Real and Fake Black Society
Having learned that they had been staying in the deep valley for over a month, Yue Qianchou inspected the troops. Seeing that the necessary buildings had been constructed and training was on track, he finally felt relieved. He didn't need to worry about other details; otherwise, what would be the point of supporting so many people?
Upon returning to the back garden of the Marquis General's Mansion, he discovered that Shi Xiaotian, Ling Feng, and the others were not there. Several more mortals with Spirit Roots had appeared in the garden, and he casually recruited them into Utopia. As he strolled past the garden gate, he noticed many servants cleaning the General's Mansion, which was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, creating an exceptionally festive atmosphere.
"Mr. Yue!" someone called him. Yue Qianchou looked up and saw Shi Youtian running over with a beaming smile, bowing and scraping. Yue Qianchou gestured towards the outside and said, "Is it going to be a festival? Or are you going to take a concubine?"
Shi Youtian felt embarrassed and said with a forced smile, "My father will be back tomorrow."
"Oh! Pillar State General is coming back." Yue Qianchou said, "Find me ten sets of servants' clothes, the kind I wore last time." The set that Shi Xiaotian gave him last time had already turned to ashes in the deep valley, so he needed to get a few more sets as spares.
Shi Youtian readily agreed and jogged off, returning shortly with ten sets of servants' clothes. Yue Qianchou immediately changed his clothes in the garden before confidently leaving the back garden. Shi Youtian followed behind, smiling, "Sir, are you heading out? I'm quite familiar with the capital; shall I show you the way?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than two beautiful daughters-in-law from the Shi family blocked his way. The two women were about to bow to Yue Qianchou, but Yue Qianchou stopped them, saying, "No need for formalities. When there are many people, I am a servant of the General's Mansion." He then bowed to the two women instead.
Situ Hui turned slightly to the side, not knowing his identity, but not daring to accept his greeting. Bao Wanshi, on the other hand, was not fond of him at all, accepting his greeting without question, and complaining to her husband, "Where are you going?"
"Madam, I'll accompany you out for a stroll." He was really looking forward to getting along well with Yue Qianchou. But Yue Qianchou laughed and said, "I'm going to the Myriad Flower Pavilion. Are you really going?" Then she walked straight out, as if to say, "Come on, I won't stop you."
Bao Wanshi couldn't possibly agree, Shi Youtian was immediately grabbed by his wife, who absolutely refused to let him go. Situ Hui, standing to the side, smiled faintly, watching Yue Qianchou walk away and gently shaking her head. She didn't believe that such a person would go to such a dirty place as a brothel; she guessed he was just deliberately trying to annoy her sister-in-law.
This was just wishful thinking on her part. In reality, Yue Qianchou did go to a brothel, but not to a Hundred Charm Demoness. The capital city was too crowded, and it was inconvenient to fly around during the day. If he could just leave the city, he would fly out. He took out some loose silver coins, snacked constantly along the way, and strolled to the Myriad Flower Pavilion). Upon his arrival, someone naturally led him inside.
A winding path led to a secluded courtyard behind the Myriad Flower Pavilion, a place inaccessible to ordinary guests. Such a tranquil spot in the bustling capital was indeed a desirable place to live; this was his second visit. From a small pavilion deep within the courtyard, the soft sound of a zither Yue Qianchou recognized the tune as one he had taught, shook his head, and climbed up alone.
As soon as he stepped onto the upper floor, the music stopped, and the Hundred Charm Demoness called out from inside, "Come in yourself!"
After pushing open the door and entering, he still dutifully performed a greeting and said, "Master's wife!"
This time, the Hundred Charm Demoness did not tease him as usual. Leaning against the zither stand, she rested her chin on her hand, looked at him, and sighed, "The Qingguang Sect and the Daluo Sect are really unlucky to have messed with you. Especially the Qingguang Sect, which is now practically wiped out from the Cultivation World."
