Infiltration

Chu Qing had originally been focused on Chu Yunfei's plans to host a lavish banquet.

If this "Wandering Doctor" hadn't shown up, all he'd needed to do was send Chu Yunfei a message.

But now that this unexpected variable had appeared, he had to change his plans. Just as he was pondering what to do, he suddenly heard this news.

And the gossip had even come around to him.

"So she really did say something like that?"

Chu Qing laughed in spite of himself.

Miss Wu was called Wu Qianhuan, the only daughter of Wu Ganqi, the lord of Heavenly Dance City.

A heaven-blessed darling who had been showered with affection since childhood, she was two years younger than Chu Qing.

Their friendship went back a very, very long time... so long ago that Wu Qianhuan had been a bare-bottomed little girl with pigtails, chasing after him through the streets and helping him wreak havoc.

In other words, they were childhood sweethearts.

The Chu Family was the foremost lineage in Heavenly Dance City, and it often shared both honor and disgrace with Wu Ganqi.

After all, in this cutthroat martial world, how could Wu Ganqi withstand storms from every direction without the support of others?

So the two families had always been on good terms.

Wu Qianhuan was two years younger than Chu Qing, and in his memories, the little girl had been a real nuisance.

Even as a child, she loved running after him. Whatever he did, she did too.

Chu Qing had found her terribly annoying, yet no matter what he did, he couldn't shake off that little shadow.

After she began practicing martial arts, he disliked her even more.

Her talent and comprehension far surpassed his. At first, he could keep her in check by relying on the two years' worth of extra training he had over her, but eventually he couldn't hold her back anymore. Children fought without knowing when to stop, and Chu Qing was always left battered and bruised.

Later on... the two families arranged their marriage.

In the original Chu Qing's eyes, this marriage had been not only incomprehensible, but a bolt from the blue.

But the Chu Qing of today understood that Chu Yunfei was laying out a broad, smooth road for his future.

Chu Tian could inherit everything the Chu Family owned. His future had long since been decided.

Chu Fan had joined the Taiyi Sect, and with his talent, there was naturally no need to worry about him... Only this youngest son, who was good at neither letters nor martial arts, had a troubling future.

While Chu Yunfei was alive, he could remain a wastrel in the Chu Family.

But what would happen once the family business was handed over to Chu Tian?

A lot of things could change. Chu Tian would start a family of his own, too. What would his relationship with his younger brother's wife be like?

If they weren't close, and she whispered into Chu Tian's ear every day, then with their father no longer there to keep him in check, even if Chu Tian cared for his younger brother, resentment might still grow between them over time.

Once Chu Tian came to despise him, Chu Qing's good days would be well and truly over.

To keep that from happening, Chu Yunfei had found Chu Qing another way forward.

The fact that he'd swallowed his pride and gone to Wu Ganqi to ask for his daughter's hand showed how much thought he'd put into it.

For one thing, this would draw the two families even closer. For another, Wu Qianhuan was Wu Ganqi's only daughter. After Wu Ganqi passed away, wouldn't all of the vast Heavenly Dance City belong to Wu Qianhuan?

As her husband, even if Chu Qing was utterly useless, his future wouldn't be too bad.

Besides, he would still have the Chu Family behind him.

Even if Wu Qianhuan grew to despise Chu Qing after they married, she wouldn't dare go too far.

At least he'd have something to look forward to.

The original Chu Qing hadn't understood any of this, so he'd felt even more stifled, thinking that his father didn't understand his lofty ambitions. That was what had made him consider running away from home.

Of course, how much of that came from worrying that after marrying Wu Qianhuan, the little hellion would beat him up every day was open to interpretation.

At any rate, that was how things had come to pass.

He just hadn't expected it to have affected Wu Qianhuan so much.

She'd even said something about how the Chu Family's disgrace should be remembered forever...

"Could that little girl be putting on an act? From what I remember, she's proud and would never have accepted this marriage either."

Chu Qing had already gotten the information he wanted, so he tossed down some money for the tea.

Once he left the teahouse, he put Wu Qianhuan out of his mind.

He strolled along the main road, weighing his plans as he went, and bought a few fresh peaches from a roadside stall. He ate as he thought:

"If I were him, I can pretty much guess what he'll do tomorrow.

"But the Sin Mirror Platform failed this time. The next attempt will probably be even harder to guard against... Who's really behind the attempt on Chu Yunfei's life? Does the old man have any idea?

"Looks like there'll be plenty to do tomorrow.

"Hmm, tomorrow, there'll be a lot of cooks and waiters from Zhiwei Tower and Cui Zhu Xuan helping out in the Chu Family's kitchen. The kitchen's close to the rear courtyard, so maybe I can use the chance to sneak in and do something."

Once he had a plan, he moved even more leisurely.

He wandered into a few shops, bought some things, and finally rented a room at the Eight Directions Inn.

Nothing happened that night. At dawn the next day, Chu Qing was already up.

He had changed into a set of black clothes for moving about at night.

With the sky still dark, he used the night as cover and soon reached a small alley.

He heard footsteps coming from all directions, then a voice urging them on:

"Quickly, quickly! The Chu Family's holding a banquet today. The flowing feast has to be laid out by daybreak.

"The Chu Family is famous far and wide. If we do a good job, everyone will get a reward, so don't be late."

They were from Zhiwei Tower.

And there were quite a few of them—not only cooks, but also plenty of waiters.

Behind the waiters came porters carrying poles.

Some of the porters carried firewood. The Chu Family would be hosting a flowing feast for three days and three nights, so they'd need plenty of firewood.

Others carried wine. Zhiwei Tower's most famous liquor was Immortal's Drunkenness.

It was a must at any banquet in Heavenly Dance City, and the Chu Family had ordered a great deal this time, so there were plenty of porters.

This was just as Chu Qing had expected.

He watched silently as they passed through the narrow alley. Then he leaned to one side and dove straight down from the wall, like a wild goose swooping through the air. With a sudden turn, he slowed his descent and seemed to rise half a foot in midair. His foot touched down without a sound, and he landed right behind one of the porters.

He reached out and clamped a hand on the porter's shoulder. Before the man could react, Chu Qing had sealed his acupoints and dragged him into a side alley.

He carefully set down the carrying pole and the Immortal's Drunkenness inside.

Moving with quick, practiced hands, Chu Qing stripped off the porter's clothes. In the blink of an eye, he had put them on.

Then he bound the porter's hands behind his back and stuffed something into his mouth.

The effect of acupoint-sealing would gradually wear off. Once the Internal Energy dissipated, the acupoints would naturally unlock.

This was an extra precaution Chu Qing had taken to keep the man from escaping too soon.

After settling him, Chu Qing tucked two taels of silver into his waistband.

After all, he'd taken the man's carrying pole and clothes, and the porter had lost a day's work.

People had to eat, after all. He owed the man some compensation.

He'd tucked the money into the man's waistband because he was worried that if someone found him, they might see the silver and get greedy, causing needless trouble.

Once everything was done, Chu Qing picked up the carrying pole and shuffled forward. Using his lightness skill, he caught up with the group ahead without making a sound.

The whole process had flowed like water, and not a single person noticed anything amiss.