Story in a Story

"Something is wrong" Liu Kaxing suddenly breaks his silent.

"Everything is wrong today, no everything is wrong since we arrived. Coming here is a mistake, let just get back to the Liu Mansion." Hai Zhen already packed and try to convince Liu Kaxing to go back home for some time.

"No! It is not that. It is about that Li Han." Hai Zhen pause for a while, but then realizes Liu Kaxing doesn't will to get home anytime soon.

"Everything is also wrong about that guy, however what is this particular thing that you think about?"

Hai Zhen already know he will not be going home. He follows Liu Kaxing willingly, but he cannot go home without him.

"He didn't ask for the rest of his payment." Liu Kaxing paused to look at Hai Zhen face that stares at him blankly.

"Think about it. We may never get to her, but it is not our deal to begin with. Our agreement is to rescue her and with his shamelessness, there is no way he was not bringing this up before. Besides, when we first rescue her, they conversed like they already know each other. There is something going on here, that they kept us in the dark." Liu Kaxing explains his theory.

"Let say they are, what can we do about it? There is two of us, against who knows how many beggars out there." Liu Kaxing does get a point there, but Hai Zhen just want to go home right now.

He began his journey to the martial world full of spirits and hopes. The world filled great heroes, beautiful maidens and epic adventures. To embark on this adventure himself excites him, but his spirits and excitement has been thrown away by Gan Li.

"There is someone who knows everything about it, but knows nothing about martial arts. We have to get Fat Hao and make him talk."

Capturing Fat Hao is not that hard, since he is not protected by other beggars and oblivious of martial arts. The hardest part of it is carrying him around with his oversize body, while both of them still injured.

Fat Hao is trembling with fear with his body bruised all over, being dragged around the ground since he is too heavy to be carried.

"Please! Please don't hurt me. I can't give you anything since I am but a simple beggar, but you are free to take anything from me. Just take anything you want and release me, nobody will pay any ransom for me anyway." Fat Hao cried while saying that, his sorry state almost makes the pity him if they don't know better.

"We just want information, but now you mention it, there is no way you are just a simple beggar. I see how you draw and write, you are methodical. The way you dressed, even though its rugged, its layered and folded the way it should. Tell me the truth and you may live, lie to us and we will kill you right away." Liu Kaxing rarely gets serious, but when he does, he is looking really threatening.

"Sure. Sure, I will tell you everything. I was a noble myself, I born in a small family that served under the Bai family. Although unlike the Fu family, ours actually helped Bai Fanggu in his little war and thus executed afterward." From scared to sad, Fat Hao cannot hide his expression while telling the story.

"If your family is executed, how come you who knows no martial arts survived?" No matter what, they cannot trust Fat Hao completely, so they prod him for every little detail they might missed.

"I exactly survive because I didn't know about martial arts. That two-faced Bai Qianshu spared my life. He said that our family never planned to rebel and just doing so because they are forced by Bai Fanggu. As I never directly participate in the rebellion given the pardon out of his respect to our family long period of loyalty." Fat Hao never hide his feelings when he told his story making It very believable for his kidnapper.

"Instead of insulting him, shouldn't you thank him for saving your life?"

"Ha. Thank him? He is the reason my family get executed in the first time." A clear disgust can be seen when he answered.

"He only did it to gain supporters from other families, since he can't do anything without their support. Besides he thought I am going to die anyway, without money and martial arts, while the local authorities bullying me on his order. I can't find a job because the authority will not allow anyone to hire me. I would have died, if it is not for the beggar sect branch leader taken me in.

He is a traitor and a coward. He was the one giving the order to executed my family and worst of all his own family. There is no other person I hate more in this world than someone who betrayed your own family."

A painful story, not the one Liu Kaxing want to hear, but at least it draws the line that Fat Hao supposed to be telling the truth. It is hard to get that emotional while lying.

"Now, for the main question. Where did Lu Yan knows Lu Lin before?"

"What do you mean? We only know her because of you."

"Do not lie to me!" Liu Kaxing's tone maintained to be calm, but he draws his sword while talking.

"I saw their interaction when we saved her, they knew each other before. I didn't think much back then, but you didn't ask for payment afterwards. It is clearly because you wanted us to go as quickly as possible, since there is something you hide."

With this fact there is no way Fat Hao can lie anymore. Their shamelessness is their weakness. Both of them realized there is something not right when they didn't try to squeeze their way for some benefits.

"Oh! Well, so that how you realize it." Fat Hao face gone blank as his bluff get caught.

"Wait! I didn't lie though, we just know her when you tell us about her. It just both of us find her immediately after you told us. We didn't even look for her, we just ordering people to do so." Fat Hao quickly adjust his statement over deadly stare of Liu Kaxing.

"We met them while strolling in the town. Li Han not even recognize her at first, he told he just met one of the most beautiful girls in his life. However, I recognize her immediately when I saw her and gives him the picture I made.

