Chapter 26: Spider Spins the Web
Three days pass quietly. On the surface, Liu Guan Yi appears calm, even indifferent. He cultivates atop his peak, practices sword techniques, and interacts politely with the few inner sect disciples who dare approach him.
But in secret… he moves.
At night, under the guise of sword meditation, he visits the archives and gathers names—disciples who recently returned from missions near the eastern forest. A pattern begins to form.
> "Every missing girl… linked to someone with ties to Elder Qiu or Elder Mo."
He approaches one of Ji Ning's senior disciples, a quiet man named Han Yun. Under the moonlight, they drink tea on the cliffside.
> "Senior Brother Han," Liu Guan Yi says calmly, "do you know what Elder Qiu was doing during the Fire Alchemy Banquet two months ago?"
Han Yun frowns. "He left early. Said he had urgent sect business in the outer villages."
Liu Guan Yi nods. "And the next day… three girls disappeared."
Han Yun narrows his eyes. "You think he's involved?"
> "I know he is."
But Liu Guan Yi doesn't stop there. He sends anonymous spirit notes to a few of Elder Mo's outer disciples—notes that suggest Elder Mo's secret dealings are no longer so secret.
> "Plant the seeds of fear… Let them turn on each other."
Elsewhere in the sect, unease begins to grow. Elder Qiu notices his alchemy orders arriving late. Elder Mo catches a servant spying near his chamber.
They grow paranoid—but not enough to act.
Then, the rumors begin. Disciples whisper in the shadows:
> "Did you hear? Liu Guan Yi found something terrifying in the village…"
> "They say he's preparing to challenge a core elder!"
> "I heard… Ji Ning gave him a special sword formation that can cut through a peak Rank 6!"
None of it is true. Yet none of it is false either.
Because Liu Guan Yi planted every rumor himself.
---
In the main hall, Elder Qiu and Elder Mo meet again.
> "He knows," Mo mutters. "I say we silence him before he goes to the sect leader."
> "No," Qiu says, face pale. "Too risky. Ji Ning is still in seclusion, but if we strike and fail—"
A third voice interrupts them.
A woman steps out of the shadows. Elder Yue, a former sect beauty known for her illusions.
> "Let me handle the boy," she says with a smile. "I'll make him question his own mind before he ever accuses anyone."
---
Back on his peak, Liu Guan Yi watches as a spirit bird delivers a letter.
> "Meet me at the Red Leaf Grove. I have proof of the missing girls."
No name. No sender.
He smiles faintly.
> "The web trembles. Now the spider shows its fangs."
He steps forward, eyes glowing faintly.
> "But I'm no fly."