Chapter 77

At the hour of the early morning.

The moon is like a hook, the night like ink.

Tongzhou City is shrouded in darkness; apart from the occasional sound of cats meowing and dogs barking, it is silent.

A figure dressed in night-traveling clothes nimbly flies onto the wall of the Pei Mansion, leaps across the rooftops, arrives at the dungeon in the backyard with practiced ease, and lands without a sound.

Looking left and right to confirm no one is there, the figure grips the lock at the dungeon entrance and gives it a light tug; with a "click," the lock is snapped clean off, and the figure slips inside.

Pressing against the wall, the figure reaches the cell and, seeing the same woman inside that was seen during the day, Wang Xianling completely gives up hope and retreats back out of the dungeon on tiptoe.

"Who goes there! Stop!"

Just as he exits the dungeon, he hears a loud shout.

Immediately after, the sound of gongs, drums, and shouting erupts.

"Clang, clang, clang!"

"There's an intruder! Catch the thief!"

Wang Xianling thinks to himself that this is bad, and immediately leaps into the air from where he stands, attempting to flee the Pei Mansion quickly.

Seeing he has reached the front courtyard and only needs to fly over one more wall to be out of the mansion, a streak of light suddenly arrives from behind him, piercing the air; Wang Xianling dodges sideways in mid-air.

But it is this momentary delay that allows Liu Yuheng, with her hair disheveled, wrapped only in an outer robe, and her jade feet bare, to land on the wall and block his path.

Ye Hanshuang and Zhao Zhilan, also disheveled and in states of undress, arrive shortly after and surround him.

Wang Xianling has no way to escape.

"Such audacity!" Pei Shaoqing, wearing white inner garments, strides out and says with a cold face, "Take this person for me; if he dares to resist, kill him on the spot."

"Wait!" Knowing he is no match and cannot escape, Wang Xianling shouts, using his original voice: "I ask Young Master Pei to have the servants step back."

"It's you!" Pei Shaoqing's eyes widen in anger; he stares at him fixedly for a moment before waving his hand and roaring, "Everyone, all of you go back to rest."

"Yes." The group of servants and maids withdraw one after another.

Only then does Wang Xianling drift down to the ground, remove his face mask, and look at Pei Shaoqing with a face full of shame, unable to speak.

"Wang Xianling." Pei Shaoqing's tone is frigid.

Wang Xianling feels his face burning; if there were a crack in the ground, he would wish to crawl into it. He can only bite the bullet and say, "I hope Brother Pei will forgive me. It is not that I do not trust you, but the Saintess is truly too important to the Holy Sect."

"Ha." Pei Shaoqing lets out a laugh.

It then gradually evolves into a loud laugh.

"Hahahaha! Hahahaha!"

The guilty Wang Xianling lowers his head further and further.

Pei Shaoqing reined in his smile, making no effort to hide his anger, and said coldly: "Today you came aggressively to hold me accountable. I, this Young Master, have innocently suffered an unjust accusation. Although I am angry, I have been considerate of you, Wang, and have cooperated with you, and I have not held your rudeness against you."

"Because I, this Young Master, treat you as a friend! And this is how you treat me? Apologizing on the surface, yet harboring no trust in me behind my back, climbing over the wall in the dead of night. I mistakenly thought you were a gentleman, but you are merely a man without honor!"

He was like a young woman repeatedly deceived by a scoundrel, accusing the other party of heartlessness with a hoarse, desperate voice.

The County Magistrate's face turned pale in waves; he also knew he had betrayed Pei Shaoqing's trust, and as someone who prided himself on being a man of integrity, he felt extremely guilty.

He felt very self-reproachful.

The other party treated him as a friend, even allowing him to search a private place like the dungeon, and did not hold his offenses against him, yet he had done such a thing.

How could he have the face to face Pei Shaoqing in the future?

And how could he face his own heart and conscience?

"Brother Pei..."

"Call me Flag Officer Pei!" Pei Shaoqing barked.

The County Magistrate was filled with shame, took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and said: "I truly have no face to defend myself for today's transgression; I am willing to destroy my own arm to apologize to Brother Pei."

As the words fell, he raised his hand to strike his left shoulder.

