Chapter 539: An Invisible Hand

"It's gone, my treasure is gone! Ah, Shen Yu, I will not coexist with you!"

Suddenly, a figure sprinting through the mountain forest sensed something and stopped in their tracks, then roared loudly in anger.

The shrill, resentful roar startled a large flock of birds, and the aura leaked in anger made the snakes and insects in the forest tremble.

"Shen Yu, you just wait, I will make you pay the price!"

Squeezing these words through gritted teeth, the figure immediately began to sprint again; even though they were already a hundred miles away from Anzhou City, they still felt no sense of security.

Shen Yu's appearance had brought them immense pressure; that casual sword strike in front of Tingfeng Pavilion, even through their Puppet, still made them feel deep powerlessness and fear.

If it were possible, they would never want to face such a sword strike.

That was only because it was their Puppet facing Shen Yu, not knowing what fear was, that they could remain calm and composed.

If they were to face it head-on, they feared their legs would go weak and they wouldn't be able to stand.

Shouting a few fierce words to vent was fine, but it was better to hurry and save their life.

They had left that Puppet behind as their own substitute, and of course, they had also harbored the wish that Shen Yu would be bewitched by her and become a slave to her charms.

They were extremely confident in their Puppet; she was a peerless beauty, seemingly gathering all the traits of the world's beauties, crafted through many years of meticulous refinement.

For so many years, they had poured countless resources into her, just to make her look more charming and alluring.

In fact, they had succeeded; wasn't the reason Tingfeng Pavilion could reach its current scale because this Puppet moved among so many powerful men, holding them firmly in her grasp?

This was an invincible sharp weapon; as long as she was willing, no man could hold back.

Those who were once high and mighty were now doing their utmost in front of this human Puppet, pouring out everything they had just to win a smile from her.

Even if they were asked to dig out their own hearts to see if they were red, they would do it without hesitation.

It was precisely by relying on such charm that they were able to build the massive Tingfeng Pavilion and collect treasures they once wouldn't have dared to imagine.

When they learned that Shen Yu, a young man who was currently the talk of the Jianghu, was going to enter Xichuan, they had already set their sights on him.

If they could make such an expert a guest in their inner chambers and turn him into their obedient dog, what would there be to fear in this vast Jianghu?

But they hadn't expected that the other party would see through their true nature at a single glance and strike so ruthlessly. Even for such a face that could topple kingdoms, he was willing to strike.

It was precisely because of this that Wumian fled immediately without any hesitation.

They understood that facing such a cold-hearted person, the failure of their Puppet was inevitable.

They only hoped that Shen Yu's attention could be drawn to Tingfeng Pavilion, to drag him there for a while and allow them to escape successfully.

But they hadn't expected Shen Yu's reaction to be so fast. Especially the last sentence he said, which seemed to imply he had the ability to find them, made their whole body turn cold.

That was why they had to run, sparing no effort to escape this place.

As long as they left this place, the sky would be high for the bird to fly; at worst, they could start over, and in eighteen years, they would be a hero again.

But just as they were sprinting, a familiar figure suddenly appeared before their eyes, waiting for them with a smile.

"You, you, impossible, how is this possible!"

Seeing the person before them, the sprinting figure immediately stopped, and a chill rose from their heart, surging through their entire body.

They should have been in Anzhou City, outside Tingfeng Pavilion; how could they have arrived in front of them in the blink of an eye?

Even if he could track them, it was absolutely impossible to catch up so quickly, even if he were flying!

After being stunned for a moment, Wumian immediately turned to run to the side; they would not give up until the very last moment, even if they were already deep in despair.

However, just as they prepared to move, Shen Yu blocked their path again, as if he had appeared out of thin air.

Facing the terrifying figure within arm's reach, Wumian trembled and retreated, no longer harboring any delusions.

They did not understand how Shen Yu had found them so quickly, nor how he had arrived in front of them in an instant.

But they didn't need to understand these things anymore, because Shen Yu never left survivors. Judging by what they had done before, it was almost impossible to survive.

"Run, why aren't you running anymore!"

Blocking Wumian's path, Shen Yu truly could not connect the short, gaudy-featured man before him with the previously enchanting Mu Shang.

Originally, Mu Shang's face was already disgusting enough to make one want to vomit, but they hadn't expected that the one manipulating all of this behind the scenes would actually be a man.

