Turmoil

Turmoil

The summer heat blazed, and from time to time, the cries of sparrows could be heard.

Huff!

Huff!

Li Rui moved like an old ape, his blade like an extension of his arm. He wielded the thirty-seven-jin broadsword in an impenetrable blur, the gale it whipped up flattening the grass in the courtyard.

Half an hour later.

He sheathed his blade and let out a long breath.

Just then—

A knock sounded at the door.

"Is Hall Master Li in?"

Li Rui frowned slightly.

It was Zhao Wei's voice.

Why would Zhao Wei come looking for him at this hour?

Though puzzled, he still walked to the door. After all, Zhao Wei was his superior; he could not offend him lightly.

The moment he opened the door.

He saw Zhao Wei's broad face. Besides Zhao Wei, there were two others.

Li Rui actually recognized one of them. It was Captain Liu, who had previously gone with Young Master Zhu, Zhu Yue, and four Huaqing Sect disciples to the abandoned temple. The other was a middle-aged man wearing a jade ring at his waist, his every inch exuding nobility.

"Deputy Master Zhao, what is it?"

Seeing that the visitors meant no good, Li Rui's heart turned cold.

For the other two to enter the Heaven and Earth Alliance's grounds and even reach his door, it must have been Zhao Wei's doing.

Zhao Wei grinned. "Old Li, you should know Captain Liu. He has a few questions for you."

Captain Liu stepped forward. "Old Brother Li, long time no see."

He looked at Li Rui, whose aura had grown profound and whose body was vigorous, as though he had been reborn.

He was inwardly shocked.

At first, he had not believed that the Zhu Family's old groom had become a hall master in the Heaven and Earth Alliance. Only upon seeing Li Rui now did he finally believe it.

"Do you still remember that time when we joined the four distinguished guests from the Huaqing Sect in surrounding and killing the traitor at the abandoned temple?"

Li Rui corrected him.

"Captain Liu, I was only a groom. I did not participate in anything."

Captain Liu did not dwell on it. His gaze sharpened. "Old Brother Li, nearly everyone who took part in that matter has died. Aside from the four distinguished guests who returned to the Huaqing Sect, only I remain. And you."

Li Rui pretended to panic. "Captain Liu, what exactly happened?"

Captain Liu stared fixedly at Li Rui, unwilling to miss even the slightest change in his expression.

Then he sighed softly.

"Old Brother Li, you may not know this. The vicious man we surrounded that night had originally been a Huaqing Sect disciple as well. Later, he killed a fellow disciple, stole a Cultivation Method, and fled the Huaqing Sect. After several rounds of investigation, we finally confirmed that he had hidden himself in the city in order to recover the missing secret art of the Huaqing Sect—White Ape Mantle Blade."

Li Rui looked surprised. "If that Cultivation Method was in the hands of that traitorous disciple, why did it go missing?"

Captain Liu shook his head. "I do not know the details."

"But he has now gone utterly mad, bent on recovering the secret art. He has even joined forces with the demons of the Ghost Underworld Sect, making him extremely dangerous."

Li Rui narrowed his eyes slightly. "Captain Liu, do you think I took the secret art?"

Suddenly—

The middle-aged man, who had been standing to one side with a smile, abruptly stepped forward.

In an incomparably gentle voice, he said:

"Old Brother Li, you took the White Ape Mantle Blade, didn't you?"

Li Rui felt his mind grow muddled. The middle-aged man before him seemed like a friend he had not seen in many years, someone he wanted to tell everything to.

But soon.

A stream of coolness rose from his Dantian and shot straight to the crown of his head.

His mind became clear once more.

An enchantment technique!

Li Rui's heart went cold.

An enchantment technique could make someone fall for it without realizing it. In mild cases, they would speak the truth; in severe cases, they would become another's slave, driven and commanded at will.

It was said that those formidable brothels in Anning Prefecture often used such methods to drag daughters of noble families into the abyss.

He pretended to shake his head dully.

"I don't know what the White Ape Mantle Blade is."

Hearing Li Rui's answer, the middle-aged man and Zhao Wei exchanged a glance. Both saw the regret in the other's eyes.

The next instant—

Light returned to Li Rui's eyes, and his expression darkened. "You—"

Just as he was about to flare up, Zhao Wei hurriedly said, "Old Li, this is High Master Kong Xiannian of the Huaqing Sect, Mister Kong. He has come specially to capture the traitor and wipe out the demons of the Ghost Underworld Sect."

Someone from the Huaqing Sect?

Li Rui's heart jolted.

Even people from the Huaqing Sect used such filthy, underhanded methods.

Kong Xiannian smiled faintly, looking as serene as a clear breeze beneath a bright moon. "Old Brother Li, I just used the Huaqing Sect's secret Truth Incantation. You are innocent."

He had great confidence in his methods.

They had worked time and again, never failing once.

By relying on this method, he had gained no small number of opportunities and fortunes.

Unless one was a martial arts expert with an incomparably resolute will, there was absolutely no way to resist it.

Li Rui's expression suddenly eased.

"Then that is good."

Zhao Wei spoke a few more words of consolation before leaving with the other two.

Only after the three figures vanished from sight.

Did Li Rui's face turn icy.

"Zhao Wei, you bastard."

Had Zhao Wei not brought people straight to his door, he would not have fallen so easily for that Huaqing Sect man's trick.

A sect that claimed to be orthodox actually used the methods of lowlife kidnappers.

It seemed the Huaqing Sect was not filled entirely with upright gentlemen.

Li Rui had lived for so many years.

He had long since shed his illusions about those so-called great sects. The disgusting deeds within righteous sects were not one bit fewer than those of the demonic path.

If he had not glimpsed the Profound Clear Qi this time, strengthening his mental power severalfold, he might truly have fallen for Kong Xiannian's trick.

Blessings and misfortunes leaned upon one another.

His suspicions had temporarily been cleared, and he could enjoy a few more days of peace.

But Zhao Wei, joining with outsiders to deal with him—did he really think of himself as the Huaqing Sect's dog?

Elsewhere.

Within an imposing mansion.

Zhao Wei and Kong Xiannian were both in a room, where a woman's coquettish laughter sounded from time to time.

"Brother Kong, is there really nothing suspicious about that old man Li?"

On the surface, Li Rui was his subordinate, but Wu Tu had recommended the man. That alone meant Li Rui could not be trusted.

As for why the branch master had placed Li Rui under him, it was nothing more than a means of keeping him in check.

If Li Rui had truly taken the secret art, not only would Zhao Wei have rendered great merit, he could also remove an informant planted at his side—killing two birds with one stone.

Kong Xiannian nodded with certainty. "He did not take it."

He had absolute confidence in his methods.

"That is troublesome."

Zhao Wei shook his head regretfully.

If it was not in Li Rui's hands, then it was most likely taken by those four Huaqing Sect disciples. Getting it back would not be so easy.

The reason he had been so proactive was that, if they obtained the secret art, Kong Xiannian had agreed to share it with him so they could keep it for themselves.

Kong Xiannian said, "Brother Zhao, we can only set the secret art aside for now. If we capture that traitor, it will still be a great merit."

Only then did Zhao Wei burst into laughter again, his entire body swaying and making the woman seated on his lap heave at the chest.

"Brother Kong, with an expert of the Huaqing Sect like you here, it will be no more than lifting a hand."

Kong Xiannian narrowed his eyes in satisfaction.

His large hand roamed up and down.

Where in the Huaqing Sect could he enjoy himself like this?