Su Yi sat before his candlelit desk and unfurled the scroll Huang Qianjun had given him.
“Investigate the connection between Cha Jin and the Great Wei’s Wheel of the Moon Sect. Make sure not to alert them. Confirm her identity, then capture her alive and send her to the Jade Capital.
“Should you require further assistance, take this jade medallion and proceed to the city lord’s estate. Qin Wenyuan is certain to lend you his aid.
“As for my sixth brother’s affairs, you needn’t get involved.
“This scroll is top secret. Burn it immediately after reading it!”
….When he reached the end of the scroll, Su Yi sighed.?She really?is trouble.
There were well over a hundred mundane nations on the Azure Continent. The Great Zhou was just one of them.
The Great Zhou had two neighboring countries, the Great Wei, and the Great Qin. Of them, the Great Qin was the most powerful.
The Great Zhou and the Great Wei were equally matched, and tension and conflict broke out between them frequently. It was non-stop and year-round.
The Great Qin had always contented itself with watching its neighbors fight amongst themselves.
After all, their conflict would only benefit the Great Qin.
The Great Wei’s Wheel of the Moon Sect…. Cha Jin’s background really isn’t simple. It’s highly likely that she’s an agent the Great Wei placed to monitor the second prince.
Also, it turns out that Qin Wenyuan was working for the second prince. In that case, it doesn’t matter that I killed Nan Wenxiang. Qin Wenyuan’s death was likely sufficient to make the second prince see me as his enemy.
Su Yi pondered in silence.
The current emperor of the Great Zhou had eight sons and three daughters.
His eight sons all had interesting names. Rumor had it that Imperial Preceptor Hong Shenshang named them after the eight trigrams: Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, and Dui.
All of their names shared the character “Zhi”. Thus, the sixth prince was “Zhou Zhili”, while the second prince was “Zhou Zhikun.”
But who cares what trouble he causes? If he provokes me, I’ll just kill him and be done with it.?After a while, Su Yi casually ripped up the scroll, his gaze calm and distant.
The conflicts of the mundane world were a form of training too.
Those who lived apart from the mundane world faced the trials and tribulations of nature, while those who lived within that world faced the trials and tribulations of human life.
Both were indispensable.
He, Su Xuanjun, had reincarnated here. How could he possibly fear the waves resulting from mortals’ conflict?
He set those thoughts aside, and as always, he began his dull, painstaking cultivation routine.
The night gradually deepened.
Beyond Bottlegourd Alley, the streets were dimly lit.
A down-and-out old man stood at the entrance to the alley, peering inside. The depths of Bottlegourd Alley were dark, and he seemed somewhat hesitant.
The elder’s hair and beard were unkempt, and his hemp clothes were worn and full of holes. The man’s massive frame was gaunt, withered, and bony, and when he walked, his back was slightly hunched. He looked as if he were nearing the end of his lifespan.
After a while, he suddenly turned, then walked up to the street vendor selling wontons by the roadside. “I’ll have a bowl.”
He sat at random. The vendor, a lean, fit man, got to work at top speed.
Before long, he presented his customer with a steaming hot bowl of wontons.
But the old man didn’t eat, and his turbid eyes were suddenly wistful. “A disciple of the Deathbringer’s Gate has sunk so low, he has to support himself by making wontons. The sect really is getting more and more pathetic.”
The gaunt man’s expression changed dramatically. He set down his soup spoon and fled.
Splurt!
A bamboo chopstick shot out like an arrow, piercing his neck, and his body thudded to the ground.
The old man didn’t so much as stop to look at him. He picked up a spoon and another pair of chopsticks, then ate his wontons with great relish.
The old man didn’t get up until he drained the last of his soup and smacked his lips.
This time, he didn’t hesitate. He walked directly into the depths of Bottlegourd Alley and right up to Humble Tranquility Cottage.
He took a bone flute from his pocket, placed it to his lips, and blew,
A sound was soft and ethereal as it floated through the darkness.
Meanwhile, within his room.
Su Yi was busy cultivating when his eyes suddenly popped open, and he frowned.?Why is someone skulking around here again tonight?
