Chapter 178: I Have Connections Above Me

In the Hall of Deliberation within the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.

Lu Wu Zhen sat in the main seat, frowning as he looked at a newly delivered report in his hand.

Nangong Xianzi wore a black-and-white Daoist robe, her phoenix eyes stern and devoid of laughter, resembling an ice lump devoid of emotion or desire, yet inside she was thinking:

The method to neutralize the poison is indeed effective; my body feels much more comfortable today, and I might not even fall ill at noon...

If I neutralize the poison a few more times, it should be fine, but neutralizing the poison means making A Huan suffer a bit; if I don't give her some sweetness, how can I feel at ease...

This child insists on teasing her; what sweetness can she give to feel justified...

Beside Nangong Xianzi sat Li Chi, the Zhang Sect of the Xuanhu Guan.

As one of the three giants of the Daoist sects in Great Qian, in terms of seniority, Li Chi was of the same generation as the two Daoist friends present.

However, his 'concubine' of many years was exposed by the Buddhist sect, earning him a reputation for being old and disrespectful.

Sitting before the two Daoist friends famous for their 'unstained Dao hearts', Li Chi truly felt he couldn't raise his head, speaking only cautiously about official matters:

"Sanjiangkou lies at the entrance of the Danluo Plain, under the Daoist sect's supervision of demonic movements. With Wei Wu Yi gathering tens of thousands of martial artists there, if chaos erupts, our Danding Sect will inevitably face blame again. In my humble opinion, Wei Wu Yi is applying pressure on us."

Lu Wu Zhen naturally understood Wei Wu Yi's intent in gathering a crowd to cause trouble; he set down the report:

"He has reported to the imperial court under the guise of martial arts exchange and sparring; we cannot simply block martial artists from meeting. However, the Huanguo Temple has sent people to supervise the movements of the martial world, and our Daoist sect cannot turn a blind eye. Which of you two will go?"

Li Chi keeping a concubine is currently a hot topic in the martial world; even if Wei Wu Yi sent an invitation, he wouldn't dare show his face at such a time and invite mockery from the martial heroes.

Nangong Xianzi has a spotless public reputation and immense popularity, considered the top female hero of Great Qian; going would allow her to control the situation, but she secretly has a blonde male friend.

At such a martial gathering, Wei Lu will most likely invite Xie Jinhuan, this rising star of martial arts; if both of them go, won't her alias be exposed?

For this reason, the two remained silent, offering no response.

?

Lu Wu Zhen waited a moment, seeing that none of his subordinates could be made to move, feeling a sigh of 'the young ones' wings have hardened', yet he wasn't old either; at a hundred-plus years, he was in his prime...

Seeing no one take the task, Lu Wu Zhen turned his gaze to Nangong Xianzi:

"Daoist friend Li is inconvenient to travel recently, which is understandable; Mount Zihui is not far from Sanjiangkou, Sister Nangong..."

Nangong Xianzi's antics were even bigger than Li Chi's, so she truly dared not go, but with the Zhang Sect directly assigning the task, she could only respond:

"On the day of Lidong, I have important matters; at that time, let the Zhang Guan go."

Lu Wu Zhen felt sending a deputy Zhang Guan to supervise was somewhat disrespectful to Wei Wu Yi.

But Wei Wu Yi hadn't given much face to the Daoist sect either, so he immediately nodded in agreement.

Shortly after, at Fengyi River.

After finishing official business, Nangong Xianzi left the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, quickly returned home, and began tidying up and dressing to avoid the blonde arriving and directly encountering the 'Number One Beauty of the Daoist Sect'.

At this moment, Nangong Xianzi took off her black-and-white Daoist robe, hid it under the wardrobe, and stood naked beside the bedroom wardrobe selecting dresses, her mind still dwelling on Wei Wu Yi's grand meeting and the Fanyun Temple seizing territory, feeling truly that it was a season of many troubles.

There were actually many clothes in the wardrobe, including beautiful and charming fairy dresses like the crane hezi skirt and white gauze skirt, all gifts from the Princess; wearing them made the sashes flutter, just as the martial world storytellers said—'Jade skin and ice bones emerge from the jade terrace, a national beauty with unparalleled talent; naturally, the heavens applied the colored brush, how can such a flower bloom in the human world...'

