Chapter 85: The Experience of Meeting a Ghost, Being Naturally Suspicious is a Merit (Seeking Monthly Votes)

Three years ago, due to a quarrel with his father, Yan Sichen left the city to hunt and vent his frustration, accidentally entering a mountain cave while chasing prey in Kunlong Mountain.

Inside the cave, he encountered a ghost who claimed to be a trusted eunuch of the Dayu Emperor from the previous dynasty, surviving after death as a soul entity by relying on a royal treasure of the Dayu Dynasty.

But because of this, he was trapped in the cave and unable to leave.

Two hundred years passed, and the spiritual energy of that treasure was nearly exhausted; he could leave the cave, but without the nourishment of spiritual energy, his soul entity could hardly continue to sustain itself.

Therefore, unless he could find a new source of spiritual energy.

Otherwise, he had to continuously devour the living souls of humans to strengthen himself in order to prolong his time surviving in the world.

Thus, he made a deal with Yan Sichen.

He let Yan Sichen provide him with living souls and collect the materials needed for the Yin Soul-Guiding Art, and once his soul entity ascended, he would take him to find the hidden treasures of the Dayu Dynasty.

He would help him raise an army to rebel and ascend to the supreme throne.

Over these three years, he also taught Yan Sichen many profound martial arts as a sweetener; that evil art capable of causing one's strength to skyrocket in a short period was passed down by Lao Gui.

"Does that evil art have any side effects?" Pei Shaoqing asked curiously, seeing that Yan Sichen seemed to have no discomfort.

He had previously seen the Saint Child of Kaiyang use a similar evil technique, and the backlash of the side effects was immense.

It could be described as harming the enemy by a thousand while suffering eight hundred in return.

Yan Sichen shook his head and replied: "At least from my personal experience, there are none. This is also the reason why I am willing to cooperate with him. Not to mention the treasures of the previous dynasty, this Lao Gui himself is an inexhaustible mountain of treasure."

Having said this, he paused, then continued: "Besides that, that Lao Gui also taught me an extremely formidable technique; once mastered, one can achieve twice the result with half the effort regardless of what martial arts one practices.

Although this Marquis Heir has been obsessed with martial arts since childhood, forgetting to eat and sleep, my natural talent is mediocre; yet relying on this technique, I went from Qi Condensation to Roaming Dragon in just three short years."

Damn, having an old one at home really is like having a treasure.

"Does Brother Yan know that ghosts speak nothing but lies? Have you never doubted that the so-called treasures of the previous dynasty and the help to ascend the throne are all lies to deceive you?" Pei Shaoqing asked in a calm tone.

Yan Sichen stared at him without saying a word.

A moment later, he smiled, "Brother Pei is better than me."

"How so?" Pei Shaoqing's eyes revealed confusion.

Yan Sichen let out a breath, "I was incredibly excited when I heard that Lao Gui speak of these two techniques, yet Brother Pei, even after hearing me speak of them and seeing the effects with your own eyes, is still able to remain calm throughout and remain unmoved."

He had lost his head at the time, and after tasting the sweetness of the technique, he became even more unstoppable; he had also suspected that Lao Gui was lying to him, but he couldn't help but think, what if?

That was the temptation of ascending to the imperial throne!

How could he, born of the imperial clan, refuse it?

Moreover, even without the treasures of the previous dynasty, one could squeeze quite a few benefits out of this Lao Gui himself.

"I don't have the grand ambitions of becoming emperor like Brother Yan; I just want to serve the Emperor with peace of mind. As long as my martial arts are sufficient, I never deliberately seek more." Pei Shaoqing put on the face of a loyal subject of the Great Zhou and spoke high-sounding words.

In fact, he was tempted too.

But he was a naturally suspicious person.

Even if Yan Sichen or that ghost taught him the technique, he wouldn't dare to practice it, fearing he would be plotted against.

Yan Sichen smiled, shook his head, and said: "Actually, I told Brother Pei these things to tempt Brother Pei to cooperate with that Lao Gui just like me, and perhaps in the future, I might end up in the same situation as me, which could also be considered revenge.

It is a pity that I underestimated Brother Pei, which makes my dark heart seem truly ridiculous. In this world, not everyone is as greedy as I am, causing disaster with ghosts."

See, Pei Shaoqing knew that being naturally suspicious was a merit; one must always maintain the mindset that there are always treacherous people wanting to harm me, and equally question everyone's intentions.

Only then can one live long and have the last laugh.

