A Scheme to Sow Discord (Happy Spring Festival)

Wang Mengde put the Essence-Nourishing Pill into his mouth and swallowed it.

The medicinal pill entered his stomach, transforming into a warm current that spread through his body.

Wang Mengde closed his eyes and circulated his cultivation art.

The tiny wounds in his meridians gradually healed under the nourishment of the medicine's power.

The spiritual energy vortex within his dantian's sea of qi slowly became more solid.

The space of his sea of qi was also gradually expanding.

Time slowly passed.

Who knew how long had gone by.

Wang Mengde opened his eyes and let out a long breath of turbid air.

He examined himself inwardly with his divine sense, checking his status:

[Qi Refinement Cultivation: Qi Refinement Layer 2 (13/200)]

[Physical Cultivation: Body Tempering Layer 1 (64/100)]

[Cultivation Art: Minor Five-Element Breathing Art, Layer 2 (13/200)]

[Spells: Spirit Eye Technique (Minor Mastery) 87/200; Fishing Technique (Minor Mastery) 90/200; Entwining Silk Technique (Minor Mastery) 101/200]

This time, his cultivation art and cultivation had only increased by three points.

Wang Mengde frowned slightly.

It truly was just as the rumors said.

Taking two Essence-Nourishing Pills in succession within a short period greatly reduced their effects.

Fortunately, the injuries to his meridians had completely recovered, and they had even been strengthened somewhat.

His meridians had become more resilient and broader.

As he circulated his cultivation art and sensed the flow of spiritual energy through his body, it was much smoother than before.

Wang Mengde nodded in satisfaction, blew out the oil lamp, and lay down to rest.

In the room next door.

Shen Qingyue hugged her blanket, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

Moonlight slipped through the crack in the window, casting a silvery patch of light onto the floor.

She stared at that patch of light, but her mind was filled with scenes from that evening.

That embrace.

Her brother-in-law's arms had wrapped around her, sheltering her in his embrace.

That hand had gently stroked her hair, comforting her warmly. "It's all right."

So warm.

So safe.

Thinking of that evening's embrace, ripples rose in her heart, one wave after another.

It was as though someone had tossed a stone into a still lake, sending ring after ring of ripples spreading outward, impossible to stop.

Brother-in-law was only comforting me. He didn't have any other thoughts.

He must have only been comforting me.

But I...

Ah, how shameless.

She buried her face in the blanket and rubbed it hard.

Yet the feeling of that embrace still lingered, impossible to shake away.

And there was Brother-in-law's gaze.

During dinner, he had looked at her several times.

That kind of gaze.

Shen Qingyue could not say what it felt like, but it made her heart race.

Could he...

Ah... impossible, absolutely impossible.

She turned over and wrapped the blanket more tightly around herself.

The moonlight fell quietly.

A young girl's secret thoughts gently rippled through the night.

Early the next morning, Wang Mengde unusually did not go out to scour the shore.

At home, he wrote two letters in crooked handwriting.

Then, carrying a bundle, he headed to the area where Tian, the Talisman Master, lived.

He first found a spot where no one was watching, opened the bundle, put on the clothes inside, and made his body look bloated.

He then dotted several black spots across his face.

His appearance changed completely.

Afterward, he went to a place not far from Tian, the Talisman Master's home and stopped a child.

"Kid, do you know Tian Yunchuan, Tian, the Talisman Master?"

The child looked seven or eight. His eyes rolled as he replied, "You mean Uncle Tian? I know him. He lives over there."

Wang Mengde crouched down, took out a letter from his robes, then produced five Blood Copper Coins. "Hand this letter personally to Tian, the Talisman Master, and these five Blood Copper Coins will be your reward."

The child's eyes lit up. He snatched the letter and Blood Copper Coins, then ran toward Tian, the Talisman Master's residence as though afraid Wang Mengde would change his mind.

Watching the child run away, Wang Mengde turned and left.

He found another child and used the same method to have the child deliver a letter to Tian, the Talisman Master.

After finishing this, Wang Mengde left, found an unoccupied place, took off the clothes, and wiped away the spots on his face.

Once he had restored his original appearance, he casually left the area.