But Nangong Xianzi dared to wear them at home before; now she dared not; dressed like this, children would absolutely not be able to handle it.

She remembered that before, invited by the imperial court to Jingcheng for the Mid-Autumn gathering, she followed local customs, changed into a hezi skirt, and styled her hair; at that time she even wore a veil, yet the title 'Number One Beauty of the Daoist Sect' just popped out like that!

A huge group of children climbed onto the roof to watch her, still unable to forget it to this day; seeing her made them go crazy, so since then, she only dared to walk the martial world wearing a veil hat...

Xie Jinhuan, although knowing propriety, was a young man with a Dao heart as iron, yet even that couldn't withstand a beauty like a blade...

Nangong Xianzi did not want to test Xie Jinhuan's self-control; for this reason, she chose a very conservative black dress. While selecting, she noticed a small pouch on the tray.

The pouch was a gift from Xie Jinhuan yesterday, but immediately after, the Qian Emperor passed away; she was busy going out to investigate the situation and left it here without touching it.

Nangong Xianzi was somewhat curious what this child had sent and opened the pouch to check.

The result was only a few pieces of black silk bra and highly elastic black stockings, which came into view...

?

This dead kid...

Nangong Xianzi gently inhaled, holding the palm-sized undergarment between two fingers; inside her phoenix eyes, which froze a thousand miles, a tiny bit of disgust and shamed anger appeared.

After all, even mistresses would be too embarrassed to wear such clothes, let alone her...

Who gives a Miss undergarments...

But she had promised yesterday to keep it, so it must be treated as an important item gifted by a friend; she couldn't just throw it away...

Nangong Xianzi hesitated for an instant, sat by the bed, raised her snow-white long legs, and pulled the knee-high black stockings on, looking at her two legs pressed together.

The result was discovering this child actually had some taste; wearing them added a touch of elegance, like holding a pipa half-covering the face, compared to not wearing them...

Just as she was pondering this, a knocking sound came from outside the house:

Knock knock knock—

"Honghong? Are you home?"

?

Nangong Xianzi immediately sprang up and quickly put on her dress...

Autumn sun hung in the sky; the scenery by Fengyi River was pleasant.

Xie Jinhuan left Meiqiu with Wanyi for instant communication in case of trouble; at this moment, with two weapons hanging at his waist, he stood outside the door, waiting a moment slightly, before hearing footsteps on the second floor, followed by the window opening.

Creak~

The ice beauty in the black dress revealed a face like cold jade; her phoenix eyes, for some reason, carried a hint of three parts disdain, as if he had just done something wrong but couldn't say it plainly...

?

Seeing this expression begging to be drilled, Xie Jinhuan felt an impulse for the green dragon to probe with its claw and the wild dragon to slap its tail, but there truly was no time to chat about such things now; he only asked from downstairs:

"How is your physical condition? I have some things to attend to and might not be able to come over at noon."

Nangong Xianzi still thought Xie Jinhuan had come to flirt with her again; hearing these words, she looked slightly surprised:

"The toxicity was reduced yesterday; currently, using the Yin-Yang Strange Gas Powder, I can barely withstand it. What do you need today? It seems no major case has appeared in Jingcheng."

"On the surface, there is nothing, but secretly there is a major event. Last night, several Gu Du Pai poison masters went missing from Xiaoyao Cave. Those with dirty backgrounds dare not report to the authorities; I only discovered this matter after hearing it from someone..."

"Poison masters?"

Nangong Xianzi blinked her eyes, fetched her sword from inside the house, and leaped down in front of him:

"Most poison masters in Jingcheng are undercover agents of the Nanjiangwu Alliance. Do you really intend to manage such matters?"

The Gu Du Pai was expelled from the country, and the common people were explicitly forbidden from cultivating Gu poison techniques. Those who can walk in Jingcheng are all dark spies who cannot see the light, unprotected by the law.

Xie Jinhuan would certainly not care about the fate of the Wu Sect if there was no reason, but Bu Hanying is his black-market merchant; he currently relies on exchanging the Seven-Star Nail solution method for the Century Lotus. If the person is not found, how can he continue the transaction?

