Chapter 402 - 350: Fu Tailan: Shoot, Don’t Talk. The Final Chapter?

Chapter 402: Chapter 350: Fu Tailan: Shoot, Don’t Talk. The Final Chapter?

Asking Fu Tailan for a straight answer was like asking a rattlesnake to hand over its venom.

Chaisi knew it. Fu Tailan knew it too.

He’d been a Hunter since he was twelve — what does a twelve-year-old have? No one to watch his back, no resources, no muscle, couldn’t even get his hands on a gun.

Fu Tailan had survived this long on exactly two things: his brain and his lies.

That said, he was actually starting to regret it a little — regret running his mouth so many times over the years. It had created a boy-who-cried-wolf effect. Now, no matter how hard he swore up and down that he was telling the truth, nobody believed a word of it.

"I’m really, truly not lying to you."

Fu Tailan didn’t know what else he could possibly do to seem more sincere. He almost wished he could tear his own chest open and show Chaisi his heart. "The Path Illusion has been completely used up — it’s worthless now, dead weight. You’ve got no shot. You’re never getting into the Nest, not in this lifetime. That’s the honest truth."

Not a flicker of shock or disappointment crossed Chaisi’s face. "Oh?"

Ever since the Path Illusion’s uses had run dry, Fu Tailan had been waiting for the day he could deliver this news to Chaisi himself. He’d fantasized about it — Chaisi’s pain and fury, the rage in his eyes. He’d even mapped out contingency plans for if Chaisi decided to get physical: how he’d defend himself, fight back, get out clean.

And yet, in all that meticulous planning, he’d overlooked one thing. When the day finally came, he’d forgotten that he’d told too many lies for too long. Chaisi simply didn’t believe him.

No belief, no damage.

So all that anticipation had been for nothing.

"The last time you came looking for me about the Path Illusion, you didn’t even know it existed yet. Whoever took the Illusion had an intact jaw. But your face was injured at the time — not the kind of wound that heals in a few days."

Chaisi spoke without urgency. "Which means someone impersonated you to shift the blame. You’re drawing on that now, hoping to provoke me into losing my temper. Do you really think I’d fall for that?"

Fu Tailan desperately wanted a lie detector — not that one would do him any good.

"My jaw is perfectly fine right now, isn’t it? It’s been less than three weeks."

"You’re young. Kids heal fast."

Now he was making excuses for him. Fu Tailan squeezed his eyes shut, exasperated. He was rarely like this — that distant, detached composure of his didn’t often crack, but right now he was irritated and helpless and very close to stomping his foot.

Should he be angry at himself for being too thorough back then? Or should he blame Chaisi for being an idiot?

Obviously Chaisi.

Who else but an idiot acts like a brainwashed dog?

"But you’re right that I do want to know something." Chaisi’s voice dropped.

He’d been holding that gun steady against Fu Tailan’s forehead this whole time, arm unwavering. Fu Tailan felt a prickle of something he didn’t want to name.

"What?"

Chaisi said slowly, "How have you been keeping tabs on the Kai Family?"

Fu Tailan paused.

The hospital room went quiet for a moment. The only sound was Han Liuyue’s stomach — loudly and persistently growling, providing a running soundtrack to his thoughts.

She’d seemed a little embarrassed about it at first. Now she’d clearly made her peace with it. She’d dug a pudding cup out of the bedside drawer and was slurping it clean, watching the two of them face off with a gun between them.

Both Chaisi and Han Liuyue had apparently woken up absolutely starving — and they hadn’t even been inside the Nest.

"...Why does that even matter," Fu Tailan said, choosing his words carefully. "I’ve been a Hunter for years. You think my network is worse than someone who’s never even set foot in a Nest? I have plenty of methods."

"Then you won’t mind sharing." Chaisi gave the faintest push, and the gun barrel dug into Fu Tailan’s forehead hard enough to force his head back.

Fu Tailan glanced up at the pistol pressed against his skull.

"I have a wide-range surveillance Illusion. Mount it on a drone or a hot air balloon and it can monitor a massive area."

He let out a breath. "If you don’t believe me, go ask around. Before Westley died, his Upper State Manor was equipped with one just like it. He originally had it set up on a tower — the tower’s still standing. Go see for yourself if you don’t trust me. The man was paranoid as hell, scared of his own shadow. He loaded up on every defensive measure he could get his hands on."

"That’s true." Chaisi gave a small nod.

As if you’re in any position to verify what’s true. The arrogance of it was infuriating.

For the sake of some old man with no blood relation to him, Chaisi had made himself Kai Luonan’s tireless, self-effacing attack dog — no sense of self, nothing reserved for his own life, just everything poured into the Kai Family. How was that any different from being brainwashed? From joining a cult?

Just looking at him made Fu Tailan’s skin crawl. It was his deepest nightmare given a human face — and the worst part was that Chaisi seemed perfectly content with it.

