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

"Then there's the second thing." Chu Xunfeng squinted at Zuo Shaojun. "That Constable Lian came for you. He told me some things. I can't say whether what he said was true or false, but his interest in the ghost soldiers you created is definitely real."

"What did he say?" Zuo Shaojun looked at Chu Xunfeng. It was his idea to arrange for the sword servants to follow Chu Xunfeng, and he also knew that Chu Xunfeng had communicated with that Constable Lian.

“He wanted to know the details of the goods you were transporting.” Chu Xunfeng deliberately emphasized the word ‘goods’ to refer to the Yin Sha Pearl. “And I told him everything about the goods.”

Zuo Shaojun was stunned on the spot. He stared at Chu Xunfeng suspiciously for a long time before finally managing to utter a sentence, "What exactly do you want to do!?"

“You can’t stop him. Blood Eye and Blood Blade appeared last night, which will definitely attract his attention. The prefect is obviously in cahoots with him. They will definitely want to inspect your goods. Would Longquan Sword Manor go against Xu Guo’s official robes?” Chu Xunfeng glanced at Zuo Shaojun.

The young man's expression and Zuo Shaojun's silence both proved one thing.

You can't fight city hall with your arm; at least on the surface, Longquan Sword Manor can't win against the governor of Kamakura.

"Yun'er, go and inform Jiang Min to set off for Lancang City immediately." Zuo Shaojun almost roared through gritted teeth as he spoke these words. He stared at the sword servant's hurried departure, then turned and glared at Chu Xunfeng. "What exactly do you want to do?!"

“I have a guess about Lian Cai’s identity, and now it’s time to verify my guess.” Chu Xunfeng calmly rippled the tea in his cup, watching the surface of the water return to calm after the slight ripples. “Just wait and see. If I guess right, your worries will be completely unnecessary.”

Chu Xunfeng stopped drinking tea, put down his teacup, and slowly raised his head, staring at Zuo Shaojun as well. "But you'd better pray that my prediction is wrong, and that this caravan doesn't leave Kamakura City unharmed."

Although Zuo Shaojun's thinking and sense of events were not as sharp as Chu Xunfeng's, Chu Xunfeng's words had already reached this point, and he suddenly realized many things.

Last night, it was Lian Cai who did most of the talking, while the prefect stood to the side.

If Lian Cai were truly just a constable, then this arrangement wouldn't be inappropriate. However, Chu Xunfeng has now confirmed that Lian Cai's identity as a constable is false.

He has another identity, so last night's meeting can be said to have been entirely orchestrated by Lian Cai, with the prefect's presence merely serving as an endorsement for Lian Cai.

Now that he was in a hurry to leave the city, if everything went smoothly, then... it would be enough to prove that Lian Cai didn't care at all about him being able to leave Kamakura Castle, and he didn't care even more about the shipment he was escorting leaving Kamakura Castle.

Lian Cai is an official of the Xu State government!

Even further, he might even be a bronze beast!

Zuo Shaojun suddenly stood up, supporting himself on the table with both hands. He felt dizzy and didn't even dare to think about how many clues could be connected by his guess if it was true.

How many people could persuade a father to start developing a stealth weapon?

Jiang Min said that her father didn't tell her these things in order to protect her. This kind of talk is clearly not something Jiang Min, given her status, should say. Those words were obviously something her father had told her.

How many forces can threaten Longquan Sword Manor?

Damn!

Is Longquan Sword Manor building a treacherous weapon for the Emperor of Xu?!

Zuo Shaojun suddenly raised his head and stared intently at Chu Xunfeng, whose face was cold.

Chu Xunfeng naturally noticed Longquan Sword Master's unusual behavior, but he didn't take it seriously at all.

In fact, after learning about the relationship between Longquan Sword Manor and the Ghost Weapon last night, and after noticing the abnormality of Lian Cai's identity, Chu Xunfeng had already concluded that Longquan Sword Manor was manufacturing, or rather researching, the Ghost Weapon for the Xu Kingdom.

If the Ghost Weapon is truly an evil thing, then there are only a few forces that can persuade the Longquan Sword Manor to choose from.

To have such connections with the government, to be able to persuade them, and to even cultivate people with the air of secret agents...

There is really only one choice.

The secret guards of the Xu Kingdom, bronze fang-like beasts.

"Young Master, everything is ready." Jiang Min's voice pulled Zuo Shaojun back to reality. Zuo Shaojun looked at Jiang Min, his lips trembled, and he swallowed the words that were about to come out.