"Many thanks for your cooperation, Brother Yan. Just tell the jailer whatever you want to eat." Pei Shaoqing returned the favor, not minding making his time in prison more comfortable: "Someone, come! Take him to the dungeon and guard him well; do not be negligent."

"Yes!" Two subordinates responded and entered.

Yan Sichen was escorted out by the two, one on each side, his shackles dragging on the ground with a clatter. He remained calm and composed, saying loudly: "Brother Pei, you must be quick! This Marquis Heir cannot wait to be reunited with my parents and brothers in prison. Hahahaha!"

Pei Shaoqing wrote a personal letter overnight and ordered Sun Youliang to gallop through the night, sending it along with the confessions of Wang Wu and Yan Sichen to the Northern Suppressing Faction office in the Capital.

Involving a rebellion by the imperial clan, the matter was of great importance and certainly not something their small Hundred-Household Office could handle.

Moreover, if he acted rashly and provoked the Shu Prince to act like a cornered dog, he might not only die at the hands of the Shu Prince, but might even be saddled with the crime of forcing an imperial clansman to rebel.

In fact, he was also very interested in that ghost.

However, if he wanted to confirm Yan Sichen's treason, the existence of this ghost could not be hidden and had to be reported.

After all, Yan Sichen and his subordinates who knew he was raising a ghost would not cover up the existence of this ghost for him, Pei Shaoqing, to the imperial court. Once the court discovered he had intentionally concealed it, his future would be bleak.

However, he could take the opportunity to go see that ghost before the court officials arrived, and at the same time send people to guard it, lest the ghost grow suspicious and run away when it sees Yan Sichen has not returned for a long time.

Judging from Yan Sichen's description, that ghost's current strength was mediocre and posed no threat, otherwise it wouldn't have to rely on others to find living souls to feed it.

Even when using Yan Sichen, it had to rely on half-coaxing and half-tempting methods, without using forced measures.

Pei Shaoqing let out a breath and said with a cold expression: "Someone, pass the word down: not a single word of tonight's events is to be leaked. Those who violate this order will be killed, and remind everyone not to forget the lesson of Zhao."

Tonight, he had not once called Yan Sichen by his name, nor had he pointed out his identity, just to prevent the news from reaching the ears of the Shu Prince before the people from the Capital arrived.

"Yes! This subordinate obeys!"

It was already the fifth watch of the night when Pei Shaoqing returned home.

He prepared to catch up on some sleep.

"Young Master, you're back."

Zhao Zhilan, wearing only a bellyband and underpants, climbed down from the bed and endured the pain of her deflowering to come forward and welcome him.

"Did you use your internal energy to force out what I left in your body?" Pei Shaoqing looked at her and asked.

There were no contraceptive devices in this world.

But fortunately, there was the more convenient internal energy.

He didn't want to be a father at such a young age.

And even if he wanted to be a father, he could just have Zhao Zhilan change her tune; why must he give birth to one?

Zhao Zhilan's pretty face flushed, "I forced it out."

Last night she had been overwhelmed, her belly full, and she could only rely on internal energy to expel it.

"Hmm, let me check." Pei Shaoqing felt a surge of wicked desire in his heart, yet he said it with a straight face.

Zhao Zhilan was completely bewildered upon hearing this, "Ah?"

How was she supposed to check?

She found out very quickly, and was overcome with shame.

……………………………

The Saint Envoy did not sleep well after returning to his quarters in the second half of the night.

As soon as day broke, he went to find Wang Xianling, bluntly stating his confusion: "Helmsman Wang, when we were surrounding and killing the second Roaming Dragon Realm Martial Artist in the early morning, there was clearly an opportunity to borrow a knife to kill Pei Shaoqing. Why did you step forward to save him?"

"You didn't ask in the early morning, Saint Envoy, so I assumed you had already figured out the reason why I saved Pei Shaoqing."

Wang Xianling said with a look of surprise and astonishment.

The Saint Envoy was taken aback upon hearing this, feeling somewhat awkward.

How embarrassing; he truly hadn't figured it out.

Wang Xianling did not leave him hanging for long and asked: "Saint Envoy, why are we trying to kill Pei Shaoqing?"

"Of course, it is to avenge the Kaiyang Saint Child and restore the reputation of the Holy Sect. The Yaoguang Saintess has even gone missing because of this," the Saint Envoy replied without hesitation.

