Chapter 8

When Wu Fan woke up from his faint, he found himself already inside a wooden house. Strangely, his hands and feet were not bound, and even the box containing his fourteen-section saber was placed beside him. This greatly surprised and terrified the just-awakened Wu Fan.

Judging from Wu Fan's thoughts, he believed there were three reasons for the other party's attitude. First, if someone shows you respect, they must have something to ask of you. Although the black-clothed woman's methods were somewhat brutal earlier, not tying him up now was already very courteous. Second, the power disparity was too great, meaning they didn't even consider his meager skills; they could kill him in a minute even if he were fully armed. Third, it was like a weasel paying a visit to a chicken—though he couldn't guess the exact reason, it certainly wasn't out of goodwill.

"Are you awake?"

The figure by the window turned halfway, letting the setting sun's rays shine through the window.

"You..."

Wu Fan, wincing and holding his neck, was about to ask something when he saw the other party reaching to remove the Maitreya Buddha mask. He was instantly terrified.

"Don't, don't, don't! Don't take it off! Let's talk this out!" Wu Fan quickly covered his face, closed his eyes, and shouted, "I understand! I understand everything!"

The woman still removed the mask, smiling slyly, and asked, "Understand? Understand what?"

Through the gaps in his fingers, Wu Fan saw the mask in her hand and immediately called out, "Bandits don't show their faces, thieves don't leave empty-handed! I understand! I understand the rules! If I see what you look like, I won't be able to live! Hero, no, Heroine! Please put the mask back on!"

"Hehehe..."

The woman laughed neurotically, her laughter hearty.

She slowly walked to Wu Fan's side, tilting her head to examine him from head to toe, and patted his shoulder, saying, "Look at me!"

"No way! I'll die if I do!"

Wu Fan shivered, his hands inexplicably moving away from his face, but he kept his eyes tightly shut, refusing to look at her.

The woman's hand on Wu Fan's shoulder was covered in a black silk glove, so thin it seemed almost nonexistent, as if her slender hand was naturally that color.

Gripping Wu Fan's shoulder, the woman applied a bit of force and said, "Look at me!"

"Ouch, ouch, ouch... Heroine! Heroine! Treat me like a fart and let me go..."

Wu Fan had a natural talent for being a villain, and he was a villain who valued his life. To save himself, he could discard his dignity and principles without a second thought.

"Ah!"

Because the woman increased her grip, Wu Fan felt intense pain on one side of his body, and his eyes snapped open.

Then...

"What a pity this face is!"

When Wu Fan saw the black-clothed woman, his first thought was this.

The woman, dressed in plain black, had a naturally tall and slender figure that made her simple clothes look incredibly elegant. Her chest was high, her neck long and fair, and her black hair was thick and lustrous... but her face, with its delicate eyebrows and rosy lips, was marred by a three-inch scar from below her right eye to her chin, destroying all her beauty and making one sigh in regret.

"Why are you staring at me?" the woman asked, looking into Wu Fan's eyes. "Do you think I'm ugly?"

"Even if I did, would I dare say it?" Wu Fan muttered to himself but on the surface, he said with a fat face, "Of course not!"

"You don't think I'm ugly?"

"Of course not! Absolutely not!"

"Then why are you staring at me?"

"Your beauty is breathtaking!"

"..."

Looking at Wu Fan's earnest face, the woman was speechless for a moment.

After a long pause, the woman coldly snorted, "To save your life, you're... really shameless! You have no dignity at all!"

Wu Fan touched his nose, not blushing in the least, and replied, "When you're about to die, what's the point of having dignity? In such hot weather, a dead person's face will be eaten by maggots in a few days. Better to discard it now than to let it feed those beasts!"

"Oh? An interesting point!" The woman looked at Wu Fan with intense eyes and said, "It seems I was right to capture you!"

Wu Fan rubbed his hands and asked flatteringly, "What do you want me for, Heroine? I'll do anything, anything!"

"Is that so? Excellent!" The woman laughed coldly and said sinisterly, "Have you heard of the Mahayana Sect's sacrifice? Hehehe... Oh! I forgot! You probably don't know, as the Maitreya Sect only changed to the Mahayana Sect a few days ago. Let me tell you! The Mahayana Sect's sacrifice... is to fry people like you, who are shameless and have committed many crimes for the government, and offer them as sacrifices to the 'New Buddha'!"

"Swallow!"

