Chapter 58: The First Plan

"Since it has come to this, I presume you, sir knight, know what kind of status Sun Daozhang holds beside the National Preceptor. If you kill me, Sun Daozhang will have lost such a useful lackey and will inevitably come to trouble you. Why not spare my life? I, Zhang, guarantee that I will keep my mouth shut about today's events, and I will offer one thousand taels of gold to soothe your pain of losing a relative."

The short, thin old man seemed to grow bolder as he spoke, relying on his status as the National Preceptor's disciple to act like a fox flaunting its power.

Ruan Xing remained unmoved and continued: "The second question: when did you send people to Huaining City, how many people went, who were they? Give me the list."

This question was one the old man had anticipated; he hurriedly answered one by one, and fearing Ruan Xing would be dissatisfied, he even took paper and brush from the desk and wrote down the list while dipping them in the blood on the floor.

After reading it once, Ruan Xing put the list away and said slowly: "Then, the last question."

"Can you lure Sun Daozhang out of the National Teacher Palace to meet?"

"This, this..." Hearing this, the old man was so terrified he could not speak a complete sentence.

He could clearly hear the murderous intent in Ruan Xing's tone, which was something he had never expected. Ordinary people, upon hearing the title of the National Preceptor's disciple, were all filled with fear and trembling; yet this girl before him actually wanted to kill him? Ruan Xing had naturally considered this; a person like Sun Daozhang was not worth pitying if he died, so naturally, she would kill him if she could.

But the problem was that she did not know the depth of the opponent's strength. In the world of Cultivation, to know someone's approximate cultivation realm, one only needed to use Divine Sense to probe the Spiritual Power fluctuations on the other person. Unless the other party had treasures or techniques to deliberately conceal it, one could generally know their approximate strength.

But now it was different; Ruan Xing was only at Post-Heaven Perfection and had no cultivation, so she could not use Divine Sense and could not see Sun Daozhang's realm.

However, she guessed that the opponent would not exceed Qi Refining Perfection at most. Combining information from various sources, Sun Daozhang had gone to the Cultivation world when he was young. He had no literary talent or official career, and his cultivation speed was much slower than other Inner Sect Disciples. Because he was looked down upon by other Inner Sect Disciples, he came to the Mortal Dynasty to hide and relax.

Inner Sect Disciples were guaranteed Foundation Establishment; he could not integrate into them, so he was below Foundation Establishment. If he were at Qi Refining Perfection, the National Preceptor would certainly provide him with a Foundation Establishment Pill to help him reach Foundation Establishment, so at most, he could only be at Qi Refining Layer Nine.

She had no pressure against anyone below Qi Refining Layer 3; as for anything higher, she would have to fight to find out.

The old man remained terrified and dared not answer. Ruan Xing could not help but intensify her tone: "Can you, or can you not?"

The old man hardened his heart and closed his eyes: "Sir knight, you might as well kill me! Whether you succeed in assassinating Sun Daozhang or not, as long as the National Preceptor finds out that I was the one who acted as the go-between, my entire clan's lives will be forfeit!"

"Since you seek death, I will not force you." Ruan Xing sighed, and with a flick of her hand and a fall of her Sword, a bloodstain appeared on the old man's neck. Following her previous promise, she left him an intact corpse.

After killing the old man, Ruan Xing began to rummage through the study to see if there were any secret compartments or hidden rooms.

Having dealt with Sun Daozhang for so many years, she did not believe he had left no traces of evidence.

Soon, Ruan Xing found a few thin pages of paper tucked inside a book, which recorded the names, ages, appearances, home addresses, and personal information of some girls in somewhat colloquial language.

This also included Ruan Tao's.

On the last page, the ink was still fresh.

It seemed that the number of girls Sun Daozhang had taken a fancy to over the years was countless.

Ruan Xing first imitated the old man's handwriting to write a letter to Sun Daozhang, saying that she had encountered an extremely urgent matter and asked for his help.

She had never systematically learned calligraphy, so the imitation was not very similar, only looking somewhat alike at a glance. But Sun Daozhang himself was a sensitive, inferior, yet arrogant person who looked down on mortals, so Ruan Xing boldly predicted that he would not remember what the old man's handwriting looked like.

To avoid the news of the old man's death spreading and alerting the enemy, she cleared out most of the people in the residence, leaving only a few obedient ones—like the man she had threatened when she hid in the carriage earlier. She felt the man had good acting skills, so she immediately sent him to the National Teacher Palace to deliver the letter to Sun Daozhang.

The reply came quickly, but the result was not satisfactory.

Sun Daozhang perfunctorily refused, saying he should find a way himself as he had no time.

Busy, my foot. He had nothing important to do; it was likely because he had just sent Ruan Tao over that morning, and he was busy satisfying his own hobbies.

Ruan Xing looked at the information of the girls recorded on the paper, and taking advantage of the early hour, she went to find three of the victims' families who lived in Huaining.

A bit pathetically, the daughters of two of the families had been sold by their own parents; only one family had been abducted, and they expressed willingness to listen to Ruan Xing's method to save their daughter.

