Liu Wushuang

Heh, anyone with eyes could tell what you were thinking just by looking at you. Chen Fan was utterly speechless. Given his current situation, saying too much would only look like a cover-up, while saying nothing would be taken as tacit admission. Ah, forget it. At worst, he would get a scolding from his wife.

"Hmph, do you think you can protect him?" Ye Wan's tone suddenly hardened.

What was this supposed to be? Wan'er was acting along too? Chen Fan truly wanted to turn around and leave.

"What do you want, Senior Sister?!" Qin Ziyan met her head-on, refusing to yield in the slightest.

Chen Fan covered his face with both hands. Two dear ladies, could you please stop this? Yet he did not dare utter a single word and could only continue watching the show.

"What do I want? I want to take him away. Can you stop me?" Ye Wan seemed to have genuinely lost her temper now.

"Does Senior Sister truly intend to use his blood to save someone?" Qin Ziyan had already gripped her sword hilt. Faint starlight emerged around her, as though a great battle would erupt the next instant.

"So what if I do?" Ye Wan refused to back down. What a joke—she was the rightful wife, wasn't she? Bah, what rightful wife? She had never even considered sharing a man with anyone. As she spoke, her entire body's aura rose to contend against Qin Ziyan's.

"Ladies, let's talk things out. Don't fight." Seeing this, Chen Fan realized that if this went on, things might truly become impossible to clean up. "Fairy Ye won't bleed me, so don't worry." He hurriedly explained to Qin Ziyan.

"Who said that? Right now, I want to bleed you." Ye Wan actually retorted. It seemed she was genuinely angry.

"Don't be afraid. I won't let her touch you!" Qin Ziyan declared resolutely. She had already drawn the Moon God Sword, and battle was on the verge of breaking out.

What was he supposed to do? In that flash of lightning and spark of flint, Chen Fan's thoughts raced. Suddenly, he let out a miserable cry of "Ah!" and sprawled directly onto the ground.

"Ah! Xiao Fan!" In her panic, Ye Wan actually called him by the name they used in private. Then she realized something and looked slightly embarrassed.

Seeing Chen Fan faint, Qin Ziyan was also alarmed and was about to check on him when she heard Ye Wan's cry. Her brows immediately furrowed, and her previous fighting spirit vanished at once.

Lying on the ground, Chen Fan regretted this endlessly. He had originally wanted to pull a self-inflicted injury stunt, make the two stop fighting, and then have them send him down the mountain together. Who would have thought that before one wave had settled, another would rise?

After that cry, Ye Wan stopped caring about anything else. She ran directly to Chen Fan's side and crouched down to inspect him. Just as she was growing anxious, she suddenly saw his eyelids twitch. He then gestured to her, signaling her to leave first. Ye Wan secretly cursed him for being such a convincing actor, but at this moment, thirty-six stratagems—retreat was best.

Because her view was blocked, Qin Ziyan did not see this scene. She was still wondering about Ye Wan and Chen Fan's relationship and was about to ask.

Yet Ye Wan said, "He should be fine. He may wake up soon. I'll leave first—I still need to find people to clean up the corpses in Hundred Herbs Garden." The moment she finished speaking, Ye Wan's figure vanished into the pitch-black night.

This? Qin Ziyan was somewhat confused, but she understood one thing: Ye Wan probably would not harm Chen Fan. She walked over to Chen Fan, examined him, and confirmed that he was unharmed. Then she sat down beside him to meditate and recover.

After a while, Chen Fan woke and sat up. It had truly not been easy for him—just to carry the act through to the end, he had lain there a while longer.

"Where... am I?" Chen Fan muttered as soon as he sat up.

"You're actually pretending to have amnesia with me?!" Qin Ziyan first frowned, then directly reached into Chen Fan's robes.

Chen Fan was greatly alarmed and hurriedly grabbed Qin Ziyan's hand, an awkward smile appearing on his face.

"What? Weren't you amnesiac? You still knew I was going to take those things of yours?"

"Hehehe, I thought you'd forgotten about that."

"What thing? The herbs were all taken away by that man in black," Qin Ziyan said.

"You really won't tell anyone?" Chen Fan was overjoyed. If he brought those herbs back, he would definitely be able to develop some extremely powerful things.

"Why would I tell anyone? I never planned to let you return empty-handed in the first place. This is even better—no one will suspect anything." Qin Ziyan suddenly smiled sweetly again. "But you have to promise me one thing."

"What is it?" Chen Fan asked doubtfully.

"Take me to Black Dragon Pool next time so I can have some fun!" Qin Ziyan's tone brimmed with excitement.

