Meeting up

After listening to Zhao Jin's account of what had happened, Li Miaozhen almost lost control of herself and grabbed her flying sword to kill the Prince of Zhenbei and the Duke of Huguo, Que Yongxiu.

But she is no longer the novice Li Miaozhen who came down the mountain for training. A year and a half of training has made her more calm and experienced.

"I understand. You can help me, but I need to wait for my companions to arrive. Until then, stay in the inn and pretend nothing happened."

Li Miaozhen looked at Zhao Jin, who was sitting by the bed, and said, "Do you understand?"

Zhao Jin did not lie, but what he said may not be true; this is not contradictory.

She had already reached the fourth rank, but this matter involved a higher level of struggle. Li Miaozhen knew her abilities were limited, and she feared that forcibly intervening would lead to unforeseen consequences.

"Okay!" Zhao Jin nodded, indicating that he had no objections.

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Li Miaozhen mysteriously disappear from the room. Then, he opened his eyes again and found himself lying in bed, having just woken up.

On the floor beside the bed, there were remnants of ashes from the burned talisman.

The methods of the Heavenly Sect are truly astonishing, Zhao Jin thought, a sentiment common to all martial artists.

Meanwhile, Li Miaozhen returned to the house, took out a small jade mirror, and used her hand as a pen to type in a message: [Master Jinlian, I have something to say to you privately.]

After Master Jinlian blocked the other members from seeing her message, True Disciple a message: "[I have urgent business with Xu Qi'an.]"

Too much contact among members of the Heaven and Earth Society is not a good thing. Master Jinlian thought to herself, acting as an honest tool, and opened a private chat for Li Miaozhen and Xu Qi'an.

[Second: Xu Qi'an, where are you? Come to Yamaguchi County immediately! I have clues about the Prince of Zhenbei's massacre of the people.]

On the other side, Xu Qi'an, who was having tea and chatting with the princess in the courtyard, felt the heart palpitation from the fragment of the Earth Book and briefly left under the pretext of relieving himself.

[Three: What clues did you find?]

[Second: Xu Qi'an, your method is very effective. Today, one of my martial arts practitioners, Zhao Jin, suddenly approached me privately and revealed the inside story of the Prince of Zhenbei's massacre of civilians.]

Wait, when did you get another henchman? Are you a born boss? Xu Qi'an replied, "[He's been infiltrating your circle for a long time?]"

True Disciple's letter explained, "[It's been a few days. Judging by the time, he came to my door not long after I made a name for myself. However, he did not reveal himself. He only said that he had long admired the name of the Flying Swallow Heroine and wanted to follow me in my chivalrous deeds.]"

[As you know, wherever I go, there are always a group of heroes vying to join me, but I didn't take them seriously and accepted them.]

No, I didn't know. Compared to you, you're the real protagonist! The Flying Swallow Heroine trembled, and an aura of dominance emanated from her. All the heroes were subdued and bowed down in submission.

Xu Qi'an: [That makes sense. He was afraid that the Flying Swallow Heroine was an imposter, a spy from the Prince of Zhenbei trying to lure him in. So he decided to observe you closely. If I'm not mistaken, he definitely showed you immense admiration and kept asking around about your situation.]

Li Miaozhen opened her mouth; he had guessed it all. Indeed, Zhao Jin made no attempt to hide his admiration for her, displaying intense enthusiasm and actively trying to gather information about her within the team.

Li Miaozhen originally thought Zhao Jin had feelings for her. After all, what man in the martial arts world doesn't admire the Flying Swallow Heroine? She was already used to it.

Now that Xu Qi'an pointed it out, she suddenly realized what was going on.

I've learned a lot about my perspective on problems; it's vastly different from his. He truly lives up to his name, Xu Qi'an.

Li Miaozhen paused to gather her knowledge, then continued relaying the message: [Zhao Jin said that the person behind him was Zheng Xinghuai, the Provincial Governor of Chuzhou, and that the people massacred by the Prince of Zhenbei encompassed the entire city of Chuzhou.]

Clang.

The fragments of the Earth Book fell, making a crisp sound.

Xu Qi'an felt as if he had been hit by a heavy hammer. His consciousness became hazy, his brain stopped thinking, and he stood there dumbfounded.

Chuzhou City?!

The Prince of Zhenbei actually massacred the entire city of Chuzhou! How dare he? Has he gone mad?

