Chapter 31

The summer sun was scorching, and one could hear the birds chirping from time to time.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Li Rui's body was like an old ape, the blade like an extension of his arm, swinging the thirty-seven-jin blade so tightly that not even a drop of water could pass through, the fierce wind stirred up blowing down the small grass in the courtyard.

Half an hour later.

He sheathed the blade and let out a long breath.

Just at this moment—

A knocking sound came from outside the door.

"Is Hall Master Li in?"

Li Rui frowned slightly.

It was Zhao Wei's voice.

"Why would Zhao Wei come to find him at this time?"

Although he was puzzled, he still walked to the door; after all, Zhao Wei was his superior, and he couldn't easily afford to offend him.

As soon as he pushed the door open.

He saw Zhao Wei's large face; besides Zhao Wei, there were two other people.

Li Rui actually recognized one of them—it was Constable Liu, who had gone to the abandoned temple with the four Huaqing Sect disciples, including the young master of the Zhu household, Zhu Yue. The other person was a middle-aged man wearing a jade ring at his waist, exuding an air of nobility.

"Vice Helmsman Zhao, is something the matter?"

Seeing that the visitors were ill-intentioned, Li Rui felt a chill in his heart.

That the other two could enter the Heaven and Earth Alliance's compound and come to his door was certainly Zhao Wei's doing.

Zhao Wei grinned: "Li Lao, you should have met Constable Liu; he has some things to ask you."

Constable Liu stepped forward: "Li Laoge, long time no see."

He looked at Li Rui, whose temperament was profound and whose physique was vigorous, as if he had been reborn.

He was shocked inwardly.

At first, he hadn't believed it when he heard that the old stableman of the Zhu household had become a Hall Master of the Heaven and Earth Alliance, but now, seeing Li Rui, he was certain.

"I wonder if you still remember that time we went to the abandoned temple with the four noble disciples of the Huaqing Sect to surround and kill the traitor?"

Li Rui corrected him:

"Constable Liu, I was just a stableman; I didn't participate in anything."

Constable Liu didn't dwell on it, his gaze becoming sharp: "Li Laoge, almost everyone who participated in that matter back then is dead. Now, besides the four noble disciples who returned to the Huaqing Sect, only I... and you remain."

Li Rui pretended to be flustered: "Constable Liu, what exactly happened?"

Constable Liu stared fixedly at Li Rui, refusing to miss a single expression on his face.

He then sighed softly.

"Li Laoge, you may not know this, but the villain we surrounded that night was also a disciple of the Huaqing Sect. He later killed his fellow senior brother and stole a cultivation technique before fleeing the Huaqing Sect. After several searches, we finally confirmed that he was lurking in the city to retrieve the missing Huaqing Sect secret technique—the Bai Yuan Cloak Blade."

Li Rui was surprised: "That technique was in the hands of the traitorous disciple; why would it be lost?"

Constable Liu shook his head: "I don't know the details."

"But he is now insane, bent on retrieving the secret technique, and has even colluded with the demons of the Ghost Gui Ming Jiao. It is very dangerous."

Li Rui narrowed his eyes slightly: "Does Constable Liu think I took the secret technique?"

Suddenly—

The middle-aged man who had been standing to the side with a smile suddenly took a step forward.

He spoke in an incredibly kind tone:

"Li Laoge, you took the Bai Yuan Cloak Blade, didn't you?"

Li Rui only felt his head grow heavy and dizzy; the middle-aged man before him seemed like a long-lost friend, and he wanted to tell him everything.

But soon.

A cool sensation rose from his dantian, rushing straight to the top of his head.

His mind became clear once again.

"Illusion technique!"

Li Rui felt a sense of dread.

"Illusion techniques can make people fall into a trap without them knowing; the light cases make one blurt out the truth, while the heavy cases make one a complete slave, driven by others."

"I've heard that those ruthless brothels in Anning Prefecture often use such methods to drag women from noble families into the abyss."

He pretended to shake his head as if dizzy.

"I don't know what the Bai Yuan Cloak Blade is."

Hearing Li Rui's answer, the middle-aged man and Zhao Wei exchanged a look, both seeing the regret in each other's eyes.

The next instant—

Li Rui's eyes regained their luster, his expression turning ugly: "You..."

Just as he was about to flare up, Zhao Wei spoke first: "Li Lao, this is Master Kong Xiannian of the Huaqing Sect. Master Kong is here specifically to capture the traitor and purge the demons of the Ghost Gui Ming Jiao."

People from the Huaqing Sect?

Li Rui's heart jolted.

People from the Huaqing Sect would actually use such filthy and underhanded methods.

Kong Xiannian smiled slightly, looking as calm as a breeze and a bright moon: "Li Laoge, I just used the Huaqing Sect's secret True Word Mantra; you are innocent."

He was very confident in his methods.

He had succeeded time and time again, never failing.

Relying on this method, he had gained many opportunities and good fortune.

Unless one was a martial arts expert with an incredibly firm mind, there was absolutely no possibility of resisting.

Li Rui's expression suddenly softened.

"Since that is the case, that is good."

Zhao Wei said a few more words of comfort before taking the two men and leaving.

Seeing the figures of the three disappear.

Li Rui's expression turned icy.

"Damn you, Zhao Wei."

If it weren't for Zhao Wei bringing people to his door, he wouldn't have fallen for the Huaqing Sect member's trick so easily.

A sect that prides itself on being orthodox uses the methods of low-class kidnappers.

It seems the Huaqing Sect is not entirely composed of righteous gentlemen.

Li Rui had lived for so many years.

He had long since been disillusioned with those so-called major sects; the disgusting things in orthodox sects were no less than those in the evil paths.

If he hadn't glimpsed the Xuan Qing Qi this time, and if his mental strength hadn't been several times stronger than before, he might have truly fallen for Kong Xiannian's trick.

Fortune and misfortune are interdependent.

His suspicion was temporarily cleared, and he could have a few more days of peace.

It was just Zhao Wei, colluding with outsiders to deal with him—did he really think of himself as a dog for the Huaqing Sect?

On the other side.

In a grand mansion.

Zhao Wei and Kong Xiannian were in a room, the sound of a woman's giggling occasionally ringing out.

"Brother Kong, is that Li Lao really not a problem?"

Li Rui was his subordinate on the surface, but since this person was introduced by Wu Tu, it was destined that Li Rui could not be used.

As for why the Helmsman wanted to place Li Rui under his command, it was nothing more than a desire for checks and balances.

If Li Rui really had the secret technique, he would not only have performed a great service but could also eliminate an eyesore planted by his side—killing two birds with one stone.

Kong Xiannian nodded confidently: "He didn't take it."

He was extremely confident in his own methods.

"That's troublesome then."

Zhao Wei shook his head regretfully.

If it wasn't in Li Rui's hands, then it was likely taken by those four Huaqing Sect disciples; getting it back wouldn't be so easy.

The reason he was so active was precisely because if he could obtain the secret technique, Kong Xiannian was willing to share it with him, allowing them to swallow the technique privately.

Kong Xiannian: "Brother Zhao, the matter of the secret technique can only be put aside for now. If we can catch that traitor, it will be a great service all the same."

Zhao Wei then laughed heartily again, his body swaying, causing the woman sitting on his lap to heave in the chest.

"Brother Kong, with an expert like you from the Huaqing Sect, it's just a matter of lifting a hand."

Kong Xiannian narrowed his eyes in satisfaction.

His large hands wandered up and down.

In the Huaqing Sect, where could one enjoy such pleasures?

(End of Chapter)