This? Chen Fan was nearly driven mad. After seeing that scene earlier, this little demoness must have thought he was from Black Dragon Pool. Yet by that logic, she knew he was a spy from another sect and still chose not to report him. Sure enough, she acted perversely and without any principles at all. Then again, speaking of principles, perhaps she did have one—she was always so good to him... making him constantly feel unworthy of it.

"What's wrong? You don't want to? Then we'll deal with you according to the sect rules!" Seeing that Chen Fan was actually hesitating, Qin Ziyan said angrily.

"No, I'll take you. I definitely will. It's only a small matter." Chen Fan hurriedly agreed again and again. What if the sect thoroughly investigated him? Compared to that, taking a trip to Black Dragon Pool was nothing. He could just make preparations when the time came. Besides, she had only said she wanted to go; she had not said how they would go. He could figure something out later.

"That's more like it. Oh, right—what exactly is going on between you and Senior Sister Ye?" Qin Ziyan finally asked what she most wanted to know.

"What do you mean, what's going on? You already know, don't you? Fairy Ye has taken extremely good care of me. She taught me swordsmanship and saved me at the foot of the mountain..." Chen Fan rambled on about all sorts of irrelevant things.

"Alright, let's go back. Otherwise, if the sect sends people over to search you later, you'll be finished." It had to be said that Qin Ziyan's thinking was quite clear.

Under cover of night, the two returned to the inner courtyard. Qin Ziyan bid Chen Fan farewell, casually bringing up Black Dragon Pool again, clearly with a hint of threat in it. However, Chen Fan knew she would not easily betray him. The two then went their separate ways, while Chen Fan hurried all the way back to the outer sect.

When Chen Fan returned to his room, his heart was filled with wild joy. This harvest could once again be said to be exactly proportional to the risk. He took out those precious plants and began studying them against the Treasure Record...

Yet he did not know that at this moment, another grand show had already begun in the brightly lit inner courtyard.

Swordcry Mountain's Main Peak, Cloudsea Pavilion, where the sect master usually resided. In the sect's highest-level council hall, a beautiful woman in palace robes sat in the seat of honor. Several senior experts stood on either side, and the masters, elders, and deacons of the three inner-court halls were all present. There were also several disciples among them, including Ye Wan and Qin Ziyan.

"Since the Sect Master is still in secluded cultivation, I shall preside in her place. However, I have only just returned from my travels and do not yet understand what changes the sect has undergone recently. Such a major incident also occurred suddenly tonight. First, analyze what happened for me and explain the entire chain of events clearly." The beautiful woman spoke calmly.

At that moment, an elderly man stepped forward and respectfully said, "Reporting to the Deputy Sect Master, we all suspect that this matter is related to the child disappearances that occurred throughout the Western Ridge Region some time ago..." He then recounted in full how people from the mortal world had sought aid from cultivation forces to find the missing children. "Afterward, because the Sect Master was in secluded cultivation and you, Deputy Sect Master, were also away from the sect, we merely sent some disciples down the mountain to investigate and did not conduct a more thorough inquiry. Earlier, disciples of our sect discovered faint traces suggesting that this matter was connected to the Heaven and Earth Gate, so we did not dare act rashly. Now that the Deputy Sect Master has returned, you may take command. We shall naturally follow your arrangements."

This elder's status within the sect was second only to the two sect masters. He was Qin Jian, master of the Sword-Imperial Pavilion. One could tell from his name alone how deeply he loved the sword. Since his combat ability surpassed that of the other two inner-court hall masters, everyone also respected him as the one to handle sect affairs whenever the two sect masters were absent. However, Qin Jian often went out as well; for instance, he had also been absent when Qin Ziyan went missing last time. The three hall masters were all in roughly similar situations. After all, if they cultivated blindly in the mountains, they would have no chance of encountering opportunities. The three of them had each returned within the past few months. After learning of recent events, they could not simply stand aside, so they were unable to leave again in the short term and had gathered to discuss countermeasures.

"I had heard a little about this before. But today, our sect was attacked, and precious plants from Hundred Herbs Garden were stolen. Could this matter also be connected to the kidnapping of children at the foot of the mountain?" The beautiful woman was Swordcry Mountain's Deputy Sect Master, Liu Wushuang. It had to be said that since ancient times, women had pursued beauty above all else, and cultivators were no exception. This woman had surely used some appearance-preserving technique or medicinal pill. Her true age was at least three to five hundred years old, yet no one dared ask about it in detail. Furthermore, if cultivators achieved success in cultivation while young, their cultivation would grow with age and greatly suppress the aging of their appearance. Liu Wushuang was presumably someone who had risen to fame in her youth.