He turned to look at Chu Xunfeng, "Chu Xunfeng, what are your plans now?"

“The situation of Longquan Sword Manor and Baidi City is actually quite similar.” Chu Xunfeng put down his cup and looked up at Zuo Shaojun. “In the capital of Yongzhou, Lancang City, the ability to secretly swallow up so many people from Baidi City is probably not something that an ordinary force could do.”

"Let's go together. That blood-eyed, blood-bladed thing... is a noose."

"Unfortunately, I realized it too late..."

Chu Xunfeng followed Zuo Shaojun out of the post station.

"We've all fallen for it."

Chapter Fifteen, In Blue Azure City

Lancang City, the capital of Yongzhou.

A woman wearing a straw hat was wandering aimlessly through the capital city. According to the previous arrangement, she should have already met up with the person she was waiting for and then started to inquire about Baidi City in Lancang City.

However, Chu Xunfeng was late, for a full two days.

Ao Hanli, whose appearance had been transformed, sighed softly. Her gaze fell on a group of children running past on the street with paper windmills in their hands. The dragon girl watched the five children run past the street corner together before turning her gaze away. Lancang City still appeared peaceful and serene, but that was only on the surface.

In reality, the entire Blue Cang City was in a state of turmoil at this moment. Rumors, both true and false, were flying around in the cultivators' circles, from White Emperor City and Seven Star Tower to Dragon Spring Sword Manor.

During the two days she waited for Chu Xunfeng, she carefully investigated and memorized all the information, whether useful or not. However, she did not make any rash moves for the time being and planned to wait until she met up with Chu Xunfeng.

While gathering information, Ao Hanli also encountered several old acquaintances in Lancang City. However, because she had specially changed her appearance, she did not contact her old friends, but kept a watchful eye on them in case of need.

As for what occasional needs?

Ao Hanli couldn't quite put her finger on it, but the tense and oppressive atmosphere in Lancang City had her nerves on edge. During the tedious wait, she needed to do something to ease her tension.

After wandering aimlessly through the streets for a while, Ao Hanli chose a side road and headed towards the inn where she was staying.

She had visited Lancang City before when she traveled through the three regions of Kyushu, so she was quite familiar with the place. The inn she was staying at was the same place where she and her old friends had stayed before. She had arranged to meet Chu Xunfeng here.

However, Chu Xunfeng was two days late.

Ao Hanli wouldn't dare say she understood Chu Xunfeng, but she could sense that the indifferent man wasn't the type to procrastinate. His lateness must have been due to some trouble.

The good news was that she no longer needed to guess what had happened to Chu Xunfeng that had delayed her. As soon as she returned to the inn, she saw the young man in white negotiating with the waiter.

"Oh, Miss Li is back." The waiter seemed to be in a dilemma, but when he saw Ao Hanli, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "Miss Li, this young master Chu must be the friend you mentioned?"

Chu Xunfeng remained calm and composed. He turned to look at Ao Hanli and nodded slightly, "Miss Han."

“It’s him. Give him the room key.” Ao Hanli nodded gently, exchanged a glance with Chu Xunfeng, and the two did not engage in any further conversation in the crowded lobby.

After accepting the key from the waiter, the two went upstairs together.

In Ao Hanli's room, the Dragon Girl pulled out a chair and sat down, looking at Chu Xunfeng, "Why are you only arriving now?"

"We've run into some... trouble." Chu Xunfeng pulled out a chair and sat down. "Tell me about the situation in the city first."

"It looks peaceful, but underneath it's a chaotic wasteland outside the South China Sea, with all sorts of messy things piled up, and there's no clue whatsoever." Ao Hanli sighed, but she relaxed, as if Chu Xunfeng's appearance had relieved her of a heavy burden.

“Then let’s go through it one by one. I also have some intelligence here. I’ll tell you what happened to me after you’ve finished speaking.” Chu Xunfeng was not surprised by the situation in Lancang City.

“Okay.” Ao Hanli nodded. “Let’s talk about Baidi City first. The people from Baidi City did indeed disappear in Lancang City. I heard that a lot of people have come to Baidi City recently and they’ve been moving around in groups. Nothing has happened to these newcomers yet, but the people who disappeared before can’t be found.”

"Then there's Longquan Sword Manor..." Ao Hanli paused when she mentioned the largest cultivator sect in Lancang City, "Have you ever heard of ghost weapons? They were something that a swordsmith from Longquan Sword Manor created about seventy or eighty years ago."

