Chapter 157: Troublesome?

Xuanwu held his abdomen, leaning against the ruins, and let out a sneer.

"Chat? What's there to talk about between us..."

Before his words faded, Shen Qing slapped Xuanwu's face directly, sending him flying tens of meters.

"I'm trying to talk to you properly, you don't get it, right?"

Xuanwu's face scraped along the ground for several meters, his mask flew off, revealing his scar‑covered face, and he got a mouthful of dirt.

He strained to look at Shen Qing: "Shen Qing! However you put it, I'm a Golden Core realm expert—can't you at least leave me a shred of dignity?"

Shen Qing stepped up to Xuanwu: "Dignity is something you seize for yourself; I gave you a chance, you didn't cherish it—who else can you blame?"

"Answer my questions; answer well, and I'll let you die quickly."

"Of course you can also stay silent—then I'll let you see the methods of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

A hint of hesitation appeared on Xuanwu's twisted face.

Shen Qing's gaze wandered over Xuanwu's body, finally coming to rest on a certain spot.

"Then let's start with the palace punishment."

"You're called Xuanwu? You've probably never been a eunuch—today you're lucky; I'll personally carry out the execution."

Having said that, Shen Qing flicked his finger, a blade of light appeared, and swiftly slashed toward Xuanwu's crotch.

Xuanwu somehow found the strength, braced his hands on the ground and retreated quickly, barely dodging the slash—the blade of light grazed his trousers and stabbed into the earth.

The fact proves that the saying "people unleash limitless potential in dire straits" is true.

Although Shen Qing had pierced Xuanwu's Golden Core, he still burst with vital potential when faced with becoming a eunuch.

He looked at Shen Qing, face ashen: "Shen Qing! You're really doing this."

The next moment, two shadows swooped down—the black eagle's talons clamped onto Xuanwu's left arm, while Bai Yun stepped on his right arm.

Shen Qing stepped forward, planting a foot on Xuanwu's ankle: "You think I'm playing house with you?"

Along with his words came the sharp blade of light at his fingertips.

Xuanwu screamed as if gone mad: "Stop! Stop! I'll talk, I'll talk!"

Shen Qing withdrew the blade of light, sneered: "Just low‑life—insist on a beating before talking."

He waved his hand; Bai Yun and the black eagle flew to the side.

"First question: Who is the leader of the Taiping Society?"

Xuanwu replied: "He calls himself the Taiping King, probably a brother of the current empress."

"I don't know exactly who he is—I've never seen his face; every order comes through the Vermilion Bird."

"In the whole Taiping Society, probably only the Azure Dragon Hall Master and the Vermilion Bird Hall Master know the leader's true identity; the White Tiger Hall Master likely doesn't either."

Although we haven't pinned down a target, the scope has narrowed considerably.

Zhu Lingyue ranks twelfth among the imperial descendants.

Besides the Eighth Princess, there are ten older brothers.

Moreover, anyone capable of pulling together the Taiping Society and keeping it so secret can rule out low‑cultivation or dim‑witted princes—like Prince Rong Zhu GaoWang, for example.

That leaves not many princes left.

The Third Prince Zhu LingTian and the Fifth Prince Zhu Zhen are the two whose talent and erudition are closest to Zhu Lingyue and the eldest prince.

Next is the Sixth Prince Zhu Mo—though his talent doesn't match those four, he is smart.

Shen Qing continued: "And is this Three Provinces United Martial Arts Assembly also being stirred up by your Taiping King?"

Xuanwu nodded: "I haven't been in the society as long as the other three hall masters, but I've heard a few things."

"What the Taiping Society aims to do is absorb the powerful sects of the three provinces' jianghu into itself."

Shen Qing continued: "Final question: Where are the Azure Dragon and the Vermilion Bird?"

Xuanwu replied: "Don't bother looking for the Vermilion Bird—she never leaves the Taiping King's side."

"The Azure Dragon is in Qingzhou, likely hidden in Heaven Star City."