Since they could sell their daughters for money, they could naturally try to get them back for money. Ruan Xing dangled a gold ingot to keep them interested and took the three families to the Patrol Security Division to report the case.

The Patrol Security Division in Huaining City was slightly better than the one in Jiangning City and was not as inactive, but they would not stand on the side of commoners to oppose the National Teacher Palace, so they refused to take the case.

Ruan Xing had anticipated this. She gave a wink, and the people behind her followed the previously agreed-upon method, sitting down on the steps of the Patrol Security Division and beginning to wail loudly.

"Give me back my daughter! My poor daughter was snatched away by the National Teacher Palace!"

"My daughter is only nine years old! To be separated from her parents at such a young age!"

"The National Teacher Palace abducted my daughter, and you, the Patrol Security Division, don't care? Where is justice!"

The crying was deafening, attracting many people to stop and watch from afar. The Qianling Guards guarding the entrance of the Patrol Security Division changed their expressions and immediately wanted to draw their blades to drive the people away. Ruan Xing stepped forward and blocked them.

The atmosphere was tense.

Just as Ruan Xing thought a fight was about to break out, a voice drifted over.

"Who is making such a racket outside?"

A dark-faced man wearing official robes walked out, frowning.

The style of his clothing was likely that of a Commissioner of the Patrol Security Division. Although she did not expect to see the top leader of the Patrol Security Division so quickly, it was a good thing.

After a Qianling Guard saluted and whispered a few words to the Commissioner, the Commissioner sneered: "Who gave you the guts to slander the National Teacher Palace? Leave at once! Otherwise, you will be punished for framing others and disrupting official business!"

The families Ruan Xing had brought were all bottom-tier commoners struggling to make ends meet. Seeing an official made them timid, and they all stopped crying and dared not speak. Ruan Xing had to say loudly: "You only listen to a few words and want to judge arbitrarily; is this how the Patrol Security Division handles cases?"

Her voice was crisp and childish, yet her pronunciation was clear. The small person stood between the two sides, her back straight like a green pine or bamboo, making it impossible to ignore her.

The Commissioner smiled with contempt: "A few words? Lord National Preceptor is as pure as the breeze and the moon, known by everyone in the country. A few mere peasants want to tarnish the reputation of the National Teacher Palace? Get out!"

"You don't care about the lives of commoners, but do you also not care about the lives of the one-in-ten-thousand Qianling Guards of your Patrol Security Division?"

The Commissioner's gaze became sharp and heavy as he looked at Ruan Xing: "What do you mean?"

"You should know that the National Preceptor's high disciple borrowed twelve Qianling Guards from you a few days ago. Do you know what they went to do? Do you know they are already dead?" "Empty words and nonsense. Although the National Teacher Palace has a transcendent status, it is not in a superior-subordinate relationship with the Patrol Security Division. How could they borrow Qianling Guards from me?"

His voice was somewhat urgent and angry, but Ruan Xing saw a trace of guilt.

She smiled lightly: "I have evidence. I wonder if you dare to confront me before the National Preceptor."

For a moment, a murderous aura rose from the Commissioner, but it was quickly suppressed. He did not know what the evidence was, where it was, nor did he know if those Qianling Guards were truly dead.

Lending Qianling Guards to the National Teacher Palace was already against regulations. If the Qianling Guards died because of this, then... he had an inescapable responsibility. To bear such a grave crime, he could only deny the matter.

Ruan Xing's evidence was the secret room in Sun Daozhang's residence and the corpses on the hillside outside the North City Gate.

The corpses were poisoned; presumably, they were still in their original place and had not been moved.

The Commissioner went with her to the National Teacher Palace. This was the first time she had entered through the main gate of the National Teacher Palace.

A straight road led to Zhaixing Terrace, and Ruan Xing was able to see the true face of the National Preceptor.

After she told the National Preceptor all the causes and consequences and the location of the evidence, the National Preceptor said indifferently: "Understood."

Immediately, her body turned into powder.

After breaking out of the memory, Ruan Xing sat up with a start and couldn't help but curse angrily: "Old thief!"

I miscalculated. Although the National Preceptor would be furious over this matter and completely disappointed in his disciple, he would also be angered by the person who exposed it, as it made him lose face; therefore, after hearing what I said, the National Preceptor took action.

I thought he was a figure with such an ethereal, immortal air... The temperament of a Golden Core True Person is nothing more than this.

The Golden Core Stage, which was originally unreachable, has become a bit more concrete at this moment.

Ruan Xing could not help but scratch her head. Why is it that the opponents encountered by protagonists in other people's novels after transmigrating are all progressive, but for her, it's the Golden Core Stage right off the bat? Please, she doesn't even have any cultivation yet! Could it be that she isn't the protagonist? Impossible, impossible, she has a Simulator! She must be the protagonist.

After feeling resentful for a while, Ruan Xing pulled herself together to think of a countermeasure.

Since there is no way to have the National Preceptor punish him by exposing him, she can only find a way to save her sister first.

