White Lotus Sect Searches for Someone!

After merging the exotic true qi into the true qi of the Wedding Dress Divine Skill, Su Que estimated that it was already late at night. He sprinted back to Jade Water City, returned home, washed up, and went to sleep.

Early the next morning, Su Que rose and began cultivating the Wedding Dress Divine Skill.

With his increased Talent Value, he could feel that his cultivation speed for the Wedding Dress Divine Skill had become much faster.

Before even half a shichen had passed, the Wedding Dress Divine Skill had increased by 1%.

He reckoned that in roughly ten days, he would be able to raise the Wedding Dress Divine Skill by another realm.

By then, the morning sun had fully risen. Su Que washed up, went out for breakfast, and then headed toward the School.

After making a few preparations, he began teaching more than twenty young children.

About the time it took for an incense stick to burn, while Su Que was teaching, he suddenly heard a burst of noisy voices outside.

After a while, he saw one of the School's elderly teachers leading a Yamen Constable and an unfamiliar man toward the classroom where Su Que was.

This School had been founded by a Wealthy Man in Jade Water City. It not only provided basic education for young children, but also taught examinees preparing for the Children's Examination.

The Children's Examination was divided into the county examination, prefectural examination, and academy examination. Only after passing the Children's Examination could one take the Provincial Civil Service Examination.

Since Su Que was merely a xiucai, had never taken the Provincial Civil Service Examination, and possessed little teaching experience, he had been assigned to enlighten young children.

Those examinees preparing for the Children's Examination, meanwhile, were taught by experienced teachers who had once achieved rankings in the Provincial Civil Service Examination.

The teacher who had brought over the Constable and the unfamiliar man was named Zhang Qianjun, a man in his fifties.

He had once ranked around thirtieth in the Provincial Civil Service Examination. After making a round through officialdom, he had ultimately returned to Jade Water City to become a teacher.

The Wealthy Man who had founded the School had entrusted all its daily affairs to him.

"Gentlemen, this is our School's Teacher Su Que."

Zhang Qianjun's back was somewhat stooped. He extended a hand and led the Constable and the unfamiliar man over to Su Que.

Su Que recognized this Constable as well. He was Luo Tianli, the father of one of the young children.

Su Que had spoken with him many times before, and they were fairly familiar with each other.

"Little Que, come out for a moment."

When Zhang Qianjun reached the entrance to Su Que's classroom, he raised a hand, signaling for Su Que to come outside.

Su Que immediately set down his book and walked out.

The five- and six-year-old children instantly craned their necks, peering out the window.

"Little Que, this is Constable Luo of the Jade Water City Yamen."

Once Su Que came before them, Zhang Qianjun introduced him.

"We already know each other."

Luo Tianli nodded at Su Que.

"And this is..."

When Zhang Qianjun began introducing the unfamiliar man, he suddenly could not continue.

"I am Du Sheng of the White Lotus Sect."

Du Sheng glanced at Zhang Qianjun and announced his own name.

Zhang Qianjun and Luo Tianli immediately looked embarrassed.

Zhang Qianjun had studied the words of sages and worthies, and in his daily teaching, he was meant to instill loyalty to the ruler and service to the nation.

Yet now, he was actually leading the way for a member of the White Lotus Sect, a rebel faction against the imperial court. It truly ran contrary to everything he usually preached.

As a man of the Yamen, Luo Tianli was even more ashamed to be acting alongside someone from the White Lotus Sect.

"White... White Lotus...?"

Su Que immediately stared wide-eyed, his body trembling slightly as he took half a step back.

This was how many ordinary people looked when facing a White Lotus Disciple.

So even the authorities have been controlled by the White Lotus Sect. As he controlled the muscles in his face, he thought to himself.

Du Sheng watched him and secretly laughed. At some point, he had come to enjoy seeing the shocked expressions of people who heard the name of the White Lotus Sect.

Luo Tianli said to Du Sheng, "This is Teacher Su Que, eighteen years old. He shouldn't be the person you're looking for."