"I am not managing the affairs of the Nanjiang poison masters, but rather managing the matter of someone kidnapping and robbing in Jingcheng. The missing poison masters are all between Rank 6 and Rank 4, considered skilled hands of the Gu Du Pai. The person who struck must have some purpose in kidnapping these people."

"Purpose..."

Nangong Xianzi held her sword and walked down the pedestrian street, a trace of solemnity appearing between her eyebrows.

Kidnapping powerful poison masters in Jingcheng certainly cannot be for the sake of extorting silver money.

Cultivators of the Gu Du Pai all cultivate poison techniques; blood sacrifice would cause them to poison themselves. If their physique is too fragile, they are unsuitable for cultivating puppets; the only use is for 'Ghost Cultivators to refine souls' and 'Wu Sect to raise little ghosts'.

The Wu Sect's evil path of raising little ghosts likes to capture martial artists; the body is used to cultivate puppets and the soul to raise little ghosts, yielding great profit. Poison masters have physiques as fragile as paper; capturing them yields low profit.

Therefore, the person capable of taking action is likely an evil Daoist or a Ghost Cultivator.

The Gu Du Pai is limited by their 'Poison Techniques'; all their cultivation techniques lean towards the Five Elements of Yin. The Moon Shadow Villa is the extreme among them, capable of cultivating themselves into a purely Yin body, which is precisely the perfect vessel for a Ghost Cultivator. Even if not used as a vessel, with thin skin and rich filling, they are also perfect sacrificial offerings for soul refining.

Thinking of this, Nangong Xianzi frowned tightly:

"It is possible that Ghost Cultivators are capturing poison masters to practice their arts. As long as Ghost Cultivators do not reveal their divine souls, their limbs are not much different from normal cultivators, and they are elusive, good at hiding, making them difficult to investigate."

Hearing this, Xie Jinhuan thought seriously for a moment:

"Since we know what the person who struck black hands wants, we can set a bait. Tonight I will disguise myself as a poison master and wander around Xiaoyao Cave to see if I can lure them out."

"You?"

Nangong Xianzi turned her head to inspect the dignified and vigorous Xie Jinhuan:

"People like you, poison masters would mostly avoid upon seeing; how can you disguise yourself as a poison master?"

In the Jianghu, because of the different Geliu Sects, the temperament of cultivators from each sect actually differs greatly.

For example, Daoist Priests and Monks, cultivated with a body of righteous energy and immortal aura since childhood, are easily identifiable; martial artists have vigorous blood energy and a heavy Jianghu aura; Wu Sect masters would rather be invisible, most afraid of facing people head-on.

Just like Wan Yi, looking fierce but soft and sticky, very easy to bully; Xie Jinhuan insisted on giving her whatever she wanted. Whereas Seeing Mo Mo is quite tough; kiss once, get shocked once; shocked once, kiss once...

Although the clothing of each Geliu Sect can be disguised, the style, demeanor, and habits are hard to imitate. If a martial artist disguises as a Wu Sect master, just standing there, one can tell it is fake just by looking at the back and body.

But Xie Jinhuan's Jianghu experience is extremely sharp. Before, he simply did not know the reason, but now recalling the experience of the arduous journey to Phoenix Port, he naturally also recalled his past walking around in Nanjiang:

"Rest assured, I am disguising as a poison rat; even Master Sikong might not be able to distinguish it."

"Is that so?"

Nangong Xianzi had witnessed 'picking up a bamboo hat on the East Street, picking up a straw raincoat on the West Street'; thinking about it, she said nothing more, and accompanied him out towards the outer city...

Shortly after, outside Xiaoyao Cave, in a small alley.

Nangong Xianzi held two weapons, standing in the alley with a long sword on her back, carefully inspecting the cloaked figure before her, her eyes filled with astonishment mixed with a few strange looks.

Xie Jinhuan was covered in a loose black cloak, with some medicine bottles hanging vaguely at his waist. His hood covered his head, his 'instinct' slightly lowered his head so that even his chin could not be seen. His back was also slightly hunched, the demeanor of 'I am very afraid of trouble' almost permeating from his bones. Standing before her and speaking, he 'subconsciously' turned his head slightly left and right, scouting the surroundings:

"How is it? Does it look like it?"