Shen Qing understood, saw no need to ask further, and pierced Xuanwu's skull with a single finger.

At that moment, Lu Yun saw the Bai family battlefield calming down and slowly approached.

Shen Qing glanced at him: "Perfect timing—the Bai family is pretty much wiped out, though there are bound to be some stragglers."

"Go find the nearest Investigations Office and have them seize all the Bai family's assets, then clear out any remaining Bai family members."

Lu Yun hurriedly nodded.

"No trouble at all! No trouble at all! This is just what the junior should do."

Shen Qing leapt onto the flood dragon's head and patted Bai Yun's head.

"Back to Lingyue City."

Lingyue City, Shadow Guard Office.

Su Wei nodded respectfully.

"Su Wei has just seen Young Master Shen!"

"Young Master Shen arrives just in time—I have news."

"Earlier, a Shadow Guard we'd infiltrated the Taiping Society sent word: the society has four hall masters—Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, Xuanwu, and White Tiger—and that Shadow Guard had previously seen the Azure Dragon in action, wielding a single‑handed spear technique, with a dark‑red birthmark on his tiger's mouth."

Shen Qing raised his eyebrows: "The Shadow Guard's methods are impressive—in just a day they've even turned up the birthmark on the Azure Dragon's body."

"You guys really move fast."

"Well, that's just perfect—I also have a bit of intel."

"When I went to the Bai family, I happened to run into the Taiping Society's Xuanwu and managed to pump some information out of him."

"First, the Azure Dragon is likely hiding in Heaven Star City."

"Second, the Taiping Society's leader is some brother of Zhu Lingyue, and this martial arts assembly was probably stirred up by him—you can investigate through the imperial court, see which officials took part in the decision, and following the trail might even let you drag the Taiping King out directly."

"Besides, the Vermilion Bird and the Prince of Peace are closely related; we can focus our attention on them."

"Su Cai was taken aback for a moment—is this considered a bit of intelligence?"

"With this information, we could basically bypass several helm masters and directly drag out the Prince of Peace."

"Su Cai spoke."

"\"Young Master Shen, if we really uncover this, what should we do? After all, he is the Empress's older brother, a direct descendant of the Zhu Clan. \""

"\"We can't just act directly. \""

"Zhu Lingyue's brother—that's indeed a very troublesome matter."

"After all, he is a direct descendant of the imperial family."

"If not handled well, it could very likely cause a conflict between the two families."

"Shen Qing waved his hand: \"Don't worry, I'll talk to Zhu Lingyue. \""

"The capital, the Imperial Palace."

"A secret letter was delivered to Zhu Lingyue's secluded cultivation retreat."

"A palace maid stood respectfully to the side."

"\"Your Majesty, this is the letter sent by Shen Qing. \""

"Zhu Lingyue glanced at the letter, her tone flat: \"Really, is it them? \""

"\"I thought it was those old immortals. \""

"The palace maid's voice sounded somewhat sorrowful."

"\"Your Majesty, what does Shen Qing mean by sending this letter? \""

"\"Does he want us to take action? \""

"Zhu Lingyue fell silent for a moment, having already roughly suspected the target, and waved her hand."

"\"Don't make things difficult for Shen Qing. \""

"\"Let the Golden Warrior Guard make a move; if Shen Qing's side finds something, then let the Golden Warrior Guard enter Azure Prefecture and follow Shen Qing's command. \""

"\"Externally, we must proclaim that the imperial family is suppressing the rebellion, raising my banner, and not mention Shen Qing. \""

"The Golden Warrior Guard obeys only Zhu Lingyue's orders; the Golden Warrior Guard suppressing rebellion equals Zhu Lingyue suppressing rebellion."

"Moreover, it is still carried out under Zhu Lingyue's banner."

"In this way, it becomes an internal struggle within the imperial family, with no connection whatsoever to Shen Qing."

"This allows Shen Qing to act recklessly."

"\"Finally, tell Shen Qing. \""

"\"Kill. \""