Chapter 263

Carriage after carriage of the Wu Kingdom diplomatic mission drove past the city wall.

"Documents?"

"My lord, please take a look."

The city-guarding soldier took the documents handed over and frowned: "Newcomers, why do you look so unfamiliar?"

"Yes, yes, first time trading."

The city-guarding soldier couldn't help but take two extra looks, and seeing that the documents were fine and the other members of the caravan were familiar faces, he waved his hand: "Go in."

Following a clear shout of "Giddy-up."

The carriage slowly started moving again.

It went all the way through Qinghe Main Street before starting to unload goods at the location designated by the Trade Office.

Two men walked into their own shop in the market.

"It's quite useful."

Yuan Gao laughed.

Without needing to disguise himself like with the Art of Transformation, he could walk down the street openly and deceive everyone.

'Illusion arts are truly brilliant.'

He couldn't stop marveling in his heart.

The path of illusion arts values talent extremely highly, and illusionists walking in the Jianghu are even rarer; even Yuan Gao was seeing the power of illusion arts for the first time.

The other man was naturally the City Lord of Lingluo.

The City Lord of Lingluo sat casually on a wooden chair, somewhat disdainful that this chair made of yellow pear wood was not worthy of her.

As for deceiving the city guards, she didn't feel proud at all.

Just as Yuan Gao was about to find a spot to sit down, Lady Lingluo suddenly spoke: "So, how much longer does the Cult Master intend to keep us in the dark about the Immortal Venerable's affairs?"

"!!"

Yuan Gao's pupils contracted slightly.

His movements stiffened.

'How could she know??'

Yuan Gao was absolutely certain that he had never said the words "Immortal Venerable" to Lady Lingluo.

He turned his head abruptly, his eyes filled with killing intent.

"You used illusion arts on me?!"

Lady Lingluo's mouth curled up slightly: "Just a small trick. Elder Yuan is indeed very cautious; it took me a full half-year to succeed. You should feel proud."

"You—"

Yuan Gao's expression instantly became ferocious.

He was already considering whether to explode into action and kill her.

If the Ghost Gui Ming Jiao found out that he was the one who leaked the secret, he would find it hard to even beg for death.

Lady Lingluo looked at Yuan Gao with contempt: "I think Elder Yuan had better not make a move. My strength is insufficient, but the Qi clan still has experts."

Yuan Gao scanned his subordinates in the shop outside the room.

Clearly, Lady Lingluo had brought other powerhouses while keeping it from him.

And he had been completely unaware of all this.

"What terrifying schemes."

Yuan Gao had been calculated by the woman before him without even realizing it, and he hadn't noticed it in the slightest.

Lady Lingluo's tone slowed down: "Elder Yuan need not be so nervous. I won't tell anyone about this, and I will even help Elder Yuan capture Jiang Linxian with all my might. But as a reward, you need to agree to one thing."

Yuan Gao narrowed his eyes slightly.

If he had even a thirty percent chance of success, he would have killed the woman before him without hesitation.

But he understood very well why Lady Lingluo only said this after arriving in Qinghe.

It was because she had already set up countermeasures here, and also because this place was far enough away from the Nine Souls Dharma King.

So although this woman seemed within reach, he had no possibility of succeeding at all, not even one percent. He took a deep breath:

"What condition?"

Hearing Yuan Gao's words, the smile on Lady Lingluo's mouth grew wider:

"I want to meet the Immortal Venerable."

Meet the Immortal Venerable??

Yuan Gao was immediately baffled and had to continue asking: "Why do you want to see the Immortal Venerable?"

Lady Lingluo said as a matter of course: "Naturally, it is to admire the Immortal Venerable's divine might. Do I need any other reason? Moreover, your sect and my Qi clan come from the same lineage; there are some legends you know, and we know them too."

"By the way, don't think about fooling me."

"To tell you the truth, I have already placed an illusion curse on you. As long as you dare to speak out, I guarantee you will die a miserable death."

Yuan Gao's complexion became ugly to the extreme in an instant.

After a long silence.

He then slowly spoke:

"Fine, I agree to you."

"That's right," the smile on Lady Lingluo's face grew wider: "Rest assured, aren't you trying to capture Jiang Linxian and Li Rui? I will handle it well; consider it a meeting gift for the Immortal Venerable."

After speaking.

Lady Lingluo rested her chin on one hand, looking at the birds flying outside the sky like a girl in love.

'The Immortal Venerable... should look quite good.'

Yuan Gao looked at Lady Lingluo's appearance, his expression becoming strange.

This is wanting to see the Immortal Venerable?

This is afraid of wanting to sleep with the Immortal Venerable!

"Xiao Bai, are you saying it's people from the Qi clan investigating?"

Li Rui returned to his room, looking at the little white dragon that had turned into a small snake.

"Yes."

The little white dragon nodded vigorously: "It was all told to me by the little demons under my command. Big Brother can rest assured; I've already sent them away, and Father doesn't know either."

