Chapter 210: Plan

Seeing that the Guard Commander clearly did not believe him, Hu Rui’an shook his head slightly.

He was not surprised at all; if he had heard such a thing from someone else, he would not have believed it either.

Immediately, Hu Rui’an focused his mind and gave Fu Qiwén a brief account of everything that had happened on the journey.

After hearing Hu Rui’an’s words, Fu Qiwén’s expression froze—he was clearly stunned.

“How is that possible?”

Fu Qiwén’s already deeply lined forehead creased even further as he said:

“Shen Juesheng is a long-established martial elder of the Jianghu. According to you, his martial cultivation has even advanced further—yet he was still blasted away by a single punch from the Eighth Prince?”

It was not that Fu Qiwén disbelieved him; it was simply too incredible.

Not long ago, Shen Juesheng had dominated the Jianghu with his peerless Dao of the Knife—a figure the young Fu Qiwén had deeply admired—yet now he had been defeated by a mere twenty-year-old novice? No one would believe it.

Watching Fu Qiwén’s stunned and doubtful expression, Hu Rui’an silently thought: he had not yet mentioned Murong Xiaoya—if he had, the man would be even more shocked.

He had not mentioned Murong Xiaoya because Li Muxian had instructed him not to; after all, Murong Xiaoya’s Zhu Que bone was an exceedingly rare treasure.

This artifact could drastically boost one’s power in a short time—if word got out, how many in the Jianghu would covet it?

“My lord, rest assured—every word I spoke is true. With the Prince’s martial strength, withdrawing intact from Luoshen Peak should be no problem.”

Hu Rui’an spoke with clear confidence, offering Fu Qiwén reassurance.

Hearing this, Fu Qiwén fell silent, his expression shifting, then finally gave a slight nod.

“Very well. I hope what you say is true.”

Then he slowly closed his eyes, opened them again, and said:

“The Prince has always felt different from others. I once thought he had some hidden advantage—but now I see…”

He did not continue. After all, Li Muxian was barely twenty, yet possessed martial strength surpassing Shen Juesheng—how could such a thing be possible? How had he cultivated it?

Fu Qiwén shook his head, glanced toward the direction of Luoshen Peak, then stilled his thoughts and said:

“Setting aside the Prince’s affairs for now—even if his martial cultivation is truly supreme, annihilating Luoshen Peak cannot be accomplished by him alone.”

He opened the map on the table and ordered the summoning of three Commandants from the Tianjinwei of the three provinces who had already gathered.

“Rui’an, you’ve handled the affairs in Shengzhou well. I had actually considered abandoning the Tianjinwei presence in this province.”

At this, Fu Qiwén praised Hu Rui’an with evident approval—but Hu Rui’an dared not take credit.

“It was all thanks to the Prince. Without him, I could never have captured Mei Yan and his wife.”

At this, the two exchanged glances; Hu Rui’an had fully reported Mei Yan’s death and that of the Wu Sheng’s daughter.

Yet now, their focus was entirely on annihilating Luoshen Peak, and they both deliberately avoided discussing it.

Soon, the other Commandants overseeing the three provinces arrived, and Fu Qiwén began formulating the next offensive plan.

“Luoshen Peak’s influence runs deep in Lanzhou. We must deploy carefully, concentrate all our strength, and break through their defenses from four directions, then strike straight to the base of Luoshen Peak.”

As he spoke, Fu Qiwén pointed to the map, where the central location of Luoshen Peak’s sect was marked.

The main peak, “Luoshen Peak,” was surrounded by eight other major peaks arranged in all directions; four of them had already been circled in vermilion ink—clearly the ones Fu Qiwén had carefully selected as breakthrough targets.

“The other three routes have already been taken by three other Tianjinwei elders besides myself, each attacking one of Luoshen Peak’s three peaks. Our target is the third peak—Yuxing Peak.”

…

On the dusty road, the Xishan Dao Sect’s carriage rolled forward, leaving deep ruts, while the scar-faced man ahead kept glancing back at Li Muxian, who rode a mule.

But whenever Li Muxian looked up, the man immediately averted his gaze.

Half a day had passed since they left the last Luoshen Peak checkpoint; along the way, they had coexisted peacefully with Li Muxian.

They had encountered Luoshen Peak disciples setting up roadblocks and checkpoints, but nothing had happened.

This man behind them did not seem to harbor any deep grudge against Luoshen Peak—he showed no intention to act unless provoked.

Yet now, the scar-faced man was torn and deeply conflicted.

On several occasions, they had met Luoshen Peak patrols, and he had considered revealing Li Muxian’s presence to them, hoping to be rid of him.

But when he recalled the gruesome scene of Hu Rui’an effortlessly slaughtering Luoshen Peak’s top experts, his resolve vanished in fear.

Moreover, though Li Muxian on the mule gave off no trace of martial Qi, the fact that the others had allowed him to accompany them to Luoshen Peak meant he must have some hidden strength.

Thus, his thoughts rose and fell, yet he never dared to act.

“What is he going to Qisheng Peak for? He killed so many Luoshen Peak people at once—this hardly looks like a birthday visit.”

The scar-faced man was uneasy. Taking him to Luoshen Peak wasn’t the problem—he feared Li Muxian would cause trouble and drag the entire Xishan Dao Sect down with him.

Meanwhile, Li Muxian rode the mule, refining the Qing Long Cangming Jing while traveling.

Accustomed to smartphone navigation, he found ancient maps as incomprehensible as random scribbles; his sense of direction was poor, so following the scar-faced man’s group was genuinely convenient.

At that moment, he turned back and saw the robed old man leading a large horse, with a girl in pink seated atop it, appearing on the opposite side of the road.

Li Muxian slowed slightly, waiting for them to catch up. He glanced at the two, then rubbed his chin.

“You couldn’t possibly have followed me this far just for this mule—your hearts are too small.”

The girl in pink frowned, her eyes darting as she sized him up, her slender brows knitting.

“Your powerful companion is gone—why are you still so arrogant?”

(End of Chapter)