, but his expression changed the next instant as well. He heard the screams and thuds of his men falling on the deck.
Someone was there!
Cui Chenyu and Yang Xuan reacted at the same time. Cui Chenyu’s figure shot towards the cabin entrance, but Yang Xuan spun directly toward a window on the side. His Blood Exchange Realm strength allowed him to easily smash through the wooden planks. With a powerful leap, he dove into the river.
He didn’t know who had come, but for someone to sneak onto their ship while they were on their way to kill Lin Yan... that fact alone said everything.
Years of experience as a Water Bandit told him one thing: run!
On the ship’s deck, the night wind howled.
The moment Cui Chenyu burst out of the cabin, he came to an abrupt halt.
He saw a person standing on the deck, clad in black with their face masked, holding a black longsword. Nine corpses lay scattered around them.
"Lin Yan!"
In that instant, Cui Chenyu was certain this person was Lin Yan, even though his height didn’t match the reports from the men he’d sent to investigate.
Lin Yan wasn’t surprised that Cui Chenyu recognized him. It just confirmed one thing for him: ’This Cui Chenyu must have done his fair share of dirty work in the shadows.’
’Only one of his own kind could guess my identity so accurately.’
"I guessed right. You’re the one behind the recent assassinations of the Water Bandits. It seems you’re out hunting again tonight."

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