Minglong

Chapter 277 Prepare for a rainy day
Compared to Mo Mo's destruction of evidence, Xie Jinhuan's approach was much more straightforward.

As soon as Zhao Ling landed on the roof, she saw bed sheets, quilt covers, and other items hanging under the eaves of the inner courtyard, as well as Mo Mo's personal clothing, which Xie Jinhuan had just washed and hung up to dry.

Xie Jinhuan himself sat on the Luohan couch in the central hall, holding a book in his hand. He was dressed in a white brocade robe, his long hair tied up with a ribbon, and his eyes were like cold springs. His gentle profile, coupled with his aloof and ascetic demeanor, made even a pampered girl feel a tremor in her heart.

So handsome...

If Zhao Ling hadn't known Xie Jinhuan's personality and hadn't witnessed his flamboyant and unrestrained behavior, she probably would have been fooled by his appearance and mistaken him for a cold and aloof young swordsman who was indifferent to women.

Having eaten and drunk his fill, Coal Ball was squatting beside Xie Jinhuan, peering at the words. Seeing Zhao Ling standing at the door, he shook his head and greeted her.
"Guji~"

Seeing this, Xie Jinhuan put down his book, stood up, and clasped his hands in greeting:
"Your Highness is awake? Did you sleep well last night?"

Zhao Ling didn't mention Qing Mo's matter. He walked to within a few feet of Xie Jinhuan, glanced at the icy young hero in front of him, and then raised his finger and gently pushed his chest muscle.

Thump~
Xie Jinhuan immediately sat back down on the daybed, looked up at the landlady who exuded a queenly aura, and seemed slightly bewildered:
"Your Highness, are you going to beat me up, or...?"

Zhao Ling stood with her hands folded at her waist, her posture dignified and noble, but her gaze was condescending, carrying a hint of danger.

"Since Mo Mo was there yesterday, I didn't say anything to you. But now that we're in private, shouldn't we talk about this?"

Xie Jinhuan was tricked yesterday and told the truth, basically revealing everything. He originally had a blackout and didn't remember some details, but the ghost provided a one-stop service, playing back the video for him on the spot!
This makes it impossible for him to remember everything so clearly, let alone pretend it.

At this point, the landlady came to settle accounts privately, and Xie Jinhuan didn't try to deny it, instead apologizing with a smile.

"I was definitely drunk that time, and my behavior was extremely offensive..."

"and then?"

"And then... um... I, Xie Jinhuan, have always been someone who dares to take responsibility for my actions. Since this has already happened, I naturally have to take responsibility..."

As he spoke, Xie Jinhuan prepared to get up, demonstrating his responsibility as a man.

?

Seeing that this male favorite was completely unpretentious and dared to take advantage of any opportunity, Zhao Ling found herself unable to resist and slightly raised her hand:

"You're dreaming! You're even trying to take advantage of me. Since there was a reason for this, I, the princess, can let bygones be bygones. However, you must atone for your sins. Hmm... your punishment is to dig out all the remaining remnants of the Underworld Cult. If you fail, Coal Ball, you won't be allowed to eat for three days!"

"Guji?!"

The coal ball, shaking its head, shuddered, its big eyes filled with disbelief, and it thought to itself—what does this have to do with birds?
Upon discovering that Xie Jinhuan not only didn't object, but also added:
"I humble my duty and obey my orders."

The coal ball flew up like a wing and unleashed a series of "eagle tail sweeps" at Xie Jinhuan's head.

clap clap clap...

Zhao Ling was just looking for an excuse to change the subject; she didn't really intend to punish the coal briquette. She picked it up, sat down opposite the small table, and looked at the book:

"what are these?"

"I just retrieved the general information that Uncle Zhang gathered overnight, and I'm looking at it now."

"So fast……"

Danyang is the gateway to the capital, only a few hundred miles away from Luoyang. It wouldn't take a first-rank official long to travel there and back, but to gather intelligence in a day and a night would definitely be exhausting.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Ling picked up the book and examined it. It contained information about the movements of important figures in Luoyang, such as:
Emperor Qian was furious about Xie Jinhuan's assassination attempt and summoned the three deputy supervisors to the Linde Hall. Afterwards, the monk Wuxin left Huguo Temple for the northwest, supposedly to conduct an internal review of all the temples of the Chan Ding sect...

