If a man’s legacy was their fame, then a goose’s legacy was their honks. The “Lingering Honks of a Goose” could be activated without a trace and record a scene for a very long time.
Of course, the Magia had its own weaknesses. First, it only worked if the person that was being recorded was very close. Second, it must continuously receive spiritual power and energy for the duration of the recording. Otherwise, the recording would cut off immediately.
If Chen Cang wasn’t such a show-off, then Ye Qing’s plan might not have worked. At the very least, it wouldn’t be nearly as effective as it had been.
Villain monologues were among the top three reasons a villain died no matter the genre. Some would even argue that it was the first!
After that, Ye Qing spent a few Flower Moon Reflection Talismans to capture copies of the recording. He made sure to wipe any traces of his person and voice from the recordings, of course. The rest was history.
“You’re...”
For the first time in a very long time, Feng Qingyou was speechless. Even she couldn’t help but be incredulous at Ye Qing’s actions. After all, what kind of jianghu warrior would think of recording in the middle of a battle?
Life truly was a never-ending gift of surprises.
A few seconds later, Feng Qingyou finally mustered herself and shook her head wryly. “You did well. With this recording, there is no chance Chen Cang would be able to persuade anyone to believe his version of the truth. I am very impressed by your machinations as well.”
When Ye Qing told her that he was going to give Chen Cang a treat of his own medicine, she thought that he was planning to verbally spread the fact that Chen Cang was the one who tricked Xiang Weilong and set things up so that the Dragonmount Duke would act as his butcher’s knife.
Although this would definitely throw the Dragonmount Duke and the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance off a little, there were two huge flaws with this plan. One, there was no evidence proving that Chen Cang was the one behind everything, and two, Chen Cang was nowhere to be found. The Seventy Two Water Land Alliance would be distracted for a bit, but they would quickly turn their attention back to Ye Qing.
It was a completely different story if there was proof, however. Yes, Ye Qing was still the murderer of Xiang Weilong, but Chen Cang was the one who plotted everything. He was the sonuvabitch who had tried to play them all like a fiddle. Combine this with the havoc he just caused in order to escape from Dragonmount City, and the Dragonmount Duke and the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance would surely hunt him to the ends of the earth.
In other words, capturing Chen Cang was now their primary objective. Ye Qing was still a key target, but he wasn’t nearly as high value as he was before.
“There was no way Myriad Horse Hall and Ding Shengshui could have apprehended Chen Cang.” Feng Qingyou continued, “That is why you chose them, didn’t you?”
“I did. Chen Cang can’t die yet, not while he was still useful to us.”
Ye Qing had definitely informed Ding Shengshui and only Ding Shengshui the truth on purpose. It was to magnify the amount of destruction Chen Cang could cause and ensure his escape from Dragonmount City.
“Chen Cang has surely earned the Dragonmount Duke and the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance’s eternal ire considering everything he did, but this incident is still contained within Dragonmount City. They still have the leeway to cover up their shame by locking down the city and preventing the truth from spreading. Not only that, the Dragonmount Duke would surely put two and two together and figure out that you’re the one behind this incident.”
Feng Qingyou explained, “What I’m trying to say is that the Dragonmount Duke might intensify his search for you in order to silence you and cover up their shame permanently. If you leave things be, there is a good chance your plan might actually backfire against us.”
“That... is a definite possibility.”
Ye Qing admitted after listening to Feng Qingyou until the end. He had overlooked the fact that there was nothing a person of the jianghu valued more than their face; their dignity. They would do anything and everything to defend it. “What should I do then?”
“If you’re going to slap someone, make sure it hurts. If you’re going to do something, make sure that it’s done perfectly.”
Feng Qingyou let out a small cough before continuing, “While the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance still hasn’t locked down the city, we must spread Chen Cang’s conspiracy and what he did today to the entire jianghu. We must rip off their loincloth and bare their shame to the entire realm.”
“This way, the Dragonmount Duke and the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance would loathe you to the bones, but they would have no choice but to devote all their time and effort into hunting down Chen Cang as soon as possible. Otherwise, they would be known as the weaklings who couldn’t even execute the mastermind who played them like a fiddle and made a mess of their central headquarters in a swift and timely manner. They would become the laughingstock of the entire jianghu.”
“Oh yeah! That makes sense!” Ye Qing’s eyes lit up. “That’s not all we can do either. We can inform the Dragonmount Duke about Chen Cang’s whereabouts every few days so that their attention would always be on Chen Cang. This would prevent them from getting frustrated and choosing to vent their ire on us instead.”
“Yes, that would be wise.” Feng Qingyou nodded in agreement.
Chen Cang was a Trueman and a disciple of Swordsgrave. With his skill and knowledge, it was uncertain if the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance could find him even if they devote all their time and manpower into the effort, at least for the short term. If it took longer than expected to find Chen Cang, it was possible that the Dragonmount Duke and the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance would lose their cool and go after them instead.
On the other hand, if the Seventy Two Water Land Alliance could consistently discover Chen Cang’s whereabouts, then they would not be tempted to split their focus. Until Chen Cang was captured, he and Feng Qingyou would be safe and secure.
As for how Ye Qing was going to locate Chen Cang, Feng Qingyou didn’t ask. He was the one who made the suggestion, so he must have a way to pull off the feat.
“Fight hard, Chen Cang. Don’t give up until you’ve drawn your last breath.”
Ye Qing rubbed his nose and let out a devious chuckle. The longer Chen Cang held on, the more time he and Feng Qingyou would gain.
“There’s no time to waste, so I’ll get to it right away.”
After bidding Feng Qingyou goodbye, Ye Qing left the room and disappeared into the crowd.