Misty Rain of the Old Times

Looking at the two men in black on the opposite sailboat with amusement, Chen Xuan asked with interest, "Do you recognize me?"

It was obvious they recognized him; otherwise, two seasoned veterans at the Innate Realm wouldn't have so readily knelt down and begged for mercy. As for how they recognized him, there was no need to guess. If the Chongyan Sect didn't even have this much reaction ability, they wouldn't be worthy of being in the sect.

The two men prostrated themselves, not daring to raise their heads, and said in trembling voices, "We dare not; it is an honor to have met Young Master Chen."

These two people are aware that they don't dare to get to know each other, nor are they qualified to do so.

Having no interest in wasting words with them, Chen Xuan said bluntly, "Because I threw your Chongyan Sect members into the river to feed the fish a couple of days ago, your Chongyan Sect felt that you had lost face and suffered a blow to your dignity, so you specially sent the two of you to get rid of me and save face?"

"We had no such intention. We just happened to be passing by and came across this ship to see what the people of Fanjiang Village were up to. We never expected to have the honor of meeting Young Master Chen."

They categorically denied it. Although Chen Xuan's words sounded strange, they could still understand the general meaning. Even if the situation was indeed as Chen Xuan described, they dared not admit it.

Having no time for arguing with them, Chen Xuan rested his chin on his hand and said mockingly, "Your Chongyan Sect is like rats crossing the street, everyone shouts to kill you. There aren't many good people among you. I don't care what your purpose is. Now that you're in my hands, I'll give you a chance to persuade me to let you go. You only have one chance, so think it over carefully. Since you've already called me by name, you probably know that I'm not a bloodthirsty person. Most of the time, I'm quite easy to talk to."

If his name hadn't been called out, Chen Xuan could have been Sang Biao, Yang Guo, or even Huang Xiaochao. But since his identity has already been revealed, he still needs to be mindful of his established persona, even though it doesn't really matter.

Upon hearing this, the two felt a chill run down their spines. They cursed their subordinates countless times in their hearts for reporting the matter without proper investigation, only to run into a major obstacle. They feared they might perish here, depending on Chen Xuan's mood.

Actually, it's not that they were careless, nor is it that the people collecting information under the Chongyan Sect were careless. It's just that the Chongyan Sect's status in the martial arts world is what it is. They are used to being arrogant and there are very few people they can't afford to offend. Normally, they don't even have a chance to get close to them. Who knew they would run into trouble?

At this moment, they realized that the so-called persuasion of Chen Xuan was just a trick on them, and there was a high probability that he would not let them go, but this was their only chance to survive!
There's no way they can win in a fight; one look from him and they're dead. There's no chance of escaping either. So the only chance of survival is to provide valuable information or items. Whether they live or die ultimately depends on Chen Xuan's mood.

The truth is that Chen Xuan had no intention of letting them go either. Firstly, the people of the Chongyan Cult were not good people to begin with, and secondly, regardless of whether they knew it was him beforehand, they wanted to kill him, so there was no reason for them to let him go.

The reason for this unnecessary effort is that Dujuan hasn't returned yet, and we're just idling around anyway. So, we thought we might as well give it a shot, in case they actually say something useful.

With their lives hanging by a thread, the two knew that time was of the essence. If they delayed even a breath and opened their mouths, Chen Xuan might slap them to death if he was unhappy. So they racked their brains trying to figure out how to survive.

One of them quickly realized something and blurted out, "Young Master Chen, there's something you might not know. The Southern Emperor has now gained considerable power and seems unstoppable. Therefore, the nearly disintegrating Rong Kingdom court is considering a risky move: sending someone to harm the Gao family. They intend to capture a member of the Gao family to threaten the Southern Emperor and delay his expansion. After all, the Gao family is the maternal family of Empress Nan Jing, and the Empress is the Southern Emperor's right-hand woman. Such underhanded matters cannot be made public. Our Chongyan Sect only learned of this by chance, but it is absolutely true. We have no intention of offending Young Master Chen; we humbly request your leniency."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xuan raised an eyebrow. At first, when he mentioned the Southern Emperor, he almost didn't realize it, but after hearing the rest, he understood that he was referring to Prince Qing.

Admittedly, this news was indeed very important to Chen Xuan. The Gao family members were among the few people he cared about in this world. And in matters of power struggles, bloodshed and violence are inevitable. Morality and righteousness have to take a backseat in such situations. When the Rong Kingdom court is pushed to the limit, it is capable of anything. Therefore, it is not surprising that it took action against the Gao family.

With a flicker of thought, Chen Xuan lightly tapped the armrest of the armchair and said calmly, "I understand. One of you may live, and you must keep your word. If you have no other reason to convince me, you can decide for yourselves who lives and who stays."