Wei Wuyi urgently sent messages to the leaders of martial arts sects in various regions, ordering them to purge the remaining members of the Blood Rain Tower. However, the Blood Rain Tower was an underground force operating under the shadows, scattered like stars in the sky. Upon receiving news of Shen Jinyu's death, they immediately went silent and could no longer be found...

However, according to rumors circulating within the Witchcraft Cult, the position of leader of the Blood Rain Pavilion has been taken over by Wei Kun, a mysterious assassin who has never shown his face in the martial arts world...

Furthermore, the incident involved martial arts and Buddhism, and Lu Wuzhen bore no responsibility. He was dealing with internal affairs of the Dan Ding Sect. According to Zhang Guan's investigation, it was the widowed gang leader from Dengzhou who, because she was being neglected by Li Chiming, the head of the Xuanhu Temple, brought her son to the Imperial Observatory to scold Lu Wuzhen for meddling and breaking up a marriage. Lu Wuzhen was so angry that he scolded Li Chiming back and told him to quickly take the mother and son back. Then, the headwoman of the Xuanhu Temple came to ask Lu Wuzhen what he meant...

?

Zhao Ling glanced at it a few times, then sat up straighter, her eyes looking strange.
"Wow, this Sect Leader Lu's style is completely different from the other two..."

Xie Jinhuan, who had been somewhat speechless upon seeing these chaotic messages, shook his head and chuckled:
"Therefore, Sect Leader Lu must be a righteous leader with an iron will. Who would be a hidden evil patriarch who spends all day as a paperhanger, busy with these trivial matters?"

"Even Zen Master Wuxin has gone to the Northwest, are we still going to the capital?"

To keep the matter secret, Xie Jinhuan only told Tuotuo and the others about Wei Jili's situation. To the outside world, she told them that he had been assassinated by the monk Xuyin and was coming to settle scores with the Chanding Sect, in order to avoid alerting the Wei family. The sudden dispatch of the monk Wuxin to the Northwest to inspect various temples was indeed somewhat unexpected, but this did not prevent him from returning to the capital to complain to the emperor.

Meanwhile, Uncle Zhang had also found out Wei Yin's whereabouts. Yesterday, he led a team to Huzhou to investigate the headquarters of the Blood Rain Pavilion. As long as he disguised himself as a member of the Blood Rain Pavilion and violently arrested and beat Wei Yin, he could determine whether he was a half-demon.

However, Xie Jinhuan still gave the itinerary arrangements serious consideration:

"There are priorities. Let's return to the capital first, meet with His Majesty and Empress, and make sure His Majesty is safe before we investigate the remnants of the Underworld Cult."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ling naturally recalled the strange hallucinations that occurred at Cangyan Mountain, and his gaze became serious:
"Okay, I'll go get ready right away."

……
-
Phoenix Port in Southern Xinjiang.

Chilong Cave was originally located inside the pass, but it was destroyed during the witchcraft turmoil. After the war, the Gu poison sect was exiled to the southern border. Therefore, Chilong Cave moved to the former Linglu Valley, which is the hometown of Jiang Qizi, the second boss of Taishu Dan.

However, since the economic core of Southern Xinjiang is Phoenix Port by the sea, all the major sects in Southern Xinjiang have businesses in the city, so it naturally became the capital of Southern Xinjiang. Sikong Tianyuan, the leader of Southern Xinjiang, also resides here.

Around noon, in a seaside resort near Phoenix Harbor, several disciples of the Chilong Cave were moving about, handling matters large and small in the port and even in various parts of southern Xinjiang.

Beside a rocky cliff facing the sea and backed by mountains, Sikong Tianyuan, leaning on his rattan cane, walked into a deep stone cave, listening to reports along the way:
"The situation in Luoyang is not good. Xie Jinhuan's goal may be to investigate the Chanding Sect, but given his past deeds, as long as he is in Luoyang, he may be able to uncover our people..."

The speaker, also wearing a cloak, was about the same age as Sikong Tianyuan and was Chen Yishan, the patriarch of the Three Corpses Cave.

Chilong Cave, Sanshi Cave, and Queyue Manor are the three giants of the Gu Poison Sect, and also the three elders who re-established their homeland in the Southern Frontier. However, the first two are old sects that have been passed down for generations, while Queyue Manor is a new force that rose after the chaos of the Witchcraft Sect.

