Twilight Boundary

"But..."

Housekeeper Zhou was visibly flustered. For a moment, he couldn't comprehend what was happening. He was certain he had seen Hu Ma put that copper coin into his mouth just moments ago...

He had clearly seen the oil lamp on the Magic Altar flare brightly—a sign of a great surge in cultivation!

Most crucially, the oil lamp on the Magic Altar had undeniably gone out and hadn't relit. From any angle, that little shopkeeper should have been a dead man...

"I ate the Blood Food Pill."

Seeing the shock on Housekeeper Zhou's face, Hu Ma felt a flicker of smug satisfaction. He even had the urge to explain everything he'd done.

It wasn't some villainous tendency, just pride in his clever methods. Who wouldn't want to show off a bit?

Unfortunately, with Aunt Zhang present and some matters still unresolved, he couldn't fully indulge his desire to boast. He could only let out a soft sigh, then looked at Housekeeper Zhou and said quietly, "You've been trying to figure us out this whole journey, and I've been carefully watching you this whole journey too."

"Few of the tricks your trick door people perform are real, and few of the words you speak are true..."

"If those demon people hadn't pursued us, giving you what you saw as an opportunity for us all to die together, wouldn't you have personally set a trap to kill us a bit further on?"

"Actually, I felt the same. The more I investigated your trick door, the more alarmed I became. I was on the verge of acting, but I couldn't quite gauge your true abilities, so I didn't dare make a rash move."

"..."

"I..."

Panic seized Housekeeper Zhou, and his body felt wretched as the snake venom coursed through him. He wanted to concentrate his energy to expel the venom, but Hu Ma's words echoed in his ears, shattering any hope of calm.

He struggled to get the words out, "You... you've been planning to harm me all along?"

"You were the one who tried to harm us first..."

Hu Ma glanced at him, frowning. "Don't you even know how many dirty tricks you've used on this journey?"

"When we crossed that bridge, I told you to disguise your young lady properly to fool the people on it. You did so, but you deliberately left several giveaways, didn't you?"

"You, a supposed expert from the trick door, dealing with a few street ruffians, yet your disguise was so riddled with flaws that they saw right through it?"

"And Godmother Cui catching up so quickly—that was your handiwork too, wasn't it?"

"You said your needling technique would delay those thugs from turning into little ghosts, buying us time. But in truth, didn't that technique actually hasten their souls' departure to alert Godmother Cui?"

"..."

As he spoke, he narrowed his eyes. "Back in the city, you borrowed Silver from me, claiming you needed to buy some equipment..."

"Weren't you actually deliberately leaking our position to the Beggar Gang so they would follow us?"

"And perhaps, when you spoke of sending word to make things difficult for the Li Family, you were actually sending a message to your own young master?"

"..."

As he continued, his gaze grew colder. Looking at Housekeeper Zhou, he said softly, "Furthermore, we ran into many eerie things on our journey. Most of those were your doing too, right?"

"You wanted us to reveal more of our skills so you could get a better read on us, correct?"

"You're more of a jianghu veteran than Godmother Cui, always probing an opponent's capabilities before striking with absolute confidence."

"..."

"You..."

Assailed by Hu Ma's relentless questions, Housekeeper Zhou staggered. The wound on his neck suddenly felt completely numb, and his throat constricted. Hu Ma, drenched in blood, his eyes icy, no longer bothered with pretense.

He forced himself to speak, staring at Hu Ma. "You... when did you... discover this?"

"I was never entirely comfortable with you from the very beginning."

Hu Ma looked at him and said slowly, "A supposedly distinguished expert from the trick door, out looking for someone, a seasoned traveler of the jianghu, yet you somehow lost your luggage and ended up with a broken leg. I tried to come up with several excuses to trust you, but it was all just too far-fetched."

"You were carrying a treasure like the Life Substitute Coin, yet you said you couldn't let the people from Grass Heart Hall see it, claiming it would invite misfortune or break a taboo."

"Heh, were you really afraid of inviting misfortune, or were you afraid they'd see it wasn't a real Life Substitute Coin at all?"

"Back at the Manor, I didn't want it, and you didn't press the issue. But when those demon people caught up, you suddenly became very enthusiastic, not only giving it to me but even reminding me to use it at the crucial moment..."

"...Heh heh... I wouldn't dare actually use it. But if I didn't put on such a performance, how else could I get an old fox like you to show your true colors?"

"..."

"You..."

The old housekeeper was momentarily stunned.

He thought back. Although he had indeed done certain things along the way, trick door operatives were known for their keen eyes and swift hands; how could he have left any incriminating evidence or flaws? Even moments ago, he had been sure the little shopkeeper was dead before he prepared to make his move on Aunt Zhang.

...The oil lamp on the altar had gone out!

Besides, Hu Ma had indeed pointed out many suspicious things. That was unavoidable. No matter how flawlessly one acts, once something is done, certain details will inevitably strike others as odd.