Of course he'll keep his word; it doesn't matter who came up with the reason why one person could live, does it?

At this moment, Chen Xuan thought to himself that he had followed that scholar Xiao Gao for many years and had eventually become a little bad. After all, how could a cunning and shrewd person who was out there in the martial arts world compare to a scholar?

Although this news was important, Chen Xuan was not worried because the Gao family's roots were in Yang County. Even if the Rongguo court wanted to target the Gao family, it would not dare to send anyone to Yang County. Otherwise, it would have to consider Chen Xuan's reaction. Everyone knew about his relationship with the Gao family. Even putting that aside, Yang County was now a forbidden zone in some circles. Only someone who was tired of living would dare to go there and cause trouble.

As for sending someone directly to Xiao Gao's place, unless a Grandmaster comes in person, it would be suicide. Firstly, Xiao Gao has the Misty Array Flag, and secondly, he has the Innate Master Leng Bing. With the two working together, even top Innate Masters would be defeated there. Don't forget that Chen Xuan also gave Xiao Gao a fan. If he uses it at a critical moment, it can save his life for a period of time. The fan is sealed with Chen Xuan's Grandmaster will, which he can sense even across thousands of miles. It's not too late to make a trip.

Given these premises, and considering that Xiao Gao is such a smart person, if he could still ruin himself, Chen Xuan would probably have to advise him to retire to the mountains and just let things fall apart with him.

The most important thing is that Rongguo wouldn't dare to go too far and wouldn't harm their lives. Otherwise, if Prince Qing succeeded, the consequences would be unimaginable. If you dare to do something, he would dare to retaliate fifteen or a hundred times over.

Of course, now that he knew the news, Chen Xuan still had to give a reminder. Only with precautions can there be no mistakes. Without prior precautions, no matter how many advantages you have, something bad may still happen.

Then Chen Xuan was even less worried about Master Gao. He thought, "A high-ranking official like you is joking. He has plenty of experts protecting him. If he were stupid, how could he have gotten to that position? With a little reminder, he could probably devise a plan to turn the tables on him."

It's even more impossible for Rongguo to send a Grandmaster-level expert to do such a small thing. First of all, a Grandmaster-level expert can't afford to lose face. Secondly, they are also aware of the situation. Countless people are watching their every move. To enter Jingguo and cause trouble silently, they would need to have a lightness skill as superb as Chen Xuan. Didn't you see that not long ago, the Misty Fairy of Yuhua Kingdom was stopped when she entered the country?

Originally, Chen Xuan only intended to tease the two members of the Chongyan Sect, but he never expected to actually extract something useful from them.

As these thoughts flashed through Chen Xuan's mind, the two men, upon hearing that only one could live, naturally dared not demand an explanation from Chen Xuan; preserving their lives was the key issue.

Nobody wanted to die, and the two of them figured they couldn't think of another reason to convince Chen Xuan to save the other person's life in a short time.

Immediately, someone spoke up: "Thank you, Young Master Chen, for your kindness. Let him have this opportunity. I am older than him, so I will stay..."

As this person spoke, the other person was overjoyed, but said urgently, "Young Master Chen, don't listen to him! I'll stay and let him live...you!"

He was clearly too happy too soon. He had originally wanted to put on a show of deep affection, but the one who spoke first and generously gave him the opportunity stretched out his hand, his five fingers forming a claw, his true energy surging, and unexpectedly pierced his heart with a "poof." It was so close, so unexpected, and coupled with the numbness from the words, he didn't even have a chance to dodge.

Who could have imagined that a brother who was so bravely sacrificing his life just moments before would turn around and kill his brother so suddenly?

The one who landed the blow unleashed a burst of true energy, tearing the body of the man whose heart had been pierced into pieces, blood splattering everywhere. He then quickly suppressed his aura and looked at Chen Xuan nervously, saying, "Young Master Chen, now we're all alone. You promised to keep your word."

Chen Xuan remained unmoved by their infighting, nodding and saying, "Of course. You can go now. By the way, please pass on a message to your leader: ordinary people are already struggling enough. I hope he's kind and will restrain his people a little. Well, I've wasted my breath; you probably won't have a chance to get it back."

In the end, Chen Xuan shook his head helplessly, looking regretful.

The man who thought he had survived hadn't even had time to excitedly leave when his expression suddenly froze. He looked at the hand that had killed his companion, now completely black. He rolled up his sleeve, revealing his entire arm was black; he quickly opened his chest, and it was the same. In an instant, his face turned ashen, and he coughed up black blood, exclaiming in shock, "What a vicious method! To actually hide a deadly poisonous worm in the heart meridian! This was a premeditated act, a constant attempt to take someone down with them... *poof*"

Before he could finish speaking, he spat out a mouthful of black blood and collapsed onto the deck, his entire body melting rapidly into a pool of black pus, as if it were beeswax.