If those guests of Mu Shang knew that a man was controlling all of this, wouldn't their pursuit of Mu Shang, and even their intimacy with her, be equivalent to facing a man?

If Mu Shang were just a bit ugly, that would be one thing; at least the body was still a woman's, and even if it were off-putting, one could grit their teeth and accept it.

But if the object of their affection turned out to be an ugly man, just thinking about it made one's hair stand on end.

When they bowed down under Mu Shang's pomegranate skirt and indulged in the gentle embrace, a short man was looking at this scene with disdain.

Just thinking about it was enough to make one unable to eat for days; forget it, even thinking about it felt disgusting.

Indeed, one cannot just look at faces these days; otherwise, not only is it hard to distinguish beauty from ugliness, but even the gender might not be reliable.

"Shen Yu, no, Lord Shen, let's talk this over!" When facing Shen Yu head-on, Wumian found that they couldn't calm down at all.

Past composure and calmness were just a joke in the face of absolute strength. When one's Life and Death were both in the hands of another, how could one be calm?

Looking at Shen Yu, Wumian held back for a long time before trembling and saying, "My Lord, can I not die?"

"What do you think?"

A sword appeared in Shen Yu's hand at some unknown moment; the instant this sword appeared, Wumian felt as if they were locked onto by death, not even daring to move a muscle.

"My Lord, wait, hold your hand, I can trade a piece of information for my life, My Lord!"

Seemingly afraid that Shen Yu would strike immediately, Wumian shouted loudly, "Isn't Lord Shen curious why the imperial court sent you to Xichuan, and why the court would grant you the authority to oversee all civil and military officials?"

"Does Lord Shen really think the court sent you to Xichuan to be Governor and oversee all civil and military affairs in Xichuan just to please you?"

"You had better not be stalling for time!" He glanced at the other party uncertainly, but the hand holding the sword silently lowered.

"My Lord, at this point, do you think I can still run?" Swallowing nervously, Wumian asked in a low voice, "My Lord, if I tell you, can I live?"

"That depends on whether I am satisfied!"

His hand brushed over the blade of the sword nonchalantly, and Shen Yu glanced at them unobtrusively; the threat was already overflowing in his expression.

"If you tell me, you might not necessarily die, but if you don't, you will definitely die a miserable death. You decide for yourself!"

"My Lord, my information will definitely satisfy you!" Retreating two steps with some trepidation, Wumian felt it still wasn't safe enough and retreated another two steps.

Although he knew that distance was negligible for an expert like Shen Yu, such a distance could still bring him a sliver of security, even if it were only a tiny bit.

"Lord Shen, have you ever thought about why those people in the imperial court, who clearly know that you have no craving for power—since you yourself represent the greatest power in the world and have no need to oversee the civil and military officials—"

"Yet they still insist on handing the great power of overseeing the civil and military officials to you; aren't you curious as to why, Lord Shen?"

"You mean to say that they are not wary of me, but are instead wary of the civil and military officials in Xichuan?"

"Yes, Lord Shen is indeed clever!"

After pausing to calm the unease in his heart, Wumian then said, "Lord Shen has traveled all the way from Xiaozhou, killing so many corrupt officials; don't you find it strange why the administration in Xichuan has collapsed to such a degree?"

"Is it really just because there is a Governor like He Yuan, causing the corruption to run rampant because the upper beam is not straight, leading the lower ones to go askew?"

Speaking up to this point, Wumian looked up at Shen Yu, and happened to catch the look in Shen Yu's eyes, causing his heart to tremble instantly.

"Lord Shen wouldn't happen to think that the reason He Yuan fell is related to my Tingfeng Pavilion, would you?"

"My Lord, you have misunderstood us!" Instantly understanding the meaning in Shen Yu's eyes, Wumian hurriedly explained, "The reason He Yuan is like this has nothing to do with our Tingfeng Pavilion; it is because He Yuan has long since ceased to be He Yuan!"

"Because He Yuan is not He Yuan? What do you mean?"

"Lord Shen, to be precise, he is not the He Yuan who was supposed to take office as the Xichuan Governor, but an impostor posing as He Yuan."

"The real Governor He, Lord He, had already been replaced by someone else before he even arrived to take up his post!"

"It is not just him; many of the civil and military officials in Xichuan have been replaced. It is as if an invisible hand in the shadows has firmly taken control of the entire Xichuan!"