Suspicion

This "Mummy" was Minister Tian.

Minister Tian stood straight in the middle of the room, wrapped head to toe in white cloth and emanating an icy chill. He smiled sinisterly. "I never expected you to actually bring me back to life."

Ning Xiaochuan picked up a Scroll and continued reading. "Saving people is my principle. Whether they are good or evil, so long as they personally ask me to save them, I will never stand idly by. Of course, there is one kind of person I absolutely will not save."

"What kind?" Minister Tian asked.

Ning Xiaochuan said, "Enemies."

"Heh heh! Your medical skills are superb, kid, and your temperament suits my taste as well. Since you saved my life, I, Minister Tian, am someone who repays kindness. I shall take you as my disciple and have you join Dark Emperor City with me!" Minister Tian's voice carried powerful waves of Profound Qi, imbued with an overbearing will that brooked no defiance as he stared fixedly at Ning Xiaochuan.

Minister Tian naturally had principles of his own. Though he repaid kindness, there was one exception: those who refused to obey him.

If Ning Xiaochuan did not heed his commands, he would not mind killing Ning Xiaochuan as well.

Naturally, Ning Xiaochuan had no desire to join Dark Emperor City, much less acknowledge Minister Tian as his master. After pondering for a moment, he smiled. "Senior Minister Tian, do you still dare return to Dark Emperor City?"

Minister Tian was slightly startled. "Why would I not dare return? Gah gah! Kid, I fear you still do not know how high my position in Dark Emperor City is?"

"Foremost among Dark Emperor City's Four Great Ministers, Minister Tian oversees all of Dark Emperor City's affairs within the Imperial City, including martial cultivator deployments, assassinations, wealth, schemes, alliances between powers, and even secret dealings with the various marquises and kings. You oversee all of it. You likely know more of Dark Emperor City's secrets than even the Undead City Lord. You are the most powerful figure beneath the Undead City Lord; in terms of the authority and martial force you command, you are enough to rival the current First-Rank National Teacher, Tai Chu Wen Hua."

Ning Xiaochuan flipped the Scroll in his hand to the page recording Dark Emperor City and handed it to Minister Tian.

Minister Tian smiled smugly. "Since you know my identity, you should know that countless people would fight until their heads cracked just to become my disciple."

Ning Xiaochuan shook his head. "That was before. But now, everyone knows that you were killed by Cloud Marquis Yue Wuyang. That news has likely spread throughout the entire Imperial City by now and has surely reached the Undead City Lord's ears."

Minister Tian's expression shifted slightly.

Ning Xiaochuan continued, "What sort of man is the Cloud Marquis? A marquis presently blazing like the midday sun—he naturally would not speak falsehoods."

"What are you trying to say?" Minister Tian asked coldly.

Ning Xiaochuan said, "The Cloud Marquis said that he killed you. Yet if you return now and claim you did not die, that a youth at the Profound Qi Eighth Level saved you, do you think the Undead City Lord will believe you? Or will he believe that you have already betrayed Dark Emperor City and defected to the Cloud Marquis?"

Minister Tian's expression changed even more drastically. He had followed the Undead City Lord for many years and understood his temperament well. The Undead City Lord could least tolerate betrayal. He would rather kill the wrong person than let the right one escape.

And Minister Tian knew too many of Dark Emperor City's secrets. If he truly returned alive to Dark Emperor City now, the Undead City Lord would certainly grow suspicious of him and might even suppress and kill him outright.

With the Undead City Lord's cultivation, killing him would be effortless.

Minister Tian was a clever man and naturally understood the stakes. The only way for him to survive now was never to appear in the world again—to flee as far away as possible.

"Your thoughts are truly so meticulous!" Minister Tian even felt some admiration for Ning Xiaochuan. He had lived for more than a hundred years, yet he had not considered matters as thoroughly as a mere youth.

Ning Xiaochuan said, "Senior, you should first stay in the manor and recover fully from your injuries. I heard these past few days that Nanshan Village's garrison troops have entered Nanyue Mountain. It is likely that the court has discovered you are not dead and is searching everywhere for your whereabouts. Of course, even if the Undead City Lord learns of this, he will only assume that you and the court jointly laid down a smokescreen. If you return to Dark Emperor City, it will still be a dead end."

After saying this, Ning Xiaochuan continued reading the Scrolls.

There were many Scrolls concerning Dark Emperor City, most filled with records that could not bear the light of day. They could not be finished in a short while. Ning Xiaochuan had read only a little over twenty Scrolls when night fell, and his eyes were exhausted.

"I'll continue tomorrow."

Ning Xiaochuan did not rest after that, instead beginning to cultivate Martial Dao Profound Qi.

Imperial City, Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion.

After learning that Ning Xiaochuan had encountered assassins, the Old Marquis flew into a furious rage and personally summoned Ning Qianwen and Ning Qianwu for a reprimand.

The two knelt properly below, cold sweat streaming continuously down their foreheads. The Old Marquis's immense Martial Venerable pressure bore down upon them until even breathing was difficult.

Before a Martial Venerable, their meager cultivation was utterly insufficient.

The Old Marquis gave them a cold glance. "Whichever one of you did it, step forward and admit it yourselves!"

"This matter has nothing to do with Qianwen," Ning Qianwen said.

"This matter has nothing to do with Qianwu," Ning Qianwu said.

