I'm reporting him!

Clutching the letter in his hand, Qi Yun knitted his brows tightly.

On the way to the Wuji Sacred Sect, he and Wu Tao had talked quite a lot, so he knew something of his family background.

Wu Tao had been abducted at nine and barely knew a basketful of characters even if they were written as large as bushels. Although he had learned a little at Ling Family Mountain, he was a rough sort. How could he possibly have written something so literary?

And although he and I left Ling Family Mountain together,

our friendship could only be called casual.

Instead of focusing on cultivation, he sent me a letter across prefectures, asking to meet.

"Important matters to discuss, a meeting in the Ninth Prefecture..." Reading the real purpose that only emerged after the letter's lengthy rambling, Qi Yun pressed his lips together.

Sure enough, there was no wall in this world that kept out every whisper of wind. That matter had most likely come to light...

Tang Shun!

That second-generation cultivator who harbored a great secret and had an elder in the sect backing him.

Although he had been careful enough when ambushing and killing him in Anning County, this was a great world of cultivation where people could soar through the heavens, burrow through the earth, and divine cause and effect. Faced with such investigative methods, he had evidently still left traces someone had seized upon.

"But if Tang Shun's elder really traced it to me, why not come straight here and arrest me?

"Why use Wu Tao to lure me out of the prefecture instead?

"Is it because the sect rules are strict, and people from the Inner Mansion cannot interfere with the Outer Mansion?"

"Then how do I explain Wu Tao's part in this?"

After a brief panic, Qi Yun forced himself to calm down.

He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the edge of the letter.

Since he had dared to kill, he had long since prepared to be discovered. Once a piece was placed, there was no taking it back.

The most important thing now was to sort out the situation.

"Unless... this person's influence is limited to the Ninth Outer Prefecture, and his hand cannot reach into the Seventh Outer Prefecture!

"So he can only borrow Wu Tao's name to lure me out of the prefecture, then deal with me." Once he calmed down, Qi Yun's thoughts gradually cleared, and his restless unease settled as well.

"In that case, I'm still safe for now.

"But if I leave him without a reply for too long, will it force him to find another way?"

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Qi Yun lowered his gaze to the letter in his hand, the beginnings of a plan faintly taking shape in his mind.

He turned and fetched paper and an inkstone from the house, then began writing swiftly.

"My dear younger brother Wu Tao, your letter brought me joy..."

Since I cannot leave you without a reply, I'll use the stalling tactic on you.

In his letter, Qi Yun first expressed great delight and surprise at receiving Wu Tao's letter, his tone so warm that they might truly have been dear friends reunited after a long separation. Only after another round of polite pleasantries did the dagger finally emerge from the unrolled map.

"Half a year has passed since we parted, and I have thought of you often.

"Yet I now stand upon the brink of a breakthrough to the Qi Refining Second Layer, a barrier of life and death.

"Only by pressing onward in one unbroken effort can I glimpse the Great Dao.

"Thus, I have no choice but to decline your gracious invitation.

"On the day I succeed, I shall surely send an urgent letter to share the good news.

"Pray take good care of yourself, and I earnestly beg your understanding."

When he set down his brush, the ink was still wet. Qi Yun carefully checked every word and sentence, making sure they appeared sincere while carrying an implicit refusal.

After confirming that the letter's contents were correct, Qi Yun summoned a [courier] responsible for deliveries between prefectures through the [Wuji Treasure Market].

This time, the person who came was not the man who had delivered the letter.

Instead, it was a young woman with refined features and a faint black marking barely visible between her brows.

The only thing the two had in common was the same distant, strictly businesslike expression.

"Eighty-five characters in total. Half a piece of Sacred Yuan." Taking the envelope, the young woman produced a seal and tapped it lightly against the surface. The letter's character count immediately appeared, and she swiftly quoted the price for this delivery between prefectures.

"Thank you."

