Ensnaring

"Clan leader, Yang Zhai is here." A servant arrived and said to Tai Qi. 

"Let him in." Tai Qi nodded and said. 

"Esteem Bai clan leader, I am deeply thankful that you accepted my request. I just want to ask Yang Zhai about his experience that he had with the Death Warrant, it will be very helpful. If we can know the effects and how Yang Zhai felt when he used the Death Warrant, we might be able to use it to defend against the one who is using the Death Warrant to attack us. " Osu Ke stood up and bowed to thank Tai Qi before sitting back again. 

"No need, you brought gifts with you to give to our clan, I can at least listen to your request. Anyway, you came this far, it would be unkind to reject your simple request." 

When Osu Ke arrived, he had brought gifts with him. He handed them to Tai Qi as a form of respect. The Ma clan had sent someone to the Bai clan to investigate the matter of the Death Warrant without even asking them. Therefore, they had also sent gifts as compensation. 

They could not afford to mess up things as the final round of the competition was already close. However, they still needed to investigate whether the Bai clan was the one behind the attack or not. After all, it was related to the future of the Ma clan. 

Even a little hint that the Bai clan is behind the attack is enough for us. I must investigate as much as possible: Osu Ke pondered.

"Greeting, clan leader, and greeting to you, our esteemed guest." Yang Zhai entered the room and greeted them respectfully. 

Tai Qi nodded and said, 

"Hmm, sit down."

"Tell me, if I recall correctly, you did not even once use the Death Warrant, right?" 

When Yang Zhai sat down, Tai Qi began to speak. He was trying to lead the situation and not give Osu Ke any chance to get his way. 

"Yes, clan leader, I did not even once use the Death Warrant. I also could not practice with it." Yang Zhai agreed with Tai Qi. 

"Elder Ke, Yang Zhai did not use the Death Warrant, I am afraid that he won't be much helpful to you. However, if you still want to ask him any questions, go ahead." Tai Qi was trying not only to lead Yang Zhai but also Osu Ke.

"Yang Zhai, can you tell me how did you obtain the Death Warrant?" Osu Ke inquired. 

"The Clan gave me a chance to choose something from the clan's treasury that could benefit my cultivation, I obtained the Death Warrant from there." 

"And why did you specifically choose the Death Warrant? If I recall correctly, Death Warrant cannot help with cultivation, right?" 

"You are right, it cannot help with the cultivation."

"Then why did you choose it?" 

Tai Qi's eyes narrowed when he heard Osu Ke's questions. 

"It's because the third elder said that it was very helpful to me and could protect me in danger, this was the reason I chose the Death Warrant." 

"And how could it protect you through killing your opponents? Wouldn't a defensive treasure be more helpful than the Death Warrant?" 

When Osu Ke said this, Tai Qi's eyes narrowed even more, and pondered: I thought that he would only ask if the Death Warrant really broke and how it broke, but this Osu Ke is very clever. If this keeps up, he will know our schemes, I can't let it go. 

"Brother Ke, I thought that you were supposed to be inquiring about the Death Warrant, not how and why Yang Zhai chose the Death Warrant. If killing your enemy can be helpful, why need a defensive treasure? And anyway, you wanted to ask how he felt using the Death Warrant. But you are instead giving your opinions. Please, do not mind this, but can you focus on your true purpose instead of sidetracking?" Tai Qi stopped Osu Ke from going any further and pondered: Even though it would arouse suspicion, it is better than them knowing the whole truth. 

Osu Ke was taken aback a little by Tai Qi's tone. 

"You are right, I should not have done this, I am truly sorry." After saying this, he looked at Yang Zhai and inquired,

"Do you have anything else to say?! If not, you can go." 

He saw that Tai Qi was a little upset by his question; thus, he stopped and allowed Yang Zhai to leave. 

"No, nothing. But, there is something, you said that the Death Warrant could kill, right? But the one I got was used for defense, Elder Zihao De told me by himself." Yang Zhai spoke and was thinking inwardly: I can't get into this matter now. If the Ma clan doesn't know the whole truth, it will tease me in the upcoming months for no reason. I must put all the blame on Zihao De. This way, the Conflict Between the Ma clan and the Bai clan can also escalate, and I too will be able to free myself from this mess. 