Can’t they give me a break?
At almost the same time, Qing Wan’s frantic voice emerged from the Soul-Nurturing Gourd. “Mystic Master, someone is using a soul controlling art. They’re trying to take me away…”
They’re after Qing Wan??Despite himself, Su Yi was stunned.
Clang!
Guiding Mysteries left its sheath, and he rested the blade against the Soul-Nurturing Gourd.
“Don’t panic. I’ll go investigate.”
Su Yi turned and carried Reflecting Purple over to the door.
It was already late at night. The moon was bright, and the stars were sparse. Everything was silent.
Everything, except the indistinct, ethereal sound of a flute drifting above the courtyard.
When Su Yi stepped out carrying a sword, the flute music came to an abrupt halt.
Outside the courtyard, the old man in hemp clothes fell briefly silent before saying, “Young man, I’m afraid keeping Qing Wan by your side will only invite disaster. I hope you can return her to me.”
Su Yi stood within the courtyard. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, he asked, “Are you Weng Yunqi?”
A cold look surfaced on the old man’s face. “It seems that you’re the one who killed my unworthy disciple, Wu Ruoqiu.”
They spoke through the tightly shut main gate. Neither could see the other, but the atmosphere was instantly rife with tension.
“You yourself said he’s unworthy. Killing him was equivalent to doing a good turn for the common man.” As Su Yi spoke, he leaned silently against the courtyard walls.
“Forget it. I’ll come back another day,” said the old man in hemp clothes. However, almost immediately afterward, Su Yi shot forth like an arrow?loosed?from a bow, leaping over the courtyard walls in a flash.
But to his surprise, even as the old man’s voice echoed through the alleyway, the man himself was already a distant blur. He’d long since fled Bottlegourd Alley.
“The old man’s actually quite cautious.” Su Yi repressed the desire to give chase.
He was worried that this was a diversion, “a ploy to lure the tiger from its mountain.” There were, after all, other people living in the cottage.
“Weng Yunqi carried that piece of soul jade. Perhaps, he used it to sense Qing Wan’s presence and locate us.”
As Su Yi thought, he turned and headed back to his room.
Weng Yunqi and Wu Ruoqiu were master and apprentice. When they betrayed the Deathbringer’s Gate, they brought three treasures with them: a mysterious soul jade, a scroll detailing the secret method for raising Ghoul Worms, and a Soul-Nurturing Gourd.
Of them, the scroll, the gourd, and Qing Wan were all under Wu Ruoqiu’s control when Su Yi first encountered him. When Wu Ruoqiu died, they fell into Su Yi’s hands.
The only thing missing was the mysterious soul jade.
Then, during his time in Mother Ghost Ridge, he learned from Weng Yunqi’s former sectmates that Qing Wan had once slumbered within that very piece of jade!
The jade’s origins were a mystery to this day.
I was just worrying about how I’d find you, old man. Now, you’ve gone and delivered yourself right to my door. This works too. Once I get my hands on the soul jade, I might very well be able to uncover some clues about Qing Wan’s origins.
Su Yi was certain that, so long as he kept Qing Wan at his side, he needn’t worry about Weng Yunqi disappearing on him.
When he returned to his room, he put away Guiding Mysteries, then whispered to the girl in the gourd, “Everything’s alright.”
“Mystic Master, have people from the Deathbringer’s Gate come looking for us?” Qing Wan’s timid voice emerged from the gourd.
“That’s right,” said Su Yi. “You’ll have to go on high alert for a while. If you discover anything out of the ordinary, inform me at once.”
“Mm!”
….
Outside Bottlegourd Alley.
A wonton vendor lay dead by the side of the road. A chopstick had pierced his neck, killing him.
A man crouched beside his corpse, looked him over, then frowned. “That barbarian Weng Yunqi! He even killed the?underling?we had?keeping?a?lookout. Don’t tell me he’s already sensed the danger?”