Qi Yun took out half a piece of Sacred Yuan and handed it to the courier before him. After a slight hesitation, he asked:

"May I ask, Senior Sister, when will this letter arrive?"

"Tomorrow. Why, are you in a hurry? For another piece of Sacred Yuan, it can arrive this afternoon," the female courier said indifferently.

"Oh, that won't be necessary. Sorry for the trouble, Senior Sister."

Having paid the delivery fee, Qi Yun watched the female courier turn and leave. He rubbed between his brows, his heart sinking slightly.

Hopefully, this will buy me a little more time.

Once everything was done, Qi Yun turned and returned to his courtyard. Hidden currents surged, and danger was beginning to rise. Although he had an idea for resolving it, whether he could successfully carry it out remained unknown.

For now, he could only race against the clock to improve his strength, giving himself a little more room to maneuver.

The letter passed through one prefecture after another, finally arriving at a courtyard in the Ninth Outer Prefecture.

"Who is it?" The courtyard gate opened, and Wu Tao's ruddy face poked out.

His Qi was robust; he had clearly already broken through to the Qi Refining Third Layer.

"Your letter." Glancing at Wu Tao before her, the female courier handed over the envelope with an indifferent expression.

"My letter?" Taking the envelope and seeing Qi Yun's signature on it, Wu Tao's eyes flashed with delight. He hurriedly turned and strode back into the main room, then bent down and respectfully presented the letter in his hands to a young man before him, who had a fair face, a short beard, and black robes.

"Senior Brother Zhou, Qi Yun has replied."

"Hmm?"

The fair-faced man slowly opened his eyes, the corners of his lips curving into something that was not quite a smile. "Very good. Wu Tao, you have rendered a service by reporting him. Master has already received my message.

"If it is confirmed that Qi Yun was the murderer who killed Tang Shun, the foremost credit will be yours."

His voice carried a beguiling note. "Master will make an exception and accept you as a disciple. When that happens... you and I will be fellow disciples under the same master."

Hearing the fair-faced man's words, Wu Tao trembled slightly with excitement.

Two days earlier, this fair-faced man had suddenly arrived, saying he was investigating a case in which a Holy Sect disciple had ambushed and killed a fellow disciple.

At first, Wu Tao had been deeply frightened, afraid he would become implicated.

But as the fair-faced man slowly laid out the course of events, Wu Tao suddenly realized that the man's words, to one degree or another, all seemed to point vaguely toward the companion who had left Ling Family Mountain with him-Qi Yun.

Originally, he had wanted to offer a few words in Qi Yun's defense. After all, they had come to the Wuji Sacred Sect together.

But when he heard the reward for rendering a service by reporting someone,

the favorable words stirring on his lips had forcibly turned into an accusation!

And the facts proved that he had indeed made the right choice.

Merely by following the man's lead and saying that Qi Yun was indeed somewhat suspicious, he had obtained a [precious pill] that improved cultivation.

It was thanks to this [precious pill] that he had broken through two barriers in one sustained push, reaching the Qi Refining Third Layer.

At that point, he had switched sides completely.

He actively cooperated with the fair-faced man in writing a letter, intending to lure Qi Yun out of the Seventh Outer Prefecture to be captured and interrogated under torture.

"Thank you for helping me advance, Senior Brother!" Wu Tao dropped to his knees with a thud, pressing his forehead tightly against the ground, his voice trembling with excitement. "If I can become the True Person's disciple, I would willingly brave boiling water and raging fire for you, Senior Brother, without hesitation!"

"Heh..." Senior Brother Zhou chuckled and extended a hand in a gesture of helping him up, though a barely perceptible trace of coldness flashed through his eyes. "I will remember your loyalty."

His fingertips brushed lightly over the letter, his movements as he opened it as elegant as though he were handling a work of art.

As his gaze swept over its contents, his brows furrowed for an almost imperceptible instant.

Qi Refining Second Layer?

A breakthrough imminent?