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

"The Ghost Clan is a race from the same place as your Demon Clan. Longquan Sword Manor has already provoked them, understand? The courtesan speaks nicely to me, but that doesn't mean she's gentle. It's just because she doesn't need to target me. The Ghost Clan can't possibly investigate this whole matter with just three Ghost Clan members at the peak of the Profound Realm. They have powerful backers."

"Finally, Baidi City is the victim in this whole affair. Baidi City's disciples became the test subjects for the strange weapons forged by Longquan Sword Manor. Longquan Sword Manor should also give Baidi City an explanation for this."

"With these three forces, plus Longquan Sword Manor, if any of them raise their voices, we'll immediately become fish on the chopping block in this matter. We're not worthy of stirring up trouble..."

"So you want to ignore it?" Ao Hanli stared at Chu Xunfeng, interrupting his endless stream of words with a single sentence.

Chu Xunfeng paused for a moment, and finally, facing Ao Hanli's gaze, he could only take a deep breath and say, "I'll take care of it."

A smile appeared in Ao Hanli's eyes.

"However, listen to me. How to intervene and from what angle are things I need to consider. You just need to follow me. If we rashly intervene, we will only become victims in this game, whether it's you or me."

Chu Xunfeng took a deep breath and finally softened his tone.

"Since the deity has entrusted you to me, I must safely return you to the Wild Marsh Wetlands, understand?"

"Ah."

The dragon girl smiled and followed the sighing young man.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Master Zuo Feichen

In the inn late at night, Chu Xunfeng lay on the large bed, silently staring at the top of the bed curtains, his mind racing.

Just as he had told Ao Hanli, he did indeed have the resources and power to influence the complex situation in Lancang City, Yongzhou, but that was not a reason for him to rush in headlong.

"Let's wait and see for another day or two. I hope Zuo Shaojun can bring me some good news, before tomorrow night, or tomorrow night."

The young man slept fully clothed.

Before he came to Yongzhou, he didn't even know what he was going to be involved in, but Chu Xunfeng had a feeling that the people of Dark Star Tower were definitely paying attention to him and that they would appear when necessary.

Then, by using his own abilities, he steered the entire situation toward the outcome Dark Star Tower desired.

Chu Xunfeng could also use this to judge whether Dark Star Tower was worthy of his trust and whether he should join it.

Just as Chu Xunfeng drifted off to sleep...

It is located far to the west of the city, where Longquan Sword Manor is situated.

After waiting for two hours, Zuo Shaojun finally stepped into his father's study.

Zuo Feichen, the master of Longquan Sword Manor, was sitting at his desk. He slightly raised his eyes and looked at his son, who seemed to have completely calmed down. He then raised his chin slightly, gesturing for Zuo Shaojun to sit down.

The young man sat down, looked at his father, and remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking, "Father, how far have things progressed?"

“Since Kamakura Castle, you’ve been busy with that cold-hearted man for quite some time now. Tell me what you know.” Zuo Feichen looked his son up and down, his expression and tone revealing a scrutinizing gaze.

Zuo Shaojun understood that his father intended to assess whether he was capable of intervening in the predicament that Longquan Sword Manor was currently facing.

Facing his father, Zuo Shaojun held nothing back and told him everything he knew. However, he also had no selfish motives and honestly explained the dominant role Chu Xunfeng played in the whole affair.

After all, the predicament that Sword Manor is currently facing is already a huge problem, even from what Zuo Shaojun himself knows. He dares not, and does not want to, cause his father to make a wrong judgment about the situation and the forces around him because of his own bravado and show of strength.

If nothing goes wrong, all will be well; but if something does happen, he can't afford the consequences.

After listening to his son's clear and logical account, Zuo Feichen remained silent for a long while before finally speaking softly, "Chu Xunfeng... I've heard a bit about the role he played in the Dragon Clan's internal strife. At first, I thought he was just following the Dragon Clan's orders, but now it seems..."

Zuo Feichen looked at his son and, to Zuo Shaojun's surprise, began to brew tea.

Seeing his father's actions, Zuo Shaojun was flattered and immediately took over the small task from his father, handing him tea while he himself took a cup but did not drink it.

The bitter aroma of tea wafted through the study.

After a long silence, the father finally spoke, "You've made a good friend, but I'm not happy about it at all."

Zuo Shaojun pursed his lips.

He roughly understood his father's meaning. If it weren't for Chu Xunfeng's existence, Zuo Shaojun might only have vaguely sensed that Longquan Sword Manor seemed to be in some kind of difficulty, instead of knowing so clearly what kind of situation Longquan Sword Manor was caught in and struggling to survive.

