Urban Seduction: Housewives Club

Chapter 567: The Mistressʼ Strategy

”No!” Zhuge Kongfangʼs answer shocked everyone. Initially, seeing how confident Gu Shishi had been, most people had assumed Zhuge Kongfang was indeed the culprit. However, since Zhuge Kongfang had always been known as an upright hero, no one dared to fully believe it until he confessed. Hearing his firm denial now, many began to doubt Gu Shishi instead, thinking, ”Could Zhuge Kongfang be right? Has she fallen under the spell of that handsome youth from the Heavenly Demon Sect?”

As for Gu Shishi herself, she couldnʼt believe it either. She was absolutely certain she had recognized that voice correctly, yet the current situation left her bewildered. Was she wrong, or had the soul-bewitching technique failed entirely?

Just as Gu Shishi wrestled with her doubts and the crowdʼs questioning stares, she suddenly felt her small hand being held by a warm palm, which gave her fingers a gentle squeeze. Turning her head, she saw Ye Fei smiling confidently at her. His smile radiated absolute assurance, and seeing that, Gu Shishiʼs heart immediately calmed. Though she didnʼt know why Ye Fei was so confident, her growing attachment to him made her choose to trust him without hesitation.

In truth, Ye Fei wasnʼt sure what his two beautiful mistresses were up to either. However, knowing Mistress Zhu Yuyanʼs cunning—especially as the leader of the entire Heavenly Demon Sect—he was certain they wouldnʼt help the enemy without a good reason. So, Ye Fei decided to sit back and watch, confident that his mistresses had another trick up their sleeves.

Sure enough, after hearing Zhuge Kongfangʼs unexpected answer, Zhu Yuyan and Shen Huiya didnʼt seem surprised like everyone else. Instead, they exchanged cold smiles. Zhu Yuyan sneered, ”Well done, Zhuge Kongfang, quite the convincing act!”

By this point, Shen Huiya had returned to Zhu Yuyanʼs side, and Zhuge Kongfang had regained consciousness from his ”trance.” Hearing Zhu Yuyanʼs remark, he looked puzzled and asked, ”What do you mean? What act?” Suddenly his expression darkened. ”What did you do to me? What did I say?”

”You donʼt know what you said yourself?” Zhu Yuyan smirked coldly. ”To be honest, my sister Shen doesnʼt actually know any soul-bewitching techniques. You were never hypnotized at all. Donʼt you remember what you just said?”

”You...” Zhuge Kongfang was stunned. He now realized how cunning these two women from the Demon Sect were. No wonder he hadnʼt felt anything earlier—heʼd assumed his powerful inner strength had resisted the mind control, but in reality, there was no hypnosis to resist. Now, faced with the crowdʼs suspicious stares, Zhuge Kongfang felt exactly what Gu Shishi had felt moments ago.

However, as a prominent hero for nearly twenty years, Zhuge Kongfangʼs composure was far stronger than Gu Shishiʼs. After a brief moment of panic, he quickly steadied himself and firmly declared, ”Nonsense! I clearly lost consciousness earlier. What youʼre doing now is just an attempt to frame me.”

”Is that so?” Zhu Yuyan sneered again. ”While my sister Shen doesnʼt know soul-bewitching techniques, another of my sisters does. In fact, she once used it on a Shaolin disciple. Perhaps this master here knows about that incident.” Zhu Yuyan gestured toward the old monk who had earlier been struck by Ye Zhilin.

By now, the old monk had finished meditating to restore his strength. Hearing this, he nodded solemnly. ”Thatʼs right. One of our Shaolin disciples once fell victim to the soul-bewitching technique. After waking up, he remained dazed and disoriented for a long time before fully recovering.” Despite his stubbornness and arrogance, the old monk was an honest man. Seeing Zhuge Kongfangʼs behavior earlier, even he had begun to doubt him. His impartial statement made the gathered martial artists even more suspicious of Zhuge Kongfang.

Zhuge Kongfangʼs face turned grim. For all his cunning, he couldnʼt completely mask his unease. After a long pause, he muttered, ”Fine, I wasnʼt hypnotized. I was merely pretending, hoping to expose your trick and prove my innocence.”

”Oh? Quite the sacrifice,” Zhu Yuyan scoffed. ”You even revealed the origin of your martial arts. Sounds like a guilty conscience to me.”

”Hmph! Iʼve always been an upright man,” Zhuge Kongfang retorted. ”Iʼve never had anything to hide, including the source of my martial arts.”

With this, the crowd once again wavered. Zhuge Kongfangʼs explanation seemed reasonable. Sacrificing his secret to prove his innocence—even if it seemed risky—was a calculated move. It appeared that he had simply fallen into the Demon Sectʼs trap.

Meanwhile, Gu Shishi, who had just regained her composure, felt uneasy again. By now, she was absolutely certain Zhuge Kongfang was the true culprit and wanted nothing more than to see him brought to justice. However, she knew that if Ye Fei killed Zhuge Kongfang outright, he would become the martial worldʼs enemy. Sheʼd rather forgo her revenge than see Ye Fei face that fate. Unknowingly, Ye Feiʼs importance to her had grown to rival that of her own family.

Ye Fei once again gently squeezed Gu Shishiʼs cold fingers, silently comforting her. Despite the setback, Ye Fei remained confident—he believed his mistresses still had another move to play.

At that moment, Zhu Yuyan and Shen Huiya both appeared troubled, as if they had no other options left. Finally, Zhu Yuyan declared, ”Fine, letʼs set this aside for now. But Zhuge Kongfang, you still have to answer for framing the Heavenly Demon Sect!”

Seeing that the two women seemed powerless against him, Zhuge Kongfangʼs confidence surged. He regained his usual calm demeanor and smirked. ”Framing you? Hardly. All the evidence points to the Heavenly Demon Sect as the true culprit.”

”But as far as I know,” Ye Fei interjected suddenly, ”the Wu family wasnʼt wiped out—they were merely left in a vegetative state.”

”Oh?” Zhuge Kongfang smiled thinly. ”You seem well-informed about the Wu family. Shouldnʼt they have no ties to the Heavenly Demon Sect?”

”Donʼt try to frame me,” Ye Fei sneered. ”Iʼm not part of the Heavenly Demon Sect. Iʼm from the Liu family of Wang Hai City, allies of the Wu family and their neighbors. Knowing about their situation is hardly surprising. Now answer the question properly.”

”Very well. But turning a family of martial artists into mindless husks is practically the same as wiping them out,” Zhuge Kongfang argued. ”Besides, when did the Martial Alliance start cozying up to the Demon Sect?”

”Zhuge Kongfang!” Shen Huiya suddenly called out.

Startled, Zhuge Kongfang instinctively turned toward her, his eyes once again clouded with confusion.

”Whatʼs your real name?” Shen Huiya asked, surprising everyone.

Unexpectedly, Zhuge Kongfangʼs answer was different this time. ”My name is Zhu Daxing. Zhuge Kongfang is an alias.”

”And where did you learn your martial arts?” Shen Huiya asked, repeating an earlier question.

”I once studied under a martial artist with mediocre skills. Later, by chance, he obtained a powerful manual, so I killed him and stole it. The rest of my martial skills came from that manual.” Zhuge Kongfangʼs tone was disturbingly calm, as though murdering his master was no big deal.