Chapter 370: The Sect Law Envoy

Just as Duan Rong finished chatting with Xiao Yu about the information he had gathered, a rustling sound came from the other end of the secret chamber.

Xiao Yu immediately stood up and crouched halfway, grabbing her sword hilt with some nervousness.

Duan Rong said, "It's fine. It's Yang Zhen."

Although Xiao Yu's hand did not leave the sword hilt, her tense body visibly relaxed a little.

Before long, following the sound of footsteps, a figure walked out; it was indeed Yang Zhen.

Yang Zhen placed a basket covered with a cotton cloth in front of the three of them and said, "Beef soup, and flatbreads."

Duan Rong immediately lifted the cover of the basket and saw a black porcelain jar inside. He picked up the black porcelain jar and sniffed it; it was exactly the beef soup he had been thinking about all day.

Duan Rong looked at Zhu Xiaoqi and said, "Xiao Qi, bowls!"

When Zhu Xiaoqi was hiding here alone, Yang Zhen had only prepared flatbreads and water for her; she hadn't eaten anything hot for many days.

Zhu Xiaoqi immediately took three porcelain bowls from the wall behind her.

Duan Rong first gently shook the black porcelain jar, then filled the three porcelain bowls.

The piping hot beef soup immediately stimulated the appetites of the three; each of them picked up a porcelain bowl and began to slurp it down.

While eating the beef soup and pairing it with the flatbread, Duan Rong suddenly raised his head, looked at Yang Zhen, and said, "No chili?"

Yang Zhen's face darkened, and he said, "Why don't I just move the whole beef stall over to you?"

Duan Rong said, "That won't be necessary. Just bring the chili jar."

"Pah!" Yang Zhen was so choked with anger by Duan Rong that he turned his head to leave.

Duan Rong suddenly called him back. "Yang Zhen, come back, there is still serious business."

Yang Zhen stood at the entrance reluctantly. "What is it?"

Duan Rong drank the beef soup in his bowl in two large gulps, put down the porcelain bowl, stood up, and reached into his crotch to pull out a piece of paper.

It was unclear where that paper had been torn from; dried paste still remained on the back.

Duan Rong said, "I don't trust anyone else, so you had better make the trip yourself. Go to the Prefecture City and hand this letter to Ximen Kankan."

"A letter?"

Yang Zhen's brows furrowed into a 'chuan' character. He looked at the crumpled paper in Duan Rong's hand; there were indeed dense, tiny characters on it, but under the dim light, one could also see a curly hair on it.

Recalling where Duan Rong had just pulled it from, Yang Zhen looked disgusted and was unwilling to reach out to take it.

Duan Rong also noticed Yang Zhen's expression. He looked down, immediately shook his hand, flicked the hair off, and then turned his head to look at Xiao Yu, saying, "Xiao Yu, let me use that envelope of yours."

Xiao Yu understood. She took the envelope out from her bosom, carefully took out her father's final letter from inside, and handed the empty envelope to Duan Rong.

Duan Rong took the envelope, folded the paper, stuffed it inside, and only then handed it to Yang Zhen.

Yang Zhen then reached out to take it and asked, "When should I deliver it?"

"The sooner the better," Duan Rong said. "You had best set off today."

Yang Zhen's eyes flickered, and he said, "Alright!"

Yang Zhen tucked the letter into his sleeve and left the secret chamber.

Duan Rong watched Yang Zhen leave before turning around. He picked up the black porcelain jar, only to find that the beef soup inside was gone.

"Did you both eat it all?" Duan Rong looked at Xiao Yu and Zhu Xiaoqi with dissatisfaction and questioned them.

Xiao Yu and Zhu Xiaoqi touched their round bellies and let out an embarrassed, full burp.

Although the beef soup in the black porcelain jar had been poured out, Duan Rong still used his Divine Sense Projection to accurately fish out several pieces of beef from inside.

These pieces of beef were stuck to the inner wall.

Duan Rong used the beef to wrap the flatbread and ate it.