"Since the Dragon Clan incident, Yan Kingdom's wolfish ambitions have been exposed. You may never care, but I must tell you that Xu Kingdom has begun preparing for war with Yan Kingdom."

Zuo Shaojun's hand holding the teacup trembled slightly. He didn't speak, but waited for his father to continue.

"The reason for re-analyzing the forging method of the Ghost Weapon came about under such a pretext." Zuo Feichen blew on the tea, took a sip, and then looked up at Zuo Shaojun. "I also did not expect that the Emperor of Xu would use the Ghost Weapon to attack Baidi City."

"White Emperor City?" Zuo Shaojun heard some unexpected news, but he quickly connected it with the recent disappearance of many wandering scholars and disciples from White Emperor City in Yongzhou.

Zuo Shaojun felt a chill creep up his spine. He couldn't help but ask, "Why would the Emperor do such a thing? Haven't Baidi City and the Xu Kingdom's royal family always been at peace?"

"It can only be said that this is the consequence of the White Emperor not beheading his own uncle back then." Zuo Feichen undoubtedly had a keen political sense. He stared at his son, who couldn't understand, and could only patiently explain, "White Emperor City has always been considered a country within a country among the Five Continents. White Emperor City rose to power because of the White Emperor. The story that White Emperor City talks about all the time is the best reason for the Emperor of Xu to take action against them."

“That story…” Zuo Shaojun pondered for a while before he began to understand it, but the more he understood, the less he could comprehend it. “But why? Is it just because of a story?”

“Because it’s a fact. The throne that the Emperor of Xu is sitting on now was given to them by the White Emperor. No matter how reasonable there is in this story, some narrow-minded people will think this way. It makes no sense, but it’s just human nature.” Zuo Feichen didn’t want to discuss this issue with his son. It’s a matter of perspective. Zuo Shaojun just couldn’t understand why some people were so narrow-minded that they couldn’t stand a single word of criticism, or even an objective and neutral evaluation.

"Father, the people from Baidi City have gone missing... it was..." Zuo Shaojun hesitated for a moment, but finally asked under his father's gaze, "Were they the ones who did it?"

"What do you think?" Zuo Feichen casually asked in return.

"..." Zuo Shaojun looked at his father's face, which seemed somewhat unfamiliar in the candlelight, and finally sighed, "I don't think Father would do such a thing."

"Sincerely?"

"To be honest, I don't think Father would risk offending the entire cultivation world to curry favor with Xu Guo." Zuo Shaojun did have some doubts, but it was just a thought, and he quickly dismissed it.

“You’re right, I didn’t do it, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know.” After saying this, Zuo Feichen was silent for a while. “It was all done by the Bronze Fang Beast. My Longquan Sword Manor was just recreating the Ghost Weapon and then handing the forged Ghost Weapon over to the Bronze Fang Beast. That’s all.”

Is that all...?

Perhaps there were some things his father hadn't told him, but Zuo Shaojun remained silent for a while before saying, "Father, there's one more thing I need to know."

"You say it," Zuo Feichen said, looking at his son.

"How did the bronze beast find those wandering warriors from Baidi City throughout Yongzhou? And how did they manage to kidnap the people of Baidi City without alerting anyone?" Zuo Shaojun stared at his father. "We really didn't participate in anything related to Baidi City, except for knowing about it but not saying anything."

"I know what you want to ask. You're worried that this incident might jeopardize your cooperation with Chu Xunfeng," Zuo Feichen said calmly.

"I swear on my integrity that, aside from knowing the truth but not speaking out, Longquan Sword Manor has absolutely no connection to the disappearance of the White Emperor City disciples. I merely entrusted the Ghost Weapon to the Bronze Fang Beast; what they did with it is entirely unknown to Longquan Sword Manor." Zuo Feichen looked at his son. "Are you relieved now?"

"I breathed a sigh of relief, but I'm still not at ease," Zuo Shaojun said with a bitter smile. "Just like I said."

"How did the bronze beast manage to kidnap the people of Baidi City in Yongzhou without letting anyone know...?"

Chapter Twenty-Three: Open and Frank

"Actually, this problem is very simple."

Under the bright sun, Chu Xunfeng moved the tea table in the room to the window, staring at the dark red tea, his mind replaying the question raised by Zuo Shaojun.

"There are traitors in Baidi City."

He slowly raised his head, looked at the handsome young man who had caught his breath, and then lowered his gaze again. "Is it hard to understand?"

“Traitor…” Zuo Shaojun pondered the word Chu Xunfeng uttered, frowning and thinking for a long time before finally exhaling. “You mean, someone in Baidi City is currying favor with the Xu Kingdom?”