"I've heard of it." Chu Xunfeng nodded. "In fact, my lateness was also related to this thing, but we'll talk about that later. You go ahead and tell me what you're saying."

Ao Hanli was somewhat surprised by Chu Xunfeng's words, but she still continued speaking at her own pace.

"There are rumors that Longquan Sword Manor is reappearing with 'ghost weapons,' which seems to have attracted the attention of the ghosts in the Black Forest. Some cultivators say they have sensed the remnants of Yin Sha in the city, but it is not clear whether the ghosts are actually there. No one has come forward to testify yet, so most of the information is just speculation."

Black Forest, one of the three regions of Kyushu, is the place where the demon race lives. It is called Black Forest because it is a huge sea of ​​trees, filled with a dense fog of yin energy created by the demon race. The tree canopy is so dense that sunlight cannot penetrate it at all, hence the name.

"Lingering Yin energy..." Chu Xunfeng recalled some of his experiences in Kamakura Castle, especially Lian Cai's words, but he simply nodded.

There are basically no large cities north of Lancang City, the capital of Yongzhou; they are mostly rural settlements. Further north lies the entrance to the Black Forest, and it is indeed possible that the Ghost Clan could appear in Lancang City.

"Then the last important piece of news is about Longquan Sword Manor." Ao Hanli breathed a sigh of relief. "Longquan Sword Manor seems to be planning to reopen the sword appraisal tournament."

"Sword Appraisal Tournament?" Chu Xunfeng frowned slightly. This was an unfamiliar name. He had done some research on Longquan Sword Manor when he was in the demon race, but he had never seen this term before.

"It's still because of that swordsmith. Before he created the Ghost Weapon, that swordsmith was indeed very talented in forging weapons. The Sword Appraisal Competition was held for his works."

"You mean reopening? In other words, the sword-tasting competition was canceled after the incident with the ghost weapon?"

“Yes.” Ao Hanli nodded. “The Sword Appraisal Competition came about because of that swordsmith, and naturally it was discontinued because of his disappearance.”

"It stopped because of the trickery, and it started again because of the trickery..." Chu Xunfeng tapped the table lightly with his fingers. "Interesting. The purpose of Longquan Sword Manor in holding this sword appraisal conference is probably no longer what it used to be."

"Are you so sure?" Ao Hanli frowned. Such certainty was not the style of the Chu Xunfeng she knew.

"I don't know," Chu Xunfeng shrugged. "But I do know that Longquan Sword Manor is indeed creating ghost weapons, or rather, recreating the craft of forging ghost weapons. Okay..."

"Now that you know the truth about the Ghost Soldiers, do you still think that the Dragon Spring Sword Manor's resumption of the Sword Appraisal Conference is the same as your previous idea?" Chu Xunfeng looked at Ao Hanli.

The dragon girl shook her head, and after a long while she turned to stare at Chu Xunfeng, "How...how do you know these things?"

"Heh...that has to do with why I was two days late."

Chapter Sixteen, Dragon Spring Sword Manor

The long narration finally came to an end. Chu Xunfeng picked up the cup beside him and took a sip of hot tea.

"I had a feeling you'd run into something, but I didn't expect it to be this dramatic." Ao Hanli rubbed her eyes, a slight headache on her face. She forced herself to stay alert and stared at Chu Xunfeng. "So, are you now certain that Longquan Sword Manor is manufacturing dubious weapons for the Xu Kingdom?"

"Hmm." Chu Xunfeng put down his teacup. "Of course, all of this is still just speculation, all of it is indirect evidence and experimentation, there is no clear evidence."

"You're in contact with the Dragon Spring Sword Master?" Ao Hanli not only heard Chu Xunfeng's explanation for being late, but also some of the plans he and the Dragon Spring Sword Master had made. Her brows furrowed. "Are you getting involved in this?"

“I came to Yongzhou to get involved in some things.” Chu Xunfeng stared at Ao Hanli. “That’s why I was against you getting involved from the beginning.”

“Mother has her own considerations. Even if it is her will after she falls into a deep sleep, she is not really a child.” Ao Hanli looked at Chu Xunfeng seriously. “Besides, if I hadn’t come with you, the demon race would probably have missed this opportunity.”

Things in Yongzhou are in complete chaos. The information Ao Hanli has gathered is already quite complicated, not to mention the concrete intelligence Chu Xunfeng has regarding the treacherous soldiers...

Xu Guoming was clearly plotting something.