Chuzhou City is the main city of the entire state, gathering talents from all walks of life. If he slaughters the city, Chuzhou's fortune will be completely destroyed.

After a long while, Xu Qi'an took a deep breath, bent down to pick up the fragment of the Earth Book, and transmitted the message:

[That's impossible. If it were Chuzhou City, it's impossible for the barbarians to be unaware of it. The officials, common people, and wandering knights of Chuzhou couldn't possibly be unaware; it doesn't make sense.]

Li Miaozhen did not respond to him, seemingly lost in thought.

At this moment, Daoist Jinlian sent a message saying, "[If it's Chuzhou City, wouldn't that be completely unexpected? You think it's impossible, the barbarians think it's impossible, everyone thinks it's impossible.]"

[Ah, I was just as convinced, thinking Miaozhen had been deceived. But then I realized, the more impossible something seems, the more likely it is. Didn't you say the other day that the barbarians had Warlock secretly helping them? Only by taking a risky military tactic can the Prince of Zhenbei deceive everyone.]

Xu Qi'an rubbed his face, forcibly suppressing his surging anger, and sent a message to refute:

[But how could he keep it a secret from all the forces? There's something I haven't told you: the remnants of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons are also involved. Barbarians, mysterious Warlock, and the remnants of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons —these are all top-tier forces in the Nine Provinces. You can imagine how difficult it is to keep it from them.]

Seizing the opportunity, Li Miaozhen offered her opinion. "[Could it be the work of Warlock? You said that Warlock can shield people from celestial secrets, making them overlook certain events or people.]"

Xu Qi'an rejected Li Miaozhen's guess without even thinking, "[First of all, if the secrets of heaven were blocked, the case of the massacre of three thousand miles would not have occurred. Even the Prince of Zhenbei himself would have forgotten about it.]"

Secondly, shielding one's heavenly secrets means making one forget related memories or ignore related events, rather than completely erasing the traces. For example, if you, Li Miaozhen, smashed up the Golden Palace, Warlock would shield your heavenly secrets.

The emperor and court officials may forget that you were the one who vandalized the Imperial Palace, and they may be puzzled by the damage. But the Imperial Palace was damaged, and that's that; the marks cannot be erased.

Li Miaozhen understood that it wasn't the Warlock had blocked the event; if it were the supervisor who had intervened, the imperial court would still be unaware of the massacre that ravaged three thousand miles.

In reality, Chuzhou became ruins and a ghost town.

Now, everyone knows about the massacre that ravaged three thousand miles, but no one can find its location—quite the opposite.

Amidst a flurry of thoughts, she saw Xu Qi'an's message asking, "[How did that Provincial Governor Zheng Xinghuai escape?]"

Li Miaozhen immediately replied: [According to Zhao Jin, it wasn't the Prince of Zhenbei who massacred the city that day, but the Commander-in-Chief Que Yongxiu. The Prince of Zhenbei was leading troops to intercept the barbarian cavalry that day and was not in Chuzhou.]

This is a classic case of creating an alibi, and also a smokescreen. After all, the Prince of Zhenbei is the focus of attention from all sides, and his departure from Chuzhou takes most of that attention with him.

The commander took the opportunity to massacre the city's inhabitants.

Xu Qi'an sent a letter asking: [When did this happen?]

Li Miaozhen: [About a month ago.]

A month ago, Cai'er, a brothel girl in Sanhuang County, said that about a month ago, Sanhuang County suddenly implemented strict entry and exit checks. At first, I thought they were looking for me, but now it seems they were looking for this Chuzhou Provincial Governor.

As Xu Qi'an's thoughts raced, he raised another question, "[That Zhao Jin, he didn't experience this, did he?]"

True Disciple a letter saying: [Zhao Jin has a brother who is a guest retainer in Zheng Xinghuai's household. After the incident, Zheng Xinghuai fled under the escort of his guards and went into hiding. He secretly recruited righteous people in an attempt to expose the tyranny of the Prince of Zhenbei, but all have disappeared without a trace.]

Xu Qi'an had a lot of details he wanted to ask, but he couldn't explain them clearly through the Earth Book. He immediately sent a message: [Alright, I'll come right away. You'll arrive in half a day to tomorrow at the latest.]

After finishing the message transmission, Xu Qi'an carefully collected the fragments of the Earth Book and returned to the courtyard.

The princess sat at the table, one hand supporting her chin, the other hand scribbling on the surface, humming a little tune in a soft and melodious voice.

