Chapter 349: I

Thud, thud, thud.

"Master, someone's here to see you."

Wang Zhao heard the knocking and rushed over.

He opened the door.

It was a martial arts hall disciple.

More precisely, a disciple of the Qianhe Martial Arts Hall—and even more specifically, one of Master He Qianian's direct disciples.

He immediately told Li Rui.

Li Rui was inside, flipping through case files; these past days, he had spent considerable effort on the Song Shi matter.

Not just him—even other chief officials in Qinghe, including Nie Siming, hadn't fared much better.

Hearing Wang Zhao's words,

Li Rui finally set down the case file, rubbed his temples, and stood up.

By the time he reached the door,

he realized it was He Qianian's third disciple.

"Brother Wu, what's up?"

"Senior Brother, Master asked me to fetch you to the hall—he has something to say to you."

Li Rui had frequently visited He Qianian recently to seek advice on Da Henglian.

He was well-acquainted with He Qianian's disciples.

Thus, he acquired the nickname "Senior Brother."

He Qianian never formally took him as a disciple, yet Li Rui had learned He Qianian's most secret techniques.

From Xiao Yu to the other disciples, all felt Li Rui was the most suitable to be their senior brother.

But since he lacked formal status,

the position of senior brother remained Xiao Yu's, hence the term "Senior Senior Brother" emerged.

At first, Li Rui thought it inappropriate and tried to discourage the nickname.

But over time, even Xiao Yu himself started using it, so Li Rui gave up objecting.

Li Rui listened, slightly surprised,

but nodded anyway.

After all, he had always been the one seeking out He Qianian—He Qianian had never once sought him out.

He immediately followed Wu Qingyi to the Qianhe Martial Arts Hall.

The Anning Guard was about three to four li from the Qianhe Martial Arts Hall.

Neither man took a carriage.

Both were martial artists with swift footwork; they arrived in no more than fifteen minutes.

Li Rui walked straight to He Qianian's courtyard—the gate stood open, clearly left for him.

As he reached the threshold,

he saw He Qianian already waving to him.

He stepped inside and bowed respectfully:

"Master He."

He was about to sit when He Qianian dropped a bombshell: "Li Xunshan, we have a task ahead."

At the words "Xunshan," Li Rui's buttocks froze mid-air, just above the stone bench.

He stared at He Qianian in shock.

He saw He Qianian pull a jade tablet from his sleeve—glossy, identical to his own—and place it slowly on the stone table.

Li Rui saw clearly: the jade tablet was nearly identical to his own Black Guard jade.

Only the inscription on it differed.

Zhen!

Li Rui's pupils contracted slightly.

He Qianian was a Zhen Shan Shi?!

'This old devil has been hiding it well!'

As a Zhen Shan Shi, He Qianian held higher authority and must have known long ago that Li Rui had become a Xunshan Shi.

Yet he had pretended ignorance until now.

He's made me suffer in silence.

'Good, good, good.'

Li Rui's expression quickly returned to calm; he smiled and bowed to He Qianian: "Your humble servant greets Master He, Zhen Shan Shi."

He Qianian smiled warmly at Li Rui:

"Don't think I'm deliberately keeping this from you."

"This was only decided recently."

"I never intended to hide it from you—you're the one who's been too lazy to check in. Don't blame me."

Hearing this, Li Rui's interest surged:

"Master, you haven't been to the capital lately—how did you become a Black Guard?"

He Qianian rolled his eyes:

"You think you were the only one who entered the palace during that trip to the capital?"

Li Rui let out a low whistle.

During those days in the capital,

he hadn't been idle—but neither had He Qianian, who was constantly absent from the Dianke Office, always running out. Now it seemed He Qianian had been even busier than him, even sneaking into the palace like Li Rui to become a Black Guard.

He Qianian continued: "Unlike you, I didn't accept the role at first—I only agreed recently. I'm assigned with Jiang Lin to oversee the southern region."

Then he changed the subject:

"Enough small talk. Let's talk about the real matter."

"Tell me—what happened to Song Shi? Is he dead? How?"

"You youngsters always like to hide things."

He was a Land Immortal, not a true god.

Nie Siming and the others had kept the matter tightly sealed; few knew Song Shi was dead.

In all of Qinghe, only five people knew.

Li Rui blinked: "Master, how did you find out about Song Shi?"

He Qianian: "He sent the message himself."

"Seven days ago, Yang Bing received word from Song Shi: a fallen immortal was spotted near Qinghe—specifically, in the Ten Thousand Mountains."

"Yang Bing asked me to investigate first."

"But before I could find Song Shi, he vanished—along with his men. The Huacai Residence where he stayed was thrown into chaos."

"I'm not yet senile. Some things aren't hard to guess."

Li Rui understood.

He Qianian's words confirmed some of his own suspicions.

He spoke: "Master He, yes—Song Shi is dead. His body was found in the Ten Thousand Mountains, only three li from the Zi Jin Palace."

He Qianian narrowed his eyes:

"Zi Jin Palace?"