His speaking voice was even cautious, just short of taking a small bottle out from his sleeve and handing it to the person in front.

Nangong Xianzi stood straight beside him, her waist and back erect; at this moment, she was even half a palm taller. Comparing the two, it gave quite the feeling of a cold and beautiful Sword Immortal catching a poison rat for interrogation. Her eyes showed surprise:

"You are truly amazing. If I hadn't watched you change clothes with my own eyes, I could have thought someone else had changed. Poison masters have heavy Yin energy; you can use the Reverse Dragon Splits the Sea technique to emit some ice-coldness to let the robe get a bit damp, concealing your natural vigorous blood energy. This will make it more realistic."

Xie Jinhuan nodded slightly, deliberately acting uneasy with his whole body exposed to the sunlight. After confirming there were no flaws, he said:

"Later I will wander around Xiaoyao Cave, buying medicinal herbs and scouting the area. Do not follow too closely; I have my own judgment. Do not show your head unless absolutely necessary."

Nangong Xianzi looked at the sky: "At noon, poison masters usually do not walk outside; it must be a bit later."

Xie Jinhuan was actually a bit worried that Bu Hanying had been killed, but strolling the streets at this time would only arouse suspicion. He immediately came forward and supported Seeing Bing Tuozi's lower back.

?

Seeing this scene, Nangong Xianzi frowned, feeling a sense of humiliation as if 'a Daoist Sect Immortal had been molested by a Nanjiang poison rat':

"What are you doing?"

"It is noon; your body is not feeling well, you are even sweating."

"..."

Seeing this, Nangong Xianzi did not dodge again. Sensing the ice-cold energy coming from her lower back, her eyes held a bit of surprise.

After all, after Xie Jinhuan took the Vivid Dragon Pill, his cultivation did not increase much, but the ice-cold energy had become much stronger.

Xie Jinhuan's previous 'Upside-Down Candle', initially was 'Divide Five Take One', with a Qi mechanism utilization rate fixed at one-fifth.

The 'Rotating Upside-Down Candle' can transform the Five Elements energy, but limited by the speed of Qi circulation and meridians, the utilization rate is at most one-quarter.

Now that the meridian limit has been greatly strengthened and the Qi circulation speed is smooth as Dove, the transformation rate and speed have been greatly improved, converting most unusable Five Elements energy into the required Qi mechanism, bringing the utilization rate close to one-half.

Nangong Xianzi's current physical sensation was roughly being cooled down by a Rank 3 sorcerer specializing in the ice-cold path; it was almost bone-chillingly cool, and her lower back had even become cold.

Perhaps worried that Xie Jinhuan's hand would slide down to her buttocks, Nangong Xianzi switched to holding Xie Jinhuan's weapon with one arm, pressing down on his right hand at her lower back:

"This pill is truly amazing. Paired with your 'Reverse Dragon Splits the Sea', you can barely achieve mastery of all hundred schools in the future. If you have time, I will find a few Five Elements sorcery books for you; once you learn them, you can become a 'Little Shang Lianbi'."

Xie Jinhuan's goal was to make Shang Lianbi leave so he could dominate Dragon Bone Beach and bully the Octopus Girl. To this, he said:

"It is still too early; at least achieving one hundred percent utilization of the Qi mechanism is required for this technique to be considered fully mastered."

Nangong Xianzi felt this was almost impossible; achieving the current level was already considered a divine technique for her.

If supplemented by the doubling effect of the 'Righteous Ethics Sword', Xie Jinhuan could theoretically rely on the divine efficacy of the Immortal Weapon to cast thunder techniques with the same power as a Rank 2 Daoist Sect.

Thinking of the Zhenglun Sword, Nangong Ye shifted his gaze to the ink-green long sword tucked against his chest:

"This sword seems to be a Mount Zihui Dharma Sword. You..."

"An imitation."

"Oh..."

Nangong Ye had never seen True Person Qixia or the Zhenglun Sword either, so he didn't pay it much mind then, simply pressing Xie Jinhuan's hand, maintaining a Bingshan expression, and pretending to look at the scenery everywhere...

Whoosh~

—

Outside the city, beneath a building.

Bu Hanying woke up groggily from unconsciousness. He saw his body bound by ropes, with blurry light spots all around, and shadowy figures moving back and forth. Without his glasses, he couldn't see clearly, but he could smell a faint stench of decay.

