Hearing her young mistress's words, Xiao Lan wore an incredulous expression.
"Miss, are you sure you saw correctly?"
"Isn't Su Chen at Yuchun Courtyard right now? How could he have gone to Qin Cui Mountain?"
"And as for his strength, even I couldn't deal with him. How could he kill Lei Yao with a single saber strike?"
The young maid fired off three questions in a row.
"You've underestimated him. That man hides his true abilities very well. When I tested him earlier, I didn't sense a thing."
"If I hadn't seen him fight Lei Yao and use the Dusk Fine Rain Saber Technique, I wouldn't have recognized him."
"He must have teamed up with Liu Wumei and discovered where the Blood Demon Flower is."
Shangguan Ziyun said gravely.
"Liu Wumei is at the late stage of the Spirit Refining realm, close to its peak. Once she obtains the Blood Demon Flower, she could reach the peak of Spirit Refining in a short time."
"If that happens, she'll be able to leave Qingcheng, return to Changhen Palace, and secure a good position there."
"It seems she'll be a formidable rival in my bid to obtain the Blood Demon Flower."
"But it seems someone has set a trap involving the Blood Demon Flower. I wonder if Qin Hao is behind it, or someone else?"
"Spread this information through the black market tonight. I want everyone in Qingcheng—and beyond it—to know about the Blood Demon Flower by tomorrow morning."
Shangguan Ziyun spoke.
"Yes, I'll arrange it right away!"
Xiao Lan replied and left the room.
Only Shangguan Ziyun remained inside. Watching the heavy rain outside the window, she murmured to herself, "Su Chen, perhaps I can work with you, just as I did with Su Mengbai before."
Outside Qingcheng.
Inside a ruined temple.
Su Chen lay half-reclined on the dried grass, wrapped in his clothes.
He was lost in thought.
In his previous life, Bai Tianyu had been the leader of the Divine Saber Sect, the master of an entire sect.
His natural talent was extraordinary, and in this world, his strength would surely rise rapidly. Making him serve as Su Chen's bodyguard would only hold him back.
Besides, Su Chen had gained some ability to protect himself.
He was thinking of removing Bai Tianyu from his side and building up Bai Tianyu's reputation in this world.
Bai Tianyu was currently working under Ling Tianhe.
Perhaps Bai Tianyu could take charge of Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower, with Ling Tianhe assisting him.
That way, Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower would still remain under Su Chen's control.
And once Bai Tianyu took charge of Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower,
the three forces of Lei Hall, Canteen Hall, and Gathering of Sages Hall could all be brought under their control in turn.
The thought excited Su Chen.
But how to bring Bai Tianyu into the open was a problem.
They would need to invent a background for Bai Tianyu, then spread it quietly.
An unmatched saber master who had lived in seclusion in the mountains, honing his saber skills. He had once received a kindness from Ling Tianhe, so he had emerged from seclusion to help him.
Su Chen considered this plan.
"When I get back, I'll have Ling Tianhe's people put it together and spread it as quickly as possible."
That was what Su Chen thought.
Making Bai Tianyu's identity public would also allow him to formally appear at Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower.
Of course, they would also need a whetstone.
And the best whetstone was
Lei Hall.
Lei Hall had plotted to kill the master of Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower. The evidence was conclusive.
Su Chen could hand Golden Wind Fine Rain Tower over to Bai Tianyu as payment for helping him take revenge.
These ideas flashed through Su Chen's mind one after another.
Slowly, they took shape.
"Tomorrow, I'll make Lei Hall disappear. Then Bai Tianyu will subdue Qingcheng with a single saber and become its overlord."
With his plan complete, Su Chen prepared to go to sleep.
With an old man holding a dry tobacco pipe sitting right there, there was no chance of anything pleasant happening.
So all he could do was sleep.
Before long,
he had drifted off.
But Bai Tianyu, keeping watch from the shadows, had it rough.
Seeing Su Chen doze off, the old man with the dry tobacco pipe remarked, "That kid's got some nerve. He actually fell asleep just like that."
"Miss, someone with no sense of vigilance like him won't last long in the martial world."
"He's not what you think."
Liu Wumei shook her head.
The events in the valley that day were still fresh in her memory.
Su Chen was far more difficult to read than she had imagined.
He looked weak, but anyone who mistook him for weak would probably end up like Lei Yao, with their head plucked off.
Clip-clop! Clip-clop! Clip-clop!
Just then,
the sound of hooves rang out beyond the ruined temple.
And it wasn't just one horse, but several. Liu Wumei and the old man with the dry tobacco pipe both narrowed their eyes.
A group of riders galloping here in the middle of the night was no good omen.
As the two exchanged glances,
a group of about ten people dressed in straw rain capes and bamboo hats entered the temple.
At their head was a burly man in his early thirties. He glanced at the old man with the dry tobacco pipe, then at Liu Wumei in her plain clothes, before finally looking at Su Chen.
Su Chen's face was hidden by his bamboo hat, so the man couldn't make out his features.
The burly man's brow furrowed slightly, but he said nothing.
He turned to the people behind him and said, "We'll rest here for the night. When the rain stops tomorrow morning, we'll leave."
Hearing his voice, Su Chen slowly opened his eyes, took off his bamboo hat, and looked at the newcomers.
In truth, he had already woken when the horses' hooves sounded.
He had simply been too lazy to open his eyes and remove the bamboo hat covering his face.
He looked toward the group.
At their leader's command, the men behind him quickly took off their straw rain capes, revealing embroidered uniforms and long sabers at their waists. Their bearing was far from ordinary.
"Are they from the Northern Commandery's Northern Commandery?"
At that moment, Liu Wumei's voice sounded in Su Chen's ear.
"The Northern Commandery? Why would they be here?"
A wave of confusion rose in Su Chen's mind.
In Great Zhou, the Suppression Bureau held a distinguished position. It was one of the imperial institutions responsible for suppressing the martial world.
The men sat down.
One of them borrowed a few embers from the old man with the dry tobacco pipe.
Then they lit a fire elsewhere.
Several of them took out roast duck and wine.
"Chief, why did the lord send us to Qin Cui Mountain?"
A young man asked.
"Just follow orders. Don't ask what you shouldn't."
The burly leader replied coldly.
But his words startled Liu Wumei and Su Chen.
Qin Cui Mountain.
They had just been there.
There was only one thing on Qin Cui Mountain that might draw these men: the Blood Demon Flower.
"Could the Northern Commandery's men be here for the Blood Demon Flower too?"
Su Chen wondered.
"Miss, did you come from the direction of Qin Cui Mountain?"
Just then, a man beside the burly leader turned and asked Liu Wumei.
The old man with the dry tobacco pipe clearly looked like a coachman, while Su Chen was lying down and looked young. Though Liu Wumei wore plain clothes, she couldn't hide her bearing.
So the man asked Liu Wumei directly.
They've noticed us!
Liu Wumei's thoughts stirred.
But she nodded and said, "We did come from Qin Cui Mountain."
At the fork in the road ahead, the path split in three directions, one of which led to Qin Cui Mountain.
Liu Wumei said this partly because she wanted to learn something from them.
"Judging by the sky, you must have come down from Qin Cui Mountain quite late. I've heard there's nothing much to see there, so few people go."
The man continued.
At his words, Su Chen stirred where he lay. What are they up to?
"Master, the smoke from their firewood is poisonous."
Just then, Bai Tianyu's voice sounded in Su Chen's ear.
Hearing that, Su Chen cursed inwardly. A dark night, a ruined temple—of course nothing good would come of it!
He then picked up his bamboo hat, covered his face, and discreetly swallowed a Detoxification Pill.
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