The Music Bureau Was Full of Undercover Agents!

Looking at the Faceless Man's gaunt appearance, Chen Mo felt he probably wasn't lying. He squeezed the little heart in his palm.

"Go on, how did you find me?"

The Faceless Man shuddered, his face turning bitter.

He was only at the fifth rank and couldn't separate his soul from his body yet. If his physical body was destroyed, he would truly perish for good!

In theory, ghost cultivators were the natural bane of martial artists, especially since he was a whole realm above his opponent. Yet he'd been pinned to the ground and ground into the dirt...

This was completely upside down!

"I picked a fight with someone I shouldn't have..."

The Faceless Man had lost all his fight. He obediently explained everything.

After hearing his account and piecing it together with what he already knew, Chen Mo roughly reconstructed what had happened.

The Faceless Man was named Daoist You, and he came from the Ghost Devouring Sect in the Western Regions.

Three years ago, an accident during his cultivation in seclusion caused his strength to plummet. Qin Wuxiang had taken advantage of the situation to steal his life-bound treasure, the Soul-Summoning Banner, and hide in Tongling County.

Before he could even refine the treasure, Chen Mo had killed him.

"...I happened to be tracking him nearby when I sensed the Soul-Summoning Banner's fluctuations, so I followed them all the way to Heaven Capital City."

"But the treasure's aura suddenly vanished for some unknown reason. I couldn't sense it at all anymore..."

"I heard Qin Wuxiang died at your hands, so I figured you must have taken the treasure. That's why I followed you to the Music Bureau..."

Chen Mo's mouth twitched.

The Empress had refined the Soul-Summoning Banner long ago. Of course he couldn't sense it.

He hadn't expected word of his slaying the evil cultivator to spread so far and wide that the man's creditor had come looking for him...

"Y-young master, I've told you everything. You swallowed every last one of my ghosts, and I accept that I can't get my treasure back. Could you spare my life?"

Daoist You pleaded humbly.

Chen Mo asked in return, "Do I look like an idiot to you?"

Before Daoist You could even react, a muffled thud sounded inside his chest. Black blood gushed from his mouth and nose.

"You..."

He stared fixedly at Chen Mo, then fell to the ground with a thump.

Chen Mo absorbed his soul and made sure he was dead beyond any doubt before finally relaxing.

He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the black blood and scraps of flesh from his hands.

"Are more people from the Ghost Devouring Sect going to come looking for me to avenge him? This is never going to end," Chen Mo muttered.

Just then, the little maid beside him heard and spoke up. "The Ghost Devouring Sect was wiped out long ago. Daoist You probably got his inheritance from somewhere and started passing himself off as a member..."

Chen Mo glanced at her. "You certainly know a lot, Saintess Gu."

The little maid's eyes flickered. She shook her head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Still playing dumb?

The system notification that had just appeared, along with that distinctive Azure Jade Scripture... Only an idiot wouldn't recognize her.

"You seem to have forgotten what I told you last time. You even dared to stay in Heaven Capital City? Do you really think I won't kill you?"

Chen Mo's voice was cold.

Once the "little maid" realized her identity had been exposed, she stopped pretending. Her uniquely soft, sultry voice rang out. "I haven't forgotten. You said our grudge was settled, and neither of us owed the other anything... This time, I helped you kill Daoist You. Doesn't that mean you owe me a favor?"

"..."

Chen Mo frowned.

What kind of logic was that?

He'd nearly lost his life last time!

"I didn't know my master wanted to plant a gu in you... When I withdrew, I deliberately left the dead gu behind at the scene to confirm my identity. That should count as doing you a good turn..."

Bang!

Gu Manzhi was explaining herself without being asked, but before she could finish, she was suddenly lifted off her feet and slammed hard into the wall. Her face went pale in an instant.

Chen Mo gripped her slender, graceful neck, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes.

Gu Manzhi didn't panic. Her voice remained as soft and alluring as ever. "If you kill me, my master will surely take revenge. And even if I die, someone else will take my place... They'll be much more ruthless than I am."

Chen Mo understood that, of course.

The Moon Radiance Sect wouldn't let this go. The plot had already changed, and what came next was impossible to predict. By comparison, at least Gu Manzhi had some goodwill toward him...

But how much could that goodwill matter when they stood on opposing sides?

Thinking of how Gu Manzhi had helped him stop Daoist You just now, Chen Mo hesitated for a moment, then released her.

Gu Manzhi caught her breath and rubbed her pale neck, frowning. "How heartless. You slapped me so hard last time that my chest was all bruised, and it still aches a little. Now you nearly strangled me to death..."

Chen Mo looked straight at her. "Your injuries haven't healed. Why risk staying at the Music Bureau? What are you really after?"

The last incident had caused a huge commotion. The various factions had at least doubled the number of spies they'd planted here. If she gave herself away, it would spell her doom.

Why take the risk?

Gu Manzhi pursed her lips and lowered her voice. "I have no other skills besides playing the zither. Where else could I go besides this den of pleasure? And it's convenient for gathering information here. Otherwise, I wouldn't have found out that the Heir Apparent was going to target you..."

"The Heir Apparent? Target me?"

Chen Mo froze.

Gu Manzhi said, "Miss Yu'er is the daughter of the former Minister of War. After she was reduced to servitude, the Heir Apparent used her as a tool to get close to you... If you don't believe me, go ask her yourself."

Chen Mo went to the bedside and saw Miss Yu'er's face had turned bluish-black. Her eyes were wide open, and her chest wasn't rising at all. She had been dead for some time.

Her soul had dissipated. She must have died when Daoist You possessed her.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing him remain silent, Gu Manzhi walked over.

She fell silent too when she saw Yu'er's body.

"..."

Chen Mo furrowed his brow but didn't question whether Gu Manzhi was telling the truth.

If he looked into it, he would eventually find clues. She had no reason to lie about something like this.

"Was it really worth going to so much trouble over a mere Barbarian Slave Case?"

"Looks like this involves more than just a few ministers... I thought Centurion Shen would take the fall for it, but they've still set their sights on me..."

Chen Mo looked at the corpse on the bed, Daoist You on the floor with his heart torn out, and Gu Manzhi beside him, disguised as a maid... His head began to throb.

"I only came here to pick up women. Why is the whole Music Bureau full of undercover agents?"

"Daoist You isn't a problem, but Yu'er's death is going to be trouble..."

Just then, Gu Manzhi took a Paper Doll from her robes, dipped it in Yu'er's blood, and drew a talisman on its surface.

A glow of azure light flowed into it. The Paper Doll seemed to come alive, leaping from Gu Manzhi's hand and landing beside Yu'er. It pried open her mouth and crawled inside.

After roughly half an incense stick's time, Yu'er's wide-open eyes suddenly blinked.

She turned to look at Chen Mo, her voice alluring.

"My lord, my body hasn't gone cold yet. How about we make the most of it?"

Chen Mo: "..."