"Xiao Bai does things so properly."

Li Rui praised the little white dragon.

With the little white dragon's help, it was no longer possible for the Qi clan to trace it back to him.

"By the way, Xiao Bai, are you saying you were attracted by the treasure in the demon hunter's hands at the time?"

"Of course, I felt the True Dragon Qi, so I followed it, and ended up being tricked by that kid surnamed Duan."

The little white dragon now knew from Li Rui's mouth.

Who the person who ambushed it that day was.

On the way here, it had also told the whole story from beginning to end.

Even after many days, mentioning this matter, the little white dragon was still gnashing its teeth. Someone wanted to catch it to be a mount; how could it endure that?

Li Rui was thoughtful.

At first, he thought it was just Duan Yu causing big trouble out of pure greed, but now it seemed things were not as simple as he had imagined.

According to the little white dragon.

It didn't just happen to go near the military camp by chance, but was attracted there.

What was the little white dragon's status?

It wouldn't look at ordinary treasures at all. If a demon hunter could take out something that would make even the little white dragon's heart move, then why the hell would he be a demon hunter?

Is it fun to have your head tied to your belt every day?

If you had that kind of treasure, who would risk their life?

So Li Rui guessed that there was likely someone planning it behind the scenes, specifically to borrow the old dragon's blade. Duan Yu had just happened to fall into the trap and become the bait.

He was truly unlucky, but not unjustly so.

If it weren't for his greed, the Anning Guard and Yunzhou Guard wouldn't have lost so many people.

With the Anning Guard and Yunzhou Guard damaged, who could benefit?

Naturally, those rebels of the Wu Kingdom.

More specifically, it should be the work of the Qi clan, or even the City Lord of Mangu.

After all, at that time, the Anning Guard was less than fifty miles from Mangu City. If it weren't for the demon frenzy, they would have completed the encirclement with the other armies long ago; how could it be the current situation?

'Good methods.'

Li Rui was secretly shocked.

He had long heard that the female City Lord had extraordinary methods, and she was truly formidable.

If it weren't for the coincidence of forming a contract with the little white dragon, he would never have known that there was an invisible hand controlling everything behind the demon frenzy.

This move of borrowing a blade to kill seems simple, but being able to do it without anyone noticing—that is the real skill.

"Alright, Xiao Bai, from now on you will live in this room."

After learning the information he wanted, Li Rui planned to get up and leave.

He wasn't Wang Zhao; he didn't have the habit of sleeping while hugging a demon beast. The little white dragon looked longingly at Li Rui, who was closing the door and leaving.

With a resentful face.

Returning to his own room.

Li Rui then sat cross-legged on the cushion and began to practice.

"Entering the Sea, Observing the Waves, Rising Moon—this is the three stages of Sea-Observing."

Li Rui had just entered Sea-Observing and was naturally still in the Entering the Sea stage. The so-called Entering the Sea means continuing to nourish qi and strengthen the qi sea. Only when there is truly the atmosphere of a sea can one draw the qi sea to wash one's own body.

When the whole body is clear, that is the Rising Moon, the time to enter the Primordial Realm.

Because Li Rui had taken the Shark King's Tears, his foundation was far more solid than that of ordinary Sea-Observing martial artists.

The progress of Entering the Sea was naturally faster.

Li Rui knew in his heart that martial arts practice is something that cannot be rushed.

Fifth-Rank is known in the Jianghu as a Small Grandmaster.

Please... you.... collect_(!)

Why?

Because upon reaching Fifth-Rank, one has the qualifications to open a sect, and many Jianghu friends will come to congratulate you.

Others will also be convinced when they hear it.

Note, this is opening a sect, which is a different matter from the rabble gathered together like the Tiandi Alliance before.

If someone dares to establish a sect without even reaching Fifth-Rank, let alone being laughed at by Jianghu people, the people who come to kick down the door will make him unable to handle it.

Do what you have the strength to do.

Now that Li Rui has become a Small Grandmaster, he can be considered a decent person.

Looking at the whole of Qinghe, he is already in the top tier.

The night is dark and the wind is high.

Government office.

Once the Shen hour passed and the roll was called, except for a few patrolling constables, it was empty and not a single person could be seen.

The former Magistrate Zhuang liked to live in the backyard.

It was often brightly lit, and the sound of the pipa would ring throughout the whole night.

Now, it appeared much more desolate.

The candidate for the new Magistrate of Qinghe had not yet been determined, and the acting Assistant Magistrate Zhong had not yet sat firmly in his position, so it was not appropriate to occupy the residence in a legitimate way, and thus it was left abandoned.

It had been abandoned for more than half a year.

In the darkness.

Two figures wandered in the shadows of the corners of the government office buildings.

Silent and soundless.

The patrolling constables didn't notice them at all.

A few breaths later.

The two figures arrived at the backyard of the government office, the former residence of Zhuang Renhe.

"This is it."

Lady Lingluo's mouth curled up slightly, and she walked straight toward the east wing.