When Tai Qi heard Yang Zhai, his eyes narrowed: What the hell is he saying?

"For defense?" Osu Ke was confused a little, but he somehow understood a little about what Yang Zhai was trying to say. 

"Hmm, elder Zihao De said that it was a defensive treasure and could protect me by forming a shield around me. I think that you have the wrong idea about the Death Warrant, it is not used for killing, but for defense." 

"Oh, I understand, you can go now." Osu Ke now understood what was happening here. 

Yang Zhai stood up and greeted both Osu Ke and Tai Qi before leaving the room.

"Esteem Bai clan leader, I must go now. Thank you for your hospitality." Osu Ke stood up and bowed. He had gotten what he wanted. 

"Elder Ke, why are you in such a hurry, sit, you must have a good feast before going back." Tai Qi smiled and stopped Osu Ke. 

"No, Bai clan leader, even though I would like to have a feast with you, I must return. I have to report back to the Clan leader in a little while, he won't be happy if I am late. I will surely have a feast with you the next time I come here."

"Don't be like this, Elder Ke. Wan Liu can wait a little while, he won't mind it if you are late because of me."

"But…,"

"No but, I said sit down, Elder Ke. We will be having a good feast today." Tai Qi's expression turned serious and pressure enveloped Osu Ke. 

"What are you doing, Bai clan leader? You know the consequences of your action, right?!" Osu Ke activated his treasure and spoke. 

"I know, that's why you must stay here. Now that you know the reality about the Death Warrant, you cannot leave this room,...." Tai Qi stopped for a moment before continuing, 

"... alive, that is" 

When Osu Ke heard this, he understood Tai Qi's intentions. 

"You actually want to kill me? My clan will not let it go and will definitely attack your clan!!!" Osu Ke shouted and wanted to run away: however, he was unable to move and stood in his place against his will. 

"I will simply say that you did not arrive at the Bai clan." Tai Qi said with a smile and was slowly moving toward Osu Ke while speaking. 

"Hahahaha, you can't because I had informed my clan about my arrival at the Bai clan the moment I arrived here. They will definitely know about my death." 

"Oh, then we will say that you had left the Bai clan, and we don't know anything after that."

Tai Qi said this and pierced Osu Ke's heart with his hand. He pulled back his hand and Osu Ke's heart also came out with Tai Qi's hand. After that, he crushed Osu Ke's heart with his hand. Blood fell from Tai Qi's hand and fell on the Wooden floor.

"Zihao De." Tai Qi shook his hand slowly and called for Zihao De. 

"Yes, brother Tai," Zihao De came forward from behind a corner. 

"Didn't you say that Yang Zhai is a smart kid, so how could he reveal such important information?" 

"Brother, he is, both elder Ren and elder Wang told me everything about him. They are both his class masters and are teaching him. There's no way that they would make a mistake. Anyway, it's not Yang Zhai's mistake, but ours, we should have told him to not tell anything related to the Death Warrant to Osu Ke. If we had, we would not have to kill Osu Ke."

Tai Qi pondered for a little while and said, 

"You are right, we should have told Yang Zhai everything beforehand, it's our mistake. Whatever, forget it. Now we need to handle the matter at hand, if the Ma clan knows that we killed Osu Ke, according to the deal between our clans, we would have to listen to the Ma clan in order to not let the other clans gang up on us. And they would definitely ask us to give them the complete inheritance. We can't let it happen."

"Inform our man in the Ma clan to cover it from the inside. We need to handle this matter very carefully. We need to suppress the matter from both inside the Ma clan and outside. Also, no matter what happens, you must try to hide the fact at all costs that Osu Ke died in our clan, understand." Tai Qi said and looked at Zihao De. 

"Yes, brother, I understand. Don't worry, everything will be as you planned. Even though this matter can't be hidden for long, I will make sure that the Ma clan also makes a mistake and violates our agreement, in this way, we can attack it with other clans before it attacks us." 


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