Taiyin Origin Sect

Guan Shanxue stared uncertainly at Cang Yinyue's back before her, but she could not utter a word.

At that moment, Cang Yinyue turned back coldly, her dark brows lifting slightly as unmistakable contempt appeared on her face.

The next instant, she turned away disdainfully and leaped out the window without looking back.

On a bustling, broad street, Cang Yinyue and Li Musheng rode side by side on their mules.

She glanced back at the tavern behind them, then let out a soft breath and said to Li Musheng:

"Thank you. So this is what it feels like to put on an act. It really is satisfying!"

Li Musheng turned to look at her. Delight filled Cang Yinyue's brows and eyes at that moment.

He shrugged and said:

"It was nothing. I just thought that if you two started fighting, who knew how long it would go on? It would waste too much time."

The corner of Cang Yinyue's eye twitched as she argued:

"Although my martial cultivation is below hers, she cannot do anything to me either. If I want to leave, I can leave whenever I please."

As she spoke, light flickered in her cool eyes.

"Still, your acupoint-sealing martial art is truly formidable. It strikes without a sound and cannot be guarded against, giving the opponent no chance to act at all. Even Guan Shanxue, a martial Grandmaster possessing Ice-Cold True Qi, would find it difficult to withstand."

Hearing this, Li Musheng studied her leisurely for a moment, then smiled.

"Want to learn it? I'll teach you."

Cang Yinyue's expression froze at once, her eyes fixed steadily on Li Musheng.

But in the end, she merely let out a deep sigh and looked away.

"A supreme martial art can stir up a bloody storm across the martial world. It is also the foundation upon which a sect establishes itself in the martial world. I do not accept rewards without merit. I know my own worth, and it is not enough for you to pass such a top-tier martial art on to me."

Li Musheng chuckled softly at that.

This girl not only had a strong sense of boundaries, but she was also rather sincere.

"Fine, then perform well, Miss Cang. My standards aren't high. I'm easily satisfied."

Li Musheng spoke carelessly, but then a fire of gossip flared in his heart, and he asked curiously:

"I never expected you to have a fiancé. How come I've never heard you mention him before?"

"What do you mean?"

The moment she heard that, Cang Yinyue's delicate brows knitted together. Instinctively, she reached up to touch the veil over her face.

Seeing this, Li Musheng hurriedly waved his hands.

"Don't misunderstand. That's not what I meant."

Cang Yinyue snorted coldly, her gaze unfriendly.

"No need to cover it up. Your expression has already betrayed you. You mean to say, how could a man possibly take a liking to someone with such ugly characters tattooed on her face?"

Li Musheng fell silent for a moment. Then his eyes shifted, and he patted the mule beneath him.

"Miss Cang, don't belittle yourself. Even a poor horse has its purpose in this world, much less an outstanding talent like you."

"Besides, once the tattoo on your face is removed, with your natural beauty and such a lovely foundation, the people lining up to pursue you would probably stretch from here all the way to Shangyang City's gates."

Cang Yinyue's eyes stirred slightly. She lowered her hand, took hold of the reins again, and urged her mule onward.

After a while, her expression gradually calmed, but her eyes turned cold once more.

"My marriage was arranged by my family. And as the foremost of the Imperial Secret Police's Ten Great Catchers, what Head Constable Fu values naturally is not this face of mine, but the Cang Family's power."

Li Musheng, riding beside her on his mule, stroked his chin and asked in puzzlement:

"Which Cang Family?"

Cang Yinyue glanced at him.

"Marquis Cangyuan."

Li Musheng frowned and spread his hands.

"I've never even heard of them. Does your Cang Family rank among the notable families in Shangyang City, the imperial capital?"

Cang Yinyue did not answer immediately. An exceedingly well-hidden flash of hatred passed through her cool eyes.

"Marquis Cangyuan Mansion naturally holds considerable power throughout the imperial capital, but that has nothing to do with me."

Then she explained to Li Musheng:

"The Cang Family possesses its current power entirely because of Marquis Cangyuan's First Madam."

"That woman is not only a sister of Imperial Concubine Ji of the Great Li Imperial Palace, but she was also born into the Taiyin Origin Sect, one of Great Li's four great sects of the martial world. Her ties to the Taiyin Origin Sect are exceedingly close."

"Therefore, the Cang Family holds an extremely high status not only at court, but also in the martial world. Throughout Shangyang City, there are countless people currying favor with them and clinging to them."

Understanding dawned on Li Musheng's face.

"So your family is not only related to the imperial clan, but it even has ties to a martial-world behemoth like the Taiyin Origin Sect."

Li Musheng was naturally no stranger to the Taiyin Origin Sect.

It was one of the most powerful sects in the entire martial world of Great Li. Anyone who made a living in the martial world knew that name, as well as the terrifying martial strength it represented.

It was said that the Taiyin Origin Sect had been passed down for over a thousand years. During the Great Qi Dynasty, it had already been a major sect in the first rank of the martial world, once suppressing an entire era with a single Taiyin True Scripture.

The sect contained countless martial experts and produced martial prodigies in endless succession. Along with the other three top sects, it was a true leader of the martial world, capable of standing against the imperial court.

At that moment, Li Musheng suddenly thought of something.

"Wait. If I remember correctly, the Bone-Eroding Yin Wind Finger seems to be a martial art from the Taiyin Origin Sect. Could it be...?"

Cang Yinyue did not hide it. She nodded.

"You guessed right. The tattoo on my face was bestowed by that First Madam."

The moment those words left her mouth, Li Musheng immediately imagined a grand drama of infighting within a wealthy household.

A young lady of a marquis's household, abused and oppressed by the mistress of the house, rising earlier than chickens and sleeping later than dogs, unable to eat her fill or dress warmly, shunned and mocked, beaten or cursed at every turn.

Perhaps the woman had even grown jealous of her beauty and branded her face with a punishment tattoo, carving the character "cheap" onto it.

"Miss Cang, it must not have been easy for you to grow up this far, right?"

Li Musheng spoke with complete sympathy. Yet Cang Yinyue merely sneered.

"It truly wasn't easy. If she had not been so lucky back then and survived that bowl of poison I gave her, I would not have ended up in my current state."

"Uh...?"

Li Musheng was speechless.

Sure enough, he had sympathized too early. With this girl's scheming nature, she was definitely no harmless lamb either.

At that moment, Cang Yinyue, seated atop her mule, rode farther and farther away as she softly said:

"Don't worry. Sooner or later, I'll kill her!"

Inside the tavern, Vice Minister of Revenue Gao Changrui led a group of people, including the man in blue, to Guan Shanxue.

As they watched her standing motionlessly in the private room, unable to move at all, strange expressions appeared on their faces.

"Uncle, I heard this woman is connected to a Divine Catcher from the Imperial Secret Police. Why don't we..."

Zhang He stared at Guan Shanxue with a lecherous expression as he spoke. But in the next instant, Gao Changrui sent him flying with a backhanded slap.

"You dog bastard! No wonder you shaved your head this past Lunar New Year—you still haven't given up on wishing for my death! This time, you nearly got your wish again!"

Gao Changrui's face was livid, and he trembled from head to toe with rage.