I hope to stop him. I did, but he won't listen to me. We approach her and Li Han starts to figure out that she in a trouble with someone with high status, which we thought is you back then. Since we predicted that you are a noble yourself.

Li Han preached about how members of the martial world should help each other in times of need and that they should not afraid of the oppressing government. She is desperate enough at that time and so easily believe of any help she was offered.

We still thought they has a grudge with you, until they snatched up by the Fu family. By then we have been planning to save them, but we are afraid they will find out the beggar sect were doing it. So, we need a scapegoat and there is no one better than the one offer themselves to us."

Fat Hao explain everything without a break, he is looking so afraid his life might end right now.

"We could have been killed. Is that what you want? So, nobody will connect this case to you." This time Hai Zhen cannot hide his anger after hearing their plot.

"No, of course not. Like I said before, we predicted you are come from a noble family. The Fu family is not in their best condition right now, so they will not take any risk of angering other noble family. We also certain you will not expose us, since you are not going to give up the girl." Fat Hao has to be careful with his answer, since it can be mean life or death for him.

"Where is she now? Since your master took a liking for her, there is no way he is letting her go away without knowing where she is going," Liu Kaxing is fast with mind as he is fast with his sword.

"Yes, yes you are right. She and her father are hiding at the Crimson Tiger Sect."

There are two big sects in this town. Crimson Tiger Sect in the north and White Crane Sect in the South are rivals for generations. After Hu Fei took the reign as Crimson Tiger leader, their sect became the clear winner of this rivalry. However, Guan Zhen let his daughter to marry the Fu family, with their help the scale turned around.

Before the Crimson Tiger cannot do anything against the Fu family, but after the Bai family's downfall they start to regain their control. Without the Bai family, Fu family authority is only over one small town, if something bad happen they can always escape the town and seek for sanctuary in the neighbor town.

They want to take Lu Lin out of town the night they rescued her, but the Fu family quick to close the gate. It is hard to sneak out from a well-guarded town especially while Lu Lin's father still injured. Using the beggar sect's connection and his silver tongue, Li Han managed to take them both into Hu Mansion. All that left now is making a plan to sneak them out of the town.

"How can we be sure you telling us the truth? You just condemned a traitor and then betrayed your leader a moment later. The person you said help you when you need the most." Fat Hao just contradicting himself, thus Liu Kaxing uses it to prod him further.

"It is not the same, Li Han is not my family and he is not the actual leader here. This branch's real leader is Qiu Mu. He was invited by sect's elder to join one of the sect's event. As he left, the leadership was given to Big Head, but he doesn't like the responsibility so Li Han took over.

So, who is Big Head you say? He is one of the most senior members here, but never actually have any contributions. Li Han on the contrary are a genius, as long as he gives Big Head a cut of his profits, he will let Li Han rule the sect.

The important thing is that my relationship with Li Han is not like what you think it is."

Fat Hao already gave his story. Believe it or not, Liu Kaxing still unable to plan his next move.

Even if he doesn't believe Fat Hao, there is nothing more he can squeeze from him without torturing him, and Liu Kaxing is not a violent person in heart.

If he was telling the truth, then what should he do right now. He is just one man, and his recent experience told him that he cannot relies on his martial arts alone. He cannot just barge into Crimson Tiger's den to meet with her.

Even though he can, what he supposed to do after? She doesn't have good impression at him, he realizes that now. However, he cannot just get back home. He has gone this far, so he has to see the end of it.

"How are you going to let her out of the city then? What is your next plan, or well Li Han's?" Since he doesn't know what to do next, he will just need to know Li Han's plan to decides his next move.

"We wait."

"Wait for what?"

"Wait for Lu Shen to get better and for the clash of Crimson Tiger and White Crane." Unlike his scared expression before, Fat Hao shows a glimpse of smile with this answer, proud.

"Clash between the two sects, how about if it is never happening?" There is too much uncertainty to this plan that relies a lot on third parties' action.

"It is inevitable. Their feud has been going for years, the Crimson Tiger has to strike when their enemy at their weakest state, before the Fu found another supporter. Both parties have prepared, all they need is for someone to pull the trigger, and we will be happily do the honor."

"You will instigate a clan war just to help her?"

Liu Kaxing thought he's been doing a lot to save her. Leaving his family and spending a lot of money, he even sneaked to a noble's mansion, moving away from all his comfort zones. But this Li Han is pulling all crazy stunts for her. He was planning those rescue mission and now he is about to create a war for it.

"Oh no, you are getting the wrong impression. We do not have the ability to make them fight each other, we merely just set the times up. In fact, Li Han has used all his wits to prevent them instigate the war, yet. Harassing their preparation, cutting off their information, spoiling their supplies and spreading rumors about each other to make them hesitate."