But why would Hu Ma suspect him? When had he exposed a flaw that made Hu Ma suspicious?

No matter if there was a flaw or not, I had suspected you from the start...

Watching Housekeeper Zhou's awkward and pained expression, Hu Ma actually felt a little helpless.

From the moment Housekeeper Zhou appeared, he made me uneasy. But no matter how I looked, I couldn't find any concrete evidence that he was a problem. But evidence or not, what did it matter? Suspecting people doesn't require evidence. Especially for a Reincarnator, suspecting others or being suspected is an instinct that comes with reincarnation. Every day, I live with the nagging fear that someone is out to get me. If a dog on the street so much as glances my way, I suspect it's seen through my identity and I get the urge to kill it. The rest was simple. Once suspicion took root, of course, I remained guarded the entire journey, constantly observing, wondering if something was off, and piecing things together to confirm my gut feeling. Housekeeper Zhou was an old hand in the jianghu, very skilled at deception. But who can see through an old actor? Naturally, it would be another person who is constantly performing themselves. Precisely because I didn't feel at ease, my nerves were strung taut the entire way. I didn't let myself relax just because I was out of the city; I only used my cultivation when I was sure of the opportunity. I constantly remembered what Miss White Wine and Er Guotou had told me: to hold this world and its people in awe. On this journey, the greatest threat wasn't some evil spirit, nor the Kidnapper Gang, but this old fox from the trick door... If the trick door people figured me out completely, I might not even know how I died.

He silently exhaled, but his face remained a sneer. His voice, tinged with what sounded like anger, boomed, "Later, you became even more outrageous!"

"You said you searched for your young lady all the way to Mingzhou. Yet, as we traveled this route, you were utterly ignorant of the local geography. Is that how someone who supposedly searched this way before would act?"

"It's more likely you took a completely different path to get here, isn't it?"

"Moreover..."

He paused, frowning, and stared intently at Housekeeper Zhou. "I'm the one who saved your young lady. You mouthed platitudes about immense gratitude, but when I asked you about a few of your techniques, you clammed up."

"So stingy with your knowledge! You were definitely plotting something!"

"Were you perhaps afraid that if we had a falling out later, your techniques would be exposed, and you wouldn't be my match?"

"..."

Housekeeper Zhou hadn't expected Hu Ma to bring up many of these points, but this last one particularly incensed him. He gritted his teeth slightly and said in a low voice, "The inner workings of the trick door are not to be casually divulged. That has nothing to do with gratitude or lack thereof..."

"...Besides, didn't I eventually relent under your constant nagging and tell you a few things?"

"..."

"You first spoke of the Li Family's techniques, and only after I wore you down did you grudgingly reveal a few trick door skills. That alone showed me your loyalty to the Li Family wasn't particularly strong."

Hu Ma looked at him and said, "By then, I was already looking for an opportunity to take you down. But you trick door people have so many skills; I wouldn't dare act recklessly without the right chance."

Housekeeper Zhou's teeth ached with suppressed fury, and his head swam; the snake venom was clearly taking its toll.

Throughout this journey, that little shopkeeper first dug relentlessly into Aunt Zhang's skills, then he set his sights on me! I couldn't just refuse him for fear of arousing his suspicion, so I ended up teaching him a few things. Who could have guessed the scoundrel was actually testing me? He learned some skills and confirmed his suspicions about me at the same time... This... How can a person be so shameless?!

Noticing a dark pallor spreading over the housekeeper's face, Hu Ma gave a cold smile. He produced a small black vial and said lightly, "That two-headed snake is quite potent."

"Only we Shousui men, being impervious to snake venom, can capture it. Even that snake handler, if bitten, would have to quickly take the antidote from this bottle to survive."

"Your trick door techniques may be illusions, but your life is real, isn't it? After a bite like that, how long can you possibly last?"

"So, how about you tell me who else is waiting for us further on, and what this whole plot is really about? Do that, and I'll give you this snake antidote."

"..."

"I..."

Housekeeper Zhou knew Hu Ma was absolutely right. He clutched his neck. His throat was swollen, and speech was becoming increasingly laborious.

"Further... on... Third Young Master... is in Weiqing... waiting... waiting..."

"..."

His voice trailed off, growing fainter until it seemed he could speak no more. Then, suddenly, his figure blurred as he lunged at Hu Ma.

He thrust out a hand, grabbing for the medicine vial in Hu Ma's grasp.

But Hu Ma was a Shousui man; how could he be caught so easily? With a deft movement, Hu Ma evaded Zhou's snatching hands, his other hand moving to intercept.

It seemed Housekeeper Zhou's two hands were blocked, preventing him from getting near. But then, unexpectedly, a third hand shot out from within his robes, snatched the vial, and he immediately rolled away, putting distance between them.

"Well, now?"

Hu Ma watched, his eyes brightening. "A third hand?"

"Now that's quite a trump card! Care to teach me?"