The waxy, sallow-faced, disheveled speaker was one of the dharma protectors of the Deathbringer’s Gate’s Imperatorial Branch, “Old Man Lungrot” Chu Silang. He took a blood candle from his sleeves, placed it beneath his nose, and took a sniff. His triangular eyes instantly shone with a sickly green light.
Then, he rose and strode into Bottlegourd Alley. He didn’t stop until he reached Humble Tranquility Cottage. His brow knit in confusion. “Why would that old ignoramus linger here, only to leave again immediately afterward?”
When he saw that the gates were tightly shut, he hesitated briefly, but in the end, he silently slunk away.
When he left Bottlegourd Alley, Chu Silang was stunned. He saw a group of beggars crouched beside the gaunt vendor’s corpse, excitedly rifling through his belongings.
“You see a corpse as an opportunity to turn a profit? That’s just the Deathbringer’s Gate’s style.” Chu Silang laughed, then turned to leave.
But shortly after he left, one of the beggars, an old man, said in a hushed whisper, “Did you see his face clearly?”
Another responded immediately, “Yes, I saw him clearly. It seems he’s one of our three targets!”
“We’ve finally found a clue. I’ll leave the dead man’s money to you. I’m going off to claim our reward.” The old beggar rose, then scampered off.
Late that night, in a long abandoned, dilapidated manor somewhere in the city, a stunning woman smiled at the altar she’d only just finished building.
It was about three feet tall, and its base was made entirely out of snowy white arm bones. There were nine skulls, each gleaming with bloody light, arranged on top.
Beside each skull stood a black Soul-Beckoning Banner.
“If not for the branch leader offering us so many precious resources, there’s no way we could have set up this ‘Spiritbound Blood Corpse’ formation,” said the beautiful woman gently.
The Corpse Madam, Liu Xianglan!
“Having this formation gives us an ace in the hole,” said the man in worn-out Daoist robes with a nod.
The Blood Balance Daoist!
A second-level Grandmaster!
As they conversed, they heard sudden, gentle knocking from the gates. Shortly after, Old Man Lungrot, Chu Silang,?walked on in.
First, he?stared?lasciviously at Liu Xianglan’s prideworthy bosom. Then, once he was satisfied, he laughed, “I’ve roughly locked onto Weng Yunqi’s whereabouts. If I’m not mistaken, it’s highly likely that he’ll return to a certain courtyard in Bottlegourd Alley in the near future.
“Who is the owner of that courtyard?” asked the Blood Balance Daoist.
Chu Silang shook his head. “I’m not sure. I was worried about alerting our target, so I didn’t pry too deeply. Tomorrow morning, I’ll have some of our underlings get to the bottom of this.”
The Blood Balance?Daoist’s?eyes flashed. “Starting tomorrow, I’ll keep?watch?outside Bottlegourd Alley. So long as Weng Yunqi appears, I’ll ensure that he can’t possibly escape.”
“Daoist Elder, didn’t you say you’d find one of the city higher-ups to assist us? Did he agree to lend his aid?” asked Liu Xianglan.
“He didn’t.” The Blood Balance Daoist let out a long sigh, and he sounded a bit down. “Just yesterday, Prefectural Governor Qin Wenyuan was murdered. As a result, the rest of the city’s prominent factions are tense and on edge. It was quite the shock for my old friend, too. He was unwilling to get involved at this particular juncture.” ．
Chu Silang laughed. “It doesn’t matter whether he helps or not. It’s just Weng Yunqi. With the three of us joining forces, we can take him down easily.”
But Liu Xianglan was stunned. “The prefectural governor of all people was murdered…. Do you know who did it?”
The Blood Balance Daoist shook his head. “I’m not sure, but they say it was a lofty expert. Even the city higher-ups dare not reveal his identity.
“In short, the situation in the Cloudriver Prefectural Capital has been opaque and uncertain of late. A storm is coming, and we shouldn’t linger here.”
Once he made this declaration, he pointed to the white bone altar. “Cover that up, and don’t let anyone discover it. Our sole target on this expedition is Weng Yunqi. Once we’ve found him, we’ll leave immediately!”
Chu Silang and Liu Xianglan both nodded.