The Sinner

"You scoundrel!" As soon as Guo Xuchu stepped into the courtyard, he roared at the sight of Qiao Jisheng.

Qiao Jisheng was startled and gestured for the servant beside him to withdraw.

"Why has Uncle Guo come here?"

"Still calling me Uncle Guo? You are a favorite of the Crown Prince's Mansion now; I am not worthy of such a title!" Guo Xuchu's tone was even more aggressive.

"W-what are you talking about?"

"What? Dare to do it but dare not admit it?" Guo Xuchu's tone was hostile.

Seeing that he could no longer hide it from Guo Xuchu, Qiao Jisheng gritted his teeth and simply confessed everything: "Yes! I have defected to the Crown Prince's Mansion! What will Uncle Guo do about it?"

Qiao Jisheng's shamelessness made Guo Xuchu, a supreme master, so angry that he felt as if smoke were pouring from his seven orifices.

"Your father's body is not yet cold, and you are doing something like this?"

"Don't mention that old thing!" As soon as Qiao Jisheng heard the word 'father', he acted as if a fuse had been lit. "What kind of father is he? He only married my mother because he coveted my grandfather's power. Once my grandfather died, the old thing's true nature was exposed. He ran here to Jincheng Prefecture—do you think I don't know about his filthy deeds?"

Hearing this, Guo Xuchu suddenly calmed down. He had previously wondered why his old friend had run to Jincheng Prefecture; now, it was clear there was a hidden story.

Guo Xuchu fell silent, but Qiao Jisheng grew more agitated as he spoke: "Before that old thing married my mother, he already had a lover and even had a son with her. For the sake of power, he abandoned his wife and child without a second thought. Once my grandfather died, he suddenly started reminiscing about his old flame and acting like some kind of romantic hero!"

"You say that old thing's body is not yet cold, but my grandfather's body is not cold either, and he ran to Jincheng Prefecture claiming to be auditing the accounts. But for a branch office like this, what accounts are there to audit? Do you think I don't know what that old thing is thinking?"

"Isn't it just that he thinks I'm incompetent and unworthy of inheriting his family business, so he wanted to see if his old lover's son was any better? Does he really think he could keep the fact that his old lover fled to Jincheng Prefecture a perfect secret?"

Guo Xuchu suddenly realized the truth: "So, you were the one who bought the bounty in the martial arts world?"

"Yes!" Qiao Jisheng admitted flatly. "Since he didn't want to let me sit at the table to eat, then nobody gets to eat!"

Guo Xuchu felt a mix of laughter and tears upon hearing this. Previously, both he and Qiao Weisheng had assumed the bounty was inextricably linked to the School of Heavenly Principle and feared it was a warning to others, even going so far as to devise a plan of faked death to avoid disaster. He never expected it was just a spur-of-the-moment whim from this foolish boy.

"Enough, enough—" Guo Xuchu suddenly felt weary. "I will not interfere in your Qiao family affairs anymore."

"But I must warn you: defecting to the Crown Prince's Mansion is like asking a tiger for its skin. You had better look after yourself!"

"I know that, of course." Unexpectedly, Qiao Jisheng nodded in agreement. "But I have self-awareness. I am not like that old thing; I have no talent for management and cannot control the arrogant soldiers and fierce generals in the bank."

"By joining the Crown Prince's Mansion, they at least have to pay lip service to the principles of lords and subjects, fathers and sons, and the laws of propriety. Even if they take the lion's share, they still need me, the legitimate heir, as a figurehead for the sake of appearances. I can also use the power of the Crown Prince's Mansion to stabilize the situation and at least live out my days as a wealthy man."

"I don't have much ability, and my ambitions are small. This is enough to satisfy me."

These words were spoken with such raw honesty that Guo Xuchu stared at Qiao Jisheng for a long time, as if seeing this notorious playboy for the first time.

"You really are Qiao Weisheng's son!"

"Hiccup—" Wu Chengyi finished his meal, satisfied, and let out a long sigh. "That was truly refreshing today! Many thanks for the treat, Daoist."