"Exactly, the most important thing in killing him is to restore the Holy Sect's reputation." Wang Xianling nodded, then immediately asked: "But even if we had borrowed a knife to kill him last night, could we have achieved that goal?"

The Saint Envoy was stunned again, feeling his scalp itch.

It felt as if his brain was starting to grow.

"We could not." County Magistrate Wang answered his own question, saying in a calm tone: "If he had died last night, in the eyes of outsiders, his death would have had nothing to do with our Holy Sect. On the contrary, if he died then, we would never again have the chance to kill him to avenge the Kaiyang Saint Child and restore our reputation."

"So that's it." Upon hearing this, the Saint Envoy finally had a sudden realization and said with admiration: "Helmsman Wang is still the one who thinks things through thoroughly. I almost did a bad thing while trying to do good."

"The Saint Envoy is too kind. You were just busy fighting others at the time and had no time to be distracted and think carefully; otherwise, it wouldn't be my turn to boast here." Wang Xianling offered a sincere compliment—a disgusting, hypocritical adult.

The Saint Envoy gave a hum and nodded slowly, feeling that this was indeed the case. "Then I won't disturb you any longer. I'll go out for a stroll and see if there is any news about the Saintess."

"Safe travels, Saint Envoy." Wang Xianling stood up to see him off.

Watching the Saint Envoy's back disappear from his sight, he sighed. How had he become like this?

He had zero trust in Pei Shaoqing, who was his partner, friend, and rival, acting one way to his face and another behind his back.

And he was full of lies to the Saint Envoy, who was from the same sect.

Pei Shaoqing did not know Lao Wang's mood; he held the naked Zhao Zhilan and slept until late in the afternoon.

He felt refreshed after getting up.

After washing up, he went to see Ye Hanshuang.

"Big Brother." Ye Hanshuang welcomed him into the room.

As soon as Pei Shaoqing entered, he saw the *Secret Arts of the Boudoir* opened on the table. Clearly, Ye Hanshuang had just been studying. "Did I disturb you?"

"No, I had already finished reading it; I was just reviewing it," Ye Hanshuang said, her pretty face slightly flushed.

Pei Shaoqing expressed his appreciation and approval of her study attitude. "Reviewing the old to understand the new; you've done well."

"Big Brother, I learned some new techniques from the book regarding that matter last time. Would you like to try them?" Having just been praised, Ye Hanshuang wanted to show off her study results.

She felt that this sort of thing was very interesting.

Especially while busy at work, looking up to see the changes in Big Brother's facial expressions—it gave her a great sense of accomplishment.

But Pei Shaoqing was currently in his "sage time," clear-minded and devoid of desire. He lectured her with a straight face: "Young people should focus their prime time on striving for success. You cannot indulge in affairs between men and women; playing around ruins one's ambition. Do you understand?"

"Yes, this younger sister knows she was wrong. I will surely keep your teachings in my heart, Brother." Ye Hanshuang had not expected to be scolded; her pretty face turned pale, and she hurriedly lowered her head to admit her mistake.

Pei Shaoqing gave a faint hum and stated his purpose: "Come with me to the Prefecture City tomorrow."

He planned to let Ye Hanshuang and Liu Yuheng stay at Kunlong Mountain to guard that Lao Gui while waiting for the imperial envoy from the Capital.

This matter had to be arranged with the most trustworthy people.

Not to mention Ye Hanshuang.

Liu Yuheng was now considered his master's wife, and she was upright and sensible, so she was naturally trustworthy as well.

"Yes, Big Brother," Ye Hanshuang replied obediently.

Pei Shaoqing then turned to find Liu Yuheng.

Zhao Zhilan was already in Liu Yuheng's room at this moment, telling her the details of last night's bedroom affairs.

Liu Yuheng listened until her face was red and her ears were hot; she had not expected Pei Shaoqing to be someone who liked to "eat inside and out."

She tried to imagine it, but dared not.

The way young people played made her feel incredibly ashamed just listening to it, her face burning as if it were cooked.

At the same time, she couldn't help but feel a faint yearning for it.

It was a pity that her Senior Brother was too upright; for so many years, they had only used the same position for their bedroom affairs, leading her to mistakenly believe that all men and women in the world were the same when sharing a bed.

It wasn't until she entered the Pei Mansion that her horizons were truly broadened.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

"Madam, may I come in?"

Suddenly hearing Pei Shaoqing's voice, Liu Yuheng felt inexplicably flustered and sat up straight. "Come in."

(End of this chapter)