Li Rui nodded: "Yes. It's a newly emerged cult, headquartered in the Ten Thousand Mountains. Current intelligence confirms strong ties to the Gui Ming Sect."

He was a Land Immortal, busy daily with cultivation—he only needed to know major events.

The Zi Jin Palace was chaotic, but merely petty disturbances.

Naturally, he hadn't paid attention.

Li Rui then recounted everything he knew about the Zi Jin Palace.

For so long, Qinghe had been powerless against it.

Not only because its location was remote, but because its strength far exceeded what most in Qinghe imagined.

What kind of man was Nie Siming?

After receiving the message from Marquis Yuan, he had been investigating the Zi Jin Palace nonstop.

Had the cult been weaker, he would have launched a surprise strike with the Anning Guard long ago—there would have been no silence.

Hearing Li Rui's account,

He Qianian's expression turned grave.

Every word was true!

The Zi Jin Palace was entangled with the Gui Ming Sect—even their top expert, Blood Shadow Ancestor, was stationed there.

This was problematic.

He Qianian nodded: "Alright, I understand. I'll handle this myself. Don't get involved with the Zi Jin Palace. If Nie Siming pressures you, say I ordered you not to go."

Li Rui was stunned.

What a wonderful elder!

He Qianian's image in Li Rui's eyes instantly soared.

Having such an elder is truly a blessing for the younger generation.

He Qianian: "With your level of skill, if you go, you'll just get turned into a blood corpse by that old bastard Xueying. I'm counting on you to cultivate a primordial Dao embryo—if you die now, all my fist teachings will be wasted."

The words may be crude, but the sentiment is genuine.

Li Rui: "Elder, rest assured—I won't die before achieving the Dao embryo."

He Qianian chuckled: "Good."

Then he waved his hand: "Go. You don't need to worry about what comes next."

Li Rui stood up, bowed respectfully to He Qianian once more, and then left.

'Having a powerful backer really is nice!'

Among the Shadow Guards.

The Regional Commander, Gu Changsheng, is a friend; both Town Mountain Envoys are close to him.

This connection is too strong to ignore.

He walked out of the Qianhe Martial Hall.

He felt much lighter.

Not just because He Qianian had shielded him from trouble, but because the Shadow Guards now knew.

That meant the officials of Qinghe wouldn't suffer major consequences.

The Shadow Guards serve the Holy Emperor; if they know, then the Holy Emperor already knows.

Since this concerns a banished immortal, it's far beyond the capacity of a petty place like Qinghe to handle.

Song Shi's death can be counted as a natural disaster, not human malice.

The imperial court won't punish anyone for it.

Li Rui strolled back to the Assistant Military Commander's residence.

He had just returned to his room.

When he heard a voice from the corner.

"Big brother, I'm back!"

He turned his head.

There, lying lazily on the table, was Little White, a tiny white dragon resembling a white snake.

Li Rui smiled:

"Little White, when did you get back?"

Little White was now quite accomplished—the River God of Qinghe, whose status surpassed even Li Rui's as an Anning Guard Assistant Regional Commander.

Most of the time, he patrolled the rivers.

River patrolling wasn't just for serving Yu State's patrols—it also greatly aided Little White's future transformation into a dragon.

Otherwise, with Little White's lazy nature, how could he possibly endure such a grueling task?

Little White: "A few days ago."

"Big brother, have you heard of the Purple Gold Palace?"

Hearing this sudden question, Li Rui became instantly interested: "What? You know about that cult too?"

Little White: "I went back to Ten Thousand Mountains and found out my old man had moved."

"I was wondering why he'd moved after living there for centuries."

"Turns out, a place called the Purple Gold Palace took over his old den."

Shuodaozheli 。

Little White looked troubled.

But his old dragon father was tight-lipped about it, terrified Little White would go cause trouble with the Purple Gold Palace.

In truth, the Purple Gold Palace was still ten miles from his father's cave.

Even so, his father had resolutely moved farther south.

Made Little White search all over.

Li Rui narrowed his eyes slightly.

Little White's father, the old dragon, was the dominant force north of Ten Thousand Mountains—yet even he feared the Purple Gold Palace so much.

But now it seemed his father's decision was extremely wise.

The Purple Gold Palace has a banished immortal.

According to He Qianian, those beings' power is unfathomable; even if the old dragon were a third-rank great demon, he'd still be no match for a banished immortal. One misstep, and he might end up as someone's mount.

Moving was undoubtedly the wisest choice.

Li Rui: "Good move, Little White. You must never provoke the Purple Gold Palace."

Hearing Li Rui's words, Little White swallowed the sentence he'd been about to say, looking embarrassed.

Seeing Little White's expression, Li Rui sighed: "So you've already been there?"

Little White nodded meekly.

Then he lifted his head, eyes gleaming with excitement:

"Big brother, do you know what I felt inside the Purple Gold Palace?"

"Speak."

"The aura of withered wood reviving."

"So much—so much withered wood reviving aura!"

(End of Chapter)