Tumor Sword Immortal

Chapter 384 Isn’t this right?

The moment Pei Xia mentioned "killing on the spot," Luo Xiaojin's hand was on the sword.

She finally breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Li Qing say "Never mind".

It seems that Beishi City still holds some deterrent power over Li Qing.

This was actually a misjudgment, but it didn't matter; Li Qing didn't care.

She moved to the side, then stretched out her delicate hand and patted the threshold beside her: "Sit."

Pei Xia glanced at the spear she had placed to the side, then lifted the hem of her clothes and sat down next to her.

Li Qing had a very faint fragrance, somewhat like mint, which was refreshingly cool and invigorating as soon as you got close.

"I heard you are Pei Xi's son?"

"Correct."

“I know your father; he's a very capable ruler.”

His prowess extends far beyond political maneuvering.

Pei Xia gave a wry smile: "He's even better at scheming."

Pei Xia had thought that, at this point in the conversation, Li Qing might ask him about the murder of his father.

However, it does not.

It seems that this point is not important to Li Qing.

She was more concerned about Pei Xia's life after his escape, especially when she heard about his interactions with the Lingxiao Sword Sect and the Changjing Sect in Youzhou and Maizhou, her expression became much more serious.

Pei Xia didn't know why she was asking her these questions. Moreover, Li Qing didn't seem to care much about cultivation matters, but was more concerned about the structure and operation of these sects.

"You mean you've served as an elder in several sects?"

"Well, strictly speaking, there are only two."

One Weishan Mountain, one Changjingmen Gate.

Li Qing rested her cheek on her hand, looking at him with interest: "What do you think of Jiang Chengshan?"

Pei Xia assumed she was referring to a sect and casually replied, "None of them are human."

"I mean the mountain."

"Mountain……"

Pei Xia recalled what she had seen at Jiangcheng Mountain.

Thanks to Li Xu's support, Su Yan was wealthy, and in Qinzhou, where famine was rampant, Jiangcheng Mountain could be described as a paradise.

Not only is Benshan itself outstanding, but its surrounding environment is also excellent. Located at the confluence of two rivers, it boasts exceptional transportation conditions, as evidenced by the boats on both sides.

In wartime, this was a strategically vital location that military strategists would fight over.

In peaceful times, this place, as a confluence of waterways, would only become more prosperous.

"However, if it were truly a time of peace, such a good place should not be controlled by martial arts sects."

Pei Xia didn't say much, but everything she said made sense.

Li Qing thought for a moment, about to ask something else, when a figure walked over from a distance.

It was Chen Qianye. He was covered in blood, but his clothes were intact, and he didn't seem to have been injured.

"General..." He walked outside the palace, presumably to report on the situation of the encirclement and killing on the mountain.

But before he could finish speaking, Li Qing raised her hand to stop him.

She didn't turn her head, but kept looking at Pei Xia, and said, "If you were to become the leader of Jiangcheng Mountain now, do you think it would be better to build it into a fortress or to reclaim wasteland and cultivate fields?"

Pei Xia didn't know why Li Qing was asking him this kind of question.

But now he's at their mercy, and there's no room for him to play dead.

After thinking for a moment, he first asked Li Qing, "Are you short of food?"

Li Qing shook his head: "We're not in a hurry." After all, there's still aid from Beishi City.

"I think neither of these is good."

Pei Xia explained, “Jiangcheng Mountain is not a continuous mountain range. A solitary peak is difficult to defend. Moreover, building a fortress would be extremely costly. For military purposes alone, two ships would be sufficient. As for reclaiming wasteland, it would be even less worthwhile. Jiangcheng Mountain is, after all, a mountain. Enclosing a dozen acres of land would not be a problem, but to supply the army, it would be a drop in the ocean.”

Li Qing looked at him, her expression unchanged, but her eyes flickered, and she said softly, "Indeed, we have different ways of thinking."

No matter how good Li Qing was, she had grown up in the chaotic world of Qinzhou. She knew many things were wrong, but she was also unsure of what was right.