After eating, Duan Rong had no time to rest. He stood there, and in an instant, the bones throughout his body popped and cracked, his body shrinking circle by circle until he soon turned into the appearance of that little beggar. The only difference was that his belly was slightly bulging.

Duan Rong wrapped himself in tattered clothes to cover his belly and turned to prepare to leave.

While Yang Zhen delivered the letter to Ximen Kankan, he still had to continue to gather information to determine the next move of Ruan Fengshan, Sun Qian, and the others.

The moment Duan Rong turned around, Xiao Yu said, "Duan Rong, be careful!"

Duan Rong turned his head and smiled slightly, saying, "Don't worry. I won't let you become a widow."

"Pah." Xiao Yu spat on the ground.

But Duan Rong had already walked out of the secret chamber.

Hearing Duan Rong's remark about being a widow, Zhu Xiaoqi's heart skipped a beat. She looked at Xiao Yu and asked, "Young Miss, you and him..."

Xiao Yu's face felt slightly hot. Since she and Zhu Xiaoqi were like sisters, she told Zhu Xiaoqi about her and Duan Rong, adding that Duan Rong had originally intended to propose to her father upon his return, but she hadn't expected such a great change to occur the moment he returned.

As Xiao Yu spoke, her eyes couldn't help but turn red.

Hearing this, Zhu Xiaoqi felt a complex mix of emotions in her heart; she couldn't tell if it was sweetness or bitterness...

Once Yang Zhen arrived at the Ya Men, he immediately asked for leave from the Head Constable, Ding Xingxing.

Upon hearing this, Ding Xingxing's expression turned cold, and he said it was impossible. "The Ya Men is busy right now. How can I give you leave?"

Yang Zhen said, "Head Constable, I really have something to do. If you won't grant me leave, I can only neglect my duty."

Seeing Yang Zhen's insistence, Ding Xingxing's eyes flickered slightly. In three years, this was the first time Yang Zhen had asked him for leave; usually, this guy wouldn't even leave the front line for minor injuries. He immediately understood that Yang Zhen really had something important. "Alright then, go ahead. Come back as soon as you can! I have a huge pile of things to deal with here!"

"Sigh... Thank you, Head Constable!" Yang Zhen thanked him happily and hurried away.

Ding Xingxing watched Yang Zhen's back and smiled slightly. After three years of working together, he quite liked this kid. However, the County Magistrate had just called him to the reception hall earlier and asked him to find someone reliable to investigate the social connections of the two Registered Disciples, Duan Rong and Xiao Yu, who had entered the Sect three years ago. He had originally planned to give this job to Yang Zhen. Since Yang Zhen had something to do, he would let Zhu Baogui handle it instead.

Thinking this, Ding Xingxing sipped his strong tea and headed to the Constable's room.

Yang Zhen did not go to the Ya Men's stables to pick a horse; the horses in the Ya Men were not fast horses. He ran quickly out of the Ya Men, intending to go to the horse market to spend a large sum of money to get a fine steed capable of long-distance running.

As Yang Zhen ran out of the County Government Office gate, he saw a little beggar huddled up, basking in the sun at the corner of the alley not far away.

That was exactly Duan Rong, who had just lain down there not long ago.

The two glanced at each other, then each looked away.

With his Divine Sense projected in this place, Duan Rong had "everything in his sight," both inside and outside the Ya Men, including every move Ruan Fengshan made in the secret chamber beneath the Back Courtyard of the County Government Office.

Duan Rong spent the entire day monitoring Ruan Fengshan. He did not expect that this Ruan Fengshan would be so protective of his own life, actually cowering inside the Secret Chamber and not coming out at all.

Even his three daily meals were delivered into the Secret Chamber by that short scout.

In the latter half of the following night, Duan Rong was dazed and seemed about to fall into a deep sleep.

Staring at someone day and night like this was truly the most boring job in this world.

Just at this moment, inside the Secret Chamber where Ruan Fengshan was staying, a bell at the corner of the wall suddenly rang out with a tinkling sound.

