Chapter 13: The Wind Rises

Du Gu Qingli was not responsible for thinking about these matters, nor was she interested; she only ensured Shen Tang's safety: "Will Xu Bingkun harm you?"

"He wants his reputation, so he won't act too openly; at most, he will hint and urge those few elders."

"Then will the matter you entrusted to him this time have problems?"

"This also concerns his official achievements and reputation, as well as his interests... He will certainly do the matter, but may secretly let other families compete. However, Lu Xingzhou believes we have the advantage; as long as we immediately use his order to quickly push the Pill Department into action, other families won't have time to prepare their stock."

Du Gu Qingli nodded and continued pushing the wheelchair forward toward the Pill Department.

As long as there is no danger, it is fine.

Shen Tang found it amusing to see her small face set in such a serious manner, but actually the two of them were not too familiar, so she couldn't tease her and could only ask the main topic: "What have you gained these past few days?"

Du Gu Qingli said: "After multiple explorations of the Huo family's old residence, it was confirmed that there are no treasures below; the spiritual energy is indeed just a remnant of the past. This treasure should be in the current Huo family of the Capital."

"For so many years, the Huo family has had such a treasure without any news leaking out; they hid it very strictly." Shen Tang smiled sarcastically, then added: "That is not what I care about... Hmm, how is the investigation into Lu Xingzhou going?"

"He has been like he doesn't exist these years. I have already mobilized people from my sect to investigate, yet there is still not a single trace of his activity in the world." Du Gu Qingli was very serious: "There is only one explanation for this situation..."

"The lack of traces is itself a trace." Shen Tang said: "Most likely he is from the Demonic Path, and a very secretive type of Demonic Sect."

"Yes."

Shen Tang fell silent.

Du Gu Qingli also looked down at her without speaking.

Shen Tang's identity was truly not as simple as just being the Young Master of the Tianxing Sword Sect; it involved great stakes. Honestly, Du Gu Qingli did not quite understand why she would get mixed up with someone like Lu Xingzhou whose background was unknown, just because of her Master's divination?

Her Master's divination only said "The wind rises in Xiazhou," it did not explicitly point to Lu Xingzhou.

Perhaps it was truly because two broken people saw themselves in each other... this was not a feeling others could personally experience, especially since Qingli's emotions were even more indifferent than ordinary people.

If her Master had not specifically ordered her to come out and protect Shen Tang, she would still be alone in the glacier holding her sword.

Shen Tang sighed softly, as if talking to herself: "I always feel that a person who can raise a child with such wholehearted tenderness cannot be some utterly vicious villain."

Du Gu Qingli said nothing.

Shen Tang changed the topic again: "How has the Danxia Gang been recently?"

Du Gu Qingli said: "The Danxia Gang is currently purchasing a medicinal herb called Han Ying Grass. Two days ago, I was not in Xiazhou; I heard that someone abruptly purchased it in large quantities, causing Han Ying Grass to become scarce, and now the price has soared."

Shen Tang: "... I bought it for Lu Xingzhou."

Du Gu Qingli: "..."

After a pause, Du Gu Qingli continued: "Originally, not many people in Xiazhou planted Han Ying Grass; now that they see the high price, the Danxia Gang has decided to plant more themselves. So they harvested all the mature medicinal herbs from the original Medicine Mountain and replaced them all with Han Ying Grass seeds, hoping to make a huge profit after the harvest."

Shen Tang pondered thoughtfully.

It seemed Lu Xingzhou not only wanted to hurt the Danxia Gang, but also had other schemes buried?

After talking all the way, the Pill Department ahead was not far; Shen Tang did not think about it further and entered the Pill Department to negotiate the promotion of the Sword Talismans.

Speaking of which, although Qingli was cold, anything assigned to her was done perfectly and meticulously; with such strength and such quality, why had her name not been prominent these years?

Old Butler Huo's madness was indeed cured after eating the Soul-Nourishing Pill for three consecutive days.