Chen Xuan couldn't help but grin at this scene, thinking to himself that the Chongyan Sect truly lived up to its reputation as an evil sect; there wasn't a single good person among them, nor a single normal person.

However, it's not really his fault. Before he started playing mind games, he did think they would fight each other, but he wouldn't break his promise to save one of them. He didn't know beforehand that they would both die.

There's a story in my hometown about how two peaches killed three warriors; this can be considered as him keeping his promise to eliminate two evils.

Who cares? By a twist of fate, we've rid the world of two scourges.

"Master is brilliant. Under everyone's watchful eyes, he neither broke his promise nor let any troublemakers go free," Xia Mei said admiringly from the side. It was genuine admiration, not flattery. She never expected her master to have such a cunning plan. He always said he was simple-minded, but how was he simple-minded? Chen Xuan was somewhat amused and speechless. "Aunt Mei, would you believe me if I said I was quite surprised myself?"

"I believe you," she nodded immediately with a serious expression.

You clearly didn't believe me. Forget it, I'm too lazy to dwell on this.

These two seasoned veterans, both killed by their own sneak attacks, would have caused immense destruction within a few hundred feet if they had fought head-on.

Having been keeping a close eye on the young girl, Chen Xuan noticed that she had already eliminated quite a few of the river bandits from Fanjiang Village. Lacking practical combat experience, she had been using all her strength, and her already limited internal energy was almost depleted. Given that such things can easily go too far, Chen Xuan gave Xia Mei a look and said, "It's time to end this."

She nodded in understanding instantly, and with a gesture, the eunuchs who had been holding back raised their crossbows again, and with a whooshing sound, all the remaining bandits perished.

The young girl, caught up in the excitement of chopping, stopped when she realized she had no target. She took a deep breath, used her lightness skill to return to the ship, and looked at Chen Xuan somewhat nervously, saying, "Master, I didn't disappoint you, did I?"

Chen Xuan stood up, ignoring her blood-soaked body, and gently patted her head, laughing, "Decisive and without hesitation, Roujia, you've not only not disappointed me, my little girl has grown up!"

"I'll do whatever you tell me to do, Master. I'll do anything for you," she said with a sweet and obedient smile, a far cry from her previous fierce demeanor. However, the sight of her holding a large knife and covered in blood was somewhat incongruous.

Immediately afterwards, she subconsciously looked back at the place she had just passed, where there were severed limbs and shocking blood. Only afterward did she realize what she had done, and her expression changed slightly as she became somewhat dazed.

The next moment, she lost consciousness and fainted, the large knife in her hand falling to the deck.

Seeing Xia Mei's worried expression, Chen Xuan helped her up and shook his head, saying, "This is Roujia's first time experiencing something like this, so it's inevitable that her emotions will fluctuate too much. I've already given her a subtle psychological suggestion; she'll be fine after a nap. Take her downstairs to rest, change her clothes, and light some calming incense. She'll be alright."

"Yes, sir," Xia Mei nodded and relaxed. She carried the little girl back to her room upstairs. She understood the little girl's importance to Chen Xuan. Since the master said everything was alright, then naturally nothing would happen.

'Maybe I'm overthinking it, but all the signs indicate that chaos is coming. If you're not ruthless, you won't stand firm. Rather than growing up passively, it's better to adapt proactively. The general trend is beyond human control, and no one in this world can stand aside,' Chen Xuan thought to himself as he looked at the calm river surface.

The sailboat was still moored on the river a hundred or so feet away. Chen Xuan had not ordered the men on board to be killed. Their leader had fled, and the strategist was terrified. Two men in black, who appeared out of nowhere, started killing each other. As a result, the remaining members of Fanjiang Village were terrified and silent, including the two remaining leaders of Fanjiang Village. They dared not make any rash moves and waited anxiously for their fate.

As a gentle breeze swept by, the departing Du Juan reappeared beside Chen Xuan, holding a thin thread in her hand, on which was bound the runaway Grandpa Hong.

She tossed it onto the deck like a dead dog, and Du Juan, her cold expression softening, smiled gently, "Master, I have not failed you."

Chen Xuan wasn't surprised by this, and smiled, saying, "Thank you for your trouble, Sister Juan."

'Grandpa Hong's' body was bent backward like a bow, his limbs and neck were bound by Du Juan with sharp thin threads, he dared not move at all, and dared not speak, because the slightest movement could cut his body apart with those thin threads.