Ruan Fengshan was jolted awake by the crisp sound of the bell; he moved his aching arms, let out a deep sigh, struggled to his feet, walked to a stone wall, and rotated a hidden mechanism somewhere, and a stone door before him immediately opened with a rumble.

As the stone door opened, a short youth in black clothes was seen standing in the corridor; the youth raised his right hand, presenting a bamboo tube the size of a little finger in his palm to Ruan Fengshan, and said, "A reply from the Hall. Just got it from the Temple Keeper Xu Dongyang."

Upon hearing this, Ruan Fengshan's eyes brightened, his sleepiness vanished, and he immediately took the bamboo tube; looking at it by the lamplight, he saw that both ends of the bamboo tube were sealed with wax stamped with a seal.

Ruan Fengshan scraped off the wax, poured out the note from inside the bamboo tube, and stared at it intently.

At this look, his complexion immediately turned extremely ugly.

There was only one line of text on the note: Duan Rong and Xiao Yu are both Outer Sect Disciples.

The moment Ruan Fengshan looked at this line, Duan Rong's Divine Sense swept over simultaneously. The ringing of the bell and the rumbling of the stone door just now had already woken Duan Rong up. The reason he had been drowsy was because the interior of Ruan Fengshan's Secret Chamber had been deathly silent; now that it was lively, Duan Rong naturally had no more sleepiness.

Ruan Fengshan closed the stone door and had the short scout withdraw.

He paced back and forth inside the Secret Chamber with his hands behind his back.

Duan Rong and Xiao Yu were actually both Outer Sect Disciples.

Even if they could set a trap to scare off Duan Rong, how could they scare off Xiao Yu? With the feud of a murdered father, how could she possibly retreat?

Ruan Fengshan could think of no solution, and he suddenly pressed a spot on the wall.

The moment Ruan Fengshan pressed that spot on the stone wall, a tinkling bell sound rang out from a cabinet in the corner of Sun Qian's room.

At this time, although it was the latter half of the night, Sun Qian had not yet gone to sleep.

Just a moment ago, a scout had also delivered a secret letter to him, likewise coming from the Hall side.

The two secret letters had arrived at the Temple Keeper Xu Dongyang's place together, with bamboo tubes tied to the two legs of a single carrier pigeon. One letter was for Ruan Fengshan, and the other was for Sun Qian.

Sun Qian had just opened the secret letter and glanced at it when the bell in the cabinet rang. His eyes shifted; he knew that Ruan Fengshan must have also received a secret letter, and the identities of Duan Rong and Xiao Yu should have already been confirmed.

Ruan Fengshan was surely anxious to find him to discuss it now.

Sun Qian stood up, turned past the screen behind him, and arrived before the bed; he came to the side of the bed and pressed a hidden spring mechanism.

Sun Qian's footsteps then sounded at the stone stairs of the Secret Chamber, and Ruan Fengshan's gaze immediately looked over; before long, he saw Sun Qian walk out from the shadows.

Ruan Fengshan immediately stepped forward and cupped his hands, saying, "Big Brother!"

Sun Qian gave a soft grunt and asked, "What are their identities?"

Ruan Fengshan's eyes jumped as he said, "They are both Outer Sect Disciples."

"Both Outer Sect Disciples!?"

"Yes!"

Sun Qian walked slowly to a simple bamboo chair and sat down, a look of gravity flashing in his eyes.

Ruan Fengshan knew that Sun Qian was deep in thought at this moment and did not dare to disturb him for the time being.

Sun Qian suddenly raised his head and said, "Put this matter aside for now, look at this first."

As Sun Qian spoke, he handed the secret letter in his hand toward Ruan Fengshan.

Ruan Fengshan took the note handed over by Sun Qian and stared at it; he saw it written on the note: Four days from now, I will accompany the Total Altar Dharma Envoy Wei Ziyang to inspect Xiangu. Ge Qinglei, the ninth of the fourth month.

Where the signature was, there was also a small seal stamped.

"The Total Altar Dharma Envoy is coming?" Ruan Fengshan raised his head, his eyes full of surprise.