Du Sheng gave no response to Luo Tianli's words, merely studying Su Que on his own.

Though Su Que was currently dressed in a loose scholar's robe that concealed his muscular body, his broad shoulders and height could not be concealed.

"This lad is tall and sturdy."

Du Sheng narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Ah, Teacher Su only turned eighteen not long ago. He's only shot up in height recently. As for why he's so sturdy, it's because he has kept up the Five Animal Frolics during this time," Luo Tianli explained from the side.

"Yes."

Zhang Qianjun nodded as well.

Others, such as Zhang Qianjun and Luo Tianli, had actually noticed Su Que's height and build long ago.

"I grew taller with age" and "I kept practicing the Five Animal Frolics" were the explanations Su Que had given everyone else.

No one could possibly imagine what Su Que had gone through over the past few months.

Besides, they had seen scholarly types with builds like Su Que's before, so they believed him.

"Oh..."

After hearing this, Du Sheng looked Su Que over again. Seeing his youthful, immature face, he pondered inwardly.

What Hall Master Bai Wuji had sent them to investigate was a martial arts expert capable of killing three Hall Masters, someone whose strength had reached at least the Fourth Blood Bone Forging realm.

Not to mention this tiny Jade Water City—even in the Prefectural City, those young masters from great families, despite being backed by vast resources, could not become a "Fourth Blood Bone Forging" martial artist at such an age.

He looked at Su Que's expression again.

Ever since this scholar had heard him mention the White Lotus Sect, he had been wearing a stiff smile, terrified of offending him. He looked flustered and timid, every inch the useless scholar who had probably never even killed a chicken.

How could such a green youngster, a young scholar, possibly be the Mysterious Martial Artist who had killed three Hall Masters in succession?

With that thought, Du Sheng immediately cast aside his suspicions of Su Que.

He's merely a schoolteacher.

Du Sheng promptly shifted his gaze away from Su Que, turned, and walked outside.

Su Que also withdrew his gaze from Du Sheng's retreating back, returned to the classroom, and continued teaching the children.

Over the past few days, the White Lotus Disciples of Jade Water City had split up and searched not only the entire city, but even the towns surrounding it.

They did uncover several martial artists who had once possessed a modest reputation but had since gone into seclusion.

However, after the White Lotus Sect members exchanged blows with those martial artists, wounding two and killing one, they found that none of them matched the Mysterious Martial Artist in strength. They were simply incapable of killing two Hall Masters in rapid succession.

In the reception hall of the manor where Bai Wuji was staying, Bai Wuji sat on a Rosewood Chair, leisurely sipping tea.

The people in charge of the White Lotus Sect's various strongholds throughout Jade Water City stood before Bai Wuji, taking turns to report the results of their searches over the past few days.

By the end of the reports, no one had found anything.

As Bai Wuji listened, he drank his tea with a dark expression.

"How are things on the Yamen's side?" Bai Wuji asked Zeng Shiyong, who had been standing attentively at his side.

Zeng Shiyong lowered his head and replied, "I took people from the Yamen to the places where that Mysterious Martial Artist had been active."

"Some Constables in the Yamen are skilled at tracking, but they could not find a single footprint left by the Mysterious Martial Artist."

"Moreover, they followed the wheel ruts outside Jade Water City, but found no medicinal herbs at any of the places they tracked down."

"Those Constables said that the Mysterious Martial Artist had thoroughly erased all traces when he left."

Bai Wuji tapped his fingers against his teacup, producing crisp rings. After a while, he said, "Go to the Yamen again."

"Make Jade Water City's Magistrate, Zhan Qing Tian, step up the search."

"Also, send more people to keep a close watch on Zhan Qing Tian's family. Don't let them escape."

"Twelve days from now, if Zhan Qing Tian still cannot hand over the man, kill his entire family and have them buried alongside the dead of our White Lotus Sect."

P.S. Earlier, I wrote Zhan Qing Tian as a Prefect. Jade Water City is a county-level city, not a prefectural-level one. This has now been corrected.

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