Tian, the Talisman Master's small courtyard.

Inside the courtyard, Tian, the Talisman Master's charming young wife, Chen Sanyan, who had just turned eighteen, was sobbing. Her eyes were swollen like peaches.

"Husband, you must avenge my two older brothers!" Chen Sanyan clutched Tian, the Talisman Master's sleeve, her voice hoarse.

"They died so horribly. Not even their bodies can be found..."

Tian, the Talisman Master, who was around fifty, patted his young wife's hand. "Don't panic. I've already reported this to the Island Patrol Guards. They'll investigate."

His tone was steady, but inwardly, he was extremely cautious.

Tian Yunchuan was a Qi Refinement Layer 4 cultivator with considerable skill in talisman crafting, and he was also a registered disciple of an elder from the Evergreen Sect.

On Rosy Cloud Island, he could barely be considered someone of standing.

But that was all.

There were quite a few cultivators on the island stronger than him.

Some were people he simply could not afford to provoke.

If the investigation revealed that the killer was someone beyond his ability to offend, he could only pretend he knew nothing.

Of course, if the killer proved weak and without backing, he would certainly stand up for his young wife.

"Husband..." Chen Sanyan sobbed pitifully. "You must increase the reward and offer more spirit sand, so those Rogue Cultivators can help find clues..."

Tian, the Talisman Master, held his young wife and comforted her softly. "All right, all right. I'll raise the reward right away. I'll definitely help you catch the bandit cultivator who harmed your brothers."

The moment his words fell.

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the courtyard gate.

Tian, the Talisman Master, released his young wife, rose, walked to the gate, and opened it.

A seven- or eight-year-old child stood outside, clutching a letter in his hand.

Tian, the Talisman Master, looked down at the child. "Xiaowen, who asked you to deliver this letter?"

The child tipped his head up. "Uncle Tian, it was an uncle with a face full of pockmarks. He gave me five Blood Copper Coins and told me to give this letter to Uncle Tian."

A face full of pockmarks?

Tian, the Talisman Master, frowned slightly and immediately stepped to the gate, peering down the alley.

Where was that pockmarked uncle now?

Tian, the Talisman Master, withdrew his gaze and told the child to leave.

He closed the courtyard gate. Rather than opening the letter at once, he first swept the paper with the Spirit Eye Technique.

Only after confirming that there was nothing wrong with the paper, that it had not been coated with poison or marked with any spell, did he open the envelope.

He pulled out the letter.

There were only nine crookedly written characters on the paper:

"Fellow Daoist Tian, your wife has climbed over the red apricot wall."

Tian, the Talisman Master's face darkened as he directly shattered the paper.

Which damned bastard dared spread rumors about me!

He believed that his wife would never dare betray him.

Chen Sanyan was the young wife he had married three years ago. She was a Qi Refinement Layer 1 cultivator, gentle by nature and utterly obedient to him. Last year, she had even borne him a big, healthy son. How could she possibly do such a thing?

Yet for some reason, he subconsciously began considering whether his wife had shown any unusual behavior lately.

Tian, the Talisman Master, carefully recalled his wife's words and actions during this period.

It seemed... there had been nothing unusual.

Just as always, she served him every day and occasionally went to the docks to visit her two older brothers.

But...

He was already seventy-five this year. Though he had Qi Refinement Layer 4 cultivation, still looked fairly young, and possessed stamina far beyond that of an ordinary mortal his age, his qi and blood were ultimately declining. There were some things for which he no longer had the strength.

Sanyan was only eighteen this year, beautiful as a flower. It was inevitable that someone might covet her.

Impossible.

Absolutely impossible.

Tian, the Talisman Master, shook his head, tossing the absurd thought from his mind.

But at that moment.

Knock, knock, knock.

The courtyard gate sounded again.

Tian, the Talisman Master's frown deepened as he opened the gate once more.

It was another child, likewise holding a letter.

"Who asked you to deliver this letter?"

"An uncle with a face full of pockmarks."

Tian, the Talisman Master's face turned black. He accepted the letter, inspected it again with the Spirit Eye Technique, then opened it.

The contents of the letter were exactly the same.