As a Gu Du Pai poison rat, Bu Hanying felt that apart from being used to raise Gu insects, refine souls, or nurture little ghosts, he had no other use. Terrified, his face turned ashen, and he immediately spoke:

"Master Daoist, spare my life! This humble one..."

The words had barely left his mouth when a familiar voice came from beside him:

"Enough, stop making a fool of yourself and wailing. The two in the Three Corpses Cave just got slapped."

"?"

Bu Hanying immediately shut his mouth. Hearing the familiar voice, he glanced to his side and saw a blurry shadow, which looked somewhat like the contact from the Chilong Cave:

"You were captured too?!"

"You're quite surprised?"

Bu Hanying realized he wasn't the only one unlucky, which balanced his feelings somewhat, but he certainly couldn't show it now, so he just frowned and said:

"What's going on? I can't see clearly. What are they preparing to do?"

While speaking, a blurry figure in yellow robes came and squatted before him, appearing to be a bald head:

"Captured by a demon Daoist, what else can be done but make use of you?"

Bu Hanying's face changed abruptly, and he hurriedly begged for mercy:

"Master Daoist, we are all of the Evil Dao; why kill each other? This humble one is old and useless; I can't even see your faces..."

"Enough. I was captured too, with the same fate as you, only I'm not bound. My ancestral home is Linglu Valley; before that, Chilong Cave. This Elder Zhang, counting generations, is my junior uncle."

?

Bu Hanying was baffled, but since he was helpless, he dared not ask rashly, and only said:

"Since we are of the same clan, Master Daoist, just capture him. I am a disciple of Queyue Villa; we have connections above. Capturing you would make it hard to resolve."

The yellow-robed little monk looked slightly puzzled:

"Who? Bu Yuehua? Master Sikong's lackey? They dare to capture them? Do you expect Nangong Xianzi to protect you?"

"Sigh, no. Have you heard of Xie Jinhuan?"

"?"

The yellow-robed little monk fell silent for a moment, then nodded slightly:

"His name rings like thunder! What exactly is the relationship between Queyue Villa and Xie Jinhuan?"

Bu Hanying didn't dare to name his savior outright, but spoke earnestly:

"A disciple of our sect was captured by Hero Xie and taken as an informant, providing some intelligence on the Nanjiangwu Alliance..."

The Chilong Cave Elder, hearing this, flew into a rage:

"You of Queyue Villa have such boldness, actually eating from within and selling out to the Righteous Path..."

"Shut up!"

Bu Hanying looked at the yellow-robed little monk before him and said in a gentle tone:

"I am Xie Jinhuan's undercover agent. If you capture me, he will definitely panic. You know his skill in pursuing criminals to the point of obsession? If they capture someone in the morning, he arrives by evening, which could ruin things. Why not release me? Anyway, I'm half-blind and can't see anything..."

The yellow-robed little monk was clearly convinced and turned his head, saying:

"Zhang Chu, what do you think?"

A figure in black robes squatted before him, also clearly hesitating:

"If this person is truly Xie Jinhuan's informant, he is indeed troublesome, but we cannot let him go; he knows too much..."

Bu Hanying shuddered all over, baffled:

"What do I know? I can't even see what you two look like. Don't silence me; silencing me makes us mortal enemies. Xie Jinhuan will definitely hunt you to the death..."

Two blurry figures looked at each other, not knowing what to think.

Finally, a voice came from afar:

"Since he's been captured, just give him some water. Stop talking nonsense."

The yellow-robed little monk sighed, raised his hand, and patted Bu Hanying's shoulder:

"See? It's not that I won't give face; someone just won't believe in the supernatural. Lie down properly."

Bu Hanying hurriedly said: "Eh? I wasn't joking. This old man is utterly loyal to Xie Jinhuan. Without him, he will definitely panic. You..."

"Enough, everyone is gone."

"Is that so?"

"You, a Wu Sect informant, still expect a Righteous Path hero to come rescue you? Do you think you are your Villa Master, delicate and beautiful with a fine appearance..."

"You know nothing..."

—

Eight thousand five, asking for monthly tickets or 2!

(End of this chapter.)