Chasing after her husband? Is it even possible to win him back?

"So, you want to ask if I would do such a thing?"

“Yes.” Jiang Shu looked at Chu Xunfeng.

“I will absolutely not do anything that might expose myself, unless you all become dead and corpses, because I cannot withstand the retaliation from Baidi City, so naturally I must minimize all risks.”

"This applies not only to Baidi City, but to everything. Please go and get some rest. Our matter isn't in a rush." ​​Chu Xunfeng glanced at Jiang Shu, not understanding why she would ask such a... confusing and meaningless question.

Jiang Shu merely shifted her gaze to her daughter, who walked briskly among the group of disciples, and sighed inwardly.

Chapter Thirty-Six, Dialogue

The spring sunshine in May spilled out in patches of light, and walking in the sunlight, Xu Bailing felt a warm and comfortable feeling all over her body.

She fled overnight, and especially after hearing Chu Xunfeng's voice coming through the thick fog, she felt her thoughts stagnate for a moment.

Almost only one thought lingered in my mind.

Why would he do such a thing?

Fortunately, everything in the fog was just a trick played by others; Chu Xunfeng was still the same Chu Xunfeng.

Walking on the cobblestone path, Xu Bailing squinted, basking in the sunlight. When she turned the corner, she looked out into the distance.

A young man dressed in a dark robe with his black hair tied up stood in front of the reception room, talking to Yao Jiangshu.

The young man remained calm, seemingly with a faint smile, while Yao Jiangshu stared wide-eyed, looking anxious and angry.

"what are you guys saying?"

"I, the senior sister whose words have no effect, am just trying to teach this blockhead who disobeys his master's orders and has no respect for his elders a lesson." Yao Jiangshu rolled her eyes at Chu Xunfeng, who was unyielding to reason.

Xu Bailing blinked and looked at Chu Xunfeng.

Chu Xunfeng returned a helpless look.

"What's wrong?" Xu Bailing really didn't know what had happened, and sent Chu Xunfeng a helpless expression.

“Back in the demon realm, his master repeatedly told him not to come to Yongzhou. He told Baidi City to handle the affairs there. He had just entered the Three Profound Realms, and the most important thing for him was to stabilize his realm and improve his strength. But look at him, he plunged headlong into Yongzhou and caused all this trouble!”

Chu Xunfeng knew that whether it was his anxious senior sister or his master who was not here but had given her a task, they genuinely cared about him. So he remained silent and simply listened to their concern and care for him.

“I also think that what Senior Sister Yao said makes sense.” Xu Bailing glanced at Chu Xunfeng and chose to stand on the same side as Yao Jiangshu, condemning Chu Xunfeng’s irresponsible behavior.

"First, I have my reasons. There are some things I have no choice in." Chu Xunfeng looked at the two girls who were about to become sworn brothers and said helplessly, "Second, without me, it would be really difficult for you to get a satisfactory result in Yongzhou."

"I can't pretend I didn't hear that." A gentle female voice, tinged with a low chuckle, rang out behind the group.

The three turned to look at the end of the path. Zuo Shaojun's smile was teasing as he looked at Chu Xunfeng.

However, Zuo Feichen, who was accompanying Jiang Shu, spoke up in a serious tone, "Actually, what Chu Xunfeng said is not wrong. If Baidi City were to investigate Lancang City on its own, who knows how many more people would have to lose here."

Jiang Shu frowned slightly, but did not comment on Zuo Feichen's words.

The crowd remained outside the door, waiting for another half incense stick's time. A chilling aura grew stronger as they approached, and the three demon clan members, ostensibly led by the courtesan, also arrived.

"Everyone's here, please." Chu Xunfeng gestured and led the group into the reception room.

After everyone was seated, Zuo Jin led four maids into the reception room. After tea and refreshments were served, the maids left the room, and Zuo Jin also took his seat.

Jiang Shu picked up her teacup, took a sip of tea, and put the cup down. She then looked around at everyone in the room, her gaze lingering on the three ghosts for a while before turning to Chu Xunfeng.

Everyone's attention, following Jiang Shu's action, turned to Chu Xunfeng.

“Then let’s begin.” The young man looked at Jiang Shu. “Earlier outside the door, Elder Jiang Shu seemed to disagree with a statement I made, so let’s start with that statement.”

"That is, why do I say that if the people from Baidi City came to Lancang City on their own, it would be difficult for them to find out the whole story?" Chu Xunfeng gently tapped the rounded end of the armrest with his right hand. "First of all, Longquan Sword Manor, Baidi City, and the Ghost Clan are all involved in the same matter."