"Just call me Chen Wu."

Wu Chengyi didn't even know Chen Wu's name yet had been eating and drinking with him; he was truly too carefree. It was no wonder he had fallen into the hands of the authorities earlier.

"Little Brother Chen!" Wu Chengyi didn't treat him like an outsider at all and immediately called out enthusiastically, "I've received the favor of a meal from you today. If there is anything you want me, Old Wu, to do, I'll do it for you!"

"This... there is nothing."

Chen Wu did indeed have many things to do, such as taking revenge on the Crown Prince's Mansion. But Wu Chengyi had nothing to do with this matter, and since they had only just met, Chen Wu felt it was inappropriate to drag him into it.

"You're looking down on me, Old Wu! I always repay my debts of gratitude," Wu Chengyi said, feigning anger.

"No, no, not at all."

"Although I am rough, I am older than you, and I can still tell. You clearly have something weighing on your heart," Wu Chengyi said. "Speak up. I, Old Wu, am at least in the Circulation Realm; if I can help, I will."

"I won't hide it from you, Brother Wu; there is indeed a matter. This is a business of my Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower, and I shouldn't involve you."

Unable to refuse, Chen Wu laid out the grievances between him and the Crown Prince's Mansion over the past few days.

"What? The String-Plucking Bewitching Sound Sword is gone?" Wu Chengyi was shocked to learn of Old Jin's death!

Chen Wu nodded, his face filled with sorrow.

"Then I am definitely taking care of this! I'll go settle the score with those bastards tomorrow!" Wu Chengyi slammed the table, startling the stall owner into looking over. Seeing this, Wu Chengyi lowered his voice. "Old Master Jin was a master of our Yongjiu School, and many have benefited from his kindness. We cannot let the Crown Prince's Mansion bully us like this!"

Chen Wu had never expected this reaction from Wu Chengyi. He was taken aback, realizing he had underestimated the cohesion of the Great Shun schools.

"Don't be hasty, don't be hasty!" Chen Wu quickly advised. "The other side has at least one master in the Concentrated Spirit Realm and one in the Mystic Realm. We cannot be so reckless."

"Then tell me, Little Brother, what should we do?"

"Let's do it that way!" After hearing about Wu Chengyi's offer to join them, Old Ma felt it was worth a try.

"Masters in the Circulation Realm are not easy to find, let alone one who offers his services voluntarily," Old Ma said. "I can also ask Monk Zhongcheng to help once. Do you need that?"

"That would make it foolproof."

"Good! Then don't overthink things today; focus on achieving the Jade Bone as soon as possible," Old Ma said.

"Understood." Chen Wu nodded and stepped into the room with the medicinal herbs.

Having experienced this medicinal bath once before, Chen Wu was already familiar with the process.

After the Concentrated Spirit Realm tempering had been performed three times, a strange sound suddenly seemed to echo in Chen Wu's ears.

Chen Wu knew this was no illusion; it was the final step in achieving the Jade Bone. At this moment, his bones were accelerating their transformation, and the sound was merely the friction of his sinews and skeleton shifting into alignment.

When the sound finally faded, Chen Wu turned his vision inward to see his entire skeleton appearing as smooth as jade, with a lustrous, precious glow radiating from within.

It's done! This Daoist has succeeded!

Chen Wu suddenly thought of this classic line, and in his excitement, he couldn't help but tense his body.

Crack—

The wooden bathtub was actually split apart by Chen Wu's expansion, and the water leaking from the tub doused the firewood burning beneath it.

Hiss—

A cloud of steam rose up, startling Old Ma, who pushed the door open to investigate.

"Chen Gawa, what happened?"

Through the mist, Chen Wu's figure appeared to flicker in and out of sight.

Yet, Old Ma had a powerful illusion that Chen Wu was not merely standing in the steam, but was like some kind of sacred entity, his entire body radiating a brilliant light with an unstoppable aura.

"Old Ma, watch me avenge Old Jin tomorrow!"