Sheng Yuanyao asked clearly and understood: the murderer was a child covered in blood and flesh, using extremely standard Huo family sword techniques; the essence within was known only to the Huo children, not even the old Butler had received instruction.

Although it contained the essence, it was incomplete; it was precisely the part that Huo Shang had learned back then.

All the servants who died back then had bullied Huo Shang, not one less. The newly arrived young servants were innocent, and not one of them was harmed.

Back then, Old Butler Huo personally held Huo Shang's hands, letting the Eldest Young Master of the Huo family abuse him at will; thus, the murderer also severed the tendons of Old Butler Huo's hands.

The old man, whose heart disease was already not cured, could not withstand this; looking left and right, it all looked like a vengeful ghost claiming a life, and he was directly scared into madness.

Sheng Yuanyao sent the old Butler back to the Huo residence, assigned some subordinates to guard him, and sighed.

This case can be closed... The murderer was obviously Huo Shang; how he survived back then without the Huo family knowing remains unknown...

The so-called child covered in blood and flesh was either Huo Shang's successor, or Huo Shang himself pretending with bone-folding techniques or the like. What she needed to do was simply submit the report to higher authorities; whether to arrest Huo Shang or not was not something she could decide.

After all, that was an internal matter of the Huo family, and not very honorable; the Huo family might not be willing to issue an arrest warrant and make such a matter known to everyone.

Several days ago, she had already written a letter to the Huo family; barring unexpected events, the Huo family should already have someone on the way.

Sheng Yuanyao left the Huo residence, looked at the "Shen Merchant House" across the fields, and frowned slightly.

If the Huo family came just to investigate the matter of Huo Shang, that would be one thing; but what if they used the name of "hunting Huo Shang" to bully the neighbors again and even bully into this Shen Merchant House...

She thought for a moment, strode with her long legs straight to the merchant house, and knocked on the door.

The door opened; the guard looked puzzled at Sheng Yuanyao in her official uniform: "This official, we haven't committed any crime, have we..."

"I am looking for your landlord Lu Xingzhou, or A Nuo. Are they here?"

"They are master and disciple..." The guard had a strange expression: "They shrink into the Pill Room all day long; we rarely even see their faces. Is this what Alchemists are like?"

Sheng Yuanyao went straight to the Pill Room, but Lu Xingzhou and his disciple were not inside. Sheng Yuanyao looked left and right, but saw Lu Xingzhou sitting by the window in the adjacent room, holding a scroll and reading.

From this angle, the wheelchair could not be seen; one could only see the Young Master like jade, leisurely reading poetry and books, gentle and relaxed.

That scene was truly extremely beautiful; it could be painted.

She walked over and stood by the window staring at Lu Xingzhou for a while, then suddenly spoke: "Why did you not continue being a Daoist Priest?"

Lu Xingzhou did not even look up: "I am so good-looking; becoming a monk would be too wasteful."

The sense of beauty instantly shattered; Sheng Yuanyao laughed helplessly: "Won't you invite me in to sit?"

Lu Xingzhou finally looked up at her: "Does the Commander have business? Old Butler Huo's madness should be cured by now."

"Yes, basically the case is closed."

"Can I ask for the result?"

"No."

Lu Xingzhou smiled and said nothing. Anyway, from Sheng Yuanyao's attitude, she should no longer suspect him; that was enough.

Originally, there was no need to make that old geezer go mad; it was a waste of time. It was a pity that A Nuo was short, stout, and chubby; without interfering with the other party's mind, it wouldn't be so easy to mislead them into thinking it was Huo Shang...

Sheng Yuanyao said: "The Huo family will send people soon; you are neighbors, so it is best to avoid them a bit; do not go out wandering aimlessly when there is no business."

"Is that all you came to remind me of?"

"Mm."

"Remind me, or remind Shen Tang?"

Sheng Yuanyao hesitated, then finally said, "Of course, to remind you."

Lu Xingzhou looked at her for a long moment, finally put away the book, bent down to pick up a small basket, and thrust it out the window to hand it to her.