The Crescent Moon Manor used to be quite powerful. The first sect leader laid the foundation, and the second sect leader, Bu Qingya, relied on his outstanding strength to make the sect soar to new heights. At its peak, it even surpassed the Three Corpse Cave and became the second-in-command of the Gu Poison Sect. He was also regarded as the next sect leader and had a high reputation within the Gu Poison Sect.

Unfortunately, Bu Qingya was unlucky and died a violent death in his forties, never reaching his peak. This directly led to the premature collapse of Queyue Manor, and now even the title of "Three Giants" is meaningless, and it is even jokingly referred to by some as "Qiuri Manor"...

Chen Yishan is relatively stable. He is only twenty years younger than the Old Ancestor Sikong and has always been stationed in the Three Corpse Cave. His achievements cannot be compared with those of the Old Ancestor Sikong, but he fought against Lu Yan, Huang Songjia and others in Fire Phoenix Valley when he was young. He has not fallen out of the first tier. However, he is quite low-key and rarely shows his face.

At this time, Chen Yishan came to Phoenix Harbor to meet with Patriarch Sikong, with the purpose of discussing the grand plan of 'the Gu Poison Sect returning to the Central Plains'.

As the patriarch of the Gu Poison Sect, Chen Yishan never thought that witchcraft was inferior to Taoism and Buddhism, nor did he deign to associate with demonic forces.

However, the Great Qian Dynasty acted too ruthlessly, directly labeling the entire Gu Poison Sect as heretical and expelling them from the Central Plains, almost extinguishing the sect's lineage.

In this situation, what should the sect leader do?
Thirty years ago, Chen Yishan knew that the Old Ancestor Sikong had dealings with the evil Taoists, but the 'righteous path' was not a get-out-of-jail-free card. If they were to be exterminated under the banner of the righteous path, they would have no choice but to submit to slaughter.

The sect leader is in charge of the rise and fall of the sect. When the sect is on the verge of extinction, the sect leader should unite all forces that can be united to fight for a chance of survival, instead of continuing to be a loyal dog of the Great Qian until he slowly dies in this desolate and treacherous place.

Therefore, Chen Yishan has always supported the various schemes of the Grand Ancestor against the Southern Dynasty and has been providing assistance to him over the years.

According to the plan of the old master Sikong, they would control the emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty and return to the Central Plains smoothly, but Xie Jinhuan messed it up.

Therefore, the Old Ancestor Sikong had no choice but to activate the backup plan, supporting Wei Wuyi as the supervisor and attempting to expel the leaders of the Taoist and Buddhist sects. However, it seems that this plan is about to fail again.

If all the backup plans fail, then the Gu Poison Sect's hopes of returning to the Central Plains will definitely be dashed, which is why Chen Yishan came to Phoenix Harbor.

If, as the sect leader, Patriarch Sikong's actions are truly as Chen Yishan knows, solely aimed at allowing the Gu Poison Sect to re-enter the Central Plains, then the current situation is indeed difficult to handle.

Unfortunately, ever since the day he changed his name to 'Tianyuan', the old patriarch Sikong's goals have not been limited to this. What he has been doing in secret is much bigger than Chen Yishan imagined.

Faced with this urgent situation, the old ancestor Sikong did not lose his composure. After walking deep into the stone cave, he lightly tapped the ground with his cane.

dong dong~
Two soft sounds were followed by a commotion from deep within the cave:

Splash~ Splash...

Soon, a figure with its eyes covered emerged from the darkness.

The figure, cloaked and carrying a jet-black chain, was lifeless. After standing still, it transformed into a statue.

Chen Yishan recognized the figure, his eyes widened slightly, and he turned his head in disbelief:

"Senior Brother Sikong, what...what do you mean by this?!"

"Make the best use of him. This man is enough to lure Xie Jinhuan away. Let the evil Taoist handle the rest. It's not appropriate for us to be in the open. Let's continue to observe the situation."

"..."

Chen Yishan looked at the blindfolded man with a slightly complicated expression. He seemed about to say something, but ultimately hesitated and turned away in silence...
-
My sleep schedule is a bit messed up again. I'll take a day off tomorrow, or maybe two.
(End of this chapter)