Tumor Sword Immortal

Chapter 171 You've been here before.
Han Youzhi was fully prepared when she said those words.

She anticipated that Pei Xia would ask what her "secret treasure" was, what made her so certain, and that, given his style, he might even say something like, "What does it have to do with me if he came for you?"

But to her surprise, Pei Xia simply blinked and said something she never expected.

“Come here,” Pei Xia pointed to the door, “wouldn’t that leave Pear all alone next door?”

“Uh…” Han Youzhi understood what he meant. Since they suspected something was wrong with the He family, it was not a good idea to leave Lu Li, a child, alone in the room.

Old Han ran his fingers through his soft hair and scratched his head. "I think Pear is already at the sixth realm, and what I'm talking about might not be suitable for a child like her to hear."

"There's nothing wrong with it, go and bring her over first."

Han, feeling guilty, could only sheepishly go and hug Lu Li back.

With Pear sitting on the table, its fuzzy ball on its head like a pillar of strength, Pei Xia slowly walked over, turned over the cup, and poured herself a cup of tea: "Why did you say there was a thief?"

The He family consists of five members of their own clan, with no outsiders. If they truly harbored thieving intentions, they should all be counted as five.

But Han, being naive, immediately said that there was only one.

Old Han pursed his lips, and after a moment said, "In short, it's just one."

She couldn't very well say it was because Yuqiong was steadily burning with desire for someone of the same kind, could she?

In fact, Han Youzhi had already noticed the astonishing temperature emanating from her two jade pendants last night, and this intense heat intensified after traveling with the He family today.

The pain didn't subside throughout the entire day, which convinced Han Youzhi that the person who, like herself, had received the blessings of the Jade Palace, was among the five members of the He family.

This "in short" answer did not satisfy Pei Xia.

But after staring at Han Youzhi for a while, he still didn't press for details: "So, who do you think it could be?"

After all, Pei Xia and Han Youzhi had been through thick and thin together, so at this moment, Pei Xia still chose to believe her.

Han Youzhi shook his head: "I can't know who it is until a certain hidden feature appears, but I can be sure that the other party is a Su Master."

Only a master of the highest level can enter the Jade Palace.

It wasn't hard to discern the martial arts cultivation levels of the five members of the He family. Among them, the lowest were the twin brothers and sister He Yuan, who hadn't even completed the Transcendent Realm.

He Chen is slightly higher, at the Zhen Gang Realm, and quite proficient at it. Considering his age, he is considered quite good in the martial arts world. He might reach the Lian Ding Realm in his early thirties.

The highest level is He Liang, an uncle of the He family with martial arts cultivation at the Opening Mansion Realm. If judged by the standards of ordinary Jianghu families, this is considered to be at the level of a clan's guardian elder.

However, martial arts cultivation is unrelated to Master Su.

"Logically speaking, a master like Su would need a deep accumulation of knowledge, so the three younger siblings would be less suspicious."

As Pei Xia said this, Han Youzhi couldn't help but glance at Lu Li on the table. She forced herself not to put Lu Li into these questions: "Then it's either He Chen or He Liang."

Pei Xia pondered for a moment: "I think it should be He Chen."

A hint of doubt flashed in Han's bright, childlike eyes: "So certain?"

“The He family of Aocheng is not well-known and their clan power is probably not large. For a family of their size, if someone can achieve at least the Zhen Gang Realm in martial arts and also make achievements in the path of Su Shi, they will definitely be regarded as the future support of the family and be cultivated as a key talent.”

It seemed there was no problem. Han Youzhi tried to follow his train of thought and asked in return, "Then, shouldn't we protect He Chen well within the family before he achieves something? Why would we let He Chen go out and roam the world? What if something unexpected happens?"

"That's right, so they sent their most trusted elders and cultivators at the Opening Mansion Realm to protect them."

Indeed, it's not uncommon for stories to involve a future pillar of the family going out to gain experience or broaden their horizons, with an elder from the clan assigned to look after them. In traditional folk tales, such stories usually end with some unexpected twists.

“Of course, seclusion and arduous cultivation is definitely the best option, so let’s consider a different perspective,” Pei Xia continued, “What if He Liang is the future of that family who has achieved success in both cultivation and asceticism?”

He's already at the Opening Mansion Realm in martial arts, and he's so old, he's unlikely to have any need to broaden his horizons. Compared to He Chen, he should be in seclusion and cultivating diligently within the family.

As for the matter of looking after the younger generation, you can just have another elder take over.

Han Youzhi seemed to understand but not quite: "Then, it must be He Chen?"

"Logically speaking, it is him."

What does "from a purely logical perspective" mean?

Pei Xia didn't say anything.

He remembered Xiaoyue, the female elder of the Lingxiao Sword Sect, who was atop Qingfeng Sword Peak.

From a purely logical standpoint, you simply cannot deduce why Xiaoyue would be so obedient to Changsun Yu.

Pei Xia sighed and uttered the famous saying that was widely known in the martial arts world: "Damn Su Shi."

……

Meanwhile, Ye Lu was wandering the streets and alleys, following the secret signals left by Heishi, heading towards the royal court's mole.

The message eventually led to a grain and oil store.

Ye Lu entered through the main gate, received the coded signal, and then turned into the alley in the backyard.

It was a small warehouse where rice and flour were stored.

A portly boss dressed in a loose silk robe was talking quietly with someone in the warehouse.

Upon seeing this, Ye Lu instinctively wanted to move aside.

No wires are connected; that's the rule in espionage. Ye Lu has his own mission, and the other spy in the warehouse also has his own mission.

But just as he was about to turn around, he glanced over and felt that the figure looked somewhat familiar.

It seems like we just met not long ago.

A quick search revealed that the silhouette of the figure immediately matched a person.

He Chen, the eldest son of the He family.

What's He Chen doing here? Is he also a spy for Black Shrew? Isn't he a member of the He family?

Oh, could it be that the He family is also one of the Jianghu families secretly supported by Hei Shi?

Back when Ye Lu was in the Golden Tent in Hanzhou, he had heard people say that when the Northern Barbarians first took over Youzhou, Hei Shi had already begun to make arrangements. He recruited some reclusive martial arts families in various parts of Youzhou, and on the condition of secretly supporting them, he developed them into his own informants. Many tasks that were sensitive and inconvenient for Hei Shi to directly intervene in could be handed over to these martial arts people.

Ye Lu shook his head and smiled, never expecting that the flood had washed away the Dragon King's temple...

"Oh dear, Mr. He, how can I possibly explain this to you?"

As Ye Lu was feeling sentimental, he heard the helpless voice of the shopkeeper who had made contact with him in the warehouse: "I've told you this countless times. I gave you the clues about Zhu Juncheng's disappearance several days ago. At that time, the blockade of Changjun had just been lifted, and you took the five people from your He family westward. Don't you remember? You were a spy for Heishi. How could you forget this?"

(End of this chapter)