He Xiaolan (End)

Li Xiangyi and He Xiaolan soon reached the ruins of the He Household. After dismounting, Li Xiangyi saw that He Xiaolan was still sitting upright on her horse. He looked at her in puzzlement. "Weren't we going to investigate the forces that wiped out the He Household?"

He Xiaolan nodded to him. "You handle the investigation, and I'll handle the killing. Go on."

With a ready-made laborer at hand, why should she run around after Li Xiangyi?

Li Xiangyi had never been particularly good-tempered, but ever since meeting He Xiaolan, he had found that his temper had indeed improved considerably.

Seeing Li Xiangyi obediently go off to examine the traces at the scene, He Xiaolan thought for a moment, left a few words on the ground, and went into town to find a teahouse, where she began drinking tea.

Li Xiangyi studied the traces of the fighting at the scene and narrowed the suspects down to several people from the martial world.

Though he had only just entered the martial world, his master had taught him some of its common knowledge, and his senior brother had also told him things on his occasional visits back to the mountain. As a result, he was familiar with some martial arts of the martial world.

After leaving the He Household, he read the words He Xiaolan had left and shook his head helplessly. He then went from house to house, asking about the He Household's past and who had come and gone before the family was murdered.

While Li Xiangyi busied himself searching for the villains' whereabouts, He Xiaolan leisurely drank tea, listened to stories, strolled through the streets, and ate snacks.

The next day, while He Xiaolan was eating wontons, Li Xiangyi finally came running over and told her, "I found several participants. They're all figures listed in the Ten Thousand People Register, but none of them was the mastermind. They were probably bought off."

He Xiaolan ordered Li Xiangyi a bowl of wontons. "Once you've eaten, we'll go find them. The investigation is yours to handle; leave the interrogations to me."

And so, relying on He Xiaolan's poison that made people wish they were dead, the two followed the vine to find the melon, working their way up one person after another. In the end, their investigation led them to Feng Qing, and from him, Li Xiangyi also learned of Shan Gudao's origins and ambitions.

Without giving Li Xiangyi time to grieve, He Xiaolan acted decisively, killing every Nanyin person who had followed Shan Gudao, Feng Qing included.

Li Xiangyi immediately drew his sword and blocked He Xiaolan. "What are you doing?! We still need to investigate each of these people to see whether they followed Shan Gudao in committing evil. Are you going to pull up the grass by its roots without even asking them?"

Back on Mount Yun Yin, when Li Xiangyi had privately thought that He Xiaolan had come to pull up the grass by its roots, he had only been joking and hadn't thought much of it.

But unexpectedly, his words had come true. He Xiaolan really did pull up the grass by its roots.

He Xiaolan forced Li Xiangyi back with Sword Qi, her hands never stopping as she said, "What am I doing? Shan Gudao committed the grave crime of ransacking a household and exterminating a whole clan. If I don't kill every one of these people, and someone investigates Shan Gudao in the future and implicates my Heavenly Secret Manor through him, could you possibly protect my entire family from the imperial court? Get lost!"

Li Xiangyi still refused to give up. "And how can you be sure they all knew? What if they were also bought off and deceived?"

With Li Xiangyi blocking her, those who were still alive dragged their injured bodies away, fleeing for their lives.

He Xiaolan had no intention of leaving trouble behind for herself. Seeing that Li Xiangyi insisted on stopping her, she flung out a knockout drug and brought him down. Although Li Xiangyi possessed Yangzhou Man, he had yet to master it fully, and He Xiaolan was an expert with drugs. Li Xiangyi soon fell victim to it.

He Xiaolan paid him no mind. Using her lightness skill, she quickly caught up with the fish that had slipped through the net and killed every last one. She then used corpse-dissolving liquid to dissolve their bodies completely.

She carefully went over Jiao Liqiao's memories. At this point, Jiao Liqiao had not yet become a holy maiden, much less become entangled with Feng Qing and his people, so He Xiaolan left the Nanyin people on Jiao Liqiao's side alone.