Wu Fan swallowed hard and, after a long pause, said in a hoarse, urgent voice, "No, no, no! Let's talk this out! There are so many dead people outside, and many who are still alive... Sister! Living Bodhisattva! Spare my life... Let me think, let me think... I have a thousand taels of gold, and I'm willing to give it all to you to spare my life?"

The woman looked at Wu Fan with a strange expression for a long time and said, "From your clothes, you're just a minor officer in the Eagle-Brave Guard, the lowest rank. Where did you get a thousand taels of gold..."

Before she finished, Wu Fan, who had no limits to save his life, fell to his knees and said seriously, "My mother taught me that a man's knees are worth a thousand taels of gold... one thousand taels!"

"Hehehe..."

"Interesting! Interesting! Too interesting! I have a thousand taels of gold? That's what you mean! You really are creative!" The woman's laughter was extremely strange, and it came and went quickly. She leaned down to stare at Wu Fan and said, "Do you think I'm a fool? Hmm? To let you go like this? Don't even think about it!"

Fine!

Wu Fan realized that his attempts to bluff and act shamelessly were useless. He stood up and sighed, "Tell me! What do you want me to do?"

The woman pursed her lips and said nothing, then turned and went outside. After a moment, she returned and looked at Wu Fan, saying, "Wu Fan..."

"What?"

"Seventeen years old, inherited your father's position, became a minor officer in the Eagle-Brave Guard's Luoyang Thousand-Household Office. Father, Wu Yuanshan, deceased. Mother, Lin, deceased. You have a child bride, Tong Rui, sixteen years old..." After saying all this, the woman looked at Wu Fan and said, "Do you understand what I want now?"

Wu Fan shook his head in confusion.

The woman didn't get angry but smiled slightly and said, "From now on, you are a member of the Maitreya Sect! I want you to act as a spy within the Eagle-Brave Guard! You must relay useful information to the Mahayana Sect at all times, understand?"

Wu Fan's heart turned to ice when he heard this.

Closing his eyes, Wu Fan sighed deeply, "You're sending me to my death!"

The woman raised an eyebrow, "Oh! So you're refusing?"

Wu Fan said with great righteousness, "Since ancient times, who can escape death? I would rather die than betray others to save myself!"

The woman sighed and said regretfully, "Your words are noble, but it seems I misjudged you... I wasted my time! I'll send you on your way!"

"But!"

Seeing the woman's murderous intent, Wu Fan immediately cowered and shouted, "My mother said life is precious and can't be repeated, so we must cherish it! Sister! Just tell me what you want me to do!"

The woman was stunned for a long time, unsure whether to be angry or laugh. She slowly pulled out a token from her sleeve and said, "I'm not your sister, call me 'Holy Maiden.' This token represents your membership in the Mahayana Sect and is a means of communication. I will contact you. To prevent you from going back on your word, I will..."

Wu Fan quickly said, "My mother also said, 'A gentleman's word is as binding as a galloping horse's whip!' We... don't need anything else, right?"

The woman took a deep breath, barely restraining the urge to kill Wu Fan, and said irritably, "Did your mother also tell you that you're not a gentleman but a scoundrel? Stop talking nonsense! Swallow this! I'll give you the antidote every month. If you betray me, I'll make you wish you were never born!"

Looking at the bright red pill and the woman's murderous face, Wu Fan sighed to the heavens... and then the woman took the opportunity to throw the pill into his mouth.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Wu Fan coughed uncontrollably, tears streaming down his face, and his pale face turned red.

The woman coldly snorted, "Now, your first task. Listen carefully!"

Wu Fan nodded quickly.

"Betray us!"

"What?"

"Tell your superior in the Eagle-Brave Guard about our location and have him send troops to raid us. Understand?"

Regardless of whether Wu Fan understood, the scar-faced woman, calling herself the Holy Maiden, blindfolded him and handed him over to her subordinates to take away.

Outside the wooden house, a black-clothed figure was kneeling and reported respectfully, "Holy Maiden, the ropes are ready, we can retreat..."

Hesitating, the black-clothed figure added, "I don't understand, Holy Maiden, why... why use such a scoundrel? Such a person can't be trusted!"

"It's fine. If he weren't a two-faced scoundrel, I wouldn't trust him to do this," the scar-faced woman said, putting on the Maitreya Buddha mask inside the wooden house. "Prepare to leave! Be discreet. It's best if the Eagle-Brave Guard thinks they've captured us all, so we can..."

Perhaps feeling she had said too much, the scar-faced Holy Maiden stopped talking and walked out to leave.

...

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