When something is utterly incomprehensible, it only inspires revulsion and dread.

As far as Fu Tailan was concerned, Chaisi was a cockroach that had learned to walk upright.

If Chaisi actually won this game — if the man who genuinely believed he should spend his life as a lapdog for a greedy old man ended up earning the right to rule the Nest and reshape it — then Fu Tailan would rather blow the whole thing sky-high right now and be done with it.

But as much as he despised him, he had no choice but to keep talking. "After Westley died, those Illusions had no one to use them. Someone in the Westley Family quietly started putting out feelers in Hunter circles, looking to sell. Word got to me. So I bought one."

A faint crease formed between Chaisi’s brows, then smoothed away just as quickly. Impossible to tell whether he believed it, or how much.

"There’s a gun to my head. Of course I’m going to tell you the truth." Fu Tailan said. "Though I’ll also point out — the only reason I dare tell you the truth without worrying you’ll put a bullet in me afterward is because the truth happens to work in my favor right now. It’s the best way to keep myself alive."

"Oh?"

Oh, go to hell with your "oh."

"I know who handled Westley’s Illusions after he died." Fu Tailan smiled. "But I’m obviously not going to tell you that. What I will tell you is that this person still has other powerful Illusions. Unfortunately, my funds are limited, and I no longer have access to the Morgan Family’s resources — you probably already know Carter Morgan has pushed me out to the margins, don’t you?"

With Longzhen around, Chaisi couldn’t possibly be in the dark about that. Sure enough, he didn’t look the least bit surprised.

"Don’t worry — I don’t hold any grudge against Sister Longzhen."

That was true. Fu Tailan didn’t resent Longzhen. Not just because she’d gotten him that train ticket, either.

Emotions — hatred especially — need a fierce, burning vitality to sustain them. He simply didn’t have the energy.

"Every Illusion that person has was personally collected by Westley. You can imagine how valuable they are without me spelling it out." Fu Tailan shrugged. "You let me live, and I’ll introduce you. What do you say?"

"Convenient excuse." Chaisi remained perfectly composed.

"Not convenient at all. If I wanted an excuse, I’d pick a better one." Fu Tailan let out a short sound of contempt. "If there wasn’t actually someone in the Westley Family, and you took me up on it, where the hell would I pull this person from out of thin air?"

A flicker of hesitation crossed Chaisi’s face. Half-convinced, maybe. Unwilling to believe it outright, but equally unwilling to dismiss it entirely.

Illusions in Blackmoor City — especially powerful, rare ones — were in short supply. If he passed on this, someone else might snatch it up. During the Nest Dominance Game, Chaisi wouldn’t want to hand any advantage to a rival without good reason.

Because of the Game’s particular setup, Fu Tailan was fairly certain Chaisi had already figured that out too.

"When new players enter the Nest Dominance Game, none of us already in it get any notification." He lowered his voice. "There could be competitors out there right now that we know nothing about, already making their moves..."

In his mind’s eye, the image of the alpha wolf from that night — its black maw slowly yawning open in the darkness — nearly merged with Brianna’s face.

If he could just push Chaisi into that abyss of hers... Brianna would be thrilled, no doubt. She might even forgive him.

Chaisi’s gun remained pressed firmly against Fu Tailan’s forehead, safety off, finger resting snug against the trigger. Even a hair’s breadth of a tremor might be enough to send a bullet through Fu Tailan’s skull.

Then Chaisi’s eyes shifted — a quick, darting glance toward Han Liuyue — before snapping back to Fu Tailan.

Something twisted in Fu Tailan’s gut, and he couldn’t quite explain why.

"Brother Chaisi," Han Liuyue murmured.

Chaisi let out a low, quiet "mm."

They hadn’t exchanged a single full sentence. Yet somehow they’d already reached an understanding. Fu Tailan didn’t like it one bit.

"Don’t worry about me," Han Liuyue said. "I’ve fully recovered. Give me a proper meal and I can go in right now. If you’re not comfortable with that, send Tian Xi or someone else along with me..."

She meant the Nest, didn’t she?

Why was she suddenly bringing up the Nest right now? Did it have anything to do with him?

There was a key piece of information he was missing.

Fu Tailan suddenly realized that the trap he’d so smoothly and cleverly constructed might have just crushed his own foot under the stone he’d been trying to throw.

But what was it? Without that missing piece, how was he supposed to maneuver?

"I’m sorry," Chaisi said, eyes still on Fu Tailan, but speaking to Han Liuyue. "You just barely made it through something that could’ve killed you. I shouldn’t have—"

"This time is different." Han Liuyue said, and then, unexpectedly, smiled. "This time I won’t pull a bag over my own head. There’s no danger. So it’s fine, Brother Chaisi. Go ahead."

Chaisi exhaled, silent and slow.

"Alright." He pressed the barrel against Fu Tailan’s forehead and pulled the trigger.