"Bang!" A pebble flew out and struck his raised right hand, causing him such pain that he pulled his hand back. He looked up at Pei Shaoqing, who had kicked the pebble, and said, "Brother Pei, you..."

"Things have reached this point, what use is there in taking your arm?" Pei Shaoqing said with a blank expression and a cold tone: "Now you should finally believe me, right?"

"I believe, I believe!" The County Magistrate, sensing that the other party seemed willing to forgive him, nodded repeatedly in wild joy.

Pei Shaoqing let out a cold snort, "Get out of here. You don't sleep in the middle of the night, but this Young Master still needs to."

"Many thanks to Brother Pei for your great magnanimity!" The County Magistrate bowed solemnly to Pei Shaoqing's figure, then bowed separately to Liu Yuheng and the others, before leaping over the wall and leaving.

After landing, he looked back at the courtyard wall with complicated feelings, "Brother Pei is loyal and righteous, with a heart as vast as the sea that encompasses all things; he is a true gentleman!"

And as for himself, he could at best be considered a hypocrite.

The County Magistrate gave a self-deprecating smile and walked toward the County Government.

Inside the courtyard, Pei Shaoqing revealed a cunning smile of successful calculation and said to Liu Yuheng and the others: "Many thanks to you, Madam, for your cooperation and help. Please return to your rooms to rest."

"It was just a small effort." Liu Yuheng smiled gently and looked at Zhao Zhilan, "Lan'er, let's go."

Zhao Zhilan glanced at Pei Shaoqing and hurried to follow.

She had gone into battle today while still injured.

The local area had not yet fully healed.

"Big Brother." Ye Hanshuang walked toward Pei Shaoqing.

To make the acting realistic, she was also not wearing shoes and only had a coat draped over her; the collar swayed back and forth and was somewhat open, and the pink Embroidered Bellyband inside could barely contain her ample assets, looking as if they were about to spill out.

Pei Shaoqing looked over as if he had auto-aim.

Ye Hanshuang tilted her head to look at him, then looked down at her own heaving bosom, raised her head, and asked with a slightly flushed face, "Does Big Brother want to see very much?"

"Not at all." Pei Shaoqing withdrew his gaze and looked up at the sky, "The moon is truly round, truly large, and truly white."

"Is it as big as mine?" Ye Hanshuang asked faintly.

Pei Shaoqing did not expect her to say such a thing and was nearly choked by his own saliva, "Sister Shuang, get some rest early."

After saying this, he turned and left first.

"If Big Brother wants to see it, just tell me. This annoying thing is not convenient at all, but if it can make Big Brother happy, then it serves some purpose." Ye Hanshuang was an honest person, and she said this toward Pei Shaoqing's back.

Pei Shaoqing, who was already distracted, nearly tripped over the threshold upon hearing this.

He understood that Ye Hanshuang had no intention of being flirtatious or seducing him; she was very sincere, but that only made it more soul-stirring.

Good sister, you've broken the rules!

He felt it was necessary to educate Ye Hanshuang on the matters between men and women, lest she remain so oblivious.

Returning to the room, Pei Shaoqing picked up the Saintess and threw her back into the dungeon; as for the woman used to fool the County Magistrate, she was just a maid from the mansion.

He wasn't cruel enough to silence an innocent woman after using her, so he merely restricted her range of movement.

Once the Saintess completely submitted to him.

That maid would then be free.

At the third watch, the County Magistrate, who had been lying on the bed with his eyes closed, sat up abruptly and slapped himself across the face.

"Brother Pei trusts me so much, I am truly not a man."

………………………

The next day, the Saintess had her episode on time.

Pei Shaoqing watched from the sidelines for the third time.

The first time the Saintess was desperate, the second time she was furious, and by the third time, she had already given up.

If he wants to watch, let him watch; she had already been seen anyway.

As long as she killed Pei Shaoqing after escaping.

No one in the world would have seen her holy body.

On the way to the Hundred-Household Office, Pei Shaoqing bought a book and gifted it to Ye Hanshuang after entering the office.

He said earnestly, "Sister Shuang, you are a grown woman now, and there are some things you should understand. You can take a look at this book when you have time."

"What book?" A look of confusion appeared on Ye Hanshuang's face, and she subconsciously reached to unwrap the package in her hands.