"Your Highness, I know the location where the Prince of Zhenbei massacred the people." Xu Qi'an sat down at the table, his face solemn.

"Isn't it Xikou County?" the princess asked in return.

Xu Qi'an shook his head, staring at the ordinary face of the most beautiful woman in Great Feng, his expression serious:

"We've been out here for so long, hiding and afraid to see anyone. Now, the time has finally come to meet your husband, and all grudges will be settled."

The princess's smile faded, and she looked at him with a strange expression. "What you said sounds odd."

She suddenly widened her eyes and saw the sleazy man opposite her swinging his hand in a chop towards the back of her neck.

Because the princess failed to protect the back of her neck, she was struck directly in a vital spot and fainted, groaning as she slumped onto the table.

After knocking the princess unconscious, Xu Qi'an was still not entirely at ease, so he mixed another cup of sleeping potion and poured it into the princess's mouth.

"That should be enough for her to sleep for two days."

Only then did he feel relieved enough to take out the fragment of the Earth Book and put her inside. Then, he tore off a page and ignited it with his energy.

"I have a pair of invisible wings that can fly a thousand miles a day," Xu Qi'an said leisurely.

Whoosh. The airflow was stirred up, caused by the unfolding of invisible wings.

Xu Qi'an flapped his invisible wings, raising dust beneath his feet. He soared into the sky, reaching a certain height before abruptly turning and flying northeast.

With the sky high and the land vast, mountains and rivers stretch out below, the winding rivers like silver ribbons, and the undulating peaks exuding different kinds of grandeur and magnificence.

The Confucian School Law Technique were practically cheating; he flew from the distant southwest to the northern part of Chu Prefecture in just an hour and a half.

"The scenery is unique, and it would be a wonderful experience to take her up in the sky, but I have important business to attend to now and can no longer take the princess with me."

"Huh, I seem to be thinking about her a lot lately, but I don't even feel any lust for her."

Xu Qi'an muttered to himself, chose an uninhabited mountain peak to land on, then unfolded the map and glanced at it, discovering that it was still more than eighty li away from Beishan County.

This time, I didn't Confucian School Law Technique and walked there. Firstly, it would be too wasteful of paper, and secondly, my shoulders couldn't take it.

The backlash from Confucian School Law Technique is related to the magnitude of the power of the skill used.

At most, this kind of flying Law Technique will cause neck and shoulder pain afterward, forcing you to tilt your head.

Before dusk, he arrived in Beishan County, sporting Xu Erlang's handsome face, wearing a mink hat, and tilting his head to the side.

After finding out the location of the inn, he soon arrived and knocked on Li Miaozhen's door.

"Squeak"

Li Miaozhen opened the door and was overjoyed to see her long-lost friend. However, her friend tilted her head, squinted, and stared at her coldly.

"What's wrong?" Li Miaozhen took a step back and frowned.

"I have a stiff neck," Xu Qi'an said, tilting his head.

"?" Li Miaozhen didn't ask any more questions, led him in, and instructed Su Su, who was covering her mouth to suppress her laughter, to pour tea.

"Time is of the essence, let's get straight to the point." Xu Qi'an deliberately dropped the teacup, spilling scalding tea onto Su Su's chest.

Paper Wife's full, firm breasts deflated as if releasing air.

Su Su stomped her foot and said angrily, "Master, look at him, look at him! He bullies me the moment we meet."

Li Miaozhen glared helplessly at Xu Qi'an, took out rice paste and paper, and said, "Paste your own chest. Actually, it's quite good this way, so you won't have to go around seducing men."

She's always been unhappy with those fake breasts.

After dismissing Su Su, she asked, "What are your thoughts?"

Xu Qi'an, who had punished the female ghost before, tapped his fingers on the table without hesitation. "Of course, we should go see that provincial governor."

Li Miaozhen frowned and said, "Aren't you afraid it's a trap?"

Xu Qi'an smiled and shook his head, "The probability is not high."

His confident tone stirred something in Li Miaozhen, who eagerly pressed for an answer, "What do you mean?"

She enjoyed listening to Xu Qi'an explain his logic, hoping to learn even a little bit.

PS: Thanks to "_white_" for the Silver Alliance! I was so engrossed in writing the last chapter that I didn't check the backend. I only found out about the new Silver Alliance member after the update—what a surprise! Let's sleep together sometime, sir (very smug face).

I'm not feeling well today; my mind is foggy. I'm about to meet the Prince of Zhenbei.