The east wing is generally where the master lives.

In the government office, it was naturally where the Magistrate slept and rested.

The residence was abandoned, and things had been moved out; the room wasn't locked, and Lady Lingluo walked into the room with almost no obstruction.

The room was empty; except for the furniture that couldn't be moved, everything else was gone.

Yuan Gao followed silently behind Lady Lingluo.

Tonight.

Lady Lingluo suddenly sought him out and told him to come to the government office together.

He also didn't know what medicine Lady Lingluo was selling in her gourd.

Lady Lingluo said while fumbling around in the room: "Elder Yuan, I am a person who likes to make friends. I met someone a few days ago who happened to work under Magistrate Zhuang before."

"That young man told me that before Magistrate Zhuang died, he had once asked him to track someone named Li Rui."

"But strangely, Li Rui left the city that night, and he told Magistrate Zhuang the news."

"Magistrate Zhuang not only didn't take any action, but also told him not to meddle in other people's business."

"Then..."

"Magistrate Zhuang died, and the person he sent to track Li Rui also died."

"Elder Yuan, do you think this matter is strange or not?"

Yuan Gao narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Is the person you're talking about named Zhuang Da?"

Lady Lingluo's hands didn't stop, and her smile grew wider: "It seems Elder Yuan also knows him?"

Yuan Gao took a deep breath.

Zhuang Renhe died, and not only were the people from the Ministry of Justice of the Imperial Court investigating, but the Ghost Gui Ming Jiao was also investigating.

That person named Zhuang Da was Zhuang Renhe's confidant.

Originally, he also wanted to find Zhuang Da to understand the situation, but not long after Zhuang Da finished accepting questioning from the Ministry of Justice, he mysteriously disappeared.

It's just that at the time, the Imperial Court was busy sending troops, so no one cared.

Now it seems it was clearly captured by the woman before him.

'What deep schemes.'

A flash of wariness crossed Yuan Gao's eyes.

Clearly, Lady Lingluo had already made arrangements in Qinghe as early as that time, which allowed her to take Zhuang Da away before the Ghost Gui Ming Jiao.

And she had kept it hidden for so long.

If it weren't for him being confused by illusion arts and speaking out about the Immortal Venerable's affairs, perhaps he would never have known in this life that Zhuang Da was actually captured by Lady Lingluo.

Lady Lingluo didn't even look at Yuan Gao and continued: "Magistrate Zhuang wasn't an Immortal Venerable; he didn't have the ability to walk through walls. Why would he suddenly disappear from the room and then die outside the city?"

"I guess there should be..."

Before she could finish speaking.

She heard a slight clicking sound.

As Lady Lingluo let go of the wooden shelf she was fumbling with, the shelf began to rotate slowly, revealing a pitch-black hole.

The smile on Lady Lingluo's mouth grew wider: "It should be this secret passage."

She glanced at the wooden shelf.

Something should have been placed on the shelf originally, but it was taken away later, yet the mechanism was still preserved and hadn't been triggered; the design could be called quite ingenious.

However, it was still discovered by her.

Lady Lingluo smiled at Yuan Gao: "Elder Yuan, let's go, let's go see together what exactly that Magistrate Zhuang was hiding."

As the wooden shelf rotated.

The hole closed.

The two walked along the secret passage and soon arrived in a secret room.

Lady Lingluo looked at the secret room and narrowed her eyes slightly:

"It seems this Magistrate Zhuang wasn't honest."

She looked at the rows of torture instruments on the wooden shelf, showing an interested expression.

This secret room was clearly a small interrogation room.

Zhuang Renhe went to great lengths to build such a place; who was it for interrogating?

Yuan Gao naturally also saw the torture instruments, and his complexion became ugly to the extreme. Without needing to think, Zhuang Renhe must have harbored evil intentions and hidden something from the Ghost Gui Ming Jiao.

"What exactly is he trying to do?"

Lady Lingluo rolled her eyes, full of charm:

"I'm not the Immortal Venerable, how would I know."

Lady Lingluo looked left and right, and then spoke: "I think our Magistrate Zhuang should have already known the Immortal Venerable's secret; he wanted to capture Jiang Linxian and Li Rui before the Immortal Venerable."

"It's just that Jiang Linxian's strength is too strong, so he set his target on Li Rui."

Yuan Gao nodded: "Makes sense."

Being told this by Lady Lingluo, he became even angrier.

If it weren't for Zhuang Renhe, this traitor, acting behind his back, perhaps the matter would have been accomplished long ago.

Jiang Linxian and Li Rui would have already been sent to the Immortal Venerable.

Lady Lingluo smiled.

She suddenly remembered the old dragon matter from before; although that old dragon and the little dragon were both very tight-lipped and she hadn't found out any news.

But she remembered that among the officials who handled the demon frenzy matter, besides Jiang Linxian, it seemed that the official named Li Rui was also among them.

Coincidence?

(End of chapter)