The Old Marquis snorted coldly. "If it was not you two, who else would dare send assassins to Begonia Manor to kill Xiao Chuan? He has only half a year left to live. One of you is his biological fourth uncle, the other his biological eldest uncle—do you still refuse to spare him?"

Neither Ning Qianwen nor Ning Qianwu dared argue. In truth, each believed that the other had sent the assassins.

The Old Marquis sighed inwardly as well. If it had been a matter of state, he would have cut through the tangled mess with a swift blade—however many deserved death, he would kill them all. But family matters were the hardest to judge. Could he personally kill his own sons?

"Since neither of you will admit it, then there is no other way. Hand over half the authority you hold!"

With his hands clasped behind his back, the Old Marquis looked at the mural on the wall. "Qian Cheng led two million troops to break the Heavenly Mystery Dynasty, forcing its Tian Jie Empress to bow her head and submit to the Magnolia Empire, signing a treaty of allegiance. The victory report reached the Holy Emperor yesterday. Qian Cheng has now led the army home in triumph and should return to the Imperial City within three months. The authority you hand over will all be given to Qian Cheng!"

The Old Marquis had four sons:

His eldest, Ning Qianwen; his second, Ning Qiancheng; his third, Ning Qianyi; and his fourth, Ning Qianwu.

Among them, the cleverest, most talented, and most gifted was his third son, "Ning Qianyi"—Ning Xiaochuan and Ning Xiner's father.

Ning Qianyi's civil and martial accomplishments were said to be first among his generation. Even the now unmatched Cloud Marquis, "Yue Wuyang," had suffered four defeats in four battles at his hands.

And the person closest to Ning Qianyi was his second brother, "Ning Qiancheng."

Ning Qiancheng was a martial fanatic. His talent in the Martial Dao was nearly on par with Ning Qianyi's. He was open and forthright, grand in bearing, and he had to seek out Ning Qianyi for a great battle almost every day before he felt at ease.

His sole shortcoming was that his mind was not steady enough and his temperament was unruly.

Other than cultivating martial arts, he did nothing but cultivate martial arts.

When he had been in the Imperial City, he had beaten up many princes and noble scions, offended no small number of people, and could practically be called one of the Imperial City's great tyrants. His fierce reputation gave many marquises and kings headaches.

But ten years ago, after Ning Xiaochuan's father and mother died in the ancestral hall of Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion.

Ning Qiancheng left the Imperial City in a fit of rage, entered the military camps to lead troops into battle, and did not set foot in the Imperial City again for ten years.

Now that the Old Marquis had received the victory report, he was naturally greatly gratified. Being able to command two million troops and conquer a Fourth-Rank Dynasty showed that Ning Qiancheng was not only profound in cultivation, but had surely grown considerably in resolve as well.

When Ning Qianwen and Ning Qianwu learned this news, they were deeply shaken and most unwillingly handed over the command tokens in their possession.

It seemed the Old Marquis intended to establish Ning Qiancheng as the heir to Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion.

Bang!

"That idiot Ning Qianwen actually sent people to assassinate Sickly Ning. Now look what happened—half the authority in everyone's hands has been taken away, all for Ning Qiancheng to gain it for nothing!" After returning, Ning Qianwu flew into a rage and kept smashing things throughout the room.

A sixty-year-old man stood by the doorway, dressed in a Daoist robe embroidered with cloud cranes. Stroking his beard lightly, he said, "Fourth Master, quell your anger. I do not think Eldest Master would do something so foolish. Even if Eldest Master truly sent someone to assassinate Sickly Ning, the person he sent would certainly have been an expert. He absolutely would not have left Sickly Ning any chance to remain alive."

This old man was Ning Qianwu's strategist, Yu Zhicong.

Ning Qianwu calmed down as well. "Zhicong, who do you think did this?"

Yu Zhicong said unhurriedly, "Fourth Master, consider this: Sickly Ning had barely encountered assassins when the Old Marquis received news that Second Master would return to the Imperial City. Is that not too much of a coincidence?"

Ning Qianwu's brows lifted and his face stiffened. "You mean this was a Chess Piece Ning Qiancheng arranged before returning, taking half the authority from Ning Qianwen and me without shedding a drop of blood? No, no. Ning Qiancheng is merely a brute of a martial man. He could not possibly possess such brilliant methods."

Yu Zhicong said solemnly, "Ten years have passed. People change. Second Master was able to command two million troops in the military camps, conquer a dynasty, and force someone like the Tian Jie Empress to bow before the Magnolia Empire. Those are not methods a mere martial brute could possess."

Ning Qianwu said, "But Second Brother and Third Brother had always been close. He could not possibly send someone to assassinate Third Brother's only son."

Yu Zhicong said, "That precisely explains why the assassins came without a shadow and left without a trace, yet somehow failed to kill Sickly Ning."

Ning Qianwu drew a deep breath. He believed seven or eight parts of it, and said coldly, "Ning Qiancheng has certainly grown capable, to possess such methods. It seems our greatest enemy now is him. We must make proper arrangements before he returns. Recall all the people at Begonia Manor! Ning Xiaochuan has completely lost his value. There is no need to waste manpower over a sickly invalid who can only live another half year."

Naturally, Ning Xiaochuan did not know that what he had done to conceal the truth had unexpectedly caused the great figures of the Marquis Mansion to begin suspecting one another.

The muddy waters of the struggle for Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion's heir had become even murkier!