"This matter is that the Bronze Beast, on the orders of the Emperor of Xu, commissioned the Longquan Sword Manor to develop a mysterious weapon."

"And in the process of developing the ghost weapon, the interests of the Ghost Clan were involved." Chu Xunfeng's gaze turned to the three members of the Ghost Clan, "Yin Sha Pearl."

Jiang Shu looked at the three ghosts, and she received a gloomy smile in return from them.

“And once the ghost soldiers were created, it involved the missing disciples of White Emperor City.” Chu Xunfeng then turned to look at Jiang Shu, as well as Xu Bailing and Yao Jiangshu beside her.

Jiang Shu paused for a moment, then refrained from speaking.

"This involves two questions: the Yin Sha Pearl, which belongs to the Ghost Clan and is needed to forge the ghost weapon, and where the bronze Fang Beast came from."

"And how did the Bronze Fang Beast accurately locate and kidnap those disciples from White Emperor City who went missing and were captured to experiment on the effects of the ghost weapons?"

"The first question is, last night the foreigner visited the imperial envoy, I'm afraid he didn't get a satisfactory result from Zhan Chendao?"

"That kid is quite strong, but unfortunately, he doesn't know anything and is just a thug." Gui Jiu, sitting behind the courtesan, spoke in a hoarse old man's voice.

"Now, let's return to the issue of Baidi City." Chu Xunfeng looked at Jiang Shu. "Elder Jiang Shu, I don't know if you have noticed anything in Baidi City. I would like to hear your thoughts on the missing persons. After all... my thoughts may be somewhat offensive."

Jiang Shu frowned slightly. "Our elders have also discussed this, whether in private or in meetings... opinions vary, and it's difficult to make a decision. Please, Young Master Chu, just state your opinion."

"Someone in Baidi City leaked information about these missing persons." Jiang Shu was unwilling to mention the scandals within the sect, but Chu Xunfeng was not so polite and bluntly stated his suspicions.

"First, we need to understand that the person who kidnapped the disciples of Baidi City was the Bronze Fang Beast. What was the Bronze Fang Beast's reason for doing this? Why did it have to be the disciples of Baidi City? That's one reason."

"Secondly, why are there so many disciples and wandering scholars from Baidi City who have disappeared in Yongzhou, yet no one has sent any news back to Baidi City? Is it really true that no one has sent any news?"

"Thirdly, is this the first time the bronze beast has attacked Baidi City?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Chu Xunfeng's gaze fell on Xu Bailing, and Xu Bailing's eyes flickered slightly. After meeting Chu Xunfeng's eyes, Xu Bailing nodded almost imperceptibly, indicating that she and Chu Xunfeng had the same idea.

This attack on the wandering monks is clearly not the first time the bronze beast has attacked Baidi City.

They had already carried out this operation once during the autumn hunt.

It just didn't work that time.

"Everyone, what I've said so far is enough as a starting point. You can all share your thoughts and opinions now." Chu Xunfeng withdrew his gaze and looked at Elder Jiang Shu.

"After all, we're in this together now."

The young man's words were full of profound meaning.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Schemes

In the small reception room, everyone remained silent after Chu Xunfeng finished speaking.

Seeing this, Jiang Shu broke the silence, "Before we discuss the whole matter, Chu Xunfeng, there's something I want to ask you."

"Please." Chu Xunfeng's attitude was naturally impeccably open and honest, and he also guessed what kind of question Elder Jiang Shu would ask.

"What is your stance in this whole affair?" Jiang Shu looked at the young man sitting next to Zuo Feichen. "Before this incident, you had no connection with Longquan Sword Manor. Some of the things that my Baidi City did were actually unfair to you. In other words, Baidi City is not worth your sacrifice. The Ghost Clan has nothing to do with you either. If you were to say that the Demon Clan wanted to get involved in this matter, I would not believe it."

“Elder Jiang Shu, you are indeed right.” Chu Xunfeng readily admitted, “I’m sorry I can’t directly explain my reasons, but as you said, since I have no involvement, why should I care about my position?”

"We're all in the same boat. In fact, I, the retainer of Longquan Sword Manor, am the one who's charging into battle, standing on the stage and sitting next to the manor lord. This morning, the bronze beastman even sent me an invitation, specifically requesting to visit me..."

Chu Xunfeng spoke in that indifferent tone, which was less an attempt to dispel Jiang Shu's doubts and more a subtle rebuke.

"Do you think I'm some kind of Bronze Beast?" Chu Xunfeng shrugged. "So there's no need to question me anymore. Time is of the essence. We only have this last day to prepare. Tomorrow... is the Sword Appraisal Tournament."