“It’s not necessarily about currying favor. The purpose isn’t important. What’s important is that there must be someone in Baidi City colluding with the Xu Kingdom’s royal family.” Chu Xunfeng picked up his teacup and took a sip. “I’ve thought about the questions you’ve considered before, but this is actually the easiest thing to guess.”

"why?"

"For Baidi City." Chu Xunfeng took a sip of tea, looked up at Zuo Shaojun's 'Are you kidding me?' expression, sighed inwardly, and gained a clear understanding of Zuo Shaojun's sensitivity to 'game theory'.

Unfortunately, he had chosen his own allies, so he could only patiently explain, "Bai Di City has an extraordinary influence in the Imperial State. If the Emperor of Xu wants to take action against Bai Di City, he absolutely cannot do so openly."

"He cannot send troops to attack Baidi City, or even break ties with Baidi City, because the fact that the Imperial State belongs to Baidi City is a lesson left by his ancestors. If he openly turns against Baidi City, he is likely to lose the support of the people, which would be a loss for the Emperor of Xu. Therefore, he can only do it secretly."

"What the Emperor of Xu wants is a Baidi City that bows and scrapes before the Emperor, not an Imperial State without a Baidi City."

"Simply put, what the Emperor of Xu did with Baidi City was to divide and conquer it from within," Chu Xunfeng said, putting down his empty teacup. "Do you understand now?"

Zuo Shaojun pondered for a while longer before finally sighing, "So that means our Longquan Sword Manor has become a weapon in the hands of the Xu Kingdom's emperor."

"No, you've become scapegoats." Chu Xunfeng stared at Zuo Shaojun. "Just like the predicament of the Emperor of Xu, Baidi City cannot take the initiative to break ties with the Emperor. Dizhou will always be the Dizhou of Xu, and the people will always be the people of Xu."

“You have become the chessboard of this game.” Chu Xunfeng tapped his finger on the table. “What Longquan Sword Manor needs to do now is to quickly break free from it and get rid of its status as an ‘emperor’s puppet.’ Do you understand what I mean?”

Zuo Shaojun was silent for a while, recalling what his father had told him last night. He finally let out a long sigh, "Although I don't quite understand what to do, you have indeed shown me a way, which is very similar to what my father told me last night."

Chu Xunfeng raised an eyebrow, waiting for Zuo Shaojun to continue.

"Young Master Chu, my father invites you to come over for a chat." Zuo Shaojun took out an invitation from his storage magic treasure and handed it to Chu Xunfeng.

Chu Xunfeng took the invitation, looked at it for a while, pondered for three minutes, and then stood up. "Lead the way."

Last night, Zuo Feichen instructed his son to meet Chu Xunfeng today to first probe his attitude, second his foresight, and third his thoughts. If all three probes yielded no problems, he should send an invitation to Chu Xunfeng to come to his door.

Chu Xunfeng did indeed pass the test set by the master of Longquan Sword Manor. After leaving a message at the inn counter for Ao Hanli, who had been arranged to leave early that morning, Chu Xunfeng boarded the carriage of Longquan Sword Manor and headed west of the city.

Longquan Sword Manor is located in the west of Lancang City. Although it is not outside the city, Longquan Sword Manor is basically located outside the city. The entire manor is adjacent to Lancang City. From bottom to top, the manor and the city are connected to a huge square. Chu Xunfeng's carriage stopped on this huge square.

Ascend the wide stone steps, pass the huge archway inscribed with the four characters "Longquan Sword Manor," and in a pool of spring water surrounded by white stones, a wide stone bridge connects the archway to the main building of Longquan Sword Manor.

Stepping onto the stone bridge, you can see the main buildings of Longquan Sword Manor.

The buildings rise on the gentle slope, varying in height, and are connected by ladders and wooden bridges. People can be seen moving about and walking along the road. As you go deeper into the area, you will see mountain and forest scenery. After walking along the path, exquisite buildings and more spacious courtyards will appear before your eyes.

"The back mountain is the main part of our Longquan Sword Manor. Those outside that train swordsmiths are considered the outer sect, and what you see here now is the inner sect," Zuo Shaojun explained softly to Chu Xunfeng. "Come with me to the study first."

Chu Xunfeng had no objection; although he wasn't a guest, he would follow the host's lead.

As Chu Xunfeng passed through the inner gate, he noticed something unusual. Compared to the bustling outer gate, the inner gate of Longquan Sword Manor was deserted. Along the way, apart from servants, he did not see a single ordinary disciple.

Zuo Shaojun led Chu Xunfeng into a secluded courtyard, down a staircase, past the stone sword piercing the ground in the center of the courtyard, and up the steps to the study.