Below the Sect Leader of the Filthy Blood Sect, there were five Total Altar Dharma Envoys; these five people were nearly equivalent to representatives of the Sect Leader, and their power was so great that it could be said they were below one person and above ten thousand.

Sun Qian stood up and took two steps; this matter clearly also made him very excited.

"Some time ago, I submitted a report to the Hall Master Ge Qinglei. The Hall Master replied to me saying that he would strive for resources for us from the Total Altar. It seems that is precisely why the Dharma Envoy is coming to inspect."

"For the Dharma Envoy to come and inspect is already a tremendous recognition for Xiangu!" Ruan Fengshan was also emotionally stirred.

He had been the Helmsman of Xiangu for so many years and had never even seen a Dharma Envoy; the Total Altar Dharma Envoys reported directly to the Sect Leader. If the Dharma Envoy came to Xiangu to inspect, that meant that before long, the Sect Leader might also know of their Xiangu.

If this stronghold in Xiangu County truly had a direct line to the heavens, he and Sun Qian might both be able to rise to the heavens.

Sun Qian suddenly said, "Put the matter of Duan Rong and Xiao Yu aside for now; tell the brothers to just be strictly on guard. We will talk about it after the Dharma Envoy finishes the inspection."

As Sun Qian spoke, a trace of fatigue emerged from the depths of his eyes.

Upon hearing this, Ruan Fengshan remained silent.

Sun Qian rubbed his temples, but in his heart, he actually already had the answer. He was prepared to abandon Ruan Fengshan!

Since Xiao Yu was an Outer Sect Disciple, she could not be killed easily. But with the feud of a murdered father, how could she not seek revenge?

The turning point to settle this matter was to abandon his brother, Ruan Fengshan. This answer was not even something Sun Qian had thought of; it had welled up on its own.

When it came down to it, the cause of Xiangu was the most important. Any price was worth it.

Under the clear moonlight, Duan Rong huddled in the corner of an alley in the night wind.

When he used his Divine Sense to perceive that the Filthy Blood Sect's Total Altar Dharma Envoy Wei Ziyang and Hall Master Ge Qinglei were coming to Xiangu to inspect in four days, his nose twitched.

Originally, there were thirteen True Qi Realm experts in Xiangu County, and all the major forces were also controlled by the Filthy Blood Sect; this place could be said to have been built by Sun Qian into a stronghold of the Filthy Blood Sect.

Duan Rong's original plan was to pull out this stronghold. He felt that with this merit, advancing to an Inner Sect Disciple should be no problem.

Moreover, he wanted to slaughter all these Filthy Blood Sect members within Xiangu County; to complete this task, he could not help but call for some helpers.

He had Yang Zhen send a letter to Ximen Kankan, which was to have Ximen Kankan bring Shen Mizhi and Liu Shushan to Xiangu County together.

Duan Rong estimated that with his True Qi Realm Great Perfection cultivation, plus the assistance of Ximen Kankan, Shen Mizhi, Liu Shushan, and Xiao Yu, killing those thirteen True Qi Realm experts of the Filthy Blood Sect should no longer be a problem.

Furthermore, he had also instructed Ximen Kankan to craft a secret weapon for him.

Duan Rong not only wanted to kill all thirteen of those True Qi Realm Filthy Blood Sect experts, but he also wanted Xiao Yu to kill Ruan Fengshan with her own hands, to avenge her father personally.

Now, he had only just had Yang Zhen send the letter out when there was another change.

Four days later, unexpectedly, both Total Altar Dharma Envoy Wei Ziyang of the Filthy Blood Sect and Hall Master Ge Qinglei of the Yuanyang Hall were coming to Xiangu County.

In one go, two big fish had actually arrived!

Either mission would be enough to shake the Sect!

Especially Total Altar Dharma Envoy Wei Ziyang of the Filthy Blood Sect; he was one of the five great Dharma Envoys of the Filthy Blood Sect!

Such a big fish is truly a rare find!

However, he had no way of knowing the cultivation realms of these two people! But, even if he did not know, the Sect should know.

It seems he must make a trip to the secret contact point of the Office of Transmission.

(End of this chapter)