Sheng Yuanyao took it with a puzzled expression and looked inside; the basket held dozens of sword talismans: "This is... for purification?"

"In the next two or three days, the Pill Bureau should be promoting these sword talismans to purify pill poison, available to the entire city. Since you actually came to remind me to be careful of the Huo family... I'm giving you a batch, free of charge."

Sheng Yuanyao let out a "Heh": "You, a money-grubber, giving me something for free?"

Lu Xingzhou smiled: "Actually, there is one request."

Sheng Yuanyao said impatiently: "Speak."

"These are gifts for the officials of the Demon Suppression Bureau. The only request is that when they wear them, they don't hide them in their bosoms, but keep them right against their chests. They look quite good, don't they?"

Sheng Yuanyao picked up a sword talisman and examined it for a while; it was shaped like an ancient, simple sword, indeed quite good-looking: "Just say it, what do you plan to do?"

Lu Xingzhou flashed a grin: "Just giving it a push. Although the Pill Bureau will promote it, I don't trust their efficiency. Shen Tang's bet with someone else has too tight a deadline, only three days; I'm afraid it might not happen by then. Once the lords of the Demon Suppression Bureau are seen wearing them on their chests while patrolling the whole city, the trend will spread rapidly."

Sheng Yuanyao was somewhat shocked: "You are planning for Shen Tang? Doing business for a merchant house?"

"Is that not allowed?"

Sheng Yuanyao fell silent, not knowing what she was thinking, and only spoke after a long while: "Fine. Anyway, this is a good thing, truly beneficial to them; wearing it outside or keeping it in the bosom makes no difference."

Lu Xingzhou clasped his hands in a bow: "Then many thanks, Commander."

Sheng Yuanyao said impatiently: "So you know you should thank me, instead of claiming to give me things for free?"

Lu Xingzhou just smiled: "Then how about I give the Commander another merit?"

"Spit it out."

"Three days from now, when the Commander brings people here, you should be able to catch a batch of villains attempting to assassinate their master, or perhaps prevent a gang conflict."

Sheng Yuanyao ground her teeth: "Are you sure this is giving me merit, and not just helping Shen Tang as an assistant?"

"Preventing gang conflicts and preventing bloody murders—tell me, does that count as a merit?"

"..." Sheng Yuanyao was too lazy to speak, picked up the basket, swept her sleeve, and left.

How strange; Lu Xingzhou is just renting a room, so why is he thinking so much for Shen Tang?

Sheng Yuanyao did not know Shen Tang, but she knew why she had come to Xiazhou.

Before leaving, her father's meaningful gaze was still before her eyes: "Yuanyao, on this journey to Xiazhou, pay close attention to a person named Shen Tang; if you can help, assist her secretly, but remember not to be too obvious."

"Who is she?"

"Not for you to know; just do it."

Sheng Yuanyao always felt that her family, knowing full well she wanted to avoid arranged marriages, still agreed to send her out to Xiazhou, likely for the sake of this Shen Tang. But no matter how she investigated, she only knew Shen Tang was the young master of the Heavenly Sword Sect; why would this identity make her father, one of the four deputy chief constables of the Demon Suppression Bureau, care so much?

Lu Xingzhou was already mysterious enough, and now there was an even more mysterious Shen Tang.

Once these two intersected... Sheng Yuanyao frowned all the way, suddenly feeling a chill of fear, as if the mere Xiazhou could not contain such a storm.

I just came out to gild the lily and eat melons, how did it become like this?

On a distant rooftop, Dugu Qingli, with white hair fluttering, quietly watched the direction of Lu Xingzhou's house; her face showed no expression, yet her heart felt somewhat surprised.

This man... he is actually helping Shen Tang? And it seems he is helping with very thorough consideration.

Lu Xingzhou's voice suddenly came from far away: "Miss Qingli, have Miss Shen come for another meeting; some details need to be arranged clearly."

Dugu Qingli's blue eyes shifted slightly.

On what basis did this Lu Xingzhou discover her?

(End of this chapter)