Pei Shaoqing pressed down on her hands, trying his best to keep a straight face as he said solemnly, "Read it when you go back."

"Oh." Ye Hanshuang nodded, but she felt happy inside; her brother had given her another gift.

"My Lord." Chen Zhongyi walked in with dark circles under his eyes, clearly having not slept well last night. After saluting, he said, "I have transferred Wang Wu to a residence in the back alley of the Hundred-Household Office and arranged for two trusted brothers to guard him. I also found a death-row prisoner with a similar build to impersonate him in the Hundred-Household Office dungeon."

"Mm, Flag Officer Chen handled it very thoroughly." Pei Shaoqing nodded, acknowledging his capability.

Chen Zhongyi asked tentatively, "My Lord, this matter is of great importance. Should we report it to Thousand-Household Lu?"

He felt that even though Pei Shaoqing was a Young Master of the Weiyuan Marquis Mansion, this was the territory of the Shu Prince, and a small Hundred-Household Office alone might not be able to contend with them.

"The Shu Prince Mansion is in Jingguan City, and the Thousand-Household Office is also in Jingguan City." Pei Shaoqing said only that, calmly.

Chen Zhongyi's expression changed, "You mean..."

"I didn't say that." Pei Shaoqing shook his head, interrupting him, "But one must be on guard. Let's conduct a preliminary investigation first. Once we have more information, we will report directly to the Capital Town-Pacification Division and ask the Suppressing Commissioner to decide."

The Shu Prince Mansion was powerful, and he didn't intend to rely on himself to contend with them; that would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, a path to self-destruction.

"Yes, My Lord is wise," Chen Zhongyi replied.

At the same time, in a cave outside Jingguan City.

There was no sunlight in the cave, only oil lamps lit on the irregular stone walls for illumination, creating a gloomy and eerie atmosphere.

Deep in the cave, a mass of black mist filled with a fierce, malevolent aura floated back and forth; every time it spoke, it condensed into a different face.

"Marquis Heir, when will the last three Sanyin Nu be in place? My patience is running out."

Below the black mist, a tall, well-built youth in brocade robes frowned, "Are you ordering me?"

It was none other than the Shu Prince Heir, Yan Sichen.

"Ordering? No, no, no." The black mist condensed into the face of a peasant woman and said with a smile, "How would a dead person like me dare to order the Marquis Heir? I am just impatient to help Your Highness forge a ten-thousand-generation foundation. Only when I become stronger can I help you more, isn't that so?"

"Hmph! Know your place and watch your words." Yan Sichen said coldly, "If I didn't seek out souls to feed you, you would vanish into thin air within half a month at most. I am your master!"

"Yes, Master." The black mist transformed into the pretty face of a young woman and replied with a coy smile.

Yan Sichen's tone softened slightly as he said, "The people who went to Tongzhou didn't return. I have already sent a second wave to Tongzhou to scout the situation, and yesterday I sent another wave to reinforce them. This time, it will surely be foolproof."

"This servant will await Master's good news. If the Taiyin Soul-Guiding Art succeeds, my strength will greatly increase. I will first help you inherit the throne, and then help you become the emperor who sits on the dragon throne and rules the world." The black mist's tone was full of seduction.

Yan Sichen seemed to have already seen the day he ascended the throne; his breathing quickened, and his face was full of excitement, "At that time, I will certainly not treat you poorly."

"This servant looks forward to that day." The black mist laughed wickedly and asked, "Marquis Heir, have you been diligently practicing the cultivation technique I gave you recently?"

"Naturally. It is indeed a good technique; it is very easy to practice." Yan Sichen nodded.

This Lao Gui really had quite a few good things in his belly.

The black mist said, "That is good. Although Martial Artists cannot attain immortality like ancient cultivators, strengthening the body allows one to live longer than ordinary people. If the Marquis Heir becomes a Martial Arts Grandmaster, you can be an emperor for over a hundred years."

"Mm, rest assured, I know."

A moment later, Yan Sichen turned and left.

With his back to the black mist, he revealed a mocking smile.

Once I drain everything in your belly and ascend the throne, you will be the first ghost thing I get rid of.

As the Son of Heaven, how could I associate with a ghost?

(End of chapter)