Chapter 19: Reversal

"When I came to Chuzhou, I consulted the Secret Intelligence Bureau's dispatches on the Yuxue Alliance. This man killed husbands, seized their wives, daughters, and property; his evil deeds are countless, and he has already been placed on the court's purge list," Cang Cang Yin Yue explained.

She glanced coldly at Yu Changlu, as if looking at a dead man.

At this moment, Yu Changlu, already tortured by poison to the point of near mental collapse, could barely cling to a shred of will to beg Li Musheng for help, having no time at all to defend himself.

Li Musheng nodded slightly, turned, and leaped onto the mule, sitting as if it were a vigorous horse.

Though the mule was inferior, it understood human nature slightly; it seemed to know Li Musheng had saved it and affectionately rubbed its head against him.

Li Musheng looked down at Yu Changlu, whose poison had already attacked his heart and whose gaze was gradually scattering, shook his head, and then turned to look at Cang Cang Yin Yue:

"Miss Cang, you just mentioned something about a purge list. Does the Secret Intelligence Bureau, besides being responsible for capturing spies and scouts from various countries, also shoulder the duty of cleaning up evil men of the Jianghu?"

While explaining, Cang Cang Yin Yue circulated her true qi, forcing the poison in her body out strand by strand from her palm.

"Currently, it is merely information gathering. Not only the Secret Intelligence Bureau, but the Six Gates and the Tianjin Guard are also doing this matter."

As she spoke, a flash of sharpness appeared in her eyes, and she said:

"The Jianghu forces are too great for the court to restrain. Some evil-doing criminals, even though they are on the government's wanted list, are protected by certain Jianghu sects and gangs, so the court has no way to deal with them."

"Even worse, some Jianghu forces themselves are the source of the disaster that plunders the people and poisons Great Li. Therefore, this entire Jianghu should have been cleaned up long ago; the Great Li court is simply lacking an opportunity."

Hearing this, Li Musheng raised an eyebrow and asked in a low voice:

"This matter should be considered a state secret, right? Are you not afraid I will spread this news, causing an earthquake in the Jianghu?"

Cang Cang Yin Yue's expression remained calm as she looked straight at Li Musheng:

"Have you forgotten your identity as an Imperial Prince of Great Li?"

Li Musheng shrugged:

"Isn't the eighth character not even a stroke yet? Besides, what if I suddenly get a whim and want to become the Martial Arts Alliance Leader?"

Cang Cang Yin Yue's eyelid twitched slightly as she expelled the last trace of poison from her body.

Then, her figure leaped lightly, and she sat upon her own mule.

"Actually, it wouldn't matter if it spread out. There are too many things in the Jianghu that are mere rumors, half-true and half-false; some people believe them, while others scoff at them."

"Before actual action is taken, rumors will forever remain just rumors. Besides, hardly anyone in the Jianghu believes the court, surrounded by enemy nations, would dare to touch the Jianghu."

As Cang Cang Yin Yue spoke, she reached out to pat the mule beneath her, marveling inwardly; the horse's eyes were now so bright it seemed far more spirited than she was.

"What you say is not wrong."

Li Musheng nodded, patted the horse's back, and continued on the road.

The masked woman had gone to chase the people of the Yuxue Alliance; now, with no one paying attention to them, it was clearly a good time to hurry on.

However, after thinking for a moment, he asked curiously:

"Can the Great Li court swallow up this entire Jianghu?"

At this moment, Cang Cang Yin Yue straightened her body; her hand flashed with sword light, and Yu Changlu, who was lying on the ground groaning, was already severed head from body.

"I am not sure, nor is this something I should consider."

Cang Cang Yin Yue shook her head, did not continue discussing this issue, gave Yu Changlu a quick death, and then left together with Li Musheng.

From here, they only needed to cross the mountain ahead, and the road behind would be easy; roughly three days of travel would bring them to Shangyang City.

However, before they had gone far, a sudden, tremendous roar came from the distant forest.

Under the night sky, a patch of dense trees snapped "Crack!" all at once, falling one after another into the deep shrubs and grass, stirring up a gust of wind and dust.

Immediately, a black shadow stumbled out of the dense forest, passing exactly along the mountain road in front of Li Musheng and the other, rushing towards a valley to the side.

"You have been struck by my 'Thousand Leaves Wind-Devastating Palm'; I presume half the meridians in your body are already broken. Where can you escape to in these mountains and wilds? Why not stop and accept death, so I may give you a quick end!"

Behind the black shadow, three figures pursued relentlessly; the one speaking was precisely the black-robed middle-aged man who had retreated earlier.

At this time, Cang Cang Yin Yue had also clearly seen the fleeing black shadow; it was the masked woman who had gone earlier to hunt down the three men.

Seeing this, her expression changed; she immediately pulled Li Musheng backward, moving away from this person who possessed a poison technique.

The masked woman glanced hurriedly at them, had no time to pay attention, clutched her chest, and quickly fled into the valley ahead.

The three experts of the Yuxue Alliance arrived in an instant, and they too saw Li Musheng and the other.

However, they merely swept a cold glance over them, did not stop for any reason, and continued to hunt down the masked woman.

Clearly, the black-robed middle-aged man and the two old men believed the masked woman was the greatest threat and had to be dealt with first.

Cang Cang Yin Yue and Li Musheng stopped their figures by the roadside; she looked towards the valley, and a strange color flashed across her face.

She seemed somewhat surprised; clearly, the masked woman had gone to hunt down the three poisoned members of the Yuxue Alliance, yet in the blink of an eye, she had become the one being hunted.

However, she did not think much of it, but immediately pulled Li Musheng, preparing to take the opportunity to leave.

Under the current situation, after the Yuxue Alliance dealt with the masked woman, they would probably not spare them either.

However, Li Musheng waved his hand, looked towards the direction of the valley, and said:

"Don't rush; let's watch for a while first."

Just then, although the masked woman had already fled into the valley, she was caught up by the black-robed middle-aged man and the two old men, who blocked her retreat from three sides.

"Look at the good deeds you have done! I will surely flay you and strip your tendons, ensuring you do not die a good death!"

The black-robed middle-aged man's gaze swept over the Yuxue Alliance disciples in the valley, whose deaths were miserable, and he roared with a chilling voice.

The faces of the other two old men were also extremely ugly, as if they wished to kill the masked woman immediately.

However, the surrounded masked woman suddenly sneered:

"A group of hypocritical villains! Knowing I had laid poison around the valley, you secretly took the antidote yourselves, deliberately letting your disciples be poisoned and die to lower my guard. The ones who truly killed them were not me, but yourselves!"

Hearing this, the black-robed middle-aged man narrowed his eyes; the anger on his face gradually vanished. He let out a heavy snort and said:

"If we had not done this, how could you have fallen into the trap?"

One old man stared at the masked woman and said in a deep voice:

"Your poison technique is too terrifying; we had no way to capture you before, so we could only resort to this low strategy. Otherwise, once you, that poisonous woman, escaped, who knows how many people would die at your hands."

"Do not waste words with her! To avoid trouble arising from a long night, cut off her limbs first!"

At this moment, the other old man clearly understood that too many words were no good thing, and immediately launched a Lei Ting strike toward the masked woman.

Seeing this, the masked woman's face changed, and she immediately shouted loudly in haste:

"Junior brother, what are you waiting for? Strike quickly!"

(End of this chapter)