"It was all thanks to Master's wife's information that I was able to help so much!" Yue Qianchou complimented.
The Hundred Charm Demoness giggled, leaning back lazily in her chair, and shook her head, saying, "Yue Qianchou, you're quite the schemer! First, you plundered the Spirit Stone mines of the two major sects, killing every single one of their disciples. Then, you lured the Qingguang Sect to send people to guard the mines again. When the Qingguang Sect was at its weakest, you led your men to attack Qingguang Sect once more, and ended up taking them down in one Qingguang Sect."
Yue Qianchou was taken aback and scratched his head, saying, "What do you mean by that, Master's wife? I don't quite understand. When did I attack the Qingguang Sect?"
"Pretend! You're just pretending with me!" Hundred Charm Demoness sneered, "Don't tell me those 'Black Society' men aren't yours."
"I admit that the 'Black Society' are my people, but I only looted those twenty-one Spirit Stone mines. Uh... Master's wife, are you saying that someone attacked the Qingguang Sect?" Yue Qianchou asked in astonishment.
"You didn't do it?" Hundred Charm Demoness asked doubtfully.
Yue Qianchou, "Master's wife, I did it, so why should I hide it from you? I did the Spirit Stone mine incident, but I really didn't attack the Qingguang Sect. Master's wife, what exactly happened? Tell me quickly."
Hundred Charm Demoness's smile vanished. She stood up and scrutinized Yue Qianchou. Seeing that he didn't seem to be lying, she pondered and said, "If it wasn't you who did it, then this matter is a bit suspicious."
Her graceful figure circled the zither platform once, then she thought for a moment and said, "Half a month ago, not long after the Qingguang Sect dispatched people to guard the six Spirit Stone mines, a group of powerful masked men in black suddenly attacked Qingguang Mountain. Qing Nu, the Qingguang Sect's late Tribulation Transcendence stage Ancestor, and Qing Pu were killed in battle. Apart from the disciples outside, almost everyone else in the sect perished. Afterwards, someone left a small black Squad Commander in the Qingguang Sect with the three golden characters 'Black Society' on it. I originally thought it was your doing, but now that I think about it, there's probably more to this than meets the eye."
"What?" Yue Qianchou narrowed his eyes, pinched his chin, and said in a deep voice, "In other words, someone took care of their own business but then smeared it on the 'Black Society' label. Master's wife, who do you think would do such a thing?"
"I can't estimate it." Hundred Charm Demoness frowned and said, "I originally thought it was you who did it, so I didn't urge my subordinates to investigate this matter."
"Then I'll have to ask my master's wife to investigate." Yue Qianchou chuckled coldly, "Do you think it's so easy to frame me? Some people are just asking for trouble." He didn't say something else: he was worried about not finding someone to test the power of his 'Star Flame Fire Art'.
The Hundred Charm Demoness sensed the chill in his words and nodded meaningfully, saying, "Don't worry! My Myriad Flower Pavilion has all the information channels in the world. As long as you didn't do it, even if we can't find out the whole story, we'll always find some clues. Unless he fell from the sky and disappeared into thin air, that's about the best we can do."
Yue Qianchou could easily understand the implication in her words. "Falling from the sky and disappearing on the ground" likely referred to what his group had done last time. She probably investigated it, but unfortunately, his group was indeed much like someone who had fallen from the sky and vanished on the ground. He chuckled awkwardly and said, "How long do you think it will take for Master's wife to find even a trace?"
"When it comes to gathering information, I doubt anyone at the Myriad Flower Pavilion can be number one. Three days! Three days is more than enough. Come back in three days." Hundred Charm Demoness was clearly very confident in her subordinates' intelligence-gathering abilities; otherwise, she wouldn't have said such a thing. She then gave a seductive laugh and said, "After you get the information, how to handle it is up to you. I want to see which is more powerful, the real 'Black Society' or the fake 'Black Society'!"
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