What that short, thin old man, Zhang Huizhang, told her was that they learned of the Qianling Guard's death the day after they intercepted the merchant caravan, and because of this, Sun Daozhang urged him to hurry up and deal with that little girl in Jiangning City and bring her over.

Several days have already passed, and they must have arrived in Jiangning City by now, but they haven't succeeded yet.

She has to leave the National Teacher Palace and call Sword Lai to do this, because she doesn't understand the principles of the National Teacher Palace's barrier, so she has always let Sword Lai stay outside alone; anyway, he doesn't need to eat, drink, or sleep, so he can just stay hidden somewhere and idle.

Nominally, as a servant to the National Preceptor's disciple, she cannot leave the National Teacher Palace, but in reality, there are ways, such as that young Daoist who was driving a cart out when she first simulated the National Teacher Palace.

Although she killed him several times in the simulation, he is still alive and well in reality. If she treats him with courtesy and kindness, he should be willing to do this favor, right? Ruan Xing started a Simulation.

After paying the price of a large gold ingot, the young Daoist from the logistics office agreed to let Ruan Xing go out for a trip. He reminded her: "Although I can let you out, you had best return as quickly as possible and not let others discover you, especially the National Preceptor's disciple you serve. If you are discovered, you will be driven out of the National Teacher Palace."

Thanking the young Daoist for his kindness, Ruan Xing was indifferent. Even if she were gone for several days, no one would know except Cai Wen, and Cai Wen doesn't care at all what she is doing.

She summoned Sword Lai, copied a list from her memory for him, and issued the task: "Cooperate with Hu San, kill everyone on the list clean, leave no one behind."

The pure white youth took the list and slowly disappeared into the air, while Ruan Xing rushed to Zhang Huizhang's home without stopping.

Even killing the people on the list is not safe. Perhaps after the old man discovers that everyone he sent has gone missing in a few days, he will send another wave of people. There are still more than ten days until the National Preceptor returns to the Cultivation world. Sun Daozhang must be urging him very urgently. If there are no accidents, the National Preceptor will definitely take him when he returns to the Cultivation world, and then he won't be able to be so free and rampant.

And according to the old man's confession, except for Sun Daozhang doing it himself, all other targets were sent into the National Teacher Palace by him using various methods. After all, this kind of thing must be covert and cannot be known by too many people. He has already been punished by the National Preceptor once for this matter and cannot have a second time.

After cleaning up Zhang Huizhang's house inside and out, Ruan Xing wrote a letter to Sun Daozhang in Zhang Huizhang's name. Without holding any hope, she wrote it casually, concise and to the point: "New goods, come quickly."

She thought it would be like a stone sinking into the sea with no response, but unexpectedly, the message Sun Daozhang returned this time had a turning point: "Where?"

Ruan Xing was overjoyed and hurriedly set a place with less foot traffic to send it over, agreeing to meet at night.

At night, in the restaurant, Ruan Xing booked the whole place, letting the owner drive away all idlers in advance, while she carefully arranged every part of the restaurant, taking out all her stock of Talismans.

Sun Daozhang arrived as promised. Seeing the empty restaurant, he stepped inside without any suspicion, muttering in a low voice: "Why be so mysterious? It would be better to just send them directly into the National Teacher Palace..."

As the light gauze danced, Sun Daozhang's eyes lit up as soon as he reached the second floor. A delicate and lovely girl wearing a goose-yellow gauze dress was looking up at him.

Is this the new goods? Although she does look top-notch, it doesn't reach the point of being a surprise... Thinking this, he bent over with a gentle smile on his face: "Little girl, are you waiting for me here?"

"We are waiting for Sun Daozhang. Are you Sun Daozhang?" Ruan Xing blinked her dark, bright eyes and answered with feigned innocence.

We? Sun Daozhang could not help but focus on this subject. He said softly: "I am Sun Daozhang. Is there anyone else with you?"

"There is also my sister. She is inside. We two look the same. Daozhang, you are so capable, you shouldn't be unable to tell us apart, right?"

Hmm? Twins? This is indeed a surprise. The smile on Sun Daozhang's face widened significantly, and he impatiently quickened his pace toward the room Ruan Xing pointed to.

However, at the moment he opened the door.

Bang—

After one sound, there were successive explosions, never stopping.

Only Spirit Talismans that have entered the spirit can cause fatal damage to a Cultivator, but Ruan Xing has no Spirit Food now and cannot use the Spirit Qi escaping from Spirit Food to draw Spirit Talismans, so she could only try to see if quantity could make up for quality. Since she learned Talismans, she had drawn hundreds of 【Break】 Talismans intermittently. Except for the more than one hundred used when saving Cui Yurong outside the North City Gate, the remaining two hundred plus were all used here.

Activating True Qi to trigger two hundred Talismans at once almost drained all the True Qi in her body. Even though she is already at Post-Heaven Perfection, she could not bear it.

The restaurant was already in ruins, with dust filling the sky. Ruan Xing panted slightly, sat back leaning against half a broken pillar, and the dust inhaled into her nasal cavity made her cough violently, her dazed eyes looking around.

Is he dead?

Thanks for the monthly ticket from Hong Hua Yi Duo~ (End of chapter)