Back when the giantess Loke was outside Sun City in the Cave Heaven World, she was hesitant to act because of Du Juan's thin thread. How much more so would Grandpa Hong, whose innate realm was almost at the bottom? Although he could become a master, how many real masters would lower themselves to play the petty trick of gathering a crowd to occupy a mountain and become king?

Unable to move or speak, Grandpa Hong looked at Chen Xuan with a terrified and pleading expression, knowing full well that he was probably doomed.

He'd only been free for a few days, how could he end up like this? He should have tried to leave when the Chongyan Cult came knocking. Now it's too late for regrets. He should have stayed in prison, at least he could have survived by playing the coward.

Without even glancing at him, Chen Xuan said calmly, "Sister Juan, let him go."

Du Juan gently shook her hand, using a special technique to gather the silk threads and untie him. In front of her master, what kind of trouble could this man possibly cause?

Before Old Master Hong could say anything in fear, Chen Xuan looked at the river and said, "Take your men, retrieve the bodies from the river, load them onto the boat, and then go back to Fanjiang Village. Make everyone there who has done evil confess their crimes, compile a list, and then have them all turn themselves in to the authorities. I believe you can do it, and you can complete it perfectly. After you've done all that, commit suicide in front of the government office to atone for your sins."

Chen Xuan shook his head and said, "I heard you were released because of a general amnesty. I don't know what evil deeds you committed to deserve this. I'm not interested in knowing. Just do as I say. This is the best outcome for you. I suppose you understand what it means to wish you were dead. Remember to say thank you. Oh well, you didn't have a choice anyway."

"I will do as you say and leave no one behind. I will atone for my sins with my life afterward," Grandpa Hong nodded and then returned to the sailboat to do his best to complete Chen Xuan's arrangements.

He was mentally clear-headed, but he couldn't control his words and actions at all, which made him even more terrified.

After making arrangements for the aftermath, Chen Xuan and his crew's ship sailed away from the scene of the incident, and soon returned to its usual tranquility, as if nothing had happened, with everyone going about their business as usual.

There's always a thief crying "stop thief!" Ever since dealing with the Wu family, Chen Xuan has experienced the convenience of the Purple Mystic Illusionary Eyes. He's come to like this method of letting those he wants to deal with deal with deal with themselves, which is easy, convenient, and thorough.

It was just a minor incident and wouldn't affect Chen Xuan and the others' mood for their trip.

After walking a short distance away, Chen Xuan turned back and said, "Sister Juan, please prepare pen, ink, paper, and inkstone. I need to write two more letters to inform the young master about some matters. I've been writing letters every few days; I wonder if he'll find it troublesome."

"Yes, sir," Du Juan quickly went to prepare.

While Chen Xuan was writing the letter, Du Juan laid out paper and ground ink beside him. Chen Xuan chatted idly, "Does Sister Juan think I went a bit too far with that old man Hong? Although they came with ill intentions at first, he didn't make a move. Instead, he apologized and ran away immediately. But I wiped them out completely."

Upon hearing this, Dujuan replied matter-of-factly, "Master has been merciful enough; they deserved what they got."

With a smile, Chen Xuan said, "Of course they deserved it, that's the root cause. Actually, I also had my own ulterior motives, you could say I was petty."

Du Juan looked puzzled. It was just dealing with a bunch of bad guys, a perfectly normal thing. Why would the master say she was petty?

Chen Xuan chuckled to himself, "Sister Juan, don't disbelieve me. That guy shouldn't have looked at you like that in the first place. I really disliked it, which is why I said I was petty. Otherwise, given how sensible he was, I wouldn't have hesitated to give him a quick death. After all, it's really a bit much for a master of innate cultivation to send his subordinate to surrender and then have him commit suicide in public to atone for his sins."

Upon hearing the first half of the sentence, Du Juan's heart skipped a beat, and she almost melted. Her gaze towards Chen Xuan was so glazed that she was practically drooling. She didn't hear a word of what he said after that.

Just because of the other person's gaze, he ruined her reputation and made her apologize to the world. Perhaps it was just something Chen Xuan said casually in conversation, but it was his most genuine thought, which was better than a thousand sweet words. You can imagine how powerful it was to a girl, especially since Du Juan's heart and soul were already completely devoted to Chen Xuan.

On the upper deck of the ship, by the window, the little princess, who had witnessed this scene, covered her mouth and chuckled. She whispered to Yunlan, "My husband is winning over a girl's heart again. I was fooled by his sweet talk back then. What girl could resist that? Look at Sister Juan now, she probably already knows what to name her tenth son for my husband."

...(End of chapter)