She reached out and patted Pei Xia on the shoulder: "Okay, Jiang Chengshan is in your hands now."

"……what?"

Pei Xia stood there, stunned, staring at her blankly.

Li Qing didn't repeat himself. He picked up his spear, stood up, and while brushing the dust off his backside, said, "I'm at the boat company down the mountain. If you dare to run, I'll kill you."

Without consulting Pei Xia at all, she went down the steps and left with Chen Qianye.

The killings that occurred around the mountain suggest that even General Sun was not spared. There is also a shipyard at the foot of the mountain, which is currently leaderless, and she still needs to lead her men to take it over.

Pei Xia watched her retreating figure, her white robes swaying into the forest, as if she had only given a small instruction.

Luo Xiaojin was also stunned. She didn't expect that instead of helping the Princess catch the wanted criminal, Li Qing would actually arrange for Pei Xia to do so.

Before she could figure it out, she glanced at Pei Xia sitting on the threshold and thought of that chilling phrase, "kill him on the spot."

She tightened her grip on the sword. No matter how unwilling she was, she knew that she absolutely could not stay by Pei Xia's side at this moment.

Following Li Qing and Chen Qianye's retreating figures, Luo Xiaojin also went after them.

In the luxurious mountain lord's palace, besides Pei Xia, Feng Yao, and Jiang Shu, there was only Ma Shilin cowering to the side, not daring to utter a sound, and Su Yan, whose mouth was gagged, eyes glazed over, and who seemed to be acting crazy.

For a moment, it became quiet.

But the silence around him couldn't mask the turmoil raging within Pei Xia's heart.

No, why?!
……

Chen Qianye had originally come to report on the situation of the encirclement and killing, but at this moment he felt that the matter was not so important.

He glanced at Luo Xiaojin, who was following far behind, and then looked at Li Qing: "What do you mean?"

“It doesn’t mean anything,” Li Qing said softly as he walked ahead. “Supporting sects and managing local areas, isn’t that what we’ve always done?”

Chen Qianye was speechless for a moment.

That's true.

However, usually, reliable people are assigned to lead local sects, or at least people who know the sect's background and are easy to control.

Especially in a strategically important place like Jiangcheng Mountain, even Li Xu, who had been rooted in Dongqin for two generations, had to arrange for his younger siblings to come and guard it.

But Li Qing just entrusted the task to that outsider he'd only met once?
Chen Qianye reminded him, "I fought with him outside Wangjiang Tower before. That guy is no ordinary person."

“Yes,” Li Qing nodded, and then introduced him to Chen Qianye, “He is Pei Xi’s son, a wanted criminal in Ling Kingdom.”

"Shouldn't we be even more cautious then?"

"It doesn't matter."

Li Qing lifted his foot, stepped across a mountain stream, and calmly said, "Jiangcheng Mountain is the bridgehead for the eastward advance. For now, we can only advance this far. Once the follow-up troops and supplies arrive, we'll have to stay at the Liangjiang Shipping Company for a long time. If we don't leave, he won't be able to stir up any trouble. Besides, I always feel..."

Li Qing pursed her lips, and Qu Ying's face flashed through her mind: "Something's not right with Qu Ying."

The secrets of the Dragon Cauldron have remained unrecorded in historical texts for over a thousand years.

Why would Qu Ying need to reveal such a secret to the public today?

Not to mention that it's completely unnecessary to reveal one's secrets after achieving great success, the key point is that he hasn't even achieved his ultimate goal yet, has he?

Otherwise, why would he still pressure Li Xu?
If he truly has ulterior motives, then Pei Xia is the most suspicious person among those who appeared on Jiangcheng Mountain today.

“Keeping him under my watchful eye is not a bad thing at all,” Li Qing smiled reassuringly at Chen Qianye. “Besides, our territory is getting bigger and bigger, and it’s time to try to change the world in Qinzhou. I think Jiangcheng Mountain is a place of outstanding natural beauty, so why not start with it?”

(End of this chapter)