Wild plot theory - Empty City Ruse - 空城计

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No screentime rants please.

This is a bit of a wild plot theory but maybe no one died This is just starting to look a lot like Zhuge Liang's 空城计 Empty City Ruse to me.The Empty City Ruse is how Zhuge Liang tricked Sima Yi during 3 Kingdoms period. It is a classic of the 36 Stratagems of War, used in many dramas.

Maybe just like in the very beginning, this is all just a grift to lure Wufeng out into the open and killing them all off at once. To a much bigger scale, it is just like how they lured out the bride assassins into the open, using Ziyu's widely known reputation for being soft hearted. They want Wufeng to show themselves and attack thinking Gong family is vulnerable now that the foolishly naive playboy Ziyu is Sword Wielder. And the only one not in on it again is poor Ziyu. Just like when they were trapping the bride. The whole family is in the know except him. 

That means the Gongs knew all along that 

• Ziyi is a spy. They allowed her to know how naive and foolish Ziyu is.
• SGQ and YWS are spies - that is why they were both chosen
• Wuji has most likely turned against Wufeng and is helping the Gongs. She is faking all the murders loudly advertising Wuming to get SGQ and YWS and to show themselves.
• No one died, it is just a plan to let Wufeng think that the Gong family is torn apart by internal squabbling and the less competent younger generation has taken over and trap them when they come in. 
• In the meantime, the Gongs have prepared lethal weapons and are lying in waiting for them to come all at once.
• It explains what SJ really wants - revenge for his mother and brother's death. 

In history of course Sima Yi did think that Zhuge Liang may have been only bluffing but he did not dare enter the empty city bc if he was wrong, he would be decimated. In this case, I don't think Gong men is empty. Will Wufeng fall for it?

Don't know but neither of them really matter to the plan. Not sure YQ would be part of a plan that sees  her laying a trap for her own sister. If this is true, its probably betwen all the elders, and SJ, Hongyu, Huanyi. Maybe Yuanzhi is in it too bc he was in on the first plan as well.

I think she is too goofy and just too close to Ziyu. So they would leave her out of it as well.  The key to a grift like this is to make everyone act convincingly. So its going to be on a need to know basis. Like for example Yuanzhi may need to know, otherwise its impossible to fake the autopsies. Wuji also probably knows bc her testimony was dodgy that night. 

That would be so cool but I just don't think it would pan out this way. It has too many pieces and requires perfect coordination for it to work. Also what a big risk to take to give them that much information.

See I’ve got a bit of an issue with Junior poison; he’s been flapping his gums too much. “Loose lips sink ships.” And such perfect coordination in something like this would need almost robotic ppl. Wild but fascinating theory; thanks for bringing it to our attention. Sort of like a reverse Trojan horse.

thanks for sharing❤️! I love your hypothesis on a 空城计, it will be such a smart writing if this story turn out to be that. So all the deaths are plot to lure WuFeng out. There is just a lot of clues pointing that there has been a betrayal or a split in WuFeng. I felt GZY’s mom may have some background, so is Mdm Wuji, I also don’t feel SGJ is against GZY, it’s more like he wants to make sure GZY is capable enough to take in that role. Both YWS and SGQ are just pawns, it’s really weird that WuFeng would send to different assassins to compete each other if their ultimate goals is to bring down WuFeng. And the YWS’s raven preparing YWS as if he knew that she will be put to test of the ‘truth’ drug by Elder Yue, how would he know if there has been no message leak so far?

Just still so many unanswered qns.

 Megumi-H:

thanks for sharing❤️! I love your hypothesis on a 空城计, it will be such a smart writing if this story turn out to be that. So all the deaths are plot to lure WuFeng out. There is just a lot of clues pointing that there has been a betrayal or a split in WuFeng. I felt GZY’s mom may have some background, so is Mdm Wuji, I also don’t feel SGJ is against GZY, it’s more like he wants to make sure GZY is capable enough to take in that role. Both YWS and SGQ are just pawns, it’s really weird that WuFeng would send to different assassins to compete each other if their ultimate goals is to bring down WuFeng. And the YWS’s raven preparing YWS as if he knew that she will be put to test of the ‘truth’ drug by Elder Yue, how would he know if there has been no message leak so far?

Just still so many unanswered qns.

I think Wufeng came out of Gongmen - something to do with the missing Wind Elder. If that is the case, at the high level Wufeng knows a lot of Gongmen secrets including the Infinite Heat - that way SGQ knows about it and probably so does YWS. But its been decades, they don't know what Gong men latest weapons are and what the back mountain layout is. It sounds like Wufeng also were quite hurt during their last attack ten years ago, which is why they are trying to gather as much info before going in again.

 PeachBlossomGoddess:

Yes that's all true. I just think we are being led to believe Wufeng is on the offensive and Gong men is on the defensive throughout the drama. Just playing what if the opposite is true? The miasma is thickening and their line is dying out on that mountain. Maybe Gongmen can't hide there much longer. They need to deal Wufeng a decisive blow and re-emerge from their hideout. 

Yeah if their safe place is no longer hospital, I can see them decided to destroy WuFeng and perhaps even take over the sect entirely.