The people below exchanged looks. Although the attackers of Hundred Herbs Garden had also worn black robes, who did evil deeds without dressing in black and covering their faces? How could they determine that they were connected to the child kidnappings? They had only been guessing earlier. Swordcry Mountain would not ordinarily be attacked for no reason, and since it happened at such a coincidental time, everyone naturally linked the two matters. Yet they could not rule out the possibility that someone was fishing in troubled waters, in which case the truth would be difficult to uncover.

"Let little sister explain." A woman spoke at this moment. Her appearance bore some resemblance to Liu Wushuang's, though she looked younger. She was Liu Ruyu, master of Swordheart Hall. This woman was Liu Wushuang's biological younger sister, but she had not attained her position through her sister. Rather, it was through genuine strength. Her talent even surpassed her sister's. From childhood onward, her path of cultivation had been smooth beyond compare. Now, having just turned three hundred, she had already reached the Seventh Stage, with both her External Force and Internal Qi at the Seventh Stage. Few in the world could match her. Her cultivation was slightly lower than Liu Wushuang's, but they were still considered peers, and both held extremely high status within the sect. Thus, they directly addressed each other as sisters. "I presume Elder Sister also knows that Swordheart Hall has a rather promising junior named Ye Wan. It was she who clashed with people connected to the Heaven and Earth Gate at the foot of the mountain and obtained much useful intelligence. Wan'er, explain the details."

Ye Wan obeyed and stepped forward. After giving a slight bow, she said, "Reporting to the Deputy Sect Master, this junior previously encountered a man in black at the foot of the mountain. He was one of those carrying out the child disappearances. Although his cultivation was not high, he knew how to use the Heaven and Earth Gate's Heavenly Baleful Gyroscope."

Liu Wushuang nodded thoughtfully. "Mm, that is indeed a technique of the Heaven and Earth Gate. Though it is not some secret art of their sect, they cannot escape involvement. What about those people last night? You did not fight them either, so how did you judge that the two were connected?"

The others revealed puzzled expressions upon hearing this. Because the incident had happened suddenly, the inner-court members had not had much time to communicate before coming here. They had only heard Liu Ruyu speculate that it might be related to the child disappearances, but she had not explained in detail.

Liu Ruyu nodded, signaling Ye Wan to continue.

"That was merely this junior's speculation." Ye Wan continuously sifted through her thoughts. Anything regarding Chen Fan had to be concealed. "This junior inferred that the two were connected not through their cultivation techniques, but through..." She paused, then spoke three words. "Spirit-Drunken Incense." Everything she said about Spirit-Drunken Incense had come from Chen Fan. She should not have revealed it, lest it arouse suspicion. But the matter was too serious now, and she had no choice but to give the sect an explanation. Moreover, it concerned the safety of countless lives in the mortal world.

"Ah!" Even though everyone present was an expert among experts, they were greatly startled upon hearing that name. Only Liu Wushuang, seated above, reacted somewhat less strongly, but her expression still turned grave and her brows knitted tightly. Clearly, she was deeply wary of this substance as well.

"This Spirit-Drunken Incense has indeed been famous for a long time. Judging from its legendary toxicity, it does fit quite well. But legends are legends. No one has personally experienced this poison, and even I have never encountered anything related to it. Presumably, even if someone had been poisoned by it, they would already be unable to speak." Liu Wushuang analyzed the matter, then looked at Ye Wan with great curiosity. "How exactly did you determine that this poison was Spirit-Drunken Incense?"

Ye Wan did not panic. She had prepared her explanation beforehand. "This junior previously traveled at the foot of the mountain and encountered human traffickers who kidnapped children. The method they used was a kind of Spirit-Mystifying Incense. From every aspect, that incense resembled Spirit-Drunken Incense, though its toxicity was vastly inferior. Many believed it to be an imitation of Spirit-Drunken Incense. Thus, this junior inferred that those people might possess the genuine Spirit-Drunken Incense."

After hearing this, Liu Wushuang did not ask Ye Wan anything further. Instead, she turned to Qin Jian. "I heard that your granddaughter also went to Hundred Herbs Garden earlier. Did she discover anything?"

Qin Jian froze slightly, seemingly very reluctant to push Qin Ziyan forward. After all, he understood his treasured granddaughter better than anyone: incapable of accomplishing anything, yet more than capable of causing trouble. Though after returning this time, he had heard several elders say that she had changed greatly recently, had not slacked in cultivation, and had indeed increased her strength substantially. But as the saying went, rivers and mountains may change, but one's nature is hard to alter. The moment he heard that the girl had gone to Hundred Herbs Garden, he knew nothing good could come of it. He did not believe she had truly gone to investigate suspicious people. Truly, no one knew a granddaughter better than her grandfather. Yet at this point, Qin Ziyan was the only person present who had entered Hundred Herbs Garden and emerged still conscious. If they did not ask her, whom could they ask?