A Lesser Shaman Before a Great Shaman, a Firefly Against the Bright Moon

"The next target."

"It really is me..."

Shangguan Lin's face changed with surprise.

"How did you guess, Heir Gu?"

Gu Yuan stroked the black silk in his hand and said slowly, "It wasn't that hard to guess. They made this silk intending for the Mystic Shadow Guard to find it and report it to the empress."

"If you were the empress and saw that someone who appeared to be a remnant of the former dynasty wanted to kill all the heirs of the Nine Provinces' kings, and had even left this silk as a provocation, what would you do?"

"Naturally, I would protect the remaining heirs at all costs and search the entire city for the killer."

"Exactly." Gu Yuan nodded. "The empress became a martial arts grandmaster in her twenties, standing at the pinnacle above all living beings."

"She has her own pride and would never tolerate such a provocation."

"The moment they saw the silk, it was inevitable that the Mystic Shadow Guard would search the entire city without rest until they found the killer..."

"But that search was bound to be fruitless. Great Qi forbids sorcery, and the Mystic Shadow Guard can't even determine how Long Ye died, much less find the person behind it."

"Just imagine."

"Despite the Mystic Shadow Guard's layers of protection, the heirs of the Nine Provinces keep dying one after another. What kind of fear would grip the court officials, the common people, and the entire Qi Capital?"

"When everyone is in a panic, who would the people be the first to question with just a little incitement?"

"The empress!" Shangguan Lin exclaimed.

"Their aim is to make the empress lose the people's support?"

"But why would they do that?"

"That... I don't know for now either, but they must have some ulterior motive." Gu Yuan thought for a moment but still didn't say everything.

He had only understood after seeing the black silk himself.

The empress was the foremost martial artist in the world. To make her truly and completely succumb to demonic corruption, all three were indispensable: evil karma, the people's resentment, and heaven's wrath.

When the people's support turned away from her, resentment would naturally arise.

In the original plot, Prince Duan had stirred up the people's resentment. Now that Prince Duan was dead, whoever was behind this naturally had to find a new way.

Once the empress succumbed to demonic corruption, she wouldn't be able to escape the blame for assassinating the heirs of the various provinces. The Nine Provinces would send troops to destroy the demon, and everything would follow as a matter of course...

It wasn't all that hard to guess who was behind this.

Shangguan Lin was still puzzled.

"Who on earth would have the nerve to offend the kings of the Nine Provinces?"

Gu Yuan smiled faintly.

"Miss Shangguan, let me tell you one more thing. Sorcery requires a medium."

"The tea I used just now was a medium. But to kill someone, the medium required is much more complicated and must be specially made."

"What do you mean, Heir Gu?"

"Miss Shangguan, why don't you think about who else went to see Long Ye besides you?"

!!!

Shangguan Lin's body trembled.

"You mean Qingzhou!!!"

"Hong Ni and Lü Luo, the women by Xiao Chen's side, once brought Long Ye a gift. Was that the medium?"

"Miss Shangguan, that's only my conjecture. I have no evidence."

"The medium might also have reached Long Ye through some other means."

Gu Yuan continued slowly:

"We've strayed a little. Back to the point. Miss Shangguan, you should now understand why the second target had to be you, right?"

"I took the silk that should have been in Long Ye's hands, so they couldn't achieve their goal. Only by killing me with sorcery could they present both pieces of silk to the empress."

Shangguan Lin looked at Gu Yuan with some admiration.

From so few clues, he had deduced so much and even identified a suspect.

It was truly unbelievable.

"Heir Gu, what should I do next?"

Huh?

Why does this girl look so admiring?

Gu Yuan paused inwardly.

Could she have fallen for me too?

"Ahem. Since they want to kill you with sorcery, they'll certainly need a medium. We have to find it before we can strike back. Miss Shangguan, have you received or bought anything you wear close to your body today?"

Shangguan Lin froze for a moment, and a blush suddenly appeared on her face.

"There is one... a piece of clothing... I just bought it..."

Gu Yuan held out his hand.

"That might be it. Give it to me."

Shangguan Lin lowered her head awkwardly. "Heir Gu... just a moment."

With that, she ran to the back hall.

About half the time it took to drink a cup of tea passed.

Shangguan Lin came running back, her face red, and stuffed a bundle of red fabric into Gu Yuan's arms.

???

Gu Yuan took a closer look.

What he held was a woman's intimate undergarment!

It was still warm...

Holy shit!

Gu Yuan swore he hadn't done it on purpose.

"Is... this it...?"

Shangguan Lin asked, her face red.

"Uh... no..." Gu Yuan very much wanted to say yes, but the undergarment really wasn't it.

Shangguan Lin: ...

With a swish.

She snatched the undergarment back and clutched it tightly to her chest, her face as red as a ripe apple.

"You're not allowed... to tell anyone about this!"

Gu Yuan coughed lightly. "What is Miss Shangguan talking about? I don't remember."

Shangguan Lin breathed a sigh of relief.

"Miss Shangguan, if you don't mind, please take me to your room for a look."

"I'd guess the medium should be in your room."

"All... all right..."

Meanwhile.

In a dark underground chamber somewhere in the Qi Capital.

A purple-robed figure sat cross-legged atop a great formation drawn in blood.

Three skulls were placed before him, each engraved with extremely mysterious totem patterns.

Two more people stood to the purple-robed figure's right.

Both wore masks, one black and one white, concealing their faces.

The black-masked man spoke slowly. "Young master, everything is ready. Once the time comes, the heir of Ruzhou will surely die."

The white-masked man's voice was cool. "This time, no accidents will be tolerated."

"Make sure the empress sees the silk embroidered with Great Li's totem."

"Rest assured, young master. Nothing can go wrong," the black-masked man said confidently. "Junior Brother Zi's mastery of sorcery and curses is divine. No one in the world can surpass him."

"Once he acts, the heir of Ruzhou will surely die without a sound, and no one will be able to find any clues."

The white-masked man pondered for a moment. "Are you certain?"

"Rest assured, young master. Absolutely certain."

"Junior Brother Zi's sorcery has long since reached the legendary Great Shaman Realm. Even in Great Li's day, only a dozen or so people reached that realm."

"Even if someone beside the heir of Ruzhou knows sorcery, they'll be in the Lesser Shaman Realm at most."

"A lesser shaman before a great shaman is like a firefly beside the bright moon. They pose no threat at all."

"Very good." The white-masked man nodded in satisfaction.

"What is he doing now?"

The black-masked man explained, "Junior Brother Zi is casting a spell, infusing power into the sorcery medium placed in the heir of Ruzhou's room beforehand."

"Only then can he draw out the heir of Ruzhou's spirit without anyone knowing and quietly wipe it out."

"Look, young master, he's about to succeed..."

At the residence of the heir of Ruzhou.

Gu Yuan stared at the sword hanging on the wall, somewhat lost in thought.

"Was this sword bought here?"

Shangguan Lin shook her head. "I brought this sword from Ruzhou. It wasn't bought in the Qi Capital."

"But the sword tassel was damaged during the bumpy journey, so I replaced it in the Qi Capital."

A flash of white light passed through Gu Yuan's eyes, and he could faintly see black energy flowing over the sword tassel.

"This is it..."

"The show is about to begin..."