“I misspoke.” Jiang Shu withdrew her gaze. “Since you invited us, you must have a plan. My assessment of the situation is not clear, so please tell me your plan directly.”

"Where are you all?" Chu Xunfeng's gaze swept over everyone present, but no one spoke.

"Alright, then I'll get straight to the point. I hope everyone can stand on the side of Longquan Sword Manor and become its allies." Chu Xunfeng paused slightly, tapping his fingers on the armrest of his chair.

"At the Sword Appraisal Conference tomorrow, Longquan Sword Manor will announce something to all the sects that come," Chu Xunfeng said, narrowing his eyes. "We will give away the method of making ghost weapons to the sects that want them for free."

"Longquan Sword Manor is unable to fulfill His Majesty's entrustment. In order not to delay the people's livelihood, we hope that fellow cultivators who have the same intention will participate together." Chu Xunfeng said, his expression softening slightly, revealing a very faint smile. "As for the Yin Sha Pearl, I'm sure you have all heard about the little conflict between the Ghost Clan and the Imperial Envoy."

"Today we have also invited friends from the Ghost Clan. If you wish to research the method of forging treacherous weapons, you will need Yin Sha Pearls as the base material. You can discuss this with the Ghost Clan, but please don't create another misunderstanding like the one with the Bronze Fang Beast..."

After his brief performance, Chu Xunfeng's expression softened slightly. He looked at the diverse expressions on the faces of the crowd and asked, "What do you all think?"

"The world is in chaos." Jiang Shu frowned.

"The world is in chaos, Elder Jiang Shu." Chu Xunfeng looked at Jiang Shu. "From the moment the Emperor of Xu and the Bronze Fang Beast attacked Baidi City, some things began to surface, such as... the Emperor's ambition, or something else."

"There's more to Xu than just Xu. Thousands of miles away, Yan is also eyeing Xu covetously. Otherwise, the matter of the demon race wouldn't have happened in the first place." Chu Xunfeng spoke softly, but what he said made Jiang Shu's heart tremble.

"In addition, there may be traitors within Baidi City... Xu Kingdom does not dare to directly declare war on Baidi City at this time, but many actions have already begun. As far as I know, the seeds of turmoil were sown as early as the autumn hunt."

"The fact that Longquan Sword Manor widely distributes the method of forging treacherous weapons is nothing more than a desperate attempt to protect itself amidst turmoil. If the method of forging treacherous weapons could be so easily developed, there would be countless Jiang Youcais in the world. After all, there are already pioneers, and it is much easier for those who follow in their footsteps than to create something from scratch."

"What does your desire for our support for Longquan Sword Manor have to do with the matter of the treacherous weapons?"

"On behalf of Baidi City, I would like to explain to you that the Ghost Weapon is quite dangerous. Many of my disciples from Baidi City have gone missing in Yongzhou. According to three friends from the Ghost Clan, they seem to have seen Baidi City disciples wielding Ghost Weapons, but who appear to be mentally unstable, appearing in Lancang City."

"We urge everyone to be careful when researching artifacts. Even if you manage to forge one, do not attempt to use it lightly. We suggest contacting the Bronze Beast."

After Chu Xunfeng finished speaking, he shrugged, picked up his teacup under the astonished gazes of everyone, took a sip of tea, and finally exhaled before slowly saying, "That's about it."

"Hehehe, not a word is mentioned about what the Bronze Fang Beast actually did, but the whole thing is full of brilliant words, it's almost as if it's saying outright that the Bronze Fang Beast did all of this." A sinister, hoarse laugh came from the three ghosts.

Chu Xunfeng looked up and exchanged a glance with Gui Jiu, then nodded slightly. "You flatter me."

“At this point… there’s no pressure anymore. After all, there’s no way to resolve the conflict between Baidi City and the Bronze Beast.” Jiang Shu sighed and looked up at Chu Xunfeng. “But are you sure this will work? For Longquan Sword Manor, for Baidi City?”

"It will definitely be useful, but I'm not sure how useful it will be."

"The worst outcome is suppression. The Emperor of Xu Kingdom doesn't dare to openly retaliate against my Longquan Sword Manor, but he won't retaliate against Baidi City, or rather, he won't dare to do anything to you openly."

“After all, we share the same lineage. You have an excellent reputation and the people of Dizhou support you. The Emperor of Xu wouldn’t dare to risk a falling out with you.” Zuo Feichen’s words clearly analyzed the situation in Baidi City. “After all, Baidi City is also a legitimate member of the royal family. If we trace our bloodline, the current Emperor of Xu and Xu Bailing are siblings from the same clan. The current Baidi City Emperor is also the Emperor’s uncle.”

Jiang Shu frowned in confusion, "What use are these blood relations?"