By the time He Xiaolan had finished disposing of the bodies and erasing the evidence, Li Xiangyi had finally used his internal force to neutralize the drug and hurried over. His face darkened as he looked at the bloodstains covering the ground.

He Xiaolan sighed inwardly. Yangzhou Man was extraordinary indeed. Even before reaching full mastery, it had neutralized the drug she had personally prepared so quickly.

She paid no attention to what Li Xiangyi thought and merely said coldly, "If you want to blame anyone for this, blame Shan Gudao. He had mediocre talent but no small ambition, and he even wanted to deceive me and use the Heavenly Secret Manor.

"Even without me, these people would have died because of Shan Gudao's ambition sooner or later. You don't really think someone with Shan Gudao's talent could have accomplished his grand undertaking, do you?"

Li Xiangyi closed his eyes for a moment. "I don't blame you. I simply can't agree with this practice in the martial world of wiping out entire families and pulling up the grass by its roots at the slightest disagreement.

"One day, I will establish a hall of punishment for the martial world. When dealing with evildoers, we must let the evidence speak, and there must never again be indiscriminate killing of the innocent."

He Xiaolan took a careful look at Li Xiangyi. She hadn't expected him to have such an idea so early on. For the sake of their friendship over several lifetimes, she said a little more. "You're sound of mind and talented. I think your idea will succeed, but I suggest you spend more time traveling and gain some experience first.

"After all, you're still no good at judging people. Your senior brother committed every kind of evil, and didn't you fail to see it? I'm afraid you're too naive. Even if you establish a hall of punishment, you'll end up betrayed by someone close to you."

Li Xiangyi was about to retort, but when he heard He Xiaolan mention Shan Gudao again, he could only fall awkwardly silent.

He felt that, because of Shan Gudao, those from Mount Yun Yin would never be able to hold their heads high before He Xiaolan again.

Having dealt with Feng Qing and his people, He Xiaolan no longer cared whether Qi Mushan revealed the truth about Nanyin. After all, she had dealt with those hidden dangers. Oh, there was also the secret of the Tower of Ultimate Bliss; she would deal with that when she had time.

It wasn't that she was meddlesome. After all, He Duobing was Shan Gudao's biological son, and Shan Gudao still bore the name of a descendant of Nanyin royalty. Even if she forced Qi Mushan to reveal Li Xiangyi's origins, could He Xiaolan go around publicizing them? Besides, the emperor was suspicious by nature. Even if he directed his suspicions at Li Xiangyi, would he spare the Heavenly Secret Manor?

Her status in this life was excellent, and there would be plenty of people to help her find whatever resources she wanted in the future. She could have devoted herself to cultivation, free to do as she pleased.

Unfortunately, Shan Gudao was one rat dropping that had spoiled the whole pot of porridge, bringing trouble down on her. She really had let him die too comfortably.

With the matter settled, He Xiaolan paid no attention to how Li Xiangyi felt. She swept the area with her Divine Sense, found no fish that had slipped through the net, and dusted herself off and left.

Li Xiangyi was still thinking about his ideals and his senior brother's origins. Seeing that He Xiaolan had gone some distance, he hurried after her. "Wait, I want to meet your son."

And so, He Duobing, who had still been making roundabout inquiries at the Heavenly Secret Manor about He Xiaolan's deeds, one day saw two figures walking toward him against the sunlight, seemingly a handsome man and a beautiful woman.

When the two drew closer, however, He Duobing was shocked. Wasn't that Li Lianhua?

Li Xiangyi looked at the child gazing at him with tears in his eyes and carefully edged closer to He Xiaolan. "He doesn't think I'm his father, does he?"

He Xiaolan gave him a cold smile. "Dream on."

She used her internal force to send He Duobing into Li Xiangyi's arms and said casually, "He's yours."

While Li Xiangyi scrambled to comfort He Duobing, who kept sobbing in his arms, He Xiaolan felt completely unburdened. She had finally dealt with the trouble affecting her. Perfect!